Automatic inflator with bobbin employing an electronic pill

Abstract

A pill for an automatic inflator employing a bobbin having at least one pivotal arm to hold-back a spring-loaded actuator pin in its cocked position, the pill including a major portion to retain and hold the pivotal arm of the bobbin in a cocked position and a minor portion comprising a fusible segment, and a heater wire positioned contiguous to said minor portion to fuse to the minor portion when electrical energy is supplied to said heater wire, thereby allowing the pivotal arm of the bobbin to move from a cocked position to a fired position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 63 / 302,209, filed Jan. 24, 2022, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONField of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to automatic inflators for inflatable articles such as life rafts, life vests, and the like. More particularly, this invention relates to inflators that are actuated automatically in emergency situations such as upon immersion in water.Description of the Background Art

[0003] Presently, there exist many types of inflators designed to inflate inflatable articles such as personal floatation devices (life vests, rings and horseshoes), life rafts, buoys and emergency signaling equipment. Manual inflators typically comprise a body for receiving the neck of a cartridge of compressed gas such as carbon dioxide. A reciprocating pierce pin is disposed within the body of the inflator for piercing the frangible seal of the cartridge to permit compressed gas therein to flow into a manifold assembly of the inflator and then into the article to be inflated. Typically, a manually movable firing lever is operatively connected to the pierce pin such that the pierce pin pierces the frangible seal of the gas cartridge upon jerking of a ball lanyard. U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,288, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, illustrates one embodiment of a manual inflator.

[0004] While manual inflators work suitably well, it was quickly learned that in an emergency, the person needing the assistance of the inflatable device, such as a downed aviator, injured person, or a man overboard, would fail or be unable to manually activate the inflator. Accordingly, it was realized that a means should be provided for automatically activating the inflator in such an emergency.

[0005] In response to this realized inadequacy of the prior art manual inflators, water-activated automatic inflators were developed which automatically actuate the pierce pin of the inflator when immersed in water thereby causing inflation of the inflatable device. Typical water-activated automatic inflators comprise a water activated actuator including a water destructible or dissolvable element, often referred to as a “bobbin”, which retains a spring-loaded actuator pin in a cocked position in alignment with the pierce pin. Upon exposure to water, a dissolvable “pill” contained within the bobbin immediately starts dissolving and then destructs altogether, whereupon it loses its ability to hold-back the spring-loaded actuator pin in its cocked position. The spring-loaded actuator pin is thus released to forcibly move from its cocked position to an actuated position to strike the pierce pin, either directly or indirectly by means of an intermediate transfer pin. Upon striking the pierce pin, the pin fractures the seal of the cartridge thereby allowing the gas contained therein to flow into the inflatable device to inflate the same.

[0006] Representative automatic actuators for inflators are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,059,814, 3,091,782, 3,426,942, 3,579,964, 3,702,014, 3,757,371, 3,910,457, 3,997,079, 4,223,805, 4,267,944, 4,260,075, 4,382,231, 4,436,159, 4,513,248, 4,627,823, 5,076,468, 5,601,124, 5,685,455, 5,562,233, 5,370,567, 5,333,756, 4,488,546 and 5,694,986, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

[0007] A disadvantage to automatic inflators employing a dissolvable pill is the tendency to prematurely destruct in non-emergency situations by exposure of the pill to excessive humidity in the air. Bobbin pills of various designs and chemical compositions have been used to minimize their susceptibility to humidity.

[0008] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 10,994,818, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, discloses an improved bobbin structure wherein some of the adjacent arms in the bobbin holding the pill are interconnected by a web to increase the performance of the bobbin to reduce premature actuations due to humidity. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,705,488 and 7,572,161, the disclosures of which are hereby Incorporated by reference herein, disclose various configurations for pills for bobbins of automatic inflators that seek to reduce susceptibility to humidity resulting in unintended or premature actuation while maintaining sufficient dissolvability in water so that the pill dissolves upon being submerged in water.

[0009] Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the inflation art.

[0010] Another object of this invention is to provide an electronic pill incorporated into a bobbin of an inflator, the pill comprising a major portion for restraining the spring-loaded actuator pin in a cocked position in alignment with the pierce pin.

[0011] Another object of this invention is to provide an electronic pill incorporated into a bobbin of an inflator, the pill comprising a minor portion wrapped by a heater wire such that upon exposure to water, an electric current is applied to the minor portion to cause it to weaken, whereupon it loses its ability to hold-back the spring-loaded actuator pin in its cocked position.

[0012] These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention, Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or by modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a more comprehensive understanding of the invention may be obtained by referring to the summary of the invention, and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The invention is defined by the appended claims with the specific embodiment shown in the attached drawings. For the purposes of summarizing the invention, the invention comprises an automatic inflator whose bobbin contains, in lieu of a dissolvable pill, an electrically activated pill.

[0014] More particularly, prior art bobbins typically comprise a circular housing having internally a collapsible annular ring of individually pivotal arms (e.g., eight arms) extending generally parallel to the axis of the bobbin. The toroidal pill is positioned about the ring of individually pivotal arms to retain them in their un-collapsed, generally parallel position and to prevent them from collapsing outwardly. The individually pivotal arms each include an inwardly extending radial step, which collectively form an annular seat to retain a spring-loaded actuator in its cocked position.

[0015] The electronic pill of the invention comprises a toroid configuration (a surface of revolution with a hole in the middle), substantially similar to the toroid configuration of a prior art pill such that the electronic pill may be used in bobbins (in lieu of their dissolvable pills). In some particular designs of bobbins, the electronic pill of the invention may be installed with the dissolvable-pill style of bobbins without modification of the bobbin itself.

[0016] The electronic pill of the invention comprises major portion about most of its circumference (e.g., about 350 degrees) and a minor portion about the remainder (e.g., about 10 degrees). The major portion functions to retain and hold the ring of individually pivotal arms in their un-collapsed, generally parallel position and to prevent them from collapsing outwardly. The minor portion functions as a fusible segment that is melted by a heater wire. In one configuration, a heater wire is wrapped one or more times around or adhered to the minor portion to be contiguous thereto to heat the wire and structurally weaken (e.g., fuse) the minor portion. In another configuration, the minor portion may comprise one or more wire holes through which is threaded the heater wire.

[0017] An electronic circuit built within the inflator senses when the inflator is immersed in water, whereupon electrical current from a power supply (e.g., a lithium battery) is supplied to the heater wire to heat the minor portion. As the heat melts the minor portion, the force exerted on the pill by each of the individually pivotal arms and their seats pivoting individually outwardly under the constant pressure of the actuator, initially stretches then fractures the minor portion altogether, thereby fracturing the electronic pill allowing its toroid configuration to expand open to a larger diameter, now allowing the previously-restrained arms to pivot outwardly. As the arms pivot outwardly under force from the actuator, their respective seats likewise move outwardly to expand the diameter of the annular seat until such annular seat is no longer able to retain the actuator, thereby releasing (i.e., firing) the spring-loaded actuator to force a pierce pin into the frangible seal of a gas cartridge.

[0018] In the best mode for implementing the invention, it is believed that heating wire(s) and the applied voltage and current thereto should be about:Gauge(g)Voltage(V)Current(A)Length(in)322.081.9230.95302.082.7580.95

[0019] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly, the more pertinent and prominent features of the present invention. The detailed description of the invention that follows is offered so that the present contribution to the art may be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter. These form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the disclosed specific embodiment may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other methods and structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent structures do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] For a more succinct understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be directed to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0021] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the electronic pill of the bobbin installed in an exemplary automatic inflator assembly showing the various internal parts and their relative positions to one another with respect to the electronic pill;

[0022] FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of a prior art bobbin (electronic pill uninstalled) comprising a circular housing with a collapsible annular ring of individually pivotal arms (e.g., eight arms) extending generally parallel to the axis of the bobbin;

[0023] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional, perspective view with the electronic pill of the invention installed in the bobbin about the bobbin's ring of pivotal arms to retain the individually pivotal arms in their un-collapsed, generally-parallel position and to prevent them from collapsing outwardly;

[0024] FIG. 4 is a diametrical cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the electronic bobbin of the invention installed within a bobbin;

[0025] FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the first embodiment of the electronic pill of the invention;

[0026] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 along lines 6-6;

[0027] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 along lines 7-7;

[0028] FIG. 8 is a top perspective view of a second embodiment of the electronic pill of the invention;

[0029] FIG. 9 is front view thereof;

[0030] FIG. 10 a top perspective view of a third embodiment of the electronic pill of the invention; and

[0031] FIG. 11 is top perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the electronic pill of the invention and FIG. 11A is an enlarged partial view thereof.

[0032] Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several figures.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary automatic inflator 10 comprising an inflator body 12, an actuator body assembly 14, and a cylindrical cap assembly 16. The inflator body 12 has a longitudinal central bore, generally indicated by numeral 18, which is sized to receive a pierce pin assembly 20 reciprocatably positioned therein. A gas-containing cartridge 22 is threadably coupled to the inflator body in alignment with the pierce pin assembly 20.

[0034] The pierce pin assembly 20 comprises a pierce pin 24 having an end portion 26, a sealing gasket 28, and a small compression spring 30. A conventional metal insert 32, having interior threads 34 and gasket 36, is molded in situ within the inflator body 12. The gas-containing cartridge 22 is threaded into the metal insert 32. The frangible seal of the gas cartridge 22 is pierced when the pierce pin assembly 20 is forcibly moved towards the cartridge 22.

[0035] The automatic inflator 10 may be fired automatically upon immersion in water or manually. The manual actuator means includes a generally L-shaped lever 38 pivotally mounted to the inflator body 12 by a pivot pin 40 which passes through the inflator body 12, a hole 42 located in the distal portion of the lever 38, and a second slot portion 44 of an intermediate transfer pin 46. The pivot pin 40 also serves to fixedly secure the actuator body assembly 14 to the inflator body 12.

[0036] The distal end portion 48 of the lever 38 has a cam extension 50. A lanyard handle 52 is tethered to the lever 38. When the lanyard handle 52 is pulled, the cam extension 50 forcibly engages the end 26 of the pierce pin assembly 20, thereby causing the gas-containing cartridge 22 to be pierced.

[0037] The actuator body assembly 14 is generally comprised of an actuator body 54, an actuator pin 55, the intermediate transfer pin 46, a conventional O-ring 56, and a bobbin 58. A heavy spring 57 forcibly urges the head 55H of the actuator pin 55 against the bobbin 58.

[0038] As better shown in FIG. 2, an exemplary bobbin 58 comprises a generally cylindrical wall 66. A plurality of arms 68 positioned in a ring centered about and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bobbin 58, are individually pivotably connected to the rim of the cylindrical wall 66 by a living hinge 70.

[0039] Each of the arms 68 individually include a radial seat 72 extending toward the longitudinal axis of the bobbin 58. Collectively, the individual radial seats 72 form an annular seat having a diameter sized to capture and retain the head 55H of the spring-loaded actuator pin 55, thereby holding the spring-loaded actuator pin 55 back against the force of the spring 57 in a “cocked” position.

[0040] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the toroidal electronic pill 60 of the invention is positioned between the lumen of the cylindrical wall 66 and the ringed arms 68 to retain the arms 68 in position centered about and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bobbin 58 such that the annular seat formed by their radial seats 72 maintains the diameter sized to capture and retain the head 55H of the spring-loaded actuator pin 55, thereby holding the spring-loaded actuator pin 55 back against the force of the spring 57 in a “cocked” position.

[0041] It is noted that each arm 68 may include a buttress 76 extending from the living-hinge end of the arm 68 along a length of the arm 68. The buttress 76 provides additional rigidity to the arm 68 and, during assembly, serves to limit the distance the pill 60 is pushed onto the length of the ringed arms 68. Further, it is noted that each of the arms 68 may include a chamfered end 68CC to facilitate automatic centering and pushing of the pill 60 onto the ringed arms 68.

[0042] As best shown in FIGS. 5-10, the electronic pill 60 of the invention comprises a major portion 100 and a minor portion 102. The major portion extends about 350 degrees of the toroidal electronic pill 60 and the minor portion 102 extends the remaining 10 degrees. A first embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 5-7, a second embodiment in FIGS. 8-9 and a third in FIG. 10.

[0043] In each embodiment, at least one heater wire 108 is positioned contiguous to the minor portion 102 to be in a heat exchanging relationship therewith. The heater wire 108 is operatively connected to an electronic circuit 112 powered by a battery 114. An electronic water sensor 116 is operatively interfaced to the circuit 112. Upon sensing of water immersion, the sensor 116 triggers the circuit 112 to supply electrical current from the battery 114 to the heater wire 108 to fuse the minor portion 102. Once the minor portion 102 is fused, the diameter of the electronic pill 60 may expand to allow outward movement of the radial seats 72 of the ringed arms 68 to no longer capture and retain the head 55H of the spring-loaded actuator pin 55, thereby releasing the spring-loaded actuator pin 55 to “fire” the inflator 10. Hence, as can be appreciated, the minor portion 102 functions as a fusible link.

[0044] In each embodiment, the major portion 100 comprises outer wall 104 and inner wall 106 extending generally parallel to one another and the toroidal axis, thereby preferably defining a toroid having a generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration (see FIG. 6). As shown, the upper and lower edges of the walls 104 and 106 may be chamfered for ease in assembly into the bobbin 58.

[0045] In each embodiment, the distance between the outer and inner walls 104&106 substantially equals the distance between the lumen of the cylindrical wall 66 and the ringed arms 68 of the bobbin 58, thereby retaining the arms 68 in position centered about and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bobbin 58. In this parallel position, the annular seat formed by the radial seats 72 of the radial arms 68 maintains the diameter sized to capture and retain the head 55H of the spring-loaded actuator pin 55, thereby holding the spring-loaded actuator pin 55 back against the force of the spring 57 in a “cocked” position.

[0046] In each embodiment, the minor portion 102 preferably comprises a cross-sectional configuration having a cross-sectional area substantially less than that the cross-sectional area of the major portion 100. The actual area of the cross-sectional area of the minor portion 102 may be selected based upon the material composition of the injected-molded electronic pill, the size of the heating wire and the voltage and amperage supplied to the heater wire 108.

[0047] The presently contemplated parameters needed for fusing a minor portion 102 injection-molded of polycarbonate or ABS and having a cross-section area of 0.006 in2, are as follows:Gauge(g)Voltage(V)Current(A)Length(in)322.081.9230.95302.082.7580.95

[0048] In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-7, the heater wire 108 is threaded through holes 110 in the minor portion 102. The heater wire 108 may be threaded through one of the holes 110, optionally wrapped one or more times around the minor portion 102, and then back through the other hole 102 to be contiguous with the outer surfaces of the minor portion 102 and lumen of the holes 110, thereby ensuring good heat transfer from the wire 108 to the minor portion 102. Alternatively, the heater wire 108 may be inserted into a hole 110 in the minor portion 102 and then sealed with a thermally conductive adhesive or the like (e.g., see third embodiment below). Further alternatively, the heater wire 108 may be molded in situ in the minor portion 102 during molding.

[0049] In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 & 9, the minor portion 102 comprises at least one notch 120, preferably two that are V-shaped, extending inwardly from the respective upper and lower edges of the walls 104 and 106 generally parallel to the axis of the major portion 100, thereby defining a cross-sectional area appreciably less than that of the major portion 100. In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the one or more V-shaped notches 120, preferably one, may extend inwardly from the outer surface 104 of the major portion 100, thereby defining a cross-sectional area appreciably less that than to the major portion 100.

[0050] In both the third and fourth embodiments, the heater wire 108 is wrapped around the minor portion 102 one or more turns; however, the heater wire 108 may alternatively be threaded through one or more holes formed in the minor portion 102 in the manner described in connection with the first embodiment.

[0051] In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the heater wire 108 is affixed to the minor portion 102 by an adhesive 150, preferably thermally-conductive, or the like. It should be appreciated that adhesively affixing the heater wire 108 may alternatively be employed in connection the other embodiments of the invention without departing from the spirt and scope of this invention.

[0052] Once the minor portion 102 is fused during firing, the structural integrity of the pill 60 is compromised such that the ringed arms 68 are allowed to flex radially outwardly individually via their respective living hinges 70 under the pressure of the spring loaded actuator pin head 55H. As they flex outwardly, their radial seats 72 spread apart until they reach an increased diameter such that they no longer form an annular seat for the head 55H of the actuator pin 55, whereupon the head 55H of the spring-loaded actuator pin 55 is released and moves forcibly under the force of the spring 57 to actuate the pierce pin 20 via the transfer pin 46 (i.e., the actuator 10 is automatically “fired”).

[0053] The present invention includes that contained in the appended claims as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this description has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it should be understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction, combination, or arrangement of parts thereof may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0054] Now that the invention has been described,

Claims

1. A pill for an automatic inflator employing a bobbin having at least one pivotal arm to hold-back a spring-loaded actuator pin in its cocked position, comprising in combination:said pill including a major portion to retain and hold the pivotal arm of the bobbin in a cocked position and a minor portion comprising a fusible segment; anda heater wire positioned contiguous to said minor portion to fuse to the minor portion when electrical energy is supplied to said heater wire, thereby allowing the pivotal arm of the bobbin to move from a cocked position to a fired position.

2. The pill as set forth in claim 1, wherein said heater wire is wrapped at least once around the minor portion.

3. The pill as set forth in claim 1, wherein said heater wire is threaded through at least one hole in the minor portion.

4. The pill as set forth in claim 1, wherein said heater wire is adhered to the minor portion.

5. The pill as set forth in claim 1, wherein said heater wire is molded in situ within said minor portion.

6. The pill as set forth in claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional area of said minor portion is less than the cross-sectional area of said major portion.

7. The pill as set forth in claim 1, wherein said minor portion comprises a generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration that is less than the cross-sectional area of the major portion.

8. The pill as set forth in claim 1, wherein said minor portion comprises a notch.

9. The pill as set forth in claim 8, wherein said notch comprises a generally V-shaped notch.

10. The pill as set forth in claim 8, wherein said notch extends inwardly from the respective upper and lower edges of the walls of the pill generally parallel to the axis of the major portion, thereby defining a cross-sectional area of the minor portion that is less than the cross-sectional area of the major portion.

11. The pill as set forth in claim 8, wherein said notch extends inwardly from the outer surface of the major portion, thereby defining a cross-sectional area of the minor portion that is less than the cross-sectional area of the major portion.

12. An automatic inflator, comprising in combination:a bobbin comprising a circular housing having internally a collapsible annular ring of individually pivotal arms extending generally parallel to the axis of the bobbin;a toroidal pill positioned about the ring of individually pivotal arms to retain them in their un-collapsed, generally parallel position and to prevent them from collapsing outwardly, the individually pivotal arms each including an inwardly extending radial step, which collectively form an annular seat to retain a spring-loaded actuator in its cocked position;said toroidal pill comprising a major portion and a minor portion, said major portion retaining and holding the ring of individually pivotal arms in their un-collapsed, generally parallel position and to prevent them from collapsing outwardly; anda heater wire positioned contiguously with said minor portion of said toroidal pill to be melted by electrical energy flowing through said heater wire when said automatic actuator senses water.

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