Ambidextrous Rescue Device with Rotating Slip Ring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rescue devices with rope coils in annular chambers can fail to completely unwind, leading to accidental spinning when the remaining rope is pulled, and may not accommodate left- or right-handed throwers, limiting throwing distance and victim strength to hold the device.
Innovation Solution
An ambidextrous throwable rescue device with a rotateable slip ring that allows independent rotation of the slip ring and annular member, reducing spin and drag, and includes a cinch mechanism to secure the victim, enabling efficient throwing and retrieval without spinning the rescue ring from the victim's hands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the rope coil is contained within an annular chamber of the rescue ring, then the rope can be stored compactly, but the rope may not completely unwind from the rescue ring
Solution Approach 1:
The invention separates the rope storage function from the rescue ring by introducing a distinct rope container that can be independently attached or integrated. This segmentation allows the rope to be stored in a dedicated compartment while maintaining reliable unwinding, as the container can be designed with specific opening mechanisms that ensure complete rope deployment without compromising the ring's primary rescue function.
2Productivity
If the rescue ring is thrown with spin to unwind the rope, then the rope unwinds during flight, but the rescue ring may be accidentally spun out of the victim's hands during retrieval
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the spinning/unwinding function from the main rescue ring by placing the rope coil in a separate container that can unwind independently. This allows the rope to be deployed without imparting spin to the rescue ring itself, ensuring the ring remains stable and controllable in the victim's hands during both throwing and retrieval phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The rope container is designed with dynamic opening mechanisms that control rope deployment based on motion conditions. During throwing, the container can open to allow unwinding; during retrieval, the container stabilizes to prevent unwanted spinning, adapting its behavior to different operational phases.
3Productivity
If the rope is wound for a specific handedness (left or right), then the unwinding mechanism works efficiently for that direction, but the device cannot accommodate throwers of the opposite handedness
Solution Approach 1:
The rope container is designed with universal attachment and opening mechanisms that work regardless of the direction of throwing. The container can be configured to open in either direction or uses a bidirectional unwinding mechanism, allowing the same device to be effectively used by both right-handed and left-handed throwers while maintaining efficient rope deployment.
4Quantity of substance
If the rope coil is tightly wound in the annular chamber, then storage is compact, but drag increases limiting throwing distance
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from two-dimensional winding within the annular chamber to a three-dimensional rope container structure. This allows the rope to be stored in a compact volumetric arrangement that minimizes the container's cross-sectional area during flight, reducing aerodynamic drag while maintaining high storage density. The container can be designed with streamlined shapes that preserve compactness without the drag penalties of traditional annular chamber designs.
Data Source
AI summary
An ambidextrous rescue device having a slip ring rotateable mounted with respect to the rescue device to permit the slip ring to rotate independently of the rescue device as the rescue device is thrown to thereby enhance the distance the rescue device can be thrown by reducing the spin that needs to be imparted to the rescue device during a throwing motion as well as reducing the tendency of the rescue device to spin out of a victims grasp once the rescue device is retrieved by pulling on the rope attached to the rescue device. A further advantage is that the device can be thrown by either a left hand thrower or a right hand thrower. In another embodiment the rescue device includes an arm girth to automatically cinch a person's extremity to the rescue device as the rescue device is pulled toward the rescuer.