Harness Assembly with Deployable Inflatable Life Raft
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current life vests do not provide adequate shelter or mode of transit for individuals in emergency situations at sea, leaving them vulnerable to harsh elements and prolonged exposure, as they are designed solely for flotation and not for keeping the wearer out of the water.
Innovation Solution
A harness assembly with a pouch for storing a manually deployable inflatable life raft, which can be inflated using a carbon dioxide cartridge or manual inflation valve, featuring a tether cord to prevent drift and additional safety features like reflectors, handles, and a dragging implement to prevent ocean current movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a traditional life vest is used, then the wearer can maintain flotation and keep head above water, but the wearer lacks adequate shelter and protection from harsh elements during extended exposure at sea
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a life vest with an attached pouch containing an inflatable life raft, merging two separate survival devices into one integrated system. This allows the wearer to benefit from both flotation (life vest) and shelter/protection (life raft) without carrying separate devices, thereby addressing the protection deficiency while managing structural complexity through integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The harness assembly serves multiple functions: it provides flotation through the life vest, stores the life raft in the attached pouch, and can inflate the raft for additional protection. This multi-functionality allows a single device to address both flotation and shelter needs, improving protection from elements without requiring multiple separate devices.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a life raft is added to provide shelter and protection, then the wearer gains adequate shelter and mode of transit, but the device becomes more complex and harder to store
Solution Approach 1:
The life raft is stored in a deflated state within the pouch attached to the life vest, similar to a nested doll structure. This allows the larger life raft to be contained within the smaller pouch when not in use, minimizing storage space requirements and reducing apparent device complexity while maintaining full protection capability when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The life raft transitions from a compressed, stored state to an inflated, functional state when needed. This dynamic transformation allows the device to occupy minimal space during storage (reducing complexity) while providing full shelter and protection functionality when deployed, effectively resolving the contradiction between protection and complexity.
3Ease of operation
If the life raft is stored in a pouch on the life vest, then the wearer can quickly access the raft in emergency, but the raft may drift away from the wearer during inflation
Solution Approach 1:
The tether cord is pre-attached to both the pouch and the life raft before deployment. This preliminary attachment ensures that when the raft is inflated and deploys, it remains connected to the wearer through the tether, preventing drift away while allowing quick access since the connection is already in place and requires no additional assembly during emergency.
Solution Approach 2:
The tether cord acts as an intermediary element connecting the pouch (attached to life vest) and the life raft. This intermediary maintains the relationship between the wearer and the raft throughout deployment, ensuring reliability of attachment while allowing the raft to function independently once inflated, thus resolving the contradiction between accessibility and attachment reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances survival chances by providing a secure, sheltered mode of transit and protection from elements, allowing the wearer to remain close to the life raft during and after inflation, improving rescue prospects and comfort during extended exposure.
Implementation Method 1
They are available in a variety of styles and generally more comfortable and less bulky to store or wear than the traditional foam vests, and therefore provide advantages of being compact, light-weight, easily stored and transported when in a deflated state, and less expensive to purchase.
Implementation Method 2
The air chambers within inflatable life vests are located over the breast, across the shoulders and encircling the back. They may be inflated by either self-contained means such as carbon dioxide cartridges activated by pulling of a cord
Implementation Method 3
They may be inflated by either self-contained means such as carbon dioxide cartridges activated by pulling of a cord, or manual blow tubes with a one-way valve for inflation by exhalation of the wearer.
Data Source
AI summary
A harness assembly having a pouch attached thereto for storage of a manually deployable life raft. The harness assembly is comprised of a waist strap of sufficient length to reach around the mid-section of a human body and a back, frontal left, and frontal right panel sections integrally joined with one another forming a life vest. The frontal left and right panel sections include a fastener for coupling together to form a neck opening. The pouch is removably attached to the harness assembly and positioned thereinbetween the waist strap and life vest. The inflatable life raft is disposed of within the pouch in a deflated state. The life raft includes an elongated tether cord having a first end attached to the life vest and a second end attached to the life raft. The life raft is adapted to be inflated when, in an emergency situation, the raft is removed from the pouch.