Inflatable Emergency Vision System for Smoke Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Smoke and particulate matter in cockpit environments severely impair a pilot's or operator's visibility to critical instruments and data sources, leading to unsafe conditions and potential catastrophic outcomes, as seen in aircraft, submarines, and nuclear power stations.
Innovation Solution
An emergency vision system comprising an inflatable main enclosure and a movable hand-held enclosure, both designed to provide clear visibility of essential information during smoke emergencies, using filtered ambient air for inflation and automatic activation, allowing operators to maintain visual contact with instrument panels and other vital areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If smoke and particulate matter invade the cockpit, then visibility to instruments and data sources is severely impaired, but the pilot's ability to operate critical systems and guide the aircraft safely is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a clear plastic enclosure as an intermediary barrier between the smoke-filled cockpit environment and the pilot's line of sight to instruments and outside view. This enclosure acts as a physical mediator that blocks smoke and particulate matter while allowing light transmission, thereby maintaining visibility and enabling safe operation despite the hazardous environment
2Illumination intensity
If a clear view enclosure is deployed, then visibility of instruments and outside view is maintained, but the device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a clear plastic enclosure with flexible or semi-rigid walls that can be inflated or expanded into position. This flexible shell approach allows the enclosure to be stored compactly when not in use and deployed quickly during an emergency, reducing both the complexity of storage mechanisms and the space required in the cockpit while maintaining effective visibility protection
3Illumination intensity
If an emergency vision system is deployed, then visibility is restored, but the time required for deployment and inflation may delay critical operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates an automatic inflation mechanism that activates immediately upon detection of smoke or emergency conditions. The enclosure is pre-positioned in a deflated or compact state within the cockpit, and upon emergency activation, it automatically inflates or expands into the operational position, eliminating manual setup time and ensuring visibility is restored as quickly as possible during critical moments
Data Source
AI summary
An emergency vision system includes a housing; an inflatable main enclosure having an inflated state and a deflated state, the main enclosure in the deflated state is disposed in the housing, the main enclosure in the inflated state is configured to be stationarily disposed between a user and a source of information required to be seen by the user during a smoke emergency; and a movable hand-held enclosure having an inflated state and a deflated state, the hand-held enclosure in the deflated state is disposed in the housing, the hand-held enclosure in the inflated state is configured to be used by the user to view a second source of information not visible through the main inflatable enclosure.