Insulating Inflatable Evacuation Chute for Industrial Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current safety guidelines for industrial vehicle operators facing electrical hazards are inadequate, as they often require agile and risky maneuvers to evacuate safely, which can be challenging due to physical limitations and the risk of electrocution from accidental contact with power transmission lines.
Innovation Solution
An electrically insulating inflatable conveyance system is integrated with industrial vehicles, deployable from a storage framework, providing a safe pathway in the form of a chute or ladder with a canopy and transparent windows, allowing operators to evacuate safely without direct contact with electrical hazards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the operator jumps from the vehicle without contacting the exterior and lands feet together, then the operator may avoid electrocution, but the procedure requires high agility and physical ability that many operators lack
Solution Approach 1:
An inflatable conveyance acts as an intermediary device between the vehicle interior and the ground. This inflatable structure provides a safe, insulated pathway that mediates the evacuation process, allowing operators to exit without directly contacting potentially energized exterior surfaces or the ground, thereby eliminating the need for complex gymnastic maneuvers while maintaining electrocution protection
Solution Approach 2:
The evacuation process is segmented into controlled stages: entering the inflatable conveyance, traversing through the insulated tunnel, and exiting at a predetermined safe location. This segmentation breaks down the complex, high-agility jump maneuver into simple, sequential steps that any operator can perform regardless of physical ability
2Reliability
If the operator performs a long jump to reach safety, then the operator may escape the vehicle, but the operator must choose landing without being able to inspect for exposed power transmission lines
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-positioning the inflatable conveyance and pre-identifying safe exit locations before evacuation is needed. The conveyance is stored ready for deployment, and its exit point is predetermined to be in a safe location, eliminating the need for the operator to make split-second decisions about landing sites under emergency conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The inflatable conveyance serves as an information-mediated pathway that guides the operator from the vehicle to a predetermined safe location. The conveyance itself carries the information about where to exit safely, removing the need for the operator to visually inspect the landing area for hazards
3Adaptability or versatility
If the vehicle has expansive means for locomotion, then the vehicle has greater mobility, but the required jump distance increases making evacuation more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The solution addresses the distance problem by adding a spatial dimension - the inflatable conveyance extends outward from the vehicle in a third dimension, creating a bridging structure that spans the gap between the vehicle and safe ground. This dimensional approach allows the operator to traverse long distances that would be impossible to jump, regardless of how far the vehicle's locomotion means can extend
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
The system enables predictable and safe evacuation from electrical hazards, independent of operator agility, by providing a controlled and insulated path to safety, reducing the risk of electrocution and improving survival chances in emergency situations.
Implementation Method 1
An electrically insulating inflatable conveyance, which is stowed within, and deployed from, a storage and deployment framework attached to or otherwise integrated with an exterior side panel, or other suitable structure, of the industrial vehicle
Implementation Method 2
An electrically insulating inflatable conveyance, which is stowed within, and deployed from, a storage and deployment framework
Data Source
AI summary
An evacuation system (10) includes an electrically insulating inflatable conveyance (11), which is stowed within, and deployed from, a framework (21) attached to an interior structure (45) or exterior structure (43) of an industrial vehicle (38). The inflatable conveyance (11) preferably has a flexible base (12) affixed to, and dependently supported by, longitudinally disposed closed tubular members (15), and may take the form of a chute that may be configured to function as a slide or as a ladder. The chute may be enclosed with a canopy (17), or may be open but provided with upwardly extending side walls (16). In implementations of a canopy (17), transparent egress windows (19) may be provided. Transversely oriented straps (14) form safety steps and/or hand rails in a “ladder” configuration of the chute.