Segmented Gas Cartridge Inflation Device for Safety Vests
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inflatable safety vests for motorcycling and horse riding face issues with large gas cartridges causing discomfort, asymmetrical aesthetics, and potential injury due to size and placement, as well as incomplete inflation from slow CO2 vaporization without external heat.
Innovation Solution
A compact, flattened parallelepiped-shaped inflation device with multiple pressurized gas cartridges and a percussion mechanism allowing simultaneous or successive perforation, featuring a piston system with a retaining member and helical spring for rapid gas release, reducing dimensions and enhancing heat exchange for faster inflation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a large CO2 cartridge is used to ensure sufficient gas volume for vest inflation, then the inflation capacity is improved, but the device dimensions and weight increase causing discomfort and aesthetic issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a single large CO2 cartridge into multiple smaller cartridges (typically 2-4 cartridges arranged in parallel). Each cartridge contains a portion of the total required gas volume. This segmentation allows the inflation device to achieve the necessary gas capacity while reducing the volume and weight of each individual cartridge, thereby improving comfort and aesthetics without compromising inflation capability.
2Quantity of substance
If a large CO2 cartridge is used to ensure sufficient gas volume, then the inflation capacity is improved, but the device creates pressure points and potential injury risks during falls
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the gas storage into multiple smaller cartridges distributed across the device, the overall mass and volume are reduced, thereby minimizing pressure points on the wearer's body during normal use and during falls. The segmented configuration allows for better weight distribution and reduced localized forces.
3Ease of operation
If the CO2 cartridge is placed at the front of the vest under the chest, then the inflation device is easily accessible, but it causes discomfort and asymmetrical appearance especially for shorter users
Solution Approach 1:
The segmented cartridge configuration allows for a more compact and distributed device layout that can be better adapted to different user body types and sizes. The multiple smaller cartridges can be arranged in a configuration that accommodates shorter users better than a single large cartridge, while maintaining accessibility for activation.
4Device complexity
If the CO2 vaporization relies on external heat supply, then the cartridge design is simplified, but the inflation speed decreases and may be incomplete resulting in increased injury risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the physical parameters of the CO2 cartridges, specifically reducing their size and increasing their surface-area-to-volume ratio. This parameter change accelerates the natural vaporization process by increasing the surface area exposed to ambient heat, thereby speeding up gas release and vest inflation without requiring additional heating mechanisms or increasing device complexity.
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 solution provides a more comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, and reliable inflation system with reduced risk of injury, ensuring complete and rapid deployment of the safety vest during falls by minimizing localized forces and accelerating gas vaporization.
Implementation Method 1
a thrust member capable of moving said piston between a 'normal' position in which the perforating end of the piston is not in contact with the associated cartridge and an 'activation' position in which the perforating end of the piston has perforated the associated cartridge
Implementation Method 2
each thrust member is a helical spring disposed between the piston and the end of the tube located opposite the storage housing
Implementation Method 3
when the gas (CO2) stored in liquid form in the pressurized cartridge is released, the depression causes the CO2 to vaporize. However, the vaporization phenomenon requires a quantity of heat to be supplied from the outside of the cartridge
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~6
AI summary
The present invention relates to a device (1) for the inflation (1) of an inflatable life vest, notable in that it comprises a storage casing (2) containing at least two cartridges (3) of pressurized gas which are arranged side-by-side and touching one another so as to form a row, and a release casing (4) comprising at least one striker device that makes it possible, in the event of activation, to puncture each of the said cartridges (3) simultaneously or in succession so as to release the gas they contain in gaseous form to the outside of the inflation device (1) through at least one orifice made on the release casing (4), the said storage (2) and release (4) casings being in the overall shape of a flattened hollow parallelepiped and joined together removably and in a manner that is gastight with respect to the gas contained in the said cartridges (3).