초록 ▼

A dual-sided, or reversible, inflatable rescue and safety raft consists of an inflated grille provided with mesh netting spanning open regions to accommodate personnel, manually releasable locking devices that close access openings in the netting to permit personnel to board from underneath the floa

A dual-sided, or reversible, inflatable rescue and safety raft consists of an inflated grille provided with mesh netting spanning open regions to accommodate personnel, manually releasable locking devices that close access openings in the netting to permit personnel to board from underneath the floating grille, both surfaces of the grille being provided with fasteners for safety handles and belts; one or more containers with compactly folded modular floor and shelter units that can be fastened to the surface of the grille (or removed from the raft for use as tents on land) are repositionably secured to the grille in the event that the containers are submerged when the raft is initially disposed in the water.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A rescue and safety apparatus for receiving personnel in aquatic environments of the type having an inflatable grille structure formed by one or more peripheral members defining an enclosed area and a plurality of internal members to thereby define a plurality of regula

The invention claimed is: 1. A rescue and safety apparatus for receiving personnel in aquatic environments of the type having an inflatable grille structure formed by one or more peripheral members defining an enclosed area and a plurality of internal members to thereby define a plurality of regularly-spaced open regions within the enclosed area, the peripheral and internal members being tubular and formed from a flexible, collapsible watertight material, and having a flexible open-mesh netting extending over the open regions and secured to at least one of the one or more peripheral members and the internal members, said netting being provided with at least one resealable personnel access opening that is located in an open region between the adjacent members, the inflatable grille structure having substantially similar opposing surfaces when inflated, a) a plurality of fastening elements secured to each of the opposing surfaces of the grille structure, b) at least one floor and shelter forming module releasable secured to the inflatable grille structure in a compactly folded configuration, whereby said floor and shelter forming module, when released and unfolded, is attachable to the upper surface of the inflated grille to provide a modular personnel shelter having a floor panel supported by the open-mesh netting, the shelter extending upwardly over the floor panel. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shelter is extended by support means, the support means being selected from the group consisting of rigid rods, flexible rods, studs, posts, fluid-tight inflatable channels provided with valves, and combinations thereof. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one wall of the shelter is provided with a sealable personnel access opening. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shelter is provided with at least one sealable ventilation opening. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the unfolded floor and shelter module is attached to the upper surface of the inflated grille by attachment means selected from the group consisting of zippers, hook and loop fasteners, snaps, flexible tie cords, interlocking loops, manually releasable interlocking male and female connectors, and combinations thereof. 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the compactly folded floor and shelter forming module is disposed in a bag that is releasably secured to a surface of the grille structure. 7. The apparatus of claim 6 which further comprises earth-engaging tent pegs secured in the bag, whereby the floor and shelter forming module can be erected on, and secured to land. 8. The apparatus of claim 1 which further comprises a weight-supporting element joined to the inflatable grille, a weight-containing member releasably attachable to fasteners secured to opposing surfaces of the weight-supporting element and a stabilizing weight element positioned for suspension in the weight-containing member, whereby the relative position of the weight-containing member can be changed in order to suspend the stabilizing weight element below the inflated grille, regardless of the initial orientation of the grille in the aquatic environment. 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the weight-supporting element is releasably attached to the weight-containing member by engagement of snap-hooks with receiving rings. 10. A rescue and safety device, comprising: an inflatable grille forming a periphery of said device and having a plurality of meshes coupled within the inner periphery of said grille, each mesh having a netting disposed therein, wherein said plurality of meshes and corresponding nettings form opposing and reversible underside and topside surfaces of said device; at least one bag removably coupled to one of the surfaces of said device, each bag including a first membrane being extendable from said bag across one of the meshes and corresponding netting and defining a floor surface along the topside surface, a second membrane being expandable from said bag and positioned over said floor, and a plurality of posts positioned in an upright direction between the floor surface and the second membrane to maintain said second membrane over the corresponding floor surface and define a shelter area therebetween; a plurality of handles removably attached to said opposing underside and topside surfaces of the device; and wherein each netting includes a sealable opening to provide access there through from either of the underside or topside surfaces. 11. The device of claim 10, wherein the at least one bag comprises a plurality of adjacent bags, wherein the first and second membranes from each bag are adapted for coupling to adjacent first and second membranes to form contiguous floors and corresponding shelters on said topside surface. 12. The device of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of safety belts removably attached to said opposing underside and topside surfaces of the device. 13. The device of claim 10, wherein said underside and topside surfaces comprise a plurality of fasteners for removebly attaching said first and second membranes about their respective peripheries. 14. The device of claim 10, wherein said second membrane expands into two parallelepipeds interconnected by an H-shaped structure, said H-shaped structure formed by a pair of opposing leg portions attached to opposing ends of a central portion, and a pair of rectangular fabric panels and four integral triangular panels, where the leg portions of the H-structure rotatably fold to a position substantially parallel with the central portion of the H-structure, said H-structure being stored in its folded position with said first and second membranes in said bag, said H-structure being reinforced when filled with one of water, gas, air, rods, or pipes on the sides of the H-structure, said H-structure having a pair of rectangular fabric panels and four integral triangular panels coupled over the H-structure, and wherein said four panels are formed as triangles and allow, when the H-structure is raised over the floor, closure of the shelter by fixing, on each side, one of said triangular panels over the other, and fixing a bottom periphery of the shelter to the top surface of the device. 15. The device of claim 10, wherein said at least one bag comprises at least two bags that are expandable into corresponding at least two structures, each structure including an H-shaped structure formed by a pair of opposing leg portions attached to opposing ends of a central portion, and a pair of rectangular fabric panels and four integral triangular panels, said at least two structures being interconnected by the central portion of the H-structure, which forms a roof, said structures being reinforced when filled with one of water, gas, air, rods, or pipes on the sides of the H-structure, and wherein said panels are formed as equilateral triangles that form sides and allow, when the structure is raised over the floor, closure of the shelter by connecting two triangles of the structure at each end one above the other in order to form a multiple shelter in the a form of a tunnel, wherein one rectangular fabric panel of each H-structure forms an inner wall that can be removeably attached to the floor, and wherein the periphery along the bottom of the shelter is fixed to the top surface of the device. 16. The device of claim 10, wherein said shelter comprises membranes associated with six bags that are expandable into corresponding six structures, each structure including an H-shaped structure formed by a pair of opposing leg portions attached to opposing ends of a central portion, and a pair of rectangular fabric panels and four integral triangular panels, said six structures being interconnected by the central portion of the H-structure, which forms a roof, said structures being reinforced when filled with one of water, gas, air, rods, or pipes on the sides of the H-structure, and wherein said panels are formed as equilateral triangles that form sides of the shelter and allow, when the structure is raised over the floor, closure of the shelter by connecting external two triangles of the structure at each end one above the other, and fixing two internal triangles of the structure to the rectangular panels forming the roof in order to form a multiple shelter in the a form of a tunnel, and wherein the periphery along the bottom of the shelter is fixed to the top surface of the device. 17. The device of claim 10, wherein said upright posts consist of folds, and are adapted to receive one of a fluid, a rod and a pipe. 18. The device of claim 10, wherein said shelter area is shaped as a pyramid having three sides that are inflatable by at least one of a pump, an air generator and a gas generator. 19. The device of claim 10, wherein said floor surface includes a plurality of apertures, where each aperture is sized to accommodate handle. 20. The device of claim, 10, wherein said second membrane includes three sides formed by panels having accordions for extending said panels to adjacent spaces. 21. The device of claim 10, wherein said at least one bag further comprises a telescoping mast and oars, the mast and oars being stored therein.