Device for inflating a container or a floating body, more particularly a life jacket

A device for inflating a container or a floating body, more particularly a life jacket, with the aid of a cartridge filled with pressure gas which possesses a neck being provided with an external thread and sealed with a diaphragm at the upper side, the device comprising:

• a housing within which a bore having a corresponding internal thread for screwing in said pressure gas cartridge, and an opening cutter having a piercing portion for piercing the diaphragm of the pressure gas cartridge screwed in, said opening cutter being movable towards the diaphragm as a result of the force of a spring releasing the tension, which spring is held in a pretensioned position with the aid of a retaining element and is relieved when actuating said device by moving said retaining element;
• and
• a releasing unit for releasing the retaining unit, said releasing unit comprising first means responding to the presence of water, and second means which in response to said first means release said retaining element held in the retaining position, wherein said first means comprises a sensor which transmits an electric signal and said second means comprises an electrically controllable locking means which, in the operative state, keeps said retaining element in the retaining position and releases the same in the case of release;
• wherein said sensor is a resistance sensor and/or a capacitive sensor, wherein within said housing at the bottom end of said shifting member as a retaining element a single-armed releasing lever at one end is mounted pivotally across shifting direction of said shifting member and with one lever arm projects into said releasing unit, and wherein said electrically controllable locking means comprises a locking plunger which with a plunger head acts upon said lever arm of said releasing lever and with its other end is supported by an electrically destructible locking element.

A device for inflating a container or a floating body, more particularly a life jacket, with the aid of a cartridge filled with pressure gas which possesses a neck being provided with an external thread and sealed with a diaphragm at the upper side, the device comprising:

• a housing within which a bore having a corresponding internal thread for screwing in said pressure gas cartridge, and an opening cutter having a piercing portion for piercing the diaphragm of the pressure gas cartridge screwed in, said opening cutter being movable towards the diaphragm as a result of the force of a spring releasing the tension, which spring is held in a pretensioned position with the aid of a retaining element and is relieved when actuating said device by moving said retaining element;
• and
• a releasing unit for releasing the retaining unit, said releasing unit comprising first means responding to the presence of water, and second means which in response to said first means release said retaining element held in the retaining position, wherein said first means comprises a sensor which transmits an electric signal and said second means comprises an electrically controllable locking means which, in the operative state, keeps said retaining element in the retaining position and releases the same in the case of release;
• wherein said sensor is a resistance sensor and/or a capacitive sensor, wherein within said housing at the bottom end of said shifting member as a retaining element a single-armed releasing lever at one end is mounted pivotally across shifting direction of said shifting member and with one lever arm projects into said releasing unit, and wherein said electrically controllable locking means comprises a locking lever which, in the operative state of the device, with one lever end is supported by a locking pawl adapted to be withdrawn with the aid of an electromagnet to, in this way, hold said retaining element in its retaining position and, in the case of release, is pivoted about a pivoted axis for releasing said retaining element.

A device for inflating a container or a floating body, more particularly a life jacket, with the aid of a cartridge filled with pressure gas which possesses a neck being provided with an external thread and sealed with a diaphragm at the upper side, the device comprising:

• a housing within which a bore having a corresponding internal thread for screwing in said pressure gas cartridge, and an opening cutter having a piercing portion for piercing the diaphragm of the pressure gas cartridge screwed in, said opening cutter being movable towards the diaphragm as a result of the force of a spring releasing the tension, which spring is held in a pretensioned position with the aid of a retaining element and is relieved when actuating said device by moving said retaining element;
• and
• a releasing unit for releasing the retaining unit, said releasing unit comprising first means responding to the presence of water, and second means which in response to said first means release said retaining element held in the retaining position, wherein said first means comprises a sensor which transmits an electric signal and said second means comprises an electrically controllable locking means which, in the operative state, keeps said retaining element in the retaining position and releases the same in the case of release;
• wherein said pressure gas container can be screwed into the bore, with said spring being tensioned at the same time;
• wherein said spring can be tensioned by means of a shifting member displaceably guided within said housing and acting upon said spring, and, while screwing in said pressure gas bottle from an initial position in the pretensioning direction of said spring, said shifting member is displaceable from said pressure gas container;
• and
• wherein at the bottom end of said shifting member as a retaining element a single-armed releasing lever at one end is mounted pivotally across shifting direction of said shifting member, said releasing lever with one lever arm projects into said releasing unit and is held there in the retaining position, and wherein said releasing lever with its lever arm acts upon said spring so that it tensions said spring when said shifting member is moved in while screwing in said pressure gas container and keeps said spring in its tensioned position while being held in its retaining position, and that said releasing lever acts upon said opening cutter in the direction of piercing.

A device for inflating a container or a floating body, more particularly a life jacket, with the aid of a cartridge filled with pressure gas which possesses a neck being provided with an external thread and sealed with a diaphragm at the upper side, the device comprising:

• a housing within which a bore having a corresponding internal thread for screwing in said pressure gas cartridge, and an opening cutter having a piercing portion for piercing the diaphragm of the pressure gas cartridge screwed in, said opening cutter being movable towards the diaphragm as a result of the force of a spring releasing the tension, which spring is held in a pretensioned position with the aid of a retaining element and is relieved when actuating said device by moving said retaining element;
• and
• a releasing unit for releasing the retaining unit, said releasing unit comprising first means responding to the presence of water, and second means which in response to said first means release said retaining element held in the retaining position, wherein said first means comprises a sensor which transmits an electric signal and said second means comprises an electrically controllable locking means which, in the operative state, keeps said retaining element in the retaining position and releases the same in the case of release;
• wherein as a sensor a resistance sensor and a capacitive sensor are provided, said two sensors are connected to two inputs of a control circuit, and wherein said control circuit actuates a release switch as soon as one of said two sensors signalizes the necessity of causing release.

A device for inflating a container or a floating body, more particularly a life jacket, with the aid of a cartridge filled with pressure gas which possesses a neck being provided with an external thread and sealed with a diaphragm at the upper side, the device comprising:

• a housing within which a bore having a corresponding internal thread for screwing in said pressure gas cartridge, and an opening cutter having a piercing portion for piercing the diaphragm of the pressure gas cartridge screwed in, said opening cutter being movable towards the diaphragm as a result of the force of a spring releasing the tension, which spring is held in a pretensioned position with the aid of a retaining element and is relieved when actuating said device by moving said retaining element;
• and
• a releasing unit for releasing the retaining unit, said releasing unit comprising first means responding to the presence of water, and second means which in response to said first means release said retaining element held in the retaining position, wherein said first means comprises a sensor which transmits an electric signal and said second means comprises an electrically controllable locking means which, in the operative state, keeps said retaining element in the retaining position and releases the same in the case of release;
• wherein said sensor is a capacitive sensor, said capacitive sensor together with a series resistance forms a voltage divider, said voltage divider is connected to the output of an oscillator, the voltage pulses lost in said voltage divider are applied to the input of a threshold circuit, said threshold circuit is connected to a counting means, the clock input of which is connected to the output of said oscillator and the reset input of which is connected to the output of said threshold circuit, and wherein a release switch is actuated for releasing said electrically controllable locking means.

A device for inflating a container or a floating body, more particularly a life jacket, with the aid of a cartridge filled with pressure gas which possesses a neck being provided with an external thread and sealed with a diaphragm at the upper side, the device comprising:

• a housing within which a bore having a corresponding internal thread for screwing in said pressure gas cartridge, and an opening cutter having a piercing portion for piercing the diaphragm of the pressure gas cartridge screwed in, said opening cutter being movable towards the diaphragm as a result of the force of a spring releasing the tension, which spring is held in a pretensioned position with the aid of a retaining element and is relieved when actuating said device by moving said retaining element;
• and
• a releasing unit for releasing the retaining unit, said releasing unit comprising first means responding to the presence of water, and second means which in response to said first means release said retaining element held in the retaining position, wherein said first means comprises a sensor which transmits an electric signal and said second means comprises an electrically controllable locking means which, in the operative state, keeps said retaining element in the retaining position and releases the same in the case of release;
• wherein said sensor is a resistance sensor, said resistance sensor together with another resistance sensor forms a voltage divider, that the voltage lost in said voltage divider is applied to the input of a threshold circuit, that the output signal of said threshold circuit drives an oscillator, and wherein the oscillations of said oscillator are counted by a subsequent counting means in order to actuate a release switch for releasing said electrically controllable locking means as soon as a predetermined counter reading is reached.

A device for inflating a container or a floating body, more particularly a life jacket, from a pressure gas container, which possesses a neck provided with an external thread and sealed with a diaphragm on the top side, which device comprises a housing, wherein a housing bore provided with a matching internal thread for screwing the pressure gas container in and an opening cutter having a prong for piercing the diagram of the screwed-in pressure gas container is disposed, in which the opening cutter is movable by means of the force of a spring whose tension is released against the diaphragm, which spring is retained in a pretensioned position with the aid of a retaining element and, when said device is rendered operative, is released by the retaining element being moved and which device comprises a triggering or actuating unit comprising first means responding to the presence of water, and second means which, in dependence of the first means, release the retaining element held in the retaining position, characterized in that the device is divided into two portions, one portion, into which the pressure gas bottle is screwed and which contains the mechanical means for piercing the diaphragm, and a second portion, the triggering means, which is replaceable, comprising first means which respond to the presence of water and second means which, in dependence of the first means, release the retaining element assuming the retaining position.