Abstract:
Disclosed is an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system which advantageously makes it possible to shorten the air injection time, thus quickly taking a proper measure under an emergency situation, in such a manner that a speed tube or an air passage tube disposed in the boat&#39;s body and an air distribution system each help inject compressed air into a plurality of compartments forming the boat&#39;s body simultaneously at a designated pressure.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-21025 filed on Mar. 9, 2011, the entire contents of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system, and more particularly it relates to an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system which advantageously makes it possible to shorten the air injection time, thus quickly taking a proper measure under an emergency situation, in such a manner that a speed tube or an air passage tube disposed in the boat&#39;s body and an air distribution system each help inject compressed air into a plurality of compartments forming the boat&#39;s body simultaneously at a designated pressure. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    As shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , a conventional inflatable boat  1  comprises a boat body  10  formed of a plurality of compartments, a floor  20 , a keel  30  and a speed tube  40 . The inflatable boat  1  becomes floatable on water with the aid of the compartments  12  filled with air and moves by a driving force generated by a motor or paddle. 
         [0004]    In the conventional inflatable boat  1 , the air is injected into each compartment  12  in such a manner that an air injection valve V 1  and an over pressure relief valve V 2  are installed at each compartment  12 , thus injecting air into each compartment separately one by one, which is time and energy consuming. 
         [0005]    For example, in the conventional inflatable boat  1  each compartment  12  of a tube type body part  10  is equipped with an air injection valve V 1  and an over pressure relief valve V 2 , which consequently leads to causing inconvenience that air should be separately injected into each valve (compartment) one by one. 
         [0006]    A self-inflation system for an inflatable boat has been disclosed in an attempt to improve the problems encountered in the above conventional art. The self-inflation system comprises a body part  10 , a floor  20 , a keel  30  and a plurality of hoses (not shown) and valves each installed at a speed tube  40 , thus more efficiently injecting air with the aid of the above elements. 
         [0007]    However, the conventional self inflation system for an inflatable boat still has a lot of problems in that air is injected using a plurality of air injection hoses, which results in an overly complicated system with more possible failure points. 
         [0008]    So, it is beneficial to develop a new boat having more practical and simple air injection functions, avoiding the complicated structures of the conventional art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system which advantageously makes it possible to more efficiently inject air into a boat body, a floor, a keel and a speed tube each formed of compartments at a certain pressure level almost simultaneously by using compressed air from a compressed air supply source. 
         [0010]    It is another object of the present invention to provide an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system which makes it possible to significantly reduce the amount of time and effort when air is injected into an inflatable boat. 
         [0011]    It is further another object of the present invention to provide an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system which makes it possible to more efficiently inject air by connecting an air compressor instead of a compressed air vessel when a compressed air vessel is not available or prepared, and further makes it possible to inject air in a method like in a conventional inflatable boat by using an air injection valve attached to each compartment if necessary. 
         [0012]    It is still further another object of the present invention to provide an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system which makes it possible to inject air into a boat in a method of either using a compressed air vessel or not using a compressed air vessel, thus obtaining more versatile possibilities when in use. 
         [0013]    To achieve the above objects, there is provided an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system which comprises a tube shaped body part having a plurality of compartments in its interior; a speed tube installed at each of both lower sides of the tube shaped body part; a compressed air supply part which includes a compressed air supply source for generating or storing compressed air, thus supplying the compressed air to the speed tubes, respectively; an air distributor which supplies the air of a designated pressure to each compartment of the body part from the speed tubes; and an air connection part which supplies the air from the body part to the keel at a designated pressure, so the air of the designated pressure can be supplied to each compartment of the body part and the keel from the compressed air supply part via the speed tubes, thus inflating the boat. 
         [0014]    To achieve the above objects, there is provided an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system which comprises a tube shaped body part having a plurality of compartments in its interior; an air passage tube which is embedded in a longitudinal direction in both inner sides of the tube shaped body part; a compressed air supply part which includes a compressed air supply source for generating or storing compressed air, thus supplying the compressed air to the air passage tubes, respectively; an air distributor which supplies the air of a designated pressure to each compartment of the body part from the air passage tubes; and an air connection part which supplies the air from the body part to the keel at a designated pressure, so the air of the designated pressure can be supplied to each compartment of the body part and the keel from the compressed air supply part via the air passage tubes, thus inflating the boat. 
         [0015]    It is preferred that the compressed air supply part is characterized in that the compressed air supply source is formed of a compressed air vessel or an air compressor, thus supplying the compressed air to each of both sides of the tube shaped body part via the air distributor and the high pressure hose. 
         [0016]    In one aspect of the present invention it is not needed to inject air into each compartment one by one by using an air injection valve attached to each compartment. According to the present invention, air can be injected almost simultaneously into each compartment at a desired air pressure via an air distributor which injects high pressure compressed air, thus quickly injecting air at one time under an emergency situation. With the above features, the present invention can be well applied to a rescue boat system which operates all the time under emergency conditions or can be well applied for the purpose of military applications when rapid deployment is required. Even when one compartment of the body part is damaged, the remaining compartments remain safe, thus ensuring the safety of the boat and its passengers. 
         [0017]    As another feature of the present invention, first and second over pressure relief valves are additionally attached to each compartment, maintaining a conventional air injection valve attached to each compartment at a designated air pressure. The present invention is directed to a self-inflation system structure which makes it possible to inject air into a plurality of compartments at one time at a designated air pressure since the compressed air from the compressed air supply source is uniformly injected into each compartment via the first and second over pressure relief valves. 
         [0018]    According to the present invention, it is possible to allow the designed functions requiring different air pressures in different compartments of an inflatable boat to operate completely since air pressures with different compressed levels can be injected into each compartment by using first and second over pressure relief valves additionally attached to each compartment. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]    The present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings which are given only by way of illustration and thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein; 
           [0020]      FIG. 1A  is a plane view illustrating a conventional inflatable boat; 
           [0021]      FIG. 1B  is a cross sectional view illustrating a conventional inflatable boat; 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is a plane view illustrating an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system according to the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  is a view illustrating an air injection flow of an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system according to the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 4A  is a side view illustrating an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system according to the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 4B  is a cross sectional view illustrating an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system according to the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 5A  is a perspective view illustrating the closed state of a manual opening and closing valve fitted to an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system according to the present invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 5B  is a perspective view illustrating the opened state of a manual opening and closing valve fitted to an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system according to the present invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 6  is a view illustrating an air injection flow of an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 7A  is a side view illustrating another example of an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system according to the present invention; and 
           [0030]      FIG. 7B  is a cross sectional view illustrating another example of an inflatable boat having a self-inflation system according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0031]    The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIGS. 2 to 4 , the inflatable boat  100  according to aspects of the present invention comprises an air injection valve V 1  attached to each compartment  112  formed in the body part  110 , with the air injection valve V 1  being the same as a conventional one. 
         [0033]    In embodiments of the present invention, a first over pressure relief valve  162  and a second over pressure relief valve V 2  are attached to each compartment  112 , thus maintaining the air pressure of each compartment  112  at a designated pressure. When the pressure exceeds the designated pressure, the over filled air is automatically discharged to the outside. 
         [0034]    In the inflatable boat  100  according to embodiments of the present invention, the compartments  112  are partitioned in the interior of the body part  110  with the aid of the bulkheads  118 . 
         [0035]    The inflatable boat  100  according to the present invention comprises a compressed air supply source  120  for generating or storing compressed air, and a compressed air supply part  140  for supplying the compressed air to the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b,  respectively. 
         [0036]    As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4B , the compressed air supply part  140  comprises an compressed air vessel corresponding to the compressed air supply source  120  installed at the boat. 
         [0037]    The compressed air supply part  140  makes it possible to inject air into each compartment  112  simultaneously by supplying the compressed air via the compressed air supply source  120 , one or two high pressure hoses  124 , high pressure first and second valves  142  and  146 , a high pressure tube  144  and speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b.    
         [0038]    The compressed air supply source  120  of the compressed air supply part  140  is formed of either a compressed air storage vessel or an air compressor, which can be selected by a user. 
         [0039]    As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the compressed air supply part  140  can supply compressed air into both sides of the tube type body part  110  via the air distributor  122  and the high pressure hose  124  each connected with the compressed air supply source  120 . 
         [0040]    The compressed air supply part  140  is constituted with one end of the high pressure hose  124  connected with the high pressure first valve  142  which is installed at the compartment  112  of the tube type body part  110 , and the high pressure first valve  142  is connected with the high pressure second valve  146  installed at the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  via the high pressure tube  144 . 
         [0041]    The high pressure first valve  142  and the high pressure second valve  146  both are formed of one way valves, thus supplying in only one direction the compressed air from the compressed air supply source  120  to the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b.    
         [0042]    The compressed air supply part  140  is constituted with one high pressure first valve  142  attached to the compartment  112  positioned at both sides of the body part  110  and the air injection high pressure hose  124  is connected to the high pressure first valve  142 . 
         [0043]    The high pressure first valve  142  attached to the tube type body part  110  is attached to allow the air to inject only into the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  via the high pressure tube  144  separately made and attached in the interior of the body part  110 . As shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the high pressure tube  144  is connected with the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  below the body part  110 , respectively. 
         [0044]    The speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  both are attached to the boat for increasing the speed of boat by enhancing buoyancy along with safe cornering. The speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  are installed at both lower sides of the body part  110  and are formed in the I-shaped tubes each having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the body part  110 . The high pressure tube  144  is attached in such a manner that the high pressure first valve  142  is connected to a portion previously formed in the compartment  112  of the body part  110 . 
         [0045]    The other end of the high pressure tube  144  is attached to the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  via the high pressure second valve  146  so that the air injection is directed into the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b.    
         [0046]    When air is injected with the aid of the first and second valves  142  and  146  and the high pressure tube  144 , the air can be injected into only the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  attached to the lower side of the body part  110  irrespective of the body part  110 . 
         [0047]    The inflatable boat  100  according to the present invention further comprises an air distributor  160  for uniformly supplying the air of the designated pressure from the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  into each compartment  112  of the body part  110 . 
         [0048]    The air distributor  160  helps uniformly inject the compressed air simultaneously from the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  into the body part  110 . 
         [0049]    The air distributor  160  comprises a first over pressure relief valve  162  at every connection portion where the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  and the body part  110  are connected, namely, at every connection portion being connected to the compartment  112  of the body part  110 , thus allowing the air to inject from the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  into the body part  110 . 
         [0050]    In the completed boat, the air is injected using the high pressure hose  124 . When the air injected into the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  reaches a certain designated pressure level, the first over pressure relief valve  162  is open, and the air is injected into all compartments  112  of the body part  110  simultaneously. 
         [0051]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the inflatable boat  100  according to the present invention comprises an air connection part  180  for injecting the compressed air from the body part  110  to the keel  170  at a designated pressure. 
         [0052]    It is preferred that the air is injected into the keel  170  via the air connection part  180  in such a manner that an air flow passage is formed of a connection hose  182  allowing the air to communicate with the keel  170 , thus efficiently injecting the air into the keel  170  via the air connection part  180 . 
         [0053]    The connection hose  182  is connected with the body part  110  and the keel  170  at both sides via the air injection valve  186 . A closing device, namely, a manual opening and closing valve  184 , is attached at the connection hose  182 . After the air injection into the keel  170  is finished, the user closes the air flow between the body part  110  and the keel  170  by closing the manual opening and closing valve  184 . 
         [0054]    In the inflatable boat  100  according to the present invention, the compressed air in the compressed air vessel is injected into the air distributor  122  and moves to the high pressure first valve  142  attached to the body part  110  via the high pressure distribution hose  124  connected to the air distributor  122 . 
         [0055]    The high pressure first valve  142  attached to the body part  110  is attached to the portion closest to the compression air vessel, namely, to the rear compartment  112  of the inflatable boat, according to which the unnecessary length of the high pressure hose  124  can be shortened, thus simplifying the construction. 
         [0056]    The high pressure first valve  142  is installed to one end of the high pressure tube  144  which is previously made and attached to an inner side of the body part  110 , thus preventing the air from flowing directly into the body part  110 . 
         [0057]    The high pressure first valve  142  is a one way valve which allows air to inject only in one way. The air injected via the high pressure first valve  142  is supplied to the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  via the high pressure tube  144  and the high pressure second valve  146  connected to the other end of the high pressure tube  144 . 
         [0058]    The speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  have diameters each being smaller than the diameter of the body part  110 . As shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  are equipped with as many of the first over pressure relief valves  162  as the number of the compartments  112  of the body part  110 . 
         [0059]    The first over pressure relief valve  162  is connected in such a manner that the first over relief valve  162  is installed at every portion of the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  corresponding to each compartment  112  between the bulkheads  118  of the body part  110 . 
         [0060]    The air flow direction of the first over pressure relief valve  162  heads from the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  to the compartment  112  of the body part  110 , so the air moved to the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  can be injected into each compartment  112  of the body part  110  via the first over pressure relief valve  162 . 
         [0061]    The first over pressure relief valve  162  is a device for preventing the reverse flow of the air. Even if the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  are damaged, it is possible to prevent the air of the body part  110  from flowing in a reverse direction and leaking to the outside via the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b.    
         [0062]    The air injected into the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  is injected into each compartment  112  of the body part  110  via the first over pressure relief valve  162  attached to the body part  110 , thus maintaining a designated air pressure. 
         [0063]    At this time, when the air pressure exceeds about 2.5 bar which is a designated air pressure, only the part of the over pressure is relieved via another second over pressure relief valve V 2  installed at each compartment  112  of the body part  110 , so only the designated air pressure consequently remains in the compartment  112 . 
         [0064]      FIG. 4B  shows the construction of the left side body part  110  in which the air is introduced into the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b  via the high pressure tube  144  from the compression tank which functions like the compressed air source  120 . In case of the right side body part  110 , the air is introduced via the distribution  122  in the same manner as the above. In  FIG. 4B , the above construction and operation are omitted for simplification. 
         [0065]    The air is inputted into each compartment  112  of the body part  110  via the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b,  respectively. As shown in  FIG. 4B , the air flows into the keel  170  via the air injection valve  186 , a one way valve, attached at one side of the body part  110 . 
         [0066]    As shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , a manual opening and closing valve  184  is attached at the connection hose  182 , with the manual opening and closing valve  184  operating like an opening and closing device for controlling the flow of the air. After the air injection into the keel  170  is finished, the manual opening and closing valve  184  is positioned in the closed position. Since the manual opening and closing valve  184  is closed in the above manner, it is possible to prevent the air flowing into a certain problematic portion connected with the keel  170  from which portion the air might leak, thus obtaining a safe operation. 
         [0067]      FIG. 5A  is a view illustrating a state that the manual opening and closing valve  184  is closed, and  FIG. 5B  is view illustrating a state that the manual opening and closing valve  184  is open. 
         [0068]    The inflatable boat  100  according to the present invention might be operated to inject the air into each compartment  112  by using the air injection valve V 1  attached to each compartment of the body part  110 . Alternatively the inflatable boat  100  according to the present invention  100  might be designed to more quickly inject air into each compartment  112  via one or two high pressure tubes  144  and the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b,  so it is possible to quickly inflate the boat under an emergency situation. 
         [0069]    The inflatable boat  100  according to the present invention can be well applied to a rescue boat or a military boat which needs to be inflated extremely quickly. In the present invention, even when at least one compartment among the plurality of the compartment  112  of the body part  110  is damaged, the remaining compartments  112  can operate normally, thus obtaining a safe operation. 
         [0070]    According to the present invention, compressed air of high pressure can be quickly injected into each compartment  112  of the body part  110  with the aid of the air distributor  160 . In addition, the inflatable boat  100  according to the present invention makes it possible to inject different pressure air into the compartments  112  by using the first and second over pressure relief valves  162 , V 2  attached to each compartment  112 , which results in optimizing the functions of different parts of inflatable boats which require inflation at different air pressures to operate correctly. 
         [0071]    The inflatable boat  200  according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows. 
         [0072]    The inflatable boat  200  according to the present invention has a known boat structure.  FIGS. 6 and 7A  and  7 B show a method of attaching the air passage tube  230  in the known boat structure without the speed tubes  130   a  and  130   b.  The air passage tube  230  is longitudinally embedded in a small tube shape at an inner lower side of the body part  210  before the compartments  212  are formed using the bulkheads  218  in the course of the manufacture of the body part  210 . A plurality of the compartments  212  are formed at an inner side of the body part  210 . 
         [0073]    According to this other embodiment of the present invention, the inflatable boat is provided with the compressed air supply source  220 . There is provided a compressed air supply part  240  supplying the compressed air to the air passage tube  230 . 
         [0074]    The compressed air supply source  220  of the compressed air supply part  240  is formed of a compressed air vessel or an air compressor, thus supplying the compressed air into both sides of the tube type body part  210  via the air distributor  222  and the high pressure hose  224 . 
         [0075]    The compressed air supply part  240  is configured in such a manner that the end portion of the high pressure hose  224  is connected to a high pressure third valve  234  of the air passage tube  230  embedded in the tube type body part  210 , and the high pressure third valve  234  is formed of one way valve allowing one direction flow of the compressed air heading for the air passage tube  230  from the compressed air supply source  220 , thus supplying the compressed air to the air passage tube  230 . 
         [0076]    The air passage tube  230  is attached to an inner side of the body part  210 . In addition, the air passage tube  230  might be attached along the inner side of the body part  210  in a U-shape or might be attached to each of both sides in an I-shape. When the air passage tube  230  is formed in a U-shape, as shown in  FIG. 7B , the high pressure hose  224  and the third valve  234  might be connected at only one side, thus injecting compressed air in all of the compartments  112 . In case of two I-shapes, it is preferred that the high pressure hose  224  and the third valve  234  are connected with the air passage tube  230  at both the left and right sides so as to obtain stability in the course of injecting air, while balancing left and right sides, thus injecting compressed air simultaneously into the left and right sides. 
         [0077]    The inflatable boat  200  according to the present invention is equipped with an air distributor  260  for supplying the air of a designated pressure into each compartment  212  of the body part  210  from the air passage tube  230 . The air distributor  260  is formed of a first over pressure relief valve  262  at a portion corresponding to each compartment  212 , with the air injection direction of the first over pressure relief valve  262  heading for the inner side of the body part  210  from the air passage tube  230 . 
         [0078]    When the compressed air is injected into the air passage tube  230  via the third valve  234  of the compressed air supply part  240 , the air is first injected into the air passage tube  230  irrespective of the body part  210 . When the air passage tube  230  has a certain pressure level, the first over pressure relief valve  262  is opened, and the compressed air of high pressure is simultaneously injected into each compartment  212  of the body part  210 . 
         [0079]    The air passage tube  230  can include many over pressure relief valves  262  as there are compartments  212  of the body part  210  and they are located at each compartment  212  between the bulkheads  218 . The first over pressure relief valve  262  is one way valve in which the flowing direction of the compressed air heads from the air passage tube  230  to the body part  210 , according to which the air is injected into each compartment  212  of the body part  210 . 
         [0080]    The first over pressure relief valve  262  is attached to allow even lower pressure air to flow toward each compartment  212  of the body part  210  via the air passage tube  230 . Since the first over pressure relief valve  262  is provided with a device preventing a reverse flow of the air, even if one or more compartment of the compartments  212  of the body part  210  is damaged, the air in the remaining compartments  212  of the body part  210  does not reversely flow via the air passage tube  230 . 
         [0081]    When the air injected into the air passage tube  230  moves into each compartment  212  of the body part  210  via the first over pressure relief valve  262  attached to the body part  210  and reaches a designated pressure, the air pressure is maintained at about 0.25 bar which is a designated pressure. When the compressed air exceeds the designated pressure, only the excess pressure is relieved via the second over pressure valve V 2  attached to each compartment  212  of the body part  210 , so the air pressure level consequently remains at a designated pressure. 
         [0082]    The air injected into the air passage tube  230  moves into each compartment  212  of the body part  210  via the first over pressure relief valve  262  attached to the body part  210 , thus maintaining an air pressure at about 0.25 bar. 
         [0083]    The inflatable boat  200  according to the present invention comprises an air connection part  280  which supplies the compressed air from the body part  210  to the keel  270  at a designated pressure. 
         [0084]    The air connection part  280  allows the air injected into the body part  210  via the air passage tube  230  to move toward the keel  270  via the air injection valves  286 , one way valves, attached at one side of the body part  210  and one side of the Keel  270 . 
         [0085]    The connection hose  282  of the air connection part  280  comprises an opening and closing device, namely, as shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , a manual opening and closing valve  184  which controls the flow of air. The user positions the manual opening and closing valve  284  in the closed position after the air injection into the keel  270  is finished. The manual opening and closing valve  284  is positioned in the closed position to prevent the air from moving toward a problematic compartment  212  even if the air leaks due to a problem at the compartment  212  of the body part  210  communicating with the keel  270 . 
         [0086]    In the inflatable boat  200  according to the present invention, the compressed air might be injected into each compartment  212  by using the air injection valve V 1  attached to each compartment  212 . Alternatively the inflatable boat  200  according to the present invention might be characterized in that the compressed air can be injected almost simultaneously into each compartment  212  via the high pressure third valve  234 , which is installed at one or two positions, the air passage tube  230  installed in the body part  210  and the air distributor  260 . Therefore, the inflatable boat  200  according to the present invention can be quickly inflated and used in case of an emergency situation. The inflatable boat  200  according to the present invention can be well applied to a rescue boat, a military purpose or other purposes. Even if one or more compartment among a plurality of compartments  212  is damaged, the remaining compartments  212  remain safe from the damage, thus obtaining the safest operation. 
         [0087]    As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described examples are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the meets and bounds of the claims, or equivalences of such meets and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.