Automatic flotation release system

An aerial lift balloon and signalling components attached thereto are stored within a closure member held assembled with a breakaway housing to form a package storing an inflating device for the balloon. Removal of the closure member initiates inflation of the balloon and operation of the signalling components, while removal of an end cover of the package permits separation of the breakaway housing enabling the positioning of the inflating device by a flotation collar portion of the package for aerial launching of the balloon with the signalling components suspended therefrom.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to emergency location signalling devices of the type 
disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,253,573, with respect to which the 
present invention is an improvement. 
Location marking devices that are automatically released, launched and 
triggered into operation are well known as disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. 
Nos. 3,253,573 and 3,332,390. The automatic release of a marker buoy 
anchored to a submerged craft, and from which an aerial balloon is 
launched, is also known as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,470,783 to Mead. 
Also known are radio and light signalling components suspended from an 
inflated balloon anchored by a cable to its storage enclosure, as 
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,917 to McPherson. Other possibly relevant 
emergency location signalling devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 
2,821,725 and 4,102,296. 
Such prior art location signalling arrangements often require special craft 
or vehicle mounting facilities and/or impact responsive release means that 
create installation problems and introduce a certain degree of 
unreliability such as unintended trigger. It is therefore an important 
object of the present invention to provide a portable type of location 
signalling unit that may be carried by any type of vehicle or craft and 
triggered into operation either manually or automatically. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention, a flotation collar is tightly 
mounted on a compressed gas inflating cylinder of a portable unit to 
floatingly support the cylinder in water for aerial launching of a lift 
balloon stored within a signal cover assembled in abutment with the 
flotation collar to hold a releasable trigger mechanism in a latched 
condition. Separable breakaway housing sections are held assembled between 
the flotation collar and an inspection cover at the opposite axial end of 
the unit housing package having a signal cover to form a launching guide 
assembly and protectively enclose various components including the 
inflation cylinder and associated inflating mechanism, the aerial balloon 
device and associated check valve and releasable coupling mechanism, and 
cable storage means for anchoring and interconnecting cable lines. 
Signalling components including a radio transmitter, strobe light and 
batteries are also stored in the signal cover interconnected by suspension 
cable to the aerial balloon device. Removal of the inspection cover 
exposes one end of the inflation cylinder for servicing, while removal of 
the signal cover triggers operation of the signalling components and 
initiates inflation of the balloon. 
The signal cover may be automatically removed by buoyancy forces acting on 
the unit package in response to submerging of a craft on which the unit is 
carried with the end covers anchored by cable to the craft. Such removal 
of the covers causes separation of the breakaway housing section enabling 
the flotation collar to properly orientate the inflation cylinder at the 
water surface for aerial launching of the expanding balloon released upon 
removal of the signal cover. The floated inflation cylinder remains 
anchored by cable to the submerged craft while the balloon remains 
anchored to the cylinder with the operating signalling components 
suspended therefrom. 
These together with other objects and advantages which will become 
subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation 
as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to 
the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals 
refer to like parts throughout.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIG. 1 illustrates a typical 
emergency location indicating unit constructed in accordance with the 
present invention, and generally referred to by reference numeral 10. The 
unit is shown carried on some vehicle or craft 12, by means of a holding 
rack 14 from which the unit may be removed for servicing. Further, the 
unit may be loosely anchored to the craft 12 by means of a cable 16 
secured to some anchoring hardware 18. 
The unit 10 has an outer package housing launching guide assembly, formed 
by axial end closure members 20 and 22, intermediate flotation positioning 
means in the form of a support collar 24 and a plurality of separable 
breakaway housing sections 26 held assembled between the end closure 20 
and the flotation collar 24. In the illustrated embodiment, the housing 
assembly has an octagonal outer cross-section and forms a tubular 
enclosure between an end wall 28 of closure 22 and a cable storing plug 
member 30 of closure 20 as shown in FIG. 2. The anchoring cable 16 
aforementioned is secured to the end closures 20 and 22 by means of any 
suitable fittings 32 and 34. The housing assembly is furthermore made of 
flotation material. 
With continued reference to FIG. 2, the end closure 20 constitutes an 
inspection cover which is frictionally engaged with the breakaway housing 
sections 26 to hold the same assembled and is manually removable therefrom 
to expose the axial end of a compressed helium gas cylinder 36 forming 
part of a gas inflating mechanism protectively enclosed within the housing 
assembly. The cylinder may be refilled with pressurized gas through a 
filler valve fitting 38 that is opened or closed by means of valve handle 
40 upon removal of inspection cover member 20. A cable 42 interconnects 
the cylinder 36 with the inspection cover member and maybe stored in the 
plug 30, for purposes to be explained hereinafter. 
The breakaway housing sections 26 which may be four in number as more 
clearly seen in FIG. 6, have shouldered axial end portions 43 interfitted 
with the adjacent axial end portions 44 and 46 of the end cover 20 and 
positioning means or flotation collar 24 as shown in FIG. 2. When so 
interfitted, the sections 26 are held assembled to complete an enclosure 
for the cylinder. Removal of the inspection end cover 20 will therefore 
permit separation of the sections 26 from the cylinder 36 which remains 
tightly fitted within the flotation collar 24. The axial end 48 of collar 
24 opposite recessed end portion 46, abuts the axial end of closure member 
22 opposite the end wall 28. The closure member 22 constitutes a signal 
cover enclosing an inflatable aerial device or balloon 50 in a folded 
storage condition and releasable trigger means 52 for the inflating 
mechanism. The closure member 22 also has a plurality of axially elongated 
pockets 54 formed therein as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, within which 
batteries 56 and 58, radio transmitter 60 and strobe signalling light 62 
are retained. The components 56, 58, 60 and 62 form a signalling assembly 
that is held in a non-operating standby condition by the releasable 
trigger means 52 engaging a spring biased switch at 53 as long as the 
signal cover 22 is in engagement therewith as shown in FIG. 2. Further, 
the signalling components are electrically interconnected through switch 
53 for operation of the radio transmitter 60 and strobe light 62 by the 
energy stored in batteries 56 and 58. These signalling components are 
interconnected by a cable 64 to the aerial balloon device 50. 
Referring now to FIG. 3 in particular, the axial end of the cylinder 36 
projecting from the flotation collar 24 is threadedly connected by a 
coupling 68 to axial projection 70 on one side of the releasable trigger 
device 52 having an elongated tubular support 72 extending from the other 
axial side on which a cable storage 66 is held axially assembled by a 
retainer disc 74. Fixedly mounted on the tubular support 72 in axially 
spaced relation to the cable storage 66 is a gas inlet housing 76 for the 
aerial device 50 enclosing an inflation valve mechanism generally referred 
to be reference numeral 78. The valve mechanism includes a valve seat 
member 80 positioned within a tubular sleeve 82 positioning the housing 76 
on the tubular support 72. The valve seat member abuts one axial end of 
the tubular support and is secured by a rivet 84 centrally to a flexible 
valve disc 86 biased to a valve closing position in peripheral engagement 
with the valve seat member. The valve disc operates as a one-way check 
valve between a gas flow conduit formed by central bore 88 in the tubular 
support 72 and inlet opening 90 in the end wall 92 of housing 76 which is 
also formed with openings 94 establishing fluid communication between the 
interior of housing 76 and the interior of the expandable material of 
balloon 50 secured to the housing 76 and stored in the axial space between 
the end walls 92 and 28 of the housing 76 and the signal cover 22. A 
pressure sensing diaphragm 96 within the housing 76 is mounted on a piston 
housing 98 secured to the sleeve 82 for displacement of a release piston 
element 100 and a locking pin 102 extending transversely through the 
tubular support 72. The locking pin 102 is biased by a locking piston 104 
and spring 106 to the locking position shown in FIG. 3. Displacement of 
locking pin 102 by the piston element 100 in response to pressurization of 
the balloon 50 releases or uncouples the sleeve 82 and balloon 50 from the 
tubular support 72. 
In the storage condition of the balloon as shown in FIG. 3, discharge of 
compressed gas from cylinder 36 into the bore 88 of the tubular support is 
blocked by a disc 108 of the inflating mechanism held assembled by a 
washer 110 within coupling 68. A puncture pin 112 having a piston portion 
114 is slidably disposed within the bore 88 under the bias of a puncture 
spring 116. The puncture pin is held retracted against the bias of spring 
116 by the releasable trigger device 52 which includes a retainer pin 118 
slidably mounted within a transverse bore in an annular body 120 on which 
the signal cover 22 is supported. The retainer pin 118 is held in the 
position engaging the piston portion 114 of the puncture pin, as shown, by 
the signal cover. It will be apparent that upon removal of the signal 
cover from the body 120 of the trigger device, retainer spring 122 will 
retract retainer pin 118 enabling spring 116 to project the puncture pin 
against disc 108 to rupture it and initiate inflation of the balloon by 
discharge of pressurized gas into the bore 88 past the ruptured disc 108. 
Pressurization of the balloon uncouples it from the tubular support as 
aforementioned so that it is free to be launched into the atmosphere under 
the expanding action of the gas and its increasing air buoyancy. As the 
balloon rises, a cable 124 attached to the housing wall 126 is withdrawn 
from the cable storage 66 to which the cable 124 remains anchored. 
The launching operation of the unit 10 is illustrated in FIGS. 7a, 7b, 7c 
and 7d. The unit 10 is carried by way of example, on a marine craft 12 to 
which it is anchored as shown in FIG. 7a. Assuming that the craft 12 sinks 
under some emergency situation as shown in FIG. 7b, the unit 10 being 
enclosed by flotation material begins to rise from the craft 12. The cable 
16 anchored to craft 12 resists buoyancy forces exerted on the end covers 
20 and 22 to pull them off the unit as the unit continues to rise under 
the buoyancy forces exerted on the flotation collar 24 as shown in FIG. 
7c. Removal of the end cover 20, causes the breakaway housing sections 26 
to separate from the cylinder 36, while removal of end cover 22 initiates 
operation of the signalling components 56-62 which remain connected by 
cable 64 to each other and to the aerial balloon device 50. The signalling 
components are also withdrawn from the end cover 22 as the balloon and 
inflating device rise above end cover 22 which remains anchored therebelow 
to the craft 12 by means of cable 16. The balloon and inflating device 
rise to the surface and are operatively orientated or positioned upright 
as shown in FIG. 7d by the flotation collar 24 for launching of the 
balloon into the atmosphere as shown in FIG. 7d. The cable 124 pays out 
and the signalling components 56-62 are lifted by the balloon and remain 
suspended therefrom by cable 64 to emit radio signals from transmitter 60 
and visual signals from strobe light 62 in order to indicate the location 
of the craft 12 submerged within the body of water 128 therebelow. 
It will be apparent that the unit 10 may be carried in other types of craft 
or vehicles, including aircraft. Further, the unit may be triggered into 
operation by manual removal of signal end cover 22 initiating inflation of 
the balloon 50 and operation of the signalling components to launch the 
location indicating balloon 50 into the atmosphere from any location to 
which the inflating cylinder 36 remain anchored by cables 42 and 16. 
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the 
invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily 
occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the 
invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and 
accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted 
to, falling within the scope of the invention.