MARINE ESCAPE SYSTEMS

Abstract: A marine escape system has a passage (13; 30, 31, 32) extending between an evacuation point on a vessel and an inflatable life raft. The passage (13; 30, 31, 32) is arranged vertically and is connected to a succession of hoops (15). The connection between at least one of the hoops (15) and the life raft is by means of flexible elongate members (24) of differing flexibility. These are held in tension so that, as the life rafts move on swell, the passage extends and retracts from the lower end first. This allows the passage (13; 30, 31, 32) to have only one exit which can be within a life raft (12) so that persons can evacuate from the ship without ever being exposed to the elements. The passage may include a helical tube (13) or a tube (30, 31, 32) with angled panels (40).

Description: MARINE ESCAPE SYSTEMS The invention relates to marine escape systems. A marine escape system is used for evacuating people from a structure at sea in the event of an emergency. Such a structure may be an oil rig or a ship. One form of marine escape system includes liferafts into which the people are evacuated. Since, when liferafts are deployed on water, there is usually a significant difference in height (freeboard) between the point on the structure from which the people are evacuated and the liferafts, it is necessary to provide some form of passage between the two. It is known to provide an angled chute, which may be formed from inflatable members, extending between the evacuation point and the liferafts. The chute can extend either direct to the liferafts or to an inflatable floating structure to which the liferafts are attached. In some vessels, the freeboard may be 14-15 metres and so the chute is of significant length. Recent sinkings of ships have placed greater emphasis on the need to evacuate marine structures quickly in the event of an emergency It is Ixkely to be a requirement that any sea¬ going vesεel must be able to evacuate 400 people m 17 minutes 40 seconds In addition, it is likely to be a requirement that any marine escape syεtem must be able to operate in force six weather which will include a 3 metre swell and that the marine escape system must be usable for a considerable period of time with the vessel side-on to the sea An angled chute is not readily able to meet such a requirement Since the chute projects from the side of a vessel it requires stabilization in order to prevent significant lateral movements m heavy weather Further, to accommodate such weather, the chute must be comparatively rigid and this can increase significantly the bulk of the chute Marine escape systems have alεo been proposed in which the connection between the evacuation point and the inflatable liferafts is via a tube containing a helical slide passage A person entering the passage at the escape point travels in a helical path along the passage and emerges at an exit at the lower end of the tube A tube requires less stabilization than a chute against lateral movement in heavy weather However, the tube haε the problem of accommodating swell which, as mentioned above, may alter the freeboard of a vessel by six or more metres It has previously been proposed to accommodate this by making the tube of flexible material with a maximum length sufficient to accommodate the swell The tube hangs from the evacuation point on the structure and haε excess length heaped on a platform to which people are evacuated when the swell is lesε than the maximum As the space m between the platform and the evacuation point varies, more or less of the tube is either extended from or piled into the heap on the platform It is a problem with such an arrangement that no single exit can be provided In order to overcome this problem, such tubes have previously been provided with a plurality of exits spaced along their length, with evacuated persons emerging from the exit closest to the platform at the time they reach the platform This is not, however, satisfactory because a person may exit too soon or the position of the platform may change to make a selected exit suddenly inappropriate According to the invention, there is provided a marine escape system comprising a passage for perεonε and having an entrance at one end and an exit at an end opposite said one end, at least one support for the passage being provided between the entrance and the exit, the support being suspended by at least one first elongate elastic member, at least one second elongate elastic member extending from the εupport towards the exit, the at least one second elongate elastic member having a greater elasticity than the at least one first elongate elastic member, so that a portion of the passage between the exit and the support is extensible and contractible before the extension and contraction of a portion of the pasεage between the entrance the εupport, the passage being extensible and contractible to accommodate changes in the spacing between the entrance and the exit By varying the length of the tube between the entrance and the ex t, a swell can be accommodated while maintaining a single exit According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an escape chute comprising an elongate tube which is deployed generally vertically and a succession of spaced members within the tube and defining, with the tube, a path for the passage of a person through the tube The following is a more detailed description of some embodiments of the invention, by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which. - Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ship showing schematically a marine escape system including two escape chutes leading from an emergency exit to liferafts deployed on the sea, Figure 2 is a side elevation of a part of one of the escape chutes, Figure 3 is a perspective view of part of the escape chute of Figure 2 , Figure 4 is a cross-section through the escape chute of Figures 2 and 3, Figure 5 is an elevation of one side of a right hand side cell of an alternative form of escape chute, Figure 6 is a front elevation of the right hand cell shown in Figure 5, Figure 7 is an elevation of the other side of the right hand cell of Figures 5 and 6, Figure 8 is a rear elevation of the right hand cell of Figures 5 to 7, Figure 9 is a schematic view of an outer wall of the right hand cell of Figures 5 to 8 , Figure 10 is a schematic view of the slide path assembly of the right hand cell of Figures 5 to 9, Figure 11 is a partial section of the right hand cell of Figures 5 to 10 showing the slide path and the outer wall in an extended dispoεition, Figure 12 is a similar view to Figure 11 showing the outer wall in a collapsed disposition, Figure 13 is a similar view to Figure 12 but showing the whole of a right hand cell with the outer wall in a collapsed disposition, Figure 14 is an elevation of one side of a left hand cell of the alternative form of chute, Figure 15 is a front elevation of the left hand cell, Figure 16 is an elevation of the other side of the left hand cell, Figure 17 is a rear elevation of the left hand cell of Figures 14 to 16, Figure 18 is a similar view to Figure 14 but showing the outer wall of the left hand cell of Figures 14 to 17 in a collapsed disposition, Figure 19 is an elevation of one side of a bottom cell of the alternative escape chute, Figure 20 is a front elevation of the bottom cell of Figure 19, Figure 21 is an elevation of the other side of the bottom cell of Figures 19 and 20, Figure 22 is a rear elevation of the bottom cell of Figures 19 to 21, and Figure 23 is a similar view to Figure 19 but showing the outer wall of the bottom cell of Figures 19 to 22 in a collapsed disposition. Referring first to Figure 1, the marine escape system comprises two emergency exits 10 each leading to a respective escape chute indicated generally at 11 Each escape chute terminates at a respective liferaft 12 with two further liferafts 12 also being provided It will be appreciated that the marine escape system is normally held in a container at the side of the ship and deployed in an emergency, in a manner to be described below Referring now to Figures 2, 3 and 4, each escape chute 11 comprises a closed tube 13 of foldable material (such as a fabric) formed into a helix The tube 13 may be provided with stiffening bands 14 at spaced intervals along its length m order to hold the tube 13 open The tube 13 is supported by a plurality of hoopε 15 εpaced apart along the length of the tube 13 Aε seen in Figure 2, there are eleven hoops 15, but there may be more or less hoops as required Each hoop 15 is made from a rigid alloy or a carbon fibre material A typical hoop diameter might be 2 3 metres As best seen in Figures 3 and 4, each hoop is provided with six fixing points 16 equiangularly spaced around the exterior of the hoop 15 The purpose of these will be described below As will be seen m Figures 2, 3 and 4, each hoop 15 is positioned at a point along the length of the tube 13 where the axis 17 of the tube lε at a maximum spacing from the axis 18 of the hoop The tube 13 is held m this position by five flexible but inelastic elongate members 19 and seven flexible and elastically elongatable members 20 The inelastic members 19 may be cords while the flexible members 20 are preferably formed from a resilient elastomeric material The inelastic members 19 extend between equiangularly spaced points 21 on the portion of the periphery of the tube 13 lying between two parallel planes, one extending through the tube axis 17 and the other extending through the hoop axis 18 and both being normal to a hoop radius extending between the hoop axis 18 and the tube axis 17 This is the portion of the tube 13 that faces the hoop axis 18 In this way, the inelastic members 20 fix the maximum spacing between the tube axis 17 and tube axis 18 so preventing the tube 13 moving any closer to the hoop 15 The elastic members 20 are also connected between the tube 13 and the hoop 15 Two of the elastic members 20 extend from diametrically opposite points 22 on the periphery of the tube 13 and lying in a plane including the tube axis 17 and normal to a radius extending from the hoop axis through the tube axis The remaining elastic members 20 are equiangularly spaced around the periphery of the tube 13 between these two points 22 The elastic members 20 thus allow the tube 13 to move εo that the spacing between the axis of the tube 17 and the axis of the hoop 18 decreases. The elastic members 20 are permanently in tension and εo they provide a force tending to restore the tube 13 to the position shown m Figure 3 This may be a position in which the helical tube 13 has a helix angle of 30° . The hoopε 15 themselves are alεo interconnected by flexible members of two kinds; inelastic flexible members 23 and elastic flexible members 24. The inelastic flexible members 23 extend from a εupport 25 at the top of the escape chute 11 and the sixth hoop 15, as seen in Figure 2. There are six members 23 equiangularly spaced around these hoops 15 and connected at each hoop 15 to an associated one of the fixing points 16 Thus, the inelastic flexible members 23 fix the maximum spacing between the first and sixth hoopε 15. The sixth hoop 15 is connected to an associated liferaft 12 by the elastic flexible members 24. There are three different types of elastic flexible member 24, the types having different elasticities. The first elastic members 24a are the least elastic and they extend between the sixth hoop 15 and the eighth hoop 15. There are six members 24a and they are attached to the fixing points 16 on the sixth, seventh and eighth hoops 15 The second elastic flexible members 24b are more elaεtic than the first elastic flexible members 24a. There are six of these members 24b and they extend between the eighth hoop 15 and the tenth hoop 15 and are connected to the fixing points 16 on these hoopε. The third elastic flexible members are connected between the tenth hoop 15 and the associated liferaft 12. They are more elastic than the second elastic flexible members 24b There are six of these members 24c and they are connected to the fixing points 16 on the tenth and eleventh hoops 15 and to fixing points (not shown) on the liferaft 12. A typical first elaεtic flexible member 24a might have a diameter of 19mm and extend in excess of 4000mm under a load of about 7.5N. Each second elastic flexible member 24b might typically have a diameter of 16mm and extend in excesε of 4000mm under a load of about 5 5N Each third elaεtic flexible members 24c might have a diameter of 12 5mm and extend in excess of 4000mm under a load of 3 5N The outside of this structure may be covered by a fabric tube (not shown) of generally the same diameter aε the hoops 15 Each exit 10 is connected to the εupport 25 at the upper end of the escape chute 11 This provides an exit from the ship and leads to the entrance to the escape chute 11 at the upper end of the escape chute 11 The liferafts 12 are formed by inflatable tubes 26 and are provided with a fabric cover 27 The liferafts are generally rectangular in plan view and, as shown in Figure 1, are held together in a rectangular array Each escape chute 11 provides at its lower end an exit within an associated one of the liferafts 12 In use, the liferafts 12 are deflated and are held with the escape chutes 11 m a container mounted at the exits 10 on the ship It will be appreciated that the escape chutes 11 require very little space because the hoops 15 will collapse to lie on top of one another and the fabric of the tube 13 can readily be collapsed The members 23,24 will alεo collapse into a comparatively small space In an emergency, the liferafts 12 and the escape chuteε 11 are ejected from the container and the exits 10 opened As they deploy, the liferafts 12 are inflated from a source of gas under pressure (not shown) in conventional fashion The liferafts 12 are provided with water pockets (not shown) which, as the liferafts 12 hit the sea, fill with water The weight of the liferafts 12 and the length of the inelastic members 23 and the elastic members 24 are chosen so that, in a calm sea and with the ship normally loaded, the inelastic members 23 are fully extended and the elastic members 24 are under tension As indicated above, typical elastic members 24 may provide between them an extension m excess of 12000mm In this case, the arrangement may be εuch that in calm sea the flexible members 24 are extended by 6000mm The extension of the members 24 increases the spacing between the sixth hoop 15 and the associated liferaft 12 This causes the tube 13 to have an increased helix angle, aε seen m Figure 2 This in turn causes straightening of the tube and thus extension of the flexible elastic members 24 connecting the tube 13 to the hoops 15 with the tube 13 moving towards the axis 18 of the hoopε 15 When deployed m this way, perεonε can enter the entrance at one end of the tube 13, slide through the tube in a helical path and emerge within the liferaft They are, therefore, never exposed to the outside elements in the whole of their travel between the ship and a liferaft 12 Sea swell will cause the liferafts 12 to move up and down relative to the exits 11 so increasing and decreasing the freeboard of the ship This is accommodated by extension and retraction of the elastic members 24 and by extenεion and retraction of the tube 13 The third elaεtic members 24c will extend first followed by the second elastic members 24b and followed by the first elastic members 24a The weight at the end of the tube 13, provided by the liferafts 32, is sufficient to cause this extenεion without the liferafts 12 lifting out of the sea The position of the axis 17 of the tube 13 will also change, with such changes being accommodated by the flexible members 20 As this occurs, the helix angle of the tube 13 will vary. It will be appreciated that there are a number of variations that can be made to the marine escape system deεcribed above with reference to the drawings . There need not be two escape chutes 11; there could be one or three or more. The or each eεcape chute 11 need not terminate within a liferaft 12; it could terminate at a floating platform to which liferafts are attached. In an alternative arrangement, the tube 13 may split at a point along its length into two parallel tubes εo that persons evacuating the ship can pass successively down one and then the other of the tubes . The connections between the hoops need not be formed by flexible members 24, they could be formed by any suitable extendible member such as a spring. Although the arrangement described above is elastically extendible and retractible only from the sixth hoop 15 to the liferaft 12; it could be elastically flexible all the way along its length or between the liferafts and hoops other than the sixth hoop 15. It will alεo be appreciated that the weight of the liferafts 12 at the end of the escape chutes 11 tend to keep the chutes in a vertical disposition This minimizes the requirement for any stabilization of the position of the escape chuteε 11 relative to the ship The escape path for evacuees need not be a helical tube, it could be an open-topped helical chute or a tube containing a succeεεion of alternately oppoεitely facing panelε spaced along the length of the tube, each panel being angled relative to the length of the tube A person entering the tube slideε down one panel and then turns to slide down an oppositely facing panel and so on until the end of the tube is reached In this case, the panels may be of flexible material to accommodate extension and retraction of the tube Referring next to Figures 5 to 22, there will now be described an alternative form of the escape chute shown in Figure 1 In this embodiment, the eεcape chute is formed from three different kinds of cell A left hand cell 30 shown in Figures 5 to 13, a right hand cell 31 shown m Figures 14 to 18 and a bottom cell 32 shown in Figures 19 to 23 The right hand and left hand cells 30,31 are joined end to end alternately to form the chute, in a manner to be described in more detail below, and the bottom cell 32 is attached at the end, again in a manner to be described in more detail below. Referring first to Figures 5 to 13 , the left hand cell 30 is formed from a cell wall 33, beεt seen in Figure 9, and a slide path 34, best seen in Figure 10. The cell wall 33 is, as seen in Figure 9, generally cylindrical and formed of a high strength waterproof fabric. As best εeen in Figureε 5 to 8, the cell wall 33 haε an upper edge 35 provided with a circumferentially εpaced series of loops 36. The cell wall 33 also has a lower edge 37 with εimilar spaced loops 38. A series of tubular pockets 39 extend around the cell wall 33 intermediate the upper edge 35 and the lower edge 37 to form an interrupted annular passage around the cell wall . The function of the loops 36,38 and the pockets 39 will be deεcribed below. The cell wall 33 containε a slide path 34, beεt seen in Figure 10. The slide path 34 is also formed from strong waterproof fabric . The slide path 34 comprises a back panel 40 which is generally elongate with a rounded upper end edge 41 and a convexly curved εide edge 42 The edge of the εide of the back panel 40 oppoεite the side edge 42 is straight and the lower edge 44 of the back panel 40 opposite the upper end edge 41 is also straight A diverter panel has an edge connected to the straight edge 43 of the back panel 40 and lies m a plane that subtends an obtuse angle to the plane of the back panel 40 An outer skirt panel 46 curves between a lower portion of the outer edge 47 of the diverter panel 45 and a lower portion of the side edge 42 of the back panel The back panel 40, the diverter panel 45 and the outer skirt 46 thuε between them form a converging enclosed pathway or pocket This terminates in an aperture 48 The slide path 34 is connected inside the cell wall 33 in the following way The upper end edge 41 of the slide path 34 is connected to the interior εurface of the cell with the apex of thiε edge 41 being adjacent the upper edge 35 of the cell wall 33 Thiε connection continues around the upper end edge 41, the side edge and the outer edge 47 of the diverter panel 45, until approximately the level of the pocketε 35. In addition, the outer εkirt 46 has an upper edge 50 that is also connected to the interior of the outer of the cell wall 33 also roughly at the level of the pockets 35 Thuε, aε εeen in Figureε 5 to 8 , the back panel 40 extends diagonally across the cell wall 33 between the upper edge 35 and the lower edge 37 As seen in Figure 7, the diverter panel 45 is at an obtuse angle relative to the back panel 40 The funnel outlet 49 extends downwardly beyond the lower edge 37 of the cell wall 33. In this way, as seen in Figure 13, the lower part of the cell wall 33 can be collapsed upwardly without affecting the disposition of the slide path 34. The purpose of this will be described below. The right hand cell 31 will now be described with reference to Figureε 14 to 18 Aε εeen m theεe Figures, the cell is largely identical to the left hand cell 30 and the common partε will not be described in detail and will be given the same reference numeralε. The difference between the right hand cell 31 and the left hand cell 30 is that, in the right hand cell 31, the slide path 34 is rotated by 90° relative to the loops 36,38 as compared to the slide path 34 of the left hand cell 30 This allows the loops 35,38 to form a passage in a manner to be deεcribed below The bottom cell 32 is formed by an annular cell wall 55 having an upper edge 56 provided with loops 57 which are the same aε the loops 36 on the upper edge 35 of the cell wall 33 of the left hand cell 30 The cell wall 55 has, however, no pockets 35 and no loops on its lower edge 58 The length of the cell wall 55 between the upper edge 56 and the lower edge 58 is longer than the length of the cell wall 33 of the left hand cell 30 between its upper edge 35 and lower edge 37 The cell wall 55 contains a slide path 59 which is identical to the slide path 34 in the left hand cell 30 and is connected to the cell wall 55 in the same way as the slide path 34 is connected to the left hand cell 30 Thus, as seen in Figures 18 to 22, the funnel outlet 49 projects only a short distance below the lower edge 58 of the cell wall 55 However, the back panel 40 may be perforate to allow water to drain through the panel 40 The chute is formed by connecting together left and right hand cells 30,31 alternately until a chute of the required length haε been formed The cells are so arranged that the back panel 40 of each slide path 34 is skewed by 90° relative to the preceding and succeeding back panels 40. The skewing iε εucceεsively in the same sense (either clockwise or anticlockwise) . The cells 30,31 are interconnected by hoops (not shown) . The loops 38 at the lower edge 37 of one slide path 34 (of a left or right hand cell 30,31) fit between the εpaces of the loops 36 of the upper edge of the next slide path 34 (of a right or left hand cell 31,30) . There iε thus formed a continuous tubular passage through which a hoop extends to form the connection. The hoops may, for example, be made of metal. The bottom cell 32 is connected to the lowermost left hand or right hand cell 30,31 in the same way; by a hoop passing through the passage formed by the loops 36,38. A hoop 53 iε also passed through the tubular pockets 39 between the upper and lower edges 35,37 of each cell wall 33. The effect of theεe hoopε 52,53 iε to hold the cell walls 33, 55 open while permitting them to be collapsed. The hoops 52 at the upper and lower edges 35,37 of the cell walls (but not the intermediate hoops 53) are connected together by elastic members which are arranged in the same way as the elastic members 19 connecting the hoopε 15 n the embodiment deεcribed above with reference to Figureε 2 to 4 The escape chute so formed is connected between a ship and a life raft 12 m a manner of the escape chute described above with reference to Figures 2 to 4 This embodiment of the eεcape chute forms, m eεsence, a εpiral path between the uppermost cell 30,31 and the bottom cell 32 A person entering the uppermost cell 30,31 initially sits on the back panel 40 of the first slide path 34 Aε the person travels down the back panel 40, they engage the diverter panel 40 and this twists them in anticlockwise direction. They then pasε through the funnel outlet 49 to engage the back panel 40 of the next succeeding cell 30,31 which is skewed by 90° to the back panel 40 the person haε just left The effect of the funnel outlet and the εkewed arrangement of the back panels 40 is to cause the person to slow down by friction engagement with the material of the slide path and by the constriction provided by the funnel outlet A person travelling through the escape chute thuε reaches a safe speed at which the person paεεes m a spiral path through succeeding slide paths 34 until the bottom cell 32 is reached. Aε the person leaves the bottom cell 32 through the funnel outlet 49, they enter the life raft 12 as described above w th reference to Figureε 1 to 4 As the spacing between the life raft 12 and the εhip varieε, such variation is accommodated by the collapse and extension of the chute under the control of the flexible members 20 which progreεεively collapses the chute from the bottom cell 32 upwards, as described above with reference to Figures 1 to As a result of the way in which the slide paths 34 are connected to the cell walls 33,55, such collapsing of the walls 33,55 does not collapse the slide pathε 34 Aε the escape chute length getε shorter, they merely concertina into one another so that, aε a person leaves a funnel outlet 49 of one cell 30,31 they engage the back panel 40 of the next succeeding cell 30,31 at a position lower down the back panel 40 than the person would if the cells 30,31 were fully extended It will be appreciated that there are a number of variations that can be made to this second form of escape chute The slide path 34 need not be formed as described. It could have any shape which guides and controls the path of a person through the chute. The cells 30,31,32 need not be connected by loops 36,38 aε deεcribed above, they could be connected in any suitable way. The cell walls 33,55 need not be continuous,- they may include cut-outs.

Claims: CLAIMS. 1 A marine escape system comprising a passage (11) for persons and having an entrance (10) at one end and an ex t (12) at an end opposite said one end, at least one support (15) for the passage being provided between the entrance and the exit, the support being suεpended by at leaεt one firεt elongate elaεtic member (24) , at least one second elongate elastic member (24) extending from the support (15) towards the exit, the at least one second elongate elastic member (24) having a greater elasticity than the at least one first elongate elastic member (24) , so that a portion of the pasεage (11) between the exit and the εupport (15) lε extenεible and contractable before the extension and contraction of a portion of the passage (11) between the entrance the support (15), the passage being extensible and contractible to accommodate changes in the spacing between the entrance and the exit 2 A syεtem according to claim 1 wherein a further support (15) is provided between the firεt mentioned εupport (15) and the exit (12) , the at least one second elongate elastic member (24) being connected between the first-mentioned and the further supports (15) , at least one third elongate elaεtic member (24) extending from the further εupport (15) towardε the exit (12) εo that the paεsage (11) extends and contractε initially between the exit (12) and the further support (15) and then between said support (15) and the first-mentioned support (15) and then between the first-mentioned support (15) and the entrance (10) 3 A syεtem according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the at least one first elongate elastic member (24) is connected between an upper support (15) and the first-mentioned support (15) , said upper support (15) being spaced from the entrance of the passage (11) , the connection between said entrance and said upper εupport (15) being non-elastic 4 A system according to claim 3 wherein the connection between said entrance and said upper support comprises at least one elongate inelastic member (23) 5 A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the or each support is formed by a hoop (15) extending around the passage 6 A system according to claim 5 when dependent on any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein a plurality of hoops (15) are provided at spaced locations along the passage (11) between the entrance and the exit, said hoops (15) forming said supports 7 A system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein each at leaεt one elongate elastic member (24) comprises a plurality of said elongate elastic members (24) , each member (24) extending generally parallel to the length of the passage (11) and the members being spaced around the passage (11) 8 A system according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the passage (11) is formed from a tube of foldable material 9 A system according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the passage comprises a helical chute (13) extending from the entrance to the exit 10 A system according to claim 9 wherein the chute is a closed helical tube (13) 11. A system according to claim 9 or claim 10 when dependent on claim 8, wherein the helical tube (13) is connected to the hoops (15) to position the helical chute relative to the hoops 12. A system according to claim 11 wherein the helical chute (13) , as the chute passes through at least one hoop (15) has the centre line thereof eccentrically arranged relative to the axis of the hoop (15) , the connection between the helical chute (13) and the hoop (15) allowing the centre line of the helical chute (13) to move relative to the axis of the hoop (15) between a maximum spacing an a minimum spacing to accommodate extension and retraction of the helical chute (13) . 13. A system according to claim 13 wherein, at said at least one hoop (15) , a plurality of angularly spaced flexible connections (19,20) extend between the hoop (15) and the helical chute (13) , the longer connections (19) being inextensible to limit the maximum spacing of the centre line and the axis and the εhorter connections (20) being elastically extenεible to permit the centre line to move towardε the axis. 1 4 A system according to claim 9 wherein the passage ( 11 ) includes a succession of alternately oppoεitely εpaced facing panelε (40) spaced along the length of a tube (30) each panel (40) being angled relative to the length of the tube 15 A system according to claim 14 wherein at least some of the panels (40) are made from an elastically extendible material to accommodate extension and retraction of the tube 16 A system according to any one of claims 1 to 15 wherein the exit is on an inflatable structure 17 A syεtem according to claim 16 wherein the inflatable structure is a liferaft (12) , the tube exit being within the liferaft 18 An escape chute comprising an elongate tube (30,31,32) which lε deployed generally vertically and a succeεsion of spaced members (34) within the tube and defining, with the tube, a path for the paεsage of a perεon through the tube (30, 31,32) . 19 An escape chute according to claim 18 wherein the members (34) are arranged in succeεεion along the tube (30,31,32) such that a person passing through the tube (30,31,32) contacts the memberε (34) m succession 20 An escape chute according to claim 19 wherein each member (34) defines a slide path including a component (40) tranεverεe to the axis of the tube (30,31,32) 21 An escape chute according to claim 20 wherein the transverse path component (40) of each member (34) is rotated about the axis of the tube relative to the transverse path components (40) of the preceding and succeeding members (34) 22 An escape chute according to claim 21 wherein successive transverse path components (40) ae rotated in the same sense by 90° relative to one another so that the path is a spiral path 23 An escape chute according to any one of claims 20 to 22 wherein each transverse component of the slide path is formed by a panel (40) extending transversely across the tube the panel (40) having an upper edge (41) connected to the tube (31,31,32) and a lower edge (44) εpaced from the tube (30,3 1 ,32) to define an aperture leading to the next panel 24 An escape chute according to claim 22 and claim 23 wherein each panel (40) has spaced first and second side edgeε (42,43) , at least a portion of the first side edge (42) being connected to the tube (30,31,32) and the second side edge (43) being connected to a diverter panel (45) which lε connected to the tube (30,31,32) and which lies m a plane at an obtuεe angle to the plane of the aεsociated transverse panel (40) , the diverter panel (45) being arranged to impart to a person a twist in the same sense as the relative rotation between successive panels (40) 25 An escape chute according to claim 23 or claim 24 wherein a skirt panel (46) extends around a lower portion of each transverse panel (40) to form, with the panel (40) , a pocket terminating at a lower end thereof m sa d aperture (48) 26 An escape chute according to claim 25 wherein each skirt panel (46) has an upper edge (50) connected to the tube (30,31,32) and a lower edge forming an edge of said apertuie 27. An escape chute according to claim 26 wherein each transverse panel (40) is connected to the tube (30,31,32) only along that portion of the edge (41) of the transverse panel (40) that is above the line along which the upper edge (50) of the asεociated skirt panel (46) is connected to the tube (30,31,32) so that the portion of the tube (30,31,32) below the upper edge (50) of the εkirt panel can collapse upwardly without collapsing the associated path member (34) . 28. An escape chute according to any one of claims 23 to 27 wherein at least one of said transverse panels (40) is perforate . 29. An escape chute according to any one of claims 23 to 28 wherein a funnel outlet (49) depends from each aperture (48) to provide a vertical component of said path (34) . 30. An eεcape chute according to claim 29 wherein each funnel outlet (49) is εized to fit closely around a person passing therethrough εo that the speed of the perεon is arrested during such paεεage. 31. An escape chute according to any one of claims 18 to 30 wherein the tube is formed from a plurality of annular walls (30,31,32) of flexible material, each wall surrounding an associated member, the walls being connected end-to-end to form εaid tube. 32. An escape chute according to claim 31 wherein a hoop (53) extends around the connection between successive walls (30, 31, 32) . 33. An escape chute according to claim 32 wherein each wall (30,31,32) has an upper edge (35;56) and a lower edge (37;58), each said edge including a plurality of circumferentially εpaced loops (36;57) , the loops (36,-57) of each said edge (35 ;56 ,- 37 ;58) forming, with the loops (36;57) of an adjacent edge (35 ;56 ; 37 ;58) of an adjacent wall (30,31,32) , a passage which receives said hoop (53) . 34. An escape chute according to claim 32 or 33 wherein at least some of the wallε (30,-31,-32) have an additional hoop (53) extending therearound at a position spaced between said connections . 35 An escape chute according to claim 34 when dependent on claim 27 wherein said additional hoop (53) is at a position level with the connection of the skirt panel (46) with the wall (30, 31, 32) . 36 A system according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the pasεage is formed by an escape chute according to any one of claims 18 to 35

Inventors: BELL RICHARD EDWARD, MCLEAN IAIN HENRY, PHIPPS PETER JOHN, BELL, RICHARD, EDWARD, MCLEAN, IAIN, HENRY, PHIPPS, PETER, JOHN
Applicants: BELL RICHARD EDWARD, MCLEAN IAIN HENRY, PHIPPS PETER JOHN, WARDLE STOREYS LTD, BELL, RICHARD, EDWARD, MCLEAN, IAIN, HENRY, PHIPPS, PETER, JOHN, WARDLE STOREYS (SAFETY AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT) LIM
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B63C9
IPC codes: A62B1, B63B27, B63C9