Abstract:
An emergency floatation system includes at least one inflatable float and an inflatable emergency life raft contained within a single cover, wherein the system is adapted to be converted from a packed configuration to a partially deployed configuration by use of a first actuating member, and wherein the system is adapted to be converted from the partially deployed configuration into a fully deployed configuration by use of a second actuating member.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to emergency floatation devices, in general, and more particularly to emergency floatation devices used during and after emergency landings. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The use of floatation devices for buoyantly supporting an aircraft on a body of water has been prevalent for many years. Part-time and full-time fixed floatation systems have been in widespread use for many years. Some aircraft, especially helicopters, are equipped with both inflatable floatation bags and an inflatable life raft. Typically, deflated floatation bags are fixedly attached to the helicopter landing skids and packed tightly within flexible fabric covers. These floatation bags are inflated in order to support the helicopter when ditching or landing in water is anticipated. On the other hand, inflatable emergency rafts are conventionally stored inside the helicopter fuselage, which is disadvantageous for several reasons. 
     One disadvantage of storing the inflatable raft inside the aircraft is the amount of space that must be allocated to stow the raft. Inflatable rafts of this sort commonly take up more than six cubic feet of space when deflated. Since six cubic feet is the approximate equivalent of two extra passengers, trips to and from an offshore platform, for example, are far less efficient when an inflatable life raft is stowed within the aircraft fuselage. A further disadvantage of storing the inflatable raft inside the aircraft is that the raft must be manually expelled from the aircraft before being inflated, which wastes precious time and may be more difficult if the aircraft is damaged or the passengers are injured. Yet another disadvantage is that some on-board raft systems require significant modification of the aircraft fuselage, (e.g., additional compartment and door) which is very costly. 
     In view of these shortcomings, there exists a need for an inflatable emergency raft system, which is not stowed within the aircraft fuselage, requires little or no modification of the aircraft and requires minimal manual involvement during an emergency. 
     Any art discussed above should not be taken as an admission that the art is prior art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One aspect of the present invention involves an emergency floatation system for attachment to a helicopter landing skid including at least one inflatable float and an inflatable emergency life raft, wherein the system is adapted to be converted from a packed configuration to a partially deployed configuration by use of a first actuating member, and wherein the system is adapted to be converted from the partially deployed configuration into a fully deployed configuration by use of a second actuating member. 
     A further aspect of the present invention involves an emergency floatation system for attachment to a helicopter landing skid, wherein the system is adapted to be converted from a fully deployed configuration into a packed configuration by deflating and folding at least one raft and at least one inflatable float. 
     Another aspect of the present invention involves an emergency floatation system for attachment to a helicopter landing skid including at least one inflatable float and an inflatable emergency life raft, wherein the at least one float is inflated using compressed Helium and the raft is inflated using compressed Nitrogen. 
     Yet another aspect of the present invention involves an emergency floatation system for attachment to a helicopter landing skid including a girt, at least one inflatable float and an inflatable emergency life raft, wherein the girt is attached to the landing skid, the at least one float is attached to the girt and the life raft attached to the at least one float. 
     A further aspect of the present invention involves an emergency floatation system for attachment to a helicopter landing skid including a girt, at least one inflatable float and an inflatable emergency life raft, wherein the at least one float is attached to the girt with a flexible float cover including two halves that are fixedly attached to the girt at one end with an adhesive and releasably attached to each other at the other end using fasteners. 
     Another aspect of the present invention involves an emergency floatation system for attachment to a helicopter landing skid including a girt, at least one inflatable float and an inflatable emergency life raft, wherein the life raft is attached to the at least one float with a flexible float cover including two halves that are fixedly attached to the at least one float at one end with an adhesive and releasably attached to each other at the other end using fasteners. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 depicts a sectional view of a packed emergency floatation system according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 depicts a sectional view of a partially deployed emergency floatation system according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 depicts a sectional view of the emergency floatation system of FIG. 1 during packing. 
     FIG. 4 depicts a top perspective view of a fully deployed inflatable raft of an emergency floatation system according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 depicts a perspective view of a deflated, partially packed inflatable raft of an emergency floatation system according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 depicts a perspective view of a deflated, partially packed inflatable raft of an emergency floatation system according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 depicts a perspective view of a deflated, fully packed inflatable raft of an emergency floatation system according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 depicts a sectional view of a partially deployed emergency floatation system attached to a helicopter according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS. 1-4 and  8 , an emergency floatation system  10  according to the present invention is generally comprised of a girt member  30  for attachment to a landing skid  50  of an aircraft such as a helicopter  60 , an emergency life raft  70 , a float system  90  and a flexible cover  110 . In the preferred embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1-3, the float system  90  includes a pair of large side floats  130 , 140  connected by a smaller center float  160 . As one of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate, the float system  90  may consist of any number of alternative float arrangements that utilize any number of individual floats. 
     Importantly, the floatation system  10  has three different configurations consisting of: (1) a packed configuration as depicted in FIG. 1; (2) a partially deployed configuration as depicted in FIG. 2, wherein the float system  90  has been fully deployed, but the raft  70  remains fully packed; and (3) a fully deployed configuration, which incorporates both the float configuration depicted in FIG.  2  and the inflated life raft  70  depicted in FIG.  4 . Unless an emergency landing in water is necessary, the floatation system  10  should remain in the packed configuration. 
     The emergency floatation system  10  is attached to the landing skid  50  by first slipping the girt member  30  over the top of the landing skid  50  and then firmly securing the girt member  30  to the landing skid  50  using fasteners  180 , such as a plurality of bolts  180 . However, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that any number of well-known mechanical fasteners could be used, including, but not limited to rivets, screws, adhesives, etc. Alternatively, the girt member  30  may be welded to the landing skid  50 . Barring an emergency or a safety inspection, the floatation system  10  should remain attached to the skid  50  in the packed configuration. 
     One advantage of storing the life raft  70  under the helicopter fuselage is the amount of space that can be saved. Since inflatable life rafts commonly take up more than six cubic feet of space when deflated, a helicopter  60  can transport two extra passengers when the life raft  70  is stored under the helicopter  60 . Another advantage of storing the inflatable raft  70  outside the helicopter  60  is that the raft  70  need not be manually expelled from the fuselage before being inflated. This saves valuable time and can avoid potential difficulties should the helicopter  60  be damaged or the passengers be injured. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, in the packed configuration, the flexible cover  110  surrounds the deflated floats  90 , which are positioned around the packed life raft  70 . The floats  90  are secured to the girt  30  by fixedly attaching the center float  160  to the top of the girt  30  using an adhesive such as cement, glue, epoxy resin, hinge tape or other adhesive. As best seen in FIG. 3, the deflated side floats  130 , 140  are rolled inwardly toward the girt member  30  before the flexible cover  110  is applied. 
     The flexible cover  110  comprises two halves, which are fixedly attached to the girt  30  at a first end  190  using fasteners  200  such as nuts  200 , bolts  200  and washers  200 , and releasably attached at a second end  210  using fasteners  220  such as strips of hook and loop fasteners  220 , snaps, and laces  220 . Preferably, these fasteners  220  are used in combination so that the cover  110  is tightly secured about the floats  90  and life raft  70 . As one of ordinary skill in the art would understand, strips of hook and loop fasteners having embedded snaps can be used to provide a more robust attachment at the second end  210  of the flexible cover  110 , and laces can be used to tighten the attachment once the snaps and hook and loop fasteners are connected. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, a flexible life raft cover  230  surrounds the packed life raft  70  and attaches it to the large side float  140 . As one of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate, the life raft  70  may alternative be attached to any other element of the floatation system  10  including large side float  130 , center float  160 , or girt member  30 . The flexible life raft cover  230  includes two halves that are fixedly attached to the large side float at one end  240  using an adhesive such as cement, glue, epoxy resin, hinge tape or other adhesive, and releasably attached at the other end using fasteners  250  such as snaps  250 , hook and loop fasteners  250 , laces or a combination thereof. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, the emergency floatation system  10  is partially deployed when a water landing is required. In the partially deployed configuration, the floats  90  are inflated while the raft  70  remains packed. In addition, the flexible cover  110  together with a pair of circular end caps  260  hang from the inflated floatation system  10 . In the packed configuration, the end caps  260  are attached to the flexible cover  110  using a strip of hook and loop fasteners along the outer perimeter of the circular end caps  260 . The end caps  260  may include pockets containing survival equipment. 
     Inflation of the floats  90  is achieved using of an actuator, such as an electrical or mechanical switch, to release a canister of compressed gas into an air hose, through inlet check valve  270  and into the floats  90 . The force of the compressed gas into the floats  90  must be sufficient to disengage the fasteners  220  to pop open the flexible cover  110  and end caps  260 . The canister of gas may be mounted underneath the helicopter  60  or within the helicopter fuselage. Helium is the preferred gas because it permits a very fast rate of inflation. Other suitable gases include, but are not limited to, Nitrogen and air. 
     According to the partially deployed float configuration depicted in FIG. 2, the center float  160  sits atop girt member  30  and the side floats  130 , 140  straddle the girt  30  on either side, providing a wide footprint of buoyancy. As best seen in FIG. 8, the large side floats  130 , 140  extend well beneath the girt member  30 , and thus, well below the landing skid  50  of the helicopter  60 . The life raft  70  is preferably attached near the top of side float  140 . As one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate, there may be any number of alternative arrangements among the life raft  70  and floats  90 . 
     After an emergency water landing, life raft  70  may be needed to keep the survivors afloat until help arrives. Inflation of the life raft  70  is also achieved using an actuator such as an electrical switch to release a canister of compressed gas into an air hose  340 , through inlet check valve  350  and into the life raft  70 . The force of the compressed gas into the life raft  70  must be sufficient to disengage the fasteners  250  and pop open the flexible life raft cover  230 . Likewise, the canister of gas may be mounted underneath the helicopter  60  or within the helicopter fuselage. Nitrogen is the preferred gas because it permits a slower rate of inflation, and therefore, greater control of how the life raft  70  unfolds. Other suitable gases include, but are not limited to, Helium, air, etc. In the fully deployed configuration, both the floats  90  and the life raft  70  have been inflated. FIG. 4 depicts a top view of the life raft  70 , which includes handles  300 , cross bar  320  and air hose  340 . 
     Conveniently, the life raft  70  includes a quick connector  360  having an automatic release mechanism for rapid detachment of the air hose  340  from the canister of Nitrogen. The life raft  70  further includes a pressure relief valve  370  for the release of gas if the life raft  70  is overfilled and a topping valve  380  for inflation of the life raft  70  using a hand pump. 
     Referring to FIGS. 4-7, a preferred method of folding the life raft  70  to ensure proper inflation will now be described. For folding purposes, the raft  70  is divided into a top section  400 , a bottom section  420  and a middle section  440  separated by fold lines  460 . After deflating the raft  70 , the top section  400  and bottom section  420  are folded up and towards centerline  480 , as depicted in FIG.  5 . As best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the folded raft  70  is then rolled up starting with the side opposite air hose  340  and rolling toward the air hose  340 . 
     Many variations of the above-described invention are possible. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, but rather as subject matter intended to be encompassed within the scope of the following claims, to the fullest extent allowed by applicable law.