US3016859A - Sail boat safety device - Google Patents

Description

1962 R. F. JOHNSON SAIL BOAT SAFETY DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 6, 1960 Haber?- FJah/man [m enfw Jan. 16, 1962 R. F. JOHNSON SAIL BOAT SAFETY DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 6, 1960 4 u w .A 0,, I 0 m 0 O M 2 n n W m u m F 2 z p u W1 3 m m i4. i U H 4 J I I Haber) A fah/uan J'nunvfor feud s,s1s,s59 SAEJL BGAT SAFETY DEVICE Eobert F. .lohnson, Las Vegas, Nev., assignor to Robert Marlr Johnson, Las Vegas, Nev. Filed Dec. 5, 1960. Ser. No. 74,648 3 Claims. (Cl. 114-39) This application relates to my application for Letters Patent for a SailBoat Safety Device, filed December 7, 1959, Ser. No. 857,756.

My invention relates to safety devices for sail boats. The principal objective is to resist the capsizing of the sail boat. Other objectives will appear as the specification is proceeded with.

Sail boats require wind for their operation. However, too much wind can cause them to capsize. This is especially true of the catamaran type.

In 1912 Pat. No. 1,026,336 was issued to one William H. Williams which showed the use of flotation tanks mounted on the mast head, the idea being that the tanks would provide buoyancy when the mast head hit the gator and thus prevent the boat from turning upside own.

Today sail boats are sailed for pleasure and everything possible is usually done to take advantage of any wind. Speed appears to be of the essence and flotation tanks of any useful size mounted on the mast head would greatly retard the movement of the boat, although they might fulfill their objectives should the mast head hit the water.

In my device the objective of Williams flotation tanks is met without creating any additional resistance to the movement of the boat or concentrating as much weight at the mast head.

In the arrangement set forth in the above mentioned application, Ser. No. 857,756, now abandoned, and in my co-pending continuation in part application Ser. No. 18,007, filed March 28, 1960, a hollow core is used to provide support for the inflatable bag used when the same is not inflated.

It is evident that this hollow core mounted on the mast head is of considerable weight and it is also evident to all sail boat enthusiasts that any weight at the mast head is disadvantageous especially when the boat heels over beyond say 30 degrees. Therefore, one of my present objectives is to cut down the weight concentrated at the mast head.

How this is accomplished is illustrated in the accompanying drawings of which FIG. 1 is a plan view of the rigging support; FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the rigging support; FIG. 3 is a "ertical section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 shows the bag inflated; FIG. is a plan view showing the deflated bag tucked into the rigging support prior to inflating it; FIG. 6 is a vertical section on the line 66 of FIG. 5; FIG. 7 shows a boat heeled over with the mast head in the water; FIG. 8 is a front elevation of a double-lever operated pressure vessel valve; FIG. 9 is a side elevation of FIG. 8; FIG. is an enlarged vertical section through the valve proper; FIG. 11 shows connection of pressure vessel discharge line to rigging support.

Throughout the drawings and the specifications similar numerals refer to similar parts.

The use of a core in a sail boat safety device shown and described in my co-pending application Ser. No. 18,007 is particularly adapted for the larger sail boats and catamarans which venture far from their home port.

Where a core is used to support the rubber bag when not inflated, the bag may be inflated and deflated a number of times without touching it. In the device about to be described the bag must be tucked into the rigging support top portion which is a thin cylindrical shell about 3" deep inside and from 4 to 6" in diameter,

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after each deflation. However, this is not too much of a problem where the mast head may be reached from a service platform. These are usually found close by sailing areas used by small sailing craft.

The inconvenience of tucking in the bag is more than compensated for by the weight saved at the mast head. This is especially true with small boats.

In FIG. 2 the mast head 1 is shown fitted with a ring or rigging support 2 having rigging lugs 3 centilevered therefrom and provided with apertures 4 for the reception of rigging pins (not shown). A cylindrical portion 5 having a closed end 6 may be cast or forged integral with the rigging support portion 2A or be tacked (welded) to the top of said rigging support portion 2A. This cylindrical portion 5 is provided with an annular groove 7 into which the rubber bag 8 may be forced by the annular clamp 9 to provide a leak-proof joint.

The bag 8 is preferably made of neoprene since sunlight has a deleterious effect on natural rubber. However, natural rubber has a better elongation and when treated with Hypalon its life is greatly increased. The bag 8 is cast and cured on a cylindrical mould (not shown) having a hemispherical end and an outside diameter corresponding to that of the cylindrical portion 5. A bag thickness of has proved satisfactory. The size of the bag will be discussed shortly.

It is the practice of commercial companies to fill their containers or pressure vessels two-thirds full of liquid CO thus leaving the rest of the container to be occupied with gas which creates Within the tank a pressure of 83817 p.s.i. at degrees This practice has been followed in determining the size of the pressure vessel 10 and in its charging. 8.7 cubic feet of gas will be provided by 1# of liquid CO at 70 degrees F. and atmospheric pressure. It follows that an inflated bag of one cubic foot will displace one cubic foot of water, and each cubic foot of water displaced will provide an upward reaction, so to speak, of 62.44%. The inflated bag formed as indicated will approximate the shape shown in FIG. 4.

When inflated the pressure within the bag 8 will vary from 0.5 to 1.5# above atmospheric pressure depending upon the type and thickness of rubber used.

At this point note is made that only sufficient CO is provided in the pressure vessel 19 used to produce the gas required to inflate the bag to a predetermined size, taking into consideration besides temperature and pressure, the bag size, material and thickness. In proportioning the bag it is advisable to limit the elongation to five at the most.

Since CO and other expansive mediums are used for many purposes, standard containers or pressure vessels of various sizes have been developed for them. One of these, as 10, is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. A modified Kidde CO dispensing valve 11 is attached to the pressure vessel 10. A cross section of this valve 11 is shown in FIG. 10. In this arrangement the top portion of the Kiddo valve body is turned down to form a shoulder 12 for'the lever-carrying member 13 counterbored to receive it. This member 13 is slotted down to the counter-bore 14 for the reception of the oppositely disposed levers 15 pivotally connected to the member 13 by the fulcrum or hinge pins 16 positioned therein.

The top of the valve stem 17 is shown to be on a level with the top of the counterbore 14 and the bottom of the levers 15 whose ends are formed with the cam surface 18 to better engage the top of the valve stem 17 as it is depressed. On the outer end of each lever 15 is a movable weight 19 which may be shifted along the lever 15 as desired and held in position by the set screws 21). The movement of the levers 15 around their hinge pins 16 is fixed in one direction by the cam surface 18 coming into contact with the valve gland 21 and in the other direction by the contact of the lever 15 with the bottom 22 of the slot 23.

In the drawing solid lines show the levers 15 at right angles to the centerline of the pressure vessel whose centerline 24 is normally vertical and in alignment with the centerline of the boat or catamaran mast 1A. The levers will remain in this position until the boat heels over to 90 degrees at" which time the center of gravity of the Weighted levers 15 will shift and the levers 15 move to the dotted position X and the valve stem 17 depressed whereupon CO from the pressure vessel 14 will be released into the bag 8 to inflate it. This valve stem 17 may be depressed many ways mechanically or through the agency of a solenoid. However, whether acted upon mechanically or through a solenoid the valve 17 is depressed thus lowering the plug 25 (see FIG. 10) thereupon from it's seat 26 to permit CO from the pressure vessel 10 to pass between the plug 25 and; its seat 26 to the valve opening 27 The opening 27 is connectedto a standa'rd Imperial 3-way valve 28 in which the flow is from any one side of the line to the branch. In other words, CO from the pressure vessel 10 may pass directly as the mast head cap or rigging support 2 (see FIGS. 9 and 11) through the copper tubing 29 connected to the branch 30 of the 3-way valve 28, or an inflated bags may be deflated through the branch 30 and the valve line opening 31. The pressure vessel 10 may be charged through the branch opening 30 and the line opening 32. When charging the pressure vessel 10 the valve stem 17 is depressed so that the plug 25 is removed from its seat 26 to permit CO to flow between the seat and the plug into the pressure vessel 10. When the valve stern 17 is free from pressure applied downwardly the plug 25 is held tight against its seat 26 by the pressure applied upwardly by the spring 33 beneath it.

Now if it is desired to have the above action take place when the boat heels over to 80 degrees instead of 90 degrees the weighted lever 15 is moved as to the position Y and the bottom 22 of the slot 23' adjusted to suit.

FIG. 11 shows the bottom portion 6 of the rigging cap 2 tapped for the reception of the fitting 34 for the tube 29 which connects with the 3-way valve 28 on the pressure vessel 10 (FIG. 9). This pressure vessel 10 may be placed in any convenient location (preferably close to the mast 1A) either above or below the deck (not shown). In any event it will follow the inclination of the boat B and before the mast head 1 touches the water W as shown in FIG. 7 the valve 11 5 on the presusre vessel 10 will have been opened and CO admitted to the bag 8 to inflate it.

FIG. 6 shows the tucked-in bag 8 protected from the It is to be understood that this invention admits of many deviations without departing from the basic idea set forth therefor what is new over the prior art is set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a sail boat safety device in combination with a boat and a mast head thereof, a rigging support on the mast head having a cylindrical shell provided with a bottom closure carried on and above the rigging support, an inflatable bag enveloping the cylindrical shell and adapted to be'tucked within said cylindrical shell when not inflated, a pressure vessel, means connecting the pressure vessel to the bag, an expansive medium normally confined within the pressure vessel, means to automatically release the expansive medium from the pressure vessel into the bag to inflate it when the boat heels over to a predetermined degree, and means to deflate the bag.

2. In a sail boat safety device having an inflatable bag mounted on a mast head of said boat, means to automatically release an expansive medium from a pressure vessel into said bag to inflate it when the boat heels over a predetermined degree to starboard or a predetermined degree to port which includes a pressure vessel valve having a stern depressible to open the valve, means to depress the stern including a pair of oppositely disposed levers, a pair of spaced apart fulcrurns one for each lever, each lever lying normally at right angles to the centerline of the valve when the same is closed and each lever having a weighted end and an end opposite formed to engage the valve stem to depress it to open the valve when the weighted end of the lever swings over to the opposite side of the valve centerline as the boat heels over to the predetermined degree in the same direction.

3. In a sail boat safety device in which an inflatable bag is mounted on a mast head of said sail boat means for mounting said bag which includes a cylindrical ring surrounding the mast head and having rigging lugs cantilevered therefrom and a closed bottom cylindrical shell carried on and above said ring and attached thereto said bag being adapted to envelope said cylindrical shell.

No references cited.

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