Other

Halkey-roberts Corporation

Mackal, Glenn, H.

Fawcett, Lyman W., Jr.

Glenn H Mackal

Lyman W Fawcett, Jr

George E Lardner

Joseph Maz

Edward A Judd

John S TenBarge

James H Keller

Jacek H Weinheimer

Lyman W Fawcett

A high flow rate inflator intended to be threaded into or onto the threaded neck of a conventional gas cylinder. The inflator comprises a spring-loaded ballasted firing pin that is retained in a cocked position by a tethered trigger pin. Upon firing by pulling on the trigger pin, the firing pin forcibly moves into engagement with a power primer mounted with a power primer holder to ignite the same, whereupon the ignition gases forcibly drives a hollow larger diameter pierce pin mounted within an interior cylinder into the frangible seal of the gas cartridge to cut a large-bore hole therethrough and allow gas escaping from the gas cylinder to flow at a high rate through the inflator into an inflatable device.

Inflator with high flow rate

An inflator for inflating an inflatable device to which it is connected via fill tubes or in which it is positioned. The inflator comprises a power module assembly and an adaptor assembly intended to be threaded into or onto the threaded neck of a gas cylinder (not shown). The power module assembly employs one or more power primers that are fired when a tether is pulled to remove the actuator cup to release a spring-loaded actuator pin to fire the power primer(s). The escaping gases from the power primer(s) then drive a pierce pin to fracture a frangible seal allowing gas in the gas cylinder to then flow into the inflatable device and inflate the same.

Inflator

A leaf clamp for installation on tubing to control the flow of fluid therethrough, the leaf clamp comprising opposing rectilinear frameworks between which the tubing is threaded. A flexible leaf interconnects the opposing frameworks and extends generally parallel above the tubing positioned between the rectilinear frameworks. A snap-lever, generally L-shaped, is pivotally connected between the upper portions of the frameworks such that the shorter leg of the L-shaped lever is aligned with and engages the leaf member to urge it downwardly into engagement with the tubing as the longer leg of the L-shaped snap-lever is pivoted from a generally transverse 'open' position to a generally parallel 'closed' position.

Leaf clamp for tubing

A pneumatically assisted inflator for gas cylinders comprises an inline configuration such that gas contained within the gas cylinder flows axially through the inflator to be exhausted therefrom and inflate an inflatable article. The inline configuration of the inflator reduces the stress otherwise imparted to the component parts thereof and thereby allows most of the component parts to be manufactured from an injection molded high-strength plastic or the like. The inflator comprises an inflator piston positioned within a piston cylinder that moves against a rotatable cam surface, such as a rotatable collar connected to a pull lanyard, to force a pierce pin to make at least a small pin hole in a frangible seal and allow high pressure gas from the gas cylinder to flow into the piston cylinder, whereupon the high pressure gas in the piston cylinder further moves the inflator piston to more fully force the pierce pin into the frangible seal to fully open the frangible seal.

Inflation valve with pneumatic assist

An automatic inflator comprising a body for receiving a dissolvable pill, said dissolvable pill including an upper surface and a lower surface, at least one of said surfaces including an undulating configuration.

Bobbin for automatic inflator

A check valve for an inflatable device comprising a poppet urged by a conical spring to annularly seal uniformly around its entire periphery to assure more uniform cracking pressure about its entire periphery. In one embodiment the check valve comprises a locking key to lock the valve closed irrespective of the cracking pressure that may otherwise may have cracked the valve open. In another embodiment, the check valve comprises a manual dump feature that allows rapid dumping of air from the inflatable irrespective of low cracking pressure that may exist in the inflatable.

Check valve with locking key and pull cord

A check valve comprising a poppet urged by a conical spring to annularly seal uniformly around its entire periphery to assure more uniform cracking pressure about its entire periphery. The cracking pressure may be adjusted by means of an adjustable plate which reduces the length of the conical spring and thereby increase the amount of force exerted by the spring onto the poppet into sealing engagement, thereby increasing the cracking pressure.

Check valve

A pill for insertion into a bobbin of a bobbin assembly of an automatic inflator, the pill including a distal surface and a proximal surface, at least one of the surfaces including an undulating configuration.

An automatic inflator having a status indicator that indicates whether a fully-charged, unspent gas cylinder has been installed to the automatic inflator, whether a fully-operable bobbin has been properly installed within the automatic inflator and whether the threaded cap of the automatic inflator has been fully installed, including an indicator window that displays the color &ldquo;green&rdquo; when the automatic inflator is fully operational automatically or the color &ldquo;red&rdquo; when the automatic inflator is at least partially inoperable automatically due to the removal of the gas cylinder, due to at least partial removal of the threaded cap, or due to the firing of the inflator resulting in a spent bobbin or gas cylinder.

Automatic inflator with status indicator

An inflation system with pneumatic assist for a life raft or other inflatable article includes a puncture pin that is mounted to a slideably mounted piston. The puncture pin makes a small initial puncture in the membrane of a gas cartridge to start a trigger flow of compressed gas from the cartridge. That trigger flow travels through a gas passageway formed in the puncture pin and enters a cylinder within which the piston is mounted, driving the piston toward the membrane. A primary membrane cutter is carried by the piston, and the primary membrane cutter bursts through the membrane and unleashes a high volume flow of compressed gas into the article to be inflated. In a second embodiment, the primary membrane cutter is integrally formed with the puncture pin.

Inflation system with pneumatic assist

A CO.sub.2 cartridge is permanently attached to a cartridge status indicator so that a user need not perform a detailed inspection to determine if the cartridge has been used or not. If the cartridge has been used, the status indicator will so indicate upon casual visual inspection, and if the cartridge has not been used, the causal inspection will also reveal that fact. The gas is released by two different methods. The first requires only that the user pull a cord. Pulling the cord shifts a support member laterally within the inflator, and previously misaligned legs and bores enter into alignment with one another. When aligned, the legs enter into the bores under the influence of a spring positioned in the inflator and the support member is driven into puncturing relation to a membrane. If moisture is encountered, the cord need not be pulled because the moisture collapses a dissolvable element, and the pierce pin is driven into puncturing relation with the membrane under the force of the spring.

Automatic inflator with status indicators

A method and apparatus for interconnecting with a lanyard a handle and lever arm of the type used in rapid inflation applications includes apparatus for impaling a first end of a lanyard with multiple spikes to secure the first end to a handle and further includes apparatus for sandwiching the second end of the lanyard between a plug and a bore formed in the lever arm. The lanyard handle is made with a channel having spike-receiving cavities along its extent, and the spikes on a spike-carrying strip impale the first end of the lanyard when the strip is press fit into the channel. At the opposite end of the lanyard, the bore and plug are frusto-conical in configuration so that pulling on the lanyard exerts a wedging action between the plug and bore to tighten the grip on the second end of the lanyard.

Apparatus for interconnecting a handle and a lever arm

A check valve has a point-to-point articulated connection between its valve stem and valve head so that the head is free to skew when unseated. The valve head is positioned within the interior of the valve body between a valve seat and the trailing end of the valve body and retracts further into the valve body when unseated by the introduction of gaseous fluid into the valve body. The leading end of the valve stem is cone-shaped, and is received within a cone-shaped recess formed in the trailing end of the valve head. A bias member urges the valve stem toward the valve head so that the vertex of the cone-shaped valve stem is in point-to-point contact with the vertex of the cone-shaped recess. When gaseous fluid is introduced into the valve body, the valve head unseats from the valve seat and is free to skew with respect to its seated orientation, but since it retracts into the valve body, the inner sidewalls of the valve body prevent excessive skewing. A spear formed integrally with the valve head extends through a central opening formed in the valve seat and also prevents excessive skewing.

Growing community of inventors

St. Petersburg, FL, United States of America

Glenn H Mackal