[0001] The present invention relates to a device for rescuing personnel from waters. More
particularly, the invention relates to rescuing personnel from frigid and hostile
seas without the need for participation of the individual(s) being rescued.
[0002] When personnel fall into hostile and frigid waters, particularly at offshore facilities,
the cold waters cause hypothermia to set in very quickly. Typically, such hypothermia
occurs in 8 to 15 minutes without survival suits and in about 45 minutes to slightly
over one hour with survival suits. Thus, survival depends upon removing such personnel
from the sea as quickly as possible.
[0003] Existing equipment such as lifelines, rafts and life preservers are often ineffective
in heavy weather and confused seas because the violent motion of the rescue boat prevents
the victim from being removed from the sea without the possibility of the individual
being injured by the hull of the boat. Further, with such equipment, the victim must
provide some assistance in his rescue.
[0004] In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a device for rescuing
personnel from water comprising a crane positioned on a rescue structure such as an
offshore platform or a boat and including a horizontally and vertically movable boom.
An elongated member is vertically movable and lockable with respect to the boom, and
buoyant means is operatively connected to the elongated member for floating on the
water. A net extends beneath the buoyant means, and means are provided for supporting
the net beneath the buoyant means.
[0005] When personnel are in the water, the crane is operated to move the boom from an inboard
position to an outboard position, and the elongated member is permitted to move downwardly
with respect to the boom such that the buoyant means floats on the water. At this
position, the net extends beneath the float in the water. The net is moved forwardly
by operation of the boom (and/or boat) such that the individual(s) are within the
net. The operator then manipulates the boom to hoist the individual(s) out of the
water and deposit the individual(s) on the rescue structure.
[0006] Thus, the present invention provides for scooping personnel out of the water without
such personnel needing to assist in their own rescue. Such rescue can occur quickly
and safely to thus increase the chance of the rescued personnel to survive.
FIG. 1 is a rear elevational view of a crane operated rescue device according to the
present invention mounted on a work or rescue boat;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the rescue device and a portion of the boat shown in
FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a rescue device in accordance with the present invention
and boat showing the rescue device in outboard and inboard positions;
FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of another embodiment of a crane operated rescue
device according to the present invention mounted on a work or rescue boat;
FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the rescue device and a portion of the boat shown in
FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of a float used in the embodiment of FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is an end elevational view of the float supporting arms shown in opened and
closed positions for the embodiment shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a gimbal and brake assembly for the embodiment
shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the brake taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the gimbal taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the gimbal taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 10;
and
FIG. 12 is a vertical cross-section of a swing head for rotating the boom of the embodiment
shown in FIG. 4;
[0007] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown a rescue device having a buoyant means
or a float 15 which is freely floatable on the surface of the water 20. Attached to
the float 15 is a high tensile strength elongated member or pipe 10 which is slidable
in a guide 9. A frame 12 has four arms 22 extending outwardly from a frame support
bracket 17, and the bracket 17 is connected to the pipe 10.
[0008] A rescue net 13 is attached to the outer ends 24 of arms 22 of the rescue net frame
12. The net 13 has a plurality of weights 14 secured thereto to maintain the curved
shape shown in FIG. 1 below the water line 20. The net 13 extends upwardly at the
rear end and sides thereof to a level 26 above the water line 20. Such level 26 is
defined by the net-to-arm connections 24. The front end 28 of the net 13 is opened
such that the front end 28 extends downwardly below the water line 20 as shown in
FIG. 1.
[0009] The pipe 10 has a safety stop 16 at the upper end thereof having an outer dimension
larger than the guide 9 such that the pipe 10 will stop sliding downwardly when the
safety stop 16 abuts the top end of the guide 9. The guide 9 is attached to a gimbal
frame 8 which permits the pipe 10 incline freely in any direction. The pipe 10 is
vertically movable through the gimbal 8. Since the pipe 10 is freely movable in any
direction and vertically, means are provided for compensating for the motion of the
boat 1 with respect to the water line 20 whereby the float 15 and the net 13 follow
the contour of the water line 20. As will be described hereinafter, the embodiment
of FIGS. 1 and 2 contemplate the use of a brake system such as shown in FIGS. 8 and
9 for locking the pipe 10 with respect to the guide 9.
[0010] The gimbal 8 is also slidable freely along guide rails 6. A safety stop 30 is provided
at the outer end of the guide rails 6 for abutting contact with the gimbal 8. The
gimbal 8 is lockable relative to the guide rails 6 by means of hydraulic locking pins
(not shown), actuated through hydraulic line 33. The guide rails 6 are connected to
rotary actuator system 11 such as will be described hereinafter with reference to
FIG. 12. The swing head 11 is mounted on the boom 32 of a hydraulic crane 2. The crane
2 has an operating platform 4 mounted on a rotatable table 3. A hydraulic ram 5 is
connected to the boom 32 for moving the arm 32 upwardly or downwardly. The crane 2
mounted on the work or rescue boat 1 can be any standard or specially adapted crane
capable of lowering and raising the entire rescue device quickly into and out of the
water.
[0011] With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, there is shown another embodiment of the rescue
device in accordance with the present invention wherein buoyant means are in the form
of spaced elongated floats 40 which function as pontoons freely floatable on the surface
of the water 41. A frame 42 interconnects a high tensile strength elongated member
or pipe 43 by means of four arms 44 extending outwardly to the ends of the floats
40. FIG. 6 shows a side elevational view of one of the floats 40. FIG. 7 shows the
frame 42 in an expanded and closed position.
[0012] A rescue net 45 is attached to the outer ends of arms 44 of the frame 42. The net
45 has a plurality of weights 46 secured thereto to maintain the curved shape shown
in FIG. 4 below the water line 41. The net 45 extends upwardly at the rear end and
sides thereof to a level 47 above the water line 41. The front end 48 of the net 45
is opened such that the front end 48 extends downwardly below the water line 41 to
provide a generally semicircular front end opening.
[0013] The pipe 43 extends upwardly through a gimbal and brake mechanism 48, and has a safety
stop 49 at the upper end thereof having an outer dimension larger than the opening
through the gimbal and brake mechanism 48. Thus, the pipe 43 will stop sliding downwardly
when the safety stop 49 abuts the top of the gimbal brake and mechanism 48 as shown
in dashed lines in FIG. 4.
[0014] A suitable gimbal system 50 is shown in FIGS. 8, 10 and 11. With reference to FIG.
11, the gimbal system 50 has an outer elongated rectangular frame 51 pivotable about
an axis defined by opposing posts 52, 53 and an inner elongated rectangular frame
54 pivotable about an axis defined by posts 55, 56. The outer rectangular frame 51
is mounted to spaced gimbal support arms 57, 58. The pipe 43 has a rectangular cross-section
and is freely vertically movable through the inner rectangular frame 54 of the gimbal
system 50. As represented by the dashed lines for the inner rectangular frame 54 in
FIGS. 8 and 10 showing the inner rectangular frame 54 in various inclined positions,
the gimbal system 50 permits the pipe 43 to incline freely in any direction. The combination
of the pipe 43 being freely vertically movable and being freely inclinable in any
direction provides compensation for the relative motion of the boat 60 with respect
to the water line 41 and thereby permits the floats 40 and net 45 to follow the contour
of the water line 41.
[0015] The gimbal and brake mechanism 48 includes a brake system 62 mounted above the gimbal
system 50. With reference to FIG. 9, the brake system 62 has a hydraulic cylinder
64 which actuates a piston 66 in the directions shown by the arrow heads to move a
plate 68 and an attached brake pad 70. When the piston 66 is moved to the left as
viewed in FIG. 9, the pipe 43 is secured between the brake pad 70 and an opposing
brake pad 72 mounted on a fixed plate 74. When the piston 66 is moved to the right
as viewed in FIG. 9, brake pad 70 is moved away from the pipe 43 permitting the pipe
43 to freely move through the brake system 62. A suitable cylinder is the Flairline
Hydraulic Cylinder, Series H 4" Bore X 1" Stroke, 3447.4 kPa (500 psi) pressure, 2721.6
kg (6,000 lbs.) total load.
[0016] The gimbal and brake mechanism 48 is connected by means of a rotary actuator system
80 to a boom 82 of a crane 84 mounted on the boat 60. A hydraulic hose 86 for the
brake system 62 extends along the boom 82. Another hydraulic hose 88 for the rotary
actuator system 80 also extends down the boom 82.
[0017] The gimbal system 50 is mounted by bringing plate 92 into contact with a plate 94
and securing bolts 90 through the plate 94. A shaft 96 extends through the plates
92, 94 and is secured by nut and bolt arrangements 98 to the spaced gimbal support
arms 57, 58. The shaft 96 is connected at its other end to a spline 100, and is rotatable
within a bearing 102 by operation of a rotary actuator 104 which is connected to the
spline 100. The rotary actuator 104 is responsive to hydraulic pressure via hose 88
through inlets 106. The rotary actuator system 80 thus provides for applying a rotary
motion to the pipe 43 and net 45 about an axis as defined by the longitudinal axis
of the boom 82. A suitable actuator is the ROTAC Rotary Actuator, Model 26R-62, Double
Vane 100° rotation.
[0018] To use the rescue device, an operator would operate the hydraulic crane 84 to move
the net 40 from its inboard position as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 3 to an outboard
position as shown in solid lines in FIG. 3. When moving the net to its outboard position,
the pipe 43 is locked with respect to boom 82 by means of the hydraulically powered
brake system 62. The brake system 62 is then released to permit the pipe 43 to slide
downwardly through the gimbal system 50 until floats 40 reach their buoyant position.
The boat 60 approaches along side the individual(s) at a suitable reduced speed and
at a suitable distance which may be in the order of approximately ten meters from
the side of the boat 60 to the center of the net 45. The net 45 is moved forward by
operation of the crane and/or boat such that the individual(s) are positioned within
the net 45 through its open front end 48. The operator may also use the rotary actuator
system 80 to scoop the net 45 under the individual(s). The operator then locks the
brake system 62 to fix the pipe 43 with respect to its boom 82. By actuating a hydraulic
ram 110, the individual(s) are quickly hoisted out of the water, and the crane 84
is rotated to the position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 3 to quickly deposit the
individual(s) on the deck of the boat 60.
1. A device for rescuing personnel from water comprising:
a horizontally and vertically movable boom mounted on a rescue structure;
an elongated rigid member vertically movable with respect to the boom;
buoyant means operatively connected to the elongated member for floating on the water;
and
a net extending below the buoyant means; and means for selectively locking the elongated
member relative to the boom.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the net has an open front end and a closed rear end
for scooping personnel out of the water through the open front end.
3. The device of claim 1 further comprising means interconnecting the elongated member
and the boom for compensating for motion of the water surface relative to the rescue
structure, whereby the buoyant means and the net follow the contour of the water surface,
the elongated member extending through the motion compensating means.
5. A method of rescuing personnel from water with a device comprising a horizontally
and vertically movable boom on a rescue structure; an elongated rigid member vertically
movable with respect to the boom; buoyant means operatively connected to the elongated
member for floating on the water; and a net having an open front end and a closed
rear end, the net extending below the buoyant means; and means for selectively locking
the elongated member relative to the boom; the method comprising the steps of:
operating the boom to an outboard position;
permitting the elongated member to move downwardly with respect to the boom such that
the buoyant means floats on the water;
moving the net forwardly to position individual(s) within the net through the open
end;
locking the elongated member relative to the boom;
lifting the boom to hoist the individual(s) out of the water; and
operating the boom to deposit the individual(s) on the rescue structure.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the rescue structure is a boat and wherein the boom
is operated by a crane.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the boat course and the crane are simultaneously
adjusted to position the net relative to the individual(s).
CLAIMS:
1. A device for rescuing personnel from water comprising:
a horizontally and vertically movable boom mounted on a rescue structure;
an elongated rigid member vertically movable with respect to the boom;
buoyant means operatively connected to the elongated member for floating on the water;
and
a net extending below the buoyant means; and means for selectively locking the elongated
member relative to the boom.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the net has an open front end and a closed rear end
for scooping personnel out of the water through the open front end.
3. The device of claim 1 further comprising means interconnecting the elongated member
and the boom for compensating for motion of the water surface relative to the rescue
structure, whereby the buoyant means and the net follow the contour of the water surface,
the elongated member extending through the motion compensating means.
4. A method of rescuing personnel from water with a device comprising a horizontally
and vertically movable boom on a rescue structure; an elongated rigid member vertically
movable with. respect to the boom; buoyant means operatively connected to the elongated
member for floating on the water; and a net having an open front end and a closed
rear end, the net extending below the buoyant means; and means for selectively locking
the elongated member relative to the boom; the method comprising the steps of:
operating the boom to an outboard position;
permitting the elongated member to move downwardly with respect to the boom such that
the buoyant means floats on the water;
moving the net forwardly to position individual(s) within the net through the open
end;
locking the elongated member relative to the boom;
lifting the boom to hoist the individual(s) out of the water; and
operating the boom to deposit the individual(s) on the rescue structure.
5. The method-of claim 4 wherein the rescue structure is a boat and wherein the boom
is operated by a crane.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the boat course and the crane are simultaneously
adjusted to position the net relative to the individual(s).