There are numerous devices available which are designed to deploy a balloon to provide rescue location information for searchers to locate a user.
Most all of the devices are cumbersome or inoperable by a child. Porter, U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,438 requires an individual to be sufficiently strong to force a gas cylinder down against a needle tube puncturing the gas cylinder and inflating the balloon. An incapacitated person would not easily be able to operate the device.
McNeill, U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,079 discloses a balloon which is reusable, rugged and has relative long life. It is obviously not a device which could be carried about by a child nor easily operated by a child or an incapacitated person.
The above references and Chetlan, U.S. Pat. No. 2,646,019; Crofford, U.S. Pat. No. 827,350; Paulson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,836,495; Leslie, U.S. Pat. No. 2,395,006; Hansen U.S. Pat. No. 2,629,115; Sanwal, U.S. Pat. No. 2,842,090; Walker, U.S. Pat. No. 2,862,531; Hanson, U.S. Pat., No. 3,154,050; Pritchard, U.S. Pat. No. 3,187,712; Rozzella, U.S. Pat. No. 3,381,655; Clinger U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,229; Lutz, U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,723; and Collins, U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,181 cannot withstand any wind without being driven to the ground. MacFadden, U.S. Pat. No. 3,395,877 recognized the problem of adverse flight conditions and disclosed an air duct as a stabilizer on the tail portion of an inflatable device.
The nearest representative art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,835 (1989) ("'835") to Mears. It discloses a compact unit having a deflated airfoil which upon pulling a release key causes an integrated gas cylinder to discharge filling the airfoil. Once inflated, the airfoil rises to a height allowed by an attached tether to provide rescue location information. Mears '835 comprises a complex inflation system which is greatly simplified in the present invention. Mears '835 relies on a spring/plunger system to operate on a lever. The plunger then is activated by a spring activated or released by the release of a retaining pin. The plunger acts on a lever which, in turn, drives a puncture means into a gas cylinder thereby releasing the gas to the airfoil.
What is needed in the art is an invention which accomplishes the inflation of the airfoil and consequent deployment of a locator airfoil in a simple manner. What is needed in the art is an invention that punctures a gas cylinder containing inert gas with the simple twist of a valve mounted on the gas cylinder. The present invention comprises a valve having a puncture means which when tarred by a user punctures the gas cylinder.
What is also needed is an invention which comprises a simplified quick-release assembly to allow inflation and release of the airfoil in a controlled manner. The present invention has a quick-release assembly consisting of a quick-release mechanism having an airfoil connection. The quick-release assembly allows the airfoil to be inflated fully. It is then automatically released to ascend by the inflated airfoil pulling a pin to release the quick-release assembly. The quick-release mechanism disengages from the airfoil connection. The airfoil connection stays with the airfoil as it rises. This design is an improvement over to Mears '835 which simply causes the airfoil to fill with gas until the buoyant force of the gas is sufficient to cause the airfoil to separate from the cylinder. A side wind could easily cause the Mears '835 device to snag in a nearby tree as it drifted off the cylinder. Also, and incomplete filling can cause the device not to reach maximum altitude.
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