Emergency locator system for locating and retrieving sunken vessels

Claim 2

An Emergency Locator System for locating and retrieving sunken vessels and locating vessels in distress comprising in combination; a base adapted to be mounted on an external surface of a vessel in spaced apart relationship thereto to permit air and water to flow between a base lower surface and the vessel external surface on which the base is mounted, said base further comprising a hydrostatic pressure sensing float holding and release means, having a pressure sensing flexible diaphragm member mounted on the base lower surface for actuating a float holding and release trigger means, said trigger means adapted to fixedly hold a buoyant marker float means releasably mounted on said base until said base having said float means mounted thereon becomes immersed in a fluid having a pressure greater than a pre-selected pressure below which the said diaphragm will not actuate the said trigger means, said pre-selected pressure being substantially greater than atmospheric pressures, whereupon said diaphragm actuates said float holding and release trigger means and the float means is released from said base and rises to the water surface, said base having one or more U-shaped grapple cables fixedly connected to a top surface of said base and being adapted further for being fixedly attached at cable ends to the vessel surface; said buoyant marker float means adapted for releasably mounting on said base in spaced apart relationship for permitting air and water to circulate between base side and top surfaces and a float under side, said underside being adjacent to said base side and top surfaces when said float means is mounted on said base, said float means having a plurality of base float holding trigger means engaging shoulders for engaging said trigger means in releasably locked position when said float means is mounted on said base; and a locator line connecting said float means to said base for maintaining float to base connection when the float means is released from the base and rises to the water surface and for guiding a diver and a retrieving grapple hook means connected to a retrieval cable to the grapple cables for hooking a grapple hook means to said grapple cables.

Claim 3

An Emergency Locator System set forth in claim 1 wherein said base hydrostatic pressure sensing float holding and release means comprises a rigid waterproof hollow housing having a vertical side wall and a conical top wall having a conical height substantially smaller than a conical diameter thereof, said conical diameter being substantially larger than a side wall vertical height, said top wall being integral at a circumferential edge with a side wall upper edge, said housing being sealably closed at a side wall lower edge with said flexible diaphragm member thereby enclosing within the housing a pressure differentiating cavity, said housing wall having a relatively small pressure balancing hole therein communicating between the cavity and an ambient atmosphere external thereto, said diaphragm member having sealably and fixedly connected to a central portion thereof in axial alignment with a side wall central axis a float release trigger actuating piston shaft, said shaft extending vertically from said diaphragm along said axis through said cavity and sealably through a top wall piston shaft hole and further extending a relatively short distance above a housing top surface, said shaft having an upper end thereof fixedly connected to a float release trigger actuating piston, said piston having vertically pivotably mounted therein a plurality of float release trigger lever arms spaced approximately equidistantly around the piston, said arms extending outwardly from said piston in parallel relation to the housing top surface in said equidistant arrangement, said lever arms being vertically pivotably mounted in trigger lever arm pivot means, one for each arm, said pivot means being attached to the housing at or near a housing outer edge, each of said arms having a float release trigger control member extending downwardly from said trigger lever arm pivot means, said control member being integral with said trigger lever arm, said control member having at an end thereof a float release trigger, said control member and trigger in spaced apart relationship with respect to a housing vertical wall outer surface to permit locking engagement with said float holding trigger engaging shoulders, said triggers moving toward said housing vertical wall outer surface and into float unlocking position upon upward movement of the diaphragm occasioned by sufficient increase in ambient pressure, said cavity having therein a pressure depth-set means for pre-selecting a pressure below which the diaphragm will not actuate said piston shaft upwardly.

Claim 4

An Emergency Locator System as set forth in claim 2 wherein the pressure depth set means comprises a spring means for springingly maintaining substantially constant the distance between a diaphragm top surface and a housing top wall lower surface until a force exerted by said spring in so maintaining said distance constant is exceeded by an opposing force acting against a diaphragm lower surface.

Claim 5

An Emergency Locator System as set forth in claim 2 wherein said buoyant marker float means is dome-shaped and is adapted to mount loosely over said base housing in spaced apart relationship therewith having a first space between the housing top surface and a float underside sufficient for piston upward movement clearance and to contain said grapple cables in bent over position and having a second space between the housing vertical wall exterior surface and a float vertical wall interior surface sufficient to permit water to freely circulate in the said spaces when the float is mounted on the base and the base and float are submerged in water, and wherein said trigger engaging shoulders extend outwardly from the float vertical wall interior surface toward the housing vertical wall when the float is mounted on the base, said shoulders being spaced for alignment with said float holding and release trigger for mounting the float means in releasably locking engagement with said triggers when said float is mounted on said base.

Claim 6

An Emergency Locator System as set forth in claim 4 wherein said float means has a line retaining spool attached to a central portion of the float means underside for winding the locator line thereon, said line connecting the float means to the base.

Claim 7

An Emergency Locator System as set forth in claim 5 wherein the dome-shaped float means has a plurality of dye marker capsules embedded in the float underside, said capsules being sealed within water soluble enclosures, each of said capsules having enclosures requiring different periods for dissolving said enclosure ranging over a period from a few minutes to many hours thereby regulating the time of discharge of the dye permitting dye marker to be observable upon the float means surfacing in the water throughout the said period.

Claim 8

An Emergency Locator System as set forth in claim 5 wherein said base has a U-shaped leaf spring means having ends mounted on the base housing top surface in transverse relationship across a base central portion being located so as to not interfere with said trigger actuating piston, said spring having a vertex portion impinging across a central portion of the float means under side when said float means is mounted on said base, and wherein said float means has sealable mounted in a central portion of the underside an electrical circuit push button type on-off switch, said switch being closed when the push button is extended outwardly from the said float underside and open when the push button is depressed, said leaf spring for holding said switch in a depressed position when the float means is mounted on said base, said float means further having sealably attached to a central top float surface a signaling system housing means, said housing means enclosing a signaling system and a battery pack for operating said signaling system when the said on-off switch is in the on position.

Claim 9

An Emergency Locator System as set forth in claim 7 wherein the signaling system comprises a high intensity strobe light means enclosed within said signaling system housing, and wherein said housing means has sealably attached to a top surface thereof a strobe light lense, said lense in light communication with the strobe light means for transmitting light emitted from the strobe light means hemispherically into the atmosphere from the float means when floating on a water surface.

Claim 10

An Emergency Locator System as set forth in claim 8 wherein the signaling system further comprises in combination with said strobe light signaling means a VHF radio transmitter set to transmit continuously, when energized, an internationally recognized distress signal on an internationally recognized emergency frequency, said housing having extending upwardly sealably through a top portion of said housing a transmitter antenna, said antenna being electrically connected to transmitter output terminals.

Claim 11

An Emergency Locator System as set forth in claim 7 wherein the signaling system comprises a VHF radio transmitter set to continuously transmit, when energized, an internationally recognized distress signal on an internationally recognized Emergency frequency, said housing having extending sealably upwardly through a top surface thereof a transmitter antenna said antenna being electrically connected to transmitter output terminals.

Claim 12

An Emergency Locator System as set forth in claim 7 wherein said signaling system housing has sealably mounted in an external wall thereof an on-off switch for manually energizing and de-energizing said signaling system, said switch for test purposes and for permitting continuous operation of the signaling system without removing the float means from the base when needed by a vessel in distress said vessel not having sunk.

Claim 13

An Emergency Locator System as set forth in claim 1 wherein said grapple hook means comprises a cylindrical body having a relatively small centrally located locator line hole therein for enclosing therein a locator line and thereby guiding the said grapple hook means to a sunken vessel, said grapple hook means further having at a bottom end a plurality of outwardly extending bottom end hook members and at a top end a plurality of outwardly extending hook members, said hook members extending outwardly at substantially right angles with respect to a longitudinal axis of the cylindrical body, said hook members being substantially in equidistant spacing around the cylindrical body and being adapted to hook into one or more base grapple cables upon being guided to the base top surface, said top end further being adapted to fixedly connect a retrieval cable thereto, said grapple hook means being adapted to be lifted to the water surface carrying with it the sunken vessel upon having hooked the vessel as described.