EPIRB HAVING RETENTION CARRIAGE STRAP FOR HANDS FREE CARRIAGE

• US 20160358448A1
• Filed: 06/02/2015
• Published: 12/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ACR Electronics, Inc. (Drew Marine USA, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ACR Electronics, Inc. (Drew Marine USA, Inc.)
• Inventors: Diaz, Francisco, Raimondo, Ricardo, Pinder, Marlon, Pack, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 11,208,183 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 22/00 Buoys floating decoys, e.g. for waterfowl A01M31/06; means for indicating the location of underwater objects B63C7/26; life-buoys, e.g. rings B63C9/08; mountings of acoustic transducer in underwater equipment, e.g. sonobuoys G10K11/006; electric cables supported on or from floats H02G9/12
• CPC Class Codes: B63C 2009/0017 characterised by making use of satellite radio beacon positioning systems, e.g. the Global Positioning System [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B63C 9/00 Life-saving in water life-saving in general A62B; arrangement or adaptation of signalling or lighting devices for ships, other waterborne vessels or for equipment for shipping B63B45/00; rescue equipment specially adapted for submarine personnel B63G8/40
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0231 Emergency, distress or locator beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12

Abstract

An emergency position indicating radio beacon that includes a waterproof rigid housing, antenna, a retention carriage strap securely mounted around its exterior periphery on a spool in a storage position. In an emergency the user can unwind the retention carriage strap and form an adjustable loop in the strap using hook and loop fasteners to firmly attach the strap connected to the EPIRB housing to the user'"'"'s arm that allows a user to transport the radio beacon with the retention carriage strap in a hands-free configuration.

Claims

1. An emergency position indicating radio beacon having:

a waterproof housing;

an antenna for transmitting and receiving RF signals connected to said waterproof housing;

internal signal generator and transmitter for creating RF emergency signals connected to said antenna;

power supply connected to said signal generator and transmitter;

transmitter on-off switch to connected to said power supply and said transmitter;

a retention carriage strap mounted around said waterproof housing in a storage position, said carriage strap being sized in length so that a user can engage the carriage strap for transporting the radio beacon in a hands-free manner.

2. An emergency position indicating radio beacon comprising:

a rigid watertight housing;

an antenna jack for attaching antenna to said housing mounted on the top of said housing;

spool strap;

said rigid housing including a cylindrical body portion that includes said spool disposed about the exterior body portion of said rigid housing;

security cord;

a flexible carriage strap removably wrapped around said spool in a first storage position;

said flexible carriage strap attached at one end by said security cord to an eye mounted on said exterior surface of said rigid body for tightly securing said carriage strap to said rigid housing;

said flexible carriage strap sized in length for grasping and attachment around the arm of a user for carriage of the EPIRB with at least one hand free.

3. A device as in claim 2, including:

a safety line of a predetermined length removably wrapped around said spool beneath said flexible carriage strap in the storage position.

5. The device as in claim 2, including:

said flexible carriage strap including a buckle attached at one end of said strap and areas of hook and separate areas of loop fasteners and strategically disposed on one side of said strap for looping and attaching portions of said strap to each other to form a loop or to tightly wrap said flat carriage strap against itself in a storage position around said rigid housing.

6. The device as in claim 2, including:

a short durable cord;

said rigid housing including an eye mounted on the exterior of said rigid housing, said eye sized to receive said short durable cord which is attached to said eye, and the opposite end of said court being attached to one end of said flexible flat carriage strap firmly attaching said carriage strap to said rigid housing.

4. A device as in claim 4, wherein:

said spool is fixed about said rigid housing for unwrapping said flexible carriage strap and said safety line.