Water activated restraint release system

摘要

A water activated restraint release that is designed to be retrofitted onto an existing restraint system. The water activated restraint release includes a buckle and a tang to be secured to the buckle. The buckle includes a release mechanism and an actuator assembly. The actuator assembly causes the release mechanism to release the tang in the presence of water, thereby releasing a passenger.

主权项

1. A system for releasing a passenger restraint in the presence of water, the system comprising:
a first buckle having forward and rearward ends, a fixed tang secured to the rearward end and a releasable tang secured to the forward end, the fixed tang having a first locking aperture, the releasable tang having first and second locking apertures, the first locking aperture of the releasable tang being secured to the passenger restraint; a release mechanism positioned within the first buckle, the release mechanism including pivotal locking pawl and having a locked orientation wherein the locking pawl engages the second locking aperture and an unlocked orientation wherein the locking pawl is disengaged from the second locking aperture to permit the releasable tang to be removed from the first buckle, a torsion spring for urging the locking pawl into the locked orientation; an actuator assembly positioned within the first buckle and including a compression spring and a pusher pin, with the compression spring biasing the pusher pin into an extended orientation, the actuator assembly having an actuated state wherein the compression spring is permitted to engage the pusher pin and wherein the pusher pin pivots the locking pawl and brings the release mechanism into the unlocked orientation, the actuator assembly also having an un-actuated state wherein the compression spring remains compressed such that the pusher pin does not pivot the locking pawl, a bobbin that collapses in the presence of water, the bobbing keeping the compression spring biased and the release mechanism in the locked orientation while not in the presence of water, the bobbin collapsing in the presence of water to release the compression spring and actuate the release mechanism; a second buckle to be releasably secured to the first locking aperture of the fixed tang; a color indicator for visually signifying whether the actuator assembly has been actuated.