Device for blocking or sealing an opening in a wall

Abstract

A device for sealing an opening in a wall includes at least one flexible, deformable balloon; a locking bar that is slidable into the opening of the wall from one side of the latter and engages with the opposite side of said wall; a plate capable of bearing on the at least one balloon and of sandwiching same against the wall; and a flexible connecting rope located between the locking bar and the plate and that passes through an inner duct of the balloon and is capable of compressing the balloon against the opening.

Claims

1. A device for blocking a hole in a wall, comprising: at least one flexible and deformable balloon, a single one-piece locking bar having opposed ends and adapted to be threaded into the hole in the wall from one side thereof and to come to press against an opposite side of the wall such that the single one-piece locking bar spans the hole, a plate configured to press on the at least one balloon to sandwich the balloon against the wall, and a flexible cord connecting the locking bar and the plate, the flexible cord attached to the locking bar between the opposing ends passing through the plate, and fastened to the plate, wherein traction on the locking bar compresses and seals the balloon against the hole.

2. The device for blocking according to claim 1, wherein the at least one balloon includes an interior duct through which the flexible connecting cord passes.

3. The device for blocking according to claim 1, comprising at least two balloons assembled against one another and delimiting between them a space forming a duct through which the flexible connecting cord passes.

4. The device for blocking according to claim 1, wherein the at least one balloon is inflatable after placing the at least one balloon and the plate against the hole, sandwiching the at least one balloon against the wall.

5. The device for blocking according to claim 1, wherein the wall is a hull of a boat.

6. The device for blocking according to claim 1, wherein the flexible cord is connected to the locking bar at about a midpoint of the locking bar.

7. A method of blocking a hole in a wall, comprising: threading a single one-piece locking bar into the hole in the wall from one side thereof, wherein the locking bar has opposing ends; positioning the locking bar against an opposite side of the wall around the hole such that the single one-piece locking bar spans the hole; providing at least one flexible and deformable balloon; connecting a first end of a flexible connecting cord to the locking bar at a location between the opposing ends and connecting a second end of the flexible connecting cord to a plate, wherein the plate is configured to sandwich the at least one flexible and deformable balloon against a side of the wall opposite a side of the wall that the locking bar is positioned; and compressing the at least one balloon against the hole by traction on the flexible cord.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the compressing deforms the at least one balloon to seal the hole.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The description and the appended drawings represent one non-limiting embodiment of the invention: other embodiments are possible within the scope and the extent of this invention, in particular using two balloons back-to-back or three balloons arranged like a trefoil or even more balloons.

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one example of a device in accordance with the invention with a single inflatable balloon through which a duct passes, shown in an assembled position but before it is used.

(3) FIG. 2 is a view of the device from FIG. 1 in section on a plane passing through the axis of the interior duct of the balloon.

(4) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the example of the device from FIGS. 1 and 2 in a position of use for blocking or sealing a hole such as a leak in a ship's hull.

(5) FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the device from FIG. 3 on a plane passing through the axis of the interior duct of the balloon as in FIG. 2 and at the time of compressing the balloon, which will then come to block or seal the hole in the hull.

(6) FIG. 5 is a view of another embodiment of the device in section on a plane passing through the axis of a duct disposed between two balloons assembled against one another.

(7) FIG. 6 is a section view of the device of FIG. 5 along line VI-VI.

DESCRIPTION

(8) In this embodiment, the device represented in FIGS. 3 and 4 for blocking or sealing a hole 9 in a wall 8 such as that of a boat or ship comprises:

(9) a single flexible and deformable balloon 3 including an interior duct 12 that is sealed from the remainder of the volume of the balloon, which duct 12 is preferably axial, i.e. passes through the centre of the volume of the balloon, which may be of quasi-spherical shape and for example of 50 cm diameter, which balloon may be made of PVC approximately 0.7 mm thick,

(10) a locking means 1 adapted to be slipped into the hole 9 in the wall 8 from one side 10 thereof, said locking means 1 comprising a metal, e.g. aluminum bar, and enabling immediate and effective anchoring/locking against the wall 8 around the hole 9,

(11) a pressing means 4 which is a circular, for example polyethylene, plate through the centre of which pass connecting means 2, and

(12) said connecting means 2, which is a cord such as a textile cord, between the locking means 1, i.e. said bar 1, and the pressing means 4, i.e. the circular plate 4,

(13) said connecting means 2 passing through the duct 12 and being adapted to enable compression of the balloon 3 against the hole 9 by traction on the locking means 1 and by sandwiching the balloon 3 between the pressing means 4 and the wall 8.

(14) To provide said compression, the circular plate 4 is caused to slide along the cord 2 and said plate 4 is then pressed against the balloon 3 by a simple strong pressure of the feet, which already provides rapid blocking or sealing of the hole 9.

(15) To maintain thereafter the pressing means or circular plate 4 at the resulting distance from the wall 8, the locking device includes a system 5 for locking the connecting means 2 relative to the pressing means or circular plate 4, thus fastening the connecting means 2 to the pressing means 4 at this distance from the partition 8. If the balloon is inflatable, it may then be more strongly inflated until a complete seal is produced, either manually (which is possible in 10 seconds maximum) or by a gas cartridge (even faster).

(16) The distance between the circular plate 4 and the wall 8 may be a given distance required for a deformable and non-inflatable flexible balloon and combined with the inflation pressure of the balloon if the latter is inflatable or with the hardness of its foam if it is not inflatable, and must compress the balloon 3 against this wall and therefore over the hole 9, which is therefore blocked or sealed, at a value adapted to oppose the force of the pressure of the outside water; this distance may be evaluated and adjusted by the operators themselves.

(17) To enable the inflation of the balloon, the latter is equipped with an inflation pipe 6 with a check valve and a three-port valve 7 used to fit an inflator or a manual pump or a gas cartridge; the valve 7 also includes a deflation valve.

(18) The surface of the balloon 3 intended to be applied to the hole 9 or breach is preferably covered with a woven fabric coated with resin or any other product that hardens in contact with water in order to complete the sealing of the device at the contours of the breach or hole 9.

(19) An example of an embodiment using two balloons is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Two balloons 3, 3 are assembled one against the other at 13, 13 and delimit between them a space 12 forming a duct through which the flexible connecting cord 2 passes. Embodiments using two or three or more balloons back-to-back are not represented in the present embodiment that describes only a device with only one balloon, but their production technique and their method of use are the same as those described above and represented in the appended figures and are therefore part of the present invention.