Title of Invention

"A DEVICE FOR RESCUING SMALL CHILDREN TRAPPED IN ABANDONED BORE HOLES"

Abstract

The device of the present invention constitutes an assembly of an adjustable cage with small converging and diverging rods, wire ropes, rotating drum, winding arrangement and tripod stand. The device of the present invention essentially consists of an adjustable cage with small converging and diverging rods, which can be lowered by means such as a wire rope on a rotatable small drum which is rotated by a winding arrangement. The cage is tied with wire rope for lowering and lifting. The novel device provides an effective means which enables rescue of a child trapped in a bore-hole / bore-well without causing physical injuries to them.

Full Text

The present invention relates to a device for rescuing small children trapped in abandoned bore-holes. The present invention particularly relates to a rescuing device for saving young children who have slipped into and are trapped in abandoned bore holes / bore wells, such as those that are dried groundwater bore holes or abandoned after unsuccessful drilling for tapping groundwater. The present invention essentially consists of an adjustable cage with converging and diverging rods, which can be lowered by a wire rope by means of a small drum which is rotated by drum winding handle. The cage is tied with wire rope for lowering and lifting. The main use of the device of the present invention is to rescue small children, without injuring the body of the child, trappedin boreholes / bore wells. In lndia due to poor-management of abandoned bore holes,,as well as poor child mangement,lot of incidents are taking place were children get trapped in abandoned bore holes. In the .drought prone indian states such as Andhra Pradesh,? Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh due-to scarcity of water resources, it is quite common for people to go in for digging of bore wells for both agricultural and drinking water purposes. As per newspaper reports more than 50% of these bore wells are abandoned due to nil or insufficient water. The abandoned bore wells are generally unfilled or partially filled: Therefore, these holes are potential hazards for young children, specially of the age;group 2 to 6 years, mostly while -they are playing of walkingand in turn they get trapped inside due to small size -of theftioles or inability of the children to come out due to their age. The depth of the abandoned bore holes in general vary from. 10 to 25 metres and the existing 2 diameter :of«abandoned bore holes-varies from 200mm to 300mm. Though the actual hole diameter drilled is 150 mm, it is extended to 200 to 300 mm for accommodating casing at the top to avoid collapse of hole. The casing length may vary-from 10 to 15 m depending-on-the hardness of top soil. Cases-of snrialk children falling^ in bore-hoies has., been reported in the newspapers on a number of occasions. In most of the cases, barring a few, children trapped Jn the bore hole^could not be rescued irrespective of serious attempts^made in„excavating small.wells parallel to the bore-hole. These methods are not only time consuming but also costly. Lot of resources was spent by ^coadministration in alUhecases but unfortunately all the operations ended with failure. Physical fishing methods are not advised to be practiced because of the danger of killing the children by the very technique. In some of the incidents a knotted-rope. was ^thrown and, the boy was asked, to catcb it. The children could respond in some of the cases and caught up to few feet distance and fell down .again*. Thismight^be-due to the fact that the child was injured while falling in the hole or-the rope is slippery due to moist conditions of the holer In*some of the1 _casesihe children could not understandthe instructions properly or they may not be in-a-position to.follow-it as they are physically trapped and in a state of trauma and jnental shocks Therefore all the present day methods, most of which are crude methods, to rescue the children proved to be inappropriate and some times dangerousrthus-causing death of the trapped child. Patent search of both Indian and foreign inventions reveals that no such rescue . device, has. been, invented 7 developed so- far The reason: might be the appropriate management of abandoned bore-holes i.e. filling of the ;bore holes with solid waste, which can avoid such accidents in foreign countries^ The necessity might not arise in other countries because of their various socioeconomic and water resource conditions. There are some patents fn United States related to the bore-hole debris clearing devices and not rescue devices. Reference may be*made to US patent nos: 20020174987 (Sand removal and device&retrieval tool), 20030000695 (Debris coHe'ctiorr devise and method) and 20020014339 (Apparatus and method for packing or anchoring an inner tubular within- a-casing);, wherein the borecole cleaning techniques are mentioned, these devices are- not - useful* for rescue of chHdren even with major modifications. It was notrreported anywhere about*a device, which is specially inveated for reseue of children trapped in bore-holes r From the hitherto known prior art; it can be concluded that there is no such . devicesavailablein india and abroad to rescue small children who are trapped in bore holes / bore wells, which are usually dry and abandoned. The only available way left to save such trapped children currently is to excavate small well parallel to the^bore hole by a mechanical excavator. This method is costly and time consuming, which generally takes 1 to 2 days for a depth of 10 to 25 metres and the chances of recovering the child alive are remote. Therefore, there is a definite ... need for providing an effective and economical potentially useful device for quick recovery of a child alive from a bore hole / bore welt" The main object of the present invention is to provide asdevice for rescuing small -children trapped in abandonedbore-holes: Another object of the present invention is to provide a device, which* is effective „ and economical;-hence; should -find, mass application to rescue children trapped ^abandoned bore^holes. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a devicey which can also be useds to recover small animals or valuable items, such as instruments accidentally slipped into bore-rholes. The device of the present invention constitutes an assembly of an adjustable cage, with small converging and diverging rods, wire ropes, rotating drum, winding arrangement and'tripods stand. The device of the present invention .essentially consists of-an adjustable cage with small converging and diverging rods; which can be-lowered by means such as a wire rope on a rotatable small drum which is rotated by a winding arrangement. The cage is tied with wire rope for lowesngrand lifting. The present invention1 provides a novel device for rescuing bore hole trapped children, wherein the inventive step comprises of providing an assembly of an adjustable* cager in combination-with: means of lowering and lifting which effectively enables rescue-of a child trapped in a bore-hole / bore-well. The2device of rther present invention; for rescuing ^mall children trapped in abandoned bore-holes, and its constituents are shown in figure 1 of the drawings accompanying this specification. The major constituents of the cage, which forms the trapping-arrangemente'are shown in figures 2a;-2b: 2c and 2d of the .drawings accompanying thisr-specification. - --^--;■_. -*b-••■-■. ■- v - -• ..• -. • - ;•■• rThe legend to thefigurer1 showing the view- of elevation-of the device of the 'present toventien is aaunden 1. Trapping Gage 2. Vertical rods 3. Lower Trapping; Shoe - 4. Plastic lining withinside groove 5. Trapping wire-rope 6.: Conical Blocks 7.~ Wire tope lock -8. UpperTrapping shoe:; :9.r Converging Rods .10. Cbnvergingtnopef 11. Slant Diverging rods 12. Diverging spring- 13. Hoist Rope 14. Lowering Rod 15., Windingdramr -1 & Drumshaft1- 17. Drum winding handle 18. JunctionspoaitK* 19,'Rope tyingr:ptn 20. Tripod 21. Dram winding handle 22. BrakesroaV 23. Drum support rods 24/fBrake tiole^ ThererabodimentiOfithe device of the present invention, for rescuing small shydrertc&appedrin ^ isJ||§pwrt;>in^g}are-1 of the drawings. ;The^tevt6eM>f thet^^ winding arrangementa aod an adiustable^ge with uride^^ Tterf^e^&)«cotitak^ vertical rodss(2) and- curved trapping ;Shoe&y(3 &8taMhetopaiTCfjbottojTi. The4£we* ■ t~—-■""£ trapping wire ropes* (5) at the mid t>oint andSEhecwire ropes are taken to the surface through vw to the upper curved trapping »sfeoes.(8)r. Three numbers of conica^blocks:-(6) are attached to each wire rope fof the purpose oflocking; Two numbered slanted diverging rods (11) are>fixedtolbe- verticaUrods of thecage and joineri-at a junction point (t8) on the top of.-the cage:. Twa converging rods (9) are alse fixed at the point where the slant and»vertical:rods meet The converging rods are fixed such that they can bringsthe vertical rods closer by liffing-the'rods-upwanfcby converging rope (10). A diverging*spring (12) is also fixed/atrjustbelow thejunction point (T8), to stretch the cage.;ap:to the full bore holeisize/The cage is attached to a hoist rope (13) -and lowering*rod (14). The cage4s.hoisted and lowered by operating winding drum (15), The-winding drum is rotated on a drum shaft (16) by means of drum windingrhandless(17 &21). Abraketrod (22)ris attached to thedrum support rod, which*can be-inserted:tin the-brakes hole (24)imade in the winding drum for stopping the rotating drurrrat*any timer Theiwinding drum is fixed by means of supportTodss(23)to;a tripod (20),:whieh is placed above the bore hole by means of threeHegs: There--is a rope tying p'm,(X9) fixed to the tripod stand for the tying the trapping rope (5) and converging rope (10) on the surface. The .legend -to, the- figure 2asshowing the bottom view of. the trapping arrangementsiof thecage of the device of the present invention is as under: 24lrBottoTn viewxjfclower trappiBg>shoes (3) 25:^ORgated-'spTing * ?■ 26: Anchor points^ . . 57. Bottom?viewof tmpping rope (5)fixed to spring (25) 28: Cross=section of vertical rodst(2)- of cage (1) The trapping arrangements shown in figure 2a include lower curved shoes (24), elongated: spring>(25) and trapping rope (27). The spring-is placed-imthe* groove and* fixed by: anchor points (26). The. trapping rope is fixed to the sp/ingrat mid point and taken out through, a hole made insthe vertical rods (28) of the cage as shown in the figure. The legend to the figure 2b showing the bottom view of the of the cage of the device of the^presaTtinventiore^fter; tapping 4s asunder: 29: Springs (25) in closed position - 30t Released trapping rope (5) The^bottorrrview-of the= arrangements rafter trapping, shows, the springa(25) in closedtpositiQn {29) and =the trapping rope (5) in released positron- (30). Both the springs-and-the«rope form anet.-at the toe of the child to be trapped. This net, wtiite-hQistmg restrictsitheiChMfrom falling down. The:tegend. tothe-figure*2c showing the side view;of bottom arrangements of trapping.cage of thedevace of the present invention's as under: 31 Verticar rod (2) • 3ZRopeiioie .*■ 33. Spring (25).in the groove ? "-.34, Plastic lining-(4) •■-•.. cSiSs Lower trappiag; siirQer(3) ■ ?T^e^artssstiowiT^pfigare 2c cteariy depict the ^elairve; positions of vertical rod, rsprift^i»:the grooves formedby. the piastic^irjing. The trapping rope?is tieoVto the ispringsptacedsin the - Therstde view of the iocking.arrangements of trapping rope isishown in figure 2d. The-tegend to the Eigure.2d-is as under: ? -• - 36. Trapping rope (5) 37. Upper trapping shoe (8> 38. Conical blocks (6) 39.-Rotating trianguiaryblock ^40> Fixed pjns 41. Vertical rod (2). The figure 2d gives a pictorial description of the locking arrangements of the trapping rope. The mechanical lock is attached to the inside portion of the upper trapping shoe (37) as shown in figure 2d. The trapping rope (36) is fixed with conical blocks (38), which are passed through a rope lock which contains, rotating triangular block (39) and four numbers of fixed pins (40). The arrangement of the triangular blocks is such that it can allow the rope to go up and not down. The position of vertical rod (41) of the cage is also shown. Accordingly, the present invention provides a device for rescuing small children trapped in abandoned bore-holes wherein the said device is characterised in providing an assembly of an adjustable cage having trapping arrangement, in combination with means for lowering and lifting. In an embodiment of the invention wherein the trapping arrangement used may be selected from trapping rope and trapping springs. In another embodiment of the invention wherein the means for lowering and lifting used may be selected from lowering rod and hoist rope. In an embodiment of the present invention the device comprises an adjustable cage (1) consisting of two vertical rods (2) each being provided with curved horizontal trapping shoes (3 & 8) at the top and bottom, respectively, each of the bottom trapping shoes (3) having a cushion-lining (4) and a spring (25) fixed to the shoe ends, the mid point of the springs on each side being tied with trapping wire ropes (5) having conical blocks (6) and taken to the surface through wire rope locks (7) attached to the upper curved trapping shoes (8), the vertical rods (2) of the cage (1) being provided at the top with two slanted diverging rods (11) joined at a junction point (18) having a diverging spring (12) and two converging rods (9) joined at a junction point fixed to a converging rope (10) in such a manner that the converging rods are capable of bringing the vertical rods closer by lifting the rods upward, the said cage (1) is attached at said junction point (18) to a lowering rod (14) and a hoist rope (13) leading to a rotatable winding drum (15) on a drum shaft (16) having drum winding handles (17 & 21) and a braking mechanism such as a rod (22) and hole (24) in the drum support rods (23) fixed to a tripod stand (20) provided with a rope tying pin (19). In another embodiment of the present invention, the wire ropes are of conventional type. irr yet anotrffirembodiment of thepresent invention, the cage is fabricated with Jighlrweight eo«osion=free materialisuch as aluminium alloy. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the lowering rod (14) is provided withrmeans for fixing extension rods. Thmprocesstof rescuing of ihe borecole trappedichild with the device of the presentinvention is explained below: Initially all tbespartsoflhedevice of the present invention in the dismantled state are^ssembledsasshown in the:figured. The tripod stand,along with the rotating drumawt-adjustable cage?ris fixedtat the^surfaGe^opening of the bore-hole. BeYoreHoweringof:the,cagethe exaotdeptteofjlhe^arenbole where the child is 'stuckMapsshouldiberineasurediby^gently loweri^aisraall: weighttby means of a TOpe*#fte£aeee£l^r^^ drum by "iffleanS:oirotating-thedcunt haadle levers.^Thetcageis:tevveied^by«means of cage ^ropeiand-rodialong wife threei wire ropes^i:eidiv*cging ropeand two numbers of trapping^wire ropes- The-cageis lowered by setting the external diameter of the cage4o about 20,mm less than the diameter of the bore-hole to enabte lowering without obstnicttarg' the bore hole walls. This setting is done by adjusting the diverging spring (12). The diameter of the cage can be reduced by pulling the converging rope^l0), to avoid thecage-to be?cj|oked up due to some protruding rocks in the hole. This contracting and exparlfing arrangement of the cage is made because of the reason that the bore hole! in general have rough surfaces -and Toek. ridges*insider which causes- obsthJi$on?to the cage- wnile lowering. "There issa^tong FOXJ (14) with a diameter of 2 crriv-attached to the cage, which can be operated whenever there is obstruction to the cage while lowering. This rod is also required to push down the cage when the child is encountered. If the rod is short of reaehing-thebottomranother rod should be attached, to the first rod. As and when the cagereaehes the trapped child the lowering procedure should be very slow and the cage should be pushed down manually in the event of any obstruction at the bottom of the cage. After lowering the cage to the bottom most portion of the bore hole, the trapping rope should be pulled up so that the trapping springs-are released and a net is formed at the bottom to trap the child as shown in figure 2b- of *the* drawings. There are some conical blocks (6) attached to the two trapping ropes, which, by passing through the mechanical rope lock (7) allows the rope to go only upwards but not downwards. This facilitates locking of the trapping rope, which helps in perfect trapping of the child. The cage, then, should be lifted up by operating the winding drum slowly and steadily. The present invention provides a novel device for rescuing bore-hole trapped children with minimum damage to the body. This novel device can effectively replacethe existing methods of mechanical / manual excavation of a well parallel to thetbore holeto handle the bore-hole trapped children. The inventive step of the noxel device ofihe present invention resides in the assembly of an adjustable cage in combination with means of lowering and lifting which effectively enables rescue of a child trapped in a bore-hole / bore-well. The present invention provides an effective, safe and cheaper method of rescuing bore-hole trapped children at the shortest possible time. The following example is given by way of illustration of the device:of the present invention in actual practice and therefore should not be construed to limit the scope of the present invention. Example-1 A device of the present invention was fabricated in steel. This device was used for experimental rescue of a small dog. For this experiment in the ."laboratory, a plastic pipe of 150 mm diameter and 10 m length was fixed vertically to resemble an experimental bore-hole; The main wire rope used for lowering tthe cage was 5mm thick-and the cage rod used was of 20 mm diameter. The trapping and converging-ropes used were 2 mm thick. A small dog of 4 kg weight was used in the Place of a child-for rescuing purpose. The tripod stand along with the -rotating drum and adjustable cage was fixed at the surface opening of the bore-holeBeforedowering of the cage the exact depth of the bore-hole. where the dog was stuck-up was -measured by gently lowering a small weightby means of a rope.After. ascertaining the depth as 10m the cage was lowered by rewinding the drum by: means of rotating the drum handle levers. The cage was: lowered by means of cage rope and rod along with three wire ropes i.e. diverging rope and two numbers of trapping wire ropes. The external diameter of the cage was set to about 130mm, that is 20 mm less than the diameter of the bore-hole, by adjusting the diverging spring. The cage was lowered into the bore-hole without obstruction. The cage rod of 20mm diameter, attached to the cage, was used to push down the cage gently when the dog trapped at the bottom of the bore-hole was encountered. After lowering the cage to the bottom most portion of the borehole, the trapping rope was pulled up so that the trapping springs* got released and formed a net at the bottom. The conical blocks attached to the two trapping ropes, which, by passing through the mechanical rope lock allowed the rope to go only upwards but not downwards. This facilitated locking of the trapping rope and enabled proper trapping of the trapped dog. The cage was then lifted up by operating the winding drum slowly and steadily. The trapped dog was successfully rescued inside the cage and lifted to a height of 10 m. The entire process lasted for about two hours. Three such experimental trials were successfully conducted in the laboratory. In conclusion, the experiments demonstrated that the present invention provides a safe and cost-effective novel device for rescuing bore hole trapped children. The main-advantages of the present invention are: 1. Provides safe rescue of bore-hole trapped child. 2. Provides cheap and effective rescue of a bore-hole trapped child. 3. Provides fast and easy method of rescueof a bore-hole trapped child. 4. Provides a device, which is portable and easy to carry to inaccessible places. 5. Provides a device, which is easy to assemble at site. 6. Provides a device, which is operated manually without any external power supply. We claim: 1. A device for rescuing small children trapped in abandoned bore-holes, wherein the said device is characterised in providing an assembly of an adjustable cage having trapping arrangement, in combination with means for lowering and lifting the said device comprises an adjustable cage (1) consisting of two vertical rods (2) each being provided with curved horizontal trapping shoes (3 & 8) at the top and bottom, respectively, each of the bottom trapping shoes (3) having a cushion-lining (4) and a spring (25) fixed to the shoe ends, the mid point of the springs on each side being tied with trapping wire ropes (5) having conical blocks (6) and taken to the surface through wire rope locks (7) attached to the upper curved trapping shoes (8), the vertical rods (2) of the cage (1) being provided at the top with two slanted diverging rods (11) joined at a junction point (18) having a diverging spring (12) and two converging rods (9) joined at a junction point fixed to a converging rope (10) in such a manner that the converging rods are capable of bringing the vertical rods closer by lifting the rods upward, the said cage (1) is attached at said junction point (18) to a lowering rod (14) and a hoist rope (13) leading to a rotatable winding drum (15) on a drum shaft (16) having drum winding handles (17 & 21) and a braking mechanism such as a rod (22) and hole (24) in the drum support rods (23) fixed to a tripod stand (20) provided with a rope tying pin (19). 2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the trapping arrangement used is selected from trapping rope and trapping springs . 3. A device as claimed in claim 1-2 wherein the means for lowering and lifting used is selected from lowering rod and hoist rope. 4. A device for rescuing small children trapped in abandoned bore-holes, substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings accompanying this specification.

Documents:

824-del-2003-abstract.pdf

824-del-2003-claims.pdf

824-del-2003-complete specification(granted).pdf

824-del-2003-correspondence-others.pdf

824-del-2003-correspondence-po.pdf

824-del-2003-description (complete).pdf

824-del-2003-drawings.pdf

824-del-2003-form-1.pdf

824-del-2003-form-19.pdf

824-del-2003-form-2.pdf

824-del-2003-form-3.pdf