The present invention relates to the field of boat safety devices and, more particularly, to a type of safety device which is not yet available since it is known only to the inventor, and which is capable of stopping or at least diverting and slowing down a boat if its only driver has fallen overboard.

As is known to those skilled in the art, this kind of accident happens fairly frequently: as a result of a gust of wind, a sudden jolt of the boat or even simply because the driver loses his balance accidentally, often falling overboard while the automatic piloting system with which the boat may be equipped remains engaged. This means that the boat maintains its course and its speed, powered by propulsion means such as engines or sails, and rapidly (and out of control) travels further and further away from the spot where the driver fell overboard, with the all too obvious consequences of serious risk to the driver's safety, the latter being left at sea at what can be a considerable distance from the shore.

An additional element of risk in such a situation is that the boat, continuing its course, as has been said, out of control, could collide at high speed with other craft, swimmers, etc.

In order to avoid all these risks and disadvantages the inventor of the present invention has come up with a device which is immediately able to detect if the driver is no longer on board the boat and to stop the boat and/or cause it to change the position of its rudder such that it follows a course describing a circumference of predetermined diameter, in other words, so that the driver can swim up to the boat and climb back on board.

The subject of the present invention thus consists of a safety device as defined in the preamble of the appended Claim 1, characterized by the characterizing part of the said claim.

A more detailed description will now be given of some embodiments of the device according to the present invention, with reference also being made in the course of this description to the appended drawings, in which: * Figure 1 shows the block diagram for one embodiment of the device of the invention; * Figure 2 shows the block diagram for another embodiment of the device of the invention; * Figure 3 shows a detail on an enlarged scale which illustrates the way in which the devices of Figures 1 and 2 are connected to a tiller fitted with an automatic piloting system.

Let us examine Figure 1: it shows a portable transmitter 2 which transmits an electromagnetic signal (for example radio waves) with a very limited receiving range (a few tens of metres).

The driver must keep this transmitter 2 in his pocket or in a suitable container securely fastened to his body or to an item of clothing worn by him.

The boat (not shown) carries a receiver 3 which is able to pick up the signal transmitted by the said transmitter 2 as long as the latter is located within the said maximum receiving range.

The receiver 3 is fitted with means of known type capable of detecting the absence of the said signal and of activating a unit 4 which is able, as will be seen below, to stop and/or divert the course of the boat.

If the driver has fallen overboard and the boat, as it continues on its course, travels further and further away from the driver until it has travelled a distance greater than the receiving range of the signal transmitted by the. transmitter 2, this unit 4 is activated by the receiver 3 and intervenes by stopping and/or diverting the boat.

In order to do this the receiver 3 must be able to act on the engine or engines propelling the boat, if these are present, by switching them off, and must be

able to act on the tiller 11 or wheel, making it turn so that the boat is forced to follow a course describing a tight circumference around the spot where the driver fell overboard.

In order to be able to act on the rudder, more often than not, the unit 4 has to be able to disengage the automatic piloting system connected to it. The device 1 according to the invention-can have many possible embodiments, especially as regards the unit 4 described above, which can vary depending on the type of boat and the type of controls installed on the boat.

The embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2, for example, are particularly suited to small boats, whether these are fitted with sails or engines, and which also have an automatic piloting system 9 (see Figure 3) which keeps the tiller 11 fixed in a predetermined position.

In the case of Figure 1, the device 1 has an electronic system constructed using known techniques which, when the signal from the transmitter 2 is no longer detected, actuates a switch 12 designed to cut off the electric power supply to the engine or engines (in particular by cutting off the current to the spark plugs or fuel pump, for example).

The unit 4 shown in Figure 1 also has a small compressed air unit 5 (even simply a small cylinder 10) which is connected by means of a valve 6 to a small piston 7 which, when actuated, disengages the automatic piloting system from the tiller 11.

Obviously the said valve 6, which has to be of electromagnetic type, is also actuated by the receiver 3 when the latter no longer picks up the said signal from the transmitter 2. The tiller 11, having been disengaged from the control of the automatic piloting system, then assumes an angle set by an elastic member, for example an elastic belt 13, which is connected to it with a given preloading tension T.

The said tiller 11, held in that position, forces the boat-as already mentioned-to follow a

course describing a circumference of predetermined diameter around the spot where the driver fell overboard.

The system illustrated for disengaging the automatic piloting system 9 is suitable for use with the very common set-up in which the said system 9 holds the tiller 11 in position by means of a pin 9P inserted transversely into the tiller 11 from above.

The piston 7 which, as described is actuated, by the compressed air via the valve 6, vertically lifts the arm 8 of the automatic piloting system 9 until the pin 9p has been extracted from the tiller 11, thereby disengaging the said system 9.

Figure 2 shows another embodiment of the device of the invention, identical to the one described above, but simpler and less expensive; the way in which the various parts work remains unchanged, except that instead of actuating the piston 7 by means of compressed air, it is actuated electrically by means of a relay 15 or a member of similar type and function which is activated by the safety device 1 when the receiver 3 no longer picks up the signal transmitted by the transmitter 2.

Needless to say, if other types of automatic piloting systems are in place, the unit 4 may employ different component parts to those described above and these will be specifically designed, with regard to their shape and positioning, so that the abovementioned system will still be disengaged and release the tiller 11 or wheel (not shown) so that it can be set in the desired angular position under the action of the said elastic member, which will also be designed and constructed in a suitable manner.

From among the various other possible embodiments of the device of the invention, it is worth mentioning one which is identical in operation to the two embodiments described above and is particularly suited to boats having an autopilot in which a member

(tiller, wheel, etc.) controlling the course of the boat is moved by axial translation or by rotation.

In this case, instead of actuating the said piston 7 electrically, it is sufficient to actuate the electric servomotor which operates the rudder in a suitable direction and to a suitable degree.

In order to make the device even more reliable, the inventor has envisaged constructing the portable transmitter 2 such that it no longer transmits a signal if it is turned upside down. This can be achieved, for example, by inserting a mercury switch on one branch of its power circuit and helps to avoid particular situations in which there might be a natural amplification of the signal transmitted which might allow the boat to travel an excessive distance away from the spot where the driver fell overboard.

As the transmitter floats around after the said fall, or even as the fall takes place, the said device is turned upside down and transmission of the signal is interrupted, thereby activating the safety device of the invention.

Any embodiments of the device 1 and of the unit 4 which it comprises which differ from the exemplary embodiments described above, still fall within the scope of protection conferred by the present patent application as long as they are based on the information contained in the appended Claim 1.