CN111434363A

CN111434363A - Emergency oxygen supply device for aircraft passengers and aircraft comprising such a device

Info

Publication number: CN111434363A
Application number: CN201910036506.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: D·德根哈特
Original assignee: B / E Aviation Systems Ltd
Current assignee: B / E Aviation Systems Ltd
Priority date: 2019-01-15
Filing date: 2019-01-15
Publication date: 2020-07-21

Abstract

The invention relates to an emergency oxygen supply device for passengers in an aircraft, comprising an oxygen source having a plurality of pulsed breathing masks connected to the oxygen source by lines, wherein a single shut-off valve is provided in each line to the breathing masks, which shut-off valve is switched to a shut-off state in the inoperative state. Furthermore, the oxygen emergency supply device has a pulsed breathing control device for operating each individual shut-off valve and auxiliary lines are provided which connect the oxygen source to the breathing mask while bypassing the individual shut-off valves and which are each connected via a non-return valve to the respective line leading to the breathing mask or to the breathing mask itself. The auxiliary line is connected to the oxygen source via a central shut-off valve which is switched to an open state in the unoperated state.

Description

Emergency oxygen supply device for aircraft passengers and aircraft comprising such a device

Technical Field

The invention relates to an oxygen emergency supply device for passengers on board an aircraft and to an aircraft having such an oxygen emergency supply device for passengers.

Background

Emergency oxygen supply devices for passengers on board an aircraft are known in the prior art, which are intended to ensure that, in the event of a sudden pressure drop at great heights, a sufficient supply of oxygen to the passengers is ensured until the aircraft has descended to a flight altitude at which the supply of oxygen from the environment is sufficient for the passengers. For this purpose, containers with breathing masks are usually arranged above the seat row, which containers open in the event of a sudden pressure drop, so that the breathing masks fall downwards towards the passenger and the passenger is supplied with the required oxygen by means of an oxygen generator or from a high-pressure oxygen cylinder. For this, there are systems for continuously delivering oxygen to a breathing mask, oxygen being temporarily stored in a reservoir bag on the oxygen mask, and systems for delivering a metered amount of oxygen to the user of the breathing mask at the start of inhalation, which provide a so-called bolus volume (Bolusvolumen) and then ambient air as breathing gas. The latter breathing masks, so-called pulse breathing masks, have no reservoir bag and are connected directly via a line to an oxygen emergency supply. The latter supply principle is particularly advantageous in respect of the amount of oxygen to be conducted, since the oxygen available here can almost completely enter the lungs of the passenger and can therefore be smaller than the size of the first mentioned system. However, for this purpose, each pulse-type breathing mask needs to be equipped with a separate shut-off valve (single shut-off valve), which is actuated by the pulse-type breathing control device and controls the oxygen quantity as a function of the cabin pressure, i.e., opens the valve and supplies the required oxygen quantity at the time when the valve has to be opened, specifically at the beginning of inhalation, i.e., when a negative pressure is generated in the pulse-type mask. The negative pressure is detected by a pressure sensor or pressure switch in the breathing mask or in the line delivering oxygen to the breathing mask.

Such an oxygen emergency supply device is known, for example, from DE 102005013658B 4. The pulsed breathing regulator described therein works mechanically, i.e. is structurally complex, expensive and heavy. In this respect, a system with a single electromagnetically controlled shut-OFF valve is more advantageous, which can be provided as an ON/OFF valve (ON/OFF valve) in an advantageous and compact manner. Such a system is known from DE 102004042388B 3.

The disadvantage of solenoid-operated valves is that at least one electrical emergency current source must always be present even in emergency situations in which the valve must be operated. For this purpose, auxiliary turbines (RAM-Air-Turbine RAM Air turbines) are provided in passenger aircraft, which ensure emergency power supply even in the event of a shutdown of all engines, but in a limited amount.

Disclosure of Invention

On the basis of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide an emergency oxygen supply device for passengers on board an aircraft, which on the one hand is cost-effective and weight-saving to manufacture and on the other hand ensures that sufficient oxygen is supplied to the passengers even when the emergency current source is out of operation.

The object according to the invention is achieved by the emergency oxygen supply device according to the invention. Furthermore, an aircraft with such an oxygen emergency supply device is provided according to the invention.

According to the invention, an oxygen emergency supply device is understood to mean a facility, a device, a system which provides a plurality of oxygen breathing masks, i.e. breathing masks, from an oxygen source via a pipeline network with valve assemblies with the required oxygen for passengers in an aircraft in the event of a sudden pressure drop. The aircraft in the present invention may be any aircraft that may be located in such altitudes that are important for breathing gas supply, typically in excess of 10000 feet.

The emergency oxygen supply device according to the invention for passengers in an aircraft has an oxygen source which can be formed by one or more high-pressure oxygen cylinders and/or one or more chemical oxygen generators and supplies oxygen to a plurality of pulsed breathing masks, which are connected to the oxygen source by a pipeline. In each line to the breathing mask, a shut-off valve is provided, which is referred to below as individual shut-off valves and which are designed to be switched to a shut-off state in the unoperated state. Furthermore, a pulsed breathing control device for operating or controlling each individual shut-off valve is provided, which is usually, but not necessarily, formed by an electronic circuit. According to the invention, a secondary line (also referred to as an emergency line) is provided, which connects the oxygen source to the breathing mask while bypassing the individual shut-off valves and, when a separate connection is provided for the secondary line to the breathing mask, each secondary line is connected via a non-return valve to the respective line leading to the breathing mask or to the breathing mask itself. The auxiliary line is connected to the oxygen source via a further shut-off valve, which is also referred to below as a central shut-off valve, which is designed to be switched open in the unoperated state.

The basic idea of the solution according to the invention is to provide, on the one hand, an oxygen emergency supply system which is optimized in terms of oxygen demand, i.e. only for providing a bolus volume, which is structurally simple, weight-saving and reliable, i.e. has a single shut-off valve, usually a solenoid valve, but which can provide sufficient oxygen even in the event of the emergency current source itself being out of operation. This is achieved according to the invention in that an auxiliary line, i.e. an additional line, is provided which, starting from the oxygen source, is connected to the breathing mask bypassing the single shut-off valve, i.e. parallel to the single shut-off valve. In this case, a check valve is provided in each case in front of the breathing mask in the auxiliary line, so that no gas is introduced into the auxiliary line via the breathing mask. Furthermore, a central shut-off valve, i.e. a shut-off valve as a bypass valve between the oxygen source and the branch to the breathing mask, is provided in the auxiliary line, which shut-off valve is switched open in the unoperated state. This arrangement makes it possible to operate or control the central shut-off valve in the presence of a current source or an emergency current source in standard emergency operation by means of corresponding electrical connections, so that the central shut-off valve is only switched off when the emergency current source ceases to operate, which central shut-off valve is then switched to the non-operated, i.e. open state, so that a continuous flow of oxygen through the auxiliary line to the breathing mask is also ensured.

The oxygen emergency supply device according to the invention is operated in such a way that, in normal operation of the aircraft, i.e. when the oxygen emergency supply device is not operating but is ready to operate, the central shut-off valve is currentless and therefore open. In standard emergency operation, i.e. when the passengers are supplied with emergency oxygen via the breathing mask, the central shut-off valve is switched off, i.e. the time during which the central shut-off valve is switched off is the time during which the current source or the emergency current source is present. It should be noted that the oxygen emergency supply device has a further shut-off device connected upstream, for example a further central main shut-off valve connected upstream, which is opened only when the oxygen emergency supply device is in operation, so that no oxygen flows through the opened central shut-off valve during normal operation of the aircraft. In this case, the individual shut-off valves of the pulsed breathing mask, which are activated in emergency operation, are controlled by the respective pulsed breathing control device. This can be done as long as there is a power source, either the normal supply current source or the emergency supply current source of the aircraft. The solution according to the invention is used only when the power supply is not operating, wherein the central shut-off valve is no longer operated due to the interruption of the current, i.e. is in an open state, whereas the individual shut-off valves are likewise in an unoperated, but shut-off state when the current is interrupted. It is advantageous here if the individual shut-off valves and/or the central shut-off valve are electromagnetically actuated and are currentless in the non-actuated state. Such a solenoid valve is cost-effective to obtain and is stable over a long period of time. For this purpose, the central shut-off valve and the individual shut-off valves are advantageously operated electromagnetically, but electrically or pneumatically operated valves can also be used.

In particular, in the case of electromechanical valves, a spring arrangement must be provided in order to return the valve to the non-actuated state, which spring arrangement ensures that the respective valve can always return to the same initial state when it is not actuated.

Advantageously, according to the invention, a single shut-off valve or a central shut-off valve, preferably all shut-off valves, are designed as on/off valves, i.e. valves which only recognize two switching states, and which can be operated particularly easily in terms of control technology.

In order to ensure, on the one hand, that oxygen reliably reaches the breathing mask via the line network and, on the other hand, that no more oxygen flows than is required in continuous flow operation, according to the invention a flow reducer, preferably in the form of a nozzle, is arranged upstream or downstream of the central shut-off valve in the flow direction. The gas coming out of the oxygen cylinder at high pressure is first led through a pressure reducer, which reduces the pressure to about 2 bar. In this case, the flow reducer in the form of a nozzle, which is preferably connected downstream of the central shut-off valve in the flow direction, is designed in such a way that, once the pulsed breathing mask is activated, it is able to provide a continuous flow of oxygen to the pulsed breathing mask, which is sufficient to provide a sufficient amount of oxygen to the body without a reservoir bag.

In a similar manner, the individual shut-off valves are preferably also equipped with a flow reducer, which is preferably connected downstream of the individual shut-off valves in the flow direction and is designed as a nozzle. In this way, the required oxygen flow to the pulsed mask can be ensured by means of a single electromagnetic shut-off valve, which is simple in construction and freely selectable in terms of flow cross section, in combination with a downstream nozzle.

In order to achieve a timely arrival of the oxygen supplied to the breathing masks, i.e. when the occupant with a pulsed breathing mask starts the inhalation process, a pressure sensor or pressure switch is provided, by means of which the inhalation phase of each activated breathing mask can be detected. A certain vacuum is thus obtained, which is detected by a pressure sensor or a pressure switch and is transmitted via an electrical and/or data connection to the pulsed breathing control device, which then actuates the respective individual shut-off valve to open in time, i.e. at the beginning of the inhalation process.

In order to ensure that a sufficient, but as small an amount of oxygen as possible, i.e. only a bolus volume, is provided, it is advantageous to detect the cabin pressure in the aircraft by means of a further pressure sensor, so that the time required for actuating the opening of the individual breathing valves can be determined in the pulsed breathing control device by means of a corresponding algorithm or a stored table. Such a pressure sensor measuring the ambient pressure can be arranged at virtually any point of the system.

It is basically immaterial to the function of the oxygen emergency supply system according to the invention in which way oxygen is produced. However, it is advantageous for the oxygen emergency supply device according to the invention to use oxygen stored in a pressure bottle, wherein a pressure reducing valve connected downstream of the pressure bottle allows the pressure in the line network of the oxygen emergency supply device up to the breathing mask, i.e. in the region of the line network in which the individual shut-off valves are arranged, to have an operating pressure of, for example, 2 bar.

In order to keep the current consumption of the oxygen emergency supply as low as possible in the presence of a current source in standard emergency operation, according to an advantageous development of the invention the central shut-off valve is designed as a self-locking valve (selbsthalters Ventil). Preferably, a pulse-controlled solenoid valve is used here, which requires only one pulse for operation, as is usual when the voltage source is switched on, but only a voltage is required for self-locking.

The oxygen emergency supply device according to the invention can be operated in such a way that, when the oxygen emergency supply device is in operation, the central shut-off valve is controlled to a shut-off state, to be precise in a shut-off state as long as a current source or an emergency current source is present, wherein, in emergency operation, i.e. when the oxygen emergency supply device is in operation, the individual shut-off valves of the activated pulse-type breathing mask are controlled by the respective pulse-type breathing control device. It will be appreciated that in systems where the oxygen source does not need to be activated, the pulsed breathing control device also operates independently of activation. However, it is common to activate the oxygen supply to individual masks only when the breathing mask is pulled towards the passenger and thus triggers the switching mechanism or when an inhalation pulse is detected after the breathing mask has been removed from the personal service unit.

Drawings

The invention is explained in detail below with the aid of exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. Wherein:

fig. 1 shows a schematic view of the components of an oxygen emergency supply device on board an aircraft; and

fig. 2 shows a circuit diagram of the oxygen emergency supply device according to fig. 1.

Detailed Description

The oxygen emergency supply device shown in fig. 1 and 2 is arranged in a known manner in an aircraft not shown in detail in the figures, as in the cited prior art.

The oxygen emergency supply device shown has a high-pressure oxygen cylinder 1 in which oxygen is stored at a pressure of, for example, 200 Bar. At the outlet of the high-pressure oxygen cylinder 1, a pressure reduction valve 2 is provided, which pressure reduction valve 2 reduces the pressure to 2Bar and supplies it via a supply line 3 to a line network, which in this case has four lines 5 leading to a pulsed respirator 4, which lines 5 are connected to the supply line 3. Parallel to the feed line 3, downstream of the pressure reducing valve 2 in the flow direction, an auxiliary line 6 is connected, which auxiliary line 6 branches in a similar manner to the branching of the feed line 3 into four lines 7 leading into the line 5.

The supply lines 3, which supply a total of four lines 5 leading to the pulsed breathing masks 4, each connect the downstream nozzle 9 to the line 5 leading to the respective mask 4 via a single shut-off valve 8, the single shut-off valve 8 being designed as an on/off solenoid valve. A pressure sensor 10 is connected to the outflow side of the nozzle 9, and negative pressure (Unterdruck) generated when inhalation is performed at the mask 4 is detected by the pressure sensor 10. The pressure prevailing in the environment, i.e. the cabin pressure, is detected by a pressure sensor 11 shown in fig. 1. The individual shut-off valves 8 are each controlled in a known manner by a pulsed breathing control device, not shown in detail in the figures, as a function of the pressure detected by the sensor 10 and the pressure detected by the sensor 11. These individual shut-off valves 8 are designed structurally such that they switch to a shut-off state, i.e. shut off the line path from the supply line 3 to the line 5, in the state in which they are not operated, i.e. without current, when they do not receive a signal from the control device. The single shut-off valve 8 is supplied with an electrical pulse by the pulse breathing control device, which pulses the electromagnet of the valve and controls its opening. I.e. when an inhalation process is sensed on the basis of the negative pressure generated in the mask 4, the pulse is triggered by a corresponding signal of the sensor 10. The duration of this pulse depends on the signal of the pressure sensor 11, which determines the ambient pressure and the required amount of oxygen to be delivered to the respective mask 4.

If the current source, even the emergency current source, is now deactivated in this setting, no electrical energy is available to control the single shut-off valve 8 at this time, so that the oxygen delivery from the supply line 3 to the pulsed breathing mask 4 is blocked. A central shut-off valve 12 is provided in the auxiliary line 6, which central shut-off valve 12 is likewise designed as an on/off solenoid valve, but is designed to be opened when not operated, i.e. in the currentless state. The nozzles 13 are connected in the flow direction after the valve 12, and the supply circuit 3 then branches off and is connected each via a non-return valve 14 to the line 5 leading to the mask 4. The nozzle 13 is thus designed to generate, when the valve 12 is open, a flow of oxygen that is greater than the amount required for the bolus volume of each mask 4 and is sufficient to supply masks that are actually constructed as pulsed masks 4 with continuous flow, so that the person being supplied is provided with sufficient oxygen. Since the central shut-off valve 12 is open when there is no current, it is ensured that the mask 4 is supplied with oxygen via the auxiliary line 6 at all times when the current source and the emergency current source are out of operation. The non-return valve 14 ensures that no gas from the mask 4 flows back into the line 6 during normal emergency operation when the oxygen emergency supply supplies current. The central shut-off valve 12 is designed as a self-locking (selbsthalten) pulse valve, so that in normal operation, when the power supply is supplied, it is only required initially when the power supply is switched on. But once the current source ceases to operate, the self-locking is interrupted and the valve 12 returns to the unoperated, open state.

As shown in fig. 2, a circuit-board-like component 15 is provided in the oxygen emergency supply device shown, the component 15 comprising all the individual shut-off valves 8, the nozzle 9, the pressure sensor 10, the central shut-off valve 12, the nozzle 13 and the non-return valve 14.

List of reference numerals

1 high-pressure oxygen cylinder

2 pressure reducing valve

3 supply line

4 pulse type breathing mask

5 tubing to face mask

6 auxiliary pipeline

7 pipeline

8 single stop valve

9 spray nozzle

10 pressure sensor

11 pressure sensor

12 central stop valve

13 nozzle

14 check valve

15, and (3) components.

Claims

1. An oxygen emergency supply device for passengers in an aircraft, the oxygen emergency supply device having: an oxygen source (1) and a plurality of pulsed respirators (4), the plurality of pulsed respirators (4) being connected to the oxygen source (1) by a line, wherein a single shut-off valve (8) is provided in each line (5) to a respirator (4), the single shut-off valve (8) being switched off in the non-operated state; a pulsed breathing control device for operating each individual shut-off valve (8); an auxiliary line (6), which auxiliary line (6) connects the oxygen source (1) with the breathing mask (4) bypassing the single shut-off valve (8), and which auxiliary lines (6) are each connected via a non-return valve (14) with the respective line (5) leading to the breathing mask (4) or with the breathing mask (4) itself, wherein the auxiliary line (6) is connected with the oxygen source (1) via a central shut-off valve (12), which central shut-off valve (12) is switched open in the non-operated state.

2. Oxygen emergency supply device according to claim 1, wherein the single shut-off valve (8) and/or the central shut-off valve (12) are electromagnetically operated and are currentless in the non-operated state.

3. Oxygen emergency supply device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the single shut-off valve (8) and/or the central shut-off valve (12) is an on/off valve.

4. Oxygen emergency supply device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a flow reducer (13) is connected before or after the central shut-off valve (12).

5. Oxygen emergency supply device according to claim 4, wherein the flow reducer (13) is preferably a nozzle (13) connected downstream of the central shut-off valve (12) in the flow direction.

6. Oxygen emergency supply device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein one nozzle (9) is connected, preferably in the flow direction, after each individual shut-off valve (8).

7. Oxygen emergency supply device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein each breathing mask (4) is equipped with a pressure sensor (10) or a pressure switch for detecting the inhalation phase, which pressure sensor or pressure switch is electrically and/or data-connected to the pulsed breathing control device.

8. Oxygen emergency supply device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the pulsed breathing control device is electrically and/or data-connected to a pressure sensor (11) for detecting the cabin pressure.

9. Emergency supply device for oxygen according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the oxygen source (1) is formed by at least one high-pressure oxygen cylinder (1) and a pressure relief valve (2) connected downstream.

10. Oxygen emergency supply device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the central shut-off valve (12) is configured as a self-locking valve, preferably as a solenoid valve controlled in pulses.

11. An aircraft having an oxygen emergency supply device according to any preceding claim.

12. Method for operating an oxygen emergency supply device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein in a standard emergency operation the central shut-off valve (12) is actuated off as long as a current source or an emergency current source is present, wherein in an emergency operation the individual shut-off valves (8) of the activated pulsed breathing mask (4) are controlled by a corresponding pulsed breathing control device.