Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63C—LAUNCHING, HAULING-OUT, OR DRY-DOCKING OF VESSELS; LIFE-SAVING IN WATER; EQUIPMENT FOR DWELLING OR WORKING UNDER WATER; MEANS FOR SALVAGING OR SEARCHING FOR UNDERWATER OBJECTS
  • B63C11/00—Equipment for dwelling or working underwater; Means for searching for underwater objects
  • B63C11/02—Divers' equipment
  • B63C11/18—Air supply
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T137/00—Fluid handling
  • Y10T137/1842—Ambient condition change responsive
  • Y10T137/2036—Underwater
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T137/00—Fluid handling
  • Y10T137/7722—Line condition change responsive valves
  • Y10T137/7758—Pilot or servo controlled
  • Y10T137/7761—Electrically actuated valve

Definitions

• the invention relates to regulating the partial pressure of oxygen in the gas mixture of the respiratory circuit of a diver, said plunger being equipped with a breathing apparatus operating in closed circuit and being connected to a standby chamber located at a distance and where a pressure equal to or close to atmospheric pressure prevails.
• Respiratory systems of this type are "closed circuits" where the partial pressure of oxygen is measured in order to control the admission of oxygen.
• the devices known to date are from compact type.
• the pressure and humidity conditions impose on the electronic measurement device, a complexity and a quality of the components such as these systems are expensive and require special supervision and skill of the diver.
• the primary function of the diver is to do an efficient job. It is penalizing to impose a respiratory concern on him when he is in a situation of pressure which affects his reflexes, his spirit of decision and initiative.
• the present invention aims to free the diver from all respiratory concerns by entrusting this monitoring to personnel who are nearby in the atmospheric observation chamber of the submarine.
• this sample is sent to the standby chamber, the partial oxygen pressure of the sample is measured there and an electrical control signal is produced there if the measured pressure falls below a set value, and
• the command signal is used to initiate an injection of a defined quantity of a gas mixture rich in oxygen into the respiratory circuit of the diver.
• the sample from the respiratory circuit is sent to the standby chamber by a capillary conduit so that the variation in the partial pressure of oxygen at the outlet of the capillary reproduces the variation in this pressure at the inlet of the capillary, therefore in the respiratory circuit, with a delay, the section of the capillary being chosen to limit the duration of the transfer of the sample along the capillary.
• the interval between two injections is used to prepare said defined quantity.
• said defined quantity is prepared by loading a capacity with the oxygen-rich mixture under a determined differential pressure.
• said injection is carried out by discharging, in a simple conduit terminating in the respiratory circuit, a capacity previously filled with the mixture rich in oxygen under a determined differential pressure. The invention is not limited to this application.
• the respiratory system which equips the diver to provide him with the gaseous mixture which he must breathe, instead of being carried by the diver, can be a chamber or a chamber in which the diver is located and in which reigns an atmosphere that is breathed by the diver.
• the respiratory system is a chamber in which the diver is located and which contains a gas mixture breathed by the diver.
• this room is a hyperbar room placed in a room constituting the standby room and intended to simulate the diving depth.
• the chamber is a working box submerged at the working depth.
• the plunger moves in the water from a submerged chamber constituting a plunger chamber connected to a watch chamber located on board a surface vessel, and the gas mixture is prepared in this submerged room.
• Figure 1 is a general diagram of the device;
• Figure 2 is a diagram of the diver's breathing circuit;
• Figure 3 is a diagram of part of the device
• Figure 4 is a diagram of a device according to the invention in the case of a hyperbar chamber
• Figure 5 is a variant of the device of Figure 4.
• Figure 6 is a diagram of a device according to the invention in the case of a working box
• Figure 7 is a variant of the device of Figure 6.
• Figure 8 is a diagram of a device according to the invention in the case of a turret diving.
• Figure 1 shows a "spit-diver" submarine 1 which includes a watch chamber 2 where atmospheric pressure prevails and where the surveillance personnel are held and a compartment 3 at bottom pressure where the divers stand. It is assumed that a diver 4 has left this compartment and is moving in deep water, say at 100-300 meters.
• the plunger 4 is equipped with a breathing device ( Figures 1 and 2) which constitutes a closed breathing circuit comprising a mouthpiece or mask 5 connected by two tubes 6, 7 to a flexible bag 8 of four to five liters.
• Check valves 9 ensure the circulation of gases in the direction indicated by the arrows, in a manner known per se.
• the circuit includes a cartridge 10 for fixing the exhaled carbon dioxide and a valve 11 for discharging an overflow of gas, if necessary.
• this circuit (for example in the region of the bag 8) is connected to the submarine by an umbilical 12 which contains two conduits 13, 14 communicating with the interior of the circuit.
• the conduit 13 is a capillary conduit of very small section (of the order of 0.5 mm in diameter) which connects the circuit to a measuring device 15 located in the standby chamber 2 of the submarine.
• the apparatus 15 continuously measures the partial pressure of oxygen of the gas sampled by the capillary 13 and supplies, as a function of this measurement, an electrical signal which controls by a Season 16 a three-way electro-pneumatic distributor 17 located in the diving room.
• the electro-pneumatic distributor 17 ( Figures 1 and 3) has an outlet 17a to which the other conduit 14 of the umbilical leads, has a inlet 17b connected to an external reservoir 18 of breathable gas, via a pressure reducer 19 and, another inlet 17c connected to a capacity 20 of volume C located for example in the diving compartment 3.
• the distributor 17 puts the capacity 20 in relation either with the regulator 19 or with the conduit 14.
• the capacity 20 is in relation to the pressure reducer and is timed at a stabilized differential pressure ⁇ p.
• the dispenser is connected with the conduit 14 in which it discharges by supplying the plunger with a quantity C ⁇ p of breathable gas.
• the value of ⁇ p is preset and defined according to the oxygen content of the gas mixture used. Thus, at each discharge, the quantity of oxygen supplied to the diver is perfectly defined. Between two injections, the plunger breathing circuit is closed.
• the measuring device 15 is adjusted to provide an electrical signal which controls the distributor in order to discharge the capacity 20 in the conduit 14 as soon as the detected partial pressure of oxygen is lower than a minimum set value.
• the conditions are set so that each discharge the partial pressure of oxygen of the gas mixture breathed by the plunger is raised by a constant value of 200 mb. Between two injections, the plunger circuit is closed and this pressure changes between the minimum setpoint value (for example 300 mb) and this value increased by 200 mb (i.e. 500 mb).
• the frequency of injections depends on the work provided. At rest, it is about one injection every 2.5 minutes.
• oxygen content of the injected rich mixture is chosen so that at the working depth, its partial oxygen pressure is close to 1000 mb. If necessary, the diver can then use this mixture freely thanks to a direct supply link 21 which connects the respiratory circuit of the plunger to the regulator 19 under the control of a manual control 22. In particular, this manually controlled supply allows to adjust, if necessary, the respiratory tidal volume.
• the "oxygen rich" gas mixture is a mixture which is richer than the set value. Ultimately, this mixture can be pure oxygen.
• the device is best suited for diving depths of 20 to 300 meters, with the capillary providing insufficient flow at less than 20 meters and excessive response time at more than 300 meters. In the embodiments of Figures 4 to 7, the device comprises:
• a capillary gas conduit 13 between this chamber and an apparatus for measuring the partial pressure of oxygen 15 located in a monitoring chamber where a pressure close to atmospheric pressure prevails, this apparatus being capable of measuring the partial pressure of oxygen of the gas mixture of said chamber where the plunger is located and providing a control signal when this pressure becomes less than a set value;
• the means G represent all of the means 17 (distributor), 19 (regulator), and 20 (capacity) of the device of FIG. 1 or equivalent means.
• the chamber D is a hyperbar chamber and the means G are located outside the chamber, this exterior constituting the standby chamber.
• the regulator 19 is piloted by the pressure inside the chamber D, this piloting link being represented by the link in dotted lines in the drawing.
• the means G are placed inside the hyperbar chamber D (decompression chamber or saturation chamber).
• the chamber D constitutes a work box directly placed on the work site and the diver works there dry, without a respiratory mask so that it directly breathes the atmosphere of the room.
• the pneumatic system is located in a standby chamber forming part of a surface vessel N. This chamber is connected to the working chamber by the capillary conduit 13 leading to the measuring device 15 and by the supply duct 14 connecting the interior of the working box to the pneumatic system G.
• the pneumatic system G is placed in the box itself and the standby chamber contains only the measuring device 15.
• the device comprises:
• a watch chamber located on board a surface ship N and in which there is a pressure close to atmospheric pressure;
• a submerged plunger chamber P provided with means G for preparing a defined quantity of an oxygen-rich gas and for injecting said quantity into a gas supply duct 12 connecting the plunger chamber to the respiratory circuit of the plunger, under the control of said control signal.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Pulmonology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
• Respiratory Apparatuses And Protective Means (AREA)
• Measurement Of The Respiration, Hearing Ability, Form, And Blood Characteristics Of Living Organisms (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (2)

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• 1980
  • 1980-03-18 IT IT2073580A patent/IT1130983B/it active
  • 1980-03-21 DE DE8080900493T patent/DE3064470D1/de not_active Expired
  • 1980-03-21 US US06/224,567 patent/US4362154A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1980-03-21 WO PCT/FR1980/000042 patent/WO1980002016A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1980-10-08 EP EP19800900493 patent/EP0025444B1/de not_active Expired

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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