Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
  • A62B—DEVICES, APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR LIFE-SAVING
  • A62B7/00—Respiratory apparatus
  • A62B7/02—Respiratory apparatus with compressed oxygen or air

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a breathing mask to be placed on a user's head for use during evacuation, relief and/or rescue operations, comprising a face piece with a visual field/window, flexible sealing means to seal against the user's face in front of the user's ears for defining an airtight chamber, a pressure gas container for breathing gas, and having a pressure reduction valve and a manual and/or automatic release valve for supply of breathing gas to the mask's airtight chamber, as disclosed in the preamble of the following independent claim 1.
• the area of use for the present invention thus pertains to evacuation/escape in the case of fire and/or accumulation of smoke or poisonous gas in residences, hotels, ferries, hospitals, homes for the aged, or other institutions, industrial buildings, etc.
• a helmet or hood of this type is known, for example, from WO 91/00120, which relates to a breathing gas container disposed in the upper part of the helmet to be supported against the user's head, and walls projecting downward from the breathing gas container comprising, respectively, a compressed air reduction valve and release valves for conducting the air into the chamber of the helmet, and a window.
• This hood/helmet may easily be slid down over the head of the user in the actual crisis situation, whereby the individual gains the opportunity to make an escape, or a rescue squad is able to carry out a mission in foul-smelling atmosphere or dangerous gases.
• the equipment instead of the aforementioned respiratory and protective equipment in the form of a helmet/hood, it is relevant to design the equipment as a breathing mask, such as is mentioned in the above introduction, for placement on a user's head, with the ears being exposed in order to be able to receive oral information.
• breathing masks are previously known in principle from gas masks having carbon filters.
• US patent 1,105,127 a breathing mask of the mentioned type where the breathing gas container is connected to the breathing mask by a hose, said breathing gas container being securely fastened to the user's back or suspended around the user's neck.
• Such equipment could come into conflict with other rescue equipment such as buoyancy suits, life jackets and other garments during use.
• the breathing gas container be disposed within the breathing mask itself, as known from US patent no. 4,157,090, which is provided with a breathing gas container positioned on the actual face mask, presumably on the front part thereof, thus constituting a weight increase thereon, requiring an improved means of fastening the protective mask onto the user's head.
• US patent no. 4,157,090 which is provided with a breathing gas container positioned on the actual face mask, presumably on the front part thereof, thus constituting a weight increase thereon, requiring an improved means of fastening the protective mask onto the user's head.
• the breathing gas container is disposed on the user's head and supported thereby such that no problems arise with regard to the fastening of the helmet/hood.
• the purpose of the present invention is thus to provide a breathing mask of the type mentioned in the above introduction, which takes into consideration the disadvantages of breathing masks according to the aforementioned prior art, which is achieved according to the invention by means of the characterizing features disclosed in the characterizing clause of the following claim 1 and the subsequent dependent claims.
• a breathing mask with a sealing means which mask and sealing means are connected to a breathing gas container that is annular in shape or forms an open ring positioned around the user's face, and which extends over the user's head and is supported thereby.
• the entire apparatus is secured by means of straps running from the breathing mask and behind the user's head.
• the breathing mask With the above mentioned design of the breathing mask, one achieves, in addition to the exposure of the user's ears for reception of oral information, also the possibility of using the breathing mask together with conventional models of life jackets, since the breathing mask does not contain any compo ⁇ nents separated therefrom, such as hoses and breathing gas containers, which, respectively, extend along the neck and over the shoulders, and are suspended over the shoulders or around the neck.
• compo ⁇ nents separated therefrom such as hoses and breathing gas containers, which, respectively, extend along the neck and over the shoulders, and are suspended over the shoulders or around the neck.
• life jackets have a large buoyancy member behind the neck in order to maintain a person in the sea in a floating position with the face upward. This is relevant in connection with evacuation from ships/structures in the sea where it is necessary to protect oneself from noxious gases both during the escape itself and after eventual jumping or being lowered into the sea with burning oil or accumulation of gas on the sea sur ace.
• a breathing mask in accordance with the invention is relatively simple to produce and to use, and it could thus be placed in relevant locations such as hotel rooms, cabins on ferries, at easily accessible places in hospitals, schools, etc., and on marine structures such as, for example, drilling platforms.
• a simple breathing mask according to the invention may thus be disposed in large number at appropriate locations, said equipment being capable of saving lives in cases of emergency where it is a matter of only a brief period of time to be able to escape from smoke or gas-filled areas to areas with an innocuous atmosphere.
• a further aspect of the present invention is to provide a breathing mask to be used by bed-ridden persons while they are being transported for evacuation in wheeled beds or by means of pulling mattresses or transporting patients or injured persons on stretchers, from areas having a noxious atmosphere to areas of non-injurious atmosphere.
• a breathing mask according to claim 1 and as further specified in the subsequent dependent claims, with a rearwardly directed support means at the circumference of the breathing mask to support the mask against a base surface when the breathing mask is placed over the face of the reclining patient/user.
• Figure 1 shows a lateral view of the breathing mask placed on a user
• Figure 2 shows direct front view of the same
• Figures 3a, b and c show three different embodiment forms of the pressure gas container in the form of, respectively, a closed or an open ring,
• Figure 4 shows the same as Figure 1, but with the airtight chamber for breathing gas restricted to the area of the nose and mouth,
• Figure 5 shows a front view of the breathing mask
• Figure 6 shows a lateral view of the breathing mask equipped with supporting projections and positioned over the face of a reclining person
• Figure 7 shows a front/top view of the breathing mask
• Figure 8 shows a view from the rear/underside of the same.
• FIG. 1 in the drawings shows the breathing mask 1 placed on the user's head and fastened with a head strap lc.
• Breathing mask 1 comprises a face piece la with a visual field/window 2, flexible sealing means 6 to seal against the user's face in front of the user's ears, a pressure gas container 3 for breathing gas and a pressure reduction valve 4 and manual and/or automatic release valve 5 with control lever 5a for supplying breathing gas to chamber lb of mask 1 rendered airtight with the aid of the flexible sealing means 6.
• Sealing means 6 is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to encircle the entire face of the user in sealing contact therewith, such that the airtight chamber extends from the chin area over the mouth and nose section, including the eyes and forehead section.
• Said head strap lc is fastened in a suitable manner, for example by means of pressure snaps, or is simply pivotably secured to pressure gas container 3.
• the head strap may be elastic to adapt to various head sizes, or it may be regulated with respect to length by various means that are known per se.
• Pressure gas container 3 consists of one or more closed, communicating tubes 3a which are bent into a closed or open ring to encircle the user's face in front of the user's ears.
• Said one or more communicating tubes 3a may be built into a material to form an annular unit having a shape adapted to a user's face in order to stretch over the user's skull and down along the face in front of the ears and in under the user's chin section.
• Pressure gas container 3 thus constitutes a relatively rigid body that is supported by the user's skull and is thus suitable as a support for face piece la of breathing mask 1 as well as sealing means 6.
• Sealing means 6 may be made composed of an inflatable, annular cavity or a hose 6a.
• the cavity/hose 6a of sealing means 6a in one embodiment form may be separately connected by a hose 10 to the breathing gas supply 9 to the airtight chamber lb of mask 1 , and may be inflated by tripping the release valve 5 with the aid of control lever 5a to supply breathing gas to the airtight chamber lb of mask 1.
• the cavity/hose 6a of sealing means 6 may be connected between and in series with pressure reduction valve 4 and airtight chamber lb of mask 1 by means of a hose 11, for automatic through flow and inflation of the cavity/hose 6a of sealing means 6 on opening of the breathing gas supply to the airtight chamber lb with the aid of release valve 5, as shown in Figure 4, and where the air flows out into said chamber lb via nozzles 11a.
• the sealing means 6 is positioned in the lower part of the face piece la in such manner as to come to rest only around the user's chin section and cheek as well as over the user's nose section, thereby defining a smaller airtight chamber lb than the larger airtight chamber lb shown in Figure 1.
• any formation of fog or dew on window 2 of breathing mask 1 is avoided, said window 2 thus lying outside the airtight chamber with its supply of breathing gas as well as the infusion of moist expiratory air.
• airtight chamber lb of breathing mask 1 is supplied with breathing gas under pressure from pressure gas container 3, the mixed air in airtight chamber lb must necessarily be able to escape past flexible sealing means 6.
• sealing capability of sealing means 6 is not critical, since the overpressure in the airtight chamber lb will constantly prevent the penetration of harmful gas thereinto because the mixed air, as a result of said overpressure, forces its way out through any potential leakage points in sealing means 6.
• a pressure relief valve may, if necessary, be provided in the face piece of the actual breathing mask 1 to release used mixed air.
• breathing mask 1 is equipped with a rearwardly directed support means 7 at the circumference of breathing mask 1, or more specifically breathing gas container 3, to support breathing mask 1 against a base surface A as shown in Figure 6.
• Support means 7 here constitutes an annular wall 7a having recesses 7b,7c for, respectively, the ears and neck of the user.
• the patient- /injured person is hereby able to perceive and hear information and thus comprehend the actions of the assisting personnel in connection with a evacuation operation. This, of course, Is on the condition that the patient/injured person is conscious.
• Support means 7 may in an alternative embodiment be composed of at least three projections 8 mutually spaced around the circumference of breathing mask 1 for, respectively, exposing the user's ears and enclosing the user's neck. Breathing mask 1 with said projections is also shown viewed from the front or above in Figure 7 and viewed from the rear/underside in Figure 8.
• pressure reduction valve 4 and release valve 5 may be arranged in a number of different ways, including that indicated in Figure 1, namely at the upper part of pressure gas container 3, i.e., at the user's skull.
• pressure reduction valve 4 may be constructed together with release valve 5 for automatic release of the latter by placement of the breathing mask on the user's face, control lever 5a for said release valve being actuated by contact with the user's head.
• release valve 5 may if desired be designed for manual operation, with control lever 5a being placed at a convenient location.
• Figure 1 there is also indicated an alternative placemen of said pressure reduction valve 4 and release valve 5 , namel down at the lower part of the pressure gas container by th user's chin section.
• Outflow of breathing gas from pressure reduction valve 4 vi release valve 5 can take place in a number of suitable ways.
• the outflowing breathing gas may be directe against window 2 of breathing mask 1 in order to prevent/ decrease the formation of dew or fog with the embodiment for according to Figure 1.
• a breathing gas hose 9 may thus b positioned from said valve arrangement 4,5 and forward to th upper part of window 2 for downward flow of breathing air, or at the lower section of the window and, thereby, upwar flowing breathing air, or from the sides thereof.
• Face piece la of breathing mask 1, and optionally also the visual field/window 2 may be constructed of flexible material in order thereby, inter alia, to reduce the size of the breathing mask in folded or packed state. This can have significance with respect to both the question of preparedness in storing a plurality of breathing masks, and also for carrying along the individual breathing mask during an alarm/- rescue operation.
• a speech membrane Id may be provided in face piece la directly outward of the user's mouth section.
• said pressure gas container 3 may be divided into groups, each of which is connected with its respective pressure reduction valve 4 and release valve 5. In this respect it is expected that at least one group will remain intact so that the breathing mask will provide protection, if only for a shorter period of time.
• Said groups consisting of one or more commu icating tubes 3a may be arranged alongside each other within the total pressure gas container 3, or in sequence in the longitudinal direction of pressure gas container 3.
• Said groups may be embedded in a support body, which groups and support body constitute the previously mentioned closed or open ring to encircle the user's face in front of the user's ears, and to which support body the face piece la together with sealing means 6 are attached.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Emergency Medicine (AREA)
• Pulmonology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Emergency Management (AREA)
• Pharmaceuticals Containing Other Organic And Inorganic Compounds (AREA)
• Finger-Pressure Massage (AREA)
• Gyroscopes (AREA)
• Respiratory Apparatuses And Protective Means (AREA)
• Plural Heterocyclic Compounds (AREA)
• Steroid Compounds (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=19894643

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Families Citing this family (4)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 1991
  • 1991-11-29 NO NO914695A patent/NO174767C/no not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1992
  • 1992-11-26 DK DK92924054T patent/DK0682543T3/da active
  • 1992-11-26 AU AU29580/92A patent/AU2958092A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1992-11-26 DE DE69229965T patent/DE69229965T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1992-11-26 ES ES92924054T patent/ES2140420T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1992-11-26 WO PCT/NO1992/000186 patent/WO1993010858A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1992-11-26 EP EP92924054A patent/EP0682543B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1992-11-26 AT AT92924054T patent/ATE184207T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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