EP3362349B1

EP3362349B1 - Demand valve for use in a breathing equipment

Info

Publication number: EP3362349B1
Application number: EP16785577.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jonas BRANDT
Original assignee: Poseidon Diving Group AB
Current assignee: Poseidon Diving Group AB
Priority date: 2015-10-14
Filing date: 2016-10-06
Publication date: 2019-07-10
Anticipated expiration: 2036-10-06
Also published as: WO2017065673A1; DK3362349T3; EP3362349A1; CA3040392A1; CA3040392C

Description

Technical field

Embodiments herein relate to a demand valve. In particular, embodiments herein relate to a demand valve, a breathing equipment comprising a demand valve and an immersion survival suit comprising a demand valve and/or a breathing equipment.

Background

A demand valve is a term normally used for the part of a regulator in a breathing equipment used under water which delivers pressurized gas, such as, e.g. compressed air, to a user of the breathing equipment, e.g. a scuba diver. The demand valve is constructed so that pressurized gas is delivered to the user only when the user is breathing in. Before delivering the air to the user via a mouth piece, the demand valve may also reduce the gas pressure of the pressurized gas to an ambient gas pressure in order to facilitate easy breathing of the pressurized gas. The terms demand valve and regulator are often here used interchangeably. Other common terms used for a demand valve may also be an air regulator, a diving regulator, a gas pressure regulator or similar.
Breathing equipment for use under water which commonly employ a demand valve is scuba gear or a surface supplied diving equipment. In this case, the pressurized gas may be supplied from a cylinder or container worn by the user of the scuba gear, or via a hose from a compressor or a bank of cylinders on the surface, such as, e.g. in surface-supplied diving.
In some recent applications, breathing equipment comprising a demand valve and a supply of pressurized gas has been incorporated into immersion survival suits. An immersion survival suit is a special type of waterproof dry suit that protects the wearer from hypothermia when immersed in cold water, for example, after abandoning a sinking or capsized vessel, especially out on an open ocean. In these applications, the breathing equipment may prevent the wearer of the immersion survival suit from drowning while attempting to make his way out of the sinking or capsized vessel by providing a short term supply of pressurized gas. In this type of emergency situations, quick and efficient use of the breathing equipment may be vital for survival.
US 2015/020799 A1 discloses an integrated snorkel and diving regulator for use while snorkelling near a water surface and while diving under water. US 4,304,229 A discloses discloses an underwater-breathing device which combines the use of a snorkel with a scuba regulator to allow a skin diver to readily switch back and for the from the regulator to the snorkel as he alternates from deep diving to surfacing. CA 1,245,914 A an ocean survival suit for maintaining a human user afloat and warm in a body of water. This document is completely silent about the details of the breathing equipment.

Summary

It is an object of embodiments herein to provide a quick and efficient use of a demand valve during an emergency situation. According to a first aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by providing a demand valve for use in a breathing equipment. The demand valve comprises an actuating device arranged to upon contact with water move a cover from a first position to a second position, wherein the cover in the first position allows ambient air to enter the demand valve and wherein the cover in the second position prevents ambient air from entering the demand valve thus allowing pressurized gas to enter the demand valve. The actuating device is a spring loaded actuator arranged to deploy in contact with water and the actuating device and the cover are at least partly comprised in a housing arranged on the outside of the demand valve. This provides a reliable mechanical mechanism for switching the demand valve from delivering ambient air to delivering pressurized gas.
By having a demand valve as described above which, when in contact with water, closes off access to ambient air and opens up access to pressurized gas, a user of the breathing equipment may be allowed to breathe via the demand valve even before the user actually needs to be supplied with the pressurized gas, i.e. before the actual emergency situation. This may be performed without risking a limited amount of pressurized gas to be reduced or emptied by the time the user actually requires to be supplied with the pressurized gas, i.e. during the actual emergency situation, such as, being under water. This will also reduce the amount of actions which needs to be taken by the user during the actual emergency situation by eliminating the actions of having to activate the breathing equipment and enter the demand valve into the user's mouth.
Hence, a quick and efficient use of a demand valve during an emergency situation is provided.
In some embodiments, the ambient air is allowed to enter the demand valve through one or more inlets of the demand valve when the cover is in the first position. In this case, the one or more inlets of the demand valve may be closed, i.e. blocked, by the cover when the cover is in the second position. By having its access to ambient air closed-off or blocked, the demand valve will start acting like a regular demand valve and start deliver pressurized gas to the user as the user is breathing in.
Additionally, in some embodiments, the demand valve may comprise an indicator arranged to indicate in which of the first or second position the cover is currently in. This may advantageously further provide the user with a visual confirmation that the demand valve has switched from delivering ambient air to delivering pressurized gas to the user.
Furthermore, the demand valve may also be arranged to be connected to a container of the breathing equipment comprising pressurized gas, e.g. compressed air.
According to further aspects of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a breathing equipment comprising such a demand valve as described above, and by an immersion survival suit comprising such a demand valve and/or breathing equipment as described above.

Brief description of the drawings

Embodiments will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings.

Figs. 1-2 illustrate external views of embodiments of the demand valve. Fig. 3 is a first sectional view illustrating embodiments of the demand valve.
Fig. 4 is a second sectional view illustrating embodiments of the demand valve.

Detailed description

The figures are schematic and simplified for clarity, and they merely show details which are essential to the understanding of the embodiments presented herein, while other details have been left out. Throughout, the same reference numerals are used for identical or corresponding parts or steps.
Figs. 1-2 show external views illustrating embodiments of a demand valve 100. In Fig. 1, the demand valve 100 comprise a cover 111 being in a first position. In this first position, the cover 111 allows ambient air to enter the demand valve 100 via one or more inlets 120. In Fig. 2, the cover 111 of the demand valve 100 has been moved, i.e. slid or actuated, into a second position as shown by the arrows in Fig. 2. In this second position, the cover 111 blocks the one or more inlets 120 and prevents ambient air from entering the demand valve 100. Furthermore, as the cover 111 is moved into this second position, the demand valve 110 will switch from providing a user with ambient air via the one or more inlets 120 to providing the user with pressurized gas. The latter meaning that the demand valve 100 will start performing the task of acting as a normal regulator, i.e. deliver pressurized gas to the user as the user is breathing in.
An example of a suitable use of the demand valve 100 is when the demand valve 100 is comprised in a breathing equipment or system of an immersion survival suit (not shown). In this case, the amount of the pressurized gas available via a pressurized gas container of the breathing equipment may be limited. A reason for this may be that the pressurized gas container needs to be a small-sized container in order to, for example, enable the breathing equipment to be incorporated into the immersion survival suit without impeding the user's ability to freely move around. For example, the supply of pressurized gas in such breathing equipment may typically be enough for up to 1-2 minutes of breathing; this breathing time, however, will depend on both the size of the container and the gas pressure therein which also may vary depending on the intended use.
In this case, when the user of the immersion survival suit is prompted to start preparing for an emergency situation, such as, for example, an evacuation of a sinking or capsized vessel, the demand valve 100 of the breathing equipment is set to deliver ambient air to the user. This enables the user to breathe directly from the surrounding air via the demand valve 100 and not waste any of the limited amount of available pressurized gas in the pressurized gas container. However, when the demand valve 100 is exposed to water, the demand valve 100 automatically and instantaneously switches to deliver pressurized gas to the user from the pressurized gas container instead. Thus, the demand valve 100 will advantageously reduce the consumption of pressurized gas in the breathing equipment while the user is above the surface, i.e. not yet immersed under water. A further advantage of the demand valve 100 is that the user of the immersion survival suit does not have to think about or consider any activation steps of the demand valve 100 during, for example, a stressed and task loaded situation, such as, an evacuation procedure.
Furthermore, the demand valve 100, the breathing equipment and/or the immersion survival suit may also advantageously be part of emergency equipment that are intended for use as part of evacuation systems in helicopters, airplanes, ships, boats, armoured vehicles, and/or smoked-filled or burning rooms or buildings. It should also be noted that the demand valve 100 and/or breathing equipment may advantageously be incorporated into other suitable suits, wearable costumes, equipment or systems. More detailed descriptions of the embodiments of the demand valve 100 is described below with reference to the sectional views illustrated in Figs. 3-4.
Fig. 3 shows a first sectional view of embodiments of the demand valve 100. It should be noted that the cover 111 of the demand valve 100 in this first sectional view is in the first position as shown in Fig. 1.
The demand valve 100 comprises a demand valve housing 101. The demand valve housing 101 of the demand valve 100 may comprise all required parts to be able to function and perform the task of a normal regulator. This is not described in any further detail herein since the function of a normal regulator and the required parts therein are considered to be known in the art. However, it should be noted that the demand valve housing 101 may comprise a connector 131.
The connector 131 allows the demand valve 100 to be connected to a container of pressurized gas, such as, for example, compressed air. The connector 131 may, for example, be a fastener or fastening means for ensuring an air tight connection between the demand valve 100 and a container of pressurized gas, e.g. via a breathing hose. The container of pressurized gas may be a small-sized container capable of being incorporated as part of a breathing equipment in an immersion survival suit. The demand valve 100 further comprises a housing 112. The housing 112 may also be referred to as a cover housing.
In some embodiments, the housing 112 may form part of or be incorporated into the demand valve housing 101. Also, in some embodiments, the housing 112 may be externally fixed to or be detachably mounted onto the demand valve housing 101. In some embodiments, the housing 112 may also be incorporated on the inside of the demand valve housing 101 (not shown). The housing 112 may comprise an actuating device 110 and/or a cover 111.
The actuating device 110 may also be referred to as an actuating means or actuator. The actuating device 110 may be a mechanical mechanism arranged to deploy in contact with water. This means that, when in contact with water, the actuating device 110 will be triggered to actuate, i.e. slide or move, the cover 111 from a first position (as shown in Fig. 3) to a second position (as shown in Fig. 4). One example of such an actuating device 110 is a spring loaded actuator. Note that the actuating device 110 is not described in any further detail herein since actuators adapted to deploy in contact with water are considered to be known in the art.
The cover 111 may further be referred to as a sliding or moving portion or part of the demand valve 100. The cover 111 may surround the demand valve housing 101 and be movably comprised in the cover housing 101. In some embodiments, when the housing 112, the actuating device 110 and the cover 111 is incorporated on the inside of the demand valve housing 100, the cover 111 may surround the inside of the demand valve housing 101 and be movably comprised in the cover housing 101 and in the demand valve housing 100. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the cover 111 may also be adapted to be actuated manually by the user, i.e. the user may by hand move the cover 111 from the first position to the second position. This may be used as a back-up procedure in case the actuating device 110 fails to actuate the cover 111 from the first position to the second position, i.e. fails to deploy.
As a default and prior to exposure to water, the cover 111 will be present in the first position as shown in Fig. 3. This means that one or more inlets 120 comprised in the demand valve housing 101 of the demand valve 100 will be in contact with the ambient air, thus allowing the ambient air to flow into the demand valve housing 101 and be delivered to a user of the demand valve 100. This is shown by the dashed arrows in Fig. 3 indicating the flow path of the ambient air through the demand valve 100. The one or more inlets 120 in the demand valve housing 101 may also be referred to as holes or channels that allows ambient air to flow into the demand valve housing 101 of the demand valve 100.
Fig. 4 shows a second sectional view of embodiments of the demand valve 100. It should be noted that the cover 111 of the demand valve 100 in this second sectional view is in the second position as shown in Fig. 2.
When actuated by the actuating device 110, the cover 111 will be actuated into the second position. This is shown by the fully-drawn arrow in Fig. 4. In this second position, the cover 111 is adapted to provide a water tight closure of the one or more inlets 120. This will also trigger the demand valve 100 to start performing the task of acting as a normal regulator. This means that the demand valve will, as the user is breathing in, start to deliver pressurized gas to the user via the connector 131 from the container of pressurized gas. This is shown by the dashed arrows in Fig. 4 indicating the flow path of pressurized gas through the demand valve 100.
In some embodiments, the demand valve 100 may comprise an indicator (not shown) arranged to indicate in which of the first or second position the cover 111 is currently in. The indicator may also be referred to as indicating means. For example, the indicator may be a part 141 of the cover 111, which part 141 is only visible in the second position, having a distinct and different color than the rest of the cover 111. Besides providing a visual indication, the indicator may also be arranged to provide a tactile or audible confirmation.
The terminology used in the detailed description of the particular embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the described demand valve, which instead should be construed in view of the enclosed claims.
As used herein, the term "and/or" comprises any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Further, as used herein, the common abbreviation "e.g.", which derives from the Latin phrase "exempli gratia," may be used to introduce or specify a general example or examples of a previously mentioned item, and is not intended to be limiting of such item. If used herein, the common abbreviation "i.e.", which derives from the Latin phrase "id est," may be used to specify a particular item from a more general recitation. The common abbreviation "etc.", which derives from the Latin expression "et cetera" meaning "and other things" or "and so on" may have been used herein to indicate that further features, similar to the ones that have just been enumerated, exist.
As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to comprise also the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "includes," "comprises," "including" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms comprising technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the described embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
The embodiments herein are not limited to the above described preferred embodiments. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may be used. Therefore, the above embodiments should not be construed as limiting.

Claims

A demand valve (100) for use in a breathing equipment, wherein the demand valve (100) comprises
an actuating device (110) arranged to upon contact with water move a cover (111) from a first position to a second position, wherein the cover (111) in the first position allows ambient air to enter the demand valve (100) and the cover (111) in the second position prevents ambient air from entering the demand valve (100) thus allowing pressurized gas to enter the demand valve (100),
characterized in that
the actuating device (110) is a spring loaded actuator arranged to deploy in contact with water and
the actuating device (110) and the cover (111) are at least partly comprised in a housing (112) arranged on the outside of the demand valve (100).
The demand valve (100) according to claim 1, wherein the ambient air is allowed to enter the demand valve (100) through one or more inlets (120) of the demand valve (100) when the cover (111) is in the first position.
The demand valve (100) according to claim 2, wherein the one or more inlets (120) of the demand valve (100) are closed by the cover (111) when the cover (111) is in the second position.
The demand valve (100) according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the demand valve (100) is arranged to be connected to a container comprising pressurized gas in the breathing equipment.
The demand valve (100) according to any of claims 1-4, further comprising an indicator arranged to indicate in which of the first or second position the cover (111) is currently in.
A breathing equipment comprising a container comprising pressurized gas and a demand valve (100) according to any of claims 1-5.
An immersion survival suit comprising a demand valve (100) according to any of claims 1-5 or a breathing equipment according to claim 6.