FR2459665A1 - PORTABLE HYPERBARE CASE WITH AUXILIARY COMPARTMENT - Google Patents

Abstract

THE OBJECT OF THE INVENTION IS A PORTABLE HYPERBARIC BOX EQUIPPED WITH AN AUXILIARY COMPARTMENT FOR AN ACCOMPANIATOR. A BOX ACCORDING TO THE INVENTION INCLUDES A SINGLE-SEATER BOX 1, IN THE FORM OF TWO VIROLES 1A AND 1B ASSEMBLED TOGETHER BY A BAY SOCKET 19, 20, IN WHICH A VICTIM 2 OF A DECOMPRESSION ACCIDENT IS LENGTHEN. IT INCLUDES, IN ADDITION, AN AUXILIARY COMPARTMENT 5 IN WHICH AN ACCOMPANIMENT 6 IS SITTED. THE AUXILIARY COMPARTMENT 5 INCLUDES AN ACCESS OPENING 9 WHICH IS CLOSED BY THE MONOBLOC BOX. THE BOX INCLUDES AN ACCESS OPENING CLOSED BY A BUFFER 11 WHICH IS LOCATED IN COMPARTMENT 5 AFTER ASSEMBLY OF BOX 1 WITH COMPARTMENT 5. AN APPLICATION IS THE TRANSPORTATION OF A DIVER VICTIM OF A DECOMPRESSION ACCIDENT TO A HYPERBARIC BOX TREATMENT.

Description

The present invention relates to hyperbaric chambers porta-

  equipped with an auxiliary compartment, intended for transport and

  first care of a victim of a decompression sickness accident.

  The technical sector of the invention is that of the construction of rescue equipment for divers suffering from decompression sickness.

  Pressurized enclosures already known as

  bares, which are fixed boxes permanently located in hospitals or in rescue centers for victims of decompression sickness accidents. These fixed boxes generally comprise several places and one

  two-door lock to allow caregivers to enter

  trot in the box and stay there to assist the patients being treated. Because they do not have an airlock, the single-seat caissons are prohibited by some legislations and in particular in FRANCE by a

  Decree No. 7425 of July 11, 1974.

  However, in many cases, it is important to have a portable hyperbaric chamber in which a diver, who suffers from a decompression sickness accident, can be placed as soon as possible after taking it out of the water for the first time. immediately pressurize and transport it to the nearest treatment center, which usually requires

  Helicopter transportation when the diving accident occurs at sea.

  The object of the present invention is to provide such a hyperbaric chamber, light and compact, which can be brought quickly to the scene of an accident, so that a diver suffering from a decompression accident is placed quickly lying in the box, under a pressurized atmosphere and can easily be transported to a rescue center while being accompanied by a trainer who can assist the casualty during the entire journey, and as is done

in Crew Cabs.

  This objective is achieved by means of a hyperbaric chamber which is composed on the one hand of a single-seat box able to receive a recumbent accident and, on the other hand, of an auxiliary compartment intended for a trainer, which auxiliary compartment comprises a only opening which is closed by an end of said box, which end is assembled to said opening by a removable and waterproof attachment, so that said box

  serves as shutter door of said opening.

  The single-seat casing has an access which is sealingly closed by a removable shutter, and which is located at the end of the casing which is assembled with said auxiliary compartment, so that said shutter is located inside said auxiliary compartment

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  when the box is assembled with said auxiliary compartment.

  According to a preferred embodiment, the single-seat box has the general shape of a cylindrical enclosure which has two axially opposite ends, a first end which is closed by a domed bottom welded to the side walls of said enclosure and a second end which comprises its inner periphery a bayonet socket in which engages the edge of the obturator pad access to said box and which further comprises, at its outer peripheryne crenellated flange which engages in a bayonet socket located on the periphery of the opening

  access to the auxiliary compartment.

  Preferably, the single-seat box comprises two cylindrical shells

  coaxial driques> of different diameter and the ferrule of larger diameter has at one of its ends the access of the box and at the other end

  it comprises, at its inner periphery, a bayonet socket in the-

  which engages a crenellated flange located on the outer periphery of a

  end of the ferrule of smaller diameter and it includes, at its

  external phérie, a crenellated flange intended to engage in a socket

  bayonet of the inlet of a hyperbaric chamber fixed to airlock.

  The invention results in a new portable and space-saving hyperbaric chamber for transporting divers suffering from a decompression accident to a rescue center comprising a hyperbaric chamber

fixed and multiplace.

  An advantage of the box according to the invention lies in the fact

  that the single-seat box containing the casualty can be dissociated

  the auxiliary compartment containing the attendant so that a single-seat box made of an aluminum alloy or any other metal or light alloy and resistant to a pressure of 5 bar reaches, with the accident that it contains, a total weight of the order of 150 Kg to Kg and it can be carried by four people. Thus, one can quickly transport the single-seat box to go for example from the landing area of a rescue helicopter instead of an accident, including

  place the casualty, close the case and quickly put it in

  if we. The single-seat box is then quickly transported to the helicopter.

  re in which remained the auxiliary compartment and the frame. An accom-

  The driver sits in the auxiliary compartment. The single-seat box is placed in the access opening of the auxiliary compartment. This person is pressurized and the attendant can then, during the flight, remove the blanking plug from the single-seat box and communicate with the casualty.

  whose head is located on the side of the auxiliary compartment.

  The inner walls of the single-seat box may be provided with

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  slides on which is laid the stretcher or berth supporting the accident and the trainer can pull it to him and have a better

  access to the upper airway of the casualty.

  On arrival at the rescue center, the escort closes the obturator pad. If the attendant has not been in pressure for a long time, as is usually the case, and does not need to observe decompression stops, he decompresses the auxiliary compartment and can then disassemble the box. One-seater and four men can transport it quickly to a fixed, multi-seater box on the entrance of which it is assembled by the bayonet socket it carries on its periphery. We can then disconnect the small diameter ferrule and remove the accident by

the end without decompressing it.

  The whole of the apparatus comprising the single-seat caisson, the auxiliary compartment, a casualty and a companion, weighs approximately

  300 to 350 Kg and it can be carried by six or seven men.

  If the attendant must undergo decompression stops on arrival at the emergency center, the whole can be transported to the fixed hyperbaric chamber and connect the single-seat box to the fixed box and then transfer the casualty to the fixed box as before. and then transfer the escort into the casing of the casualty or

  in a fixed box to decompress it.

  The following description refers to the accompanying drawings which represent

  feel without any limiting character, an example of realization of a

  hyperbaric chamber according to the invention.

  Figure I is a top view of the box.

  Figure 2 is a right view along II-II of Figure 1.

  FIG. 3 is an axial vertical section along III-III of FIG.

Figure I in exploded view.

  Figure 4 is a large-scale sectional view of the assembly of

  monoblock box with a fixed hyperbaric chamber.

  Figure 5 is a large-scale cross-sectional view of the

  appearance of the monobloc box with the auxiliary compartment.

  Figures 1, 2 and 3 show a hyperbaric chamber for transporting a victim of a decompression sickness accident to a center

  of treatment cotportant a fixed hyperbaric chamber multiplace.

  The box according to the invention comprises, on the one hand, a single-seat box I which can contain a single accident 2 lying on a stretcher or a berth 3 placed on side rails 4. It comprises, on the other hand, an auxiliary compartment 5 or airlock which can contain an attendant 6 seated on a seat 7, which attendant can give care to the accident during transport. Both compartments 1 and can be pressurized for example at 5 or 10 bar and they are built to withstand this pressure. They are preferably made of metal or light alloy having good mechanical properties, for example

  aluminum alloy and magnesium.

  Means for pressurizing the two compartments, for example compressed air bottles which are connected to orifices provided with

  valves are not part of the invention and are not shown.

  The auxiliary compartment 5 comprises a window 8 and a single access opening 9 through which the attendant 6 enters

in the compartment and comes out.

  The single-seat box has the general shape of an elongated cylindrical enclosure 1, of axis x xl, the overall overall length of which is

  about 2 m so that a man can be placed in a lying position.

  The feet of the victim are placed towards the end which is farthest from the auxiliary compartment and this end is closed by

  a boiler base 10 which is welded to the side walls of the enclosure.

  The other end of the enclosure I has an access opening which

  is closed by a removable obturator pad 11, which includes, for example,

  a crenellated peripheral flange 12 which engages in a bayonet socket 13 located at the inner periphery of the access opening. FIG. 5 represents on a larger scale the detail of the assembly of the obturator buffer 11 in the bayonet socket 13. An O-ring 14 placed in a groove cooperates with the non-serrated portion of the flange 12 to make the assembly tight. The buffer It has handles 15 which allow it to be introduced into the bayonet socket and to rotate it to engage the crenellations of the flange through the notches of the

  socket then behind the locking notches of it.

  As seen in the exploded figure 3 the end of the single-seat box which is closed by the obturator pad It is the one where is the patient's head 2 which is engaged in the box 1, the feet

towards the bottom 10.

  After the attendant 6 has taken place in the auxiliary compartment 5, the end closed by the buffer It is assembled in the access opening 9 of the compartment and serves as a shutter door.

this opening.

  The assembly between the caisson I and the compartment 5 is made

  readable by means of a removable and waterproof attachment. For example, as can be seen in detail in FIG. 5, the opening 9 has at its periphery

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  external a crenellated flange 17 which engages in the sleeve 16 to achieve this assembly. An O-ring 18 located in a groove cooperates with the non-serrated portion of the flange 17 to seal the assembly. It can therefore be seen that when the single-seat caisson 1 is assembled with the auxiliary compartment 5, the obturator buffer 11 is located inside the compartment 5, so that, after having pressurized the caisson 1 and the compartment 5, the attendant 6 can disassemble

  the buffer He and he can rescue the casualty during transport.

  He can pull the bunk 3 towards him by sliding it on

  4 to bring the injured person's head and upper chest to the

  compartment 5 if necessary.

  At the end of the journey, the attendant puts back in place the obturator pad 11, so that the single-seat box is isolated from the compartment and can then be disassembled from it and transported separately. The total weight of the single-seat box containing an accident is of the order of 150 to 200 Kg for an aluminum alloy casing resistant to an internal pressure of 5 bar and this box can be easily transported by four men, to go by example of an ambulance or

  from a helicopter to a fixed multiplace hyperbaric chamber.

  The single-seat caisson 1 is composed of two separable parts, for example two coaxial ferrules, a ferrule la located on the side of the head and a ferrule lb whose diameter is smaller than that of the ferrule la and which is closed by the bottom welded 10. The shell has at its end placed on the side of the shell lb a reduction

  tapered lc that makes up for the difference in diameter.

  FIG. 4 shows the assembly of the ferrule lb on the

ferrule it on a larger scale.

  The conical reduction lc comprises at its end a bayonet socket 19. The ferrule 1b has at the outer periphery of its end opposite the welded bottom 10, a crenellated flange 20 which engages in the sleeve 19 to make a removable assembly. O-ring

  21, placed in a groove, makes the assembly tight.

  FIG. 4 shows a partial section of a hyperbaric chamber 22, which is an extended treatment multiplace chamber permanently located in a rescue center or hospital. Access opening

  of this box comprises a bayonet socket 23.

  The bayonet socket 19 has at its outer periphery a crenellated flange 24 which engages in the bayonet socket 23

  to assemble ferrule la with box 22.

  An O-ring 25 makes the assembly étancne. Once this

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  assembly was carried out the box 22 is pressurized to the pressure that

  reigns in the monobloc box and, from the inside of the box 22, we decon-

  the bayonet assembly 19, 20, the ferrule lb is removed and

  can then transfer the casualty 2 and the companion 6 into the

  its 22 ^ without decompressing it. The one-piece housing I comprises a small airlock 26 which allows

  to introduce objects or drugs into box I without

  compress. The inner door of this lock is located near the buffer

  shutter It so that it can be manipulated by accompanying

  6. The box I also has a window 27.

  The shell of the monobloc housing is surrounded by a tubular structure 28 which protects it from shocks and which is extended, each

  side, by a handle 29a, 29b for transporting the monoblock box.

  A handle 30 is fixed to the welded bottom 10. The auxiliary compartment 5 is placed on a tubular frame 31 which is provided with two hand carrying handles 32a and 32b. The monobloc box I is assembled to the frame only by its end provided with the buffer 11, so that it is in console above the frame 31, which allows to engage the shell lb in a fixed box 22, without being hampered by the frame 31. The compartment

  auxiliary has on its side walls handles 33a and 33b.

  Thus, six or seven men can carry the assembly formed by the monoblock housing 1, the auxiliary compartment 5 and the frame 31 by grasping the handles 33a, 33b, 29a, 29b, 32a, 32b

and 30.

  Of course, without departing from the scope of the invention, the various components of the hyperbaric chamber that has just been described by way of example, may be replaced by equivalent elements filling

the same functions.

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Claims (3)

CLAIMSUBSCRIBER - Hyperbaric casing, characterized in that it is composed, on the one hand, of a single-seat box that can receive a recumbent accident and, on the other hand, an auxiliary compartment intended for a trainer, which compares auxiliary comprises a single opening which is closed by an end of said box, which end is assembled to said opening by a removable attachment and sealed, so that said box serves as closing gate of said opening.   2 - hyperbaric chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that   said single-seat casing has an access which is sealed by a removable plug-in plug and which is located at the end of the casing which is assembled with said auxiliary compartment, so that said plug-in plug is inside said auxiliary compartment when the box is assembled with said auxiliary compartment.   3 - Housing according to claims I and 2, characterized in that said   single-seat box has the general shape of a cylindrical chamber which has two axially opposite ends, a first end which is closed by a domed bottom welded to the side walls of said enclosure and a second end which has at its inner periphery a bayonet socket in which engages the buffer edge   shutter of the access of said box and which furthermore includes, at its   outer wall, a crenellated flange which engages in a bal-   net located on the periphery of the access opening of the auxiliary compartment. 4 - A casing according to claim 3, characterized in that said single-seat box comprises two coaxial cylindrical ferrules, of different diameter, and the ferrule of larger diameter has at one of its ends access to the box and at the other end, it comprises, at its inner periphery, a bayonet socket in which engages a crenellated flange located at the outer periphery of one end of the ferrule of smaller diameter and it comprises, at its outer periphery, a crenellated flange for engage in a bayonet socket   of the inlet of a fixed hyperbaric chamber.   Casing according to any one of claims I to 4, characterized   in that said auxiliary compartment is placed on a tubular frame   provided with carrying handles and said single-seat box, which is   Wheat auditing auxiliary compartment by one of its ends is located in console above said frame.   6 - Box according to claim 4, characterized in that said single-seat box comprises transport handles which are placed on the   side walls of the ferrule of larger diameter.