FR2639545A1 - INDIVIDUAL RESPIRATORY AND PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT IN CONTAMINATED ATMOSPHERE - Google Patents

Abstract

The personal equipment allows in particular to protect the crew members of fighter planes against the effect of high altitude and NBC contamination. It comprises a respiratory mask 18 provided with a duct 35, 36 for connection to an external source of respiratory gas, a helmet having a rigid shell 10 and a detachable padding 12 and a hood 20 provided with a visor. The padding 12 and the shell 10 are provided so as to be able to adapt one to the other, either directly or via the hood 20. The hood is provided with means 48 for leaktight passage of the duct 35. connection to the mask.

Description

Individual respiratory and protective equipment

contaminated atmosphere.

  The subject of the invention is individual equipment.

  environmental protection duel likely to present a contamination of nuclear, biological or

  chemical, so-called NBC protective equipment.

  It concerns more particularly a team-

  individual respiratory and protective mask comprising an oro-nasal respiratory mask provided with a conduit for connection to an external source of respiratory gas,

  a helmet with a rigid shell and padding

  and a hood with a visor, intended for

  separate the head from the atmosphere and provided with means of-

ventilation air supply.

  There are already various individual pieces of equipment of the type defined above intended for the crew members of aircraft capable of operating at high altitude, which requires the wearing of a respiratory mask supplied by an external source of oxygen-enriched mixture or even

pure oxygen.

  For reasons of comfort, personnel should only wear an NBC protective hood for

  missions where it may become necessary. Therefore

  quence, the use of an inseparable set of hood and respiratory mask (US-A-4 404 969) is not acceptable in practice: it leads to

  two separate complete items of equipment.

  Two types of hood independent of the mask and

  headphones are in use today.

  A first type of hood is provided to be donned by the wearer of the equipment over the helmet and the mask. This solution allows ventilation without difficulty inside the hood and reduces the

  discomfort it brings (EP-A-O 153 247). But in cons

  part, this solution has drawbacks: the downward field of vision of the wearer of the equipment is very reduced by the size of the bulge of the hood necessary to wrap & both the mask and the whole helmet. No device can be fixed directly to the helmet shell, which notably prohibits the use of a helmet visor. The wearer no longer has access to the mask attachment harness and cannot

no longer adjust it.

  The second type of hood currently used is intended to be donned directly on the

  head, in contact with the skin. This solution makes dif-

  ventilation of the hood and demisting of the visor by circulation of fresh air. Wearing the hood is very uncomfortable. The hood does not protect the helmet from contamination. However, if the rigid shell is easily decontaminated, it is not the same for the padding and the elements that it carries, such

  that the communication system headphones, and the

  che (or pockets) intended to be pressurized

at very high altitudes.

  The present invention aims to provide a team-

  individual type of the above defined better responding

  than those previously known to the requirements of pra-

  tick; more specifically it aims to provide a

  equipment usable with or without a hood, the use of

  reading with a hood only results in reduced discomfort; for this purpose, the invention proposes in particular an equipment characterized in that the padding and the shell of the helmet are provided so as to be able to adapt

  to each other both directly and through

  diaire of the hood interposed between them and in that the hood is provided with means for sealingly crossing the

connecting duct.

  The hood is advantageously provided with a ventilation gas supply duct connected to a ramp

  visor defogging. In the padding of the case-

  that can then be provided ventilation channels opening facing the ramp so as to be supplied by the latter when the equipment is worn with the hood.

  It is desirable that the mask be direct-

  attached to the helmet shell to avoid movement

  untimely events, especially during brutal changes

  the. To allow this fixation, the hood is advantageously provided with fastening crossing means.

  of the mask on the shell does not remove the

  tightness. These crossing means may in particular be constituted by means of local attachment of the hood on the mask and on the straps or rods.

  hooking on the helmet in an adjustable position.

  It can be seen that, in such equipment, the hood prevents contamination of the padding, of the elements which it wears and of the mask. Only the rigid shell and its visor (s) must be decontaminated after a

  mission, which is not a serious problem.

  The invention will be better understood on reading

  the following description of a particular mode of realization

  sation, given by way of nonlimiting example.

  The description refers to the drawings which ac-

  companion, in which: - Figure 1 schematically shows protective equipment, intended for a pilot of a combat aircraft; - Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are elevational views respectively showing the shell and the padding of the helmet of Figure 1, the hood and the mask; - Figure 6 is a perspective view of the padding of Figure 3, intended to better show

some of its constituents.

  The respiratory equipment shown schematically in Figures i to 6 comprises a helmet consisting of a shell 10 and padding 12. The shell 10 carries receptacles 14 intended to receive the fasteners 16 of

  fixation of a respiratory mask 18 whose composition

  tion can be classic. Finally, the equipment includes

  a hood 20, used or not depending on the type of mis-

  if we. These various components will be successively described. The shell 10 of the helmet is made of rigid molded material. It can have one of the constitutions known at present. In the embodiment Io shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this shell is provided with two movable visors 22, by tilting around axes 24, between a retracted position (FIG. 2) and a position where it comes to bear against the mask 18 (figure 1). In the case shown in FIG. 2, the visors retract in a clearance arranged between two walls of the shell 10. But the visors could just as easily be

  fold over a single shell.

  The padding 12 must be provided so that it can be mounted in the shell 10, either directly or through the hood 20, and to remain integral with the shell when all of the equipment

  is in place. One can in particular provide for this the rem-

  stuffing and / or the shell of adhesive tapes of the kind

  known under the brand "Velcro". You can also use

  other solutions allowing temporary attachment

  rary, for example snaps. The padding

  12 wears, in a conventional manner, the headphones 26 of the system

  communication with the wearer. In the mode of

  embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, metal pockets

  swam around the earphones allow an overpressure ear protection to be established in the event of external depressurization, as described in document US-A-4 172 455. These pockets extend behind the padding to form a pocket capable of being pressurized by admission of pressurized gas through a line 28 to press the mask against the face and prevent it from coming off when the wearer of the equipment is supplied with overpressure respiratory gas. A cable 30 terminated by a connector 32

  allows the power supply of the headphones 26 (fi-

  gure 6). In the external face of the padding 12 shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, ventilation channels 34 are formed, whose role and operation will appear below. The mask 18 (FIG. 5) conventionally comprises a semi-rigid shell intended to cover the nose and

  the mouth, fitted with fasteners which can have for example

  ple the constitution described in the patent application FR-88 04616 of the applicant. To the shell is fixed a pipe 35 for supplying the respiratory gas, terminated by a connector 36. This pipe is for example connected, when the equipment is used, to a regulator, according to an arrangement which may be that

  described in document EP-A-0 153 247 already mentioned.

  The fasteners 16 are connected to the shell of the helmet by detachable fasteners, making it possible to insert the hood. The hood 20 (Figures 1 and 4) is intended for

  wrap the head, the padding 12 with its accessories

  evenings and the mask 18 while allowing the exit

  waterproof of the various connections required.

  This hood 20, made of flexible and waterproof material

  such as vinyl, has a shape that fits on the wall

  stuffing 12 and the mask 18. Several sizes of cagou-

  can be planned to adapt to. different helmets. The hood generally has a folded collar 38 (Figure 4) applying to the neck, the role of which is to reduce gas leaks from the inside of the hood and to prevent leaks from

outside.

  The hood is fitted with a 40 trans visor.

  parent tightly attached to the edge of an opening in the part of the hood which is made of flexible and opaque material. It is desirable that the visor be as close to the eyes as possible and allow for extended downward vision. For this, as shown in Figure 4, the visor has a flange 42 glued under

the edges of the opening.

  The hood must be held by a ventila-

  tion in slight overpressure with respect to the ambient atmosphere to prevent the entry of contaminants. In addition, it is desirable to sweep the visor with a flow of air to avoid the formation of fogging interfering with vision. The two results are achieved by providing the hood with an internal demister ramp 44 (FIG. 4) placed against the upper part of the rim of the hood visor and connected to a pipe 46 for supplying filtered air. The ramp is pierced with holes which direct an air flow on the inside of the visor, as indicated by arrows in FIG. 4. The pipe 46 can in particular be supplied with filtered air

  by a device of the kind described in document EP-A-

0 153 247 already mentioned.

  When channels 34 are provided in the rem-

  tamping (Figures 3 and 6), the ventilation air outlet holes are advantageously drilled in the ramp 44 opposite these channels, to create a ventilation of

cooling of the scalp.

  The hood must be equipped with means of tra

  poured substantially sealed from the conduit 35 for supplying respiratory gas to the mask. In the case illustrated on the

  Figures 1 and 4, these means are constituted by a four-

  reau 48 in one piece with the hood, diameter at rest as it is applied in a substantially

  watertight on the supply pipe 35 (FIG. 1).

  The hood 20 is also equipped with substantially watertight crossing means allowing the fasteners 16 to be fixed to the shell of the mask 18. A first

  solution is to equip the hood with a cross nipple-

  sant 50 (Figure 4) can hang on the mask and receive the point of attachment of the clip 16. Another solution is to provide an annular seal crossing. In all cases, it is still possible to fix the clip on the mask shell, either directly,

Io either through the hood 20.

  A separate crossing can be provided for the

  output cable 52 of the microphone fitted to the mask 18.

  Another solution consists in providing the sheath 48 to allow the simultaneous exit of the pipe 35 and

cable 52.

  A calibrated valve 54 will generally be provided on the hood to limit the overpressure that prevails inside and evacuate the exhalation gases and the filtered ventilation air. It will be advantageous to provide the hood with temporary fixing means on the shell 10 and on the padding 12: these means will be chosen according to those which, in the absence of the hood, allow the padding to be fixed directly to the helmet. Such a constitution of the equipment makes it possible to use it with and without a hood, without the use

  hood significantly complicates dressing:

  that the hood must be used, the mask 18 and the padding 12 are first placed inside the

  hood 20. External connections are made

  killed. The wearer can then put on the hood assembly-

  mask. The shell 10 of the helmet is placed behind

  deny above all, and the mask can be hung

  to the receptacles 14 of the shell without difficulty.

  In practice, a very small number of tail-

  hoods, and sometimes even one size,

  sufficient, provided you have more padding

  several sizes. Similarly, it will generally suffice three

  shell sizes to meet all needs.

  We see that the equipment described allows, by using only simple means, a use

  tion under NBC conditions as well as under normal conditions

  males, by bringing only reduced discomfort to the use

  without the need for duplication of equipment.

Claims (6)

  1. Individual respiratory and protective equipment in a contaminated environment, comprising an oro-nasal respiratory mask (18) provided with a conduit (35) for connection to an external source of respiratory gas, a helmet having a rigid shell (10) and padding   detachable (12), and a hood (20) provided with a vis-   air supply means for ventilating   tion, lo0 characterized in that the padding (12) and the shell (10) are provided so as to be able to adapt to each other both directly and through the hood (20) interposed between them and in that the hood (20) is provided with crossing means (48)   watertight from the connection duct (35).   2. Equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that the hood is provided with means (50) for crossing fastening anchor points (16) of the mask on the helmet.   3. Equipment according to claim 1 or 2,   characterized in that the watertight crossing means (48)   che consist of a single piece sheath with the hood.   4. Equipment according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the hood is provided with a duct (46) for supplying ventilation gas connected to a ramp of   demisting the hood visor.   5. Equipment according to claim 4, character-   vented in that ventilation channels (34) are provided   in the padding and open facing the ramp.   6. Equipment according to any of the foregoing   dentes claims, characterized in that the padding-   rage (12) and / or the shell (10) are provided with means   temporary attachment of one on the other.