FR2737125A1 - Rapid-action dorsal attachment for tank of breathing device etc. - has dorsal plate attachable to wearer's torso by straps, with double linkage mechanism engaging securing jaws to lock tank in position - Google Patents

Abstract

The device comprises a plate (4) which may be secured to the torso of the wearer by straps (6). It carries a tank (10) or similar cylindrical member retained by at least one lockable securing assembly. The securing assembly includes a connection (22) to the lower end (14) of the torso-engaging plate. A pair of lockable jaws (26) secure the upper end of the tank against movement perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. The lockable jaws are connected to the lower end connection via a linkage (40). That engagement of the securing assembly with the lower end of the torso plate moves the jaws to a closed position. The insertion of the tank, by a further linkage (25), causes the jaws to move to a locked position surrounding the tank body.

Description

 The present invention relates to a support for an assembly, in particular of the individual breathing apparatus type.

 An individual breathing apparatus comprises a back plate having a first face intended to come into abutment against the back of a human being, profiled for this purpose, and provided with straps for attachment to the torso of the user.

 The back plate has an edge called the lower edge because it corresponds to the lower part of the back plate when the latter is strapped onto the user's torso. The part delimiting the lower edge has a slot serving as a manual grip for the transport by hand of the individual respiratory system.

 A bottle containing for example pressurized air is arranged on the second face of the back plate, in an inverted position, that is to say that the valve is located near the lower edge of the back plate and its tubular body extends upward.

 Such an individual breathing apparatus is relatively heavy and therefore, when transported between a fixed post, for example a fire station, and an intervention site, the individual breathing apparatus is supported in a support fixed to the wall. of the emergency personnel transport vehicle, above the seat which is allocated to each of them.

 Such a known support makes it possible to receive and lock an individual respiratory device and further comprises an actuator which is manually triggered by the user to release the individual respiratory device from the grip of the support.

 In other words, the user seated in his seat must first grab the straps to bring them forward and fix the back plate on his back, then groping, reach the actuator to disengage the individual breathing apparatus from the support and to be able to stand up with the individual breathing apparatus located on its back.

 When one has in mind the fact that the seats are narrow and close together, one can easily imagine that such a complicated operation requires significant and inconvenient effort in a reduced space.

 To overcome this drawback, the present invention aims to provide a simpler support for use, that is to say to separate the individual respiratory system from the support by a simple and limited movement of the torso only, without use your hands.

 To this end, the subject of the present invention is a support for an assembly, in particular of the individual breathing apparatus type comprising a back plate having a face intended to be in contact with the back of a human being, the back plate comprising attachment straps on the torso of a user and having a lower edge, and a cylindrical element fixed on the other face of the back plate, the support comprising means for retaining the cylindrical element and means for locking the retaining means, the support having an elongated shape defining a longitudinal direction, characterized in that the retaining means comprise means for holding the lower edge of the back plate and movable blocking means between a closed position in which they block the cylindrical screw element with respect to a displacement perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and an open position releasing the cylindrical element, the means of v interlocking having an actuator cooperating with the lower edge of the back plate to lock the locking means in the closed position, and unlock these.

According to other characteristics:
- The holding means and the lower edge of the back plate cooperate by gravity, the lower edge being supported on the top of the holding means.

 - The holding means and the lower edge of the back plate, when they cooperate, move the locking means towards a position in abutment against the locking means when these are in the open position and towards a locking position of the locking means when these are in the closed position.

 the blocking means are moved to the closed position by installing the cylindrical element between them and to the open position by extracting the cylindrical element from them, the installation and the extraction being carried out perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and in opposite directions, after pressing the lower edge on the means for holding and lifting the lower edge relative thereto, respectively.

 - The support comprises two uprights having the shape of a j, parallel and spaced apart by defining said longitudinal direction of the support, connected to each other by a crosspiece arranged at the upper part of the uprights, the locking means being fixed on the crosspiece.

 - The locking means comprise two L-shaped jaws whose short bases extend generally in the direction of the cross-member and have their ends arranged opposite and close to one another, the angle existing between each of the bases and the associated tab of an L being mounted respectively to rotate about a longitudinal axis, the free ends of the tabs defining between them, in the closed position, an opening smaller than the diameter of the element cylindrical and, in the open position, larger than the latter.

- The holding means are arranged in the lower part of the support and comprise an angle having approximately the shape of a V open towards the upper part, the shape of the angle being adapted to hold by gravity the lower edge of the plate backbone,
- The actuator of the locking means is a lever generally extending in a transverse direction, in a median plane relative to the cross member, by being rotatably mounted about an axis parallel to the cross member located between a first end of the lever located inside the V of the angle iron by passing the lever through a cutout in the latter, and a second end articulated at a first end of a rod extending longitudinally in said median plane up to '' near the blocking means,
the rod extending longitudinally cooperates with locking elements arranged at its second end,
- the locking elements comprise a transverse plate through which the rod slides and two longitudinal pins fixed on the side of the transverse plate distant from the first end of the rod, each engaging in a respective hole of longitudinal axis arranged in each of the locking means only when these are in the closed position,
- The rod has a first stop arranged in its middle part and a first helical compression spring extending from the first stop moving away from the first end of the rod until it comes to bear against a fixed transverse part of the support through which the rod is slidably mounted, and a second support stop for a second helical compression spring arranged between the latter and the transverse plate of the locking means,
- The fixed transverse part of the support is a support part of the cylindrical element in the transverse direction.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of a support according to the invention, in which an individual respiratory device is arranged,
FIG. 2 is a side view of the support of FIG. 1, the individual respiratory system having been removed,
FIG. 3 is a front view of the support of FIG. 2,
FIGS. 4 and 5 are front views showing two successive stages of reception of an individual respiratory device in the support of FIG. 3, the individual respiratory device not being shown for reasons of clarity,
- Figures 6 and 7 are top views of the support according to the present invention as shown in Figures 4 and 5 respectively.

 In Figure 1 there is shown an individual breathing apparatus 2 comprising a dorsal plate 4 profiled to come to bear on the back of a human being.

 The back plate is provided with straps 6 intended for its attachment to the user's back.

 The back plate 4 also comprises means 8 for fixing a bottle 10 containing for example pressurized air.

 It should be noted that the bottle 10 is arranged so that its valve 12 is located below its elongated body and is located near the lower edge 14 of the back plate 4.

 The individual breathing apparatus 2 is releasably fixed in a support 16 according to the present invention.

 The support 16 comprises two uprights 18 (see also Figure 3) elongated, having the general shape of the letter j. The two uprights 18 are spaced from each other, being parallel to each other, and connected by a spacer 20 which will be described more precisely later. The direction of the uprights 18 defines the longitudinal direction of the support 16. The uprights 18 are intended to be fixed for example on a side wall of a vehicle, the base of the j moving away from the latter.

The lower ends of the uprights 18 are connected by an angle 22 having in section the shape of a
V open towards the upper part of the uprights 18 (see Figures 1 and 2). At their upper ends, the two uprights 18 are connected by a crosspiece 24 intended for the fixing of locking means 26 which will be described below in more detail.

 Stiffeners 25 connect the spacer 20 to the angle iron 22, extending generally parallel to the uprights 18.

 The angle 22 constitutes means for holding the lower edge of the back plate. That is to say that in position the lower edge 14 of the back plate 4 is received in the open part of the angle 22 and by gravity bears on the sides of the V.

 Furthermore, in position, the blocking means block the bottle 10 with respect to a movement in a direction perpendicular to the uprights 18, that is to say perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the support.

 As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the locking means 26 consist of two jaws 26A and 26B fixed on the crosspiece 24 extending between the uprights 18. Each jaw, in a transverse plane, that is to say perpendicular to the longitudinal direction defined by the uprights 18, has the shape of an L having its short base extending generally in the direction of the cross-member 24. The ends 27A and 27B of the bases are located opposite and near one from the other.

 In other words, the jaws 26A and 26B are symmetrical with respect to a plane P perpendicular to the crosspiece 24 and passing through the middle of it, the longer legs 28A and 28B of the L-shaped jaws being parallel to the plane P being spaced therefrom, in particular at their free ends 29A and 29B respectively. The jaws 26A and 26B are rotatably mounted about an axis 30A and 30B respectively extending in the longitudinal direction of the support, each axis being located in the angle defined by the base and the tab of the jaw in L.

 In the closed position, the two associated jaws, seen from above, as in FIG. 7, form a letter U, the legs of the U being perpendicular to the crosspiece 24, and constituted by the legs 28A and 28B the interior of the U being delimited by a cylindrical wall portion 34 having a diameter equal to or slightly greater than the diameter of the bottle 10, and the opening of the U being smaller than the latter, so that the jaws lock, in the closed position, the bottle 10 to the 'against a displacement perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the support.

 At the base of the U, that is to say in the bases of the L, are also arranged two through holes 36A and 36B located on either side of the plane P and close to the latter, their axes being parallel to the longitudinal direction of the support.

 In the open position, the two associated jaws being viewed from above as shown in FIG. 6, the opening of the U is enlarged and becomes greater than the diameter of the bottle 10 so as to be able to extract the bottle 10 from the locking means 26, and the holes 36A and 36B are located in a position further from the cross-member 24.

 In addition, between the two bases of the jaws 26A and 26B constituting the base of the U, is arranged a spring 38 for returning the jaws to the open position.

 Furthermore, the support according to the present invention also comprises means for locking the locking means 26 in the closed position.

 These locking means comprise an actuator constituted by a lever 40 (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) rotatably mounted on the support 16 at a position 41 intermediate between its first end 42 (see FIG. 2) and its second end 44, the lever 40 being located approximately in the plane P defined above.

 The first end 42 is located inside the V defined by the angle 22, the lever 40 passing through a cutout 46 arranged in the angle 22 (see Figures 3 and 6).

 The second end 44 is articulated at a first end 47 of a rod 48 extending longitudinally in the plane P from the lever 40 as close as possible to the locking means 26.

 This rod 48 best seen in Figures 3, 4 and 5, is slidably mounted through the spacer 20 and comprises a first helical compression spring 50 arranged between the spacer 20 and a stop 52 fixed on the rod 48 between the spacer 20 and the first end 47 of the rod 48, that is to say the end connected to the lever 40.

 Furthermore, the locking means comprise locking elements arranged in the upper part of the support and comprising a transverse plate 54 through which slides the second end 56 of the rod 48. The transverse plate 54 has, on its face opposite to the spacer 20 two pins 58A and 58B slidably mounted in sockets 60 arranged under the fixing bar 24 (see Figures 3 and 4).

 The two sets of stud and associated socket extend in the longitudinal direction of the support 16, being spaced from one another. Thus the transverse plate 54 can slide along the rod 48, the pins sliding in the sockets 60, moving away from or approaching the cross-member 24.

 A second helical compression spring 62 is arranged around the rod 48 while being connected to the transverse plate 54 and resting on a stop washer 64 fixed on the rod 48 between the transverse plate 54 and the spacer 20.

 The spacer 20 preferably has a shape corresponding to that of the locking means when these are in the closed state, that is to say that of a U, the opening of the U however being larger than the diameter of the bottle 10 so as to be able to freely introduce and remove the latter in the interior of the U of the spacer.

 We will now describe the operation of the support 16 according to the present invention.

 For this purpose, one starts from a state of the support in which the latter does not support an individual breathing apparatus and where the jaws 26A and 26B are open due to having removed the individual breathing apparatus previously installed in the support , as will be better understood on reading the description of the operation, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

 In this state, the rod 48 is in its lowest position, that is to say that the two springs 52 and 62 are in their relaxed state.

 Initially, the lower edge 14 of the back plate 4 is installed inside the V defined by the angle 22. During this installation, the lower edge 14 presses on the first end 42 of the lever 40 thus making tilt the lever 40 around its axis of rotation 41, which causes the rod 48 to be raised.

 During this movement of the rod 48 in the direction of the crosspiece 24, the jaws 26A and 26B being in the open position as shown in FIG. 6, the pins 58a and 58B are offset with respect to the holes 36a and 36B and cannot penetrate into these but come into abutment against the jaws 26A and 26B. Consequently, the spring 62 is compressed as shown in FIG. 4. Similarly, the spring 50 is compressed by this movement of the rod 48 imposed by the edge 14 (see FIG. 4).

 Then, the body of the bottle is inserted between the jaws 26A and 26B by pressing on the ends 27A and 27B of the bases of the L-jaws 26A and 26B, which causes the jaws 26A and 26B to rotate around their axis of rotation. respectively 30A and 30B, up to the closed position shown in FIG. 7.

 In this state, the pins 58A and 58B are coaxial with the holes 36A and 36B, respectively so that they can penetrate therein by sliding imposed by the spring 62 acting on the transverse plate 54 therefore on the pins 58A and 58B.

 The movement of the pins 58A and 58B is facilitated by the sockets 60.

 In this state, the jaws 26 are locked in the closed position.

 Note however that the spring 50 is still in its compressed state, due to the fact that the rod 48 has not moved.

 From this state it is easy to remove the individual respiratory system from the support.

 After the user has installed the straps 6 on his chest so that the back plate 4 rests on his back, he just has to lift his shoulders slightly or possibly pull on the straps so as to exert on the plate dorsal 4 a force directed upwards so that the lower edge 14 of the dorsal plate 4 is raised while allowing the lever 40 to return to the initial position of FIG. 3 under the action of the spring 50 which exerts on the stop 52 a thrust such that the rod 48 is brought down.

 In this state, the jaws 26 are still in the closed state as shown in FIG. 7, and the spring 62 which, at the time of the displacement of the rod 48 was in a relaxed state, drives the plate 54, on which it is connected, and therefore the pins 58 down, that is to say that the pins 58 come to the outside of the jaws 26, by unlocking the latter.

 This movement of the nipples is again facilitated by the sockets 60, the length of which is sufficient for the nipples to be able to come out of them.

 In short, the jaws 26 are in a closed, unlocked state.

 At this time the spring 50 is fully relaxed as shown in Figure 3, and the individual respiratory system is in an unlocked blocked state.

 It then suffices for the user to make a forward movement so that the body of the bottle 10 comes to exert an extraction force on the ends 29A and 29B of the tabs 28A and 28B of the jaws 26A and 26B.

 This extraction force pivots the jaws 26A and 26B about their respective axis of rotation 30A and 30B, being helped by the spring 38. The spacing of the ends 29A and 29B then becomes greater than the diameter of the bottle 10 , which frees it from the grip of the blocking means 26. The user can then stand up or lean forward, the individual respiratory system being located on his back, and free the latter from the support 16.

 An overall support has thus been produced, in particular of the individual respiratory apparatus type, which has very simple use both in terms of the placement of the individual respiratory apparatus on the support and in terms of the extraction thereof. this. The extraction is in fact carried out in three stages, that is to say a first stage of fixing the straps on the torso of the user, as in the prior art. According to the present invention, the second step consists of lifting the individual respiratory system relative to the support, thereby releasing the locking means while keeping the support locking means closed, without using the hands. The third stage consists in extracting the bottle from the blocking device which can be done by a simple movement towards the front of the user's torso, that is to say without using the hands.

 It should be noted that the present invention has been described using an individual breathing apparatus but that any assembly having an edge equivalent to the lower edge 14 and an element similar to the bottle 10 can also be supported by the support according to the present invention. The element similar to the bottle 10 may not be cylindrical in which case the interior of the U defined by the jaws 26A and 26B will be correspondingly adapted.

Claims (11)

RESELL ICAT IONS  1. Support (16) for assembly (2), in particular of the individual breathing apparatus type comprising a back plate (4) having a face intended to be in contact with the back of a human being, the back plate comprising straps (6 ) of attachment to the torso of a user and having a lower edge (14), and a cylindrical element (10) fixed on the other face of the back plate, the support (16) comprising retaining means (22, 26) of the cylindrical element and locking means (40, 48, 58) of the retaining means, the support having an elongated shape defining a longitudinal direction, characterized in that the retaining means comprise retaining means (22 ) from the lower edge (14) of the back plate (4) and blocking means (26) movable between a closed position in which they block the cylindrical element (10) with respect to a movement perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and an open position releasing the element cylindrical, the locking means having an actuator cooperating (40) with the lower edge (14) of the back plate (4) for locking the locking means (26) in the closed position, and unlocking these.  2. Support according to claim 1, characterized in that the holding means (22) and the lower edge (14) of the back plate (4) cooperate by gravity, the lower edge being in abutment on the top of the holding means .  3. Support according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the holding means (22) and the lower edge (14) of the back plate (4), during their cooperation, move the locking means (40, 48 , 58) towards a position in abutment against the locking means (26) when these are in the green position and towards a locking position of the locking means when these are in the closed position.  4. Support according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the locking means (26) are moved to the closed position by installation of the cylindrical element (10) therebetween and towards the open position by extraction of the cylindrical element therefrom, the installation and the extraction being carried out perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and in opposite directions, after pressing the lower edge (14) on the holding means (22) and lifting the lower edge relative thereto, respectively.  5. Support according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises two uprights (18) having the shape of a j, parallel and spaced apart by defining said longitudinal direction of the support, one connected to the other by a crosspiece (24) arranged at the top of the uprights, the locking means (26) being fixed on the crosspiece.  6. Support according to claim 5, characterized in that the locking means (26) comprise two jaws (26A, 26B) L-shaped whose short bases extend generally in the direction of the crosspiece (24) and have their ends (27A, 27B) arranged opposite and close to one another, the angle existing between each of the bases and the tab (28A, 28B) associated with an L being mounted respectively rotatable around a longitudinal axis (30A, 30B), the free ends (29A, 29B) of the legs delimiting between them, in the closed position, an opening smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical element (10) and, in the open position , larger than the latter.  7. Support according to claim 6, characterized in that the holding means (22) are arranged in the lower part of the support (16) and comprise an angle (22) having approximately the shape of a V open in the direction of the upper part, the shape of the angle iron being adapted to hold the lower edge (14) of the back plate (4) by gravity,  8.Support according to claim 7, characterized in that the actuator (40) of the locking means is a lever (40) extending generally in a transverse direction, in a median plane relative to the crosspiece (24 ), by being rotatably mounted about an axis (41) parallel to the crosspiece located between a first end (42) of the lever located inside the V of the angle iron (22) by passing the lever through a cutout ( 46) formed in the latter, and a second end (44) articulated at a first end (47) of a rod (48) extending longitudinally in said median plane until close to the locking means (26 ),  9. Support according to claim 8, characterized in that the rod (48) extending longitudinally cooperates with locking elements (54, 58A, 58B) arranged at its second end.  10. Support according to claim 9, characterized in that the locking elements (54, 58A, 58B) comprise a transverse plate (54) through which slides the rod and two longitudinal pins (58A, 58B) fixed on the side of the transverse plate distant from the first end (47) of the rod (48), each engaging in a respective hole (36A, 36B) of longitudinal axis arranged in each of the locking means (26A, 26B) only when these are in the closed position,  11. Support according to claim 10, characterized in that the rod (48) has a first stop (52) arranged in its middle part and a first helical compression spring (50) extending from the first stop (52 ) moving away from the first end (47) of the rod until it comes to bear against a fixed transverse part (20) of the support through which the rod (48) is slidably mounted, and a second stop (64) support for a second helical compression spring (62) arranged between the latter and the transverse plate (54) of the locking means.