GB2512872A

GB2512872A - Respirator hood

Info

Publication number: GB2512872A
Application number: GB1306425.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Joseph Anthony Griffiths
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-04-09
Filing date: 2013-04-09
Publication date: 2014-10-15
Also published as: GB201306425D0

Abstract

A respirator hood apparatus for use in a breathing respirator comprises a respirator hood 13 made of a flexible material and at least one clamping member 23. Each clamping member 23 is configured to clamp overlapping folded layers of the hood material to define and maintain a pocket 24 within the hood 13 between the folds of the hood material. An earphone 18 can be located in the pocket 24 and held in place by the clamping member 23. When the clamping member 23 is released by the user, the earphone 18 will be located proximate the wearers ear. Preferably the hood material is stretchable and may comprise rubber. The at least one clamping member 23 may be separate to the hood 13 or may be integrally formed with the hood 13. The hood 13 may further comprise a wire guide 17 for an earphone 18. Also disclosed is a respirator hood apparatus comprising a respirator hood made of flexible material, comprising a recessed pocket formed in the material on the inside of the hood, proximate the location of a wearers ears when being worn.

Description

Respirator Hood

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a respirator hood and, in particular, to a respirator hood for use with a breathing mask and communications system.

Background

Pilots of combat aircraft are required to wear various items of equipment during combat flight, including a breathing mask and a helmet. In certain combat situations, aircrew are also required to wear a respirator comprising a hood and mask/visor underneath the helmet to provide NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) protection to the pilot to prevent ambient NBC contaminants coming into contact the pilot's skin, eyes, or respiratory tract. The respirator hood encloses the pilot's head and has a neck opening to allow the pilot to don the respirator, and a face opening in the front. The i edge of the face opening is sealed to the visor edge and mask edge around the entire perimeter of the face opening so that the face opening is entirely sealed closed. In use, the neck opening is sealed around the pilot's neck such that the respirator defines a dosed space protecting the pilot's head from ambient NBC contaminants. Breathable air is supphed from an external source to the mask of the respirator and exhaled air exhausted from an outlet valve in the mask.

The respirator mask includes a microphone which is connected to the aircraft communications system via a connector on the outside of the mask. In many existing systems, the pilot's earphones are provided integrally in the outer hdmet and are connected to the aircraft communications system via a connector on the outside of the helmet. The microphone and earphone connectors are provided in a combined cable that bifurcates towards one end so that the microphone and earphone connectors can be coupled to their respective connection points.

In contrast to the above-described arrangement, newer generation aircrew communications systems do not include earphones as part of the helmet but instead include earphones having ear pieces that locate directly in the pilot's ears and each pilot has his/her own custom-made earpieces formed individually for their particular ear canal shape. One drawback of this system is that when these ear phones are to be used in combination with a respirator, the ear phones need to be disposed on the inside of the respirator hood so they can locate in the pilot's ears. This creates a number of drawbacks not present in prior helmet-mounted earphone systems. Firstly, the cable is required to pass through the respirator hood material. Secondly, when a pilot dons the respirator, he then needs to be able to easily ocate the ear phones wIthin the hood and insert them in his ears, which must be done through the hood materia' since the pilot cannot get his hand inside the respirator hood to locate the earphones directly.

However, the donning process of passing the hood over the pilot's head can result in the earphones and their cables being tangled and the earphones being positioned a long way from the pilot's ears, for example, behind the pilot's neck or under his chin. It is then very difficult for the pilot to manipulate the earphones into his ears. Furthermore, as the hood is passed over the pilot's head, the earphones are rubbed between the hood material and the pilot's head which can result in the custom-moulded earpieces of the earphones coming detached from the earphones and rendering the earphones unwearable.

In addition to the above, other professions aside from aircrew are required to wear respirators which comprise head-envdoping hoods with ear plug-type earphones. For example, workers in the oil and gas industry who work in potentiafly hazardous environments are required to don such respirators in emergency situations or when working in hazardous environments. However, given the configuration of such respirators is as described above, the same drawbacks are still present.

Sunimaiy The present invention provides a respirator hood apparatus for use in a breathing respirator, comprising a respirator hood made of a flexible material and at least one clamping member configured to clamp overlapping folded layers of the hood material to define and maintain a pocket within the hood between the folds of the hood material.

The respirator hood apparatus may comprise two clamping members.

The hood material may be stretchable and may comprise rubber.

The or each clamping member maybe a separate component to the respirator hood or alternatively, the or each clamping member may be formed integrally with the respirator hood.

The inside of the hood may include at least one wire guide to receive a wire of an earphone to be used by a wearer. The or each wire guide may be configured to retain an earphone wire in a vertical orientation within the respirator hood.

The inside surface of the respirator hood may be formed with a surface pattern to indicate a location of a wearer's ears when the respirator hood is being worn.

The at least one clamping member may be biased into a closed clamp position.

io The respirator hood may further comprise a set of earphones configured to be worn in the ears of a wearer of the respirator hood and sized to be retained within an internal pocket defined within the folded layers of the hood material and maintained by the or each clamping member.

At east one wire may extend from the earphones and pass through an aperture in the material of the respirator hood, and the at least one wire extending from the earphones may pass through the at least one wire guide.

An air-tight seal may be formed around the at least one wire where the wire(s) passes through the aperture in the material of the respirator hood.

The respirator hood may comprise a recessed pocket formed in the hood material on the inside of the hood proximate the location of a wearer's ears when the respirator hood is being worn.

The present invention also provides a method of donning a respirator, comprising forming a pocket on one side of the respirator hood proximate where the wearer's ears will be located once donned, by folding the material of the respirator hood around one of thc earphoncs, using thc at least one clamping member to maintain the pocket by damping the respirator hood material around the earphone, donning the respirator over the wearer's head whilst the earphone is retained wIthin the formed pocket, and releasing the at east one clamping member to remove the pocket and leave the earphone disposed proximate the wearer's ear so as to be manipiflated into the wearer's ear through the respirator hood material.

The present invention also provides a respirator hood apparatus for use in a breathing respirator, comprising a respirator hood made of a flexible material configured to be worn over a head of a wearer, wherein the respirator hood comprises a recessed pocket formed in the hood material on the inside of the hood proximate the location of a wearer's ears when the respirator hood is being worn.

The respirator hood may further comprise at least one clamping member configured to clamp the pocket closed.

io The respirator hood may further comprise any of the features defined above.

The present invention also provides a respirator comprising a respirator hood apparatus as described above, having a neck hole for donning of the respirator over a wearer's head, and a face hole in the front of the respirator hood out of which a wearer can see, and a mask and visor hermetically sealed around the perimeter of the face hole.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a pilot wearing a respirator including a hood apparatus of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the respirator hood apparatus of the present invention with internal earphones in place but with the respirator mask/visor omitted for clarity of illustration; Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the respirator hood apparatus of Figure 2 along the line X-X in Figure 2; Figure 4 shows the earphones for use with the respirator hood apparatus of Figures 2 and 3; Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a respirator hood apparatus of a second embodiment of the present invention with internal earphones in place but with the respirator mask/visor and damping membei omitted for darity; and Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a respirator hood apparatus of a third embodiment of the present invention with internal earphones in place but with the respirator mask/visor omitted for clarity.

Detailed Description

Referring to Figures 1 to 4, a respirator 10, comprising a respirator hood apparatus of the present invention, is shown and comprises a mask ii with integral visor 12, and a hood 13. The hood 13 has a face opening 14, the perimeter edge 15 of which is sealed to the edge of the mask 11 and visor 12 to close the face opening 14. The hood 13 also has a neck opening i6 in its bottom end to enable a wearer to don the respirator 10 by passing over the head through the neck opening i6.

A pair of wire guides 17 are provided on each side of the inside of the hood 13 below a position where a wearers ears would be positioned when the respirator 10 is worn. The wire guides 17 comprise short sections of tubing bonded to the hood 13, akhough other configurations of wire guides are intended within the scope of the invention, such as a material strip bonded at spaced locations to the inside of the hood to define a passage between the bonded portions. Mternatively, a duct could be formed integrally with the is material of the hood 13. The pair of wire guide 17 are aligned vertically with respect to in the normal upright orientation of the respirator 10 so that a wire retained in the wire guides 17 extends directly downwards from the ocation of the wearer's ears when the respirator 10 is worn.

The respirator 10 includes a pair of earphones i8 within the hood 13 having an earpiece portion 19 to be received within a wearer's ears when the respirator 10 is worn. The earphones 18 are shown on their own in Figure A wire 20 extends from each earphone 18 and through a respective wire guide 17, after which the wires 20 join to a single wire 21 which extends through the material of the hood 13 to the outside of the respirator at a sealed aperture 22. The sealed aperture 22 is configured such that it is substantially air-tight and so gas cannot pass into the hood through the aperture 22.

The respirator includes a pair of clamping members 23 which are biased into the closed position and which arc uscd in combination with thc respirator hood 13 during a respirator donning process. In order to retain the earphones 18 in the desired position within the respirator hood 13 as the respirator is donned, and also to prevent the earpiece portions 19 from becoming detached from the earphones 18 by being rubbed between the wearer's head and the hood 13 during this donning process, a wearer first locates the earphones 18 in their intended location within the hood 13 and pinches the hood material around earphones 18 to create a pocket 24 within the hood material in which the earphones 18 are contained. The user then applies the clamping members 23 to clamp the hood material at the pinched point to maintain the formed hood material pockets 24. Each earphone is then securely retained within the respective pocket 24 in the hood material and the wearer can don the respirator 10. During the donning process, the earphones are then not subject to frictional contact with the wearer's head as the respirator 10 is passed over the head and fined in place. Once the respirator 10 is in place on a wearer's head, the wearer removes the clamping members 23 and the pockets 24 created by the hood material are no longer formed and so the earphones i8 are released. Since the earphones are now located close to the wearer's ears, the wearer can easily manipulate the earphones into his ears through the hood material. I0

In an embodiment of the invention, the respirator hood may be made of an elastic material and may comprise a rubber material. This has the advantage of being able to stretch when forming the earphone-retaining pockets 24, and resiliently returning to its original form when the clamping members 23 are removed and the pocket s 24 are no longer formed. Consequenfly, a more flush fitting hood can be provided without excess hood material needing to be provided to allow for the material fcilding and pocket 24 formation.

In an embodiment of the invention, the inside surface of the respirator hood 13 may include a marking or pattern 25 at the optimum earphone location so that a wearer can easily locate the earphones 18 in place before applying the clamping members 23 to create the pockets 24. Such markings 25 may include a moulded pattern in relief in the hood material, or a printed marking, or adhesive label.

In another embodiment, the respirator hood material may include a recessed pocket 26 pre-formed in the hood material at an intended location of the earphones i8 (see Figure 5). A wearer could then insert the earphones iS in the pre-formed pocket without having to fold the hood material around the earphones 18 to create a pocket, and apply the clamping members 23 to close the pocket openings and h&d the earphones in place within the pockets. Such an embodiment is shown in Figure 5 with the damping members 23 omitted for clarity.

In yet another embodiment, clamping members 27 may be integrally formed with the respirator hood, for example, moulded into a rubber hood. Such an embodiment is shown in Figure 6.

Although embodiments of the invention have been described above in terms of a respirator hood apparatus for a respirator for a pilot, the invention is not limited to such embodiments and it is intended that respirator hood apparatuses of the invention may be use in many other applications. For example, a respirator for use in the oil and gas industry may comprise the respirator hood apparatus of the present invention.

The respirator hoods 13 in the embodiments described above may be made of a stretchable material such as rubber, although the invention is not limited to such material or material properties, and may alternatively comprise a non-stretchable io material.

Claims

Claims 1. A respirator hood apparatus for use in a breathing respirator, comprising a respirator hood made of a flexib'e material and at east one damping member configured to clamp overlapping folded layers of the hood material to define and maintain a pocket within the hood between the folds of the hood material.
2. A respirator hood apparatus according to claim 1 comprising tsv clamping io members.
3. A respirator hood apparatus according to c'aim 1 or c'aim 2 wherein the hood material is stretchable
4. A respirator hood apparatus according to any preceding daim wherein the hood materia' comprises rubber.
5. A respirator hood apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the or each clamping member is a separate component to the respirator hood.
6. A respirator hood apparatus according to any of claims 1 -4 wherein the or each clamping member is formed integrally with the respirator hood.
7. A respirator hood apparatus according to any preceding c'aim wherein the inside of the hood includes at least one wire guide to receive a wire of an earphone to be used by a wearer.
8. A respirator hood apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the or each wire guide is configured to retain an earphone wire in a vertica' orientation within the respirator hood.
9. A respirator hood apparatus according to any preceding daim wherein the inside surface of the respirator hood is formed with a surface pattern to indicate a location of a wearers ears when the respirator hood is being worn.
10. A respirator hood apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the at least one clamping member is biased into a closed clamp position.
ii. A respirator hood apparatus according to any preceding claim further comprising a set of earphones configured to be worn in the ears of a wearer of the respirator hood and sized to be retained within an internal pocket defined within the folded layers of the hood material and maintained by the or each clamping member.Jo
12. A respirator hood apparatus according to claim ii wherein at least one wire extends from the earphones and passes through an aperture in the material of the respirator hood.
13. A respirator hood apparatus according to claim 11 or claim 12 when dependent on daim 7 or claim 8, wherein at least one wire extends from the earphones and passes through the at least one wire guide.
14. A respirator hood apparatus according to claim 12 or claim 13 wherein an air-tight seal is formed around the at least one wire where the wire(s) passes through the aperture in the material of the respirator hood.
15. A respirator hood apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the respirator hood comprises a recessed pocket formed in the hood material on the inside of the hood proximate the location of a wearer's ears when the respirator hood is being worn.
i6. A respirator comprising a respirator hood apparatus according to any preceding claim having a neck hole for donning of the respirator over a wearer's head, and a face hok in the front of the respirator hood out of which a wearer can see, and a mask and visor hermeticafly sealed around the perimeter of the face h&e.
17. A method of donning a respirator of claim 16 when dependent on claim ii, comprising forming a pocket on one side of the respirator hood proximate where the wearer's ears will be located once donned, by folding the material of the respirator hood around one of the earphones, using the at least one -10-clamping member to maintain the pocket by clamping the respirator hood material around the earphone, donning the respirator over the wearer's head whilst the earphone is retained within the formed pocket, and rdeasing the at least one damping member to remove the pocket and eave the earphone disposed proximate the wearer's ear so as to be manipulated into the wearer's ear through the respirator hood material.
iS. A respirator hood apparatus for use in a breathing respirator, comprising a respirator hood made of a flexible material configured to be worn over a Jo head of a wearer, wherein the respirator hood comprises a recessed pocket formed in the hood material on the inside of the hood proximate the location of a wearer's ears when the respirator hood is being worn.
19. A respirator hood according to claim 18, further comprising at least one clamping member configured to clamp the pocket closed.
20. A respirator hood according to daim 18 or claim 19, further comprising any of the features defined in claims 2-14.
21. A respirator comprising a respirator hood apparatus according to any of claims i8 -20 having a neck hole for donning of the respirator over a wearer's head, and a face hole in the front of the respirator hood out of which a wearer can see, and a mask and visor hermetically sealed around the perimeter of the face hole.