JPS6233117B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for regulating breathing air for divers.

In order to maintain a person's body temperature, it is necessary that the heat generated by or supplied to the human body per unit time corresponds to the energy released per unit time into the person's surroundings. This release or transfer of heat to the surroundings may include exhaled humid gases heated by the human body, heat transfer from the human body by conduction,
It is caused by thermal radiation and convection and mechanical work performed by humans.

Thus, warming a person to prevent a drop in body temperature or to increase it can be done by providing thermal energy or by preventing heat from being released into the surroundings.

In order to prevent heat loss to the surroundings, it is known to use insulating clothing, so-called frogmen's clothing, but even with this clothing, divers may still feel cold after being underwater for a certain amount of time. become. It was therefore necessary to supply heat. This heat was provided by introducing hot water between the diver's body and the insulating suit. However, hot water cleanses the skin and promotes the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria and the like on the skin. Alternatively, it is known to introduce hot water through channels within the diver's suit.

Divers' breathing air has also been used as a heat carrier. Portable compressed air devices now allow compressed air at ambient temperature to flow from the compressed air cylinder to the diver via a pressure reducing valve, and the pressure of the breathing air is adjusted to the ambient pressure, so the pressure reduction at that time cools the breathing air. be done. However, the air must be dry to prevent ice formation in the valve. When the air is heated above the diver's body temperature, for example after decompression, the relative humidity decreases and the mucous membrane of the diver's trachea accelerates drying. Due to the low specific heat of air, the breathing air must be very warm and therefore very dry. In practice, it is impossible for such heated air alone to provide enough heat to prevent the diver from feeling cold.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and device for regulating breathing air for divers, which eliminates the disadvantages mentioned above regarding the use of heated breathing air.

A feature of the method of the invention is that the breathing air, which is heated above the user's body temperature, is humidified to near saturation so that its temperature drops below the dew point when cooled in the user's trachea. Part of the vapor content of the air therefore condenses. The heat released during condensation is given to the human body, and the condensate is absorbed into the lung tissue and blood.

Assuming that the heat per unit time corresponding to the mechanical work performed by the human body and the heat per unit time given by the human body to the surroundings by conduction, thermal radiation, and thermal convection are constant, respiration is approximately at body temperature. Assuming that the air is in the air and approximately saturated with steam, and assuming that the heat per unit time generated by the human body itself is constant, body temperature depends on the control of the temperature and humidity of the breathing air.

The features of the device according to the invention are clear from the claims.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail based on the accompanying drawings.

The device of FIG. 1 has an elongated, tubular housing 3 having an upper lateral wall 2 and a lower lateral wall 5. The device of FIG. The upper side wall 2 is provided with an inlet pipe 1 connected to a compressed air tank or compressor (not shown) via a pressure reducing valve (not shown). The lower lateral wall 5 forms the upper part of a water container 6 fixed to the lower end of the housing 3. The side wall 5 has a bell-shaped valve 7 which is spring-loaded into the closed position and opens in the direction towards the container 6. In the center of the housing 3 is arranged an inner or central tube 4, the upper end part of which constitutes the outflow pipe 11 of the device, which is supported through the upper lateral wall 2 of the housing 3, and the lower end part 8 of the inner tube 4. A slot 10 is provided with an opening 9 at a certain distance above the lateral wall 5 to communicate the space between the housing 3 and the central tube 4 with the interior of the inner tube.

At the lower end of the inner tube 4, for example, an electric heating element 12 is arranged, above which a filter-like plug 19 made of metal fibers, metal ribbons, etc. is arranged to reduce the cross section of the inner tube 4.

A tube 1 having a small diameter and arranged coaxially with the inner tube 4
4 passes through the lower side wall 5 of the housing 3 and is fixed thereto. The inlet opening 16 in the lower part of the tube 14 is located at a distance above the bottom of the water container 6. The tube 14 extends upwardly through a hole in the heating element 12 and its upper end portion 17 has an outlet opening 18 arranged in a filter-like plug 19 .

A heat exchanger 20 extending transversely to the housing 3 and the inner tube 4 is arranged above the filter-like plug 19 . Inside the heat exchanger there is a through opening extending in the longitudinal direction of the housing 3 and the inner tube 4.

In the outlet tube 11 of the inner tube 4 there is a temperature sensor 21, which cooperates with the heating element 12 to control its output. The outlet pipe 11 can be connected to the diver's mouth, for example via a breathing valve controller or a pressure reducing valve (not shown).

Similar to the above embodiments of the device of the invention, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 includes an elongated tubular housing 33 with a lower transverse wall 35. This housing is an enclosure 52
The space between this and the housing is filled with water via a filling pipe (not shown). The enclosure 52 thus constitutes the water container 36 of the device.

The upper lateral wall 32 of the enclosure 52 constitutes the roof or upper lateral wall of the housing 33, through which the inlet pipe 31 of the housing extends.

An inner tube 34 is disposed in the center of the housing 33, for example coaxially with the housing, and its upper end portion is
It constitutes the outflow tube 41 of the device and extends through the upper lateral wall 32 of the enclosure 52 . The lower end portion of the inner tube 34 has a transverse wall on which a spring-loaded chiral valve 5 is mounted.
4, this valve is inserted into the inner tube 34 into the housing 3.
Open upward in the direction away from the bottom of 3. A nozzle tube 44 extends coaxially with respect to the tubular housing 33 from an opening formed in the lower side wall and enters the inner tube 34 , the upper end of the tube 44 having a nozzle and a filter-shaped tube that fills the entire cross section of the inner tube 34 . It terminates in and is surrounded by a plug 49.

At the lower end portion of the nozzle tube 44 is arranged a spring-loaded chiral valve 53 which opens upwardly towards the nozzle, ie allowing upward fluid flow. A heating element 42 is arranged within the water container 36, said element keeping the temperature of the water constant.

A cooling tube 55, supported at one end within the housing 33 by the wall of the outlet tube 41, extends within the outlet tube 41 along a portion of its length in a downstream direction.
The other end of the cooling tube 55 has a valve body 56 which opens and closes this end, as indicated by the arrow 57, for example by a bimetallic spring or the like, depending on the temperature of the breathing air flowing in the outlet tube.

In addition to the valves mentioned above, both embodiments are provided with valves (not shown), such as for example during ascent and descent in the sea, between several spaces in the device and/or between these spaces and the surrounding water. For example, if a filter-like plug 4
9 becomes clogged, the breathing air is bypassed and the inner tube 34 is
It may be possible to make it exceed.

The operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is as follows.

Dry, cool air from a compressed air container, compressor or the like flows into the inlet pipe 1 of the device through the pressure reducing valve as a result of the pressure reduction in the outlet pipe 11 caused by the diver's air intake. Dry air at a pressure somewhat higher than the ambient pressure flows downwardly into the space formed between the inner tube 4 and the housing 3 through openings in the part of the heat exchanger 20 arranged in this space, thereby The air is heated somewhat. At the lower end of the housing 3 the air is deflected and enters the inner wall 4 upwardly through the slot 10 formed between the lower end portion 8 of the inner tube 4 and the lower lateral wall 5 of the housing 3 and through the opening 13 of the heating element 12; Here, the temperature of the air rises to, for example, 100°C or more.

The filter-like plug, which reduces the cross-sectional area of the inner tube 4, accelerates the airflow so that when this air is inhaled by the diver, its static pressure is reduced, similar to a ventilator nozzle. Water is thus sucked upwards from the water container 6 through the tube 14. This water is then dispersed within the plug 19 over the fibers or strips therein, increasing the effective evaporation area. Valve 7
opens when the difference between the air pressure above the side wall 5 and the air pressure above the water in the container 6 reaches a predetermined value.

The water in the plug 19 is heated by the hot air,
Therefore, the temperature of the air decreases to, for example, 80° C. to 100° C., and the relative humidity increases to, for example, 50%. This air then passes through a heat exchanger 20, a part of which is located outside the tube 4, and is cooled by the cold air flowing in the inlet tube 1, reducing the temperature to, for example, 50° C., while the relative humidity increases. It rises considerably. This air then leaves the outlet tube 11 and passes through a temperature sensor 21 arranged therein. This sensor controls, for example via known electrical circuitry, the power provided by the heating element and supplies air at the appropriate temperature to the diver via a breathing valve controller or pressure reducing valve.
The pressure reducing valve reduces the air pressure to approximately ambient pressure.
Since dry, cool air flows outside the inner tube 4 and warm air flows through it along most of its length, the heat loss of the device to the surroundings is reduced.

If desired, the device can also be thermally insulated to further reduce heat loss.

The device shown in FIG. 2 operates in the same manner as described above.

When the pressure in the outlet tube 41 drops due to air intake, the dry, cold air is transferred to a compressed air container,
From the compressor or similar, through a pressure reducing valve, enters the inlet pipe 31 of the device and flows downwardly into the housing 33.
and into the space between the inner tube 34. The water contained in the water container 36 and heated by the heating element 42 imparts some of its heat through the walls of the housing 33 to the air flowing in said space, and the thus heated, very dry air passes through the valve 54. through which it flows into the inner tube 34. The water is now drawn up into the nozzle tube 44 in the same manner as described above and moistens the air exiting from the outlet tube 41. If the temperature of the breathing air flowing in the outlet pipe 41 is too high, a device acting on the valve body 56, for example a bimetallic spring or the like, moves the valve body away from its valve seat and opens the outlet end of the cooling pipe 55; This allows cold air to flow from the inlet of the device through the cooling tube to cool the surrounding breathing air in the outlet tube 41. Cold air eventually enters this tube through the valve body 56. If the temperature of the breathing air drops too much as a result of this, the valve plug closes the outlet end of the cooling pipe.

Tubes 14, 44 and filter-like plugs 19, 4
Instead of 9, a wick material can be placed. This wick draws water from the water container 6, 36 and introduces it into the inner tube 4, 34 downstream of the section of the airflow path affected by the heating element for supplying the water to the heated, dry air.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are schematic longitudinal sectional views of two embodiments of the device according to the invention. 3...Housing, 4...Inner tube or central tube, 5
... lower side wall, 6 ... water container, 7 ... valve, 9 ...
Opening, 10... Slot, 11... Outflow pipe, 12
... Heating element, 16 ... Inflow opening, 18 ... Outflow opening, 19 ... Filter-like plug, 20 ... Heat exchanger, 33 ... Housing, 34 ... Inner tube, 36
... Water container, 41 ... Outflow pipe, 44 ... Nozzle pipe, 49 ... Filter-like plug, 52 ... Enclosure, 55 ... Cooling pipe, 56 ... Valve body.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Dry, cold air is drawn from a pressurized air source in accordance with the diver's breathing needs, the air is heated to a temperature significantly higher than the diver's normal body temperature, and the heated air is A method of conditioning breathing air for underwater divers, such as humidifying, includes supplying water to the heated air and passing the air through a filter-like member having a large surface that disperses the water to effectively evaporate it. thus humidifying the heated air; cooling the heated and humidified air to a temperature slightly above the diver's normal body temperature to increase the relative humidity of the air to a value close to saturation; A method for adjusting breathing air for underwater divers, characterized by supplying air directly to the diver's lungs as breathing air. 2 a housing 3; 33 forming an air passage;
an inflow pipe 1 connected to one end of said air passageway for connection to a source of pressurized dry cold air;
31 and a heating element 12 for heating the dry, cold air coming into and passing through the air passage;
2 and said air passageway for connection to means having a means for humidifying said heated air and a breathing valve controller for supplying conditioned air to the diver by cooling said humidified air. A device for regulating breathing air for underwater divers, comprising an outflow pipe 11; 41 connected to one end, and a container 6; Means 14, 19; 44, 49 are provided for supplying water under controlled conditions from the container 6; a metal filter-like member 19; 49 with a large surface for evaporation, adjusting the temperature of the breathing air so that the conditioned breathing air has a temperature slightly above the diver's normal body temperature and a relative humidity close to saturation; A breathing air regulating device for an underwater diver, characterized in that it comprises temperature sensing means arranged to control the means for controlling the breathing air. 3. Said metal filter-like member 19; 49 constitutes a reduced portion of said air passage, said reduced portion being located immediately downstream of the part of the air passage heated by the heating element 12; 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that 14; 44 connects said reduced portion with water in a container 6; 36. 4. A patent characterized in that a heat exchanger 20 is arranged downstream of the heating element 12 and the place where water is supplied to the heated air, in order to preheat the dry cold air and cool the heated humidified air. An apparatus according to claim 2 or 3. 5 a cooling pipe 55 extending within a portion of the outflow pipe 41 and having an inflow opening communicating with the inflow pipe 31 and an outflow opening in the outflow pipe 41, which outflow opening is connected to the temperature regulating means 56; The device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the device is controlled by.