MXPA98003571A - Individual equipment for protection against threats of nuclear, bacteriological or quim contamination - Google Patents

Abstract

The equipment comprises: a helmet (10), a full face cover provided with fasteners for fastening to the helmet and a breathable gas feed line link, and a flexible jacket that extends the helmet and cover face downwards. Sealing means between the helmet, the cover-face and the envelope, comprising an arc (18) connectable in a hermetic manner to the helmet (10), having a lower branch constituting a closed low loop intended to receive the envelope and a transverse branch of which one side is constituted so that it fits in a hermetic manner on a shell of the helmet and an opposite side is constituted so as to receive the face cover in a tool-like manner. The connecting means comprise a pin fixed rigidly to the face cover, placed in a vertical mid-plane of the face cover and in its lower part hooking in a cap (36) which is pivotally connected to the bow, as well as the lateral fasteners

Description

* INDIVIDUAL TEAM OF PROTECTION AGAINST NBC THREATS The present invention relates to individual equipment to protect personnel exposed to threats called NBC (nuclear, bacteriological or chemical contamination). Such an individual equipment generally comprises a helmet, a full face cover provided with fasteners for J: fix to the hull and a breathable or ventilating gas feed duct link and a flexible wrap, often called a "neck joint", to extend the helmet and face-down cover, as well as airtight sealing means between the helmet, the cover-face and the cover. He helmet ensures protection against perforation and shocks and also serves as support for different elements such as headphones and transparent visor. This constitution allows personnel to use only the helmet when it fulfills a mission that does not have NBC threat.

This avoids the discomfort of the equipment that completely envelops the face and neck. On the other hand, when the personnel is informed before a mission that there is a risk of NBC aggression, the envelope is then mounted on the helmet. When the The effective presence of a threat, either by means of sensors carried by a vehicle occupied by the personnel, or by f-transmission, the user fits the cover-face and fixes it to the helmet, after having switched with the system filtered air supply ventilation or with the respiratory gas supply system. 5 The first situation occurs especially in helicopters that operate at low altitude and are therefore not equipped with an oxygen source under pressure and also in military transport aircraft operating at a moderate altitude. To avoid the existence of a "triple" point, when the helmet, the cover-face and the wrapping are directly interconnected, it is described, in the United States Patent Number: 5,575,278 (Bonhomme et al.), A team in which the connection means hermetic between the helmet, the cover-face and the envelope comprise an arc fixed removably to the hull, in one piece, having a lower branch constituting a closed low loop intended to receive the envelope and a transverse branch whose side is constituted so that it adapts on a housing of the helmet and an opposite side is constituted so as to receive a joint from the face-covering. In a particular embodiment described in the United States of America Patent Number: 5,575,278, the face cover has an upwardly projecting layer. and has a transverse rod while the hull has * a fork intended to receive the rod. The union by means of the rod and the fork is completed by two lateral joints carried by the face shield and hooked on the helmet. One purpose of the invention is to make an individual protective equipment that has a face cover that is easily put in place and removed with one hand, in conditions that can be critical and demand rapid action. For this purpose, a device of the type described above is proposed, in which the means to fix in place the ) ~? 10 cover-faces comprise: a peg assembly fixed rigidly to the face cover, placed in a vertical mid-plane of the face cover and in its lower part, engageable and detachable by sliding the pin assembly inside a 15 cap and outside a cap that is pivotally attached to the arch, and 'WJf - lateral fasteners. With such a constitution, the helmet wearer can see down the cap and the pin and can visually monitor the insertion. To make the placement in place even easier, the lateral fasteners can have zippers fixed permanently to the face cover and boxes carried by the arch and intended to receive the zippers in a way slide, provided with means constituting the f-incised ratchets elastically for hooking with the racks after the insertion of the racks. With such a constitution, it is sufficient that the helmet wearer flips the face cover around the axis of rotation of the cap so that the side clips engage. To facilitate removing the face cover, the pawls can be joined by filamentary means intended to exert traction against the elastic force of the elastic means and to release the racks. The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of a given embodiment by way of non-limiting example. The description refers to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded view showing the general constitution of an equipment according to the prior art; * | Figures 2 and 3 are perspective views of the arch and of a face cover of an equipment following an embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 is an exploded view of an advantageous embodiment of the cap of Figure 2; Figure 5 is an exploded view of a plug usable with the cap of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a side fixing box 25 of the face cover; Figure 7 is a face view of a helmet particularly adapted for use with a face shield and a bow as illustrated in Figure 2; and Figure 8 is an exploded view of a shim wedge worn by the hull of Figure 7. The equipment according to the invention can be considered as an improvement of that described in U.S. Patent Number: 5,575,278, to which it will be possible to report. The invention relates more particularly to a device having the general constitution shown schematically in Figure 1. The equipment comprises a helmet 10, a face cover 12 having a visor or transparent lenses 14, and a cover 16. The cover -cap has an expiration valve 32, a link gauge 30 has a flexible air supply duct and optionally a beverage feeding rim, symmetrically positioned to the valve 32 with respect to the vertical mid-plane of the cover. The equipment also comprises an arc 18 designed to allow the helmet 10, the cover-face 12 and the sheath 16 20 to be hermetically sealed. The illustrated arch 18 is removable and constitutes a unique piece. It comprises a lower branch 20 in the form of a closed loop, intended to receive the envelope 16, and a transverse branch 22 in the form of a U provided for one side to be received. adapt to the helmet 10 and the other side to the face cover.

For missions during which NBC threats are not anticipated, the person to be protected only carries the helmet. If on the other hand there is a potential NBC threat, then the person to be protected, for example a 5-helicopter pilot, adapts the shell 16 and the bow 18 to the helmet 10 before putting on the helmet. If an NBC threat is indicated by the sensors or by telecommunication, the pilot places the face shield 12 which is JE ~~, provided with suitable fasteners 24 to keep it applied. against the arc 18. It turns out that the various tight connections required do not have mutual joints that have a triple point where the leaks are likely to occur. In the equipment of Figure 1, the means for attaching the face shield 12 have an upwardly projecting sheet 60, having a transverse rod 62. The helmet 10 has a fork 64 intended to receive the rod 62 when the slide is slid. cover facing upwards along the upper part of the transverse branch 22. Once the cover-face has been correctly placed, it can be fixed to the helmet by the fasteners 24, which preferably have an adjustable length. Before replacing the face cover, the wearer swings back an arm 66 having a microphone in front of his mouth. -? ßp In Figure 2 (where the elements corresponding to those of Figure 1 are designated by the same reference number) the arc 18 also has an envelope 16. The cover 12 (Figure 3) and the arc 18 they are provided with means for sealingly fixing the face shield to the arch. A first set of fixing means comprises a pin assembly 34 on the face cover (Figures 3 and 5) and a cap 36 pivotally attached to the arch so that _ can rotate around a horizontal axis (Figures 2 and 4). The plug assembly 34 is fixed permanently to the face cover 12, for example by means of screws 38. It will usually comprise many mutually assembled parts, of which a finger 40 and a plate 42 of insulating material, constitute a printed circuit having conductive tracks 44. The conductor tracks are linked to a microphone inside the face shield (not shown). An I block 46 constitutes a stop which limits the degree of insertion of the plug into the cap. The cap 36 is placed between the arms of a U-bracket 48 and can rotate about an axis 50 placed in the support. The pivoting area of the cap is limited by the support of a rod 52 that passes through the cap against the ends 54 of slots provided in the support arms 48. A slot is provided in the cap to receive the terminals 25 56 that cooperate with the conductor tracks 44 of the plug and which are normally connected to an audio circuit attached to a microphone mounted on an arm, similar to arm 66 of Figure 1. Springs 58 attached to cap 36 and support 48 pull the cap back . But the connection between the tilting cap and the support has means for retaining the cap in a forward inclined position when it is brought to this position manually. The second set of fixing means comprises two racks 68 fixed laterally to a high part of the face cover (Figure 3). The racks are placed so as to be received in the boxes 70 fixed to the arch and each having a pawl 72 elastically developed towards a position where they are hooked on the corresponding rack after the insertion of the latter, in order to prevent the removal of the zipper. In order to allow the bearer to simultaneously release the two pawls, these pawls are joined by a wire 74 that passes through the guides 76 carried by the upper part of the face cover. Each box can have the constitution shown in the Figure 6. Ratchet 72 pivots on the box fixed on the bow. A spring 94 urges the pawl to a position where it engages the rack when the latter is inserted. The wire 74 is guided by an eye separated from the box, unfolded by a curved surface 98 and attached to the ratchet at its end.

The bond structure shown in Figures 2-5 makes it easy to put it in place and remove the cover-face, also with just one hand. The person wishing to put the cover in place takes it with one hand and inserts the pin 34 into the cap 36. This operation can be monitored visually, since the cap is oriented forward and in the field of view of the wearer of the helmet. Then, the carrier tilts the face shield backwards, until ZT the zippers engage in the box 72 and are Mt 10 screwed in a position where there is a sufficient contact pressure for airtightness. Usually the support 48 contains a switch 49 for switching the audio circuit of the helmet with a microphone carried by an arm with a microphone placed on the inside the cover-face, when the cap is tilted at the same time as the cover-face. To remove the cover-face, the carrier pulls the thread 74. Then the elasticity of the joints and the weights of the cover-face move the latter forward. Can then be removed with one hand and tilting it even further forward and lifting it. Usually a helmet of a team member is held on the head by a chin strap or chin strap attached to the outside of the helmet shell. If the helmet must If used with a full face cover, for example under NBC conditions, the chin guard must pass through the face shield, which can affect the air tightness. This problem can be overcome by fastening the chin guard inside the helmet. In the embodiment shown in Figures 7 and 8, the chin guard is retained on the helmet by a pair of wedges similar to those used in sailboats to tighten the headphones. Referring again to Figure 8, it is seen that each wedge has a U-shaped support 78 fixed to the interior of the , _, hull housing 10. A rod 80 that joins the arms of Support 78 pivotably supports a spout 82 urged by a spring 84 in a direction that approximates a serrated surface 86 of the bottom spout of the support. The rod 80 also has a roller 88 stuck to the spout. The chin guard 90 (Figure 7) passes between the bottom of each support and the respective peak intended to retain it. When moving outward from the midplane of the helmet, the end portions of the chin guard are released and can run. Levers 92 fixed to the ends of the slide are positioned so that they are grasped by the carrier of the helmet. With this constitution, the chin guard can be depressed by simultaneously pulling on the two levers and securing it by pulling the end portions laterally under the peaks 82. the release can be done with one hand, pulling one lever towards the outside with respect to the half plane of the helmet. Team members of an airplane or helicopter should rebalance the pressure in the inner ear when there is a rapid descent. This is usually done by the maneuver called VASALVA. The person pinches the nose with one hand and blows until the ears are uncovered. This maneuver is not possible under NBC conditions, since the cover-face prevents access to the nose. , _ To make rebalancing possible, the valve The expiration 32 can be provided with means which allow it to be closed at will and the end piece of the funnel 30 of the face cover can be provided with a non-return flap. The means for forcefully closing the expiration valve may comprise a cover or cap that closes the expiration valve when it is turned by hand. It is then possible for the bearer of the equipment to cause a suppression in the respiratory tract. To this end, the expiration valve is closed, which causes the rise in pressure since the air or expired oxygen can not escape. Yes it is As necessary, the wearer can tighten the face cover over the face to increase the tightness. As soon as the ears are uncovered, the wearer loosens the cover (if it is elastically prompted to its normal operating condition) or flips it in the reverse direction to restore operation normal.

Claims (9)

1. Individual staff protection team against NBC threats, comprising: a helmet (10); a complete cover-face (12) provided with fasteners to fix it to the helmet and a link (30) of breathing gas supply duct; a flexible jacket (16) that extends the helmet and covers-face downward; and sealing means between the helmet, the cover-face and the casing, comprising an arc (18) connected or connectable in a hermetic manner to the hull (10) and in a single piece, having a lower branch (20) that it constitutes a closed low loop intended to receive the envelope and a transverse branch (22) of which one side is formed so as to fit in a sealed manner on a shell of the helmet and an opposite side is formed so as to receive in a hermetic the cover-face, characterized in that the connection means comprise: a pin assembly (40) fixed rigidly to the cover-face, placed in a vertical mid-plane of the cover-face and in its lower part, geable and releasable by sliding the plug assembly into a cap and out of a cap (36) that is pivotally connected to the bow; and some lateral fasteners (68,70). Equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that the plug (40) and the cap (36) have cooperating electrical connection means intended to join an audio circuit of the helmet with a microphone carried by the face shield after insertion of the plug in the cap. Equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that the cap cooperates with an electrical switch so as to switch the connection of the audio circuit between said microphone in said cover-face and a microphone carried by an arm (66) pivotally mounted on the helmet, in response to the tilting backwards of the cap. 4. Equipment according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the cap is mounted pivotably on a U-support (48) fixed to the arch and is joined to the U-support (48) by elastic means (58) that They incite the cap backwards. Equipment according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lateral fasteners comprise racks (68) fixed to the face cover and boxes (60) fixed to the arch and intended to receive the racks in a sliding manner, the boxes provided being ratchets (72) 20 elastically prompted in hooking with the zippers after the insertion of the zippers. Equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that the pawls (72) are mutually connected by means of filamentary means intended to transmit an action of 25 manual pull and to disassemble the ratchet against the action of the ~? elastic means. Equipment according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the helmet has a pair of wedges each having a U-support (78) fixed inside 5 of a shell of the helmet and a pick (2) mounted pivotably on the U-support and having a toothed surface (86) intended to retain one end of a chin bar or chin strap. _4 8. Equipment according to any of the claims 10 above, characterized in that the face cover has an expiration valve (32) provided with a non-return flap and means for forcing the expiration valve in the lock position. 9. Equipment according to claim 8, characterized 15 because said means for closing the expiration valve comprise a cover that closes the expiration valve 'jß when manually turning from a resting position.