Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
  • A62B—DEVICES, APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR LIFE-SAVING
  • A62B7/00—Respiratory apparatus
  • A62B7/10—Respiratory apparatus with filter elements
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
  • A62B—DEVICES, APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR LIFE-SAVING
  • A62B17/00—Protective clothing affording protection against heat or harmful chemical agents or for use at high altitudes
  • A62B17/006—Protective clothing affording protection against heat or harmful chemical agents or for use at high altitudes against contamination from chemicals, toxic or hostile environments; ABC suits
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
  • A62B—DEVICES, APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR LIFE-SAVING
  • A62B25/00—Devices for storing or holding or carrying respiratory or breathing apparatus
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
  • A62B—DEVICES, APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR LIFE-SAVING
  • A62B7/00—Respiratory apparatus
  • A62B7/02—Respiratory apparatus with compressed oxygen or air
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
  • A62B—DEVICES, APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR LIFE-SAVING
  • A62B17/00—Protective clothing affording protection against heat or harmful chemical agents or for use at high altitudes
  • A62B17/04—Hoods
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
  • A62B—DEVICES, APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR LIFE-SAVING
  • A62B23/00—Filters for breathing-protection purposes
  • A62B23/02—Filters for breathing-protection purposes for respirators
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
  • A62B—DEVICES, APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR LIFE-SAVING
  • A62B7/00—Respiratory apparatus
  • A62B7/12—Respiratory apparatus with fresh-air hose
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
  • A62B—DEVICES, APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR LIFE-SAVING
  • A62B9/00—Component parts for respiratory or breathing apparatus
  • A62B9/04—Couplings; Supporting frames

Definitions

• the existing systems either provide positive pressure (pumped) filtering and purification systems to convert contaminated ambient atmosphere to air that is clean enough to breathe safely, or they provide bottled air under pressure that is carried by the person to be used instead of the ambient atmosphere. While both systems have deficiencies, each system has advantages, and even necessities, under critical conditions. [0012] While the above and following comments use a fire fighter as an illustrative example of the type of person who will benefit from using a combined PAPR and SCBA system, this system is by no means limited in use to fire fighters. For example, workers in chemical plants and refineries may have substantial need for the benefits available from the system described herein. Likewise, soldiers in the field that are being subjected to chemical or biological attack will benefit greatly from the system described herein. It will, of course, be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that others will similarly be assisted by the system described herein.
• FIG. 2 A is an exploded perspective view of a further breathing apparatus
• Fig. 2B is an assembled perspective view of the breathing apparatus of
• FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a fourth embodiment of an air supply system that may be used by the breathing apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2;
• a pair of conduits 22a, 22b connects the PAPR 16 and the SCBA 18 respectively, to the face mask 20.
• the conduit 22a provides filtered breathable air from the PAPR 16 while the conduit 22b provides bottled air from the SCBA 18.
• the PAPR 16 includes at least one or more filter elements 24, a powered blower 26, and a plenum 29.
• the filter elements 24 operate to filter contaminated ambient air and to provide breathable air to the face mask 20 for the user to breathe.
• Each filter element 24 includes an ambient air intake opening 23 and an outlet 25 for the filtered ambient air to pass through.
• the filter elements 24 connect to the filtered air plenum 29 via any suitable mechanical fastening means known to those skilled in the art such as, for example, a threaded engagement.
• the filter elements 24 can be used individually or in a plural configuration. Additionally, the filter elements 24 may be positioned on one side of the plenum 29, or alternatively, may be spaced intermittently along multiple sides of the plenum 29 as desired.
• the powered blower 26 is operably coupled to the plenum 29 for drawing ambient air through the filter elements 24 and supplying filtered air to the face mask 20 via the conduit 22a, which connects to a port 40 in fluid communication with a manifold 36.
• the manifold 36 is fluidically connected to the face mask 20. It should be noted that the PAPR 16 is fully operational, with or without the blower 26 being turned on, as will be discussed in more detail below.
• a valve 52 is connected to PAPR 16 and is adapted to shut off filtered airflow to the face mask 20.
• the valve 52 can include a rotary handle 53 for manual operation, but could also be electronically, controlled such as by a solenoid. As illustrated in Fig. 7, the rotary handle 53 may be operatively connected to the filter elements 24 and, more specifically, maybe connected to filter intake cover(s) 55. It is understood that the valve 52 and actuator handle 53 can be located at any desired location in the PAPR 16 system, but is depicted in Figs. IA and IB proximate the blower 26.
• the blower 26 also includes an on/off switch 68 that operates independently from the valve 52, to allow conservation of battery power while the user breathes filtered air through resistance breathing.
• the air enters the face mask 20 from the manifold 36 through a face mask inlet port 50 when a face mask inlet valve 51 is open.
• the inlet valve 51 is a one-way valve that opens when the air pressure in the face mask 20 is lower than the air pressure in the manifold 36, i.e., when the user inhales.
• the inlet valve 51 of the face mask 20 closes and the exhaled air exits through an outlet port 47, which also includes a one-way valve 48.
• the face mask outlet valve 48 is a one-way valve that opens when the user exhales because the air pressure in the face mask 20 is greater than the surrounding ambient pressure.
• Fig. 4 The configuration of Fig. 4 is similar to that of Fig. 3 except that it illustrates a semi-automatic mode of operation.
• An electronic on/off blower switch 68 and the valve actuator 64 for the PAPR are manually controlled in response to an audible or visible alarm 69 that is triggered by the sensor 56 when the PAPR 16 is not providing breathable air.
• the valve actuator 64 permits the user to manually switch the air source from the PAPR 16 to the SCBA 18.
• FIGs 2A and 2B an alternate embodiment of the breathing apparatus 10 is depicted.
• This embodiment is essentially the same as the embodiment illustrated in Figs. IA and IB except that the face mask 20 does not have a separate manifold 36. Instead, the air supply conduits 22a and 22b connect directly to the face mask 20 without connecting to an intermediate manifold 36.
• This configuration can be implemented in the same manner as the embodiments shown in Figs. 3-5.
• the valve system in the face mask 20 can be operated in an automatic, semi ⁇ automatic, or manual mode.
• the embodiment of Fig. 2 is depicted schematically in Fig. 6. It should be noted that Fig.
• the entry ports 41, 43 are suitably adapted to be closed by one ⁇ way valves 44, 46 respectively.
• the inlet valves 44, 46 permit breathable air to flow into the face mask 20, but do not permit the air to flow out of the face mask 20 and back into either air supply system.
• the inlet valves 44, 46 to the face mask 20 can be electro-mechanically actuated and can be operated automatically, semi-automatically, or manually.
• An outlet valve 48 located in the face mask 20 permits exhaled air to vent from the face mask 20 to the atmosphere.
• the outlet valve 48 is also a one-way valve that is designed to open only when the pressure in the face mask 20 is greater than the surrounding atmosphere.
• the harness 66 is adapted to attach the SCBA 18 and the PAPR 16 to the protective suit 12 of the user 58.
• the protective suit 12 can be used in unbreathable atmospheric environments caused by any number of contaminants such as fire, chemical agents, biological agents, and radiation.
• the protective suit 12 is made from a fluid-impervious material such that the suit 12 provides a complete physical barrier from the ambient contaminants.
• the suit 12 can be made from a laminated material structure having at least three layers (best seen in Fig. 9).
• the laminated materials can include an inner layer of fabric 78, an outer protective layer 80, and an intermediate layer 82 made from an impermeable fluoro-polymer barrier.
• the intermediate layer 82 is positioned between the inner and outer layers 78, 80.
• the suit 12 further includes the dual layer hood 84 discussed above in reference to Figs. IA and IB.
• the protective suit 12 can be ventilated to flush relatively warm humid air caused by the user's perspiration and heat output.
• the ventilation exchanges the warm humid air from the interior of the suit 12 with relatively cool filtered ambient air. Ventilated air can be forced through the suit 12, with the PAPR blower 26 or with a separate blower (not shown), hi either case, a ventilation hose 90 can be connected directly to the blower 26 or can be teed into the conduit 22a such that a portion of the airflow is diverted to ventilate the suit 12.
• the protective suit 12 can also include a camelback member 96 having a supply line 97 connected to the facemask 20.
• the camelback member 96 is operable for providing contaminant free liquid hydration to the user 58.
• the camelback member 96 includes a port 98 for receiving liquid, such as water, through a one-way valve (not shown).
• the face mask 20 provides clear vision at all times because exhaled warm humid air may be prevented from contacting the viewing lens.
• the filtered and relatively cool intake air may be blown across the face of the face mask 20 to keep the viewing lens clear, while the exhaled air egresses away from the viewing lens.
• the protective suit 12 protects the user 58 from an environmentally hazardous atmosphere by keeping the contamination separated from the skin of the user 58 and by providing non-contaminated air for breathing.
• the operational characteristics of the protective suit 12 provides for a method of swapping air tanks 28 while the protective suit 12 is being worn without contaminating the air supply with unbreathable ambient air. Swapping air tanks 28 without contaminating the air supply can be implemented by using a quick connect coupling 62 that includes a pop off valve (not shown) configured to seal off the conduit 32 when the conduit 32 is removed from the air tank 28.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Emergency Management (AREA)
• Pulmonology (AREA)
• Emergency Medicine (AREA)
• Toxicology (AREA)
• Respiratory Apparatuses And Protective Means (AREA)
• Electrical Discharge Machining, Electrochemical Machining, And Combined Machining (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=35134507

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (10)

Families Citing this family (26)

Citations (2)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 2005
  • 2005-07-21 AT AT05773697T patent/ATE444780T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2005-07-21 DE DE602005017054T patent/DE602005017054D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-07-21 CN CNA2005800249066A patent/CN101001672A/zh active Pending
  • 2005-07-21 EP EP08017362A patent/EP2008692A3/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-07-21 JP JP2007522783A patent/JP4746042B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-07-21 WO PCT/US2005/025976 patent/WO2006012475A2/en active Application Filing
  • 2005-07-21 EP EP05773697A patent/EP1786523B1/de not_active Not-in-force

Patent Citations (2)

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