WO2007110670A1 - Harnais pour appareil respiratoire - Google Patents

Harnais pour appareil respiratoire Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2007110670A1
WO2007110670A1 PCT/GB2007/050159 GB2007050159W WO2007110670A1 WO 2007110670 A1 WO2007110670 A1 WO 2007110670A1 GB 2007050159 W GB2007050159 W GB 2007050159W WO 2007110670 A1 WO2007110670 A1 WO 2007110670A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
harness
expandable member
tension
sheath
tension member
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB2007/050159
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Andrew Tatarek
Original Assignee
Concept 2 Manufacture Design Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Concept 2 Manufacture Design Ltd filed Critical Concept 2 Manufacture Design Ltd
Publication of WO2007110670A1 publication Critical patent/WO2007110670A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
    • A62B—DEVICES, APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR LIFE-SAVING
    • A62B18/00—Breathing masks or helmets, e.g. affording protection against chemical agents or for use at high altitudes or incorporating a pump or compressor for reducing the inhalation effort
    • A62B18/08—Component parts for gas-masks or gas-helmets, e.g. windows, straps, speech transmitters, signal-devices
    • A62B18/084—Means for fastening gas-masks to heads or helmets

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a harness for use with breathing apparatus, and more particularly, but not exclusively to a pneumatically operated harness for use with breathing apparatus such as masks or other headgear.
  • GB1175080 describes one such expanding harness which consists of flexible extensible tubes of an elastomeric material inside a loose fabric sheath.
  • the user can pressurise (typically from 50 to 100psi) the extensible tube by means provided on the equipment. This is then allowed to stretch until the fabric sheath is taut, allowing the wearer to put the harness over their head. The user can then vent the harness using means provided on the equipment, allowing the extensible tube to collapse and hold the mask onto the face.
  • the extensible tube serves as both an expandable member and as a tension member, the fabric sheath providing no tension.
  • Extensible tubes can also be made relatively thin, since expansion due to pressure of the gas is limited by the fabric sheath, (rather like an inner tube inside a tyre).
  • the expanding harness has applications to any equipment where rapid donning of a mask or goggles or similar equipment is an advantage.
  • One application is in escape equipment, to protect against gas or other irrespirable atmospheres, where a mask with a cylinder is stored in places where there is risk of harmful or irrespirable atmospheres. When an alarm sounds indicating the presence of the harmful or irrespirable atmosphere, the user would want to don the mask as quickly as possible.
  • Another application, to which GB 1175080 is directed, is to pilots' oxygen breathing apparatus to protect against the effects of decompression when flying at high altitudes.
  • the ratio of wall thickness to internal diameter of such tubes that allow them to expand at the minimum pressure means that the ratio of wall thickness to internal diameter has to be about 8:1 with conventionally used materials such as silicone rubber. The lower this ratio, the less the tube is able to expand at the same pressure.
  • a larger internal diameter, whilst keeping the same wall thickness, would allow the tube to expand more easily, but at the same time would proportionally increase the effective spring rate or spring constant of the un-pressurised tube, increasing the spring rate or spring constant of the harness and increasing the load applied to the head, particularly in the case of an oversize head.
  • the harness needs to apply adequate force to hold the breathing apparatus onto the smallest head for which it is designed to provide an adequate seal.
  • the variation in head sizes also means that a harness that is adequately tight on the smallest heads can be very uncomfortable on the largest heads. This is particularly a problem where the harness has to apply a high load to the face, for example a mask with a high positive pressure as might be used in a pilot's breathing apparatus.
  • a harness according to the prior art has a very non-linear expansion, where, once expanded, a very significant drop in pressure is required before the harness will contract, meaning that any means that relies on controlling the pressure in the harness has to work on a very steep part of the pressure v contraction curve, which will be discussed in more detail later.
  • the present invention strives to overcome or diminish the disadvantages associated with the known harnesses.
  • a harness comprising an extensible tension member and a separately functioning expandable member whereby pressure applied to the inside of the expandable member selectively controls the size of the harness.
  • a head harness comprising an extensible tension member, for providing an adequate tension across a plurality of head sizes, and an expandable member, for extending the tension member.
  • the expandable member provides a smaller tension relative to the tension in the tension member, when distended on the largest head size, whilst allowing pressure to expand both the expandable member and the tension member.
  • the expandable member is manufactured from a flexible material, which is selectively inflatable and deflatable.
  • the flexible material may typically comprise an elastomeric material, for example a flexible plastic like polypropylene, neoprene, thermoplastic elastomers or silicone rubber.
  • the expandable member may be in the form of a bag or bladder.
  • the expandable member has a bellow-like or corrugated tubular design.
  • the expandable member is convoluted, the convolutions being plain or spirally formed.
  • the tension member is enclosed anywhere within the expandable member, for example in the centre of the expandable member.
  • a sheath for example made from fabric, is provided over the outside of the expandable member.
  • the tension member may be a tension spring, an elastic band or other means of creating tension when stretched.
  • the tension member may comprise multiple fibres placed anywhere in the structure of the harness.
  • the tension member if for example, it is a spring, to be wound in the opposite direction to those convolutions to prevent the expandable member being caught up in the spring during expansion and contraction.
  • the tension member is located between the expandable member and the sleeve.
  • the tension member is located outside the sleeve, or woven to be part of the sleeve, while still maintaining the limit to expansion function.
  • the sheath when provided over the outside of the expandable member and tension member, protects the tension member and the expandable member from over-expansion.
  • the sheath is designed and adapted to become taut in both the axial and radial directions before either the tension or expandable members become over extended axially, or the expandable member becomes too large by radial expansion.
  • the fabric sheath may be corrugated, woven or braided to allow the desired level of expansion before the fibres become taut.
  • the sheath may be spiral in form. If the sheath is wound spirally it is advantageous to wind the sheath in a counter-rotational direction to a spirally wound expandable member to prevent the sheath being trapped in the windings of the expandable member's spiral convolutions.
  • the subject of the present invention provides an improved harness that separates the functions of expansion and tension, allowing greater comfort, while still providing the expansion due to pressure essential for function.
  • Figure 1 shows part of a harness, according to one embodiment of the invention, in an un-expanded state
  • Figure 2 shows the harness of Figure 1 in an expanded state
  • Figure 3 shows a further embodiment of a harness with convoluted design in the semi-expanded state
  • Figure 4a is a graph illustrating a harness extension against pressure, with pressure rising and falling
  • Figure 4b is a graph of force applied by the harness against extension
  • Figures 5a, 5b, 5c show examples of heads wearing a mask attached by a harness.
  • FIG. 1 and 2 there is shown a short length of harness, enough to explain the principles of operation, and the length of which can be made to suit a required application.
  • a typical application is a head harness for use with inflatable respiratory apparatus, the apparatus including a mask (see Figure 5) presenting a fitting surface adapted to fit against the face of a user.
  • a pressuring gas connection (1 ) to which is attached, by any conventional means, such as a hook or adhesive, a tension member (2), which may be a tension spring, an elastic band or other means of creating tension when stretched.
  • the tension member on its own would be capable of providing substantially adequate tension for the harness application from the smallest to the largest head.
  • the tension member (2) may also be pre-tensioned, such as a pre-tensioned spring.
  • the expandable member takes the form of a corrugated tube (3) or bellows.
  • This is designed to have adequate effective surface area perpendicular to the axial direction such that, at the lowest operating pressure, for example 10 psi , the force generated by the multiplication of the pressure times the effective area is capable of expanding the tension member (2).
  • the corrugated construction of the expandable member (3) can expand by a high percentage under the effect of pressure, but still not apply significant tension when fitted over the largest head.
  • a fabric sheath (4) is provided over the outside of the expandable member (3), and protects the tension member (2) and the expandable member (3) from over-expansion.
  • the sheath (4) is designed to become taut (as shown in Figure 2) in both the axial and radial directions before either the tension or expandable members (2, 3) become over extended axially, or the expandable member becomes too large radially.
  • the expandable member (3) can be pressurised and depressurised as required and in Figure 1 is shown in its depressurized condition. In this condition it is suitable for stowage as it takes up little volume with the ridges 7 and grooves 8, which define the corrugation configuration, collapsed into close juxtaposition. As can be seen in this un-extended state the unsupported parts opposite the grooves of the flexible sheath can fold into those grooves so enhancing the compact nature of the harness when stowed.
  • each of the ridges 7 are shown as spikes, other designs of corrugations can be adopted, for example, each of the ridges can have a general curvature and their apices can be curved or flat top instead of the sharp points shown in Figure 1 and 2.
  • the elongate member (3) When pressurizing, the elongate member (3) expands as shown in Figure 2 such that the apices of the ridges push against the underside of the sheath 4, eventually forcing the sheath 4 into a taut condition which limits the extent to which the expandable member 3 can be expanded.
  • the sheath 4 also acts, when in its taut condition, as a constraint on the extent to which the tension member 2 can extend, as the tension member extension no longer continues when the expandable member 3 stops expanding.
  • the fabric sheath (4) may be corrugated, woven or braided to allow the desired level of expansion before the fibres become taut. However, the sheath (4) may be omitted if the expandable member (3) on its own is capable of withstanding the maximum pressure it is likely to encounter. If the expandable member (3) is manufactured from elastomeric material, fabric reinforcement may be built into the structure to give it strength. There may be special braiding used in the sheath to prevent excessive radial expansion, whilst allowing axial expansion.
  • the end opposite to the gas connection (1 ) may have another gas inlet or outlet, or a blank end (6) as shown in Figures 1 and 2.
  • Conventional binding (5) means such as hose ferrules or cord can be used to hold the ends onto the fittings.
  • the ends (1 ) and (6) also provide attachment means to the mask or other device to be fitted to the face, which are known technology so are not shown.
  • the tension member (2) is in the centre of the expandable means, and in one embodiment the tension member (2) may comprise multiple fibres placed anywhere in the structure.
  • the tension member (2) may be between the expandable member and the fabric sleeve (4), outside the fabric sleeve, or woven to be part of the fabric sleeve, while still maintaining the limit to expansion function.
  • the tension member (2) can be made at a much lower rate than the existing art, so can be shorter at the un-extended length (Figure 4b) Because of this, the tension on a large head and on small head can be more consistent, so, when adequate tension is applied to a smallest head, the level of comfort on the largest head can be made better. Tension springs with some pre-tension can be used instead of extensible tube, further reducing the rate and thus improving the comfort on the largest head, while still maintaining adequate tension on the smallest head.
  • the tension member (2) can be shorter, and the expandable member (3) is corrugated, when not pressurised, the harness will collapse to a shorter length than the prior art, aiding easier stowage.
  • the diameter can be adjusted to match the working pressure, so, for example a larger diameter can be used to lower the pressure for which full expansion without increasing the tension on the head.
  • the design can be used at a lower pressure.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a different embodiment of the harness, only a small section of which is shown, in which a convoluted tension member 9, for example a pre-tensioned tension spring, is located between two hose ferrules 10.
  • the tension member 9 is located along the central axis of a barrel-shaped expandable member 11 , which is also convoluted in construction with its windings wound in counter-rotation to the convolutions of the tension member 9 thereby preventing the inner portions of the expandable member 11 becoming snagged within the convolutions of the tension member 9.
  • a sheath 12 is provided over the expandable member 11 and can also be constructed with a convoluted design, its winding being counter-rotational to the windings of the expandable member 11 to prevent snagging between the sheath and the expandable member 11.
  • Graph 4a shows the extension in mm of a harness against pressure in psi.
  • the solid line A is representative of the extension under various pressures of a typical prior art harness
  • dotted line B is representative of the extension under various pressures of a harness like that shown in the embodiments of Figures 1 to 3 of the present invention.
  • the dotted curve B will be substantially the same both during the inflating and deflating of the harness, making control of comfort by retention of pressure in the harness much easier. This is in contrast to solid line A in which it can be seen that the hysteresis is large, the pressure having to be reduced considerably before the extension of the harness drops back to a lower length.
  • curve A and curve B reflects the degree to which the compatibility of the harness embodiments according to the present invention with comfort features that retain some pressure in the harness to maintain comfort is better than for harnesses made according to prior art. This is particularly useful for applications where the breathing apparatus is designed for pressure breathing, as with pilots. In such applications, the apparatus requires a tight harness, and, because they are one size fits all, even people with small heads can find masks uncomfortable. As they are worn in situations where there is an increased risk, but no decompression e.g. when the co-pilot leaves the cockpit to attend to other matters, the tight harness is not needed until there is a decompression. Some of the comfort patents retain a pressure in the harness which is released when there is a decompression.
  • Graph 4b shows typical harness length (mm) vs. harness tension (N), illustrating the advantage of a lower spring rate harness that can be provided using the present invention.
  • dF A is the difference in force exerted by a harness like one made to the prior art between a small head and a large head
  • dF B which is much smaller than dF A
  • dF A is for a lower rate harness as can be made using the present invention.
  • a mask 14 covers much of the face of a person's head 13, two harnesses 15, 15a having been expanded by means of pressurised gas from a gas regulator device 16 so that the harnesses 15, 15a can be fitted comfortably over the head 13.
  • the harness 15 is coupled to the left (as seen from the wearer) of the pressure regulator device 16 and loops around the head 13 to the top right of the mask 14, whilst the harness 15a is coupled to the regulator device 16 on the right and loops around the head 13 to the top left side of the mask 14.
  • Figure 5b illustrates a smaller mask 18, covering only the nose and mouth.
  • the harness 15 is like that in Figure 5a but is shown with a head strap 19 adjustably connected to the harness 15.
  • Figure 5c illustrates a mask like that in Figure 5b with an arrangement in which two harnesses 15, 15a are connected to the pressure regulator device 16, the harnesses 15, 15a being secured together by a spacer 20 to keep the harnesses apart and in position above and below the ear.

Landscapes

  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Pulmonology (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Emergency Management (AREA)
  • Respiratory Apparatuses And Protective Means (AREA)

Abstract

Harnais de tête comprenant un élément (2) de tension extensible pour produire une tension adéquate sur une pluralité de tailles de tête et un élément (3) extensible pour étendre le harnais. Une gaine (4) est prévue comme couverture sur l'élément (3) extensible, la gaine (4) étant déformée dans une position tendue durant l'extension de l'élément (3) extensible pour contraindre l'extension à la fois de l'élément (3) extensible et l'extension de l'élément (2) de tension.
PCT/GB2007/050159 2006-03-29 2007-03-27 Harnais pour appareil respiratoire WO2007110670A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0606241A GB0606241D0 (en) 2006-03-29 2006-03-29 An improved harness for breathing apparatus
GB0606241.8 2006-03-29

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2007110670A1 true WO2007110670A1 (fr) 2007-10-04

Family

ID=36424768

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/GB2007/050159 WO2007110670A1 (fr) 2006-03-29 2007-03-27 Harnais pour appareil respiratoire

Country Status (2)

Country Link
GB (1) GB0606241D0 (fr)
WO (1) WO2007110670A1 (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2016127044A1 (fr) * 2015-02-06 2016-08-11 B/E Aerospace, Inc. Ensemble harnais gonflable pour masque à oxygène d'équipage d'aéronef
US20160375275A1 (en) * 2015-06-29 2016-12-29 B/E Aerospace, Inc. Harness assembly for aircraft pilot crew mask

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1175080A (en) * 1966-06-30 1969-12-23 Intertechnique Sa Improvements in or relating to, Head Harnesses for Rapidly Fitting, Carrying on a User's Head and Rapidly Removing Devices of different types
GB1274842A (en) * 1968-05-13 1972-05-17 Kidde Walter Co Ltd An oxygen breathing mask
US4437462A (en) * 1981-11-19 1984-03-20 Figgie International Inc. Pneumatic head harness
EP0288391A1 (fr) * 1987-04-22 1988-10-26 Intertechnique Harnais de masque respiratoire et masque utilisable avec un tel harnais
WO1999020349A1 (fr) * 1997-10-20 1999-04-29 Be Aerospace, Inc. Masque a oxygene equipage pourvu d'un regulateur assurant un confort accru

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1175080A (en) * 1966-06-30 1969-12-23 Intertechnique Sa Improvements in or relating to, Head Harnesses for Rapidly Fitting, Carrying on a User's Head and Rapidly Removing Devices of different types
GB1274842A (en) * 1968-05-13 1972-05-17 Kidde Walter Co Ltd An oxygen breathing mask
US4437462A (en) * 1981-11-19 1984-03-20 Figgie International Inc. Pneumatic head harness
EP0288391A1 (fr) * 1987-04-22 1988-10-26 Intertechnique Harnais de masque respiratoire et masque utilisable avec un tel harnais
WO1999020349A1 (fr) * 1997-10-20 1999-04-29 Be Aerospace, Inc. Masque a oxygene equipage pourvu d'un regulateur assurant un confort accru

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2016127044A1 (fr) * 2015-02-06 2016-08-11 B/E Aerospace, Inc. Ensemble harnais gonflable pour masque à oxygène d'équipage d'aéronef
US20160228732A1 (en) * 2015-02-06 2016-08-11 B/E Aerospace, Inc. Inflatable harness assembly for aircraft oxygen crew mask
CN107567344A (zh) * 2015-02-06 2018-01-09 Be航天公司 用于飞行器机组人员氧气面罩的充气式安全带组件
US10974083B2 (en) * 2015-02-06 2021-04-13 B/E Aerospace, Inc. Inflatable harness assembly for aircraft oxygen crew mask
CN107567344B (zh) * 2015-02-06 2021-08-10 Be航天公司 用于飞行器机组人员氧气面罩的充气式安全带组件
US20160375275A1 (en) * 2015-06-29 2016-12-29 B/E Aerospace, Inc. Harness assembly for aircraft pilot crew mask
US10537752B2 (en) * 2015-06-29 2020-01-21 B/E Aerospace, Inc. Harness assembly for aircraft pilot crew mask

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB0606241D0 (en) 2006-05-10

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