Respiratory apparatus for compressed-air breathing equipment

• US 20050121035A1
• Filed: 09/10/2002
• Published: 06/09/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: MSA AUER GmbH (MSA Safety, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MSA AUER GmbH (MSA Safety, Inc.)
• Inventors: Martin, Jan
• Application Number:
  US10/492,769
• Publication Number:
  US 20050121035A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 128/205.240
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 9/022 Breathing demand regulators SCUBA diving regulators B63C11/22
• CPC Class Codes: B63C 11/2227 Second-stage regulators B63C11/2245 takes precedence

Abstract

A oxygen system includes a casing (1) that houses a valve seat (4) with an air inlet duct (6) arranged in axial direction, a shutting part (7) associated with the air inlet duct at the valve outlet, and a driving motor (8). A pressure sensor (15) for measuring the pressure in the respective phase of breathing is located in a measuring chamber (2) connecting the air inlet duct and the air outlet duct (3) that is formed in the casing and can be connected to a respirator mask. The pressure conditions prevailing during inhalation and exhalation control the drive motor that is connected by a controller to the shutting part of the valve unit, and regulate the air supply to the respirator mask. In addition to the air control that exactly matches respiration, the device is small and compact, requires few mechanical components, and is resistant to impact stress.

Claims

1-12. -12. (canceled)

13. In a regulator for a compressed air-breathing apparatus having a respiration-controlled valve unit housed in a casing for controlling a supply of air to a respirator mask, the improvement wherein the valve unit comprises:

a valve seat;

an air inlet duct; and

a shutting part operated by a driving motor and wherein a pressure sensor is located in a measuring chamber and is electrically-connected to the driving motor via a controller for controlling the supply of air via a controller for controlling the supply of air based on a measured pressure in a measuring chamber; and

wherein the measuring chamber connects the air inlet duct and an air outlet duct formed in the casing that is connected to the respirator mask.

14. The regulator according to claim 13, wherein the driving motor and a driving member linked with the shutting part is elastically held on a stopper surface in the casing against air pressure acting on the shutting part by an elastic support so that the shutting part can be adjusted automatically for releasing the air inlet duct when an unacceptably high pressure has built up.

15. The regulator according to claim 14, wherein the elastic support is a safety spring that presses the drive casing of the driving motor against the stopper surface.

16. The regulator according to claim 13, wherein the valve seat is manually adjustable and sealed in the casing so that it can be connected to the air outlet duct in the event of a failure that renders the shutting part inoperable.

17. The oxygen system according to claim 16 wherein the air inlet duct of the valve seat can be shut at a front outlet side opening by the shutting part being movable in longitudinal direction.

18. The regulator according to claim 17 wherein the valve seat can be adjusted in an axial direction by manual rotation.

19. The regulator according to claim 13 wherein the valve seat comprises an inside cylinder on its outlet side with through holes in the cylinder wall and a closing pot that functions as the shutting part and has a lateral through hole that laps over the inside cylinder, the closing pot being rotatable around its axis by the driving motor depending on the measured pressure conditions to allow air supply to the respirator mask when the through holes of the inside cylinder and the closing pot overlap partially or completely.

20. The regulator according to claim 19 wherein the closing pot, the driving member, and the driving motor can be moved in a longitudinal direction by the action of a high pressure, thereby disengaging a packing provided between the inside cylinder and the closing pot.

21. The regulator according to claim 19 wherein the inside cylinder can be rotated by manually rotating the valve seat to ensure a drive-independent supply of air to the respirator mask.

22. The regulator according to claim 13 wherein the shutting part comprises a pot-shaped elastic valve element connected to the valve seat that is stretched by the driving member and driven by the driving motor based on a pressure measured in the measuring chamber and thereby opens valve openings in the side walls to a greater or lesser extent, or closes them.

23. The regulator according to claim 22 wherein the elastic valve element can be elastically stretched by manually adjusting the valve seat in a longitudinal direction to ensure a drive-independent supply of air to the respirator mask.

24. The regulator according to claim 22 wherein the elastic valve element can be elastically stretched to open the valve opening when an unacceptably high pressure acts on the inlet.