Apparatus and method for providing breathable air and bodily protection in a contaminated environment
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A breathing apparatus, comprising:
- a face mask;
a self contained breathing apparatus including a tank and a first conduit adapted to carry air from the tank to a face mask;
a powered air purifying respirator having at least one filter, a blower, and a second conduit adapted to carry filtered ambient air to the face mask; and
a valve system operably coupled to the powered air purifying respirator and to the self contained breathing apparatus, the valve system adapted to permit selective control of the source of breathable air supplied to the face mask.
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Abstract
An apparatus for protecting a user in a hazardous or contaminated environment caused by chemical, fire, biological, and/or nuclear contamination includes a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for providing tank stored breathable air, a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) for purifying ambient air and a valve system that can be used to control the source of air from either the SCBA or the PAPR. The source of breathable air can be selectively controlled via manual or automatic controls while a protective body suit can be operably coupled with the SCBA and the PAPR to protect a user within the contaminated environment.
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Citations
63 Claims
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1. A breathing apparatus, comprising:
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a face mask;
a self contained breathing apparatus including a tank and a first conduit adapted to carry air from the tank to a face mask;
a powered air purifying respirator having at least one filter, a blower, and a second conduit adapted to carry filtered ambient air to the face mask; and
a valve system operably coupled to the powered air purifying respirator and to the self contained breathing apparatus, the valve system adapted to permit selective control of the source of breathable air supplied to the face mask. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A breathing apparatus comprising:
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a face mask;
a self contained breathing apparatus adapted to provide tank stored air to the face mask;
a powered air purifying respirator adapted to provide filtered ambient air to the face mask; and
a fluid impervious body suit coupled to the face mask. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A method of providing airflow to a face mask comprising:
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operating a powered blower to provide forced filtered air from a powered air purifying respirator to the face mask;
opening a valve connecting the face mask to a self contained breathing apparatus compressed air tank;
closing a valve connecting the powered air purifying respirator and the facemask to prevent filtered air from entering the face mask when air is flowing from the compressed air tank; and
opening the valve to the powered air purifying respirator when the bottled air pressure from the tank falls below a threshold pressure. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59)
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60. A method of providing clear vision through a face mask breathing apparatus having a self contained breathing apparatus adapted to provide tank stored air to the face mask and a powered air purifying respirator adapted to provide filtered ambient air to the face mask, comprising:
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blowing filtered inlet air across a lens of the face mask; and
flowing exhaled air out of the face mask away from an interior of the lens of the face mask.
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61. A method of operating a breathing apparatus comprising:
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at a first time operating a powered air purifying respirator to provide breathable filtered airflow to a face mask;
at a second time operating a self contained breathing apparatus to provide breathable bottled airflow to a face mask; and
operating a valve system to selectively control the source of breathable airflow. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63)
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Specification