Self-contained breathing system

• US 20070235030A1
• Filed: 08/23/2004
• Published: 10/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wilcox Industries Corp.
• Original Assignee: Wilcox Industries Corp.
• Inventors: Hansen, Mark, Teetzel, James, Lemire, Gary, Desrosiers, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 7,647,927 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 128/205.120
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/105 Filters A61M16/047, A61M16/22 take precedence; water traps A61M16/08
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 18/006 with pumps for forced ventilation A62B18/045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 18/02 Masks gas-masks for animals A62B18/06; masks for welders A61F9/06
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 18/10 Valves
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 7/02 with compressed oxygen or air
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 7/10 with filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 7/12 with fresh-air hose
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 9/006 Indicators or warning devices, e.g. of low pressure, contamination
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 9/04 Couplings; Supporting frames

Abstract

A breathing apparatus is operable in self-contained and filtered modes of operation. In the self-contained mode of operation, a breathable gas is delivered to a user from a self-contained source of breathing gas. In a second, filtered mode of operation, a suction source draws ambient air through a filter removing contaminants and delivers filtered ambient air to the user. A method of delivering air to a subject is also provided.

Claims

1. A breathing apparatus comprising:

a chassis defining an passageway for a breathable gas, said chassis further comprising a first inlet for receiving breathable gas from a self-contained source of breathing gas, a second inlet for receiving ambient air, and a first outlet for delivering breathable gas to a user;

a suction source mounted within said chassis and in fluid communication with said second inlet for drawing ambient air into said airflow reservoir;

a main filter assembly positioned between said second inlet and said airflow reservoir for removing contaminants from said ambient air.

2. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more self-contained sources of breathing gas removably attached to said chassis and selectively fluidically coupled to said first inlet.

3. The breathing apparatus of claim 2, further comprising one or more modules for expanding functionality of the device.

4. The breathing apparatus of claim 3, wherein said one or more modules are adapted to attach the the chassis in place of one of the one or more self-contained sources of breathing gas.

5. The breathing apparatus of claim 4, wherein said one or more modules are selected from a cutting torch, a hydration module, a circulating source of heating and/or cooling, and combinations thereof.

6. The breathing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the self-contained source of breathing gas includes a valve, said valve positioned so as to be manually operable by a user when the breathing apparatus is worn by the user.

7. The breathing apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a burst disk assembly for relieving pressure when pressure in the self-contained source of breathing gas exceeds a preselected value.

8. The breathing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the burst disk assembly provides an air escape path which faces away from a user wearing the breathing apparatus.

9. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the chassis is adapted to accommodate a plurality of breathing gas container sizes.

10. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a self-contained source of breathable gas removably attached to the chassis.

11. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the main filter assembly is positioned between said second inlet and said suction source.

12. The breathing apparatus of claim 11, wherein the main filter is environmentally sealed from ambient air when the main filter is not in use.

13. The breathing apparatus of claim 12, wherein the apparatus is suitable for underwater use when the main filter is not in use.

14. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an air hose for supplying a breathable gas to a user.

15. The breathing apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

a face mask adapted to be worn over a user'"'"'s face and having a connection port; and

said air hose having a first end adapted to be removably connected to said face mask connection port and a second end opposite the first end adapted to be connected to said outlet.

16. The breathing apparatus of claim 15, further comprising one or both of:

a purge valve connected to said first end of said air hose, the purge valve fluidically connected to said first stage regulator and manually actuable to provide a burst of regulated air from a first stage regulator; and

an alarm system for providing a user-perceptible alert when a pressure of the self-contained breathing system falls below a preselected value.

17. The breathing apparatus of claim 16, wherein said alarm system is selected from a visual, audible and/or a somatic alarm system operatively integrated with said breathing apparatus.

18. The breathing apparatus of claim 17, wherein said alarm system comprises a somatic communications system operatively integrated with said breathing apparatus for tactually communicating with a user by producing a vibrational signal responsive to a detected low pressure condition.

19. The breathing apparatus of claim 18, wherein said first end of said air hose comprises:

a vibrating element mounted within the first end of said air hose for producing tactually detectable vibrations;

an electrical connector mounted within the second end of said air hose for electrical connection to a power supply within said chassis; and

an electrical conductor passing through said air hose for electrically coupling said vibrating element and said electrical connector.

20. The breathing apparatus of claim 19, wherein said air hose comprises an inner perforated hose for delivering air to a user and an outer flexible bag which is inflatable to hold a volume of air for subsequent delivery to the user.

21. The breathing apparatus of claim 20, wherein said electrical conductor passes within said inner perforated hose.

22. The breathing apparatus of claim 14, wherein said air hose comprises an inner perforated hose for delivering air to a user and an outer flexible bag which is inflatable to hold a volume of air for subsequent delivery to the user.

23. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a second outlet for delivering a breathing gas to a user; and

said first and second outlets disposed on opposite sides of a center line of said chassis, said first and second outlets being selectively attachable to an air hose according to a user'"'"'s preference.

24. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a retractable stand movable between a first, extended position for standing the breathing apparatus in a stable, upright position and a second, retracted position.

25. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a port valve for selectively fluidically coupling the airflow reservoir with the first inlet and the second inlet.

26. The breathing apparatus of claim 25, wherein said port valve is movable between a first position wherein the airflow reservoir is in fluid communication with the first inlet and a second position wherein the air flow reservoir is in flow communication with the second inlet.

27. The breathing apparatus of claim 26, wherein the port valve is manually movable between the first position and the second position.

28. The breathing apparatus of claim 26, further comprising:

an electrically controlled actuator for toggling the port valve between the first and second positions.

29. The breathing apparatus of claim 26, further comprising:

an actuator for activating the suction source when the port valve is in the second position and deactivating the suction source when the port valve is in the first position.

30. The breathing apparatus of claim 29, further comprising:

a pressure sensor for detecting a pressure indicative of a quantity of gas remaining in the self-contained source of breathing gas; and

said port valve being automatically movable between the first position and the second position under programmed control when the detected pressure reaches a preselected minimum threshold value.

31. The breathing apparatus of claim 29, further comprising:

a pressure sensor for detecting a pressure indicative of a quantity of gas remaining in the self-contained source of breathing gas; and

a display for displaying a quantity of gas remaining in the self-contained source of breathing gas in human viewable form.

32. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a prefilter assembly positioned upstream of the main filter for removing contaminants from said ambient air.

33. The breathing apparatus of claim 32, wherein the prefilter includes an external filter formed of a woven nylon material.

34. The breathing apparatus of claim 32, wherein the prefilter assembly includes a mesh filtration medium adapted to filter particles from said ambient air.

35. The breathing apparatus of claim 32, wherein the prefilter assembly includes a mesh filtration medium adapted to filter particles having a size of about 10 microns or larger from said ambient air.

36. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the main filter is selected from a chemical, radiological, or biological filter, or any combination thereof.

37. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more regulators for receiving gas from said source self-contained breathing gas at a first pressure and outputting the gas at a second pressure lower than the first pressure.

38. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a first stage regulator for receiving gas from said source self-contained breathing gas at a first pressure and outputting the gas at a second pressure lower than the first pressure; and

a second stage regulator for receiving gas from the first stage regulator and outputting the gas at a third pressure lower than the second pressure.

39. The breathing apparatus of claim 38, further comprising:

the second stage regulator including a diaphragm having a first surface contacting the breathing gas and a second surface opposite the first surface; and

a protective layer covering said second surface.

40. The breathing apparatus of claim 39, wherein the protective layer is a fluorinated polymer layer.

41. The breathing apparatus of claim 39, wherein the protective layer is polytetrafluoroethylene.

42. The breathing apparatus of claim 38, further comprising:

a connection port on said chassis fluidically coupled to an outlet of said first stage regulator.

43. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a high pressure charging port for charging a connected breathing gas container with an external source of breathing gas.

44. The breathing apparatus of claim 43, wherein said external source of breathing gas is selected from a container of compressed breathing gas and a compressor.

45. The breathing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an air quality sampler for detecting unfilterable constituents in the ambient air.

46. The breathing apparatus of claim 45, further comprising:

a valve for automatically closing said second inlet and receiving breathing gas through said first inlet when an unfilterable constituent is detected.

47. A method for providing breathable gas to a subject, comprising:

providing a breathing apparatus for selectively delivering a breathable gas from a pressurized source of breathable gas and a source of filtered ambient air;

delivering a flow of breathable gas to the subject from the pressurized source when the pressurized source is selected; and

delivering a flow of filtered ambient air when the source of filtered ambient air is selected.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising a suction source for drawing ambient air through a filtration medium and delivering the filtered ambient air to the subject.

49. The method of claim 48, further comprising:

sensing a pressure of the breathable gas delivered from the pressurized source;

if the pressure falls a preselected threshold value, alerting the subject.

50. The method of claim 48, further comprising:

sensing a pressure of the breathable gas emitted from the pressurized source;

if the pressure falls a preselected threshold value, delivering a flow of air from the source of filtered air.

51. The method of claim 48, further comprising:

providing a chassis having a housing defining an internal cavity, the cavity providing a reservoir of breathable gas and being fluidically coupled to an airway of the subject;

delivering breathable gas from the pressurized source to the cavity when the pressurized source is selected; and

delivering filtered ambient air to the cavity when the filtered source is selected.

52. The method of claim 51, further comprising:

monitoring the ambient air for a harmful unfilterable constituents;

if a harmful unfilterable constituent is detected, stopping flow from the filtered source and delivering breathable gas to the subject from the pressurized source.

53. The method of claim 48, further comprising:

delivering the breathable gas to a face mask worn by the subject.

54. The method of claim 53, further comprising:

delivering the breathable gas to an inflatable air hose, the air hose inflating to provide positive pressure in the face mask.

55. The method of claim 48, further comprising:

reducing the pressure of breathable gas emitted from the pressurized source using one or more gas pressure regulators.

56. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

reducing the pressure of the breathable gas emitted from the pressurized source to an intermediate pressure using a first gas pressure regulator; and

reducing the pressure of the breathable gas output from the first gas pressure regulator to a breathable pressure using a second gas pressure regulator.

57. The method of claim 56, further comprising:

providing a source selector for switching between the pressurized source and the filtered source;

when the source selector is actuated, diverting a portion of the intermediate pressure breathing gas to switch between the pressurized source and the filtered source.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the source selector is is selected from a pneumatically operated selector, an electrically operated selector, or a combination thereof.

59. The method of claim 56, further comprising:

providing a manually actuable purge valve; and

causing a flow of the intermediate pressure breathing gas to the use when the purge valve is actuated.

60. The method of claim 48, further comprising:

said breathing apparatus including a control system for controlling a valve selectively coupling the pressurized source and the filtered source to an airway of the subject.

61. The method of claim 48, wherein the pressurized source includes one or more portable pressurized tanks.

62. The method of claim 48, further comprising:

providing a suction source for drawing ambient air through a filter and delivering the filtered air to an airway of the subject.

63. A breathing hose assembly for delivering a breathing gas to a user, comprising:

an inner perforated hose extending from a first end of the breathing hose assembly to a second end of the breathing hose assembly;

an outer flexible bag surrounding the inner perforated hose, the outer flexible bag being inflatable to hold a volume of air for subsequent delivery to the user.

64. The breathing hose assembly of claim 63, further comprising:

a face mask fluidically coupled to the second end of the breathing hose assembly.

65. The breathing hose assembly of claim 64, further comprising:

an outlet valve on said face mask, said outlet valve configured to retain the breathing gas within the mask when pressure within the mask is below a preselected threshold valve and to allow gas to escape the mask when pressure within the mask is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

66. The breathing hose assembly of claim 65, wherein the outlet valve is configured to maintain a pressure within the mask which is greater than atmospheric pressure.