ACOUSTIC SENSOR FOR USE IN BREATHING MASKS

• US 20100108065A1
• Filed: 01/04/2007
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Safran Aerotechnics SAS (Safran SA)
• Original Assignee: Zodiac Aerotechnics
• Inventors: Zimmerman, Paul, Gostkiewicz, Przemyslaw, Bachelard, Leopoldine
• Granted Patent: US 9,950,201 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 128/204.230
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 18/08 Component parts for gas-masks or gas-helmets, e.g. windows, straps, speech transmitters, signal-devices eye-pieces for protective goggles A61F9/02; composition of materials for the windows or other transparent parts A62D7/00
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 7/14 for high-altitude aircraft

Abstract

A breathing mask adapted to be placed over a wearer'"'"'s face, comprises a mask body including a gas inlet port to be disposed in flow communication with the wearer'"'"'s breathing passage for flow of a gas in a predetermined flow stream there through upon inhalation by the wearer; a communications microphone (30) mounted to said mask body to capture the voice of the wearer, said communications microphone generating sound signals; an attenuation device (34) for attenuating said sound signals; a sound monitor (36) for monitoring the intensity of sound near the communications microphone in a predetermined frequency range, connected to a controller device (38) for activating the attenuation device when the sound intensity monitored by the sound monitor is in a predetermined level range.

Claims

1. A breathing mask adapted to be placed over a wearer'"'"'s face, comprising:

a mask body including a gas inlet port to be disposed in flow communication with the wearer'"'"'s breathing passage for flow of a gas in a predetermined flow stream there through upon inhalation by the wearer;

a communications microphone mounted to said mask body to capture the voice of the wearer, said communications microphone generating sound signals;

an attenuation device for attenuating said sound signals;

a sound monitor for monitoring the intensity of sound near the communications microphone in a predetermined frequency range, connected to;

a controller for activating the attenuation device when the sound intensity monitored by the sound monitor is in a predetermined level range.

2. A breathing mask according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined frequency range is approximately above 10 kHz and the predetermined level range is approximately above 60 dBa.

3. A breathing mask according to claim 2, comprising a second sound monitor for monitoring the intensity of sound near the communications microphone in a second predetermined frequency range, said frequency range being approximately below 500 Hz, and said controller is adapted to not activate the attenuation device when the sound intensity monitored by the second sound monitor is above 60 dBa.

4. A breathing mask according to claim 1, wherein the first and second sound monitors are monitoring the sound signals generated by said communications.

5. A breathing mask according to claim 4, comprising a filter to filter out the sound signals having a frequency outside a voiced speech frequency band.