SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING SYSTEM

• US 20100224193A1
• Filed: 01/15/2010
• Published: 09/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wilcox Industries Corp.
• Original Assignee: Wilcox Industries Corp.
• Inventors: Hansen, Mark A., Desrosiers, Daniel A., Teetzel, James W., Lemire, Gary M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,113,198 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

1-66. -66. (canceled)

67. A breathing apparatus, comprising:

a chassis including a housing defining a breathing reservoir, a first inlet in fluid communication with said breathing reservoir for receiving breathable gas from a self-contained source of breathing gas, a second inlet in fluid communication with said breathing reservoir for receiving ambient air, and a first outlet in fluid communication with said breathing reservoir 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 breathing reservoir;

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

68. The breathing apparatus of claim 67, further comprising:

one or more self-contained sources of breathing gas removably attachable to said chassis for being selectively fluidically coupled to said first inlet; and

optionally, one or more modules are adapted to be interchangeably attached to the chassis in place of one more of said one or more self-contained sources of breathing gas.

69. The breathing apparatus of claim 68, wherein each of said one or more self-contained sources of breathing gas includes a valve positioned so as to be manually operable by a user when the breathing apparatus is worn by the user.

70. The breathing apparatus of claim 67, wherein said chassis is adapted to accommodate a plurality of breathing gas container sizes.

71. The breathing apparatus of claim 67, wherein said main filter assembly is positioned between said second inlet and said suction source.

72. The breathing apparatus of claim 71, wherein said second inlet is sealed against entry of ambient air when said main filter assembly is not in use.

73. The breathing apparatus of claim 67, further comprising:

an air hose for supplying breathable gas to a user, said air hose having a first end adapted to be removably connected to said first outlet and a second end opposite the first end; and

optionally, a face mask adapted to be worn over a user'"'"'s face and having a connection port adapted to be removably connected to the second end of said air hose.

74. The breathing apparatus of claim 73, further comprising one or both of:

a purge valve connected to the second end of said air hose, the purge valve fluidically connected to a gas pressure regulator and manually actuable to provide a burst of regulated air from the gas pressure 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.

75. The breathing apparatus of claim 67, 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 the user'"'"'s preference.

76. The breathing apparatus of claim 67, further comprising a port valve for selectively fluidically coupling the breathing reservoir with the first inlet and the second inlet.

77. The breathing apparatus of claim 76, wherein said port valve is manually movable between a first position wherein the breathing reservoir is in fluid communication with the first inlet and a second position wherein the breathing reservoir is in flow communication with the second inlet.

78. The breathing apparatus of claim 77, wherein said port valve is controlled by an electronically controlled actuator for toggling the port valve between a first position wherein the breathing reservoir is in fluid communication with the first inlet and a second position wherein the breathing reservoir is in flow communication with the second inlet.

79. The breathing apparatus of claim 77, 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.

80. The breathing apparatus of claim 67, further comprising:

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

81. The breathing apparatus of claim 80, wherein the prefilter assembly includes one or more of:

an external filter formed of a woven nylon material;

a mesh filtration medium adapted to filter particles from said ambient air; and

a mesh filtration medium adapted to filter particles having a size of about 10 microns or larger from said ambient air.

82. The breathing apparatus of claim 67, wherein the main filter is selected from a chemical, radiological, or biological filter, or any combination thereof.

83. A method for providing breathable gas to a subject, 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;

selectively fluidically coupling the reservoir to a pressurized source of breathable gas or 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

operating a suction source housed within the chassis to draw ambient air through a filtration medium and deliver a flow of filtered ambient air to the subject when the source of filtered ambient air is selected.

84. The method of claim 83, 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 of breathing gas.

85. The method of claim 83, further comprising:

delivering the breathable gas to a face mask worn by the subject; and

optionally, prior to delivering the breathable gas to the face mask, delivering the breathable gas to an inflatable air hose coupled to said chassis and a second end coupled to said face mask.

86. The method of claim 83, 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.

87. 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.