Self-contained breathing system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A breathing apparatus comprising:
- a chassis defining a 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 passageway;
a main filter assembly including a main filter positioned between said second inlet and said passageway for removing contaminants from said ambient air;
one or more self-contained sources of breathing gas removably attached to said chassis and selectively fluidically coupled to said first inlet; and
one or more modules interchangeably attachable to the chassis in place of one of the one or more self-contained sources of breathing gas, wherein said one or more modules are selected from a cutting torch, a hydration module, a circulating source of heating and/or cooling fluid, and combinations thereof.
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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.
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. A breathing apparatus comprising:
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a chassis defining a 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 passageway; a main filter assembly including a main filter positioned between said second inlet and said passageway for removing contaminants from said ambient air; one or more self-contained sources of breathing gas removably attached to said chassis and selectively fluidically coupled to said first inlet; and one or more modules interchangeably attachable to the chassis in place of one of the one or more self-contained sources of breathing gas, wherein said one or more modules are selected from a cutting torch, a hydration module, a circulating source of heating and/or cooling fluid, and combinations thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A breathing apparatus comprising:
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a chassis defining a 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 passageway; a main filter assembly positioned between said second inlet and said passageway for removing contaminants from said ambient air; one or more self-contained sources of breathing gas removably attached to said chassis and selectively fluidically coupled to said first inlet; and a burst disk assembly for relieving pressure when pressure in said one or more self-contained sources of breathing gas exceeds a preselected value. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A breathing apparatus comprising:
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a chassis defining a 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 passageway; a main filter assembly positioned between said second inlet and said passageway for removing contaminants from said ambient air; an air hose for supplying a breathable gas to a user; a face mask adapted to be worn over a user'"'"'s face and having a connection port; 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; and an alarm system for providing a user-perceptible alert when a pressure of the self-contained breathing system falls below a preselected value, wherein said alarm system is selected from a visual, audible and/or a somatic alarm system operatively integrated with said breathing apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A breathing apparatus comprising:
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a chassis defining a 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 passageway; a main filter assembly positioned between said second inlet and said passageway for removing contaminants from said ambient air; and a retractable stand movable between a first, extended position for standing the breathing apparatus in a stable, upright position and a second, retracted position. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A breathing apparatus comprising:
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a chassis defining a 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 passageway; a main filter assembly positioned between said second inlet and said passageway for removing contaminants from said ambient air; a port valve for selectively fluidically coupling the passageway with the first inlet and the second inlet, said port valve movable between a first position wherein the passageway is in fluid communication with the first inlet and a second position wherein the passageway is in flow communication with the second inlet; 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; a pressure sensor for detecting a pressure indicative of a quantity of gas remaining in the self-contained source of breathing gas; and one or both of; 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; and a display for displaying a quantity of gas remaining in the self-contained source of breathing gas in human viewable form. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A breathing apparatus comprising:
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a chassis defining a 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 passageway; a main filter assembly positioned between said second inlet and said passageway for removing contaminants from said ambient air; a first stage regulator for receiving gas from said source of 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. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method for providing breathable gas to a subject, comprising:
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providing a breathing apparatus for selectively delivering a breathable gas from a pressurized source of breathable gas and a source of filtered ambient air; the breathing apparatus having a chassis defining a passageway for the breathable gas, the chassis further comprising a first inlet for receiving breathable gas from the pressurized source of breathing gas, a second inlet for receiving ambient air, and an outlet for delivering breathable gas to a user; the breathing apparatus further having a suction source mounted within the chassis and in fluid communication with the second inlet for drawing ambient air through a filtration medium into the airflow reservoir and delivering the filtered ambient air to the subject; delivering a flow of breathable gas to the subject from the pressurized source when the pressurized source is selected; delivering a flow of filtered ambient air when the source of filtered ambient air is selected; sensing a pressure of the breathable gas from the pressurized source; and if the pressure of the breathable gas from the pressurized source falls below a preselected threshold value, one or both of alerting the subject and delivering a flow of air from the source of filtered air. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 55)
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51. A method for providing breathable gas to a subject, comprising:
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providing a breathing apparatus for selectively delivering a breathable gas from a pressurized source of breathable gas and a source of filtered ambient air; the breathing apparatus having a chassis defining a passageway for the breathable gas, the chassis further comprising a first inlet for receiving breathable gas from the pressurized source of breathing gas, a second inlet for receiving ambient air, and an outlet for delivering breathable gas to a user; the breathing apparatus further having a suction source mounted within the chassis and in fluid communication with the second inlet for drawing ambient air through a filtration medium into the airflow reservoir and for delivering the filtered ambient air to the subject; delivering a flow of breathable gas to the subject from the pressurized source when the pressurized source is selected; delivering a flow of filtered ambient air when the source of filtered ambient air is selected; 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. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54)
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Specification