Determining the efficiency of respirators and protective clothing, and other improvements

• US 20020190866A1
• Filed: 06/17/2002
• Published: 12/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Secretary of State For Defence
• Original Assignee: Secretary of State For Defence
• Inventors: Richardson, Grant Stuart
• Granted Patent: US 7,019,652 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/632
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 7/00 Respiratory apparatus for medical purposes A61M16/00
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 9/006 Indicators or warning devices, e.g. of low pressure, contamination
• CPC Class Codes: B63C 11/02 Divers' equipment

Abstract

A respirator system (10; 100) for a worker in an environment with hazardous airborne contaminants comprises a respirator (12, 112), a helmet (14, 114), a camera (40, 140), and a gas sample analyser (16, 116) capable of analysing samples of gas from within the respirator and in the immediate area near the user. An RF emitter (20, 120) sends a signal to a remote receiver (24, 124). The emitted signal is a real time view through the camera (40, 140) and overlaid on that is a graphical representation of the protection factor being achieved by the respirator. The system (100) may also have a data storage device (162, 170) to store data such as how protection factor varies with time and may have a position sensor (160). The provision of the position sensor (160) allows a map of contamination levels with position to be built up as a user moves around a site.

Claims

1. A portable respirator system having a respirator, a camera adapted to be worn by a user of the system, a sensor adapted to sense the level of a substance that has ingressed inside the respirator from an environment outside of said respirator and output a sensor signal indicative of the level of said substance inside the respirator, to a signal handler comprising either (i) data storage adapted to store data representative of the sensor signal or/and an output of the camera;

or (ii) a telecommunication emitter adapted to emit a telecommunications signal indicative of the sensor signal;

or/and an output of the camera or (iii) both (i) and (ii); and

in which the sensor, signal handler, and respirator are all adapted to be worn or carried by a mobile user.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein the system is also adapted to sense the level of said substance in the environment outside of the respirator.

3. A system according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein a breathing sensor is provided adapted to provide signals indicative of the fact that a user is breathing in the respirator.

4. A system according to any preceding claim wherein a breathing sensor is provided comprising a pressure sensor adapted to provide signals related to the air pressure levels within the respirator.

5. A system according to claim 3 or claim 4 in which the telecommunication emitter is adapted to emit signals indicative of whether the user is wearing the respirator and is breathing into it.

6. A system according to any one of claims 3 to 5 which is adapted to monitor the breathing rate of the wearer in use.

7. A system according to any preceding claim wherein the system has signal correlation means adapted to correlate the sensor signals from the level of substance and/or from the breathing sensor with camera image signals.

8. A system according to any preceding claim wherein an emitter is provided adapted to emit signals associated with the output of the camera, and/or wherein a machine-readable data carrier is provided removably couplable to a data recording device.

9. A system according to any preceding claim including a data store, which comprises any one of the following:

computer memory;

magnetic tape or disc;

optical memory;

optical recording medium;

magneto-optical recording medium.

10. A system according to any preceding claim including a position sensor adapted to provide a signal from which the position of the respirator system in space can be determined.

11. A system according to claim 10 wherein correlation means are provided adapted to correlate, in use, the position with one or more of:

camera image, protection factor, contaminant level outside of the respirator, contaminant level inside the respirator;

physiological data indicative of an aspect of the wearer'"'"'s/user'"'"'s physiological activity.

12. A system according to any preceding claim including image and data combination or association means adapted in use to associate a parameter detected by a sensor of the system with the image recorded by the camera so that a combined or associated processed image is produceable in use with the parameter or value displayed at the same time as the camera image.

13. A system according to any preceding claim wherein an indicator is provided adapted to indicate to the user that the respirator is not succeeding in maintaining a safe breathable atmosphere within the respirator.

14. A system according to any preceding claim comprising protective clothing adapted to be worn by a user.

15. The combination of (i) a system according to any one of claims 1 to 14 having a transmitter and (ii) a receiver system, the receiver system having a receiver adapted to receive transmitted signals, a processor and a display, and in which the processor in use processes the received signals and in use provides the display with display signals which generate a visual representation of a parameter for which the sensor signal is indicative.

17. A method according to claim 16 in which the method comprises having a user of the respirator perform exercises in a workplace environment.

18. A method according to claim 16 or claim 17 comprising having a breathing sensor and determining information about a users breathing rate and/or flow or volume of breaths.

21. A data carrier having recorded on it data from the sensor of the system of any one of claims 1 to 14, the combination of claim 15, or data from the method of any one of claims 16 to 19, or values derived from such data, and a visual history of what is observed by a camera provided as part of the system of any one of claims 1 to 14.

22. A programmed data carrier carrying instructions which when run on a computer instruct the computer to process signals received by the signal handler of the system of any one of claims 1 to 14 so as to evaluate the protection factor of the respirator.

24. A method according to claim 23 wherein the mapping comprises a correlation between location and level of airborne contaminants.

26. A method of monitoring the performance of respirators in life-like operational situations comprising providing one or more people with a respirator system in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 14 and observing the signals handled by the signal handler or observing parameters derived from those signals.

28. A method according to claim 27 wherein the sensor(s) senses the airborne contamination level of a substance.

30. A programmed data carrier carrying instructions which when run on a computer instruct the computer to receive signals from the environmental mapping system according to claim 25 and generate a map based upon the received signals.

16. A method of determining the efficacy of a respirator comprising providing a sensor associated with a respirator to detect a contaminant level inside the mask of the respirator, detecting a contaminant level outside of the respirator at substantially the same time as detecting the contaminant level inside the mask, and providing a portable analyser adapted to determine the contaminant levels inside and outside of the respirator mask, and comparing the contaminant levels inside and outside of the mask.

19. A method according to any one of claims 16 to 18 comprising informing a remote station of the results of the test in real time by having the respirator and associated analyser in communication with the remote station.

20. A method according to any one of claims 16 to 19 including recording test data in a recording device ported by the user of the respirator and/or including determining the position of a user.

23. A method of evaluating the environmental conditions in an area, the method comprising using a person as a mobile sensor by providing them with one or more sensors, detecting environmental conditions in the vicinity of the person using the or each sensor, moving the person around an area so that conditions at a plurality of locations within the area are established, and creating a mapping of environmental conditions as derived from the sensor(s) with location for the area.

25. An environmental mapping system comprising environmental sensor equipment carriable by a single person, position sensing equipment carriable by the same single person, and environmental sensor signal and position sensor signal handling means adapted either to i) record the environmental and/or position signals or ii) transmit the environmental and/or position sensor signals to a remote unit, or iii) both i) and ii).

27. A method of monitoring the performance of people in life-like operational situations comprising having one or more of the people performing their duties wear a camera and also wear one or more sensors, and producing processed images of the camera images, the processed images comprising the images recorded by the camera and also visually displayed substantially simultaneously the contemporaneous sensor value, or value derived from the sensor value.

29. An apparatus comprising a camera and one or more sensors, the camera and the or each sensor being adapted to be worn by an individual, and further, the apparatus being adapted, in use, to produce a processed image of the camera image, the processed image comprising the image recorded by the camera and also visually displayed simultaneously the contemporaneous sensor value, or a value derived from the sensor value.