Claims
- 1. An emergency visual assistance device for use in environments contaminated with smoke, or other vision-obstructing matter, comprising:a. a plurality of transparent panels of predetermined shape and thickness; and b. a matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means, to which said transparent panels are mounted at either end so as to form a visual pathway of predetermined length; and c. a sealant means disposed between said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means and said transparent panels for providing a substantially airtight seal between said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means and said transparent panels; and d. a flexible, substantially airtight skirt mounted at either end of the assembly formed by the combination of said transparent panels, said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means, and said sealant means, for forming a substantially sealed visual pathway between the operator and the visual information.
- 2. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means is plastic.
- 3. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising an illumination means mounted within said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means for illuminating the visual information.
- 4. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said illumination means comprises:a. a light emitting diode mounted to the inside wall of said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means; b. a means for selectively supplying electrical power to said light emitting diode, said means for selectively supplying electrical power being mounted to the outside wall of said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means.
- 5. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means is a substantially cylindrical tube.
- 6. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 5, wherein said substantially cylindrical tube is plastic.
- 7. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 6, wherein said sealant means comprises O-rings positioned on either end of said tube, said tube further comprises external threads formed adjacent to either end of said tube, and said sealant means further comprises internally threaded end caps threadably connected to either end of said tube, whereby a seal formed by sandwiching said O-rings between said tube and said transparent panels is maintained by said internally threaded end caps which retain said transparent panels.
- 8. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 7, further comprising an illumination means mounted within said substantially cylindrical tube.
- 9. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 8, wherein said illumination means comprises:a. a light emitting diode mounted to the inside wall of said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means; b. a means for selectively supplying electrical power to said light emitting diode, said means for selectively supplying electrical power being mounted to the outside wall of said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means.
- 10. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 9, wherein said means for selectively supplying electrical power comprises:a. batteries for supplying electrical power to said light emitting diode; b. connection means for electrically connecting said light emitting diode to said batteries; c. switch means coupled to said connection means for selectively interrupting said connection means when said connection means electrically connects the light emitting diode to the batteries; and d. housing means mounted to the outside wall of said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means for housing said batteries, said switch means, and said connection means.
- 11. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means comprises:a. a hollow, substantially cylindrical casing having an open end and an end adapted for mounting one of said transparent panels; b. a hollow, substantially cylindrical barrel having an open end that telescopically interfits with the open end of said casing and an end adapted for mounting one of said transparent panels; and c. a gasket material between the telescoped surfaces of the casing and the barrel to prevent the penetration of vision-obstructing matter into the interior of the emergency visual assistance device.
- 12. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 11, wherein said casing and said barrel are plastic.
- 13. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 12, further comprising an illumination means mounted within said casing.
- 14. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 13, wherein said illumination means comprises:a. a light emitting diode mounted to the inside wall of said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means; b. a means for selectively supplying electrical power to said light emitting diode, said means for selectively supplying electrical power being mounted to the outside wall of said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means.
- 15. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means is substantially oval in cross-section.
- 16. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 15, wherein said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means is plastic.
- 17. An emergency visual device as claimed in claim 16, wherein said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means comprises:a. a hollow, substantially oval casing having an open end and an end adapted for mounting one of said transparent panels; b. a hollow, substantially oval barrel having an open end that telescopically interfits with the open end of said casing and an end adapted for mounting one of said transparent panels; and c. a gasket material between the telescoped surfaces of the casing and the barrel to prevent the penetration of vision-obstructing matter into the interior of the emergency visual assistance device.
- 18. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 17, further comprising an illumination means mounted within said casing for illuminating the visual information.
- 19. An emergency visual assistance device as claimed in claim 18, wherein said illumination means comprises:a. a light emitting diode mounted to the inside wall of said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means; b. a means for selectively supplying electrical power to said light emitting diode, said means for selectively supplying electrical power being mounted to the outside wall of said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means.
- 20. An operator station emergency visual assistance method, for allowing an operator continued access to operationally necessary visual information when access to said visual information is blocked by smoke or other vision-obstructing matter, which comprises:a. positioning an emergency visual assistance device between the eyes of the operator and said visual information thereby providing a clear visual pathway between the eyes of the operator and the visual information, b. said emergency visual assistance device having a plurality of transparent panels of predetermined shape and thickness, a matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means to which said transparent panels are mounted at either end so as to form a visual pathway of predetermined length, and a sealant means disposed between said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means and said transparent panels for providing a substantially airtight seal between said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means and said transparent panels, c. each end of the emergency visual assistance device having a flexible, substantially airtight skirt mounted, for forming a substantially sealed visual pathway between the operator and the visual information, d. said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means of the emergency visual assistance device having an illumination means mounted within said spacer means the for illuminating the visual information, e. one end of the emergency visual assistance device being positioned as close as possible to the eyes of the operator, and f. the other end of the emergency visual assistance device being positioned as close as possible to the visual information.
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application references and is entitled to the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/111,365 filed Dec. 8, 1998.
US Referenced Citations (10)
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60/111365 |
Dec 1998 |
US |