The present disclosure is generally related to passthrough devices and more particularly is related to high-pressure passthroughs for protective suits.
Protective suits such as chemical protective suits are used by emergency personnel to protect them against an array of toxic chemicals. These chemicals include blistering agents such as lewisite or mustard gas, choking agents such as phosgene (or CG as designated by the military), blood agents including cyanide based compounds such as hydrogen cyanide (AC), and nerve agents such as sarin, tabun, soman and others.
A variety of protective suits have been developed to protect wearers against the adverse effects of these chemicals as well as biological, nuclear and other environmental contaminants or conditions. The design aspects of these highly specialized suits depend largely upon their specific applications. However, if just trace amounts of these toxic vapors penetrate the chemical protective suit the result can be severe injury or death. Consequently, most all of such suits employ an external pressurized air source for introducing pressurized clean filtered breathable air into a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) that the user wears while wearing the protective suit.
Since protective suits are durable and prevent air flow from the ambient atmosphere into the suit, the interior of the suits can often become uncomfortably hot. To counteract this problem, in some cases, protective suits may employ liquid cooling systems that circulate liquid coolant from an external source. Whether air, water, or other fluid, the fluid must be pumped into the suit or expelled therefrom through tubes which are connected at suit couplings, i.e., “passthrough” assemblies. These passthrough assemblies must safeguard the integrity of the suit, especially in the chemical warfare context which often requires a hermetic seal. In such cases the couplings must be of the highest integrity and provide maximum protection against contamination. The designer must be cognizant of the fact that many chemical warfare agents are specifically intended for maximum penetration at seams and couplings.
While these types of cooling systems may provide some relief from the uncomfortable temperature a user experiences while wearing a protective suit, these systems require a supply of a cooling material, whether gas or liquid, and the necessary components to circulate the cooling material throughout the suit. Accordingly, unnecessary weight and bulkiness is added to the suit. Further, since the protective suits are often worn in harsh chemical environments, using potentially chemically-contaminated ambient air as a cooling material is highly undesired since it risks exposing the user to the chemical environment he or she is using the suit to be protected from.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system and method for a high-pressure passthrough apparatus. Briefly described, in architecture, one embodiment of the apparatus, among others, can be implemented as follows. A penetrator body is connectable to a chemical suit. A high-pressure inlet is positioned on a first side of the penetrator body. A high-pressure self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) outlet is positioned on a second side of the penetrator body. A high-pressure passthrough valve is positioned on the second side of the penetrator body.
The present disclosure can also be viewed as providing a protective suit having a high-pressure passthrough. Briefly described, in architecture, one embodiment of the system, among others, can be implemented as follows. A high-pressure passthrough having a penetrator body is connected to a protective suit, wherein a first half of the penetrator body is positioned exterior of the protective suit and a second half of the penetrator body is positioned interior of the protective suit. A high-pressure passthrough valve is positioned on the second half of the penetrator body, wherein high-pressure air is supplied to an interior space of the protective suit.
The present disclosure can also be viewed as providing methods of supplying a quantity of high-pressure air to an interior of a chemical protective suit. In this regard, one embodiment of such a method, among others, can be broadly summarized by the following steps: supplying a quantity of high-pressure air to a first side of a high-pressure passthrough positioned on an exterior of a chemical protective suit; and releasing at least a portion of the quantity of high-pressure air to an interior of the chemical protective suit with a high-pressure passthrough valve, wherein the high-pressure passthrough valve further comprises a service pressure range of between 300 PSI and 6,500 PSI.
Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The subject disclosure is directed to a system and method for a high-pressure passthrough in a protective suit to cool an interior of the protective suit or provide other benefits, such as over-pressurization of the protective suit. As described herein, the present disclosure may significantly improve upon the conventional systems for cooling a protective suit by utilizing high-pressure gas, namely breathing gas, which is required by the SCBA used with the protective suit. Accordingly, the subject disclosure may be capable of cooling the protective suit without the use of bulky components to circulate the cooling material throughout the suit or using an ambient air supply as a cooling medium.
The high-pressure passthrough 20 may generally refer to the apparatus which allows compressed breathing gas to be brought into the protective suit 10 and allows for a portion of the high-pressure gas to be passthrough into the interior portion 16 of the protective suit 10. The high-pressure passthrough 20 generally includes a penetrator body 30 connected to the protective suit 10. The penetrator body 30 includes a first half 32 or first part which is positioned exterior of the protective suit 10 and a second half 34 or second part which is positioned interior of the protective suit 10, i.e., inside the interior portion 16. A SCBA feed line 70 may be connected to the second half 34 by a quick connect to supply a quantity of breathing gas to the head portion 14. The quick connect may include an FD17 series high-pressure quick disconnect coupling device, for instance. A high-pressure passthrough valve 50 is positioned on the second half 34 and supplies a quantity of high-pressure breathing gas to the interior space 16 of the protective suit 10. The high-pressure breathing gas, when released into the interior space 16, is a lower temperature than ambient air due to the high-pressurization of the breathing gas within cylinders. The infusion of the high-pressure gas into the interior space 16 acts to cool the interior space 16 due to the rapid decompression of the gas and provide for a more comfortable environment for the wearer of the protective suit 10.
It is noted that various protective suits and SCBAs used conventionally in the industry include the ability to convert high-pressure gas to a low pressure, but only in positions fully outside of the protective suit. These type of devices decrease the gas pressure from high to low prior to the gas moving through the passthrough. In contrast, the subject disclosure allows for the transfer of high-pressure gas through the high-pressure passthrough 20, e.g., at a PSI of above 300, and once it is inside the protective suit 10, the high-pressure gas may be decreased to a low pressure as needed for an SCBA and cooling.
A high-pressure inlet 60 which receives a quantity of high-pressure gas, such as from high-pressure gas cylinders, is positioned on a first side of the penetrator body 30, on the first half 32 (
When the penetrator body 30 is positioned on the protective suit 10 with the first half 32 positioned on an exterior side and the second half 34 positioned on an interior side, the penetrator body 30 may be hermetically sealed to ensure that there is no air leak through the penetrator body 30 or between a connection of the penetrator body 30 with the protective suit 10. For example, a hermetically sealed engagement may be provided between the first and second halves 32, 34 using a number of different structures. One of the first and second halves 32, 34 may include a raised boss 36 positioned on an interior edge of either the first or second half 32, 34 to provide exceptional sealing against the protective suit 10 material, as shown in
Additionally, a high-pressure sealing O-ring 38 and/or a secondary/environmental O-ring 40 may be positioned between the first and second halves 32, 34. Here, the high-pressure O-ring 38 may maintain the high-pressure connection between the first and second halves 32, 34, while the secondary O-ring 40 may prevent infiltration of ambient atmosphere from gaining access to the interior of the penetrator body 30. As shown in
The penetrator body 30 may include appropriate ducting and gas flow structures 44 to allow high-pressure air introduced in the high-pressure inlet 60 to be passed from the first half 32 to the second half 34, and to the SCBA feed line 70 and the high-pressure passthrough valve 50. The ducting and gas flow structures 44 are schematically shown in
The high-pressure passthrough valve 50 may be capable of receiving the high-pressure gas from the high-pressure inlet 60 and releasing a portion of that high-pressure gas into the interior portion 16 of the protective suit 10. While the specifics of the high-pressure gas may vary, it is noted that the high-pressure passthrough valve 50 may have a service pressure range of between 300 PSI and 6,500 PSI, preferably between 900 PSI and 6,500 PSI, among other ranges not specifically identified herein.
While the present disclosure may offer benefits beyond what are explicitly disclosed herein, the ability to use the high-pressure gas already required for SCBA use with protective suits to cool the interior of the protective suit may significantly improve the use of protective suits. Other benefits may also include the ability to over pressurize or supply a positive pressure within the protective suit. Having a positive pressure within the protective suit may, for example, help prevent infiltration of chemicals within an inadvertent hole or puncture within the protective suit. In this example, the positive pressure may immediately create an airflow from the interior of the protective suit to the outside atmosphere through a hole or puncture, which may prevent chemicals from entering through the hole or puncture.
A high-pressure inlet 160 which receives a quantity of high-pressure gas, such as from high-pressure gas cylinders, is positioned on a first side of the penetrator body 130, on the first half 132 (
When the penetrator body 130 is positioned on the protective suit 10 with the first half 132 positioned on an exterior side and the second half 134 positioned on an interior side, the penetrator body 130 may be hermetically sealed to ensure that there is no air leak through the penetrator body 130 or between a connection of the penetrator body 130 with the protective suit 10. For example, a hermetically sealed engagement may be provided between the first and second halves 132, 134 using a number of different structures. One of the first and second halves 132, 134 may include a raised boss 136 positioned on an interior edge of either the first or second half 132, 134 to provide exceptional sealing against the protective suit 10 material, as shown in
Additionally, a high-pressure sealing O-ring 138 and/or a secondary/environmental O-ring 140 may be positioned between the first and second halves 132, 134. Here, the high-pressure O-ring 138 may maintain the high-pressure connection between the first and second halves 132, 134, while the secondary O-ring 140 may prevent infiltration of ambient atmosphere from gaining access to the interior of the penetrator body 130. As shown in
The penetrator body 130 may include appropriate ducting and gas flow structures 144 to allow high-pressure air introduced in the high-pressure inlet 160 to be passed from the first half 132 to the second half 134, and to the SCBA feed line 170 and the high-pressure passthrough valve 150. The ducting and gas flow structures 144 are schematically shown in
In addition to what is shown in
The high-pressure passthrough valve 150 and the adapter block 180 may be capable of receiving the high-pressure gas from the high-pressure inlet 160 and releasing a portion of that high-pressure gas into the interior portion 16 of the protective suit 10. After the high-pressure gas is moved through the ducting and gas flow structures 144 between the first and second halves 132, 134, it may be directed through additional ducting and gas flow structures, such as a cooling air passage 145 positioned between the second half 134 and the adapter block 180. While the specifics of the high-pressure gas may vary, it is noted that the high-pressure passthrough valve 150 may have a service pressure range of between 300 PSI and 6,500 PSI, preferably between 900 PSI and 6,500 PSI, among other ranges not specifically identified herein.
While the present disclosure may offer benefits beyond what are explicitly disclosed herein, the ability to use the high-pressure gas already required for SCBA use with protective suits to cool the interior of the protective suit may significantly improve the use of protective suits. Other benefits may also include the ability to over pressurize or supply a positive pressure within the protective suit. Having a positive pressure within the protective suit may, for example, help prevent infiltration of chemicals within an inadvertent hole or puncture within the protective suit. In this example, the positive pressure may immediately create an airflow from the interior of the protective suit to the outside atmosphere through a hole or puncture, which may prevent chemicals from entering through the hole or puncture.
As is shown by block 202, a quantity of high-pressure air is supplied to a first side of a high-pressure passthrough positioned on an exterior of a chemical protective suit. At least a portion of the quantity of high-pressure air is released to an interior of the chemical protective suit with a high-pressure passthrough valve, wherein the high-pressure passthrough valve further comprises a service pressure range of between 300 PSI and 6,500 PSI (block 204). It is noted that the method may include any number of additional steps, processes, or functions, including any disclosed relative to any other figure of this disclosure. For example, at least a second portion of the quantity of high-pressure air may be released to the SCBA unit while the high-pressure gas is also released through the high-pressure passthrough valve. Further, the service pressure range of the high-pressure passthrough valve may be between 900 PSI and 6,500 PSI. While there may be a number of benefits that the present disclosure offers, the use of high-pres sure gas emitted through the passthrough valve may be used to cool the interior of the chemical protective suit. For example, it may also be used to provide a positive pressure within the protective suit.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of the disclosure without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the present disclosure and protected by the following claims.