Claims
- 1. A personal emergency breathing system for filtering ambient air and flowing breathable air from an external source other than ambient air comprising:
- a canister having a body with an opening and a cover normally closing said opening;
- an air filtration unit disposed within the body of said canister for filtering ambient air and having an air inlet for receiving ambient air and an air outlet, the ambient air being receivable through said air inlet into said filtration unit where it is filtered and passed through said air outlet;
- a mouthpiece carried by said canister for receiving filtered air from the outlet of said filtration unit;
- a hood carried by said canister and enveloping said mouthpiece, said mouthpiece and said hood being disposed in a collapsed condition in said canister adjacent said opening and between said cover and said filtration unit whereby, upon opening of said cover, said hood and said mouthpiece are deployable from said canister through said opening to a location external to said canister, said hood having an opening for receiving an individual's head and neck whereby the hood, when deployed, may envelop an individual's head;
- means for connecting said hood and said mouthpiece to said canister in said collapsed condition and when deployed;
- means establishing an air flow path from said air outlet to said mouthpiece when said hood and said mouthpiece are deployed enabling flow of filtered air from said filtration unit air outlet to said mouthpiece and preventing flow of filtered air from said filtration unit air outlet into said hood; and
- an air flow conduit carried by said canister body bypassing said filtration unit and having an air flow inlet for connection with an external source of breathable air other than ambient air and an air flow outlet, said air flow outlet lying in communication with said mouthpiece whereby said air flow conduit enables flow of air from the external source of breathable air into said mouthpiece when said hood and said mouthpiece are deployed and without the air from the external source passing through said filtration unit.
- 2. A system according to claim 1 including a valve in said air flow conduit for respectively enabling and preventing flow of air from the external source through said air flow conduit.
- 3. A system according to claim 2 wherein said canister body is elongated and has said opening at one end thereof, said filtration unit being centrally disposed in said canister body, said air flow conduit comprising a passage extending through said filtration unit, said air flow inlet being carried by said canister body adjacent an end of said body opposite said one end for connection to the external source of breathable air.
- 4. A system according to claim 3 wherein said valve is normally open.
- 5. A system according to claim 4 wherein said air flow conduit is substantially sealed within said filtration unit whereby ambient air passing through said filtration unit is substantially prevented from channeling in said filtration unit.
- 6. A system according to claim 1 wherein said mouthpiece lies in communication with both said filtration unit air outlet and said air flow outlet when said hood and mouthpiece are deployed to simultaneously provide breathable filtered ambient air and air from the external source to said mouthpiece.
- 7. A system according to claim 6 including a valve in said air flow conduit for respectively enabling and preventing flow of air from the external source through said air flow conduit, said air flow inlet including a quick disconnect coupling for connection with the external source of breathable air whereby the canister may be disconnected from the external air source, said valve being closable when the canister is disconnected from the external source of breathable air to preclude flow of ambient air through said air flow conduit such that only ambient air filtered through said filtration unit is provided the mouthpiece.
- 8. A system according to claim 1 including first and second one-way valves disposed between said mouthpiece and said filtration unit, said first valve enabling flow of filtered ambient air from said filtration unit air outlet into said mouthpiece and preventing backflow of exhaled air into said filtration unit, said second valve enabling air exhaled into said mouthpiece for flow into said hood and preventing backflow of air from said hood through said second valve to said mouthpiece.
- 9. A system according to claim 8 including means for substantially closing said hood opening about the individual's neck whereby the hood completely envelopes the individual's head, and the air exhaled by the individual through said second valve into said hood affords a positive pressure in said hood relative to ambient pressure, thus preventing ingress of non-filtered air into the hood through said hood opening.
- 10. A system according to claim 9 including means for substantially closing said hood opening about the individual's neck whereby the hood completely envelopes the individual's head, and the air exhaled by the individual through said second valve into said hood affords a positive pressure in said hood relative to ambient pressure, thus preventing ingress of non-filtered air into the hood through said hood opening.
- 11. A personal emergency breathing system according to claim 1 wherein said canister body includes an ambient air passage within said body in communication with said body openings, said air filtration unit including a housing spaced from said canister body, the space between said canister body and said housing constituting at least in part said ambient air passage between said canister body opening and said air inlet to said air filtration unit.
- 12. A personal emergency breathing system according to claim 1 wherein said canister body includes an ambient air passage within said body in communication with said body opening, said air filtration unit including a housing spaced from said canister body, the space between said canister body and said housing constituting at least in part said ambient air passage between said canister body opening and said air inlet to said air filtration unit, said air inlet being disposed at one end of said air filtration unit and adjacent an end of the canister remote from said open end thereof whereby ambient air entering the canister body opening and flowing through said space reverses direction for entry into said air inlet thereby trapping large particles within the canister as the air flow direction reverses.
- 13. A personal emergency breathing system comprising:
- a compartment;
- a canister disposed in said compartment and deployable therefrom, a flexible external air supply conduit disposed in said compartment with said canister for connection to a source of breathable air other than ambient air, said flexible conduit being connected to said canister, and at least in part, being deployable from said compartment with said canister, and a normally closed valve for precluding air flow from the external source to said canister;
- said canister having a body with an opening and a cover normally closing said opening;
- an air filtration unit disposed within the body of said canister for filtering ambient air and having an air inlet for receiving ambient air and an air outlet, the ambient air being receivable through said air inlet into said filtration unit for filtering and passage through said air outlet;
- a mouthpiece carried by said canister for receiving filtered air from the outlet of said filtration unit;
- a hood carried by said canister and enveloping said mouthpiece, said mouthpiece and said hood being disposed in a collapsed condition in said canister adjacent said opening and between said cover and said filtration unit whereby, upon deployment of said canister from said compartment and opening said cover, said hood and mouthpiece are deployable from said canister to a location external to said canister, said hood having an opening for receiving a individual's head and neck whereby the hood, when deployed, may envelop an individual's head;
- means for connecting said hood and said mouthpiece to said canister in said collapsed condition and when deployed therefrom;
- an air flow conduit carried by said canister body bypassing said filtration unit and having an air flow inlet and an air flow outlet, a releasable coupling connecting said air flow inlet and said flexible external air supply conduit, said air flow outlet lying in communication with said mouthpiece whereby said flexible external air supply conduit and said air flow conduit enable flow of air from said external source of air into said mouthpiece when said canister is deployed from said compartment and said hood and said mouthpiece are deployed from said canister and without the air from the external source passing through said filtration unit; and
- means for opening said normally closed valve when said canister is deployed from said compartment to flow air from said external source into said mouthpiece.
- 14. A system according to claim 13 wherein said valve opening means includes a lanyard connected to said valve and said canister whereby pulling said lanyard opens said valve.
- 15. A system according to claim 13 wherein said mouthpiece lies in communication with said filtration unit air outlet and said air flow conduit outlet when said canister is deployed from said compartment, said hood and said mouthpiece are deployed from said canister and said valve is opened to simultaneously provide breathable ambient air and air from the external source of breathable air to said mouthpiece.
- 16. A system according to claim 15 including a valve in said air flow conduit for respectively enabling and preventing flow of air from the external source of breathable air through said air flow conduit, said air inlet including a quick connect coupling for connection with said flexible conduit whereby the canister may be disconnected from the external air source, said valve in said air flow conduit being closable when the canister is disconnected from the external source of breathable air such that only filtered ambient air is provided the mouthpiece.
- 17. A system according to claim 13 including first and second one-way valves disposed between said mouthpiece and said filtration unit, said first valve enabling flow of filtered ambient air from said filtration unit air outlet into said mouthpiece and preventing backflow of exhaled air into said filtration unit, said second valve enabling air exhaled into said mouthpiece for flow into said hood and preventing backflow of air from said hood through said second valve to said mouthpiece.
- 18. A personal emergency breathing system according to claim 13 wherein said canister body includes an ambient air passage within said body in communication with said body openings, said air filtration unit including a housing spaced from said canister body, the space between said canister body and said housing constituting at least in part said ambient air passage between said canister body opening and said air inlet to said air filtration unit.
- 19. A personal emergency breathing system according to claim 13 wherein said canister body includes an ambient air passage within said body in communication with said body opening, said air filtration unit including a housing spaced from said canister body, the space between said canister body and said housing constituting at least in part said ambient air passage between said canister body opening and said air inlet to said air filtration unit, said air inlet being disposed at one end of said air filtration unit and adjacent an end of the canister remote from said open end thereof whereby ambient air entering the canister body opening and flowing through said space reverses direction for entry into said air inlet thereby trapping large particles within the canister as the air flow direction reverses.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/710,812, filed Jun. 5, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,165, issued 1993, 16, 1993 and application Ser. No. 07/984,529, filed Dec. 2, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,987, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
710812 |
Jun 1991 |
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