Patent Application
20210127778
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The present invention relates to the field of protective and safety helmets, and particularly, but not exclusively, protective helmets worn during the operation of welding equipment, otherwise referred to as welding hoods. The present invention more specifically relates to cooling and environmental systems for use with such protective helmets.
Due to extreme heat of materials, emitted light, and fumes expelled during welding, it is necessary for welders to wear specialized helmets or hoods. Several problems exist for users while wearing a welding hood, such as high temperatures within the welding hood, exposure to toxic fumes, and fogging of the lens. Naturally, devices have been introduced onto the marketplace in an attempt to solve these issues. A common device available is a cap-like structure worn on top of a user's head and under the hood, or formed as part of the hood that is attached via a hose to an external fan that introduces forced air into the hood via the cap. Such fans are typically worn on a belt and the hose extends from the belt on the user's waist to his or her head along the back. This configuration has several drawbacks. First, it merely alleviates overheating and fogging within the hood. Secondly, the hose, cap, and fan configuration cannot be easily adjusted during use and poses a safety risk, as the hose can get caught on objects without the user being fully aware of the hose's positioning. Other configurations essentially mold the cap into the welding hood, such that the welding hood has a mask that fits over and completely encloses the user's head and neck. In this type of welding hood, the air hose is connected directly to this mask to provide external air flow.
None of these known air supply systems for welding hoods, however, adequately resolve the issues of overheating within the welding hood and fogging along lens or other similar structures through which the user looks. One common structural feature that most all of the known hoods share is an air supply from the back of the user's head, which supplies air from the back of the user's head toward the lens of the welding hood. This merely pushes fumes towards a user's face. A sealed hood with an air supply member also tends to increase pressure within the welding hood and on the user's head. The known air supply systems also tend to trap air within the welding hood. Even with a constant supply of new air, the air mass in the welding hood eventually heats up and cannot escape fast enough to prevent a humid environment within the hood. In addition to this, exhalation from the user's mouth and nose, next to the lens, create significant fogging. The inventors have found that an air supply from the back of the user's head is simply insufficient to resolve the outstanding issues in the art regarding air supply systems for welding hoods.
In view of the forgoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved air supply device and method for creating a natural environment in a partially enclosed helmet, such as the welding hood.
A primary objective of the instant disclosure is to teach a preferred embodiment of a self-contained air filtration and conditioning device for protective headgear, comprising a housing containing a blower, a filter, a partially bifurcated air supply member, a power source for driving at least the blower, and a circuit board for at least activating and deactivating the blower, wherein turbulent air enters the housing through the filter and continues into the blower, the turbulent air thereafter smoothed into laminar air flow as the blower pushes the air through the air supply member, wherein the laminar air flow is bifurcated and expelled from the device in two thin sheets of laminar air.
A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained air filtration and conditioning device, further comprising a fastener secured on an outer surface of the housing for removably securing the device to the protective headgear.
A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained air filtration and conditioning device, wherein the fastener is a clip.
A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained air filtration and conditioning device, wherein the air supply member is attached at a longitudinal end to the housing and has an opposing longitudinal free end, the air supply member increasing in width along a length towards the free end, such that the air supply member is narrowest where secured to the housing and widest at the free end.
A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained air filtration and conditioning device, wherein an inner cavity extending along the length of the air supply member is partially bifurcated by a divider extending along a partial length of the inner cavity.
A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained air filtration and conditioning device, wherein the divider creates at least two openings along the free end of the air supply member.
A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained air filtration and conditioning device, wherein one of the at least two openings directs a thin sheet of laminar air downwardly and forwardly relative to the free end of the air supply member.
A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained air filtration and conditioning device, wherein one of the at least two openings further comprises a plurality of circular openings which together direct a thin sheet of laminar air.
A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained air filtration and conditioning device, wherein one of the at least two openings directs a thin sheet of laminar air downwardly and backwardly relative to the free end of the air supply member.
A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained air filtration and conditioning device, wherein the housing further includes an air intake channel that guides the turbulent air entering the housing through the filter into the blower.
A better understanding of the present invention can be had in view of the following drawing figures.
A better understanding of the present invention is had in referenced to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
A further understanding of the present invention may be had through the detailed description of the invention.
It will be appreciated that numerous specific details have been provided for a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. Furthermore, this description is not to be considered so that it may limit the scope of the embodiments described herein in any way, but rather as merely describing the implementation of the various embodiments described herein.
The description that follows, and the embodiments described therein, are provided by way of illustration of an example, or examples, of particular embodiments of the principles of the present invention. These examples are provided for the purposes of explanation, and not limitation, of those principles and of the invention. It will also be appreciated that similar structures between embodiments are marked with identical reference numbers for ease of reference.
The present invention solves the problem of fogging and overheating within welding hoods by providing a device within a welding hood that creates a natural environment through supplying thin sheets of air across a lens of the welding hood and a user's face within the hood. The thin sheets of air do not increase internal pressure within the hood, provide a barrier to humidity across the lens and to external fumes, and allow for a compact device design.
A preferred embodiment of an air supply device 100 is provided in
The air supply member 104 is secured at a longitudinal end to the housing 102 and around the opening at end 112, and defines an inner chamber 120 through which air flows. A width W of the air supply member 104 continually increases along a length L of the member and towards a free end 113. A downwardly-extending element 131 at the free end 113 contains openings 126 and 128 for air 118 to exit the air supply member 104 and device 100.
The blower 106 of the preferred embodiment is a motor-driven fan altered from a standard product design by reducing mechanical losses through precision bearing and suspension, and through mechanical design, such as blade curvature and venture design to reduce free air delivery and provide higher velocity when operated with the fixed head pressure of the device 100. Downstream loading is not a factor after the air leaves the device 100.
A circuit board 116 is secured within the housing 102 and provides at least four functions. First, the circuit board 116 provides charging capability from any USB adapter, or similar adapter, to charge a battery 114. Since an external charging source is required to achieve low charging, provision must be made to accommodate any USB charger, or any similar charger capable of replenishing battery charge. Many chargers produce low enough capacity to damage the internal elements of a lithium-ion capacity. Input-voltage sensing provides a means of protecting both the device and the internal charger. If the conditions are inadequate to safely and correctly charge the device 100, as detected by the circuit board, the device is inoperative.
Secondly, the circuit board 116 controls the charging current and cut-off voltage to optimize the safety and the number of charges for the battery 114. To provide safety during and after charge of the lithium-ion battery, the pre-charge initialization charge is maintained until the battery 114 is conditioned to accept fast charge. Fast charge is then limited to provide maximum life in terms of number of charges for the battery. This provides vastly increased number of charges during the life of the device 100.
Next, the circuit board 116 provides a voltage increase and regulation to maintain constant performance over the entire discharge range and to prevent excess battery 114 drain at the end of useful battery charge. In order to maintain the air source characteristics, the source supply voltage needs to be maintained within a narrow range. Lithium-ion voltages over the usable charge range are normally not acceptable, however the circuit board 116 of the device 100 provides this stability. The circuit board 116 raises the lithium-ion voltage to a higher/lower current to provide a means of control. To protect the battery 114, both in terms of battery life and in terms of safety, the circuit board 116 is used to monitor the battery voltage and to automatically remove the battery source when a cut-off voltage is reached.
Finally, the circuit board 116 is electrically connected to indicators 140 secured to the housing 102 of the device 100 to indicate ON/OFF states of the device and to indicate a state of charging circuitry, i.e. whether or not the battery 114 is fully charged and/or what percentage of battery charge exists. Other common indicators, including visual or audio indicators, such as LED indicators, are compatible with the device 100 and may be used with further embodiments of the device, such as to indicate operational status of the device, charging progress, warnings, and similar functional and safety statuses. An ON/OFF switch 150 is also connected to circuit board 116 or to an electrical circuit connected to the battery to supply or remove electrical power to internal electronic components of the device 100 to generally power the device on and off. An example of a location of indicators 140 and the ON/OFF switch 150 are shown secured to and within housing 102 of an embodiment of the device 100 shown in
The battery 114 is also secured within the housing 102 to power the blower 106 and any other electrical components contained within the device 100. The battery is at least electrically connected to the circuit board 116, blower 106, and any indicators 140 present in the device 100. Preferably, the batter 114 is a lithium-ion battery. However, other types of batteries are usable with the device 100.
Electrical connections 138, such as wiring, electrically connect components of the device 100 that are electrically powered or communicate electronically, such as the battery 114, circuit board 116, blower 106, indicators 140, and ON/OFF switch 150.
The air filter 110 may include any typical material or system used in the field to meet required safety standards for welding or other operations under similarly hazardous conditions. For example, activated carbon polyester material is a suitable material for providing adequate cleaning of intake air 118. Further, the air filter 110 is removable and replaceable to ensure continued air cleaning after long periods of usage.
An alternate embodiment is shown in
The device provides two sheets of smooth, directed air, one each from openings 126 and opening 128, within the welding hood 200. These two sheets each provide a barrier; the forward sheet 150 across the lens 204 acting as a barrier to humidity to prevent fogging of the lens, and the backward sheet 152 back across and down the user's head to prevent external air, including potentially harmful fumes, entering from the bottom or sides of the welding hood 200. The external air prevented from entering the peripheral openings of the protective helmet does not include the intake air 118 entering through the air filter 110. By providing such barriers, there is no requirement to continuously filter, clean, and/or recycle large volumes of air, as is necessary in known air supply systems. Using this barrier method also reduces the amount of energy required to maintain a natural internal environment inside the welding hood. The reduced amount of energy required to accomplish this method allows the necessary structures to be self-contained within the device 100, which fully fits within the welding hood 200. This reduction in size and necessary components is an improvement over known cooling systems, which often include full head covers, hosing, and air intake system attached to the user's belt.
Importantly, turbulent air must be smoothed and directed to achieve a laminar flow of thin sheets of air applied by the device 100. Several structures are crucial in accomplishing the necessary conversion from turbulent flow to laminar flow. First, turbulent air enters the device via the opening 111 and through the air filter 110. Next, the cfm value (cubic feet per minute or cu ft./min), which measures velocity of air flow into or out of a space, of the air intake into the device 100 and air leaving the blower 106 are exactly the same value. With air intake and blower cfm values the same, the narrow width of air intake member 104 attached to the housing 102 near the blower 106 acts as a choke that increasingly smooths the air as the width W of the air supply member 104 continually increases towards the free end 113. The air supply member 104 is put under pressure to further smooth and reduce air flow through the openings 126 and 128. The exact pressure and velocity internal to the device 100 are not necessarily specific values, but are linked. The pressure and velocity will be fixed for each combination of air source and device configuration. Natural characteristics of incoming air pressure, altitude, humidity, etc. will affect specific values, but the effects are self-adjusting. For example, increased density of the air mass means lower velocity of air required. Once a combination of pressure and air velocity is selected, the variations of use of the device 100 are minimal.
The openings 126 and 128 are designed to supply the thin sheets of air across a protective helmet, or the welding hood 200, as necessary to achieve uniform distribution. Areas farther from the center of the welding hood 200 require more volume than centrally located areas. The device 100 further minimizes compensation for varying empty spaces in the helmet. The effectiveness of the device 100 at achieving intended functions within a hood is determined by maintaining a velocity of air past critical surfaces, such as the lens 204 and user's head 206. The boundaries of these surfaces maintain air speed near the surface, with slowing occurring as the distance from the surface increases. This means that the speed of the air flow at openings 126 and 128 is maintained across the relevant surfaces to produce the intended barriers, even though the speed in the larger empty volume of the hood 200 is reduced. This effect requires velocity, not volume. While the shape and spacing of the openings 126 and 128 are designed to produce this effect, their precise dimensions, spacing, and orientation are chosen to match other characteristics of the device 100, such as the blower 106 and air supply member 104, in order to produce the two thin sheets of smooth, non-turbulent air. I/We claim:
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/929,834, filed on Nov. 2, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62929834 | Nov 2019 | US |
