Patent Application
20250108239
A self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) is an apparatus generally used to provide respiratory protection to a person that may be entering an objectionable, oxygen-deficient, and/or otherwise potentially unbreathable or toxic environment. Such apparatuses typically comprise at least one high-pressure air tank, and often include one or more devices designed to alert the user e.g. when the tank air has been depleted to a certain level.
In broad summary, herein is disclosed an SCBA harness including a backframe and a reducer mounted on the lower end of the backframe. In some aspects as disclosed herein, a delivery hose that is connected to a mask-mountable regulator, and a high-pressure gauge hose, may be respectively connected to a primary air-delivery outlet of the reducer and to a high-pressure gauge air outlet of the reducer. The primary air-delivery outlet defines a first hose-end direction along which a first end of the delivery hose is oriented, and the high-pressure gauge air outlet defines a second hose-end direction along which a first end of the high-pressure gauge hose is oriented. The first and second hose-end directions may each be oriented upward, e.g. at an included angle of from 20 to 70 degrees relative to a vertical axis of the backframe, and may be oriented at an angle of from 40 to 140 degrees relative to each other.
These and many other aspects will be apparent from the detailed description below. In no event, however, should this broad summary be construed to limit the claimable subject matter, whether such subject matter is presented in claims in the application as initially filed or in claims that are amended or otherwise presented in prosecution.
Like reference numbers in the various figures indicate like elements. Some elements may be present in identical or equivalent multiples; in such cases only one or more representative elements may be designated by a reference number but it will be understood that such reference numbers apply to all such identical elements. All figures and drawings are not to scale and are chosen for the purpose of illustrating different embodiments of the invention. The dimensions of various components are depicted in illustrative terms only, and no relationship between the dimensions of the various components should be inferred from the drawings.
Although terms such as “first” and “second” may be used in this disclosure, it should be understood that those terms are used in their relative sense only unless otherwise noted. The term “configured to” and like terms is at least as restrictive as the term “adapted to”, and requires actual design intention to perform the specified function rather than mere capability of performing such a function. All references herein to numerical values (e.g. dimensions, ratios, and so on), unless otherwise noted, are understood to be calculable as average values derived from an appropriate number of measurements.
As used herein as a modifier to a property or attribute, the term “generally”, unless otherwise specifically defined, means that the property or attribute would be readily recognizable by a person of ordinary skill but without requiring a high degree of approximation. In particular, the term “generally” as applied to an angular orientation means within plus or minus 30 degrees of the “exact” orientation; for example, an item that is described as generally vertically-oriented will be oriented within plus or minus 30 degrees of the vertical axis of the herein-described harness. It will be understood that in all instances in which the term “generally” appears, the term subsumes any and all more-exact orientations, e.g. an orientation that is within plus or minus 10 degrees of “exact”, or that approaches being truly “exact”.
The following terminology is defined with respect to an SCBA harness as worn by a user standing upright, and to components of the harness and various items (e.g. a reducer, various hoses, etc.) that are connected to the harness. This terminology is used for ease of description and does not limit the actual orientation of the harness and items installed thereon during actual use. Terms such as vertical, upward and downward, upper, lower, above, and below, and like terminology, correspond to conventional directions with respect to the Earth when the harness is worn by a user who is standing upright. The upward (u) and downward (d) directions along the vertical axis (v) are denoted in
Shown in
An SCBA will comprise a facemask and associated hoses and equipment so that breathable air can be supplied to the facemask. This equipment will include an in-line first-stage regulator 100 which will be referred to herein as a pressure reducer or, simply, a reducer. A reducer 100 may be conveniently located proximate the lower end 22 of backframe 20, as evident in
Reducer 100 may be connected to air tank 11 by a connecting assembly. Such a connecting assembly can establish a fluidic pathway whereby high-pressure air from the tank can enter reducer 100, and can also establish a robust mechanical connection between the reducer and the air tank. In some embodiments, such a connecting assembly may comprise a fitting that is fixed in a high-pressure air inlet of the reducer in combination with a fitting that is fixed in an outlet of a valve that is fixed in an opening of the air tank, the two fittings being designed to connect together securely, but separably. An exemplary connecting assembly 210 is indicated in
Reducer 100 will receive high-pressure tank air from tank 11 and will reduce the pressure of the air from the tank pressure (which may be up to e.g. 379 bar) to an intermediate pressure (which may be in the range of e.g. 8 bar). The reducer then delivers the air at this intermediate pressure to one (or more) delivery outlets of the reducer (thus, this intermediate pressure at which the air is delivered to a delivery outlets will be referred to herein as an “outlet” pressure). The outlet-pressure air is delivered through a delivery outlet of reducer 100 into a delivery hose 31, which conveys the air to a second-stage, mask-mountable regulator 30. As shown in
Mask-mountable regulator 30, when suitably mounted on a facemask of the SCBA, further reduces the pressure of the air from the outlet pressure to a pressure suitable for breathing (e.g. to near-atmospheric pressure) and delivers it to the facemask. Such a facemask will define an interior volume (air space) when fitted to the face of a human user, and will comprise one or more couplers, connections or fittings that allow mask-mountable regulator 30 to be mounted on, and fluidly connected to, the facemask, so that mask-mounted regulator 30 can deliver breathable air into the interior volume of the facemask. In some embodiments, the breathable air may be delivered into a nosecup that covers the nose and mouth of the wearer.
In some embodiments, a mask-mounted regulator 30 may be an “on-demand” regulator that provides airflow in response to inhalations of the user. Typically, such a regulator may include a housing within which a diaphragm is disposed, the diaphragm being coupled to a demand valve. The user's respiration creates a pressure differential that causes displacement of the diaphragm thereby controlling (e.g., opening and closing) the demand valve. In some embodiments, such a regulator may be an “on-demand, positive-pressure” regulator that maintains the air in the interior volume of the facemask at a slightly elevated pressure (relative to the ambient air pressure) while replenishing this air on an on-demand basis in response to the user's breathing. Various mask-mountable regulators of this and other types are described in detail e.g. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,345,592, 4,269,216, 6,095,142, and 6,394,091. Regulators are also described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/879,279 and in the resulting International (PCT) Patent Application Publication WO 2021/019348, both of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein. It is emphasized however that the arrangements disclosed in the present application are not limited to being used with any particular type or design of mask-mountable regulator, or facemask.
In some embodiments, SCBA harness 10 may comprise a high-pressure gauge 40 that is configured to monitor the pressure in the high-pressure air tank 11. (The particular gauge 40 seen e.g. in
In some embodiments, SCBA harness and reducer as disclosed herein may comprise a pneumatic alerting device 140 (indicated in general in
In some embodiments, an SCBA harness and reducer as disclosed herein may comprise a rescue breathing system 60, indicated in general in
A rescue-breathing system 60, if present, will comprise a rescue-breathing hose 61 with a first end 62 comprising a first fitting 64 that is fixedly inserted in a delivery outlet of reducer 100, and with a second end 63 comprising a second fitting 65 that is configured to be fluidically connected to a fitting of a donee SCBA. (Second fitting 65 will typically be a normally-closed fitting that provides a fluidic dead-end so that there is no airflow down hose 61 unless the hose is in actual use e.g. for rescue-breathing purposes). Rescue-breathing hose 61 will receive air from reducer 100 at the above-described outlet pressure. (This brief description is with reference to the herein-described SCBA serving as a donor SCBA; it is of course possible for this SCBA to be a donee.) An exemplary rescue-breathing system 60 is indicated in part in
In some embodiments, an SCBA harness and reducer as disclosed herein may comprise an air refill system 50 (often referred to as a fast-fill system). Such a system can allow an air tank 11 to be refilled with high-pressure breathing air from an outside source (e.g. from an air compressor), without necessitating that the air tank be removed from the harness or even disconnected from the reducer 100. A refill system 50, if present, will comprise a refill hose 51 with a first end 52 comprising a first fitting 54 that is fixedly inserted in a refill air inlet of reducer 100, and with a second, opposing end 53 comprising a second fitting 55 that is configured to be removably fluidically connected to an outside source of refill air. Such a refill system 50 will typically comprise a one-way valve that allows flow of refill air into the refill air inlet of the reducer and through an air pathway of the reducer as described in detail later herein, but does not allow air to exit out of the refill air inlet. In some embodiments, a one-way valve may be provided within the fitting 54 of refill hose 51 for this purpose.
An air refill system 50 as disclosed herein will refill a depleted air tank by sending high-pressure refill air through various internal air passages of reducer 100. Detailed discussions later herein will reveal that such an arrangement requires the refill air to flow “backwards” through at least some internal air passages of the reducer. That is, the refill air will flow in a reverse direction to that in which high-pressure air normally flows when being sent from the air tank through the reducer on its way to a mask-mounted regulator.
An exemplary refill system 50 is indicated in
In some embodiments, an SCBA harness and reducer as disclosed herein may be configured in another way to accept breathing air from an outside source. However this air will not be at high pressure and will not be for the purpose of refilling the air tank of the SCBA. Rather, such an arrangement may allow the SCBA to receive air at a pressure in the range of the previously-described outlet pressure (e.g., up to approximately 8 bar). The air may be received through an air hose of similar type to the above-described air hose 61; the received air may enter the reducer 100 and then be sent from there to a mask-mounted regulator in the general manner described elsewhere herein. In such a case, a second end 63 of the receiving hose 61 may be connected to an umbilical that provides air from an outside source. In such cases, a receiving hose 61 and/or an umbilical outside-air-supplying hose to which it is connected, are often referred to as an “airline”; so, an SCBA harness and reducer that are configured to be able to receive outside air in this manner will be referred to herein as being “airline-ready”. In some embodiments, an air hose 61 may be configured (e.g. with two separate fittings in parallel at its second end) so that the same air hose can serve as a rescue-breathing hose or as an “airline” hose, depending on the situation of current use. Also, in some embodiments, an SCBA harness and reducer may be configured to be both airline-ready and to include an above-described air (tank)-refill system 50; the two systems are not mutually exclusive.
In some cases, such arrangements may be used to provide outside air in a supplemental, limited-use, and/or backup manner. In some cases, the outside air may be relied on for extended use (e.g. with the SCBA air tank serving as a backup supply). Such arrangements may be used, for example, in combination with a hazmat suit to allow extended usage in extreme environments. Such hazmat suits (for example, gas-tight garments available e.g. from Respirex Corporation, and made of e.g. TYCHEM or TYVEK barrier materials as available from DuPont de Nemours) may include a pass-through port that allows an airline to enter the suit while maintaining the suit's barrier properties.
The above discussions reveal that in various embodiments, a reducer 100 as disclosed herein may have up to e.g. four hoses connected thereto: a delivery hose 31 to deliver air at an outlet pressure to a mask-mountable regulator; a high-pressure gauge hose 41 to deliver air at a high (tank) pressure to a high-pressure gauge; a rescue-breathing hose 61 (or airline hose) that can deliver air at outlet pressure to a donee SCBA and/or or receive air at outlet pressure from an outside source; and, a refill hose 51 that can receive high-pressure air from an outside source in order to refill the air tank of the SCBA. An exemplary reducer 100 with four such hoses connected thereto is depicted in exemplary embodiment in
In various embodiments, not all such hoses need necessarily be present, depending e.g. on the preferences of the user. Thus in various embodiments, any, some, or all of rescue-breathing capability, airline readiness, and air (tank)-refill capability may be optional functionalities. For example, an SCBA harness that is not equipped with a rescue-breathing system (and is not airline-ready) may comprise a reducer 100 that has a plug fixed in the appropriate outlet/inlet) of the reducer. Similarly, an SCBA harness that is not equipped with an air tank-refill system may comprise a reducer that has a plug fixed in the refill air inlet. It is emphasized however that the same basic reducer design may be used in all such cases. It will thus be appreciated that reducers designed in the manner described herein will possess the capability to be used in various ways, regardless of whether any particular reducer, as manufactured, is configured to actually perform any particular function or function.
Various exemplary arrangements disclosed herein, e.g. in which a high-pressure air gauge receives high-pressure air from the reducer, a pneumatic alerting device is integrated into the reducer, and/or in which an air refill system is configured to supply refill air to an air tank by way of the reducer, can provide significant advantages in reducing the complexity, weight, and so on, of the SCBA harness. That is, according to the disclosures herein, it may not be necessary to provide dedicated airflow pathways (e.g. hoses) between the air tank and a pressure gauge, the air tank and a pneumatic alerting device, the air tank and an air refill system, and/or the air tank and a rescue-breathing system. Rather, according to the disclosures herein, any or all such systems and items that are present, can leverage the presence of the reducer. This can significantly simplify the “plumbing” that is present external to the reducer; however, it may not be a straightforward matter to arrange all of the necessary pathways, inlets and outlets, and so on, of the reducer, to allow such functionality, as will be made clear by the discussions that follow.
An exemplary reducer 100 as disclosed herein is depicted in two different perspective views in
A reducer 100 will comprise a high-pressure air inlet 111 configured to receive high-pressure air from an air tank 11, e.g. by way of a connecting assembly as described elsewhere herein. With reference to
High-pressure air pathway 110 also includes a secondary high-pressure air passage 113 (that, in this case, has multiple portions that meet at an intersection 119) that is fluidically connected to a high-pressure gauge air outlet 114. Outlet 114 is configured to accept a fitting 44 of a hose 41 so that high-pressure air can be delivered to a high pressure gauge 40 as previously described. Secondary high-pressure air passage 113 is also fluidically connected to an integrated pneumatic alerting device 140.
Metering assembly 120 relies on a metering piston 122 that is elongate with a long axis and that comprises a platen (at the far left of the piston, in
With high-pressure entry 127 having been sealed, the pressure in the air-delivery pathway 130 will remain at the established value (e.g. an outlet pressure that is suitable for delivery of air to a mask-mounted regulator). Air-delivery pathway 130 is in fluidic communication (through a previously mentioned delivery hose 31) with the mask-mounted regulator of the SCBA. As the user of the SCBA breathes in and air is withdrawn from delivery hose 31 by the mask-mounted regulator, the pressure in delivery hose 31, and thus the pressure in the air-delivery pathway 130, will drop. One or more bypass apertures 128 are provided in piston 122 so that the pressure in bore 125 of piston 122, and in chamber 124 at the end of piston 122, will remain equilibrated with the pressure in the air-delivery pathway 130. (Such an arrangement will provide that plenum 121 is in fluidic communication with primary high-pressure air passage 112 in a manner that is interruptible by the movement of piston 122, while being in non-interruptible fluidic communication with first air-delivery passage 133 of air-delivery pathway 130.) Thus, as the pressure drops in air-delivery pathway 130 as a result of the user's breathing, the pressure will drop in chamber 124, such that this pressure can no longer overcome the opposing force of biasing spring 123. The biasing spring 123 will then urge the piston to a position in which seat 126 of the piston no longer seals entry 127. At this time, additional high-pressure air will enter plenum 121. (It is noted in passing that in
Exemplary reducer 100 as depicted in
As illustrated in
First air-delivery passage 133 may comprise an elongate length and exhibit a long axis; this long axis may be oriented at a first angle (generally indicated by angle 135 of
In various embodiments, angles 135 and 139 may be within plus or minus 10, 5, or 2 degrees of each other. In some embodiments, angles 135 and 139 may each be approximately 90 degrees, (e.g. so that first air-delivery passage 133 extends straight “upward” in the view of
The exemplary arrangements described above, comprising at least a primary air-delivery outlet 131 and a secondary air-delivery outlet 132, provide considerable flexibility in usage. For example, air can be sent to a mask-mounted regulator as usual through primary air-delivery outlet 131, with air also being sent to a donee SCBA through a rescue-breathing hose fixed to secondary air-delivery outlet 132. Or, outside air from an airline hose that is fixed to secondary air-delivery outlet 132, can enter the reducer through secondary air-delivery “outlet” 132 and exit the reducer through primary air-delivery outlet 131 to be delivered to a mask-mounted regulator. In such a case, the outside-sourced air will enter the reducer through “outlet” 132 and will travel through air-delivery passage 136 “backwards”; that is, in a direction opposite the direction that tank air will travel if the tank air is being delivered to a donee SCBA via a rescue-breathing hose.
The structure and functioning of an exemplary integrated pneumatic alerting device 140 will now be described. With reference to
The above description applies to a pneumatic alerting device that is configured to emit a whistling sound. Other types of pneumatic alerting device are contemplated; for example, some such devices rely on a piston that reciprocates to repeatedly impact a strike plate so as to cause a loud buzzing noise and/or vibrating sensation. Various arrangements disclosed herein may be used with a pneumatic alerting device of this type rather than of a whistling type. It is noted in passing that pneumatic alerting device 140 as depicted in
A particular feature of integrated pneumatic alerting device 140 and its associated air passageways can be seen in
Any such flow-restricting constriction 118 may be characterized e.g. in terms of its diameter relative to the average diameter of section 117 of secondary air passage 113. In various embodiments, the diameter of a constriction 118 may be less than 45, 40, 35, or 30% of the average diameter of section 117. In further embodiments, the diameter may be greater than 5, 10, 15, or 20% of the average diameter of section 117. In some embodiments, the diameter of a constriction 118 may be at most 1.5, 1.0, 0.8, or 0.6 mm; in further embodiments, the diameter of a constriction 118 may be at least 0.2. 0.3, 0.4, or 0.5 mm. Here and elsewhere, in the case of an entity that is non-circular, an effective diameter (that is, the diameter of a circle with the same area as the non-circular entity) may be used for any such characterization.
In some embodiments, flow-restricting constriction 118 may be an “integral” feature of reducer 100. Here and elsewhere, by “integral” is meant a cavity (whether an internal passage, an internal chamber, an inlet, an outlet, etc.) that is defined at least in significant part by the material of main body 101 of reducer 100, and that is produced by machining main body 101 to remove main-body material to leave the integral feature behind. (The term “integral” is thus used in a different, and more restrictive, manner from the previously-introduced term “integrated.) Thus, constriction 118 is integral to main body 101 rather than being produced by taking a separately-made item (e.g. an orifice plate) and inserting it into a cavity in main body 101. In the present case, constriction 118 is amenable to being integral (and can be machined as a smaller-diameter continuation of the machining path that made section 117 of air passage 113). However, at least one other feature (e.g. another flow-restriction) of reducer 100 may be more suitably provided by way of an inserted item, as discussed later herein. With this possible exception noted, in some embodiments many of the features discussed herein (e.g. any, some, or all of primary and secondary high-pressure air passages 112 and 113, air-delivery pathway 130 and passages thereof, upstream plenum 121 and the cavities into which various components of metering assembly 120 are disposed, upstream antechamber 141 and the cavities into which various components of pneumatic alerting device 140 are disposed) may be integral to main body 101 of reducer 100. This may also hold for various inlets and outlets (e.g. high-pressure air inlet 111, primary and secondary air outlets 131 and 132, high-pressure gauge air outlet 114, and air refill inlet 152); any, some, or all such inlets and outlets may be integral to main body 101. The fact that items such as fittings, plugs, O-rings, latch members, and so on, may be inserted into cavities such as inlets, outlets, passages, chambers, and so on, does not change the fact that the cavities themselves are integral features of main body 101 of reducer 100.
At this point it can be specified out how various directions, axes, and so on, of reducer 100 are referenced and characterized herein. The cross-sectional view of
Turning now to
Air refill system 150 further comprises a refill air passage 151 with a first end 153 that is fluidically connected, e.g. directly fluidically connected, to refill air inlet 152; and, with a second, opposing end 154 that is fluidically connected, e.g. directly fluidically connected, to the above-described upstream antechamber 141 of pneumatic alerting device 140. By “directly” fluidically connected means without relying on any intermediary passage or connection; other connections depicted and discussed herein may also be direct connections, without necessarily being specifically identified as such. It is noted in this regard that first end 153 of refill air passage 151 may be considered to be directly fluidically connected to refill air inlet 152, since the entirety of the chamber to which end 153 is connected may be considered to constitute the refill air inlet. In fact, in many circumstances a fitting 54 at a first end 52 of a refill hose 51 that is fixed in inlet 152, may occupy the vast majority of inlet 152 so that the high-pressure air is injected into inlet 152 at a point very close to end 153 of passage 151.
Inspection of
It will be appreciated that in such a refill process, high-pressure refill air will be traveling “backwards” along air passage 113 in comparison to the direction that high-pressure air normally travels to reach pneumatic alerting device 140. And, the high-pressure air will travel outward through the previously-described high-pressure air “inlet” 111 to reach air tank 11. These arrangements thus make use of existing high-pressure air pathways, but require high-pressure air to travel through at least some air passages of these pathways in an opposite direction from the “ordinary” direction of airflow therethrough.
Moreover, the above-disclosed exemplary arrangements require the high-pressure refill air that is injected into air refill system 50 to travel through the above-discussed flow-restricting constriction 118. Since the very purpose of this constriction is to slow down the flow of high-pressure air as discussed earlier herein, it is not at all straightforward that a refilling arrangement as disclosed herein can operate properly in the presence of such a flow-restricting constriction. However, the present investigations have revealed that a flow-restricting constriction 118 can be provided that successfully prevents an initial rush of high-pressure air from flooding the alerting device when the valve to the air tank is opened, while not unduly limiting the rate at which high-pressure air can flow in the opposite direction to refill the air tank. (In practice, the arrangements disclosed herein can allow an air tank to be refilled in e.g. 1-2 minutes.)
The above discussions reveal that in the applicant's arrangements, a reducer can be produced that performs multiple functions in addition to a reducer's primary function of receiving high-pressure air and metering the air to a mask-mounted regulator at a suitable lower pressure. These functions may include any or all of (or any subcombination of): supplying air to a high-pressure air gauge, operating a pneumatic alerting device, supplying air to a rescue-breathing system, accepting high-pressure air from an outside source in order to refill a depleted air tank, and accepting outside-sourced, outlet-pressure air via an “airline”. As noted, this may allow the complexity and/or number of external hoses, components, and so on, of the SCBA harness to be minimized. However, this requires creative design of the reducer in order to successfully accomplish such functions. In particular, it is a daunting task to arrange all of the various passages, inlets, outlets, cavities into which components are to be inserted, and so on, in a way that allows many, or even all, of these features to be formed as integral features of the main body 101 of reducer 100, by machining.
To facilitate a discussion of this topic,
With the above as background, a cross-sectional view of main body 101 of reducer 100 is depicted in
One such machining direction is indicated in
Such an arrangement can provide that refill air passage 151 and upstream antechamber 141 are configured so that the entirety of the elongate length of refill air passage 151, from its second end 154 where it meets antechamber 141, to its first end 153 where it meets refill air inlet 152, will be line-of-sight visible through an opened end 148 of antechamber 141 (emphasizing again that end 148 of antechamber 141 will be closed by plug 147 in the reducer in its final, manufactured form; any removal of the plug would be for the purpose of confirming the above-described configuration). In the depicted arrangement, refill air passage 151 is oriented at an angle relative to the previously-described section 117 of high-pressure air passage 113, as can be seen from
Exemplary arrangements of this type may be further characterized in terms of a refill insertion axis that is defined by refill air inlet 152; such an insertion axis will be the axis along which a first end of a refill hose is inserted into refill air inlet 152 (such a refill insertion axis will correspond to a third hose-end direction as discussed later herein). In some embodiments, such a refill insertion axis may be at least substantially parallel to the long axis of previously-mentioned first piston 122 of metering device 120 and to the long axis of previously-mentioned piston 142 of pneumatic alerting device 140. The refill insertion axis may however be offset from a common plane (i.e., a major plane of reducer 100, as previously described) in which the first and second pistons are located. To achieve this, the refill air inlet 152 may be situated in a refill pod 156 that integrally extends from the main body of the reducer in a direction at least generally normal to the common plane in which the first and second spring-biased pistons are located, as evident in
Another example of the complexities that must be dealt with when attempting to ensure that the various cavities of main body 101 of reducer 100 are able to be produced by machining is illustrated by comparison of
The angle of outlet 114 can be chosen so that the desired “angling” effect on a high-pressure gauge hose 41 that is fixed to outlet 114 can be achieved, while nevertheless allowing machining to be performed through outlet 114, along the subsequent machining direction 173. (It is noted that the portion of main body 101 that comprises outlet 132 does not interfere with machining along direction 172 or direction 173, as is evident from
In some embodiments, the high-pressure air pathway of reducer 100 may be equipped with a flow-restriction that is positioned and arranged to limit any flow that may occur out of high-pressure gauge air outlet 114. This can provide that e.g. in the event that a high-pressure gauge hose 41 is damaged (or the pressure gauge 40 itself is damaged in such a way that causes it to leak high-pressure air) any air loss will be held to an appropriately low rate. It has been found that such a flow restriction may need to be so small in diameter that it might be difficult to machine into main body 101 as an integral feature thereof. Accordingly, in the arrangement depicted in
Reducer 100 will be mounted on backframe 20, e.g. by way of being connected to a cradle 80 located at the lower end 22 of backframe 20 in the general manner depicted in
In some embodiments, connector 102 may be connected, e.g. permanently connected, to a first part 81 of cradle 80 as shown in
In some embodiments, cradle 80 may be configured so that reducer 100 is positioned with the previously-described normal axis of reducer 100 at a first, upward angle relative to the normal axis of backframe 20 (this normal axis of backframe 20 is equivalent to the previously-described inward-outward axis of backframe 20). In
Reducer 100 will have a high-pressure air inlet 111 as previously described. Inlet 111 will define an insertion axis along which a high-pressure air inlet fitting of the reducer, and a fitting of a high-pressure air tank, can be moved relative to each other in the process of attaching the fitting of the high-pressure air tank and the high-pressure air inlet fitting of the reducer to each other. (These two fittings will collectively form a connecting assembly a discussed elsewhere herein.) In some embodiments, inlet 111 may be configured so that this insertion axis (designated as axis “i” in
In some embodiments, first angle 91 and second angle 92 may be at least substantially equal in magnitude (i.e., within plus or minus 10, 5, or 2 degrees of each other) but oppositely oriented (that is, one is upward and one is downward). This can provide that the two angles effectively offset each other with the result that the insertion axis “i” defined by the air inlet 111 (and by a fitting that is fixed therein) is at least substantially aligned (e.g. within plus or minus 10, 5 or 2 degrees) with the normal axis “nb” of the backframe, as evident in
The above characterizations apply with reducer 100 pivoted about axis of rotation 83 as described above, to a position in which the above angles are “exactly” offsetting. This will be referred to as a “nominal” position of reducer 100. In actuality, reducer 100 may occasionally need to be rotated slightly from this “nominal” position, depending e.g. on the diameter of the air tank 11 that is to be mounted on the backframe. The “nominal” position may be set e.g. based on the largest (and/or the most common) diameter air tank that is used with backframe 20. Air tanks of slightly differing diameter may cause the fitting of the air tank to be positioned at a slight upward or downward angle as the fitting approaches reducer 100. Thus in some designs reducer 100 may be mounted to backframe 20 so as to be pivotable about axis of rotation 83 in the general manner indicated by arrow 84 of
As noted, reducer 100 may be connected to air tank 11 by way of a connecting assembly that establishes fluidic pathway whereby high-pressure air from the tank can enter reducer 100, and that can also establish a robust mechanical connection between the reducer and the air tank. In some embodiments, such a connecting assembly may be collectively provided by a fitting that is fixed in the high-pressure air inlet of the reducer and a fitting that is fixed in an outlet of a valve that is fixed in an opening of the air tank. An exemplary connecting assembly 210 is indicated in
In some embodiments, a connecting assembly 220 of the general type shown in
As noted earlier, in some embodiments reducer 100 may be a load-bearing item that, in addition to the other uses discussed herein, may support at least some of the weight of the air tank and may transmit a significant portion of the load resulting from the weight of the air tank, to the backframe. In such cases, a connecting assembly that is used to connect the reducer to the air tank, should have mechanical strength commensurate with such a function (as well as being able to withstand the high air pressures involved).
As discussed earlier herein, an SCBA harness will comprise a number of hoses configured to carry air to and from reducer 100 for various purposes. Ideally, such hoses should be routed to their destination in the most efficient manner (e.g. along the shortest, most direct path) and should be adequately protected along their journey. If possible, such hoses should be arranged and routed so that the hoses approach each other (in particular, cross over each other) as few times as possible, so that they have minimal contact with each other to avoid rubbing or abrasion. (Here and elsewhere, the terminology of hoses crossing over each other is evaluated when viewing the hoses along the inward-outward, normal axis of the harness.) Such arranging and routing of air hoses is increasingly difficult as SCBA harnesses are equipped with electronic components and equipment such as monitoring systems, communication and telemetry systems, and so on. Such systems require e.g. processing modules, instrumentation or sensors, displays, one or more power sources, and so on, that can occupy a significant portion of the space available on an SCBA harness.
The arrangements disclosed herein address such problems in part by integrating as many functions as possible into the reducer of the SCBA, which can reduce the number of items that the SCBA harness needs have room for. For example, the herein-disclosed arrangements can eliminate any need for a harness-mounted pneumatic alerting device and a hose to deliver high-pressure air to the device, and can eliminate any need for a dedicated, harness-mounted assembly/fixture for refilling the air tank. However, other exemplary arrangements are possible that provide additional benefits. In particular, a reducer 100 may be configured so that various air inlets and/or outlets are positioned and oriented so as to route various hoses in directions that are optimally suited in view of the destination of such hoses and the space available for such hoses.
For example, reducer 100 may be configured for optimal positioning of a previously-described primary air-delivery outlet 131 to which a delivery hose 31 is fixed in order to deliver air to a mask-mounted respirator. With reference to
In various embodiments, first hose-end direction 95 will be oriented upward and may exhibit an angle relative to the vertical axis of the backframe of at least 20, 30, 40, 50, or 55 degrees. (Here and elsewhere, all such angles between a direction and a vertical axis, and between directions, will be an included angle.) In further embodiments, this included angle may be at most 80, 70, 65, or 60 degrees. By way of a specific example, the first hose-end direction 95 as shown in
Reducer 100 may also be configured for optimal positioning of a previously-mentioned high-pressure gauge air outlet 114 to which a high-pressure gauge hose 41 is fixed in order to deliver air to a high-pressure gauge. With reference to
It will be appreciated that outlets 131 and 114 are positioned and oriented so as to respectively route hoses 31 and 41 along diverging pathways that can pass e.g. along opposite lateral edges of the backframe. This has the effect that hoses 31 and 41 do not have to cross over each other at any point along their respective routings. The relationship between first and second hose-end directions 95 and 96 may be characterized in terms of the angle between these directions. In various embodiments, an included angle between directions 95 and 96 may be at least 20, 40, 60, or 80 degrees. In further embodiments, such an angle may be at most 140, 120, or 100 degrees. In the exemplary arrangement of
Reducer 100 may also be configured for optimal positioning of the previously-mentioned refill air inlet 152 to which a refill hose 51 may be fixed in order to receive high-pressure air from an external source. With reference to
In various embodiments, third hose-end direction 97 will be upward and may exhibit an included angle relative to the vertical axis of the backframe of at least 20, 30, 40, 50, or 55 degrees. In further embodiments, this included angle may be at most 80, 70, 65, or 60 degrees. By way of a specific example, the third hose-end direction 97 as shown in
Reducer 100 may also be configured for optimal positioning of the previously-mentioned secondary air-delivery outlet 132 to which a rescue-breathing (and/or, an airline) hose 61 may be fixed in order to deliver air to a donee SCBA. With reference to
In the depicted exemplary embodiment, rescue-breathing (and/or airline) hose 61 will not cross over delivery hose 31 or refill hose 51 at any point along the elongate length of these hoses. However, in the depicted exemplary arrangement, hose 61 will outwardly (rearwardly) cross over high-pressure gauge hose 41 at a crossing point 66, as indicated in
Still further (and as alluded to earlier) in some embodiments high-pressure gauge air outlet 114, and thus second hose-end direction 96 defined thereby, may have a pronounced inward tilt in relation to the major plane of the reducer, and in particular in relation to secondary air-delivery outlet 132 and fourth hose-end direction 98 defined thereby. This is not visible from the viewpoint of
The arrangements described above can provide that hoses 41 and 61 will have an inward-outward gap between them at their crossing point 66; and, that they have minimal ability to move relative to each other at the crossing point (since crossing point 66 is so close to the hose-ends). Such arrangements can ensure that hoses 41 and 61 have only minimal contact with each other, or no contact at all.
In some embodiments, at least the above-described primary air-delivery outlet 131 and high-pressure gauge air outlet 114 will be integral to the main body of the reducer, in the manner previously defined and described. In further embodiments, the refill air inlet 152 and/or the secondary air-delivery outlet 132 will also be integral to the main body of the reducer. Such arrangements can provide that the above-described positioning and routing of various hoses can be achieved via the integral inlets and/or outlets of the reducer, as made, without having to equip the reducer with an added manifold. A manifold is a separately-made, rigid shroud or shell that is attached to a reducer and that receives air from at least one outlet of the reducer and redirects the air to an outlet of the manifold that is oriented in a desired direction. While the use of a manifold may allow hose routing to be improved, a manifold adds weight and complexity, and potential leak points, to a reducer. Accordingly, the arrangements herein, which can achieve various objectives without resorting to a manifold, provide significant advantages.
In summary, a reducer can be configured and oriented in the general manner disclosed herein so as to not only efficiently route various hoses to their destinations, but also to ensure that a minimum number (e.g., one) of hose cross-overs occurs; and, to ensure that at a crossing point, minimal or no contact occurs between hoses. It will be appreciated that such arrangements leverage creative arrangement and manipulation of the geometry and features of reducer 100 and cannot be considered to be, for example, a mere routine optimization of an existing arrangement of hoses. (In particular, the use of terms such as “optimal” in the present disclosure shall not be taken as implying that any arrangement described in such terms, is a result of routine optimization.) Furthermore, the arrangements disclosed herein can achieve various technical effects (e.g. enabling a reducer to perform multiple functions, advantageous routing of multiple hoses, and so on) without increasing the size and/or weight of the reducer. (In fact, prototype reducers of the type described herein are lighter in weight than various currently-available reducers.)
In some instances, a user may prefer to use an SCBA that, as supplied to the user, does not comprise an air refill system 50, and/or that does not comprise a rescue-breathing system 60 and/or is not airline-ready. That is, in some embodiments such functionalities may be optional features of an SCBA. In such cases, the high-pressure air refill inlet 152, and/or the secondary air-delivery outlet 132, of reducer 100, may be filled (at the factory) with a plug that effectively seals the inlet or outlet. It will thus be apparent that the arrangements disclosed herein allow a single, generic design of reducer to be used, with one or more inlets or outlets being plugged or having a hose-end fixed thereinto, depending on the particular SCBA configuration that is desired by a user. This is preferable over having to manufacture and stock reducers of multiple different designs to accommodate user preferences. It is noted that a reducer 100, even if inlet 152 and/or outlet 132 is plugged so that a hose is not connected thereto, will still define the respective (e.g. third and fourth) hose-end directions discussed above, even if such a hose is not actually present. Also, if such a reducer comprises an integral refill air passage of the type described herein, it will still be considered that a first end of the integral refill air passage is fluidically connected to a refill air inlet of the reducer, even if the inlet itself is outwardly plugged. That is, in such circumstances the terms “inlet” and “outlet” will have a special definition that encompasses a plugged inlet or outlet.
It was noted earlier herein that in some embodiments, reducer 100 can be removed from backframe 20, e.g. by separating first and second portions of a cradle by which the reducer is connected to the backframe. In some embodiments, the previously-described high-pressure gauge and its high-pressure gauge hose, and the delivery hose and mask-mountable regulator, will be separable from backframe 20 and from the SCBA harness 10 as a whole, with the high-pressure gauge hose and the delivery hose remaining fixed to the reducer when separated from the harness. If the harness comprises a refill hose and/or a rescue-breathing hose, these items may likewise be separable from the backframe and harness, while remaining fixed to the reducer. In this regard it is noted that the term “fixed” as used herein, particularly in regard to a hose-end being “fixed” in an inlet or outlet, denotes a permanent, e.g. factory-installed, condition, such that the hose-end cannot be removed from the inlet or outlet by a user (noting that the hose may be able to rotate slightly in the inlet or outlet, even though it cannot be removed). In short, in some embodiments all of the “pneumatic” items and components of the SCBA harness can be removed from the backframe and harness, e.g. so that the structural components, as well as straps, padding, and so on, of the harness may be more easily cleaned. If a backframe-mounted electronics module of the general type described earlier herein is present, in some embodiments such an electronics module may be removable from the backframe, which again may facilitate cleaning of other components of the backframe harness.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the specific exemplary embodiments, elements, structures, features, details, arrangements, configurations, etc., that are disclosed herein can be modified and/or combined in numerous ways. In summary, numerous variations and combinations are contemplated as being within the bounds of the conceived invention, not merely those representative designs that were chosen to serve as exemplary illustrations. Thus, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the specific illustrative structures described herein, but rather extends at least to the structures described by the language of the claims, and the equivalents of those structures. Any of the elements that are positively recited in this specification as alternatives may be explicitly included in the claims or excluded from the claims, in any combination as desired. Any of the elements or combinations of elements that are recited in this specification in open-ended language (e.g., comprise and derivatives thereof), are considered to additionally be recited in closed-ended language (e.g., consist and derivatives thereof) and in partially closed-ended language (e.g., consist essentially, and derivatives thereof). To the extent that there is any conflict or discrepancy between this specification as written and the disclosure in any document that is incorporated by reference herein but to which no priority is claimed, this specification as written will control.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2023/050890 | 2/1/2023 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63308706 | Feb 2022 | US |
