Fluid handling – Ambient condition change responsive – Underwater
Patent
1995-01-27
1996-04-16
Chambers, A. Michael
Fluid handling
Ambient condition change responsive
Underwater
13750525, 12820429, B63C 1122
Patent
active
055073085
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to gas pressure regulators, particularly breathable gas for divers, of the type comprising, in a regulator body, a first chamber communicating with an inlet connectable to a source of gas under pressure, a second chamber separated from the first chamber by a wall traversed by a passage enclosed by piston means secured to a hollow rod sliding in sealed fashion in the passage and comprising an end extending into the first chamber and forming a valve member coacting with a valve seat disposed in the first chamber, the piston being urged in a direction opposite to the valve seat by a spring disposed in the second chamber and bearing on the wall, a third chamber separated from the second chamber by piston means and communicating with at least one outlet connectable to a user circuit and with the hollow rod, and a fourth chamber opening outwardly of the body, delimited externally by a flexible wall and communicating with the second chamber, the second and fourth chambers being filled with a substantially incompressible fluid.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A fluid reservoir regulator with a membrane of this type is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,032. The arrangement described in this document requires a large volume of incompressible fluid and does not permit easy changing of the valve seat, this changing requiring an emptying and then a refilling with the incompressible fluid.
Regulators have also been proposed using in place and instead of the flexible wall, a porous wall, this latter approach having however the risk of loss of fluid and in particular for divers in cold water, the drawbacks of penetration of the water into the fluid reserve and as a result risk of seizure of the movable members of the regulator and blocking of the porous wall by ice crystals.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has for its object to provide improvements to the flexible wall regulators defined above, greatly facilitating their maintenance, permitting producing the regulator in a compact form with a small reserve of incompressible fluid and conferring increased safety and reliability of operation.
To do this, according to one characteristic of the invention, the valve seat is carried by a closure member delimiting externally the first chamber and mounted in an end of the body, and in that the fourth chamber is formed in a lateral region of the body, preferably substantially opposite the inlet of the gas under pressure.
According to other characteristics of the invention: formed in the wall separating this latter from the first chamber and which is preferably formed of a single piece with the body; by a spring extending into the first chamber and bearing on the valve seat; the third chamber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, given by way of non-limiting example, with respect to the accompanying drawing, in which the single FIGURE is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of regulator according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The regulator, also called expander in French-speaking countries, comprises a body 1 of generally cylindrical configuration comprising, from top to bottom in the FIGURE and coaxially with the axis of the body, an upper screw-threaded bore 2 prolonged by a bore 3 of reduced diameter, itself prolonged by a central bore 4 of small diameter opening into a stepped lower bore 5 of greater diameter. The bores 3 and 5 form, as will be seen above, a first chamber and a second chamber, separated from each other by a body portion forming an internal wall or a partition 6 traversed by the small bore 4. Into the bore 3 there opens transversely a stepped bore 7 adapted to receive a coupling 8 for connection to a source of gas under pressure, typically air or a mixture of respiratory gases under pressure. Opposite the transverse bore 7 is a blind bore 9 forming in the body a chamber offset axially from the chamber
REFERENCES:
patent: 3698425 (1972-10-01), Fisher
patent: 4083380 (1978-04-01), Huber
patent: 4226257 (1980-10-01), Trinkwalder
patent: 4230140 (1980-10-01), Hart
patent: 4396032 (1983-08-01), Duchesne et al.
patent: 4484695 (1984-11-01), Fallon et al.
patent: 5097860 (1992-03-01), Ferguson et al.
patent: 5184609 (1993-02-01), Hart
Chambers A. Michael
La Spirotechnique Industrielle et Commerciale
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