Pumps – With signal – indicator – or inspection means
Reexamination Certificate
2002-07-22
2004-03-30
Freay, Charles G. (Department: 3746)
Pumps
With signal, indicator, or inspection means
C417S234000, C417S313000, C417S411000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06712586
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas suction pump device, a gas feed adapter and a gas alarm unit.
2. Description of the Background Art
There are generally frequent occasions when it may be possible in, for example, underground job sites or gateways, or other places where persons enter, or working regions that air in an environmental atmosphere is in a dangerous state, or will become a dangerous state, such as occasions when harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide gases may possibly be contained in air in such an environment, or when the oxygen gas concentration in air may possibly be lowered.
When the air in the environmental atmosphere has become a dangerous state to persons due to high concentration of the dangerous gases contained or low oxygen gas concentration, it is necessary to sense the fact.
From such a demand, there have been proposed various types of portable gas alarm devices to date. As such portable gas alarm devices, for example, those having a structure that a sucking means such as a pump is installed in a gas alarm device body, and air in the objective space is forcedly sucked by this sucking means to perform the concentration measurement of a gas to be detected, and those of the so-called “diffusion type” that air in the objective space is introduced by natural diffusion are known.
However, such a portable gas alarm device cannot be used in a place where no person can enter because the portable gas alarm device basically requires that a person should enter the place to perform the concentration measurement of dangerous gases in order to confirm the safety of air in an environmental atmosphere.
Therefore a method is used in which a sucking device such as a pump is connected to the portable gas alarm device so as to suck air in the objective space to perform the concentration measurement of the dangerous gases up to the gas alarm device body by the sucking device.
Since the conventional sucking devices are generally large in size and heavy, however, they involve problems that they are considerably unhandy to carry and make a great obstacle to practice the intended work or the like.
In addition at the actual situation, such a sucking device is unsuitable for use as a sucking means that is connected to the portable gas alarm device, because it requires much time or labor in maintenance work such as filter exchange or pump exchange.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made on the basis of the foregoing circumstances.
It is the first object of the present invention to provide a gas suction pump device which is easy to be fabricated as a small-sized one handy to carry and high in convenience for use.
The second object of the present invention is to provide a gas feed adapter by which air from such a gas suction pump device can be surely fed to a gas detecting part of a portable gas alarm device.
The third object of the present invention is to provide a portable gas alarm unit which makes good use of such a gas suction pump device and is high in convenience for use.
The first object of the present invention can be achieved by any one of the following constitutions [1] to [8].
[1] A gas suction pump device suitable for being connected by a connecting tube to a portable gas alarm device for use, which comprises:
a casing having a substantially rectangular frame-like sectional shape composed of 2 side walls opposite to each other, and upper and lower walls which connect the side walls to each other, and formed slenderly in a gas flowing direction and into a size holdable by grasping with a hand;
a control circuit board provided in the casing so as to extend in a longitudinal direction along the upper wall;
a pump unit arranged in a region on the side of one side wall under the control circuit board, in which one end and the other end of a gas flow path defined by the pump unit and extending in the longitudinal direction of the casing communicate with a gas inlet port opened forward of the casing and a gas outlet port opened backward of the casing, respectively; and
a battery fitting chamber provided in a region on the side of the other side wall.
[2] The gas suction pump device according to the constitution [1], wherein the pump unit is composed of a pump and a pump driving motor provided integrally with the pump, and wherein
the pump is located in the vicinity of one side wall in the casing, and the pump driving motor is arranged in a state located in the vicinity of the other side wall.
[3] The gas suction pump device according to the constitution [2], wherein the pump making up the pump unit has a gas discharge quantity of 0.2 to 0.5 L/min.
[4] The gas suction pump device according to any one of the constitutions [1] to [3], wherein a driving power source is a battery.
[5] The gas suction pump device according to any one of the constitutions [1] to [4], wherein a recessed part for receiving an end part of the connecting tube is formed in the casing, and a connecting terminal to which the connecting tube is connected is provided at the gas outlet port in the recessed part in a state projected backward from the rear wall thereof.
[6] The gas suction pump device according to any one of the constitutions [1] to [5], wherein a branched gas flow path opened upward is defined in a gas flow path forming member connecting the pump unit to the gas outlet port, and a pressure sensor is connected to the branched gas flow path in a state arranged on the control circuit board side of the gas flow path forming member.
[7] The gas suction pump device according to any one of the constitutions [1] to [6], wherein the casing is formed by joining a front case with a rear case detachably to each other, and an anti-detaching metal band for preventing both front case and rear case from detaching from each other is fitted on the joined area between the front case and the rear case.
[8] The gas suction pump device according to the constitution [7], wherein the anti-detaching preventing metal band is fitted in a state that both ends thereof overlap each other and fixed to the casing by a screw at a position where both ends overlap each other.
The second object of the present invention can be achieved by the following constitution [9].
[9] A gas feed adapter for connecting the gas suction pump device according to any one of the constitutions [1] to [8] through a connecting tube to a portable gas alarm device equipped with a plurality of gas sensors which detect gases of different kinds from one another, which comprises:
a casing having an engaging part and detachably engaged with a gas alarm device body, wherein a gas feed port common to the respective gas sensors in the gas alarm device body is defined in one outer end wall of the casing, a connecting terminal to which the connecting tube is connected is also fitted so as to project outward, and a gas outlet for opening the internal space in the casing to the air is defined in the other outer end wall, and wherein
a main gas inlet passage extending zigzag from one to the other in the casing is formed in the casing, and a plurality of branched gas inlet passages independent of one another for introducing air in the objective space to perform the measurement of gases into the respective gas sensors in the gas alarm device body are formed in the main gas inlet passage.
The third object of the present invention can be achieved by any one of the following constitutions [10] to [14].
[10] A gas alarm unit comprising the gas suction pump device according to any one of above the constructions [1] to [8], a connecting tube connected to the gas suction pump device at an end thereof and a portable gas alarm device connected to the other end of the connecting tube
Aida Takuo
Koyano Junichi
Tajima Shuji
Takei Yasunori
Freay Charles G.
Frishauf Holtz Goodman & Chick P.C.
Riken Keiki Co., Ltd.
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