Surgery – Respiratory method or device – Face mask covering a breathing passage
Patent
1995-10-02
1997-05-20
Millin, Vincent
Surgery
Respiratory method or device
Face mask covering a breathing passage
12820621, 12820624, 12820625, 12820627, 12820628, 12820711, 12820122, 12820123, 2421, A62B 700, A61M 1600
Patent
active
056304129
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to protective equipment for the head of the type comprising a breathing mask provided with a harness and connectable to a source of breathings gas enabling the mask to be put under positive pressure relative to the atmosphere, and a screen for protecting the eyes against smoke, the screen being provided with a peripheral sealing gasket for pressing against the face and the mask, the screen and the mask being separate and distinct from each other.
Such protective equipment for the head of the type defined above is already known. The breathing mask, provided with a regulator, protects the wearer of the mask against lack of oxygen and against smoke or toxic gases penetrating into the respiratory tract. The harness serves to press the mask against the face with sufficient pressure to ensure sealing. When it is in place, the protective screen protects the eyes against smoke and irritating gases.
A major, but non-exclusive application of the invention lies in aviation. The mask is then designed in particular to provide protection against lack of oxygen in the event of pressurization being lost at high altitude, thus requiring the mask to be provided with a demand regulator for feeding gas at positive pressure as a function of altitude, and requiring the harness to be capable of pressing the mask against the face with sufficient force to prevent leaks appearing that would otherwise reduce the positive pressure inside the mask. To satisfy these conditions, the harness may be constituted by a strap that exerts a force which is adjustable either automatically (e.g. by modifying an internal pressure when the straps are extensible by inflation), or manually (e.g. when the harness includes not only pneumatically extensible straps, but also cloth straps that are loose while the mask is in the storage position and that can be tightened manually).
Mask-and-screen assemblies have already been proposed that comprise a single block (U.S. Pat. No. design 304 384), thereby presenting a solution that is satisfactory when the mask is designed to be installed only an emergency. That solution is often unacceptable in other cases, e.g. equipment for pilots and copilots of transport aircraft which are required by regulations to carry equipment for providing protection against lack of oxygen on a permanent basis under certain flying conditions, in particular at very high altitude or when only one pilot is present in the cockpit. Under such circumstances, the screen constitutes a hindrance and also gives rise to a feeling of claustrophobia.
The present invention seeks in particular to provide protective equipment for the head that satisfies practical requirements better than previously known equipment, in particular with respect to making it possible or at least more convenient to use the mask on its own and to install the screen quickly in the event of need, or else to use the regulator mask with the screen mounted in place and to enable the screen portion to be removed if the user so desires. To this end, the invention provides, in particular, equipment of the type defined above, characterized in that it includes means for locking the screen on the mask, which means are manually releasable, and bear against the mask so as to press the gasket against the face.
To prevent smoke or toxic gas or irritating gas being kept in contact with the eyes, and to prevent condensation forming on the screen, the screen is advantageously provided with means that automatically open an inlet to allow breathing gas inside the mask to pass into the screen when the screen has been put into place and locked in position. The positive pressure relative to the atmosphere (which is always necessary inside the mask, even at normal atmospheric pressure, in order to ensure that the same smoke or gases cannot gain access to the respiratory tract) then causes breathing gas to pass into the screen, thereby sweeping out any smoke or gas that may have been captured therein.
The harness may be a harness for fitting rapidly, and suitable f
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Berthet Frederic
Dubruille Alain
Intertechnique
Millin Vincent
Srivastava V.
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