Surgery – Respiratory method or device – Draw-type snorkel
Patent
1995-11-24
1997-08-19
Lewis, Aaron J.
Surgery
Respiratory method or device
Draw-type snorkel
12820127, 12820128, B63C 1116
Patent
active
056577460
ABSTRACT:
The present invention is an improved skin diving snorkel having a conduit with an open end above water and an underwater end which has a mouthpiece. The mouthpiece provides a flow path from the conduit to the interior of the diver's mouth. A purge valve, situated in a chamber below the mouthpiece, allows water in the snorkel to flow to ambient when hydrostatic pressure within the snorkel is greater than ambient.
The conduit houses a buoyant member. The buoyant member freely runs the length of the conduit. When the snorkel is free of water, the buoyant member rests in the chamber below the mouthpiece, completely out of the respiratory flow path. The buoyant member floats or is carried upward when water is in the snorkel. A seat, adjacent the open end of the snorkel, prevents the buoyant member from exiting the conduit. The seat also forms a substantially fluid-tight closure when the buoyant member rests against it.
The flooded snorkel is purged by exhaling normally into the mouthpiece. An explosive blast of air is not required or desirable. The ascending air and water lifts the buoyant member until it rests against the seat. Because the buoyant member substantially blocks continued upward flow, the bulk of the upwardly expanding exhaled air is trapped beneath the buoyant member. The trapped air displaces the water in the conduit, forcing the water down and out the purge valve. Exhalation pressure holds the buoyant member in the blocking position until the purging exhalation is complete. Release of exhalation pressure at the start of inhalation allows the buoyant member to drop below the mouthpiece, clearing the conduit for unrestricted respiration. The entire purging sequence can take place automatically, that is, without conscious effort by the diver.
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