Oxygen system for parachuting
AssigneeC2M Design OCD Limited
InventorAndrew Tatarek
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An oxygen system supplies either 100% oxygen to a demand valve in a mask or pulses of oxygen to the mask. Switching is automatic during a parachute descent. The system includes a valve manifold that is responsive to ambient pressure such that at low pressures it is configured to deliver gas from either an oxygen cylinder or an aircraft supply line to the mask demand valve and at higher pressures it is configured to deliver gas from the cylinder to a pulse gas delivery system. The mask also includes an inhalation valve that is closed if oxygen is supplied to the demand valve. Otherwise, the inhalation valve opens to allow ambient air to be drawn in and the pulse gas delivery system delivers a pulse of oxygen in response to the onset of inhalation.
Claims21
A supplementary oxygen system for variable-altitude use, the system comprising:
- a valve manifold having an input cylinder port, a supply port, an input selection valve, first and second outputs and an output selection valve, the input selection valve being in fluid communication with an input to the output selection valve via a link passage;
- a pulse gas delivery system in fluid communication with the second output and that is activatable to deliver a pulse of gas of predetermined duration;
- wherein
- the input cylinder port is connectable via a regulator to a pressure vessel containing compressed oxygen and the supply port is adapted to receive a connector from an external oxygen supply;
- the input selection valve is switchable between a first position in which gas flow from the input cylinder port is directed towards the link passage and a second position in which gas flow from a supply port is directed towards the link passage;
- and
- the output selection valve is switchable between a first position in which gas flowing through the valve manifold is directed to the first output and a second position in which gas flowing through the valve manifold is directed to the second output and to the pulse gas delivery system.
A supplementary oxygen system for variable-altitude use, the system comprising:
- a valve manifold that is connectable via a regulator to a pressure vessel containing compressed oxygen, the valve manifold having first and second outputs and an output selection valve;
- a pulse gas delivery system in fluid communication with the second output and that is activatable to deliver a pulse of gas of predetermined duration;
- and
- a switching mechanism responsive to atmospheric pressure, wherein
- if the atmospheric pressure is below a threshold level then the output selection valve is in a first position in which gas flowing through the manifold is directed to the first output and if atmospheric pressure is above the threshold level then the output selection valve is in a second position in which gas flowing through the manifold is directed to the second output and to the pulse gas delivery system.
A supplementary oxygen system for variable-altitude use, the system comprising:
- a valve manifold that is connectable via a regulator to a pressure vessel containing compressed oxygen, the valve manifold having first and second outputs and an output selection valve;
- a pulse gas delivery system in fluid communication with the second output and that is activatable to deliver a pulse of gas of predetermined duration;
- and
- a pressure responsive element responsive to atmospheric pressure and a switching valve seat arranged such that the switching valve seat is either open or closed in response to a state of the pressure responsive element, wherein
- if atmospheric pressure is below a threshold level then the switching valve seat is in its low-pressure configuration and the output selection valve is in a first position in which gas flowing through the valve manifold is directed to the first output and if the atmospheric pressure is above the threshold level then the output selection valve is in a second position in which gas flowing through the manifold is directed to the second output and to the pulse gas delivery system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.