Refuge shelter, coupling and method

A method for providing a refuge chamber for miners in a mine comprising the steps of:

• opening a container made of metal;
• and
• expanding a tent, having an interior, that is disposed in the container in an undeployed state to a deployed state that extends from the container to provide a protected atmosphere for the miners, the container accessible from inside the tent, the tent having a floor;
• wherein the tent includes an inflatable support structure which is inflatable from an undeployed state to a deployed state, and an airtight seal which seals the tent to the container in a deployed state, the support structure having a plurality of hoses interconnected by couplers, the hoses having an inside diameter of less than 5 inches and a jacketing that is resistant to flammability, the support structure disposed in the interior of the tent in the deployed state and in the undeployed state;
• wherein the container includes a bank of compressed gas bottles that are operable to inflate the support structure thereby expanding the tent to the deployed state, when the support structure is in a deployed state, the hoses and the couplers are maintained with a pressure between 40-80 psi, the refuge shelter in the deployed state provides at least 15 square feet of floor space per person and 30 to 60 cubic feet of volume per person according to the following:
• unrestricted volume (Mining height (inches) cubic feet) per person;
• −36 or less . . . 30
• >36−<=42 . . . 37.5
• >42−<=48 . . . 45
• >48−<=54 . . . 52.5
• >54 . . . 60;
• a regulator fluidically connected to at least one compressed gas bottle of the bank of compressed gas bottles;
• and
• an inflation hose fluidically connected to the regulator and to one coupler of the couplers through which compressed gas inflates the support structure, the regulator and the inflation hose disposed in the container in the undeployed state.