# US 2014/0190475 A1 · Exhaust air transfer device for open system underwater diving

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- Number: US 2014/0190475 A1
- Document ID: US20140190475A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/844,162
- Filed: 2013-03-15
- Published: 2014-07-10
- Earliest claimed: 2009-05-19
- Assignees: Davenport Innovations, Inc.
- Inventors: Steven Roy Davenport
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140190475A1

## CPC

- B63C 11/2227: {Second-stage regulators (B63C11/2245 takes precedence)}
- B01F 23/23121: {having injection means, e.g. nozzles with circumferential outlet}
- B01F 23/23122: {having elements opening under air pressure, e.g. valves}
- B63C 11/22: carried by diver
- B01F 23/231262: {having disc shape}
- B01F 23/231265: {being tubes, tubular elements, cylindrical elements or set of tubes}
- B63C 2011/182: {comprising devices for discharge of exhalation air into ambient water, e.g. ducts to back of head}
- B63C: LAUNCHING, HAULING-OUT, OR DRY-DOCKING OF VESSELS; LIFE-SAVING IN WATER; EQUIPMENT FOR DWELLING OR WORKING UNDER WATER; MEANS FOR SALVAGING OR SEARCHING FOR UNDERWATER OBJECTS (floating nets, floating slipways, or the like for recovering aircraft from the water B63B35/52)
- B01F: MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING (mixing paints B44D3/06)

## Abstract

Apparatus for use during open system diving to support underwater human respiration. In accordance with various embodiments, an air supply provides a supply of air along a supply conduit. A regulator is adapted for engagement with a diver's mouth to receive air from the supply during an inhale cycle and to direct a mixture of water and exhaust air away from the diver along an exhaust conduit during an exhale cycle. An air/water separator separates the exhaust air from the water in said mixture and directs the separated exhaust air through an exhaust air port. In some embodiments, a one-way stop valve is provided within the air/water separator to prevent back flow. In further embodiments, a bubble diffuser emits the exhaust air as a fine mist of bubbles into the surrounding water.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An open system breathing apparatus to support underwater human respiration, comprising:
a stage-2 regulator configured to supply air from an air source to an underwater diver; and
a bubble diffuser adapted to receive exhaust air from the air/water separator, the bubble diffuser comprising a housing with a planar sidewall having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, wherein the exhaust air passes through the apertures and into the surrounding water as an array of bubbles.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the air source comprises an air tank mounted to a back of the diver, and the bubble diffuser is secured to the tank.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the bubble diffuser is secured to the tank via a magnet.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a conduit that couples the air/water separator to the regulator, the conduit comprising a one-way stop valve that is normally closed during an exhale cycle and which opens at the conclusion of said exhale cycle to facilitate a flow of water into the conduit and an exhaust chamber of the regulator to reduce occurrence of a free-flow condition.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an air/water separator comprising a one-way stop valve with a floating member that temporarily seals an exhaust air outlet port when a level of water within the air/water separator reaches a predetermined threshold level.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the floating member is hingedly affixed to a swivel to allow rotation of the floating member within an interior chamber of the separator.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bubble diffuser comprises a plurality of interior noise baffling chambers separated by at least one one-way check valve to facilitate diffusion of the exhaust air into a succession of relatively small discrete bubbles.

### Claim 8

An apparatus comprising a bubble diffuser adapted to receive exhaust air along a conduit from a human diver engaged in open system self contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) diving, the bubble diffuser comprising a housing with a mounting feature adapted for mounting to an air tank secured to the diver, the housing adapted to receive a volume of said exhaust air and to transfer the same through a plurality of apertures extending through the housing as an array of bubbles into the surrounding water.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The apparatus of claim 8, in which the bubble diffuser comprises a first interior chamber within the housing in fluidic communication with said conduit to receive the exhaust air, a second chamber within the housing smaller than the first chamber in fluidic communication with the plurality of apertures, and a one-way check valve disposed between the first chamber and the second chamber to facilitate flow of said exhaust air from the first chamber to the second chamber and to prevent flow of said exhaust air from the second chamber to the first chamber.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the plurality of apertures is characterized as a first plurality of apertures, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a third chamber within the housing separated from the second chamber by an interior plate having a second plurality of apertures larger than the first plurality of apertures so that bubbles of the exhaust air of a first size are formed within the second chamber and bubbles of the exhaust air of a smaller, second size are formed within the third chamber as the exhaust air flows from the first chamber to the second chamber, and then from the second chamber to the third chamber.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising an air/water separator adapted to receive a mixture of the exhaust air and water from a state-2 regulator used by the diver.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The apparatus of claim 8, in which the mounting feature comprises a tab flange which extends from an end of the housing adapted to contactingly engage a strap used to secure the air tank to the diver.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The apparatus of claim 8, in which the bubble diffuser further comprises a hinge assembly with opposing first and second ends, the first end adapted to be attached to the air tank, the second end attached to the housing to facilitate rotational movement of the housing relative to an attitude of the diver.

### Claim 14 (depends on 8)

The apparatus of claim 8, in which the bubble diffuser comprises a plurality of interior noise baffling chambers separated by at least one one-way check valve to facilitate diffusion of the exhaust air into a succession of relatively small discrete bubbles as the exhaust air successively passes through said plurality of interior noise baffling chambers.

### Claim 15 (depends on 8)

The apparatus of claim 8, in which the housing further comprises a plurality of external discharge tubes respectively coupled to the plurality of apertures extending through the housing, the plurality of external discharge tubes comprising a first subset of a first overall length and a second subset of a different second overall length to maintain bubble separation as the exhaust air exits the housing as the array of bubbles into the surrounding water.

### Claim 16 (depends on 8)

The apparatus of claim 8, in which the air tank has an outermost side surface at a selected radius of curvature, and the housing has a curvilinearly extending base surface that nominally matches the selected radius of curvature so that the housing contactingly engages the tank substantially over an entirety of the base surface.

### Claim 17 (depends on 8)

The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a stage-2 regulator configured to supply air from an air source to an underwater diver, and an air/water separator adapted to receive a mixture of the exhaust air and water from the regulator, the air/water separator comprising a port that remains open to a volume of surrounding water adjacent the diver, wherein the exhaust air is directed by the conduit to the bubble diffuser or through the port in the air/water separator responsive to a relative elevational distance between the air/water separator and the bubble diffuser established responsive to an attitude of the diver in said surrounding water.

### Claim 18

An apparatus, comprising:
a stage-2 regulator configured to supply air to an underwater diver engaged in open system self contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) diving from an air tank secured to the back of the diver; and
a bubble diffuser comprising a housing, a mounting feature which secures the housing to the air tank, and a conduit which establishes a conduit path from the regulator to the housing, the housing adapted to receive a volume of exhaust air from the diver via the conduit and to transfer the same through a plurality of apertures extending through the housing as an array of bubbles into the surrounding water.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The apparatus of claim 18, in which the bubble diffuser comprises a first interior chamber within the housing in fluidic communication with said conduit to receive the exhaust air, a second chamber within the housing smaller than the first chamber in fluidic communication with the plurality of apertures, and a one-way check valve disposed between the first chamber and the second chamber to facilitate flow of said exhaust air from the first chamber to the second chamber and to prevent flow of said exhaust air from the second chamber to the first chamber.

### Claim 20 (depends on 18)

The apparatus of claim 18, in which the housing further comprises a plurality of external discharge tubes respectively coupled to the plurality of apertures extending through the housing, the plurality of external discharge tubes comprising a first subset of a first overall length and a second subset of a different second overall length to maintain bubble separation as the exhaust air exits the housing as the array of bubbles into the surrounding water.