Emergency visual assistance device
OwnerJan Peter Fuchsinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An emergency visual assistance device which provides an operator at an operator station access to operationally necessary visual information when that visual information is obscured by smoke or other vision-obstructing matter, and a method for using that device. In the device's basic version, a transparent panel is attached to either end of an elongated rigid hollow spacer tube in a manner which provides a substantially airtight seal. The preferred embodiment includes flexible skirts at each end of the device, and an illumination means mounted within the device. The flexible skirts serve mainly to exclude smoke from the operator's visual pathway, and the illumination means provides light for illuminating the visual information.
Claims20
An emergency visual assistance device for use in environments contaminated with smoke, or other vision-obstructing matter, comprising:
- a. a plurality of transparent panels of predetermined shape and thickness;
- and
- b. a matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means, to which said transparent panels are mounted at either end so as to form a visual pathway of predetermined length;
- and
- c. a sealant means disposed between said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means and said transparent panels for providing a substantially airtight seal between said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means and said transparent panels;
- and
- d. a flexible, substantially airtight skirt mounted at either end of the assembly formed by the combination of said transparent panels, said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means, and said sealant means, for forming a substantially sealed visual pathway between the operator and the visual information.
An operator station emergency visual assistance method, for allowing an operator continued access to operationally necessary visual information when access to said visual information is blocked by smoke or other vision-obstructing matter, which comprises:
- a. positioning an emergency visual assistance device between the eyes of the operator and said visual information thereby providing a clear visual pathway between the eyes of the operator and the visual information,
- b. said emergency visual assistance device having a plurality of transparent panels of predetermined shape and thickness, a matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means to which said transparent panels are mounted at either end so as to form a visual pathway of predetermined length, and a sealant means disposed between said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means and said transparent panels for providing a substantially airtight seal between said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means and said transparent panels,
- c. each end of the emergency visual assistance device having a flexible, substantially airtight skirt mounted, for forming a substantially sealed visual pathway between the operator and the visual information,
- d. said matte-finished translucent elongated rigid hollow spacer means of the emergency visual assistance device having an illumination means mounted within said spacer means the for illuminating the visual information,
- e. one end of the emergency visual assistance device being positioned as close as possible to the eyes of the operator, and
- f. the other end of the emergency visual assistance device being positioned as close as possible to the visual information.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.