Air filtration system including a helmet assembly

An air filtration system for filtering air between a head and body of a user and an environment external to the user, said air filtration system comprising:

• a helmet assembly adapted to be mounted on the head of the user and including a base section and a facial section, said base section of said helmet assembly further including an inner structural shell and an outer structural shell extending from said inner structural shell to define at least one air flow channel between said inner and outer shells for channeling the air about the head of the user;
• a gown including a body portion for covering at least a portion of the body of the user and a head portion for covering said base section of said helmet assembly, said head portion of said gown operating as a filter medium to filter air between the user and the external environment;
• a face shield mounted to said head portion of said gown to cover said facial section of said helmet assembly thereby permitting the user to view through said head portion of said gown;
• a fan module mounted to at least one of said inner and outer shells of said helmet assembly;
• and
• a scroll housing including at least one air inlet and at least two air outlets, said fan module drawing air into said air inlet of said scroll housing and distributing the air out of said scroll housing through said air outlets and into said air flow channel for distributing air about the head of the user.

A positioning and supporting system for assisting a single user in self-gowning as the user maintains sterility, said positioning and supporting system comprising:

• a helmet assembly adapted to be mounted on a head of the user, said helmet assembly including a base section and a facial section extending from said base section to define a facial opening;
• a gown including a body portion for covering at least a portion of the body of the user and a head portion for covering said base section of said helmet assembly;
• a face shield mounted to said head portion of said gown to cover said facial opening thereby permitting the user to view through said head portion of said gown, said face shield including a mounting mechanism on said face shield to support said face shield on said helmet assembly;
• and
• said base section of said helmet assembly including a mounting device positioned relative to said facial opening, said mounting device interlocking with said mounting mechanism on said face shield to automatically center said face shield over said facial opening and to support said gown and said face shield thereby assisting the single user in self-gowning while maintaining a relative position between said gown and face shield and said helmet assembly as the user maintains sterility.

A helmet assembly adapted to be utilized with a positioning and supporting system having a gown and a face shield wherein said helmet assembly assists a single user in self-gowning as the user maintains sterility, said assembly comprising:

• a base section;
• a facial section extending from said base section to define a facial opening for receiving the face shield;
• and
• said base section including a mounting device positioned relative to the facial opening, said mounting device being adapted to interlock with the face shield to automatically center the face shield over said facial opening and to support the gown and the face shield thereby assisting the single user in self-gowning while maintaining a relative position between the gown and face shield and said base section as the user maintains sterility.

A helmet assembly of an air filtration system for controlling a volume of air flowing into the air filtration system and for providing audible indication of a minimum and a maximum volume of air to a user, said assembly comprising:

• an inner structural shell;
• an outer structural shell extending from said inner structural shell to define at least one air flow channel between said inner and outer shells for channeling air about the head of the user;
• a fan in fluid communication with said air flow channel for drawing air into said air flow channel;
• a motor having an output operatively connected to said fan to drive said fan at a plurality of rotational speeds correlating to the volume of air flowing into said air flow channel;
• a power supply selectively activated and deactivated to affect said output of said motor;
• and
• a controller that selectively activates and deactivates said power supply at an activation rate having a frequency audible to the user for providing audible indication of the minimum and the maximum volume of air to the user.

An air filtration system for filtering a volume of air flowing into said air filtration system between a head and body of a user and an environment external to the user and for providing audible indication of a minimum and maximum volume of air to the user, said air filtration system comprising:

• a helmet assembly adapted to be mounted on the head of the user and including a base section and a facial section, said base section of said helmet assembly further including an inner structural shell and an outer structural shell extending from said inner structural shell to define at least one air flow channel between said inner and outer shells for channeling the air about the head of the user;
• a gown including a body portion for covering at least a portion of the body of the user and a head portion for covering said helmet assembly, said head portion of said gown operating as a filter medium to filter air between the user and the external environment;
• a face shield mounted to said head portion of said gown to cover said facial section of said helmet assembly thereby permitting the user to view through said head portion of said gown;
• a fan in fluid communication with said air flow channel for drawing air into said air flow channel of said helmet assembly;
• a motor having an output operatively connected to said fan to drive said fan at a plurality of rotational speeds correlating to the volume of air flowing into said air flow channel;
• a power supply selectively activated and deactivated to affect said output of said motor;
• and
• a controller that selectively activates and deactivates said power supply at an activation rate having a frequency audible to the user for providing audible indication of the minimum and the maximum volume of air to the user.

A helmet assembly of an air filtration system for mounting to a head of a user to minimize strain on the head and neck of the user, said assembly comprising:

• a structural shell having a front section and a rear section;
• a rear support rigidly extending from said rear section of said structural shell;
• an adjustment segment mounted to said rear support and having first and second sides;
• a strap flexibly connected to and extending from said front section of said structural shell, said strap including a first end disposed within said first side of said adjustment segment, and a second end disposed within said second side of said adjustment segment;
• and
• an adjustment device mounted to said adjustment segment and engaging said first and second ends of said strap to manipulate said first and second ends toward each other to tighten said strap and to pull said strap from said front section as said rear support remains fixed relative to said rear section and said strap, and to manipulate said first and second ends away from each other to loosen said strap and to push said strap toward said front section as said rear support remains fixed relative to said rear section and said strap.

A helmet assembly of an air filtration system for mounting to a head of a user to minimize strain on the head and neck of the user, said assembly comprising:

• a structural shell having a front section and a rear section;
• a rear support rigidly extending from said rear section of said structural shell;
• an adjustment segment integrally included within said rear support and having first and second sides;
• a strap flexibly connected to and extending from said front section of said structural shell, said strap including a first end disposed within said first side of said adjustment segment, and a second end disposed within said second side of said adjustment segment;
• and
• an adjustment device mounted to said adjustment segment and engaging said first and second ends of said strap to manipulate said first and second ends toward each other to tighten said strap and to pull said strap from said front section as said rear support remains fixed relative to said rear section and said strap, and to manipulate said first and second ends away from each other to loosen said strap and to push said strap toward said front section as said rear support remains fixed relative to said rear section and said strap.

A helmet assembly of an air filtration system for mounting to a head of a user to minimize strain on the head and neck of the user, said assembly comprising:

• a structural shell having a front section and a rear section;
• a rear support rigidly extending from said rear section of said structural shell, an adjustment segment defining an adjustment aperture and having first and second sides;
• a strap flexibly connected to and extending from said front section of said structural shell, said strap including a first end disposed within said first side of said adjustment segment into said adjustment aperture, and a second end disposed within said second side of said adjustment segment into said adjustment aperture;
• an adjustment device mounted to said adjustment segment and engaging said first and second ends of said strap to manipulate said first and second ends toward each other to tighten said strap and to pull said strap from said front section as said rear support remains fixed relative to said rear section and said strap, and to manipulate said first and second ends away from each other to loosen said strap and to push said strap toward said front section as said rear support remains fixed relative to said rear section and said strap, wherein said adjustment device is further defined as an adjustment knob rotatably mounted from and extending into said adjustment aperture to engage said first and second ends of said strap, said adjustment knob including an inner surface facing said rear support and said inner surface including a plurality of teeth;
• and
• a flexible support bar extending from said rear support, said support bar including at least one locking detent mating with said teeth of said adjustment knob to lock said strap relative to said rear support.

An air filtration system for filtering air between a head and body of a user and an environment external to the user and for minimizing strain on the head and neck of the user, said air filtration system comprising:

• a helmet assembly adapted to be mounted on the head of the user and including a structural shell having a front section and a rear section;
• a gown including a body portion for covering at least a portion of the body of the user and a head portion for covering said helmet assembly, said head portion of said gown operating as a filter medium to filter air between the user and the external environment;
• a face shield mounted to said head portion of said gown to cover a section of said helmet assembly thereby permitting the user to view through said head portion of said gown;
• a rear support rigidly extending from said rear section of said structural shell, an adjustment segment mounted to said rear support and having first and second sides;
• a strap flexibly connected to and extending from said front section of said structural shell, said strap including a first end disposed within said first side of said adjustment segment, and a second end disposed within said second side of said adjustment segment;
• and
• an adjustment device mounted to said adjustment segment and engaging said first and second ends of said strap to manipulate said first and second ends toward each other to tighten said strap and to pull said strap from said front section as said rear support remains fixed relative to said rear section and said strap, and to manipulate said first and second ends away from each other to loosen said strap and to push said strap toward said front section as said rear support remains fixed relative to said rear section and said strap.

An air filtration system for filtering air between a head and body of a user and an environment external to the user and for minimizing strain on the head and neck of the user, said air filtration system comprising:

• a helmet assembly adapted to be mounted on the head of the user and including a structural shell having a front section and a rear section;
• a gown including a body portion for covering at least a portion of the body of the user and a head portion for covering said helmet assembly, said head portion of said gown operating as a filter medium to filter air between the user and the external environment;
• a face shield mounted to said head portion of said gown to cover a section of said helmet assembly thereby permitting the user to view through said head portion of said gown;
• a rear support rigidly extending from said rear section of said structural shell;
• an adjustment segment integrally included within said rear support and having first and second sides;
• a strap flexibly connected to and extending from said front section of said structural shell, said strap including a first end disposed within said first side of said adjustment segment, and a second end disposed within said second side of said adjustment segment;
• and
• an adjustment device mounted to said adjustment segment and engaging said first and second ends of said strap to manipulate said first and second ends toward each other to tighten said strap and to pull said strap from said front section as said rear support remains fixed relative to said rear section and said strap, and to manipulate said first and second ends away from each other to loosen said strap and to push said strap toward said front section as said rear support remains fixed relative to said rear section and said strap.

A visual positioning system for assisting a single user in self-gowning as the user maintains sterility, said visual positioning system comprising:

• a helmet assembly adapted to be mounted on a head of the user, said helmet assembly including a base section and a facial section extending from said base section to define a facial opening;
• a gown including a body portion for covering at least a portion of the body of the user and a head portion for covering said base section of said helmet assembly;
• a face shield mounted to said head portion of said gown to cover said facial opening thereby permitting the user to view through said head portion of said gown, said face shield including a first visual indicator on said face shield to enable the user to visually align said face shield with said helmet assembly;
• and
• said base section of said helmet assembly including a second visual indicator positioned relative to said facial opening for alignment with said first visual indicator on said face shield to automatically center said face shield over said facial opening thereby assisting the single user is self-gowning while maintaining a relative position between said gown and face shield and said helmet assembly a's the user maintains sterility.

A helmet assembly adapted to be utilized with a visual positioning system having a gown and a face shield wherein said helmet assembly assists a single user in self-gowning as the user maintains sterility, said assembly comprising:

• a base section;
• a facial section extending from said base section to define a facial opening for receiving the face shield;
• and
• said base section including a second visual indicator positioned relative to the facial opening, said second visual indicator of said base section being adapted to align with a first visual indicator of the face shield to automatically center the face shield over said facial opening thereby assisting the single user in self-gowning while maintaining a relative position between the gown and face shield and said base section as the user maintains sterility.