Breathing gas supply system
AssigneeHoneywell Normalair-Garrett (Holdings) Limited
InventorRobert John Phillips
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A breathing gas supply system for supplying breathable gas in an aircraft includes an oxygen enriching apparatus which is operable in at least two modes to provide product gas with varying oxygen concentrations. A first feed line feeds more highly enriched product gas to one or more breathing gas outlets, and a second feed line feeds less highly enriched product gas e.g. to an aircraft cabin for breathing during normal high altitude flight. A control means controls oxygen enrichment apparatus to provide highly enriched product gas to the breathing gas outlet or outlets in the first mode of operation or less highly enriched product gas e.g. to the cabin for normal breathing, and controls a diverter valve. Which directs the product gas to the respective feed line.
Claims12
A breathing gas supply system for supplying breathable gas in an aircraft including an oxygen enriching apparatus which is operable in at least two modes to provide product gas with varying oxygen concentrations, a first feed line to feed more highly enriched product gas to one or more breathing gas outlets, and a second feed line to feed less highly enriched product gas to an aircraft cabin for breathing during normal high altitude flight, and a controller to control the oxygen enrichment apparatus to provide highly enriched product gas to the breathing gas outlet or outlets in the first mode of operation or less highly enriched product gas to an aircraft cabin for breathing during normal high altitude flight, and to control a diverter valve which directs the product gas to the respective feed line.
A breathing gas supply system for supplying breathable gas in an aircraft including an oxygen enriching apparatus which is operable in at least two modes to provide product gas with varying oxygen concentrations, a first feed line to feed more highly enriched product gas to one or more breathing gas outlets, and a second feed line to feed less highly enriched product gas for breathing, and a controller to control the oxygen enrichment apparatus to provide highly enriched product gas to the breathing gas outlet or outlets in the first mode of operation or less highly enriched product gas for breathing, and to control a diverter valve which directs the product gas to the respective feed line, wherein the oxygen enriching apparatus includes a plurality of molecular sieve beds which are operable cyclically to adsorb non-oxygen gas during a charging phase to produce product gas for breathing, and de-adsorb non-oxygen gas to atmosphere during a venting phase to clean the bed of non-oxygen gas, the product gas produced in the second mode of operation having about a 40-60% oxygen concentration, whilst the product gas produced in the first mode of operation has about a 70-90% oxygen concentration, and wherein the oxygen enriching apparatus includes a first number N molecular sieve beds, and in the first mode of operation a second number X molecular sieve beds less than the first number N are operated to produce the highly enriched product gas at a flow rate of Y, and in the second mode of operation all N molecular sieve beds are operated to produce the less highly enriched product gas at a flow rate Z, where Z is greater than Y.
An aircraft including a breathing gas supply system including an oxygen enriching apparatus which is operable in at least two modes to provide product gas with varying oxygen concentrations, a first feed line to feed more highly enriched product gas to one or more breathing gas outlets in an aircraft cabin, and a second feed line to feed less highly enriched product gas to the aircraft cabin for breathing during normal high altitude flight, and a controller to control the oxygen enrichment apparatus to provide highly enriched product gas to the breathing gas outlet or outlets in the first mode of operation or less highly enriched product gas to the aircraft cabin for breathing during normal high altitude flight in the second mode, and to control a diverter valve which directs the product gas to the respective feed line.
A method for supplying breathing gas to occupants of an aircraft cabin during high altitude flight comprising the steps of providing an oxygen enriching apparatus which is operable in at least two modes to provide product gas with varying oxygen concentrations, controlling the oxygen enrichment apparatus to provide highly enriched product gas when in a first operating mode and less highly enriched product gas for breathing when in a second operating mode, providing the more highly enriched product gas from the apparatus to one or more emergency breathing gas outlets in the aircraft cabin in the first operating mode, and providing the less highly enriched product gas from the apparatus to the aircraft cabin for breathing by occupants during normal high altitude flight in the second operating mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.