U.S. patent number 3,599,635 [Application Number 04/806,603] was granted by the patent office on 1971-08-17 for hanging quick donning mask suspension.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sierra Engineering Co.. Invention is credited to William Kenneth Ansite.
United States Patent |
3,599,635 |
Ansite |
August 17, 1971 |
HANGING QUICK DONNING MASK SUSPENSION
Abstract
A device for one hand donning of a head harness suspending an
oxygen breathing mask wherein lateral supports are arcuate in shape
to extend well over the ears of the user, even though the user may
be wearing earphones, and wherein there is a transverse support or
neck piece attached to the rear ends of the lateral support by
hinges, the pivot axes of which are disposed at such an angle that
the lateral supports can fold toward each other in a flat package
and which when opened will assume positions adapted to readily fit
over the head. The suspension is adjustable to size by a crown
strap attached to midportions of the lateral supports and a rear
strap which extends from the crown strap to a point of attachment
with the transverse support. The front ends of the lateral support
are pivotally connected to the mask so that when collapsed the mask
will assume a tilted position improving the compactness of the
package but capable of tilting to a proper operating position when
the mask is donned.
Inventors: |
Ansite; William Kenneth
(Altadena, CA) |
Assignee: |
Sierra Engineering Co. (Sierra
Madre, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
25194418 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/806,603 |
Filed: |
March 12, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
128/206.28;
128/207.11 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A62B
18/084 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A62B
18/08 (20060101); A62B 18/00 (20060101); A62b
009/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/146.7 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gaudet; Richard A.
Assistant Examiner: Dunne; G. F.
Claims
Having described the invention, what I claim as new in support of
Letters Patent Is:
1. A quick donning mask and foldable suspension for mounting said
mask on the head of user comprising right and left lateral supports
having each a substantially arcuate shape wherein an arcuate
midportion is adapted to extend above the ears of the user and
respective front and rear ends are adapted to extend respectively
forward and rearward of the ears, said lateral supports being
continuous and substantially rigid throughout the length between
front and rear ends, a separate rearwardly located substantially
rigid transverse support adapted to extend across the upper parts
of the user's neck, respective lateral ends of said transverse
support having a hinged attachment to respective rear ends of said
lateral supports, the axis of movement of said hinged attachment
being in the plane of said lateral supports and when worn being
substantially parallel to the adjacent surface of the user's head,
a transverse crown strap having ends connected to respective
lateral supports, lateral extensions on respective right and left
sides of said mask and a pivotal connection between an outer end of
each said extensions and the font end of the respective lateral
support, said lateral supports when removed from the user's head
having folded positions extending toward each other and overlying
said transverse support and the inner end of said mask.
2. A quick donning mask and foldable suspension as in claim 1
including a rear strap extending between rear portions of said
lateral supports, a length adjustment between the ends of said
transverse crown strap and between the ends of said rear strap.
3. A quick donning mask and foldable suspension as in claim 1
wherein the front ends of said lateral supports have each an
outwardly extending end portion terminating at a location clear of
the user's cheeks and attached to the end of the respective lateral
extension.
4. A quick donning mask and foldable suspension as in claim 3
wherein the pivot connection between the respective lateral support
and lateral extension is in fore and aft alignment with a hinged
connection.
5. A quick donning mask and foldable suspension as in claim 4
wherein the axes of said hinged connections are disposed in an
angular relationship one with respect to the other.
6. A quick donning mask and foldable suspension as in claim 2
wherein the rear strap and crown strap are flexible bands.
7. A quick donning mask and foldable suspension as in claim 1
wherein there is a pivotal connection between the inner ends of
said respective lateral extensions and said mask.
Description
The common practice for pilot and crew of an airplane is to operate
without a breathing mask because the cabins and cockpits are
customarily pressurized to compensate for high altitude flight.
There is of course always the prospect of an emergency situation
arising wherein it may be necessary for the user to quickly don an
oxygen breathing mask. Consequently, each user is provided with a
mask designed to fit his head and face and which must be kept handy
and within reach so that it can be quickly donned when needed.
However necessary it may be to have a mask ready to meet an
emergency situation, it cannot be such that when stowed it
interferes with the user's freedom in the cockpit of an airplane
where space is at a premium and which is crowded with equipment.
Mask suspensions which are not collapsible in any way take up
entirely too much room when stowed. Even mask suspensions which are
partially collapsible tend to take up more room than can properly
be sacrificed to them, especially where when collapsed they still
occupy appreciable space. Though the mask suspension itself may be
capable of being compactly collapsed, when there is a mask attached
to the suspension, the mask itself occupies appreciable space and,
when it is mounted on the suspension in a position capable of being
immediately applied to the face for use, the combination of mask
and attached suspension makes an assembly which is particularly
difficult to collapse into one small bundle.
It is therefore among the objects of the invention to provide a new
and improved quick donning mask and foldable suspension which when
folded or collapsed makes a particularly flat package which is easy
to stow and unobtrusive, and which is so constructed that as
promptly as removed from stowed position, the parts will fall
automatically in a donning relationship so that the combination can
be quickly applied over the user's head with a single hand
operation.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved
quick donning mask and foldable suspension assembly which is of
such construction that when the assembly is unfolded from a flat
compact position to a usable condition, it can be easily donned
over the user's head even though the user may be wearing a pair of
cumbersome earphones which cannot be removed.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and
improved quick donning mask and foldable suspension which is
constructed of a substantially minimum number of simple parts
readily adjustable to fit each individual wearer, few in number so
as to make possible a simple inexpensive and well ordered assembly
and which are joined together in such fashion that they will fall
open automatically to a quick donning position, thereby minimizing
the time needed for withdrawing the device from a compactly stowed
location and placing it on the user in usable condition.
With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the
construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of
the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as
hereinafter set forth, pointed out in the appended claims and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
In the drawing:
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the mask and suspension in
extended condition on a user's head with the mask ready for
use.
FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view showing the suspension in
place.
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing the mask and foldable
suspension removed from the user's head and folded into a stowing
condition.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the device in the folded condition of FIG.
3.
In an embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose of
illustration there is shown for illustrative purposes the head 10
of a user supported by his neck 11 wherein ears 12 are visible, not
covered by earphones but which would normally have earphones in
place under conditions wherein the quick donning mask and foldable
suspension would be worn.
The foldable suspension consists of right and left lateral supports
15 and 16 which are of the same general shape, form and
configuration except for the fact that the lateral support 15 is
bent to fit the right side of the head and the lateral support 16
is bent to fit the left side of the head.
Except for the left- and right-hand configuration each lateral
support has a rear end 17, a front end 18 and a widely arcuate
midportion 19. The midportion 19 arcs widely so as to clear the ear
12, for example, by an ample extent so that even though the ears
may be covered by a conventional earphone set, the midportion will
have a large enough space intermediate front and rear ends to
adequately clear any earphones which might be in place.
A transverse support or neckpiece 20 is of appreciable length and
adapted to extend across the upper end or nape of the neck somewhat
below the curve of the skull at the rear. The transverse support is
relatively rigid so as to substantially hold its form under all
circumstances. At the right-hand end 21 there is a hinge 22
attached on one side to the transverse support 20 and on the other
side to the rear end 17 of the lateral support. The pivot axis of
the hinge 22 extends obliquely rearwardly in its general
relationship to the head 10 of the user, the configuration on the
relatively flat rear end 17 and its shape with respect to the head
10 together with the shape and configuration of the immediately
adjacent portion of the right-hand end 21 being such as to make the
preferred direction of the pivot axis possible. The same attachment
is provided also on the left side wherein a left-hand end 23 of the
transverse support 20 is attached by means of a hinge 24 to the
rear end 17 of the left lateral support.
Extending between midportions of the right and left lateral
supports is a transverse crown strap 25 which is provided with an
adjusting buckle 26, the strap extending through respective
openings 27 and 27' in the lateral supports. A rear strap 28
engages respective openings 29 and 29' in the lateral supports just
forward of the respective hinges 22 and 24, and an adjusting buckle
30 is connected to the rear strap 28.
The transverse support 20 is of relatively ample dimensions in the
interest of comfort and may, if desired, be provided with folding
portions 32 and 33 adapted to be folded upon each other and secured
by snap fasteners 34.
A breathing mask 35 of substantially conventional form is provided
with a bracket 36 on which is a right-hand extension 37 and a
left-hand extension 38. A pivot pin 39 pivotally mounts the right
side of the bracket 36 to the right side of the mask 35 and a
similar pivot pin 40 pivotally mounts the left side of the bracket
36 to the left side of the mask 35.
On the front end 18 of each lateral support there is a telescoping
mechanism 41 of substantially conventional construction which
enables the mask 35 to be pulled yieldably forward away from the
face against spring tension for manipulation and adjustment after
which it is pulled automatically back into snug position, as shown
in FIG. 1. The right-hand and left-hand extensions 37 and 38 are
secured at their respective outer ends to forward ends of the
telescoping mechanism in each case. The telescoping mechanism in
turn is fixed in position by means of a tab 42 which is attached to
an enlargement at the front end 18.
It is also significant to note, as readily observable in FIG. 2,
that there is an outward bow at the location 43 in each lateral
support so that a portion 44 immediately adjacent the front end 18
stands well clear of the face of the user, thereby to further ease
and facilitate both donning and wearing.
The combination quick donning mask and foldable suspension when in
use has the parts extended as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with the
arcuate midportions 19 amply clearing the ears, the transverse
support being snugly in place against the nape of the neck and the
mask comfortably in place over the nose and mouth of the user. The
buckles 26 and 30 can be used to adjust the straps to a
satisfactory fit.
When the suspension is removed, the lateral supports fold toward
each other in the direction of the arrows shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
The length of the transverse support and the spread of the
extensions 37 and 38 are such that the lateral supports do not
exactly overlap but move toward each other so that the midportions
are in close proximity. Since the straps 25 and 28 are flexible,
they fold down into a compact position. In this folded
relationship, the pivot pins 39 and 40 permit the mask 35 to tilt
so that it can be moved into the most compact relationship
permitted by its size. The folded lateral supports and transverse
supports make a relatively flat package by reason of the angular
relationship of the axes of the hinges 22 and 24 being such as to
permit a compact folding. In this collapsed relationship the
assembly may be stowed in a bag or stowed on an appropriate
shelf.
When the device is to be used, it is removed from the shelf and the
usual donning maneuver causes it to assume its intended shape, the
lateral supports 15 and 16 will fall outwardly into natural
position for donning, limited by the adjusted length of the crown
strap 25 and positioned by the proper angular relationship of the
hinges 22 and 24 to each other and to the apparatus as a whole. In
this automatically sized open position the device can be quickly
applied over the head 10 of the user with a single hand
operation.
While the invention has herein been shown and described in what is
conceived to be a practical and effective embodiment, it is
recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope
of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details
disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims
so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices.
* * * * *