Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1
MODULAR PAPR SYSTEMS AND MODULES, ACCESSORIES AND METHODS
THEREFOR
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to respirators, and more particular
powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs).
BACKGROUND
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the vast importance of
ensuring availability of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to
essential
workers, and particularly to medical personnel who run perhaps the greatest
risk of
exposure, and whose collective wellbeing is critical in order to sustain
sufficient
healthcare coverage for the broader population. As a result, more than ever,
there is a
demand to novel solutions in the field of PPE that can at least partially
mitigate recently
faced challenges that arose during a combination of high-volume demand,
inventory
shortages, and supply chain disruption. Though original motivation for
Applicant's novel
contributions to this field of endeavor originally arose in this context of
medical PPE for
health care workers, the same inventive principles derived for such purpose
can also
be put to use any variety of other environments or industries where
respirators are
useful or required, including industrial applications, agricultural
applications,
pharmaceuticals, petro-chemical and other chemical applications, mining, metal
fabrication, oil and gas, military, law enforcement, and firefighting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a modular
powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) system convertible between differently
powered modes of operation, said modular PAPR system comprising:
a blower module having an air inlet through which air is admissible into
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the blower module and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said
blower
module, said blower module housing one or more electrical components,
including at
least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the
blower
module via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively;
a removable battery module housing one or more batteries therein, and
configured for selective mechanical and electrical coupling to the blower
module in a
mated position therewith establishing electrical connection of said one or
more batteries
to a control circuit of the motorized blower for powering thereof by said one
or more
batteries; and
a cable connector possessed by the blower module, and also connected
to the control circuit of the motorized blower to allow selective powering
thereof via
mains power via selective connection of a power cable to said cable connector.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an air
delivery system for a bed occupant lain atop a bed, said system comprising:
a blower module having an air inlet through which air is admissible into
the blower module and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said
module,
said blower module housing one or more electrical components, including at
least a
motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower
module via
said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively;
a tent erected or erectable over at least part of the bed to at least
partially
enclose at least a headspace around a head of the bed occupant when lain atop
said
bed;
an air conduit connected or connectable to the air outlet of the blower
module and routed or routable therefrom to a working position feeding air from
the
blower module into the headspace to supply breathable air thereto.
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According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a modular
powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) system comprising:
a blower module having a blower module inlet through which air is
admissible into the blower module and a blower module outlet through which air
is
exhaustible from said module, said blower module housing one or more
electrical
components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust
air
into and from the blower module via said air inlet and said air outlet,
respectively;
a twin filter adapter module configured for selective coupling with the
blower module at the air inlet thereof to occupy a working position adjacent
thereto,
said twin filter adapter module having two adapter module inlets and a
singular adapter
module outlet, of which the singular adapter module outlet mates with the
blower
module inlet in the working position of the twin filter adapter module, and
the two
adapter module inlets are configured to matably receive respective air filters
that, with
the twin filter adapter and the air filters installed and the motorized blower
running, are
operable to filter ambient air drawn into the twin filter adapter through said
adapter
module inlets and onward into the blower module through the mated adapter
module
outlet and blower module inlet.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a modular
powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) system comprising:
a blower module having a blower module inlet through which air is
admissible into the blower module and a blower module outlet through which air
is
exhaustible from said module, said blower module housing one or more
electrical
components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust
air
into and from the blower module via said air inlet and said air outlet,
respectively; and
an air cooler module configured for selective coupling to the blower
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module outlet in downstream relation thereto and operable to perform cooling
of
outputted air therefrom when coupled thereto.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided an air cooler
for cooling of output air from a blown air source, said air cooler comprising
an air
channel having an inlet end through which blown output air from the blown air
source
is receivable by said air channel, and an opposing outlet end from which said
blown
output air from the blown air source is exhaustible from said air channel for
onward flow
to a destination space, and at least one cooling unit disposed in fluidly
communicating
relationship to the air channel to impart a cooling effect on the blown output
air passing
therethrough.
According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method
of cooling blown output air from a blower module of a powered air purifying
respirator
(PAPR), said method comprising installing an in-line air cooler in downstream
relation
to the blower module and upstream relation to a destination space to which
said blown
output air from blower module is conveyed for inhalation.
According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided an
apparatus for converting a head-borne shield into a more comprehensive head
covering
for a user's head, said apparatus comprising:
a rim assembly comprising:
a first rim piece for overlying a first peripheral margin area of the
head-borne shield at a first side thereof; and
a second rim piece for overlying a second peripheral margin area
of the head-borne shield at an opposing second side thereof, said first and
second rims
being configured for mated coupling to one another to clamp the first and
second
.. peripheral margin areas of the head-borne shield therebetween, thereby
rendering said
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head-borne shield a rimmed shield; and
flexible sheeting that, at a peripheral margin thereof, is secured or
securable to the rim assembly, and that also delimits a head opening through
which the
user's head is admissible to a headspace bound between the flexible sheeting
and the
rimmed shield.
According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method
of converting a head-borne shield into a more comprehensive head covering for
a user's
head, said method comprising assembling together a first rim piece and a
second rim
piece in a manner sandwiching a peripheral margin area of the head-borne
shield
therebetween, thereby converting said head-borne shield into a rimmed shield,
and,
with flexible sheeting secured to the assembled first and second rims at a
peripheral
margin of said flexible sheeting, delimiting a headspace between the flexible
sheeting
and the rimmed face shield, into which the user's head is admissible through
an opening
in said flexible sheeting, whereby the head-borne shield, the assembled rims
and the
flexible sheeting collectively form said more comprehensive head covering.
According to a ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided a blower
module for a powered air purifying respirator, said blower module comprising a
housing,
a motorized blower, an inlet through which air is drawn by operation of said
motorized
blower, and an outlet through which said air is exhausted by operation of said
motorized
blower, wherein said outlet movable relative to said housing into a plurality
of differently
aimed positions exhausting said air in different directions from said housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of blower, battery and pad filter modules of
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a modular powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) system of the present
invention, of
which the blower and battery modules are shown in an assembled state, and the
pad
filter model is shown in an exploded state decoupled from the blower module.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the same blower, battery and pad filter
modules of Figure 1, but with the pad filter module installed on the blower
module.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the same assembled blower and battery
module of Figure 1, with the pad filter module omitted, and replaced with a
substitutable
twin filter adapter module.
Figure 3A is a cross-sectional view of the blower, battery and twin filter
adapter modules of Figure 3, as sectioned in a longitudinal midplane denoted
by line A
¨A of Figure 3.
Figure 4 is an isolated bottom perspective view of the same twin filter
adapter module of Figure 3, showing an outlet thereof at which the twin filter
adapter is
couplable to an inlet of the blower module.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the same blower, battery and twin filter
adapter modules of Figure 3, but with the twin filter adapter module installed
on the
blower module with a pair of canister filters.
Figure 6 is a perspective view of the same assembled blower and battery
modules of the preceding figures, with an air cooler module installed at an
outlet of the
blower module to cool the blown output air emitted therefrom.
Figure 7 is an exploded perspective of the air cooler module of Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the same blower and battery modules of
the preceding figures, with the removable battery module decoupled from the
blower
module.
Figure 9 is another perspective view of the same blower and battery
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module as Figure 8, showing an electrical connector socket on the blower
module that
is revealed by removal of the battery module.
Figure 10 is another perspective view of the same blower module as
Figures 8 and 9, together with an AC/DC power supply module connectable to the
socket of the blower module for powering thereof via AC mains power when the
battery
module is removed.
Figure 11 is a perspective view illustrating use of the blower module and
AC/DC power supply module of Figure 10 with an accompanying air hose and head
tent to feed air to a headspace of a bed occupant.
Figure 12 is a perspective view illustrating use of the blower module and
AC/DC power supply module of Figure 10 with an accompanying air hose and full
body
tent to feed air to a full body space of a bed occupant.
Figure 13 is another perspective view of the same decoupled blower and
battery modules as Figure 8, and illustrating use of a power cord to establish
electrical
connection therebetween in said decoupled state to enable wearing of the two
modules
at different locations on a user's body.
Figure 14 is a top plan view of the same blower module as the preceding
figures, with a blower housing thereof swiveled to reposition its outlet duct
from the
straight-aimed position of the preceding figures to an obliquely aimed
position.
Figure 15 is another top plan view of the blower module of Figure 14, but
with the blower housing swiveled even further to reposition its outlet duct to
a laterally-
aimed position.
Figure 16 is an exploded perspective view of a novel PAPR headgear
assembly of the present invention, wherein a cooperating pair of front and
rear rims are
snap-fitted together on an outer perimeter of a face shield to attach a
flexible sheet
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thereto to achieve a more enclosed and comprehensive head covering.
Figure 17 is an elevational rear view of a PAPR headgear assembled from
the Figure 16 components, showing the flexible sheet spanning a rear opening
of the
face shield, while having an opening to accommodate insertion of the user's
head into
the headspace bound between the sheet and the face shield.
Figure 18 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled rims of the headgear
of Figure 17, as viewed along line A ¨ A thereof.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Figure 1 shows a blower module 10 and a removably attached battery
module 12 that are assembled together, but shown in exploded relation to an
accompanying pad-filter module 14 installable on the blower module, whereby
the
assembly of these three modules form a fully functional air supply assembly 16
of a
powered air purifying respirator (PAPR), a remainder of which is typically
embodied by
the combination of a flexible air hose and a wearable headgear for enclosing a
facial
area or entire head of a user of the PAPR, whereby the air supply assembly 16
is
operable to convey a stream of breathable filtered air to the headgear via the
flexible
air hose for inhalation by the user.
The blower module 10 comprises an elongated main housing 20 having
a blower end 22 and a battery end 24, which are of opposing relation to one
another in
a longitudinal direction that is denoted by longitudinal axis 26, and in which
an
elongated length dimension L of the main housing 20 is measured. A lesser
width
dimension W of the main housing 20 is measured perpendicularly transverse
(orthogonally) of length dimension L, and an even lesser height dimension H of
the
main housing 20 is measured orthogonally of both the length and width
dimensions. A
blower segment 28 of the main housing refers to a portion thereof spanning a
partial
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fraction (e.g. less than half) of the main housing's overall length L from the
blower end
22 thereof, and this blower segment 28 is off lesser height than a remainder
of the main
housing that spans from the blower segment 28 to the opposing battery end 24
of the
main housing. This reduced-height blower segment 28 receives a bottom end of a
generally cylindrical blower housing 30 of the blower module 10. An outer
periphery of
the blower segment 28 has an arcuate profile, imparting a rounded shape to the
blower
end 22 of the main housing 20, which conforms to an overlying semi-cylindrical
half of
a cylindrically round outer wall 32 of the blower housing 30. The blower
housing 30
also features a short outlet duct 34 that protrudes a short distance outward
from the
blower housing's cylindrical outer wall 32 in a tangentially oriented relation
thereto. A
blower wheel 33 (schematically shown in Figure 3A) rotatably supported within
blower
housing is surrounded by, and resides concentrically of, the cylindrical outer
wall 32,
and is accompanied by a blower motor 35 whose driveshaft 35A is axially
coupled to a
center of the blower wheel to drive rotation thereof.
In the illustrated embodiment, the blower housing 30, instead of being
rigidly affixed to the main housing 20, is rotatably coupled thereto to allow
selective
swivelling of the blower housing 30 around the central axis thereof on which
the
cylindrical wall 32, blower wheel 33 and motor driveshaft 35A are all
centered. Through
such swivelling motion, the blower housing 30 can be rotatably adjusted among
multiple
positions, each corresponding to a different unique orientation of the
tangential outlet
duct 34 relative to the longitudinal axis 26 of the main housing 20. Using a
relative
directionality of the tangential outlet duct to name different acquirable
positions of the
blower housing, Figures 1- 3, 5-6 and 8-12 show the blower housing 30 in a
straight-
aimed position aiming the tangential outlet duct parallel to the longitudinal
axis 26, as
illustrated by the parallel relationship of outlet duct axis 36 to
longitudinal axis 26 in
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Figure 1. Figure 15 instead shows the blower housing 30 in a laterally-aimed
position
aiming the tangential outlet duct perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 26,
while Figure
14 shows the blower housing in an obliquely-aimed position aiming the
tangential outlet
duct obliquely of the longitudinal axis 26, for example at 45-degrees thereto.
In use of
the blower module in a fully assembled PAPR, an air hose is coupled, directly
or
indirectly, to the outlet duct 34 of the blower housing 30 so that air blown
from the outlet
duct 34 via operation of the motorized blower wheel 33 inside the blower
housing 30
blows such air onwardly through the connected air hose to the user-worn
headgear.
Accordingly, the aimable character of the outlet duct 34 enables the user
to optimize the orientation thereof to best suit a particularly optimal
routing path for the
air hose in any given application, which may vary depending on the relative
locations
of the blower module and the headgear, or relative locations of the blower
module and
any other equipment to which the blower module is instead connected by the air
hose,
illustrated examples of which are described herein further below. In the
example where
the blower module is borne by the user and connected to likewise user-borne
headgear,
the aiming of the outlet duct 34 of the blower housing 30 can be used to
select an
optimal orientation of the outlet duct depending on the blower housing's
whereabouts
on the user's body, for example depending on whether the blower module is worn
on a
waist belt, shoulder harness, backpack, etc.
In the present description, the terms "top" and "bottom" are used in
relation to the illustrated orientation of the blower module 10 in Figures 1
and 2, where
the length and width dimensions L, W thereof are oriented horizontally, and
the height
dimension H and the axial direction of the cylindrical blower housing 30 are
oriented
vertically. The bottom end of the blower module 10 is received by the blower
segment
28 of the main housing 20, and coupled thereto in a rotatable manner enabling
the
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aforementioned swivelling of the blower housing 30 about its central axis. The
bottom
end of the blower module 10 is an open bottom, such that the blower motor 35
can be
mounted to the blower segment 28 of the main housing 20 in a fixed position
thereon.
The blower wheel 33 attached to the blower motor's driveshaft 35A is thus
supported
within the blower housing 30, but in detached relationship from the
surrounding
cylindrical wall 32 thereof. As revealed by the removed character of the pad
filter
module 14 in Figure 1, a top end of the cylindrical wall 32 of the blower
housing 30 is
partially capped off by an annular cover wall 38 thereof that surrounds a
central inlet
opening 40 of the blower housing, which axially and centrally overlies the
blower wheel
33 inside the blower housing 30. Accordingly, motor-driven rotation of the
blower wheel
33 draws air into the blower housing 30 through this inlet opening 40 at the
top of the
cylindrical housing wall 32, and then exhausts such air through the tangential
outlet
duct 34.
A top end of the blower housing 30, above the capped top end of the
cylindrical wall 30, is characterized by an also cylindrical perimeter wall 42
of
upstanding relation to the annular cover wall 38, and surrounding and
concentrical
relation to the inlet opening 40. The perimeter wall 42 is accompanied by a
set of
internal ribs 44 that radiate inwardly from an inner surface of the perimeter
wall 42 at
spaced intervals therearound. The central inlet opening 40 must be left at
least partially
unobstructed to allow airflow therethrough, and for such reason, the ribs 42
may
terminate short of the central inlet opening 40 so as to be of entirely non-
obstructive
relation thereto, as illustrated, thus leaving open a full area of the inlet
opening 40. A
plurality of coupling studs 46 protrude externally from the outer surface of
the perimeter
wall 42 at discretely spaced positions therearound, and in the illustrated
example are
embodied by a set of three such coupling studs 46 disposed at equal 120-degree
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intervals around the perimeter wall 42. The stud-equipped perimeter wall 42
provides
a mounting interface by which any one of a number of different filter modules
can be
selectively and removably coupled to the blower module for the purpose of
operably
supporting a filtration means in operable relation to the inlet opening 40 in
order to filter
the ambient air that is drawn therethrough by motorized operation of the
blower wheel
33.
Figure 1 and 2 show the blower module in combination with a pad filter
module 14 composed of a replaceable filter pad 48 and a reusable one-piece pad
holder
50 that comprises an annular holding collar 52 with a cross-bar 54 spanning
internally
thereacross. The holding collar 50 has a cylindrical outer wall 56, and an in-
turned
flange 58 jutting inwardly from the cylindrical wall 56 at the top end
thereof. The inner
diameter of the cylindrical wall 56 slightly exceeds the outer diameter of the
perimeter
wall 42 around the inlet opening 40 of the blower housing 30 to enable
external fitting
of the holding collar's cylindrical wall 56 over the blower housing's
perimeter wall 42.
The inner diameter of the holding collar's in-turned flange 58 is less than
the outer
diameter of the blower housing's perimeter wall 42, so that when the holding
collar 52
is fitted over the perimeter wall 42, the in-turned flange 58 juts inwardly
over the annular
top edge of the perimeter wall 42. The interior surface of the holding
collar's cylindrical
wall 56 features a set of three L-shaped slots at spaced intervals around the
cylindrical
wall 56 that match the interval spacing of the three studs 46 on the perimeter
wall 42.
These slots are of the same type described further down with reference to in
the
different substitutable filter module of Figure 4, where such slots 92 are
visible, and
labeled. In the case of the pad filter holder 50, an axial leg of each L-
shaped slot has
an outer end that intersects the non-flanged annular bottom end of the
cylindrical wall
56, i.e. the end thereof opposite the in-turned flange 58. A circumferential
leg of each
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slot extends in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical wall 56 from
an inner end
of the axial slot furthest from the non-flanged bottom end of the cylindrical
wall 56. The
studs 44 and slots 92 cooperate to enable a bayonet-style slide-and-turn
coupling and
securement action between the holding collar 50 and the perimeter wall 42.
This coupling is performed with the filter pad 48 disposed between the in-
turned flange 58 of the pad holder 50 and the annular top edge of the blower
housing's
perimeter wall 42, such that the filter pad 48 is securely clamped
therebetween in
overlying relationship to the inlet opening. As shown in the drawings, the
annular top
edge of the blower housing perimeter wall 42 may have a stepped, rather than
purely
flat, profile, such that the annular top edge is characterized by a slightly
raised outer lip
that surrounds an unraised inner area of the top edge. In such instance, the
filter pad
48 sits atop this unraised inner area, and is therefore surrounded by the
raised outer
lip. The cross-bar 54 of the pad holder 50 partially shields the otherwise
exposed filter
pad 48, and also serves as a user-graspable handle for performing the slide-
and-turn
bayonet-style coupling of the pad holder 50 to the blower housing's perimeter
wall 42.
In place of the cross-bar 54, the pad holder 50 may instead feature an
integral mesh or
web structure spanning the otherwise open center area of the in-turned flange
58 of the
pad holder 50.
The internal ribs 44 radiating inwardly from the blower housing's perimeter
wall 42 prevent the filter pad 48 from being sucked into the blower housing
through the
inlet opening 40 thereof. This pad holder 50 and its slide-and-turn bayonet-
like coupling
to a studded perimeter wall around an inlet opening the blower housing, and a
plurality
of different types of filter holders interchangeable therewith to support
other types of
filters in operable relation to the inlet opening of the blower module 10 are
fully
described in Applicant's co-pending PCT Application No. PCT/CA2022/51408,
filed
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-10-25
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September 22, 2022, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In the illustrated example, the perimeter wall 42 around the inlet opening
40 is of slightly greater diameter than the cylindrical wall 32 of the blower
housing 30 to
accommodate filters whose diameter or outer profile are of a size exceeding
the
diameter of the blower housing's cylindrical wall 32, though this need not
necessarily
be the case. For example, in other scenarios of different relative sizing
between the
blower housing and intended filtration means, the perimeter wall 42 may be an
equal-
diameter extension of the underlying cylindrical wall 32 that surrounds the
blower wheel
33. Depending on the type of filtration means and relative rigidity thereof,
the ribs 44
for preventing sucked intrusion of the filtrations means through the inlet
opening 40 may
optionally be omitted. In the illustrated embodiment, the inlet opening 40 and
the
surrounding perimeter wall 42 collectively denote the air inlet of the blower
module,
where ambient air is drawn into the blower module via any filtration means
supported
at this air inlet in overlying relation to the inlet opening 40 thereof.
The battery module 12 is removably attachable to the main housing 20 of
the blower module 10 at the battery end 24 thereof, and when so installed,
forms an
inline longitudinal extension of the blower module 10, that supplements the
length L
thereof in the direction of longitudinal axis 26. In this installed position
of the battery
module 12, its top 12A, bottom (unlabelled) and two side walls 12B reside
respectively
flush with the top 20A, bottom (unlabelled) and two side walls 20B of the main
housing
20 of the blower module 10, to form smoothly continuous extensions thereof,
whereby
the assembled modules can be comfortably grasped and held in one hand, with
indiscriminate hand placement anywhere along the combined lengths of the
assembled
blower and battery modules, without change to the general feel and grip
thereof. The
battery module 12 is composed of a respective housing 60 (referred to herein
as a
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battery housing, to differentiate same from the main and blower housings of
the blower
module, already described above), which defines the aforementioned walls of
the
battery module, and inside of which one or more rechargeable, batteries are
housed.
A proximal end 60A of the battery housing refers to an end thereof that mates
with the
battery end 24 of the blower module's main housing 10, and a distal end 60B of
the
battery housing resides oppositely of the proximal end 60A in the longitudinal
direction
denoted by axis 26, and thus resides distally of the blower module 10 when the
battery
module 12 is coupled thereto.
Turning to Figures 8 and 9, where the blower and battery modules 10, 12
are shown in decoupled and exploded relation to one another, the proximal end
60A of
the battery housing 60 is characterized by a recessed female cavity 62 of
matable size
and shape to a corresponding male protrusion 64 on the main housing 20 of the
blower
module 10 at the battery end 24 thereof. A first electrical connector 66,
embodied by a
barrel plug in the illustrated but non-limiting example, resides within the
recessed
.. female cavity 62 of the battery housing 60 in protruding relationship to
the surrounding
floor 66 of the cavity 62. A second electrical connector 68, embodied by a
barrel socket
in the illustrated example, of matable relation to the first electrical
connector 66 is
provided on the protrusion 64 of the blower module's main housing 20 at a
matching
position that self-aligns with the first electrical connector 66 upon physical
mating of the
blower and battery modules to one another. Physical mating of the battery
module 12
to the blower module 10, and the automatic connection of the two electrical
connectors
66, 68 that occurs during such mating, thus electrically connects the one or
more
batteries of the battery module 12 to control circuitry (not shown) of the
blower module
10 that is housed within the main housing 20 thereof. This control circuitry
is connected
to the blower motor 35 to control operation thereof, preferably via one or
more user-
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actuable control inputs 70, for example embodied by one or more push-button
switches
at one or both side walls of the blower module's main housing 20.
While the matable shapes of the blower module's battery end 22 and the
battery module's proximal end 60A are characterized as male and female,
respectively,
in the illustrated embodiment, this male/female designation may be reversed,
just as
the plug/socket designation of the respective first and second electrical
connectors 66,
68 may likewise be reversed. In addition to battery module's electrical
connector 66 at
the proximal end 60A of the battery housing 60, the battery module 12 of the
illustrated
example includes at least one auxiliary electrical connector 72, one of which
can be
seen on one of the battery housing's side walls 12B, of which there may be
another
such auxiliary electrical connector at the opposing side wall of the battery
housing 60.
Additional or alternative locations for such one or more auxiliary electrical
connectors
may include at the distal end 60B, top or bottom of the battery housing, at
any of which
such additional electrical connector(s) would be accessible to the user, even
when the
battery module 12 is installed on the blower module, unlike connectors 68 and
68 that
are inaccessible in such state. Via the one or more auxiliary electrical
connectors 72,
other equipment or accessories can be electrically connected to the one or
more
batteries of the battery module 12 for powering of such other equipment or
accessories
thereby, even when the battery module 12 is installed on the blower module 10
for the
purpose of powering same.
The modular design of the PAPR air supply assembly 16 may include
multiple battery modules 12 of varying size, weight and/or battery capacity,
for example
including smaller and lighter battery modules of lesser battery capacity for
use in
instances where the required run-time of a PAPR is lesser than in other
instances that
demand larger and heavier battery modules for a longer run-time. In instances
where
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the PAPR is borne by the user, the reduced weight and bulkiness of the
smaller/lighter
battery module for short-run use presents an advantage to the user, being less
detrimental to their physical energy and maneuverability. The smaller and
lighter
battery modules may also be sold at a lesser price point, to the financial
benefit of
purchasers in need of PAPR equipment in situations where short-run use between
suitably long recharging windows is sufficient. Preferably, the larger heavier
battery
modules are longer than the shorter lighter battery modules, but retain the
same profile
shape in cross-sectional planes normal to the longitudinal axis 26, and thus
again reside
purely in-line with the blower module 10, in flush relation to the main
housing walls
thereof, without increase to the cross-sectional profile of the overall air
supply assembly
16, thus maintaining the same comfortable and uniform manual grip shape
throughout
the length of the assembly, regardless of the actual collective length of the
assembled
blower and battery module.
Still referring to Figures 8 and 9, to hold the blower and battery modules
10, 12 together once mated, the illustrated embodiment employs a pair of snap
clips 74
at opposing sides of the main housing 20 of the blower module 10. Each snap
clip 74
has a catch tang 74A that protrudes slightly from a respective side of the
male
protrusion 64 at the main housing's battery end 22 through a small window in
this
respective side of the protrusion 64. Inside the main housing 20, the snap
clip runs
from this catch tang 74A to a user-depressible head 74B of the snap clip 74,
which
similarly protrudes through a small window in a respective outer side wall 20B
of the
main housing 20, at a location spaced a short longitudinal distance away from
the
protrusion 64 and toward the blower segment 28. Two opposing side walls of the
female cavity 62 of the battery module each feature a respective catch pocket
76
therein, into which the catch tang 74A of a respective snap clip 74
resiliently snaps
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-10-25
18
when the two modules 10, 12 are mated together, whereby the tang is caught
under an
overhanging lip of the pocket 76. When detachment of the battery module 12 is
desired,
the user depresses the heads 74A of the two snap clips 74 inwardly toward one
another
at the opposing side walls 20B of the blower module's main housing 20, which
displaced
the two snap clips 74 inwardly toward one another, thus withdrawing their
respective
catch tangs 74A into the male protrusion 64 and out of the catch pockets 76 of
the
battery module 12, and thereby decoupling the battery module 12 from the
blower
module 10. Suitable biasing springs (not shown), normally bias the clips
outwardly
away from one another, whereby the snap clip coupling of the modules is self
effecting,
and retained in absence of user depression of the release heads 74B of the
snap clips.
Having described the interconnectivity of the blower and battery modules
10, 12, attention is now turned back to installation of interchangeable filter
modules onto
the blower module. As a substitutable alternative to the pad filter module 14
of Figures
1 and 2, and likewise as a substitutable alternative to the other filter
modules previously
disclosed in Applicant's aforementioned co-pending PCT application, Figures 3
to 5
illustrate a novel twin-filter adapter module 80 of the present invention. The
adapter
module 80 is a single-piece module composed of a plenum body 82 and an inlet
tube
84. The plenum body is sized and shaped for mated engagement with the blower
module 10 at the inlet perimeter wall 42, and to slightly overhang the
perimeter wall 42
to one side thereof in cantilevered fashion therefrom to carry the inlet tube
84 in spaced
relation from, and tangentially oriented relation to, the inlet perimeter wall
42 off to said
one side thereof.
The plenum body 82 is hollow and thus has an internal plenum cavity 86,
which can be seen in the inverted bottom view of the adapter module 80 in
Figure 4.
Here, at an underside of the plenum body that faces the blower module 10 when
the
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-10-25
19
adapter module 80 is installed thereon, the plenum cavity 86 has an open
bottom 88 of
circular shape for fitted placement of this open bottom 88 of the plenum
cavity 86 over
the cylindrically round inlet perimeter wall 42 of the blower module 10. Over
a partial
fraction of the plenum cavity's depth, starting from the open bottom 88
thereof, the
plenum cavity is surrounded by a cylindrically round boundary wall 90. L-
shaped
coupling slots 92 of the same shape and quantity described above for the pad
holder
50 are provided in this boundary wall 90 of the plenum cavity 86 at discretely
spaced
intervals therearound (e.g. 3-slots, at 120-degree intervals) for slide-and-
turn bayonet-
style engagement of the plenum body 82 with the coupling studs 46 on the inlet
perimeter wall 42 of the blower module 10. An axial leg 92A of each L-shaped
slot 92
has an open outer end at the bottom 88 of the plenum body 86, and a
circumferential
leg 92B of each L-shaped slot 92 extends in the circumferential direction of
the
cylindrical boundary wall 90 from an opposing inner end of the axial slot that
resides
furthest from the open bottom 88 of the plenum body 86 and nearest a closed
and
opposing top wall 82B thereof. The studs 44 and slots 92 cooperate to enable a
bayonet-style slide-and-turn coupling and securement action between the
adapter
module 80 and the blower module's inlet perimeter wall 42. The placement of
the studs
46 on the inlet perimeter wall 42, and the length of the circumferential legs
92B of the
coupling slots 92 of the twin filter adapter module 80 are cooperatively set
such that
when the twin-filter adapter module 80 is installed on the straight-aimed
blower module,
the inlet tube 84 of the adapter module 80 lies parallel to the width W of the
blower
module 10.
The inlet tube 84 is open at two opposing ends 84A, 84B thereof, and is
internally threaded, at least at end portions thereof adjacent these two
opposing ends
84A, 84B, if not throughout an entire axial length of the tube 84. Each open
and
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-10-25
20
threaded end 84A, 84B of the inlet tube 84 thereby defines a respective air
inlet of the
adapter 80 through which air can be introduced to the adapter 80, and to which
a
cannister filter 94 (e.g. a CBRN cannister filter ¨ for chemical, biological,
radiological,
nuclear applications) with an externally threaded neck (e.g. 40mm NATO thread)
can
be threadingly coupled to filter such air as it enters the adapter 80. A side
of the inlet
tube 84 facing the attached plenum body 82 has an open window 96 therein that
fluidly
communicates the interior of the hollow inlet tube 84 with the hollow plenum
cavity 86
of the plenum body 82. Except for its open bottom 88 and the open window 96,
the
internal plenum cavity 86 of the plenum body 82 is fully enclosed. As shown,
the
plenum body may have a U-shaped outer periphery in plan view, being rounded at
the
end 82A thereof opposite the inlet tube 84 so as to closely conform with the
rounded
cylindrical shape of the blower housing 30 and the underlying blower segment
28 of the
main housing at the blower end 22 of the blower module 10.
The open window 96 of the inlet tube 84 and corresponding semi-
cylindrical half of the cylindrical boundary wall 90 of the plenum cavity 86
occupy
different respective fractions of the overall elevational depth of the plenum
cavity 86. In
the installed position of the twin filter adapter module 80, the cylindrical
boundary wall
90 of the plenum cavity spans around the inlet perimeter wall 42 of the blower
module
10, while the communicating window 96 between the inlet tube 84 and the plenum
cavity 86 resides at a greater elevation range, at least part of which resides
above the
plane of the inlet perimeter wall's top edge. A plenum space thus exists in
the
elevational range between the plane of the inlet perimeter wall's top end, and
the
overlying top wall 82B of the plenum body 82. During operation of the blower
module
with the twin-filter adapter module 80 and cannister filters 94 installed,
ambient air is
drawn into the adapter 80 through the cannister filters 94 at the two inlets
84A, 84B of
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-10-25
21
the adapter 80 as a result of the blower wheel's motor driven rotation. This
incoming
airflow, now filtered by the cannister filters 94, is drawn further onward
from the inlet
tube 84 through the window 96 into the plenum space that is bound within the
plenum
body 82 above the top edge of the inlet perimeter wall 42 of the blower module
10.
From this plenum space, the filtered air is then drawn downwardly through the
inlet
opening 40 of the air module into the blower housing 30, and then exhausted
therefrom
via the tangential outlet duct 34. The plenum body 82 doubles as both a
physical
coupler of the adapter module 80 by which it is removably mountable to the
blower
module using the L-shaped slots 90 of the plenum cavity's boundary wall 90,
and as an
airflow outlet of the adapter module 80 from which the filter air enters the
blower module
10 via the inlet opening 40.
As shown in Figure 5, the outlet tube 84 of the installed twin filter adapter
80 overlies the blower module's main housing 20 at the side of the blower
housing 30
that neighbours the battery end 24 of the main housing, where the main housing
20 is
taller than it is at the blower segment 28, yet is shorter than the blower
housing 30 from
which the inlet tube 84 is cantilevered by the plenum body 82. The two
cannister filters
94 coupled to the opposing inlet ends 84A, 84b of the inlet tube 84
respectively reside
at opposing sides of the blower module 10, outwardly beyond the side walls 20B
of the
main housing 20 thereof. While the illustrated example shows two cannister
filters 94
installed on the twin filter adapter module 80, to take advantage of its dual-
filter
capacity, it will be appreciated that, at the user's discretion, one cannister
filter 94 may
alternatively be installed at one end of the inlet tube 84, and the other end
of the inlet
tube instead being closed off, for example with a threaded plug, rendering
this inlet non-
functional, and effectively converting the twin-filter adapter module 80 to a
single-filter
adapter module. It will also be appreciated that the twin-filter adapter
module 80 need
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-10-25
22
not be limited to use with cannister filters 94, and any other filter with a
compatibly
threaded coupling neck may be directly threaded to the inlet tube 84 of the
adapter 80.
As a further alternative, a smaller secondary adapter with compatible
threading at one
of its two coupling interfaces may be used to enable indirect mounting of a
non-
compatible filter to the twin filter adapter 80 (e.g. an adapter with 40mm
NATO threading
at one coupling interface for connection to the adapter 80, and a bayonet
style
configuration at its other coupling interface for connection of cartridge
filters with
bayonet connectors). Such NATO to bayonet adapters are commercially available,
and
thus not further described nor illustrated herein.
Turning to Figures 6 and 7, illustrated therein is an air cooler module 100
selectively connectable to the blower module 10, for example by direct
mounting of the
air cooler module 100 to the outlet duct 34 of the blower module 10 in the
illustrated
example, though the air cooler may alternative be connected indirectly to the
outlet duct
34 via a length of hose, pipe or tubing. The installed air cooler module 100
thus resides
.. downstream of the blower module 10, for the purpose of cooling the filtered
air blown
therefrom by the motor driven blower wheel 33, whereby the filtered air routed
onward
from the air cooler module 100 through a connected air hose to its final
destination
where it will be inhaled by the PAPR user is of lower temperature than would
occur in
absence of the air cooler module 100. Being embodied as a separate module from
the
blower module 10, the air cooler module 100 can be specifically employed only
when
particularly needed or helpful, for example in hot climates or environments
where the
cooling of the filtered air is more palatable for inhalation, and can also
serve to help
cool the user's face, or entire head, depending on the type of equipment to
which the
cooled air is delivered for final inhalation (e.g. user-born headgear, such as
a facemask,
face shield, hood; or a head or body tent, as contemplated herein further
below).
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-10-25
23
The air cooler module 100 features a central tubular air channel 102
having opposing inlet and outlet ends 102A, 102B thereof through which air is
blown
from the outlet duct 34 of the blower module 10 by driven rotation of the
motorized
blower wheel 33 therein. The inlet end 102A of the tubular air channel 102 may
be
mechanically coupled in releasable fashion to the tubular outlet duct 34 by
any suitable
coupling arrangement capable of bearing the weight of the air cooler module
100. A
pair of cooling units 104 neighbour the tubular air channel 102 on opposing
sides
thereof. Each of these two opposing sides of the tubular air channel 102 has a
rectangular (e.g. square) opening 106 therein, which accommodates a cold-side
heatsink 108 of the respective cooling unit 104. The fins or pins of each cold-
side
heatsink 108 project into the interior of the tubular air channel 102 and thus
into the
airflow being blown therethrough, for the purpose of cooling same. As shown,
the
tubular air channel 102 may have a greater wall thickness at a mid-region
thereof
between the inlet and outlet ends 102A, 102B than at the end regions adjacent
those
ends. The greater wall thickness at this mid-region of the air channel 102
better
accommodates secure mounting of the cold side heat sinks 108, while retaining
a
smaller diameter at the ends 102A, 102B of the tubular channel 102 for
connection to
the blower module outlet duct 34 at the inlet end 102A and fitting of an air
hose (not
shown) at the outlet end 102B.
The base plate of each cold-side heatsink 108 abuts the cold side of a
thermoelectric (Peltier) cooling module 110 of the respective cooling unit
104, whose
opposing hot side is mated with suitable heat dissipation componentry. In the
illustrated
example, this heat dissipation componentry is embodied by a heat pipe cooler
112
composed of a U-shaped heat pipe 114 having a central mounting block 116
abutted
against the cold-side of the thermoelectric module 110, and from which the two
parallel
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-10-25
24
legs of the U-shaped heat pipe 114 span outwardly away from the tubular air
channel
102 through an adjacent fan-cooled heat sink 118. This is just one non-
limiting example
of a possible cooling setup usable at the hot side of each thermoelectric
module 110,
and the heat pipe implementation could be replaced with a direct heat sink
setup where
the base plate of a hot-side heat sink, preferably again fan-cooled, abuts the
hot-side
of the thermoelectric module 110 directly, in place of the heat pipe 114 and
its mounting
block 116. In either of these non-limiting examples, a fan-cooled heat sink
performs
the final heat dispersion to the ambient environment.
The tubular air channel 102 and fan-cooled heat sinks 116 of the two
cooling units 104 are mounted atop a shared base 120. This shared base 120
includes
a hollow base housing 122 whose topside features an arcuately concave recess
124
for cradled mounting of the tubular air channel 102, and whose open bottom is
capped
off by a bottom housing cover 126. This hollow base housing 122 contains
appropriate
electrical circuitry through which the thermoelectric cooling modules 110 and
the fans
.. fan-cooled heat sinks 118 are powered and controlled. In the illustrated
embodiment,
the air cooler module 100 lacks its own on-board power source, and instead
relies on
electrical connection to the same battery module 12 that powers the blower
module 10.
For such purpose, another electrical connector 128, embodied by a barrel
socket in the
illustrated non-limiting example, is provided at an externally accessible
location on the
base housing 122, for example at an end thereof, whereby a DC power cable 130
is
connectable from this electrical connector 128 of the air cooler module 100 to
one of
the one or more auxiliary electrical connectors 72 on the battery module 12 to
enable
powering of the air cooler module 100 from the battery module 12.
Referring again to Figures 8 to 10, the electrical connector 68 on the
blower module 10 that is used to electrically interconnect the blower and
battery
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-10-25
25
modules 10, 12 is completely obstructed from view and inaccessible when the
battery
module 12 is installed on the blower module 10, but referring to Figure 10, is
visually
revealed and rendered accessible for other purposes when the battery module 12
is
removed. Figure 10 illustrates that the same electrical connector 68 can
instead be
used to for plugged connection of an AC/DC power supply 132, which in turn can
also
be plugged into an alternating current (AC) mains power outlet, for example
the
conventional mains power wall outlet 134 shown in Figures 11 and 12, In known
fashion, the power supply 132 is operable to convert the AC mains power to
direct
current (DC) power usable by the blower module circuitry. The type of power
supply
132 shown in the drawings is of a dual-cord variety, where the AC/DC power
conversion
componentry is contained in a housing 136, from one end of which an AC power
cord
138 emanates, and from the other end of which a DC power cord 140 emanates.
The
DC power cord has a DC plug 142 (e.g. barrel plug) for mated connection with
the
electrical connector 68 (e.g. barrel socket) of the blower module, while the
AC power
cord has an AC plug 144 for mated connection with the mains power outlet 134.
A
single-corded "wall wart" power supply may alternatively be used, where the
housing
136 instead embodies the AC plug directly thereon, thus omitting the AC power
cord
138. The blower module 10 can thus be powered from an AC mains power source
for
any variety of applications where the mobility afforded by the battery module
12 is not
required. The housing 136 of the power supply includes at least one auxiliary
electrical
connector 72' (e.g. barrel socket), just like that of the battery module 12,
to enable
electrical connection of the air cooler module 100 or other DC-powered
module/accessory to the power supply 132 to likewise allow running of such
module/accessory in the absence of the battery module 12.
Figure 11 shows one example of an application where the blower module
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-10-25
26
and power supply 132 may be used together for mains powered operation of the
blower module at a static location, as opposed to the conventional body-worn
context
of a PAPR where the blower and other PAPR components are worn by a mobile user
who is free to walk or otherwise roam. The Figure 11 scenario is instead
intended to
5 supply a bed occupant, for example, but not limited to, a hospital or
care-home patient,
with a filtered supply of breathable air, thus protecting the bed occupant
from potential
airborne pathogens, such as COVID-19. For such purpose, a head tent 146 is
erected
at the head region of a bed 148 so as to overlie the head of the bed occupant
(not
shown). The blower module 10 is supported on or near the bed 148, and thus in
10 bedside relation to the bed occupant. For example, the blower module 10
may be hung
or otherwise supported on a headboard or siderail of the bed itself, or on a
nightstand,
beside table or other piece of nearby furniture, equipment, fixture or wall-
mounted
support bracket.
A flexible air hose 150 is routed from the outlet duct 34 of the blower
.. module 10 to an air intake port on an exterior of the head tent 146,
through which the
blown air from the blower module 10 is fed into a substantially enclosed head
space
bound by the tent around the head of the bed occupant. When the blower module
10
has one or more filters 48, 94 properly installed thereon, the tent-bound
headspace is
filled and pressurized with filtered air, which prevents unfiltered ambient
air (and
potential airborne pathogens carried therein) from entering this pressurized
headspace,
thus supplying the protecting the bed occupant with safely breathable air. The
same
setup of the mains powered blower module 10, air hose 150 and head tent 146
may be
employed without any air filtration means installed on the blower module 10,
for
example to impart a cooling effect on the head of the bed occupant using non-
filtered
air. In either of these filtered and unfiltered scenarios, the air cooler
module 100 may
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-10-25
27
optionally be installed on the blower module 10, or somewhere in-line
therewith but
mounted separately therefrom between two segments of flexible air hose 150, to
cool
the blown air from the blower module 10 at a location upstream from the head
tent.
Figure 12 shows a similar bed application to that of Figure 11, but in which
the relatively small head tent 146 occupying only a head region of the bed to
specifically
cover the bed occupant's headspace is replaced with a larger body tent 152
that spans
a fuller length of the bed, from the head region thereof to at least to a
torso region
thereof, and in the illustrated example, onward to a foot region of the bed.
The body
tent 152 thus covers a larger fraction, or entirety, of the bed occupant's
body, and the
substantially enclosed body space bound by this larger tent 152 is once again
filled and
pressurized with the blown air from the blower module 10, whether filtered air
for
airborne pathogen protection, or unfiltered air for body cooling or other
purpose. Both
the head tent 146 and body tent 152 are of self-supporting design so as not be
in any
way reliant on the pressurization of the head or body space to prevent
collapse of the
tent over the bed occupant's face, which would otherwise present a potential
suffocation
hazard. Self supporting head or body tents usable by bed occupants are
commercially
available, for example from Hypoxico Altitude Training Systems, for altitude
training
purposes, and such existing products may be used, or modified for use, for the
novel
pathogen protection and cooling applications disclosed herein, and so detailed
description of similar tent construction is omitted herein in the interest of
brevity.
Referring to Figure 13, one of the same auxiliary electrical connectors 72
on the battery module 12, optionally used to connect the air cooler module
100, can
alternatively be used to enable electrical interconnection of the blower and
battery
modules 10, 12 when mechanically decoupled, for example to enable wearing of
the
two modules 10, 12 on different areas of a user's body, for example with the
battery
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-10-25
28
module worn on a waist belt, and the blower module worn on a shoulder harness
or
backpack nearer to the user's head. In such instance, one end of the same DC
power
cord 130 used for the air cooler module 100, or a similar but longer DC power
cord, is
mated with the auxiliary electrical connector 72 on the battery module 10, and
the other
end is mated with the same electrical connector 68 on the blower module 10 to
which
the battery module 12 would be directly connected when mechanically coupled to
the
blower module 10. In the case that the battery module 12 has a plurality of
such
auxiliary electrical connectors 72, both the blower module 10 and the air
cooler module
100 may both be powered off of the same battery module 12 as one another,
despite
the battery module's decoupled relation to the separated blower module 10.
Likewise,
any variety of other DC powered accessories or modules may be powered off the
same
battery module 12 as the blower module 10 (whether coupled to or decoupled
from the
blower module).
In contrast to the static bed tent applications of Figures 11 and 12, most
PAPR applications involve wearing of the blower module on the user's body
(e.g. via a
wearable support such as a waistbelt, shoulder harness, backpack, etc.),
together with
a worn headgear that fully or substantially encapsulates a facial area or
entire head of
the user. Figures 16 through 18 illustrate a novel headgear assembly of the
present
invention that is composed of a two-piece rim assembly 160, 162 in combination
with a
face shield 164 and a piece of flexible sheeting 166. The face shield 164 of
the
illustrated example is the combined face and head shield disclosed in
Applicant's PCT
Publication W02021/195766, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by
reference.
The shield is composed of a single piece of vacuum formed or thermoformed
plastic,
creating a shape-stable non-spherical dome with an open rear side through
which the
wearer's head is received. In practice, the shield is transparent 164, though
it is not
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-10-25
29
illustrated as such in the present figures for illustrative convenience.
When the shield 164 is worn, the reference plane containing the open rear
side of the shield 10 lies at an oblique incline relative to the anatomical
planes of the
user's body. This oblique plane cuts through the user's head in a posterior-
anterior
(back to front) and superior-inferior (top to bottom) direction from a
location situated
superior to (above) the crown of the user's head, to a location situated
inferior to (below)
the user's chin and anterior to (in front of) the user's neck. With the open
rear side of
the shield 10 in this oblique plane, an apex 164A of the shield (denoting an
area of its
deepest measure from the rear opening) resides anteriorly of the user' s
forehead, from
which a depth-tapered lower portion of the shield hangs downwardly over the
user's
face. The portion of the shield spanning from the forehead-level apex 164A to
the
bottom end of the shield's rear opening may be referred to as a lower facial
portion
164B, since it covers the facial areas of the wearer, while the portion of the
shield
spanning from the forehead-level apex to the top end of the shield's rear
opening may
be referred to as the upper cranial portion 164C, since it spans posteriorly
over the
user's cranium above the scalp. The apex includes a pair of inward depressions
164D
disposed symmetrically across a bisecting midplane of the shield's symmetric
shape
that, per the above incorporated PCT publication, receive a front segment of a
headband by which the shield is supported on the user's head. And an airflow
channel
164E runs longitudinally of the cranial portion at an interior underside
thereof from the
top end of the rear opening to the apex 164A, between a pair of recessed
troughs that
may rest atop the wearer's scalp. The front end of this air channel feeds into
an airflow
space between the two forehead level depressions 164D, at a central brow ridge
of the
apex 164A, allowing downflow of air to a face region between the user's face
and the
lower facial region 164B of the shield 164.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-10-25
30
In the worn position of the shield 164, the entire face of the user's head
thus resides within the protected interior space of the shield, as does a
substantial
cranial region of the user's head, including at least the forehead, temples,
and frontal
scalp, and preferably also including the mid-scalp, and optimally also at
least part of
the crown of the user's head. The coverage may also include all or parts of
the user's
ears. So, unlike conventional shields that employ a profiled shape only in the
horizontal
width direction to curve around to the sides of the face, the dome-like or
shell-like shape
of the shield 164 also curves upwardly over the forehead and spans rearwardly
over
the scalp. The shield thus avoids susceptibility to falling droplets or
aerosol particles
from above, and also protects against accumulation of such contaminants in the
user's
hair, which can present a risk for later infection.
The rim assembly features a front rim 160 and a rear rim 162 that are of
similar ovaloid shape to one another, dictated by a similar ovaloid shape
possessed by
the perimeter boundary edge 164F of the face shield 164 that bounds the rear
opening
thereof. The shield 164 includes a small out-turned flange that spans around
the
entirety of this perimeter edge of the shield's rear opening, and which is
most
pronounced and visible at locations neighbouring the rear end of the shield's
top airflow
channel 164E, where the out-turned flange is labelled 164G. The front rim and
rear
rims 160, 162 are configured for snap-fit engagement with one another in a
manner
clamping the out-turned perimeter flange of the shield between the two rims
160, 162.
One purpose of the rim assembly is to couple the flexible sheeting 166 to the
shield
164, thereby converting the face shield 164 into a more hood-like headgear
that more
comprehensively encloses the entirety of the user's head. The flexible
sheeting
composed of impermeable material, preferably embodied by a singular flexible
sheet of
such material, so that the sheeting is a seamless unitary sheet of continuous
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-10-25
31
uninterrupted span in all direction. In one non-limiting example, the flexible
sheeting
may be composed of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).
The sheeting 166 posses an annular form, having an ovaloid outer
perimeter of similar size and shape to the front and rear rims 160, 162, for
example for
sandwiched receipt of an outer margin of the sheeting therebetween, along with
the
out-turned flange of the shield. The outer perimeter of the sheeting may be
fitted with
an elastic 168, in similar fashion to the rim of a shower cap, whereby such
elastification
of the sheeting's outer perimeter may ease the installation process by
imparting a self-
tightening of the sheeting's outer margin around the rear rim 162 when placed
thereover
to best hold the sheeting in place while the face shield 164 and front rim are
160
installed over the sheeting 166 into snap fit relation with the rear rim 162.
A head
opening or cutout 166A penetrates the sheeting 166 at a distance inward from
the
elasticized outer perimeter thereof, the purpose of which is to enable
admission of the
user's head into the headspace that is cooperatively bound between the shield
164 and
the sheeting 168 once the headgear is assembled.
Another purpose of the rim assembly 160, 162 is to secure a hose coupler
170 to the face shield. The hose coupler 170 is attached to the rear rim 162,
particularly
at an upper apex thereof in the illustrated example, thus aligning the hose
coupler 170
with a rear inlet end of the air channel 164E in the top of the illustrated
shield 164,
whereby the hose coupler 170 may be used to feed into this air channel.
Accordingly,
when an air hose 150 is connected between the hose coupler 170 and the blower
module 10 (or the air cooler module 100, if installed), the blower module 10
is operable
to blow filtered air into the top air channel 164E of the shield, and onward
therethrough
to the facial region of the enclosed headspace between the lower facial
portion 164B of
the shield 164 and the user's face, where such filtered air can thus be
inhaled.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-10-25
32
Meanwhile, the ducting of the breathable filtered air to the facial region via
the top air
channel 164e of the shield can also impart a head cooling effect to the user
for
increased comfort, especially in high temperature environments, climates or
scenarios.
Additionally or alternatively, and as best seen in Figure 18, a
circumferential airflow
channel 172 can be provided at an inner perimeter of the rear rim, along which
air can
be routed from the hose coupling 170 around a rear perimeter area of the
enclosed
headspace just inside the shield's rear opening, around a full or partial
circumference
thereof, thus also contributing to delivery of breathable filtered air to the
facial region,
and/or imparting a cooling effect around the user's head and face.
Figure 18 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled front and rear rims
160, 162. The rear rim 162 has an out-turned lip 174 that denotes the
outermost
perimeter of the rear rim around an entirety thereof at a rearmost plane of
the rear rim.
An outside wall 172A of the circumferential airflow channel 172 protrudes
forwardly
from the outer lip 174 at a distance inward from the outermost tip thereof,
whereby a
frontside of the lip denotes a front-facing outside shoulder 176 of the rear
rim 162
against which an outer margin of the flexible sheeting 166 and a rear side the
out-turned
flange of the shield 164 can be received and clamped during snap-fit assembly
of the
rims. A front wall 172B of the air channel 172 turns inwardly from the outer
wall 172A
thereof at a frontmost plane of the rear rim 162. The front rim 160, at its
rearmost plane,
instead of an out-turned lip with a front-facing outside shoulder 176 like the
rear rim
162, has a slightly in-turned rear-projecting lip 178 at an outer edge of a
rear-facing
inside shoulder 180 of the rim 160. This rear lip 178 of the front rim 160 is
of reduced
radial thickness so as to be capable of slight outward deflection during
mating of the
two rims, whereafter the deflected lip 178 will return to its natural
position. The outside
of the rear rim's out-turned lip 174 and the inside the front rim's rear lip
178 are each
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-10-25
33
obliquely angled in an outward direction toward the front of the respective
rim, and a
front outer corner 176A of the rear rim's out-turned lip 176 is rounded. A
snap fit is thus
achieved during mating of the two rims, where the rear lip 178 of the front
rim 160 will
flex outwardly when initially contacted by the rounded front corner 176A of
the out-
turned lip 174 of the rear rim, and then will snap back to its unflexed
position as the rear
rim's outside shoulder 176 approaches the front rim's inside shoulder, and
eventually
abuts a rear side of the shield's out-turned perimeter flange, whose opposing
front side
abuts the inside shoulder of the front rim. The front and rear sides of the
shield's out-
turned perimeter flange denotes outermost margins of the shield's front and
rear sides,
whereby the shield is now rimmed around its full perimeter.
Under such snap-fit mating of the two rims 160, 162 together with the out-
turned flange of the shield 164 and an outer margin of the flexible sheeting
166 received
between the two rims 160, 162, the snapped-together rims thereby secure the
flexible
sheeting 166 to the shield 164 around the full perimeter thereof. Through the
head
opening 166A in the flexible sheet 166, the user can insert their head into
the now
substantially enclosed headspace that is bound between the shield 164 and the
flexible
sheeting 166, thereby accomplishing a more head-encompassing headgear than the
shield 164 alone. The air hose 150 from the PAPR blower module 10 can be
connected
to this headgear via the rim-carried hose fitting 170 at the top rear of the
headgear to
deliver filtered air to the now substantially enclosed headspace of the
assembled
headgear, whether via a top airflow channel 164E of the shield, a
circumferential airflow
channel 172 of the rear rim, or a combination thereof.
As an alternative to elastic fitting of the flexible sheeting 166 over the
rear
rim 162 for sandwiched clamping of an outer margin of the flexible sheeting
between
the two rims 160, 162, the rear rim 162 may include a narrow receiving channel
182 for
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-10-25
34
receiving and holding an outer perimeter of a non-elasticized variant of the
flexible
sheeting 166. Such a receiving channel 182 can be seen in Figure 18, where
this
receiving channel 182 resides in an inward protruding relationship from the
out-turned
lip 174 at a location behind the optional circumferential airflow channel 172
of the rear
rim 162, whose rear wall 172C doubles with a front wall of the smaller
receiving channel
180 for the variant flexible sheeting 166. To use this receiving channel 182,
a wire or
filament (not shown), around which the outer perimeter of the sheeting 166 can
be
wrapped, is forced into the receiving channel to frictionally retain the
sheeting's outer
perimeter within the receiving channel. For such purpose, the receiving
channel 182
can be seen to have a bulbously rounded outer end 182A of greater diameter
sized to
accommodate the wire/filament after forcing thereof through a narrower
remainder of
the channel. That said, the elasticized version of the flexible sheeting is
believed easier
to install, requiring no more than a simple stretching of the elastic-equipped
outer
perimeter of the sheeting around the rear rim 162.
While the illustrated example has the hose coupler at the upper rear apex
of the rear rim 162, this need not necessary the case, and it could be
repositioned, for
example closer to a lower front apex thereof so that air introduced via the
connected air
hose is instead introduced near the chin the of the user, for more direct
feeding of
breathable air to the facial region of the enclosed headspace. Also, while the
two rims
160, 162 of the illustrated example respectively abut front and rear sides of
an outer
perimeter flange 164G of a flanged shield, similar arrangement of a plurality
of matable
rim pieces could be clamped together in sandwiching relation to perimeter
margins of
an unflanged face shield, at the rear/inner side thereof that faces the user's
face in the
headgear's worn position, and the opposing front/outer side thereof that faces
away
from the user's face, in order to hold a flexible-sheet around the perimeter
of the shield
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-10-25
35
to encompass the user's head between the shield and the flexible sheet. While
the
shield of the illustrated example is a one-piece face-and-head shield that
integrally
embodies the facial portion 164B and the cranial portion 164C in a singular
unitary
construction, the novel rim and sheet assembly may be used on two-piece head
and
face shield in which the facial and cranial portions are embodied in separate
pieces.
Such a two-piece head and face shield is disclosed in Applicant's PCT
Publication
W02022/115961, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
It will be appreciated that though the various electrical connectors
mentioned above for electrical interconnection of the various components
described
are illustrated as barrel plugs and barrel sockets, any variety of matable
plugs/sockets
capable of electric power conduction may be used, including such plugs,
sockets and
associated cabling that enable signal communication in addition to electric
power
conduction, for example including universal serial bus (USB) cables and ports
of all
types, including USB-C.
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above
described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made, it
is
intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be
interpreted
as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-10-25
