Abstract:
A valve manifold assembly with a valve body having at least one inlet and at least one outlet. The outlet has an opening disposed inside a chamber formed in the valve body. The valve body has at least one groove defined therein. A valve member is attached to the valve body. A retaining member is disposed in at least one groove in the valve body so that the retaining member engages with the valve member to cause it to sealingly engage with the outlet opening. The retaining member is capable of being removed from the groove such that it no longer engages with the valve member and it causes the valve member to disengage from the outlet opening.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    Applicant hereby claims priority based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/349,679 filed Jan. 17, 2002, entitled “Valve Manifold Assembly for Oxygen Mask Dispensing Container” which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The invention relates to an assembly for deploying an emergency breathing mask in an aircraft.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Many aircraft are required to provide passengers and crew members in the pressurized cabin with an emergency breathing mask in the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure due to a rupture in the cabin wall or to a failure in the aircraft&#39;s pressurizing system. The conventional emergency breathing mask is typically stowed in an overhead storage container directly over the user. Upon a sudden loss of cabin pressure, the container door automatically opens and the mask is deployed by gravity to the user. The mask typically hangs from the open container in the vicinity of the user, but the flow of breathing gas to the mask is not automatically activated. Because the mask may drop over an empty seat, it is desirable to have a user activated valve that controls the flow of breathing gas to the mask. It has been known to provide a lanyard that is connected between the breathing gas conduit and a valve in the container such that when the mask is pulled toward the face of the user, the tension on the lanyard opens a valve to allow breathing gas to flow to the mask. An example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,247 which is incorporated herein by reference.  
           [0004]    What is needed is an improved valve manifold assembly.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    The present invention meets the above-described need by providing a valve manifold assembly with a valve body having at least one inlet and at least one outlet. The outlet has an opening disposed inside a chamber formed in the valve body. The valve body has at least one groove defined therein. A valve member is attached to the valve body. A retaining member is disposed in at least one groove in the valve body so that the retaining member engages with the valve member to cause it to sealingly engage with the outlet opening. The retaining member is capable of being removed from the groove such that it no longer engages with the valve member and it causes the valve member to disengage from the outlet opening. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0006]    The invention is illustrated in the drawings in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures of which:  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the valve manifold assembly of the present invention;  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is another exploded perspective view of the valve manifold assembly;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is another exploded perspective view of the valve manifold assembly;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the valve manifold assembly of the present invention with the element in the middle of the figure having a seal and a retaining disk disposed such that the valve is in the closed position; and,  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing one element of the valve manifold assembly disposed in the open position with the retaining disk removed there from. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0012]    Referring to FIGS.  1 - 5  generally and initially to FIG. 1, a valve body  10  engages with three adapters  13  for supplying breathing gas to three breathing conduits attached to passenger oxygen masks (not shown). The valve body  10  is sized to be disposed inside a passenger oxygen mask dispensing container (not shown) which is typically mounted in the interior lining of an aircraft above the passenger seats. The valve body  10  may be constructed out of metal or plastic and can be formed by any suitable process such as molding, machining or casting.  
         [0013]    Although, the invention is shown with three individual valves  11 ,  12 ,  14  disposed in a single block, passenger oxygen mask dispensing containers may contain any number of individual passenger oxygen masks requiring individual valves. Each of the valves shown in the drawings function identically with the only difference being the positioning within the valve body  10 . In order to provide additional lines for a greater numbers of masks, the valve body  10  can be connected to another valve body  10  or the valve body  10  could be made longer with additional valves added in series. If the valve body  10  is connected to another valve body  10 , they can be placed side-by-side, at an angle to each other, or they can be spaced apart. The valve bodies  10  can be disposed in a single mask dispensing container or disposed in separate mask dispensing containers and connected by conduits. The valve body  10  may be designed to provide any number of valves including a single valve with a single outlet.  
         [0014]    When an event occurs in the aircraft that requires breathing gas to be provided to the passengers, the lid or door (not shown) of the oxygen mask dispensing container is automatically released. The door or lid may be released by an electrically actuated solenoid, a gas pressure activated piston, or the like. As known to those of ordinary skill in the art, the device for opening the door such as a spring-biased piston may be incorporated into valve body  10  or may be standalone. If it is incorporated into the valve body  10 , one of the positions where a valve is disposed can be replaced with a spring-biased piston that can be actuated by gas pressure. Once the door or lid opens, the masks drop down and hang from lanyards under the force of gravity. The lanyards are typically disposed such that force on the lanyard is required to pull the mask to the user&#39;s face. This force from the user pulling on the mask during deployment is used to open a valve to allow the breathing gas to flow to the mask. These type of systems are known in the art and are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,503,394 and 4,909,247 which are incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0015]    In FIG. 1, a user pulled lanyard  16  is attached by a ring  19  or other attachment means to a retaining disk  22  that engages with the valve body  10  as will be described in detail herein. The lanyard  16  could also be connected directly to the opening  100  in the disk  22 . A valve member  40  is disposed in the valve body  10  and seats against an inlet  31  on the adapter  13  as described in greater detail below. Each end of the valve body  10  may be provided with an inlet  25  for attachment of the breathing gas line (not shown) that may be supplied from a breathing gas source (not shown). The inlet  25  shown is a female port, however as known to those of ordinary skill in the art, the inlet  25  could also be configured as a male port. A series of openings  26  are disposed through the valve body  10  as shown in FIG. 3. The openings  26  allow for breathing gas to pass through the valve body  10 .  
         [0016]    The adapters  13  have an inlet  31  that is shaped in the form of a truncated cone. The inlet  31  is shaped so that a soft elastomeric seal can seat against the inlet  31  when the valve is closed. Other shapes for the inlet  31  may also be suitable. At the opposite end, the adapters  13  have an outlet  34  with a hose connector  37  for connecting the conduit (not shown) that carries the breathing gas to the mask. The connector  37  is a barb type connector, however, other shapes and connectors  37  as known to those of skill in the art would also be suitable. Other types and shapes of hose connectors would also be suitable. For example, as will be evident to those of ordinary skill in the art, additional hose connectors  37  may be connected to the flow actuation valve  11 ,  12  or  14  so that a single flow actuation valve can distribute breathing gas to a plurality of masks through a plurality of conduits. As will also be evident to those of ordinary skill in the art, if multiple masks are supplied through a single flow actuation valve  11 ,  12 , or  14  then the respective lanyards  16  would each be connected to a single retaining member  22 . Accordingly, the present invention may function with a flow actuation valve for every mask or may function with multiple masks connected to a single flow actuation valve. When multiple masks are connected to a single flow actuation valve, breathing gas may be allowed to flow to a mask deployed over an empty seat.  
         [0017]    If a calibrated orifice is provided, the calibrated orifice  38  (FIG. 4) may be located on the connector  37  or the calibrated orifice can be located somewhere else. The adapters  13  engage with the valve body  10  as best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The adapters  13  may be attached to the valve body  10  through opening  39  (FIG. 2) by a threaded engagement, a quarter turn bayonet engagement, a solvent bond, a set of pipe threads, an adhesive, or the like. It is also possible to mold the valve body  10  and the adapter  13  as one part with the adapter  13  formed integrally in the valve body  10 .  
         [0018]    The valve member  40  may comprise a disk  43  supporting an elastomeric seal  46 . The seal  46  may be molded from a suitable elastomer such as silicone. The disk  43  may be formed out of any suitable material such as metal, plastic, or the like. As shown the seal  46  is supported from the perimeter edges of the disk  43 . If additional support for the elastomer seal is needed in the center opening, the disk  43  may be formed in the shape of a “wagon wheel” type arrangement with some spokes extending across the opening. In the wagon wheel type arrangement, the elastomer is molded over or around the spokes. As an alternative, the valve member  40  may comprise a thin metal member covered by an elastomer. The thin metal member may be solid or perforated and would alternate between a convex and a concave configuration depending on the force exerted on the opposite side of the member. The member would be biased in the open position based on the spring properties of the metal. Depending on whether the disk  22  is engaged with the member, the thin metal member would “pop” from one configuration to the other.  
         [0019]    The valve member  40  fits into an opening  50  (FIG. 3) in the valve body  10 . As best shown in FIG. 4, the opening  50  has a shoulder  53  formed at the bottom of the opening  50  to provide support and to seal the outside of the valve member  40  against the valve body  10  so that gas cannot escape around the valve member  40 . In FIG. 4, the valve member  40  and retaining disk  22  have been removed from the outer positions for clarity. The middle position in FIG. 4 shows the valve  12  with the valve member  40  and the retention disk  22  in the closed position. The elastomeric portion of the valve member  40  may be provided with frustoconical surfaces  56 ,  59  on opposite sides for engaging with the inlet  31  on the adapter  13  and for engaging with the retaining disk  22  as described in greater detail hereafter. The valve member  40  may be sealingly attached inside the opening in the valve body  10  in many different ways as known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The valve member  40  could be pressed in, attached by threaded members, or the like. The seal between the outside of the valve member  40  and the valve body  10  can be a face seal or could be provided by O-rings (not shown). In FIG. 4, a reduced thickness section  62  may extend from the outside of the valve member  40  toward the middle where the surfaces  56  and  59  are disposed.  
         [0020]    Returning to FIGS. 1 and 4, a groove  70  having a round surface is disposed in the valve body  10 . The groove  70  is disposed between an outer surface  80  of the valve body  10  and the opening  50  that receives the retention disk  22 . The outer surface  80  also has a rounded opening  83 . The rounded opening  83  makes it easier to install the valve member  40 , however, the opening  83  may take other shapes.  
         [0021]    The groove  70  has a round surface in order to provide for rotation of the retaining disk  22  inside the groove  70 . The round groove  70  allows the disk  22  to rotate into substantial alignment with the direction of the force on the user pulled lanyard  16  to make it easier to pull the disk  22  out of the groove  70 . The rotation of the disk  22  is typically needed because the force on the user pulled lanyard  16  may be transmitted from different angles depending on the location of the passenger seat relative to the oxygen mask dispensing container, the height of the passenger, and the angle at which they pull on the lanyard  16 .  
         [0022]    It is also possible for the entire valve body  10  to rotate about an axis  90  (FIG. 2). The valve body  10  could be supported from the breathing gas conduits and rotate about the conduits by means of O-rings or bearings.  
         [0023]    It is also possible to eliminate the rotation of the disk  22  by guiding the lanyard  16  through an eye, a pulley or other mechanical arrangement for causing the lanyard to be held at a fixed angular position relative to disk  22 .  
         [0024]    Although the disk  22 , the valve member  40  and the groove  70  are provided as round members in the example shown, these elements could be any other suitable shape. If it is not necessary for the disk  22  to rotate in groove  70 , for example, if the entire valve body  10  rotates as described above, the groove  70  could be made in any other suitable shape such as a square, rectangle, triangle, or the like. Accordingly, the disk  22  would also take on a different shape to mate with the groove  70 . The embodiment shown with round elements is an example of one embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the round configuration.  
         [0025]    The retention disks  22  have openings  100  for receiving the ring  19  that attaches to the user pulled lanyard  16 . As best shown in FIG. 2, one side of the retention disk  22  may be provided with a centrally disposed recessed portion  103 . When the retention disk  22  is disposed inside the valve body  10  as shown in FIG. 4, the frustoconical surface  56  on the valve member  40  engages with the recessed portion  103 . As a result, the retaining disk  22  and the valve member  40  can be held together by a frictional fit. This frictional fit must be overcome by the force on the lanyard  16  to remove the retention disk  22  from engagement with the valve member  40 . The frictional fit also prevents the valve from being inadvertently opened due to environmental conditions such as shock and vibration. As shown in FIG. 2, recessed portion  103  may be provided with a curved transition section  200  extending to surface  203 . The curved section  200  may be conical or radiused. Alternately, if the recess is relatively shallow, section  200  may be formed as a straight wall. As shown in the middle of FIG. 4, when the retention disk  22  is inserted into groove  70  in the valve body  10 , the recessed portion  103  engages with the frustoconical surface  56  and deflects the seal  46  so that it seats against the outlet  31  on the adapter  13 . As shown the reduced thickness section  62  is deflected toward the adapter  13  by the disk  22 .  
         [0026]    Turning to FIG. 5, when the disk  22  is removed, the seal  46  moves away from its seat on the inlet  31  and breathing gas is allowed to pass through passageway  26  into the inlet  31  as indicated by arrow  150  in FIG. 5 where it flows to outlet  34 . The seal  46  may move away from inlet  31  due to one or more of the following: relaxation of the elastomer after the force from the retention disk  22  is removed, the pressure of the gas against valve member  40 , or the spring properties of the metal if the thin metal member is used in the valve member  40  as described above.  
         [0027]    Returning to FIG. 2, the inside of the valve body  10  includes a round chamber that is open around the adapter  13  such that if the valve member  40  in the middle position for valve  12  is closed but the valve member  40  in the outer position of valve  11  is opened then the gas can flow around the adapter  13  to the outer position as indicated by arrow  120  in FIG. 4.  
         [0028]    While the invention has been described in connection with certain embodiments, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular forms set forth, but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention.