Abstract:
The present invention provides an emergency vision apparatus, comprising a blower; an inflatable enclosure remote from the blower, the enclosure being made of airtight material and having an expanded form when deployed and a deflated form when not in use; first and second clear members disposed at respective first and second ends of the enclosure to enable a user to see through the enclosure when expanded and observe a source of information at a distal end of the enclosure while smoke or other particulate matter is in the environment; a switch operably associated with the blower to activate the blower and thereby inflate the enclosure when deployed; and an air passageway connecting the blower and the enclosure, the passageway being extendible from a shorter length to a longer length when the enclosure is deployed.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to an apparatus to enable an operator to maintain visual contact with instruments or other visual sources of data after smoke and/or particulate from a fire or other sources has invaded the operator&#39;s environment. In particular, the present invention relates to an emergency vision apparatus that can be stowed in confined spaces, including an inflatable enclosure that bridges the gap between a pilot and the windshield and/or instrument panel of an aircraft along the pilot&#39;s line of sight and provides a clear viewing path to the windshield and/or the instrument panel, thereby providing him with vital information for guiding the aircraft to a safe landing after smoke and/or particulate matter invades the cockpit area. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Emergency vision devices for aiding pilots to see through vision-impairing smoke to maintain their visual access to critical information, such as that provided by an instrument panel and visual information available outside the cockpit to help pilots safely guide their aircrafts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,832,287; 5,318,250; 5,202,796; 5,947,415 and 6,460,804, all issued to Bertil Werjefelt. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an emergency vision apparatus, comprising a blower; an inflatable enclosure remote from the blower, the enclosure being made of airtight material and having an expanded form when deployed and a deflated form when not in use; first and second clear members disposed at respective first and second ends of the enclosure to enable a user to see through the enclosure when expanded and observe a source of information at a distal end of the enclosure while smoke or other particulate matter is in the environment; a switch operably associated with the blower to activate the blower and thereby inflate the enclosure when deployed; and an air passageway connecting the blower and the enclosure, the passageway being extendible from a shorter length to a longer length when the enclosure is deployed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic cross-sectional view of an aircraft cockpit showing an embodiment of the present invention in use. 
         FIG. 2  is a front elevational view of an embodiment of an emergency vision apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  in stowage position. 
         FIG. 3  is rear elevational view of  FIG. 2 , with the rear cover removed to show the components inside. 
         FIG. 4  is a front elevational view of the inflatable unit of  FIG. 2 , showing the inflatable enclosure being pulled out from the housing. 
         FIG. 5  is a rear perspective view of the housing for the inflatable enclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a front perspective view of the housing of  FIG. 5 , showing the cover in place and the straps ready to be folded down. 
         FIG. 7  is a view taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 4 , showing the various switches inside the housing of the inflatable enclosure. 
         FIG. 8  is a side elevational view of the switch activated by a removable member. 
         FIG. 9  is side view of the removable member used to activate the switch shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 10  is side elevational view of the blower unit taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an embodiment of an emergency vision apparatus  2  made in accordance with the present invention is disclosed. The apparatus  2  includes a blower unit  4 , an inflatable unit  6  and an extendible flexible hose or tubular air passageway  8  operably connecting the blower unit  4  to the inflatable unit  6 . The apparatus  2  is preferably used in an area where stowage space is limited for a conventional emergency vision apparatus where the inflatable unit, the blower unit and the hose are all stowed in one housing. In the present invention, the inflatable unit  6  is advantageously stowed remotely from the blower unit  4 , thereby distributing the stowage space requirement of the components from one large space-consuming package into two smaller housings, with the connecting hose laid out between the housings. For example, a standard emergency vision apparatus, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,673, has all the components, including the inflatable enclosure, blower, hose and batteries, stowed in a single housing. In the present invention, the components are stowed in separate, smaller enclosures, adapted to be fitted within a small cockpit with confined spaces. 
     The blower unit  4  includes a blower  10  disposed within a housing  12 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . A battery pack  14  is operably connected to the blower  10 . The passageway  8  includes a flexible inner hose  16  operably connected to the blower  10 . The blower  10  includes a filter  17  that filters the particulate matter in the environment so that clear air is pumped through hose  16 . 
     In use, the housing  12  is mounted to an existing structure, such as a wall inside a cockpit, in a vertical orientation, as shown in  FIG. 1 , so that the blower inlet  18  is disposed on the vertical side of the housing  12 , and aligns with an opening  19  on the side of the housing  12 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 10 . In this manner, collection of dusts and other particulate matter would be minimized at the inlet  18 . The housing  12  may also be attached to wherever space may be found, such behind the pilot&#39;s seat, under the seat, etc. 
     The inflatable unit  6  includes an inflatable enclosure  20  (shown deflated) disposed in a housing  22  when not in use, as shown in  FIG. 4 . A flexible hose  24  is operably connected in communication with the interior space of the enclosure  20 . The housing  22  has a top opening  26  to allow retrieval of the enclosure  20  during deployment, as shown in  FIG. 5 . A cover  28  is provided to close the opening  26 . Straps  30  with VELCRO fasteners  32  are used to keep the cover  28  secured. A tie  34  is used to keep the cover  28  attached to the housing  22 . 
     The housing  22  includes a switch  36  that controls the activation of the blower  10 . The switch  36  is operably connected to the blower  10  via cable  38 . Referring to  FIG. 8 , the switch  36  has a lever  40  that depresses a button  42  to turn the switch off and releases the button  42  to turn the switch on. A removable member  44  disposed in a longitudinal guide  46  depresses the button  42  via the lever  40 . When the member  44  is withdrawn from the guide  46 , the lever  40  is released from depressing the button  42 , thereby turning on the blower  10 . 
     The member  44  has a shank portion  48  that is received within the guide  46  and a loop portion  50  secured to the shank portion  48  with a crimp member  52 . The member  44  is preferably made of plastic, such as Nylon. The end portion  52  is preferably pointed for ease of insertion into the guide  46 . Referring back to  FIG. 4 , the loop portion  50  is attached to the hose  24  with a tie  56  so that when the enclosure  20  is taken out of the housing  22 , the member  44  is pulled out of the guide  46  at the same time, thereby releasing the lever  40  and turning on the switch  36  to activate the blower  10 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , the passageway  8  includes a flexible outer hose  58  operably attached to the housing  12  and the housing  22 . The inner hose  16  is disposed within the outer hose  58  and sealed thereto with seal  60 . Similarly, the inner hose  24  is disposed within the outer hose  58  and sealed thereto with seal  62 . The inner hose  24  is slidable within the outer hose  58  in a telescoping manner so that when the enclosure  20  is pulled out of the housing  22 , the hose  24  slides outwardly from the outer hose  58 , thereby extending the length of the hose from a shorter length to a longer length to allow placement of the inflated enclosure between the source of information and the user&#39;s eyes. The seal  62  is slidable along the inner surface of the outer hose  58 . For greater extension of the inner hose  24 , the inner hose  16  is preferably much shorter with its outer end being close to the housing  12 , while the inner hose  24  is made much longer with its free end close to the free end of the inner hose  16 , thereby occupying substantially the length of the outer hose  58 . Although the outer hose  58  may be connected directly to the blower  10 , the use of the inner hose  16  advantageously provides for flexibility in maintenance. Removal or replacement of the blower  10  is much easier with the use of the inner hose  16 . The outer hose  62  is built to protect the inner hoses  16  and  24  from foot traffic abuse in case the hose  58  is laid down on the floor of the cockpit. By using a telescoping hose arrangement, the length of the air passageway between the blower unit  4  and inflatable unit  6  is advantageously adjusted from a shorter space-saving length for stowage to an extended longer length for deployment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the enclosure  20  is shown in the expanded or inflated form during use. The enclosure  20  is a standard enclosure, such one disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,202,796, 5,947,415 and 6,082,673. The enclosure  20  is made from substantially air-tight material, which is foldable and flexible. The enclosure  20  has a clear transparent front member  64  and a clear transparent rear member  66  to allow the user to see through the enclosure to the source of information, such as through the windshield  68  of an aircraft cockpit. The enclosure  20  also includes a portion  70  that allows the user to view another source of information, such as the instrument panel in the cockpit. The portion  70  similarly includes a clear transparent front member  72  to allow the user to view the instrument panel. 
     The enclosure  20  starts to inflate as soon as it is taken from the housing  22  and the member  44  is withdrawn from the guide  46 . The blower  10  is automatically activated by the switch  36 , which is turned on by the withdrawal of the member  44 . In case the switch  36  fails, a bypass switch  74  may be activated. The switch  74  is wired parallel to the switch  36  such as to be able to turn the blower  10  on even if the switch  36  fails to turn on or somehow freezes in the open position. The bypass switch  74  is advantageously within the housing  22 , disposed near the top opening  26 , visible and within easy reach of the operator in case it is needed. 
     After use, the blower  10  is turned off by replacing the member  44  into the guide  46 , thereby turning off the switch  36 . The tie  56  is loose enough to be moved down the inner hose  24 . The enclosure  20  is then deflated, folded and placed within the housing  22 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , a blower test switch  76  and a battery test switch  78  are provided for maintenance purposes. The switch  76  will test the operation of the blower  10 . The switch  78  will test the charge of the battery pack  14  through a standard battery tester  80 . 
     The apparatus  2  makes possible the installation of an emergency vision apparatus where stowage space is limited. Instead of packaging the blower unit  4 , the inflatable unit  6  and the connecting passageway or hose  8  in one large housing, the various units are placed in smaller housings and distributed in the limited space available. This makes the apparatus  2  available for use in smaller aircrafts with cockpits of limited and confined spaces. 
     It seen from the foregoing description that the apparatus  2  enables an operator to maintain visual contact with instruments or other visual sources of data after vision-obscuring matter, such as smoke and/or particulate matter from a fire, has invaded the operator&#39;s environment. In particular, the apparatus  2  provides a clear view outside the windshield and of the instrument panel in an aircraft cockpit, thereby providing the pilot with vital information for guiding the aircraft to a safe landing after such as smoke or other vision-obscuring matter, invades the cockpit area. 
     Although the apparatus  2  is shown in the context of an aircraft cockpit, the invention can be used in other similar environments where an operator in a station requires access to information from a source, such as an instrument panel, during a vision-obscuring emergency, such as a smoke generating event. Examples of operator stations are a submarine control station, a nuclear power plant control room, an oil rig or any other critical or military environments where the need exists for an operator to continue to operate in case of a vision-obscuring emergency, such as when smoke or other particulate matter invades the operator station and obliterates the visibility between the operator and the control panel. Accordingly, where the instruments, control panel or critical sources of information are disposed in an operator station, the operator must have visual access to the information in case a vision-obscuring event occurs in the operator station. 
     While this invention has been described as having preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modification, uses and/or adaptations following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the essential features set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.