Patent Publication Number: US-7210477-B2

Title: Respirator hood assembly

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/383,815, filed May 29, 2002. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention relates to a respirator hood assembly, for emergency escape comprising a hood, half mask and filter arrangement, and more particularly to a respirator hood assembly that is impermeable to chemical and biological agents and includes positioning means that allow a user to easily and quickly place the assembly in position. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Respirator hoods are known in the art and take many shapes and forms. The hoods generally contain an air impermeable enclosure that surrounds the user&#39;s head and neck and a filter system that clears the incoming air of any toxic contaminants. 
   Some hood designs provide an air impermeable enclosure that forms a tent-like structure around the head of the user and the filter system is enclosed within the enclosure. Other hoods known in the art have externally located filter systems. 
   Respirator hoods generally include a filter canister, for filtering the ambient air, that is in the shape of a can. U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,778 includes such a canister that is used in combination with a hood. These types of units can be awkward for a user and provide a bulky device that may be unevenly weighted by the canister, causing the hood to slip or move which may allow non-filtered air to enter the hood. 
   Many prior art hoods include several pieces that require precise placement when a user is donning the hood. Such devices may not be appropriate for emergency use since a user will be required to quickly and precisely place the hood over their head with the minimum amount of adjustment and rearrangement possible. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a respirator hood assembly that comprises a bag, a half mask and an air filtration unit that defines a rigid external structure around at least a portion of the bag that supports the hood and allows the user to quickly don the hood. 
   Thus the present invention provides a respirator hood assembly comprising a half mask adapted to cover the nose and the mouth of a user, at least one adjustable strap coupled to the assembly for releasably securing and placing the assembly on a user&#39;s head and at least one filtration unit rigidly secured to the half mask and in fluid communication with the half mask. The filtration unit has at least one inlet valve to allow the passage of ambient air therethrough, and at least one exhaust valve to allow the passage of expelled air therethrough. The inlet pipe has a flexible end that is removably secured to the inlet valve of the filtration unit and an opposing rigid end having a filter contained within it. The at least one inlet pipe is in fluid connection with the at least one inlet valve and is operable to receive ambient air through it. 
   The assembly also includes a bag adapted to enclose the head of the user, the half mask being disposed within the bag, the bag has an elastomeric neck seal that is capable of expansion to allow passage over the head and also of contraction to releasably secure and seal the bag to the neck of the user. The at least one filtration unit and the at least one inlet pipe are attached to a lower region of the bag above the neck seal to provide a rigid gripping portion for placing the hood on the user. 
   Preferably, the respirator hood assembly includes an adjustable strap which is secured at either side of the filtration unit, external of the hood which operates with the rigid gripping portion to place the hood assembly on the user and to secure the half mask in place over the mouth and nose. 
   The respirator assembly of the invention preferably comprises an embodiment wherein the at least one inlet pipe is flexible to facilitate bending, compression, packaging and storage of the assembly. A preferred form of a flexible inlet pipe comprises a corrugated inlet pipe. 
   The filtration unit and the inlet pipes (usually two) comprise a rigid structure that is secured to at least a portion of the bag (hood), just above the neck seal. This allows the user to grab the assembly and quickly pull it over the head, adjusting it around the neck and securely positioning the half mask in the right position. The adjustable strap may be held by one hand and tightened with the other hand to secure the mask in place. 
   In the respirator hood assembly of the invention, the filtration unit may comprise a combination of filters. Preferably the inlet pipe in the unit comprises an activated carbon filter and a particulate filter located between the flexible end and the rigid end of the inlet pipe. More preferably the unit also comprises a filter housing containing a catalytic converter. 
   In a preferred form of the respirator hood assembly of the present invention, the bag has a viewing window located in the region of the bag adjacent the eyes of the user. This viewing window may be provided by means well known in the art, examples of which include but are not limited to adhesion and welding. The adhesion may be accomplished by lamination, heat sealing, gluing and similar methods. 
   The preferences set out herein may be combined in any suitable manner to achieve the solution of the invention. As such these combinations form part of the present invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will be better understood with reference to the attached description and to the accompanying drawings which are used to illustrate the present invention only and should not be used to limit the scope of the accompanying claims. The drawings are as follows: 
       FIG. 1  provides a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the respirator assembly of the present invention, illustrated in use when placed over the head of a user; 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the assembly shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the respirator hood assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a side view of an alternative embodiment of the respirator assembly of the present invention, illustrating the viewing window and an alternative embodiment of the adjustable strap; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a package for a respirator assembly of the present invention; 
       FIG. 6  is a top cross-sectional view of the filtration unit of the respirator hood assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a top view of the filter housing of the filtration unit of  FIG. 6 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side view of the filter housing of  FIG. 7  taken along line  8 ′— 8 ′; 
       FIG. 9  provides a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the respirator assembly of  FIG. 1 , illustrate in use when placed over the head of a user; 
       FIG. 10  is a side view of the respirator hood assembly of  FIG. 9 ; 
       FIG. 11  is an exploded view of the respirator hood assembly of  FIG. 10 ; and 
       FIG. 12  is an exploded view of the filtration unit of the respirator hood assembly of  FIG. 9 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Reference is first made to  FIGS. 1 and 2  to describe a preferred embodiment of a respirator hood assembly, in accordance with the invention, designated generally at numeral  10 . The assembly  10  is shown in use on a user, indicated generally at  11 , for ease of explanation. The respirator hood assembly  10  includes a half mask  12  that is adapted to cover the nose and the mouth of the user  11 , and a bag  28  operable to enclose a user&#39;s head. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that the half mask  12  may comprise a separate mouth piece and a nose clamp, not shown, that are known in the art. 
   The assembly  10  further includes at least one filtration unit  14  that is rigidly secured to and preferably integrally formed with half mask  12 . In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated, the filtration unit  14  has a filter housing  34  with two inlet pipes  16  provided at either side of the housing  34 . These inlet pipes  16  comprise a rigid end  24  and a flexible end  22 , preferably of accordion or corrugated configuration. The outer ends of the rigid end  24  comprise external inlet ports  18  by which ambient air is taken into the filtration unit  14 . The filtration unit  14  also includes two exhaust valves  20 , shown more clearly in  FIG. 7 , to allow the passage of expelled air out of the filtration unit  14 . The filtration unit  14  may include one or more exhaust valves  20  provided that the exhaust valve(s) allow for adequate passage of expelled air from the filtration unit  14 . 
   In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the inlet ports  18  are positioned to extend downwards from the inlet pipe  16 , away from the head of the user, when in use. This position ensures that no liquid, for example rain or water in a shower, will enter the inlet port  18 . The flexible end  22  of the inlet pipes  16  allows for the hood assembly  10  to collapse into a small size. This is achieved by bending the inlet pipes  16  at the flexible end  22  in on themselves towards each other so that they lie side by side along the side of the filtration unit  14  where the half mask  12  is located. The inlet pipes  16  fold in a manner that is similar to the folding action of the arms of a pair of glasses. 
   When assembled, the filter housing  34  along with the inlet pipes  16  comprise a rigid element of the assembly which a user can hold onto when positioning the respirator hood assembly  10  on the head, allowing for quick donning of the hood assembly  10 . The inlet pipes  16  are preferably attached to the bag  28  along the sides located adjacent the side of a user&#39;s head when in use. The attachment may be accomplished by any means that will secure the bag  28  to the inlet pipes  16  without causing any damage to the bag  28 , such damage may result in the passage of ambient air directly into the bag. Examples of suitable attachment means are known in the art and include but are not limited to adhesion, spot welding, heat sealing and the like. It will also be understood that the bag  28  does not need to be secured to the inlet pipes  16 . 
   An adjustable strap  32  is secured to either side of the half mask  12  and around the rear portion of the hood assembly  10  where the back of the user&#39;s head is located when the hood assembly  10  is in use. Adjustment of the strap is provided for at the front of the assembly by means of a strap handle  33  (not shown in  FIG. 1 , but illustrated in  FIG. 4 ) that extends forward from the hood assembly  10 . In the preferred embodiment, the strap  32  has a pair of friction stops (not illustrated), or similar means, located on opposite sides of the filter housing  34  that provide a friction fit between the strap  32  and the stops, and secure the strap  32  in position. The friction stops may be any device that provides a friction fit between the strap  32  and the stops in order that when a user tightens the strap  32  by pulling on the handle  33  the strap  32  is held securely in place at the stops by a friction fit, for example a buckle or jam cleat may be used. In order to secure the hood assembly  10  to a user&#39;s head, the user can pull forward, away from the face, on the strap handle  33 , once the half mask  12  has been positioned over the nose and mouth. This action will in turn pull the strap  32  through the stops until the hood is securely fitted at which point the user can stop pulling on the handle  33  and the stops will securely hold the strap  32  in position. An alternative embodiment of the strap  32  is illustrated in  FIG. 4  in which the stops, indicated at  35 , are located at a higher position on the strap  32  than that described above. In this position the stops  35  can act as pulleys and when a user pulls on the handle  33 , the action will pull the back portion of the bag  28  towards the users head to provide a snug fit, and then the stops  35  will hold the bag in place. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 3  the filtration unit  14  of a preferred embodiment will be more clearly explained. The filtration unit  14  comprises a filter housing  34  which houses a catalytic filter  48  located at the mouthpiece  13  of the half mask  12 . End cap or manifold cover  42  attaches to filter housing  34  enclosing filter  48 . The catalytic filter  48  is preferably a ceramic material that is coated with catalytic material that converts carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, for example cordierite coated with the catalysts platinum and palladium (Pt/Pd). Other suitable catalytic material, for example zeolite, could be used that would be known to one of skill in the art. The catalytic filter  48  may be a single filter or may be incorporated into the filtration unit  14  in more than one piece depending on the structure of the filtration unit  14  and the end use of the hood assembly  10 . The catalytic filter  48  is optional and it will be understood by a person skilled in the art that it may be included for the filtration of carbon monoxide when required. 
   At the rigid end  24  of the inlet pipes  16 , which can be said to act as the external housing for the filters that are contained in the filtration unit  14  and also acting as a donning yolk for the assembly, there is preferably included an activated carbon bed filter  38  which filters by adsorbing or converting chemical agents. The activated carbon bed filter  38  is preferably made from activated and impregnated charcoal, a commercial embodiment of which is an “ASZM TEDA” charcoal, in which the carbon has been coated with metals and organic substances to adsorb and react with chemical and biological agents. This type of filter is known to one of skill in the art and may be coated with different substances for adapting its use to different chemical and/or biological materials or agents. 
   In addition to the carbon filter  38  there is a high efficiency particulate arrester (HEPA) filter  26 . The HEPA filter  26  is typically made from a non-woven structure and may comprise pleated media, unpleated media or a combination of both. The preferred embodiment of the HEPA filter will inhibit particulates including biological agents, aerosolized chemical droplets and radioactive particulates. However, the HEPA filter is not limited to the above description and may be designed to inhibit particulates of varying sizes that will be understood by a person skilled in the art. Both filters  38  and  26  are preferably housed within inlet pipes  16 . As can be seen from the alternative embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 8  and  FIGS. 9 through 12 , discussed below, varying configurations of the filters  38  and  26  are encompassed within the present invention. For example, the HEPA filter  26  and the carbon filter  38  can be separate units, as shown in  FIGS. 1–8 . Alternatively, as shown in  FIGS. 9–12 , the filters  26 ,  38  can be attached to form one unit in which the filters lie adjacent each other. 
   The bag  28  of the respirator hood assembly  10  is preferably made from material having low permeability to chemical and biological agents. The bag  28  may also be made from materials that are fire resistant. Examples of suitable materials include, but are not limited to, polyimides such as Kapton™, polyfluorinated materials such as Teflon™, and polyvinyl chlorides. However, the bag may be made from any material that has a low permeability to chemical and biological agents, for example a cloth or fabric coated with a substance that will lower its permeability to such agents. 
   A viewing window  44  is preferably provided in the bag  28  around where the eye area of a user is positioned when in use, illustrated in  FIG. 4 . In a preferred embodiment the viewing window  44  is formed of a shape that is similar to that of a pair of eyeglasses, however, any shape may be formed that allows the user to have a clear line of sight through the bag. The window  44  may be integral to the bag  28  or may be constructed separately and attached to the bag  28  by means known in the art, including but not limited to adhesion or welding. The viewing window  44  is made from a transparent material which may be selected from conventional suitable materials such as PVC or polycarbonate. This material may be used for the whole hood, as noted above. 
   As indicated in  FIG. 2 , an elastomeric neck seal  30  is attached to the bag  28 . The elastomeric neck seal  30  is preferably made of either a strip of rubber formed into a circle or a piece of rubber that has a hole in the middle through which a user&#39;s head can pass and which is operable to attach to the neck portion of the bag  28 , by means known in the art, for example adhesion or welding. Any material may be used that will have elastomeric properties capable of allowing a user&#39;s head to pass through but also operable to secure tightly around the neck to keep any ambient air/debris, etc. outside of the hood assembly  10 . An example of a suitable material is Neoprene®. Other examples include but are not limited to butyl rubber or polyurethane, other materials may be used that are known in the art and have the required elastomeric properties and impermeability required for the invention. This neck seal may be secured to the hood material by suitable means such as adhesive or sewing. Appropriate alternative constructions may be selected and would be apparent to a person skilled in the art, the basic requirement being the operative requirement set out above. 
   In a preferred form of the respirator hood assembly  10 , the filter housing  34  and the inlet pipes  16  are made from a polymer impermeable to at least one of chemical agents and biological agents, and preferably both. Typical examples of materials include but are not limited to polycarbonates and thermoplastic polymers of high chemical resistance. Examples of commercial materials are Lexan®, Noryl® and Zytel®. 
   The flow of the ambient air through the filtration unit  14  will now be more clearly discussed with reference to  FIGS. 6 through 8 . The ambient air flows into the filtration unit  14  at the rigid end  24  of the inlet pipe  16  through the inlet port  18 , the flow is indicated in  FIG. 6  at arrow A. The air then flows through the HEPA filter  26  and then through the carbon filter  38  and through the inlet pipe  16  towards the flexible end  22 , indicated at arrow B. The air then proceeds to flow into the catalytic converter  48  and then flows through an internal inlet valve  19  into the half mask  12 , indicated by arrow C in  FIGS. 6 and 8 , at which point the user is able to inhale the filtered air. The exhaled air leaves the half mask  12  in the direction of arrow D, illustrated in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , through exhaust valves  20 , illustrated by arrow E, into the ambient air. As can be seen from  FIGS. 6–8  the air preferably flows from two inlet pipes  16  into the catalytic converter  48 , however it will be understood by a person skilled in the art that variations on the number of inlet pipes and valves and exhaust valves may be used to accommodate larger or smaller air flows. 
   The device of the present invention may be packaged and stored in a specialized package illustrated in  FIG. 4  at numeral  50  which provides immediate sizing information for the assembly. The package  50  is such that the suitable size of the half mask  12  can be chosen by using the cut-out  52  located in a front flap portion  54  of the package  50 . The cut-out  52  is triangular in shape and is the same size as the half mask  12  located in the package  50 , with the distance from the top portion of the triangle to the bottom edge being equivalent to the size of the half mask  12  and reflecting the distance from the bridge of the nose of a user to underneath the jaw bone. The user can ensure that they obtain the correctly sized half mask  12  by placing the cut-out  52  over the bridge of their nose and their jaw bone thereby ensuring that the half mask  12  located in the package  50  will correctly fit them. The assembly is sized for small, medium and large persons, with the fit of the half mask  12  around the nose and mouth being the most important aspect for fit purposes. In addition, the structure, particularly the inlet pipes  16  are designed so that it can be compressed and therefore be more easily stored, as described above. 
   An alternative embodiment will now be discussed with reference to  FIGS. 9 through 12 . Reference numerals for the same structures have been increased by 100. It will be understood that such structures perform the same function as those described above and may be made of similar material as described above. 
   As described above, the respirator hood assembly  110  includes a half mask  112  that is adapted to cover the nose and the mouth of a user  111 , and a bag  128  operable to enclose a user&#39;s head. The assembly  110  further includes at least one filtration unit  114  that is rigidly secured to and preferably integrally formed with half mask  112 . In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the filtration unit  114  has a filter housing  134  with two inlet pipes  116  provided at either side of the housing  134 . These inlet pipes  116  comprise a rigid end  124  and a flexible end  122 , preferably of accordion or corrugated configuration. The outer ends of the rigid end  124  comprise external inlet ports  118 , shown in  FIG. 10 , by which ambient air is taken into the filtration unit  114 . The inlet ports  118  are located on the lower surface of the rigid end  124  of the inlet pipes  116 . The filtration unit  114  has an exhaust valve  120  to allow the passage of expelled air out of the filtration unit  114 . Likewise, the inlet pipes  116  are operable to bend in on themselves, as discussed above, so that they lie side by side along the side of the filtration unit  114 . 
   The hood assembly  110  also includes an adjustable strap  132 , with stops  135 , secured to either side of the half mask  112  and around the rear portion of the hood assembly  110  where the back of the user&#39;s head is located when the hood assembly  110  is in use. The hood assembly also includes an elastomeric neck seal  130 , as described above. 
   As can be seen in  FIGS. 9 through 11 , the filter housing  134  may be circular in shape. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that the filter housing  134  performs the same function as filter housing  34  and may also include a catalytic filter  148 . The filter housing  134  may form any shape or structure that is operable to perform the same function as that discussed above for filter housing  34 . 
   Turning to  FIGS. 11 and 12  the configuration of the filters  26  and  38  will be discussed in more detail. In this embodiment the flexible end  122  and the rigid end  124  of the inlet pipes  116  may be formed from separate components that may be releasable attached to each other. It will be understood that the ends  122  and  124  may also be integrally formed. As can be seen in  FIG. 12 , the HEPA filter  126  and the carbon filter  138  lie in parallel configuration within the rigid end  124  with the HEPA filter  126  lying adjacent the inlet ports  118  and the carbon filter  138  lying on top of the HEPA filter  126 . In this configuration the ambient air will flow through inlet ports  118  into the HEPA filter  126  and then into the carbon filter  138  and then flow through the end of the carbon filter  138  out of the rigid end  124  of inlet pipe  116  and into the flexible end  122 . The air will then flow through the filtration unit  114  as described above. 
     FIG. 12  illustrates the filters  126 ,  138  with a series of layered separation sheets  140  therebetween. The separations sheets  140  may act as screens and/or filters and may be made from material that provides additional filtration of the air as it flows between the inlet ports  118  and the flexible end  122 , for example the sheets  140  may be made from non-woven material capable of filtering fine particles that may be present in the air. Alternatively the separation sheets  140  may be used to separate the interface of the filters  126 ,  138  and therefore made from material that will not inhibit the operation of the filters  126 ,  138  or inhibit the flow of air therebetween. 
   It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that several configurations of the filters  126 ,  138  can exist and form part of the present invention. For example, the filters  126 ,  138  may lie adjacent each other within the rigid end  124  of inlet pipes  116  with the inlet ports  118  feeding air into the HEPA filter  126 . 
   The use of the hood assembly  10  will now be discussed. 
   In operation, the assembly  10  is removed from its storage package  50  and the inlet pipes  16  are unfolded in a manner similar to unfolding the arms of a pair of glasses, to open up the hood assembly  10 . The assembly  10  is shaken out to put air into the bag  28  and to allow access to the adjustable strap  32  and rigid gripping portion provided by the filtration unit  14  and the inlet pipes  16  for quick and secure donning of the assembly by a user. The user holds the sides of the rigid gripping portion defined by the inlet pipes  16  and places the head of the user into the bag  28  to position the half mask  12  over the nose and mouth of the user and then the strap  32  is adjusted, as described above, to secure the half mask  12  in the required position. Once the half mask  12  is positioned about the head and the strap  32  is secured, then the user adjusts the neck portion  30  so that it is lying flat around the neck of the user. All of this operation is meant to occur in very rapid time, since it is anticipated that the respirator hood assembly  10  of the invention would be used by individuals who wish to quickly evacuate from a building, such as a high rise building, where air quality would provide a risk to the user. Typically, the filtration unit  10  is designed for the amount of time required to exit a typical high rise building, and thus an average time of 20 minutes is envisaged for operation of the filtration unit when the respirator hood assembly is in place on a user. Obviously, the time and hence filter capacity can be varied appropriately to allow for longer or shorter usage times, including, but not limited to, standard escape times 15, 30 and 60 minutes. 
   The preferred embodiment of the present invention is designed to be disposable and for one time use only, however, the assembly may be made to include filters that can be replaced or a whole filtration unit that can be removed from the half mask and bag and replaced with a new filtration unit. In order to allow for the replacement of parts connections may be provided within the assembly that allow for easy removal of parts. For example, the filter housing may be connected to the half mask and the inlet pipes by a fitting such as a snap fit or a screw fit, both of which would allow for the removal and replacement of the housing. 
   The above described embodiments of the invention are intended to be examples of the present invention and alterations and modifications may be effected thereto, by those of skill in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the hood assembly may comprise any combination of filters disclosed above, that can be located within the filtration unit in any order. Each filter may be adapted to provide specific capabilities depending on the intended end use. For example, the filtration unit may comprise more then one particulate filter, where each filter is operable to inhibit the passage of varying particulate sizes. The carbon filter may be adapted to contain agents that will only respond to specific chemical or biological agents, depending on the situation envisaged for the use of the hood assembly. 
   Each half mask may be made of varying sizes to allow for size variations in the facial structure of the users. Examples of suitable materials that may be used for the half mask include, but are not limited to, Alcryn®, butyl rubber and silicone rubber. The elastomeric neck seal may also be made of varying sizes to accommodate varying sizes of neck in the users. Each filter contained within the hood assembly should be made to maximize its potential use and ensure that the face velocity of each filter is suitably adequate to provide a low breathing resistance. In the case of the catalytic filter, the filter should be made having a face velocity adequate to allow for catalytic conversion of the contaminants. 
   The filtration unit, including the inlet pipes, should be made to provide the rigid outer structure that assists the user in placing the hood assembly securely over their head. The filtration unit may be made from any shape that provides this additional rigid structure and can contain the filters within it and allow the ambient air to flow through the inlet valves to pass through all of the filters before entering the half mask. The inlet pipes may also be made from, for example, aluminum or polymers reinforced with glass fibres, or other suitable material including those discussed above, that have a low permeability to chemical and/or biological agents and will provide a suitable housing for the filters.