Patent ID: 7832395

Claim:
A portable breathable gas delivery apparatus, comprising: a pressure vessel for storing the breathable gas under pressure; a valve operably coupled to the pressure vessel through which the breathable gas can be selectively released; and a housing having a first portion that at least partially encloses the pressure vessel; and a second portion that partially encloses a chamber operably coupled to the pressure vessel via the valve into which the breathable gas can be released for breathing by a user, the second portion being structured to cooperate with a user's facial structure to form a substantially closed enclosure, the chamber having an opening adapted to interface with the user's facial structure; wherein the second portion extends from the first portion and can be shifted from a folded configuration to an unfolded configuration, wherein the unfolded configuration is adapted for breathing the breathable gas; the second portion further comprising a plurality of at least partially rigid panels joined to each other by flexible webs such that the flexible webs are spreadable to separate the at least partially rigid panels by a greater distance at a distal end of the second portion located distal from the first portion of the housing than at a proximal end of the second portion located proximal to the first portion of the housing; and wherein the storage vessel is telescopically receivable into the second portion and can be telescopically withdrawn from the second portion.