Regulated breathing system

Claim 2

A closed-cycle breathing apparatus comprising in combination a breathing mask constructed and arranged to surround in gastight relation that portion of the person of the breather including his mouth and nose and including regulator means to control the flow of gas to and from said breathing mask in accordance with the breathing demands of said breather, a source of breathing gas, compressor means, and decompressor means, and conduit means for connecting said source through said compressor means to said mask under control of said regulator means, and to return the exhaust gas from said mask through said decompressor means under control of said regulator means, said conduit means comprising an inner conduit surrounded by an outer conduit, said inner conduit conveying breathing gas to the mask, said outer conduit conveying exhaust gas from the mask, each of said conduits having one end in free communication with the interior of said mask and having the other end under the control of said regulator means, said regulator means comprising in combination with said mask, a chamber, one wall of said chamber assuming the form of a flexible diaphragm, an intake valve and an exhaust valve, means comprising a system of levers coupled to said diaphragm and constructed and arranged to open said intake valve and close said exhaust valve upon inspiration of said breather, and to close said intake valve and open said exhaust valve upon expiration of said breather, said system of levers coupled to said diaphragm comprising a pair of levers, each pivotally mounted to rotate about fixed pivot means on said regulator means and each having a surface constrained to move with the surface of said diaphragm, the two levers constrained in response to the motion of said diaphragm to rotate in opposite directions about their respective fixed pivot means, each of said levers coupled at its outer end adjacent the fixed pivot means to control the to-and-fro motion of the valve stem of a respective one of said intake and exhaust valves, whereby upon inspiration and expiration, one of said levers rotates in a clockwise direction to move one of said valves and the other of said levers moves in a counterclockwise direction to move the other of Said valves.

Claim 3

The combination for a submerged diver in accordance with claim 1 wherein said compressor means and said decompressor means are housed in a life support chamber.

Claim 4

The combination in accordance with claim 2 including an auxiliary source of breathing gas adjacent the person of said diver, and means under manual control of said diver for connecting said auxiliary source to said mask through said regulator means.

Claim 5

The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein said source of breathing gas is a mixture of a major portion of helium and the balance consisting essentially of oxygen and nitrogen.

Claim 6

The combination in accordance with claim 5 wherein said source of breathing gas is a mixture of about 66 percent helium, 25 percent nitrogen, and 9 percent oxygen.

Claim 7

The combination in accordance with claim 5 wherein said source of breathing gas is a mixture of about 85 percent helium, 11 percent nitrogen, and 4 percent oxygen.

Claim 8

A closed-cycle breathing apparatus comprising in combination a breathing mask constructed and arranged to surround in gastight relation that portion of the person of the breather including his mouth and nose and including regulator means to control the flow of gas to and from said breathing mask in accordance with the breathing demands of said breather, a source of breathing gas, compressor means, and decompressor means, and conduit means for connecting said source through said compressor means to said mask under control of said regulator means, and to return the exhaust gas from said mask through said decompressor means under control of said regulator means, said regulator means comprising in combination with said mask, a chamber, one wall of said chamber assuming the form of a flexible diaphragm, an intake valve and an exhaust valve, means comprising a system of levers coupled to said diaphragm and constructed and arranged to open said intake valve and close said exhaust valve upon inspiration of said breather, and to close said intake valve and open said exhaust valve upon expiration of said breather, wherein said system of levers coupled to said diaphragm comprises a yoke rigidly connected near the center of the flexible wall of said diaphragm on the inside of said chamber, said yoke including a pair of prongs extended in a plane substantially parallel to and slightly spaced apart from the surface of said diaphragm, a first roll pin supported to roll with its two ends bearing on the respective inner surfaces of said prongs facing said diaphragm, a pair of twin levers disposed in parallel planes transverse to the plane of said diaphragm, said twin levers spaced apart a lateral distance which is less than the spacing between said prongs, said twin levers respectively terminating at the ends thereof near the center of said diaphragm in a pair of rounded projections which bear against the inner surface of said diaphragm, said rounded projections respectively accommodated between said prongs and forming bearings supporting said first roll pin, a second roll pin mounted in a pair of twin bearings fastened to the inner wall of said chamber at the periphery of said diaphragm, said twin levers being fastened at their respective outer ends to rotate about said second roll pin in a direction determined by the direction of motion of said diaphragm, said twin levers having respective semicircular notches in matched positions near the outer ends thereof, a semicylindrical member symmetrically supported in said notches, said exhaust valve having A stem connected to said semicylindrical member between said notches, the combination including said twin levers, said semicylindrical member and said valve stem constructed and arranged to open said exhaust valve in response to rotation of said twin levers in one direction about said second roll pin and to close said exhaust valve in response to rotation of said twin levers in the opposite direction about said second roll pin, a single lever extending transversely to the plane of said diaphragm and directed in a substantially diametrically opposite direction to the direction of said twin levers, the inner end of said single lever projecting between the rounded projections of said twin levers and bearing against the central portion of said first roll pin, a third roll pin mounted in a bearing fastened to the inner wall of said chamber at the periphery of said diaphragm in a position substantially diametrically opposed to the positions of said twin bearings, said single lever fastened at its outer end to rotate about said third roll pin as determined by the direction of motion of said diaphragm, a cam connected to the outer end of said single lever, said cam constructed to bear against the face of a member rigidly connected to the valve stem of said intake valve, the combination including said single lever, said cam, said member and said valve stem, constructed and arranged to open said intake valve in response to rotation of said single lever about said third roll pin in one direction and to close said intake valve in response to the rotation of said single lever about said third roll pin in the opposite direction.

Claim 9

A closed-cycle breathing apparatus comprising in combination a breathing mask constructed and arranged to surround in gastight relation that portion of the person of the breather including his mouth and nose and including regulator means to control the flow of gas to and from said breathing mask in accordance with the breathing demands of said breather, a source of breathing gas, compressor means, and decompressor means, and conduit means for connecting said source through said compressor means to said mask under control of said regulator means, and to return the exhaust gas from said mask through said decompressor means under control of said regulator means, said regulator means comprising in combination with said mask, a chamber, one wall of said chamber assuming the form of a flexible diaphragm, an intake valve and an exhaust valve, means comprising a system of levers coupled to said diaphragm and constructed and arranged to open said intake valve and close said exhaust valve upon inspiration of said breather, and to close said intake valve and open said exhaust valve upon expiration of said breather, wherein said system of levers coupled to said diaphragm comprises a yoke rigidly connected near the center of the flexible wall of said diaphragm on the inside of said chamber, said yoke including a pair of prongs extended in a plane substantially parallel to and slightly spaced apart from the surface of said diaphragm, a first roll pin supported to roll with its two ends bearing on the respective inner surfaces of said prongs facing said diaphragm, a pair of twin levers disposed in parallel planes transverse to the plane of said diaphragm, said twin levers spaced apart a lateral distance which is less than the spacing between said prongs, said twin levers respectively terminating at the ends thereof near the center of said diaphragm in a pair of rounded projections which bear against the inner surface of said diaphragm, said rounded projections respectively accommodated between said prongs and forming bearings supporting said first roll pin, a second roll pin mounted in a pair of twin bearings fastened to the inner wall of said chamber at the periphery of said diaphragm, said twin levers being fastened at their respective outer ends to rotate about said second roll pin in a direction determined by the direction of motion of said diaphragm, said twin levers having respective semicircular notches in matched positions near the outer ends thereof, a semicylindrical member symmetrically supported in said notches, said exhaust valve having A stem connected to said semicylindrical member between said notches, the combination including said twin levers, said semicylindrical member and said valve stem constructed and arranged to open said exhaust valve in response to rotation of said twin levers in one direction about said second roll pin and to close said exhaust valve in response to rotation of said twin levers in the opposite direction about said second roll pin, a single lever extending transversely to the plane of said diaphragm and directed in a substantially diametrically opposite direction to the direction of said twin levers, the inner end of said single lever projecting between the rounded projections of said twin levers and bearing against the central portion of said first roll pin, a third roll pin mounted in a bearing fastened to the inner wall of said chamber at the periphery of said diaphragm in a position substantially diametrically opposed to the positions of said twin bearings, said single lever fastened at its outer end to rotate about said third roll pin as determined by the direction of motion of said diaphragm, a cam connected to the outer end of said single lever, said cam constructed to bear against the face of a member rigidly connected to the valve stem of said intake valve, the combination including said single lever, said cam, said member and said valve stem, constructed and arranged to open said intake valve in response to rotation of said single lever about said third roll pin in one direction and to close said intake valve in response to the rotation of said single lever about said third roll pin in the opposite direction.

Claim 10

The combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein said life support chamber is a diving bell constructed to accommodate at least one diver in a watertight environment during trips from and to the water surface to a selected level below the surface and to permit egress and ingress of the diver from said bell at said selected level, and wherein said conduit means further comprises hoses for connecting said diver to and from said diving bell.