Clip for use with breathing apparatus

Clip technology field for respirator

[0001] The present invention relates to a clip for connecting to a belt so as to be able to hold a flexible catheter on the belt. Because the flexible catheter can be held close to the belt, the clip can be used with an adjustable harness for a self-controlled breathing apparatus (SCBA) in order to reduce the risk of entanglement.

Background technique

[0002] The SCBA harness usually includes a structural support member in the form of a back panel, a pair of shoulder straps, and a waist belt. The back plate is provided with a valve and a fixing belt toward the lower end thereof. When in use, a gas cylinder that can inhale gas is connected to the valve and fixed to the back plate by a fixing strap. One or more flexible conduits in the form of tubes extend from the valve along the back plate to the shoulder strap so that the respirator and other equipment worn by the user can be easily connected to it. Some SCBA harnesses are adjustable in length to allow them to be worn comfortably by users of different heights.

[0003] U.S. Patent No. 6,158,670 shows a clamp for connecting a water pipe nozzle device to a breast plate. In contrast, breathing tubes are usually connected to the straps used to support the harness by small clips. This kind of clip is usually attached to or around the belt, and when worn, the clip has an open groove for fixing the tube, and the tube is clamped into the open groove. The tubes can become detached tubes, and because these tubes will tend to interfere with each other, it is difficult to install more than one tube.

Summary of the invention

[0004] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clip for attaching to a band for holding a flexible catheter, the clip having a fixing portion for fixing the flexible catheter, and a side arranged on either side of the fixing portion The part is used to engage the belt, wherein the fixing part is arranged to support the flexible conduit facing the belt when the clip is mounted to the belt.

[0005] Since the flexible catheter cannot be detached from the belt unless the clip itself is detached from the belt, this structure maintains the flexible catheter more safely. Of course, this design means that the flexible conduit has to be put into the clip before the clip is installed on the belt, which is not very convenient but is completely manageable.

[0006] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a clip for attaching to a band for holding a flexible catheter, the clip having a fixing portion for fixing or engaging the flexible catheter, and a side portion, the fixing portion Each side is used to join the strap, where the fixed part is offset with respect to the width of the strap so that above the side of the clip, the space on one side is larger than the space on the other side.

[0007] This layout makes it easier to mount two flexible ducts to the belt, because one of the flexible ducts can be fixed with a clip having a fixing portion offset to one side, and the other flexible duct can Fix it with a clip whose fixing part is offset to the other side. As a result, the flexible conduits no longer interfere with each other, or there will be at least less interference than the conventional way of placing the fixed part in the center.

[0008] These two ideas can and preferably be combined. In all cases, it is preferable to join the side portion with the belt by flange-joining the side facing the pipe joint part under the belt, around the edge of the belt. These flanges can be of the same length (that is, in the side direction of the belt), or they can be of different lengths, for example, corresponding to the lateral extension length of the side; in the latter case, the gap between these flanges The gap corresponds to the opening in the pipe joint portion.

[0009] Preferably, these clips are generally symmetrical about a plane perpendicular to the length of the belt. A pair of clips can be used

Surround the strap in the opposite direction (but on the same side of the strap) so that one of the pair of clips can enclose the tube extending along one side of the strap, and the other clip can enclose the other side of the strap The tube; therefore, the two tubes will not interfere with each other. Of course, these clips can be provided in completely different left- and right-handed forms, but they are usually inconvenient. Typically, the tube in the breathing apparatus has a diameter of, for example, 12 mm, which is less than half of the belt width, which is typically 50 mm, so even with the possible 3 mm clip thickness, there is still room for two tubes.

[0010] Finally, the present invention relates to harnesses, first of all harnesses for breathing equipment, which have a strap with a clip, such as the clip defined above, particularly a shoulder strap, which engages around the back side of the strap, And it completely encloses or can enclose the tube in order to fix the tube against the belt. In a second aspect of the harness, a harness for breathing equipment is provided, which has a strap provided with a clip, preferably a clip as defined above, in particular a shoulder strap, the clip being adapted to be removed from the belt Fix the tube on the belt by offsetting the centerline of the tube. Preferably, the device has two such clips with offsets to different sides so that the fixed tubes do not interfere with each other.

[0011] The present invention may include any combination of the features and/or limitations mentioned herein, unless the combination of these features is mutually exclusive.

Description of the drawings

[0012] The embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings by way of example only, in which:

[0013] FIG. 1 shows a view of a part of the back of a harness for a respirator using the clip of the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 2 shows a clip according to the present invention;

[0015] FIG. 3 shows a clamp used to strap and fix the tube;

[0016] FIG. 4 shows two clips for straps with tubes side by side;

[0017] FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view through the clip; and

[0018] FIG. 6 again shows a cross-sectional view of the clip in place on the belt.

Detailed ways

[0019] FIG. 1 shows two shoulder straps 10 that are connected to a back plate (or back frame) 102 of a harness 100 for a respirator. Except that they are mirror images of each other, the two shoulder straps 10 are identical. The belt has a first part and a second part 20, 30, and the second belt part 30 is inclined to the first belt part 20 in the opposite direction. The back plate 102 carries a cylinder of compressed air, which is not shown, from which a tube 60 leads to a mask, which is also not shown. On the other end of the belt is a buckle 50, which is used to connect to the length adjustment part of the belt.

[0020] Ideally, keep the tube 10 close to the wearer's body to reduce the possibility of the tube hanging on any other protrusions when the wearer moves. To this end, each tube 60 is clamped to the belt 10 at a suitable point in the direction along the length of the belt. For example, on the left-hand side of FIG. 1, the clip 70 is shown as being positioned about halfway along the belt, where the clip can slide up and down freely. However, it is most advantageous to fix the clip at a suitable point along the belt. In the present embodiment, the first belt portion and the second belt portion 20, 30 are formed by folding and stitching continuous portions of the material so that even if the stitching fails, the first belt portion and the second belt portion do not become detached. This folding layer can be used to set a clip, which is shown on the belt on the right hand side and will be explained below.

[0021] One feature of the invention can be seen in FIG. 1, namely that the clip is asymmetrical and holds the tube so that it can move more or less along half of the left or right hand strap. It can also be seen that the clamp holds the tube underneath it

Wear the strap, so, assuming that the clip does not detach from the strap, the tube will be held absolutely safely.

[0022] The shape of the clip can be seen from FIG. 2. The clip 70 is made of a strip of plastic material, or is made of an extruded length, and has an approximately cylindrical tube fixing portion 72, and a side portion 73 located on each side of the cylindrical axis (ie, the belt length direction), 75ο In the circumferential range, the cylindrical portion 72 is slightly more than half a cylindrical shape. The outer edge of each side portion is bent to the lower portion and is spaced to form inwardly bent flanges 74.76. When in use, these flanges 74, 76 engage the lower part of the belt. The tube fixing portion 72 is open toward the belt so as to securely fix the tube with it. One of the sides 75 is much wider than the other 73, so that the tube fixing part is substantially completely disposed in one half of the clamp.

[0023] FIG. 3 shows the tube and clamps in place on the belt 10. It can be seen how the flange 74.76 keeps the clip on the belt in the usual way, but here, the tube fixing part 72 crosses the tube and is installed around the tube to hold it safely in place, facing the belt .

[0024] It can also be seen how the tube fixing portion 72 is located on the side of the clamp, that is, on the side with the centerline when installed. This enables a configuration such as that shown in FIG. 4 to be used. Two identical clips 70.70a are shown here, they are mounted on the same belt, each holding a tube. The clips are installed to surround the belt in the opposite direction so that the upper clip in the figure can hold the tube on the left hand side of the belt while the other clip 70 holds the tube on the right hand side. In this way, two tubes can be installed on the same belt (compare with Figure 1) without blocking each other.

[0025] For the purpose of complete display, FIGS. 5 and 6 show cross-sections through the clip, and in the case of FIG. 6 also show the strap, but the tube is not shown. It can be seen that the clip can be considered to be molded or formed from a strip of material extending from one flange, such as the short flange 74 to the other flange 76, which contains a slightly more than half-cylindrical tube. Fixing part 72. The length of the flange (in the width direction of the belt) approximately matches the lateral extension length corresponding to the side portion, so that the gap between the flanges allows the tube to pass through and directly enter the fixed portion 72, thereby simplifying assembly.

[0026] Advantageously, once in position, the clip can be prevented from sliding along the belt. To this end, the belt may have additional accessories, but if the belt is of the type shown in Figure 1 which is folded and sewn together, the seams may be arranged to be able to give the joining flanges 74, 76, or them therein. At least one of the bags.

[0027] FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view through the right-hand side band of FIG. 1, the cross-sectional view is taken along the clip and the folded portion. The folds 62.64 between the first strap portion 20, the middle strap portion 60 and the second strap portion 30, and the seams 66 to fix the folds provide a convenient bag (or opening) in which the tube clip 70 can be placed. The clip 70 including the tube fixing portion 72 and the inwardly projecting first and second flanges 74, 76 can be connected to the belt by providing flanges 74, 76 in the opening 61 on either side of the belt. To achieve. The stitching 66 in the area of the folds 62, 64 prevents the tube clip 70 from sliding up and down along the belt. The fold 64 between the second strap portion and the middle strap portion 30.40 also provides openings 63 on either side of the strap.

[0028] When in use, the tube will pass through the gap between the flanges and be installed into the tube fixing part, which is preferably tightly installed, and preferably slightly elastic. The clip is then installed on the belt, preferably in a bag as described. For this, a certain amount of deformation of the belt is required. Then, although the tube can still be adjusted in length by sliding in the clamp, the tube is still held safely.

[0029] The present invention can be used for a respirator, but it is particularly suitable for use in fire fighting equipment. The clip can be designed to fit a corresponding tube, such as a breathing tube or a gauge tube.

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