Underwater breathing regulators

April 2, 1957 j. w. arpin 2,787,280

UNDERWATER BREATHING REGULATORS

Filed June 21, 1954 2. Sheets-Sheet 1

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&amp; Try.

April 2, 1957

2,787,280

J. W. ARPIN

UNDERWATER BREATHING REGULATORS

Filed June 21, 1954

Sheets-Sheet 2

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United States Patent Office

2,787,280

Patented Apr. 2, 1957

2,787,280 UNDERWATER BREATHING REGULATORS ⁶

John W. Arpin, Miami, Fla.

Application June 21, 1954, Serial No. 438,070

Claims. (Cl. 137—63) ¹⁰

This invention relates to breathing equipment and it is jg particularly described in connection with a self-contained underwater breathing device. This application is a continuation in part of my prior application Serial No. 372,306, filed August 4, 1953, now Patent No. 2,682,871, issued July 6, 1954. 20

In my above mentioned prior application, I illustrated and described a breathing regulator used in conjunction with a source of breathable gas such as air. The regulator permits the inspiration of a required quantity of compressed air from a tank containing the air and pro- 25 vides means for exhaling exhaust air into the water. The regulator of the above mentioned application was of novel construction and, in addition, special means were shown for facilitating breathing without risking the loss of breathable gas through the exhaust valve. 30

The instant application is an improvement over my prior application in that an air reserve device is incorporated into the regulator and the article further assumes extremely simplified form in many respects.

An air reserve device is useful in indicating to a diver 35 that his supply of air has fallen to a predetermined amount and that he has a limited time to rise to the surface or take other appropriate action. Usually, he then operates a control which makes available a small supply of air enabling him to surface without risk. Such devices have 40 been known per se but they generally have been relatively complex, disposed on the tank, or otherwise objectionable such as, for example, being unreliable in action. Further, to my knowledge, they were inadequate as will be explained hereinafter. 45

The device of the instant invention has a most meritorious feature in that the air reserve automatically adapts itself to varying conditions of depth or individual demand. For example, an air reserve device which issues a warning when the air in the tank falls to a predeter- ⁵⁰mined pressure, is inadequate because such pressure may represent available air for one minute when the diver is twenty feet down in the water but it may represent only a few seconds of available air at a much greater depth. Accordingly, a fixed signal or the like is somewhat illu- ⁵⁵sory and deceptive. In fact, it may well be considered dangerous since, it may give the diver a false sense of security. It may also be observed that a quantity of air at 600 lbs. pressure, for example, may serve one diver for one minute at a given depth but it may be insufficient 60 for such time for another diver with a higher intake rate. With my invention, however, the device will react sooner if the diver goes to a greater depth and its action is to a large extent independent of the tank pressure but it actually dependent on the diver’s demands in relation to the 65 tank pressure as will be shown hereinafter. In other words, the warning signal will be given at varying tank pressures depending on the depth reached or other varying demand requirement. This feature renders the device safe and reliable under the conditions above recited. 70 Moreover, notwithstanding the considerable benefits derived from the device, the construction thereof is of ex2 treme simplicity, a condition which is highly desired in apparatus of the type under consideration.

The. invention will be further understood from the following description and drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the regulator, partly broken away to show construction;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view as taken along the line 2—2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view as taken along the line 3—3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 with the valve opened to admit air;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5—5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 6—6 of Figure 2;

Figure 7 is a view taken along the line 7—7 of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a view taken along the line 8—8 of Figure 3;

Figure 9 is a view taken along the line 9—9 of Figure 1; and

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of a. modification. . As stated and illustrated in my prior patent application, the regulator is used in conjunction with one or more tanks or cylinders containing a supply of compressed air. The tank is strapped to the body of the user and a corrugated rubber tube 10, shown partially herein, is connected to the inhale and exhale tubes 11 and 12 respectively. Centrally of the tube is a breathing mouthpiece, not shown. The regulator usually rests on the back of the wearer’s neck with the rubber tube substantially encircling his neck. An exhaust valve 13 of the conventional rubber flapper type is affixed to tube 12 and extends inwardly.

The regulator may assume the general form of a disk and comprises a main body 14 which may be a metal casting if preferred. It is formed with two channels 15 and 16, channel 15 being totally enclosed apart from outlet opening 17 and serving as an exhaust chamber in which exhaust valve 13 is disposed. Channel 16 is adapted to communicate both with the source of compressed air and with inhale tube 11 so as to deliver such air to the lungs of the user upon demand as will be shown hereinafter.

The regulator body 14 is formed with a central, screw threaded opening 18 in which air inlet screw fitting 19 is disposed. Fitting 19 has a head 20 and two axially aligned hollow chambers 21 and 22 communicating with each other through throat 23 (Figures 3 and 4). Front chamber 21 has disposed therein a high pressure block 24 having a hollow interior 25 serving as a housing and seat for spring 26.

Block 24 is substantially square in transverse crosssection but the corners thereof are rounded in order to be slidably received in chamber 21. The straight sides thereof, between the rounded corners, permit air to flow upwardly in chamber 21 and through throat 23 as will hereinafter be described. The top face of block 24 is substantially planar and is provided centrally with a depressed conical valve seat 27 surrounded by a smooth, hard plastic washer 28 which may be of “Teflon” or the like.

The floor 29 of chamber 21 is formed with an annular boss 30 which forms part of a valve structure and is adapted to seat against washer 28 so as to close off chamber 21 from throat 23. The valve, structure further comprises a valve body 31 which is also substantially square in cross-section with rounded corners. Valve body 31 is provided with a valve pin 32 which is disposed in throat 23 and rests in valve seat 27.

Valve body 31 is bevelled down to a upper edge 33 for facilitating actuation by a lever arm 34 as will hereinafter be described,. In order to maintain block 24 and spring 26 in housing 21, a perforated disk 35 is pro

0,787,280 vided at the outlet of chamber 21. Such disk is maintained in place by a conventional C-shaped spring clip 36 which normally fits into an annular recess and maintains the parts in place.

As was set forth in my prior application, when the device is used for underwater breathing, the pressure of the surrounding water acts upon a movable diaphragm so as to depress it downwardly and actuate a valve accordingly. The valve action is such as to admit air under pressure to the underside of the diaphragm so as to restore it to its normal position by opposing the force of the water pressure. The valve is thus closed when the diaphragm is forced back by the air pressure. The air restoring the diaphragm to normal position is that which is breathed by the user and is substantially equal to the water pressure at that point. This action will now be described.

Body 14 is formed with an annular wall 40 and an upper face 41. The fop of wall 40 is formed with a peripheral bead 42. Wall 40 and bead 42 serve to support the rubber diaphragm 43. Diaphragm 43 is substantially cup-shaped and of live rubber. The side 44 thereof is annular and its outer edges embrace bead 42 and wall 40, being secured thereagainst by a band 45. The planar, disk-shaped face 46 is laminated on both sides thereof with metal disks 47 and 48 so as to present a sturdy planar surface which is nevertheless displaceable downwardly by virtue of the resilient sides 44 of the diaphragm.

Body 14. is. further formed with a flange 49 having an L-shaped periphery adapted to securely support outer cup 50. Cup 50 may be referred to as a can, it being of metal (although it may be of plastic), and enclosing the diaphragm structure. It forms a chamber 51 between the diaphragm and the can and it is provided with a series of upper openings 52 which serve two purposes, i. e., the admission of water to the top face of the diaphragm for subjecting it to water pressure and the outlet means for exhaust air as will hereinafter be described.

The cup-shaped diaphragm structure 43 forms a chamber 55 between it and the upper face 41 of the body 14. It is in this chamber that the compressed air is made available for breathing by the user. This is brought about by a simplified motion transmitting lever action which will now be described.

Body 14 is formed with a ledge 60 which supports rockable lever 61. Lever 61 is formed with two parallel arms 62 and 63 connected by a back 64. The arms 62 and 63 extend upwardly at an angle from back 64 as illustrated in Figure 2. Back 64 is formed with a hinge pin 65 which rests on ledge 60. In order to maintain the lever back 64 correctly positioned on ledge 60, a plate 66 is screwed down by screws 67 on ledge 60. A central protuberance 68 accommodates the hinge pin 65. The lever structure 61 is terminated at its free outer end by lips 70 on both arms which slidably abut disk 48 so that the lever is adapted for substantially vertical movement in response to movement of diaphragm structure. 43.

A second lever, i. e., lever 34 is provided as was hereinabove mentioned. Lever 34 is channel-shaped and is formed with two transverse protuberances 76 and 77 adjacent the respective ends thereof. Protuberance 77 rests against the top, substantially knife-shaped upper edge 33 of valve body 31. The outer end 78 of lever 34 rests against an adjustable screw 79 which serves as a fulcrum for lever 34. The position of this fulcrum is adjustable for varying the effective action of the lever 34.

The opposite end 80 of lever 34 rests upon a rod 81, the important purposes of which will be hereinafter described. Thus, in effect, lever 34 rests upon rod 81 and valve body 31, and its outer end abuts screw 79.

Lever 34 transmits the motion of lever structure 61 to the valve body 31 so as to admit air under pressure into chamber 55. Such transmission is effected by the sub stantially downward movement of lever back 64 as it rocks in response to diaphragm pressure so that it bears against protuberance 76 and pushes the corresponding end of lever 34 downwardly whereupon end 78 bears against screw 79 and produces considerable pressure by protuberance 77 against valve body 31. This action will be found to exert this considerable pressure in a small space so as to minimize the bulk of the regulator.

Downward movement of protuberance 77 moves valve body 31 from the position shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 4. As was noted, air cannot flow through chamber 21 in the position of Figure 3 because the boss 30 blocks off communication. On the other hand, when valve body 31 is pressed downwardly, the valve pin 32 travels downwardly in throat 23 and depresses block 24 against the action of spring 26. Accordingly, air, as will hereinafter be shown, is permitted to enter through perforated disk 35, travel upwardly along the square sides of block 24, enter throat 23 into chamber 22 and thence to body chamber 55.

The action of the air reserve device will now be described.

This action employs the principle of limiting the action .¾. of the levers in opening the valve as hereinabove described.

Depressing block 24 by the action of the valve body / produces an annular opening below boss 30 which establishes communication between the chambers 21 and 22. If the valve pin 32 is depressed downwardly sufficiently to provide a clearance equal to the effective opening of throat 23, a maximum flow of air will result. On the other hand, if the downward movement of the pin is limited, a restriction will be produced which may satisfactorily pass air when the tank pressure is high but which may become inadequate to meet the demand when the air pressure is low. In an operating model, a downward movement of the pin .013 inch produced an opening which was substantially equal to the effective opening of throat 23, thus producing maximum flow. However, if the stroke of the levers was limited, the movement of pin 32 is correspondingly limited as will be evident.

As an example, the downward movement of the valve pin may be limited to about .003 inch. In this condition, when the tank pressure is sufficiently high, i. e., over 600 to 2,000 lbs., the pressure is still sufficient to force a normal lung full of air through the restricted opening in a normal length of time under normal conditions at usual depths. However, when the pressure falls to a low level relative to the demand, such pressure is not high enough to provide a normal lung full of air in the normal length of time. This causes the diver to labor with his breathing because his lungs are not filling rapidly enough. It can be seen therefore that with the restricted opening a pressure of 600 lbs. might be satisfactory were the diver to be at a depth of twenty feet. If the diver goes down to forty feet, the demand becomes greater and the restriction may now cause his breathing to become difficult.

Employing the above concept, I have devised means for producing a normally limited movement of the valve body 31 so that the consequent restriction will produce breathing difficulty when the tank pressure falls too low relative to the demand. I further provide means for manually establishing complete opening at this time so that the diver is supplied with the required air but he is apprised of the fact that the remaining pressure is inadequate to permit him to remain at that level so that he should then surface or rise promptly.

The foregoing is accomplished by means of rod 81 which is vertically adjustable in the device. It will be recalled that rear end 65 of lever 34 abuts against rod 81 so as to limit the rear end of lever 34 in its downward movement. By limiting such end of the lever 34, the front or acting end is correspondingly limited and the valve pin 32 may not be pressed down to the completely open position.

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Rod 81 is provided with a fixed transverse pin 85 which rests upon threaded bushing 86. The top face of threaded bushing 86 is formed with diametrical grooves 87 and 88. Grooves 87 are shallow and aligned and constitute a relatively raised level while grooves 88 are somewhat 5 deeper. Transverse pin 85 may rest in either grooves 87 or grooves 88. When it rests in grooves 87, the rod 81 is obviously at a higher level and the movement of lever 34 is accordingly limited to produce the normal restriction. However, when rod 81 is turned 90° the pin 10 falls into the deeper grooves 88 so as to free the levers to travel their normal stroke. This produces the maximum opening in the path between the chambers 21 and 22 and the theretofore inadequate pressure becomes suitable to permit normal breathing. 15

Rod 81 is enlarged at its outer shaft portion 90 and extends outwardly of threaded bushing 86 so as to be outwardly of the body 14. Shaft 90 is terminated by a manually actuable knob 91. Knob 91 is provided with an annular flange 92 and head 93 of bushing 86 is pro- 20 vided with a central depression. Between the central depression and flange 92 is disposed a short length of resilient rubber tubing 94, the function of which is to permit the shaft 90 and rod 81 to be depressed downwardly for actuating the transverse pin 85 without permitting 25 water to flow into the chamber and providing a spring action maintaining pin 85 against the top face of bushing 86. Thus, when it is desired to switch the pin 85 from groove 87 to groove 88, knob 91 is pressed inwardly against the action of rubber tube 94 so as to push pin ³⁰86 outwardly whereupon knob 91 may be rotated 90° to cause the pin 85 to fall into the deeper groove assisted by the spring action of tube 94 which normally tends to urge the rod 81 downwardly except for the inhibiting action of the pin 85 in the restricting position and effec- ³³tively release the lever 34.

It is desirable to permit a preliminary adjustment of the air reserve device. This is effected by means of the screw threaded bushing 86 which can be set to any predetermined position and then locked by means of nut 95. ⁴⁰

The regulator is affixed in a conventional manner to the output valve of a tank of compressed air by means of the yoke 96 which encircles such output valve as described in my prior application, the screw 97 serving to tighten the connection. In this way, the compressed air 45 may be directed through perforated disk 35 and into the regulator interior as above described.

The device is operated in the following manner:

. After having affixed the regulator of the tank on the diver’s back, and having inserted the mouthpiece of the 50 tube 10 in his mouth, the diver is prepared to descend. He will preliminarly actuate knob 91 by depressing it against the spring action of tube 94 so as to position pin 85 into the shallower grooves 87 and effectively raise rod 81 upwardly to limit the action of the levers. Thereafter, 55 when the diver descends, the surrounding water thereupon enters openings 52 and acts upon diaphragm 43 to depress it so as to operate levers 61 and 34. The air pressure in the tank being high at this time, the restricted opening in the path between the chambers 21 and 22 does not inter- 60 fere with a required volume of air to suit the diver’s requirements and allow normal breathing.

When the air pressure drops to a low enough point, determined by the initial setting of threaded bushing 86, breathing will become difficult because not enough pres- 65 sure is available to supply a normal lung-full of air in the normal length of time. This will cause the diver to labor with his breathing because his lungs are not filling rapidly enough. This point will be reached sooner when the diver is at a lower depth because he requires greater 70 pressure of air at this point and it is not being supplied. It can thus be appreciated that the same air pressure would still suffice at a higher water lever but it is insufficient at the low level, thus making it commensurate with the depth reached. When the diver notes his 75 . .

breathing difficulty, he will release the reserve device by rotating knob 91 so as to lower rod 81 and permit the' full stroke of the levers. This will open the restriction and restore normal breathing. Of course, the diver will then begin to ascend since he is aware that he only has a limited amount of air left.

It will further be noted that in addition to the advantage' of the reserve device operating in accordance with depth, it further automatically compensates for a person with a high intake rate since he will tend to depress the levers further at each breath thereby making it necessary to open the reserve sooner. Another important feature is that the reserve will also function in an improved manner in the event of over-exertion where the diver is breathing deeply. Obviously, under these conditions, a fixed amount of air would not serve him for the same time as when he is breathing at a normal slow rate but the reserve device will respond sooner.

The regulator of the instant invention further embodies the advantages set forth in my prior application in that exhaust channel or chamber 15 is totally enclosed against the discharge of exhaust air save for outlet opening 17 which is itself not subjected to water pressure save through openings 52 of cup 50 so that the air exhaust path is through opening 17 and openings 52. In the position illustrated where the diaphragm is at a higher vertical level than the exhaust valve, the openings 52 are higher than the diaphragm. In a reverse position, i. e., the exhaust valve above the diaphragm (as may occur when a diver is on his back) the openings 52 are below the diaphragm and the exhaust valve cannot be reached by water pressure except through such openings 52. In other words, the exhaust valve 13 is subjected to a water pressure which is always greater than that of diaphragm 43 notwithstanding any position of the regulator. This prevents any spontaneous leaking of compressed air through the exhaust valve and further permits the main valve structure to be as sensitive as desired. The reason therefore is it is not necessary to provide an artificial, predetermined barrier to easy breathing since the position of the exhaust valve cannot of itself operate the valve and produce air flow in any event.

The specific limiting means shown and described operates upon the lever structure shown but the same general principle can be employed and will produce similar advantages when used with other lever mechanisms and without acting directly upon the lever structure. For example, in Figure 10 is shown a collar 160 which may be interposed between the air pressure tank outlet valve and the perforated disk 35. Collar 100 is formed with a central longitudinal opening 101 and a transverse annular chamber 102. Opening 101 is of a cross-sectional area equivalent to the largest effective area of throat 23 so that it can never operate as an air flow restriction.

Within chamber 102 is rotatably disposed a valve stem 103 having two sets of openings therethrough. Opening 104 is adapted to register with opening 101 and is of the same, cross-sectional area so as to constitute a full continuation thereof. On the other hand, opening 105 is a constricted opening disposed 90° away from opening 104. Both openings extend completely through stem 103 which fits snugly in chambr 102. Knob 106 is turnable so as to inject either opening into the air stream. Thus, when opening 104 is in alignment with opening 101, maximum flow exists whereas when opening 105 is in alignment, restricted flow exists. The extent of restriction will be predetermined to produce respective flows as in the previous embodiment.

The operation of the modification will be obvious, the user first rotating the valve stem to a position where the smaller opening 105 is in alignment with 101 so as to limit the flow of air before it gets to valve pin 32. When the supply of air becomes insufficient to meet the diver’s demand as above set forth, he will rotate knob 106 90° to effectively insert larger opening 104 in the air stream.

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Suitable indicia on the knob and collar may be employed as a guide.