Carrying plate for breathing apparatus

0001Carrying Plate for Breathing Apparatus

0002The present invention relates to improvements in relation to harness plates for carrying breathing apparatus in particular air tanks and associated equipment for Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA).

0003Background to the Invention

0004SCBA is used in a variety of situations where an individual and safe supply of breathable air is required by an individual, such as fire fighters entering a smoke filled environment. The equipment comprises an air tank which stores breathable air under pressure and a regulator valve which delivers the air to the mouth of the user at a pressure suitable for the user to breath.

0005Typically, the air tank is large to enable it to hold enough air for the user to complete their required task, and it is therefore normally carried on the back of the user. For this purpose, a carrying assembly is well known in the art which comprises a rigid plate which has a restraining strap which wraps around the air tank in order to secure it to the plate, typically with the tank in an outlet down position. The plate also has apertures formed therein through which straps thread to form should and waist harness straps by means of which the plate may be carried on the back of a user. The plate and/or harness straps will also normally include suitable features for enabling tubing associated with the SCBA to be routed around and retained in place on the carrying assembly.

0006Whilst the known harness assembly works adequately in most circumstances, it can be time consuming to don and remove which in some situations can be a significant issue. Furthermore, the requirement for the shoulder and waist straps extending tightly around the user and be restrictive both to the movement of the user and also to their accessibility to other equipment which they might carry on their person.

0007Furthermore, in the Military and Civil Defence marketplace, certain specialist users require the use of SCBA whilst wearing body armour/buUetproof vest type jackets. Most current SCBA's are designed for the firefighting market and do not integrate very well with other types of body worn equipment.

0008It is accordingly a purpose of the present invention to provide an SCBA harness mounting system which is better applicable for use in specialist application.

0009It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a mounting assembly which can integrate directly with existing webbing and body armour used in such specialist applications.

0010These and other aims are achieved by the present invention as set out hereinafter.

0011According to the present invention there is provided a mounting assembly for self- contained breathing apparatus comprising a back plate having: a plurality of apertures formed therein arrange in two columns extending down opposing side edges of the plate, said apertures being sized and spaced to receive and engage mounting straps which, in use, interface with mounting straps of a carrying jacket so as to fasten, in use, the plate to the jacket; tank securing means fastened to the plate and engageable, in use, with a supply tank to securely and releasable fasten the tank to the back plate; and valve retaining means for releasable securing, in use, a valve of an air supply means to the back plate for engagement with a supply tank.

0012A mounting assembly in accordance with the invention has the advantage that the back plate is securable directly to a jacket normally worn by a user, such as a body armour jacket or the like, thereby avoiding the restrictions in movement and accessibility to equipment associated with known designs. Furthermore, due to the releasability of the tank securing means and the valve retaining means, if circumstances necessitate, the SCBA equipment (tank and valve assembly) may easily and quickly be dumped by the user without having to remove or discard their jacket.

0013Preferably, the apertures in the back plate are configured to interface to the user's clothing using the method of MOLLE attachment (Modular Light Weight Load Carrying Equipment). MOLLE uses an interlocking weave of vertical and horizontal webbing that secures one item to another.

0014Preferably, each column of apertures has a fastening strap woven through the apertures of that column and secured at the top and bottom of the plate, each said strap, in use, being engageable through the horizontal MOLLE straps of the webbing so as to hang the plate on the webbing,

0015IN a particularly advantageous development of the invention, at least one of the top and bottom of each said strap, preferably at least the bottom thereof, is attached to the plate by a quick release system, for example by means of press studs. In this way a wearer can easily jettison the plate and any apparatus mounted thereon without third party assistance by simply releasing the attachment of the straps from the plate and allowing the weight of the plate and apparatus mounted thereon to cause the straps to un-weave from the MOLLE straps.

0016In a particularly preferred embodiment, each of the tank securing means and the valve retaining means have quick release operation associated with them so that when they are not required, the user can quickly and easily remove the valve and associated supply lines, as well as the tank, from the back plate, leaving the back plate in place attached to the user's clothing.

0017IN one embodiment, the valve retaining means provides a bayonet type coupling for fastening an air supply valve to the plate, in particular a system which requires relative rotation between the air supply valve and the plate of substantially 90 degrees in order to secure the valve to and release it from the plate.

0018The back plate is preferably made of light weight material and has a low profile. Carbon fibre or polymeric material are particularly preferred. Fastened to the back plate are specialist mountings that allow the pneumatics to quickly be mounted to the back plate, including multiple tank sizes. Tube retaining means may also be provided on the back plate for retaining hoses associated with the valve assembly in place for routing of those hoses from the valve to the appropriate place for the user to access them during operation.

0019In order that the invention may be well understood, there will now be described an embodiment thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

0020Figure 1 is a side view of a bullet proof jacket with a mounting assembly according to a first embodiment of the invention carried thereon;

0021Figure 2 is a back view of the jacket of Figure 1

0022Figure 3 is a rear view of a back plate which forms part of the assembly of Figure 1;

0023Figure 4 is a rear view of a mounting assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention; and

0024Figure 5 is a rear view of a back plate which forms part of the mounting assembly of Figure 4.

0025Referring first to Figure 1, there is shown a back plate 1 according to the invention mounted by MOLLE straps 2 to a body armour jacket 3. The jacket has horizontally webbing straps 4 which extend around the jacket, the webbing straps being fastened to the jacket at aligned intervals so as to formed aligned points at which MOLLE straps 2 may be fed vertically through the webbing straps between each strap 4 and the jacket 3. As best shown in Figure 1 , the MOLLE straps 2 are attached to the plate 1 at the top and bottom by press studs 5. These enable the user easily to detach the top and/or bottom of each MOLLE strap from the plate to release the plate and any equipment mounted thereon from the jacket whilst wearing the jacket. It will, of course, be understood that other releasable fastening means for fastening the MOLLE straps to the plate may be used.

0026The back plate 1 has apertures 6 formed therein through which the MOLLE straps can be weaved in order to fasten the back plate 1 to the jacket 3 as shown in Figure 2. Each MOLLE strap is secured by means of a buckle 7 to facilitate quick attachment and removal of the back plate from the jacket if required.

0027The back plate 1 also has a tank strap 10 mounted on towards the top thereof and an air supply valve mounting 1 1 provided towards the bottom thereof. Each of the tank strap and the valve mounting 11 has a quick release operation which may be of a type which is well known in the art. However, in a preferred embodiment, the valve mounting 1 1 interfaces with an air supply valve 12 so as to attach it to the plate 1 by a bayonet type coupling, and in particular one which requires a 90 degree turn of the air supply valve 12 relative to the plate 1 in one direction to secure to and the opposite direction to release from the plate 1. The details of such a mechanism are within the knowledge of the skilled person and will not be described in further detail here.

0028The valve mounting 11 is located and operable to secure the air supply valve 12 to the back plate 1 in position so that it automatically locates with the air valve formed on the top of an air tank when a tank (not shown) is mounted onto the plate 1 and secured in place with the tank strap 10. The air supply valve 12 then includes a fastening means for sealing the supply valve 12 to the air valve of the tank.

0029Pipe retainers 15 are also provided on the back plate 1 for routing supply pipes from the valve 12 to their appropriate operational positions.

0030Referring now to Figures 4 and 5, there is shown a mounting assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention in which like features are identified using the same reference numerals as the first embodiment.

0031In the second embodiment, the back plate 20 is configured in a similar manner to that of the first embodiment except that the shape has been changed to provide a more comfortable fit for the wearer. The plate 20 again has apertures 6 arranged in two columns, one extending down each side edge of the plate 20, through which MOLLE straps 2 can be woven in order to secure the plate to webbing straps of a carry jacket. Each MOLLE strap is similarly secured to the plate at each end by means of press studs 5 so as to enable quick release of the MOLLE straps when it is required to dump the plate and any apparatus mounted thereon.

0032In use, the back plate 1, 20 according to either embodiment is used in conjunction with a jacket having horizontally extending webbing straps distributed vertically down the jacket, each webbing strap having portions which are not connected ot the jacket so as to enable vertical straps to be threaded between the webbing straps and the jacket.

0033The back plate 1, 20 is therefore connected to the jacket by threading a connecting one end of a MOLLE strap to the top press stud 5 on the plate 1, 20, passing the strap through one aperture of one column of apertures on the plate 1, 20, feeding it between one of the webbing straps and the jacket, feeding it up through the next aperture 6 in the column and back down the subsequent one, back through the next MOLLE strap, and continuing on until the MOLLE strap has been fed through the last aperture 6, at which point the end is fastened to the lower press stud 5. The process is repeated with a second MOLLE strap being fed through the apertures 6 of the second column. The plate 1, 20 is thereby secured to the jacket.

0034An air supply valve 12 is then secured to the valve mount 11 by engaging the coupling parts and turning the supply valve 12 through 90 degrees to lock it to the mount 1 1. Supply pipes are fed through pipe retainers 15 to hold them in place. Finally, a tank is inserted through the tank strap 10 and its air outlet engaged in the supply valve 12 before the tank strap 10 is tightened to lock the tank to the plate 1, 20. Each of these steps may be performed by the user before donning the jacket or may be performed by a helper while the user is wearing the jacket.

0035The user then has three options for removing equipment during use. Firstly, the tank may be removed by disconnecting the air outlet from the supply valve 12 and then releasing the tank strap 10. The tank may then be lifted off of the plate 1, 20 leaving the late 1, 20 with the supply valve 12 in place attached to the jacket. This option would require either that the wear remove the jacket or that he have assistance from another person. The second option is to remove both the tank and the supply valve 12 together by rotating the supply valve 12 by 90 degrees relative to the valve mount 11 to disconnect it from the mount 1 1 and then releasing the tank strap 10. The tank with supply valve 12 still attached thereto may then be removed from the plate 1, 20, leaving the plate 1, 20 still attached to the jacket. Again, this may be done by the wearer on his own by first removing the jacket or by with assistance while the jacket is still being worn. This second option not only relieves more weight but is also quicker.

0036Finally, in an emergency situation, the user can dump the plate 1, 20 from the jacket with the tank and supply valve 12 still attached to the jacket so as to completely remove all the equipment from the jacket. Furthermore, this can be done by the wearer without removing the jacket and without third party assistance by simply reach behind and releasing the press studs at either the top or bottom of each MOLLE strap. Once so released, the weight of the tank will cause the MOLLE straps to pull out of the apertures 6 and webbing straps and the plate to drop off of the jacket.