GB1273883A - Underwater breathing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

1,273,883. Underwater breathing apparatus. WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORP. 15 May, 1970 [12 June, 1969], No. 23701/70. Heading AST. A divers' underwater breathing apparatus having flexible breathing chamber means 60 formed as two interconnected loops 60a and 60b for looping respectively over the divers' shoulders, a gas inlet to the chambers which may be from cylinders 80 or an external source and a passageway 75 to communicate the chambers and the diver is characterized in that a plane through the centroid of lung pressure of the diver equally divides the potential volume of the breathing chamber means. This allows that if the pressure in the chamber is maintained at approximately that of the water at the lung centroid by the blow off valves 83 and 84 situated on one of the chambers the same amount of air will be contained in the chamber regardless of the divers' orientation since the pressure in the chamber will be the same as that at the plane to which the chamber collapses under water are situated on the divers' front and back pressure. The two blow off valves 83 and 84 respectively on a line through the centroid of lung pressure. The front valve 83 may be set at a higher pressure or situated lower on the body in use than the rear valve 84 to delay its operation so that bubbles do not obscure the divers' view when in the upright position. Gas passing from one chamber to the other goes through a carbon dioxide adsorber 72.