PAPR with third party interchangeable battery holders, USB-c power port, and snap-fit filter mount

Abstract

A powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) features a blower unit with a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air to and from the unit, a power input port electrically connected to electronic control circuity of the motorized blower for powered operation thereof and a plurality of interchangeable components each embodied separately of the blower unit and selectively engageable to, and disengageable from, the power input port to serve as an interface by which a respective one of a plurality of different battery types is indirectly connectable to the electronic control circuitry in powering relationship thereto. The battery agnostic PAPR is thus powerable via a variety of different third-party battery packs, in some cases via hosting of such third-party battery packs on interchangeable battery holders mechanically coupled to a housing of the PAPR, and in other cases flexibly tethered by one or more cables.

Description

[0001] PAPR WITH THIRD PARTY INTERCHANGEABLE BATTERY HOLDERS, USB-C POWER PORT, AND SNAP-FIT FILTER MOUNT

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This application claims priority benefit under of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 661,553, filed June 18, 2024, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 821,845, filed June 1, 2025, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0004] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention relates generally to respirators, and more particularly to powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs).

[0006] BACKGROUND

[0007] The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the vast importance of ensuring availability of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to essential workers, and particularly to medical personnel who run perhaps the greatest risk of exposure, and whose collective wellbeing is critical in order to sustain sufficient healthcare coverage for the broader population. As a result, more than ever, there is a demand to novel solutions in the field of PPE that can at least partially mitigate recently faced challenges that arose during a combination of high-volume demand, inventory shortages, and supply chain disruption. Though original motivation for Applicant’s novel contributions to this field of endeavor originally arose in this context of medical PPE for health care workers, the same inventive principles derived for such purpose can also be put to use any variety of other environments or industries where respirators are useful or required, including industrial applications, agricultural applications, pharmaceuticals, petro-chemical and other chemical applications, mining, metal fabrication, oil and gas, military, law enforcement, and firefighting.

[0008] In Applicant’s co-pending PCT Application No. PCT / CA2023 / 051423, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference, Applicant disclosed a module powered air purifying respirator (PAPR), composed of a blower module and detachable battery module. A same power input port on the blower module through which the blower module was powered by the battery module, when attached, was also usable to power the blower module from an (alternating current) AC mains power outlet, or from a detached battery module, e.g. worn elsewhere on the user’s person. Different filter adapters were interchangeably attachable to the blower module via a slide-and-turn bayonet-style coupling. Between the different power and filter options, the modular PAPR was adaptable according to different environments, purposes and inventory availability.

[0009] That said, there remains room for further improvement to the design, and further development of Applicant’s PAPR equipment has since continued, which improvements are the subject of the present application.

[0010] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit housing one or more electrical components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower unit via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively; a power input port that is electrically connected to electronic control circuity of the motorized blower to enabled powered operation thereof through said power input port; and a plurality of interchangeable components each embodied separately of the blower unit and selectively engageable to, and disengageable from, the power input port to serve as an interface by which a respective one of a plurality of different battery types is indirectly connectable to the electronic control circuitry in powering relationship thereto, whereby each of said different battery types is respectively and selectively connectable to the power input port an indirect manner via a corresponding one of the interchangeable components, among which each one of said interchangeable components is of differently configured relationship to each other one of said interchangeable components in at least one detail dictated by differences between said different battery types.

[0012] According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit housing one or more electrical components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower unit via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively; a USB-C power input port that is electrically connected to electronic control circuitry of the motorized blower to enabled powered operation thereof through said USB-C power input port from a power source having a USB-C power output; and a battery holder configured to hold a battery back of a type including said USB- C power output in a predetermined position and orientation enabling electrical connection of said USB-C power output of said battery pack to said USB-C power input port of the PAPR.

[0013] According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit housing one or more electrical components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower unit via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively; a USB-C power input port that is electrically connected to electronic control circuitry of the motorized blower to enabled powered operation thereof through said USB-C power input port from a power source having a USB-C power output; wherein the electronic control circuitry comprises a power delivery (PD) trigger circuit for providing self-identification of a sought operating voltage of the PAPR under connection of a PD-enabled power source capable of outputting a plurality of different negotiable output voltages.

[0014] According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit housing one or more electrical components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower unit via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively; a power input port on said blower unit that is connected to a control circuit of the motorized blower to enabled powered operation thereof through said power input port; and a battery holder attached or attachable to the blower unit at a location proximate said power input port, and configured to removably receive and hold a separate external battery pack in a working position of connected or connectable relationship to said power input port for powered operation of the control circuit of the motorized blower by said separate external battery pack.

[0015] According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit housing one or more electrical components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower unit via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively; and a USB-C power input port on said blower unit that is connected a control circuit of the motorized blower to enabled powered operation thereof through said USB-C power input port from a power source having a USB-C power output.

[0016] According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit comprising: an outer housing; a blower support structure received within said housing and occupying less than an entirety thereof in a position leaving a gap space between said blower support structure and said outer housing on at least one side of said blower support structure; a motorized blower received by and supported within said blower support structure; and a circuit board hosting electrical components of a control circuit for said motorized blower, and residing in said gap space between said blower support structure and said outer housing. In some embodiments, said circuit board is a flexible circuit board.

[0017] Preferably said circuit board resides in said gap space between said blower support structure and said outer housing on multiple sides of said blower support structure.

[0018] Preferably said blower support structure and said housing are separate components secured together via fastened connection therebetween.

[0019] Preferably said blower support structure is embodied in a singular piece.

[0020] Preferably said blower support structure is removably fastened to the housing to enable combined removal of the motorized blower and the blower support structure together from the housing.

[0021] According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit housing one or more electrical components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower unit via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively; and a snap-fit mounting receiver on an exterior of the blower unit in proximity to the air inlet thereof for selective snap-fit attachment thereto of a snap-fit filter mount by which one or more filters are mountable onto the blower unit in filtering relation to the air inlet to filter ambient air drawn therethrough during operation of the motorized blower.

[0022] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0024] Figure 1 is an assembled front left perspective view of a blower unit and an interchangeable battery holder of a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 is an assembled front right perspective view of the blower unit and battery holder of Figure 1.

[0026] Figure 3 is an exploded rear right perspective view of the blower unit and battery holder of Figures 1 and 2. Figure 4 is another exploded rear right perspective view of the blower unit and battery holder of Figure 3, in combination with an interchangeable filter adapter of the inventive PAPR.

[0027] Figure 5 is an exploded front left perspective view of the blower unit, battery holder and interchangeable filter adapter of Figure 4.

[0028] Figure 6 is an assembled front left perspective view of the blower unit, battery holder and interchangeable filter adapter of Figure 5.

[0029] Figure 7 is a rear left perspective view of the blower unit, battery holder and interchangeable filter adapter of Figure 5, illustrating engagement of a third-party power tool battery pack with the battery holder.

[0030] Figure 8 is another rear left perspective view of the same componentry as Figure 7, with the third-party power tool battery pack installed.

[0031] Figure 9 is an assembled rear right perspective view of the same componentry as Figure 6, with a set of three cannister filters installed on the interchangeable filter adapter.

[0032] Figure 10 is a front right perspective view of the blower unit of the preceding figures with select housing walls thereof omitted to reveal internal componentry of the blower unit.

[0033] Figure 11 is an exploded front right perspective view of the internal componentry of Figure 10, revealing a motorized blower, removable blower support structure and wraparound flexible circuit board of the blower unit.

[0034] Figure 12 is an exploded bottom right perspective view of the blower unit and battery holder of the PAPR, with the removable blower support structure and wrap-around flexible circuit board shown in exploded relation to a housing of the blower unit.

[0035] Figure 13 is a top rear right perspective view of the same blower unit as the preceding figures, but with a different interchangeable battery holder installed thereon for powering thereof by a third-party tactical battery pack.

[0036] Figure 13 A is a cross-sectional view of the same componentry as Figure 13.

[0037] Figure 14 is a top rear right perspective view of the blower unit, battery holder and third-party tactical battery pack of Figure 13 with the battery pack installed in the battery holder. Figure 14A is a cross-sectional view of the same componentry as Figure 14.

[0038] Figure 15 illustrates one example of a workable set of componentry enabling assembly of a functioning PAPR using one type of third-party power tool battery pack and a novel interchangeable battery holder therefor.

[0039] Figure 16 illustrates an assembled and functional PAPR formed with the componentry of Figure 15.

[0040] Figure 17 illustrates another example of a workable set of componentry enabling assembly of a workable PAPR, instead using a third-party small tactical universal battery and a novel interchangeable battery holder therefor.

[0041] Figure 18 illustrates an assembled and functional PAPR formed with the componentry of Figure 17.

[0042] Figure 19 illustrates an assembled and functional PAPR in the absence of a battery holder and battery, instead using an AC / DC power adapter pluggable into an AC mains power outlet.

[0043] Figure 20 illustrates an assembled and functional PAPR in the absence of a battery holder, and using a cabled connection to a third-party power tool battery pack of another type.

[0044] Figure 21 is a perspective view of an alternative battery agnostic embodiment of the modular PAPR in which the blower and its control circuitry are separated into two distinct blower and control modules, and use of an attachable / detachable battery holder is replaced with a cable tethered connection to any selected one of a plurality of different interchangeable DC power sources, of which there is shown one example of a third-party battery pack in this figure.

[0045] Figure 22 is a perspective view of two other third-party battery packs and a USB- C AC / DC wall adapter as non-limiting examples of other interchangeable DC power sources with which the control module of the Figure 21 modular PAPR is compatible, via respective adapter cables.

[0046] Figure 23 is a block diagram of electronic componentry of the control module of the Figure 21 modular PAPR, illustrating functional interfacing thereof with the different interchangeable DC power sources. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Figures 1 to 3 illustrate a main blower unit 12 and a removable battery holder 14 of a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) 10 of the present invention that is designed to make use of a third-party battery pack, for example a power tool battery pack of a type commonly used for cordless drills and other cordless power tools. The battery holder 14 is removably attachable to the main blower unit 12, whereby different battery holders of different shape and configuration chosen for compatibility with different models and / or brands of third-party battery packs can be interchangeably substituted for one another. The illustrated blower unit 12 has an outer housing 16 with a front wall 18, and opposing rear wall 20, a left side wall 22 A and a right side wall 22B. The direction in which the front and rear walls 18, 20 are spaced apart is referred to herein as a longitudinal direction L, as this is the direction in which the fully assembled PAPR is the longest in the present embodiment, though this need not necessarily be true of all embodiments. The direction in which the side walls 22A, 22B are spaced apart is referred to herein as a width direction W, which lies orthogonal of the longitudinal direction L, and also orthogonal to a third and final height direction H. The illustrated blower unit housing 16 is longer than it is wide and tall, and taller than it is wide, though these proportions may vary in the other embodiments.

[0048] A top wall of the housing 24 spans the area between the front, rear and side walls at the top ends thereof, and in the illustrated embodiment is arched in its widthwise span between the two side walls 22A, 22B, though this need not be the case in all embodiments. An air inlet 26 of the blower unit penetrates through the top wall 24 at a generally central region thereof, and it is through this air inlet that filtered air is drawn into an interior of the blower unit 12 during operation of the PAPR. An air outlet 28 from which that filtered air is exhausted from the blower unit 12 is found on the front wall, and may be of an externally threaded configuration for mating with an internal threaded end fitting of a PAPR hose 400 (see Figures 15 to 20). The battery holder 14 is removably attachable to the blower unit 12 at the rear wall 20 thereof. In the illustrated example, the battery holder 14 has a front wall 30 of matching shape profile to the rear wall 20 of the blower unit 12, so that when a front end of the battery holder 14 is attached to the rear end of the blower unit 12, the two assembled components have a matching shape profile at the location of their mated attachment. In the illustrated example, the front wall 30 of the battery holder 14 has a first set of fastening apertures 32 therein of matching layout to a second set of corresponding fastening apertures 34 on the rear wall 20 of the blower unit 12 for removably fastened attachment of the battery holder 14 to the blower unit 12 using a set of threaded fasteners (not shown). That said, other embodiments may instead employ cooperating snap-fit latching features thereon for quicker and ideally tool-free attachment and detachment of the blower unit 12 and battery holder 14 to and from one another, especially in embodiments where multiple interchangeable battery holders for different third-party battery packs are produced and sold for selectively interchange thereof by end users.

[0049] The rear wall 20 of the blower unit 12 also features a power input port 36, preferably a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Type C (USB-C) port, by which electrical connection from a third-party battery pack hosted by the battery holder 14 is made to the internal control circuitry of the blower unit to power the motorized blower thereof, further details of which are given further below. Owing this embodiment’ s placement of the power input port 30 in the rear wall 30 of the blower unit 12, the attachable front wall 30 of the battery holder 14 features a through-port 38 at a position of aligning relationship to the power input port 36 when the battery holder 14 and the blower unit 12 are attached together, whereby electrical connection from a third-party battery pack held by the battery holder 14 to the power input port 36 of the blower unit is made through this through-port 38 in the front wall 30 of the battery holder 14. In the present embodiment, the rear wall 20 of the blower unit 12 has only a singular power input port 30 therein, the location of which in this case was chosen to align with a power output port on the third-party battery pack for which the particular battery holder 14 was designed, in the position in which that third-party battery pack is held by the battery holder attached to the blower unit.

[0050] With reference to Figures 7 and 8, the illustrated third-party battery pack 300 of this embodiment is multi-piece battery assembly composed of a battery component 302 and a removable adapter component 304 selectively and detachably attachable to the battery component 302, in a position stacked atop the battery unit in the illustrated example. This example is a known type of power tool battery assembly, where the battery component is equipped with a mechanical and electrical output interface at its topside that is designed for direct mating with a power tool (e.g. cordless drill), and the adapter component is a charging adapter, with a mechanical coupling and electrical input interface that mates with the mechanical and electrical output interface of the battery pack, and provides an output electrical interface of a different type, which conventionally is used to power or charge other external devices, for example a mobile phone, tablet, laptop computer, etc. Most commercially available charging adapters of this type include a USB-C power output port, which is therefore compatible with the USB-C power input port 36 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment, the USB-C power input port 36 on the rear wall 20 of the blower unit 12, and the matching through-port 38 in the front wall 30 of the battery holder 14, are positioned at notable elevation thereon nearer to top ends of these walls than to bottom ends thereof, owing to a relatively high elevation of the USB-C power output port on the “stacked” adapter component 304 of the multi-piece battery assembly that sits atop the battery component 302 thereof.

[0051] In this embodiment, the power output port of the battery pack 300, the power input port 36 of the blower unit 12, and the through-port 38 of the battery holder 14 are all aligned with one another when the battery holder 14 is installed and the battery pack is hosted thereby in a predetermined position and orientation in which the battery holder is designed to hold the battery pack. In this scenario, a straight inline male-to-male USB-C connector 310 (see Figure 15) can be used to electrically connect the holder-hosted battery pack 300 to the blower unit 12 through the through-port 38 of the battery holder 14. A resilient seal may be placed around such male-to-male adapter to provide a fluid-tight fitting thereof with the front wall 30 of the battery holder when installed in the through-port 38 thereof, to ensure no liquid penetration from the operating environment of the PAPR to the electrical input port 36 of the blower unit 12. In instances where straight alignment between the power output port of the battery pack 300 and the power inlet port 36 of the blower unit 12 is not achievable, a short flexible power cable (e.g. male to male USB-C cable) may instead be used to make the electrical connection between the holder-supported battery pack 300 and the blower unit 12, which cabled connection may again be made through a through-port 38 of the battery holder 14 that aligns with the blower unit’s power input port 36, in embodiments where such a through-port is so provided for aligned relation to a blower unit’s power input port that would otherwise be obscured by the battery holder. In other embodiments, the power input port 36 of the blower unit may instead reside at a location that is not obstructed by attachment of the battery holder 14, in which case a through-port 38 in the battery holder need not be included.

[0052] The illustrated example of the battery holder 14 has a bottom base wall 40 that cantilevers out from the front wall 30 thereof in the longitudinal direction L, and a pair of side walls 42A, 42B that stand upright from, and run longitudinally of, the base wall 40 at opposing sides thereof. In this embodiment, the combined longitudinal length of the blower unit 12 and the battery holder 14 defines the longest overall dimension of the assembled PAPR. These side walls 42A, 42B include in-turned flanges 44 at top ends thereof that hook inwardly over a pair of longitudinally running exterior shoulders 305 of the bottom battery component 302 of the multi-piece battery pack 300. This ensures that the battery pack 300 is retained in seated relationship against the base wall 40 regardless of a particular orientation of the PAPR at any given time. In the illustrated embodiment, a rear end 46 of the battery holder is open between the side walls 42A, 42B thereof to accept longitudinally slid insertion of the battery pack 300 forwardly into the holder 14, as schematically illustrated in Figure 7. An openable / closeable door, for example hinged to the base wall 40, may optionally be provided at the rear end of the battery holder 14, for closure thereof behind the inserted battery pack 300, though in prototyped examples of the illustrated type, a relatively snug fit of the top-flanged side walls 42A, 42B provided a thorough frictional holding of the battery pack 300 in its inserted position. Instead of a forwardly slid insertion of the battery pack from a rear end of the battery holder 14, alternate modes of insertion may be employed in other embodiments, for example with resiliently flexible side walls that permit snap fit insertion of the battery pack 300 through the open top of the battery holder. Alternate means of holding the inserted battery pack in the inserted position may also be employed, for example with one or more securement straps or the like. In another alternative example, the battery holder may define a full battery enclosure (battery garage) in which the inserted battery pack is retained by a closed position of an openable / closeable access door, or removably attachable access panel of such enclosure. That said, more “open” designs of battery holder, such as that illustrated, may be favourable, for example to better prevent overheating of the battery pack 300.

[0053] In the illustrated example, the forward direction in which the removable battery holder 14 is abutted up against the rear wall 20 of the blower unit 12 for attachment thereto matches the forwardly slid insertion direction in which the battery pack 300 is inserted into the battery holder 14, and also matches the longitudinal directionality of the plugged connection between the battery pack’ s power output port and the blower unit’ s power input port 36, in which case the order of installation of these components may be inconsequential, with the battery holder 14 optionally being attached to the blower unit 12 first, and the battery pack 300 subsequent inserted into the battery holder 14, or alternatively with the battery pack 300 being optionally preloaded into the battery holder 14, which is then attached to the blower unit 12. In other embodiments, the order of installation may be more critical depending on the manner and directionality of the attachment of the battery holder 14 to the blower unit 12, and how this directionality compares or contrasts to the plugged interconnection of the power ports. For example, in alternative embodiments where a snap fit or slide-on attachment between the battery holder 14 and the blower unit 12 requires angular tilting of the battery holder 14, or sliding thereof in a direction other than the longitudinal direction L, into mating attachment with the blower unit 12, it may be mandatory to attach the battery holder 14 first, and only then install the battery pack 300. On the other hand, in embodiments were a flexible cable connection from the battery pack 300 to the blower unit 12 is employed, and depending on where the power ports of the battery pack 300 and the blower unit 12 reside relative to one another, the order of installation may not matter.

[0054] Power tool battery packs are just one non-limiting example of relative small, energy dense battery packs useable in the context of the present invention, another example of which is the small tactical universal battery disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 11,848,457 by Xentris Wireless, the entirety of which is incorporated hereby by reference. One face of the battery disclosed therein, an equivalent of which is shown herein at 300’ in Figures 13, 14, 17 and 18, includes a central power output terminal 308 with an assortment of electrical contacts, including a female USB-C port. The same face of the battery 300’ includes left and right tabs 306 that delimit retaining grooves between peripheral portions of the tabs and this face of the battery, and that are further characterized by notches at outer sides of the tabs and ramped twist faces at inner sides thereof. Dovetail grooves another face of the battery are also provided for mating with dovetail fins that may be included on some devices for use in certain modes of attachment of the battery to such devices. These connection interfaces enable several different modes of attachment to various devices, among which any of those demonstrated in the cited patent may be incorporated into a battery holder of the present invention to enable use of such small tactical universal battery (tactical battery, for short) with the PAPR of the present invention.

[0055] One example of novel battery holder for such tactical battery 300’ is disclosed herein in Figures 13 to 15, in which the preceding interchangeable power tool battery holder 14 has been substituted with an interchangeable tactical battery holder 14’ mounted in its place to the rear wall 20 of the blower unit 12. Tactical battery holder 14’ has a front wall 30’ of the same conforming shape profile and removably attachable compatibility to the rear wall 20 of the blower unit 12 as already described of the power tool battery holder 14, and again has a bottom base wall 40’ cantilevered out from the bottom end of the front wall 30’, albeit by a lesser distance in this instance, with the base wall 40’ having a longitudinal length less than that of the blower unit. Two side walls 42A’, 42B’ of the battery holder 14’ again stand upright from the base wall 40’ at opposing sides thereof, but in this case are interconnected by a top wall 200 of a rectangular battery holding compartment 202 that is bound between these walls 40’, 42A’, 42B’, 200. This battery holding compartment 202 is dimensioned to receive insertion of the tactical 300’ with its tab-equipped face pointing toward the front wall 30’ of the battery holder 14’. The base wall 40’ of the battery holder 14’, at its top side of internal relationship to the battery holding compartment 202, has a pair of dovetail fins 204 thereon that run longitudinally toward the front wall 30’ of the battery holder 14’ in parallel relationship to another, at spaced distance from one another in the width direction W that matches the widthwise spacing of the dovetail grooves in the grooved face of the battery 300’.

[0056] Above a front end of the battery holding compartment 202, a battery release button 206 is housed in an upper button cavity 208 located beneath a windowed front region of the top wall 200, though the window of which the battery release button 206 protrudes, or is at least manually accessible. Within this button cavity 208, the battery release button 206 is spring biased into a raised position. A battery latch 210 is attached the battery release button 212 and hangs downwardly from the button cavity 208 into the battery holding compartment 202 at the front end thereof. At least at laterally outer end regions thereof, the bottom end of the battery latch 210 has catch tangs 212 thereon for hooked engagement around the left and right tabs 306 of the tabbed face of the tactical battery 300’ just above the base wall 40’ of the battery holder 14’ at the bottom of the battery holding compartment 202. These catch tangs 212 may alternatively reside on two narrower battery latches disposed at opposite lateral extremes of the battery holding compartment 202, instead of residing on a shared battery latch 210 spanning a substantially full width of the battery holding cavity. In the shared battery latch example, the battery latch has a central window therein through which the central power terminal 308 of the tactical battery 300’ can mate with a central power connector embodied in the from wall of the battery holder 14’, from which the battery holder 14’ includes further electrical connectors suitably positioned and oriented to make electrical connection to the power input port 36 of the blower unit 12 when the battery holder 14’ is installed thereon.

[0057] Beneath each catch tang 212, the base wall 40’ feature a recess or opening 214 to accommodate downward displacement of the battery latch 210, through manual depression of the battery release button 206, into a release position disengaging the catch tangs 212 from their hooked engagement under the tabs 306 of the battery 300’, thus enabling extraction of the tactical battery 300’ from the battery holding compartment. During insertion of the tactical battery 300’, as the tabbed face thereof approaches the closed front end of the battery holding compartment 202, the tabs 306 on the tabbed face of the tactical battery act against ramped rear sides of the catch tangs 212, thus driving the catch tangs 212 momentarily downward into the accommodating recesses or openings 214 in the base wall 40’ of the battery holding compartment 202 until the tabs 306 clear the catch tangs 212. This clearance coincides with mated coupling of the central power terminal 308 (see Figure 15) of the battery 300’ with the correspondingly positioned power connector in the front wall 30’ of the battery holder 14’, whereupon the spring biased lifting of the battery release button 206 lifts the battery latch 210 and its catch tangs 212 up into hooked engagement under the tabs 306 of the battery 300’ into the retaining grooves thereof, thereby mechanically securing the battery 300’ to the battery holder 14’.

[0058] Through such disclosure of two different battery holders 14, 14’ compatible with two different types of battery 300, 300’, demonstrated herein is the advantageous utility of interchangeable battery holders enabling use of different third-party battery packs for powered operation of the blower unit 12. Similar provision is made for interchangeable attachment of different filter types and quantities to the blower unit 12 in positions of functional relationship to the air inlet 26 thereof to filter air admitted to the blower unit therethrough. For such purpose, the top wall 24 of the blower unit housing 16 has a snap-fit mounting receiver 48 on the exterior thereof in proximity to the air inlet 26 thereof for selective snap-fit attachment thereto of a snap- fit filter mount by which one or more filters are mountable onto the blower unit 12. The snap- fit receiver 48 of the illustrated embodiment is designed for a tilt-in snap-fit engagement by the snap-fit filter mount. The snap fit receiver 48 comprises a pivotal receiver 50 situated off to one side of the air inlet 26, namely to the rear side thereof in the illustrated example, and a latching receiver 52 situated off to an opposing side of the air inlet, namely the front side thereof in the illustrated example. The pivotal receiver 50 has a front-facing cavity 54 and the latching receiver 52 has an opposing rear-facing cavity 56, among which the front-facing cavity 54 of the pivotal receiver 50 is characterized by a concavely rounded interior wall.

[0059] The cooperating snap-fit filter mount of the illustrated embodiment is embodied in a lower base portion of a multi-filter adapter 62 capable of hosting between one and three cannister filters 64, of which three such cannister filters 64 are shown installed in Figure 9. A rear side of the snap-fit filter mount is composed of a cylindrically rounded pivot tab 66 jutting rearwardly from a rear side of the filter adapter 62 and spanning a partial width thereof, and dimensioned to fit rotatably inside the concavely contoured front facing cavity 52 of the pivotal receiver 50 on the blower unit housing 16. An opposing front side of the snap-fit filter mount is composed of a latch tab 68 hanging downward from an upper support 70 that cantilevers forwardly from a front side of the filter adapter 62. The latch tab 68 has a forwardly protruding catch tang 72 at a bottom end thereof for hooking engagement under a top wall of the rear facing cavity 56 of the latching receiver 52.

[0060] To install the filter adapter 62, the cylindrically rounded pivot tab 66 is first inserted into the rounded cavity of the pivotal receiver 50, inside of which the rounded pivot tab is rotatable about a widthwise pivot axis shared by the rounded pivot tab 66 and associated pivotal receiver. The front side of the filter adapter 62 is then tilted downwardly about this pivot axis, during which an angled front side of the catch tang 72 of the latch tab 68 comes into contact with the rear edge of the top wall of the latching receiver 52, which deflects the latch tab 68 rearward until it clears the rear edge of the top wall, whereupon the latch tab 68 returns to its unflexed orientation, and the catch tang 72 catches underneath the top wall of the latching receiver 52. This secures the filter adapter 62 in place over the air inlet 26 of the blower unit 12, until such time as the latched state of the filter adapter 62 is released by rearward manual deflection of the catch tab 68 at an exposed upper region thereof above the latching receiver 52, upon which rearward deflection the catch tab can be lifted out of its engagement from the latching receiver, where after the pivot tab 66 can be withdrawn from the pivotal receiver 50.

[0061] The multi-filter adapter 62 of the illustrated embodiment is composed mainly of an inlet-tube 74 that is arranged to lie widthwise of the blower unit 12 when installed thereon via the snap-fit mating thereof with the snap-fit receiver 48. Opposing first and second ends of the inlet tube 74 embody respective first and second adapter inlets 76A, 76B having internal female threading to which any two cannister filters with compatible male threading (typically 40mm NATO threads) are respectively engageable to achieve coupling thereof to the adapter 62 in positions operable to filter ambient intake air that enters the inlet tube 74 through said ends thereof. Other filters, for example cartridge filters with bayonet style couplings, may alternatively be indirectly coupled to any threaded inlet of the adapter 62 via use of a commercially available bayonet / threading coupling adapter. The illustrated embodiment of the multi-filter adapter 62 is a tri-filter adapter, for which purpose the inlet tube 74 further includes a third adapter inlet 78 that feeds into the inlet tube 74 at a topside thereof at a central location between the first two inlets 76A, 76B. The tri-filter adapter 62 is accordingly fittable with a third filter to filter air entering said inlet tube through this central third outlet 78.

[0062] The length of the inlet tube 74 in the width direction W exceeds the width of the blower unit 12 so that each end of the inlet tube 74 overhangs from a respective one of the housing side walls 22A, 22B of the blower unit 12. This way, the respective cannister filter 64 or other filter installed at each end of the inlet tube 74 is offset outward from the respective side of the blower unit housing 16. The length of the inlet tube 74 also exceeds the cannister filter diameter so that the third cannister filter installed at the third adapter inlet 78 that resides directly over the air inlet 26 at the widthwise center of the blower unit 12 fits non-interferingly between the other two canister filters 64 installed at the two ends of the inlet tube 74. An underside of the inlet tube 74 has a concavely rounded mid-region cutout 80 situated between two intact end regions thereof, which mid-region cutout 80 resides centrally of the inlet tube length and thus beneath the third adapter inlet 78. This rounded mid-region cutout 82 conformingly embraces the aforementioned external convexity of the top wall 24 of the blower unit housing 16 when the filter adapter 62 is installed, and places the inlet pipe 74 in straddling relation over the air inlet 26. While the illustrated tri-filter adapter 62 enables up to filters 64, there may be provide one or two threaded plugs 81 (one of which is shown in Figures 15-17 & 19-20) selectively and respectively engageable to one or two of the three adapter inlets 76A, 76B, 78 to permit use of the tri-filter adapter 62 with only one or two filters at an unplugged subset of the adapter inlets.

[0063] The illustrated tri-filter adapter 62 is just one enabling demonstration of a filter mount configured for snap-fit cooperation with the snap-fit receiver 48 on the blower unit 12, and is preferably a mere one of a plurality of interchangeable snap fit filter mounts, each supporting, or configured to removably support, a different type, model, brand or quantity of filtration means, whether as an adapter to which such filtration means is selectively attachable, or as an integrated component of the filter itself. One contemplated embodiment is a U-shaped HEPA filter with the snap-fit filter mount integrated into a central span thereof that spans or arches across the top of the blower unit 12 above the air inlet 26 thereof, and from which two down-turned outer wings of the filter extend in positions hanging downward on either side of the blower unit 12.

[0064] Turning to Figures 10 to 12, attention is now turned to internal componentry of the blower. Referring to Figure 10, the front wall 18, side walls 22 A, 22B and top wall of the blower unit housing 16 have been omitted, leaving only the rear wall 20 and a bottom wall 82 of the blower unit housing 16, of which the latter resides opposite of the top wall 24 of the housing 16 in the height direction H, and may be integrally attached to the rear wall 20 as a right-angle dual-wall housing component to which a separate three-wall housing component is fastenable to complete assembly of the housing 16. Inside the housing 16, a removable blower support structure 84 is removably attached to the housing 16, in the illustrated example by removable fastening thereof to the bottom wall 82 using threaded screw fasteners engaged through a first set of fastening holes 86 in the bottom wall 82 of the housing 16 (Figure 12) into a matching set of fastening holes 88 in a bottom of the blower support structure 84. Such fastening holes may reside respectively near, but spaced inwardly from, four corners of a square or rectangular footprint of each of the blower unit’s bottom wall 82 and the internal blower support structure 84. The blower support structure 84 has four side walls 90A-90D that stand upright from the bottom wall 82 of the blower unit housing 16 in the installed position of the blower support structure 84, and a support flange 92 that juts inwardly from the side walls 90A-90D at an intermediate elevation thereon. A motorized blower 94 of the blower unit features a DC motor 96 embodying a lower portion of the motorized blower 94, and a centrifugal blower fan 98 mounted atop the DC motor 96 for driven rotation of the blower fan’s impeller thereby. The axial inlet 98A of the centrifugal blower fan 98 faces upwardly in aligned relationship beneath the air inlet 26 of the blower unit housing 16 to draw air therethrough. The front wall 90 A of the blower support structure is characterized by one substantially voided upper quadrant thereof to accommodate the tangential outlet 96B of the blower fan 98 that aligns with the air outlet 28 on the front wall 18 of the blower unit housing 16 to exhaust the blown air therethrough. The motorized blower 94 has a set of support feet 100 distributed at spaced intervals around an outer circumference of the motor 96 at an elevation above a bottom end thereof, which support feet 100 rest atop the inside support flange 92 of the blower support structure 84. At least a subset of these support feet 100 have threaded bores at the bottoms thereof for alignment with corresponding fastening holes 102 in the support flange 92, by which the motorized blower 94 is fastened to the blower support structure 84.

[0065] The footprint of the removable internal blower support structure 84 is smaller than that of the blower unit housing 16 in which the blower support structure is housed, whereby a gap is left between each wall of the blower unit housing 16 and the respectively adjacent and parallel wall of the blower support structure 84. The control circuitry for operation of the motorized blower 94 is embodied in a flexible circuit board assembly 104 that is wrapped externally around at least a subset of the walls 90A-90D of the blower support structure 84. In the illustrated example, the flexible circuit board assembly 104 comprises four board sections 106A-106D each of which occupies an exterior of a respective one of the four walls 90A-90D of the blower support structure 84. The board sections 106A-106D are interconnected by three flexible connections 108 each of which embraces around a respective outer corner of the blower support structure 84 to connect one of the four board sections 106A-106D to the next. The board sections 106A-106D of the flexible circuit board assembly 104 have mounting holes therein that align with respective mounting holes in the walls 90A-90D of the blower support structure 84 for fastened securement of the flexible circuit board assembly 104 to the blower support structure 84. The flexible circuit board assembly 104 thereby makes space efficient use of the gap space between the blower support structure 84 and the outer walls of the blower unit housing 16 to accommodate the various control circuit components of the blower unit.

[0066] In the illustrated embodiment, the front wall 18 of the blower unit housing 16 can be seen to host a control interface with user-operable buttons for control of the PAPR operation, for example including on and off buttons 110A, HOB for turning the motorized blower 94 on and off, and fan speed control buttons 112 A, 112B for increasing and decreasing the fan speed of the motorized blower 94. These front wall control buttons 110A, HOB, 112A, 112B make connection to the respective board section 106 A of the flexible circuit board assembly 104 that is installed on the adjacent front wall 90A of the blower support structure 84. The front wall 18 of the blower unit housing 16 of the illustrated embodiment also incorporates a pair of auxiliary power output ports 114A, 114B (preferably USB-C ports) by which external devices are connectable to the blower unit 12 for charging or powering of such external devices using the same battery pack 300, 300’ by which the PAPR is operable, but without having to decouple the battery pack 300, 300’ from its electrically connected relationship to the blower unit 12 of the PAPR 10. In this instance, these USB-C ports, like the control buttons, are hosted on the frontfacing board 106 A of the flexible circuit board assembly 104. It will be appreciated that the user control interface and / or the one or more auxiliary power output ports may alternatively be located elsewhere on the blower unit 12, for example on one of the two side walls 22A, 22B thereof, where they would likewise still be of non-interfering relationship to the battery holder 14 at the rear of the blower unit 12. That said, the battery holder 14 likewise could be repositioned from its illustrated rear location to an alternative location of similarly attachable / detachable relationship to the blower unit 12.

[0067] Figures 15 to 18 illustrate how the present invention enables use of different third-party battery packs 300, 300’ in an on-board capacity enabled by provision of different respective interchangeable battery holders 14, 14’ selectively mountable to the blower unit 12, as well as different quantities, sizes and types of filter, including NATO threaded cannister filters 64 directly threaded to the multi-filter adapter 62 in a quantity as high as three (or less than three, with use of an optional plug 81 at one or two of the adapter inlets 76A, 76B, 78), or non-NATO bayonet-style cartridge filters 64’ indirectly coupled to the multi-filter adapter 62 using commercially available coupling adapters 65. Meanwhile, the removability of each battery holder 14, 14’ also enables use of the blower unit 12 in absence of a battery holder, for example powered from a AC mains power outlet using an AC / DC adapter 312 (Figure 19) having an AC power plug 314 for the source side and a suitable DC power cable 316 (e.g. male to male USB- C cable) for the PAPR side, or powered from a battery pack 300” residing separately of the blower unit and connected thereto via such suitable DC power cable 316 (e.g. male to male USB-C cable). The latter connection of an off-board battery 300” may be useful, for example, in cases where either a compatible battery holder is not available for that particular type of battery pack 300”, or where the battery pack is of a type wearable separately of the PAPR, and separate donning of the blower unit 12 and battery 300” is preferred (e.g. for weight distribution considerations).

[0068] Figure 21 shows an alternative embodiment of the PAPR 10’ that instead of having a main blower unit 12 with the blower motor’s control circuitry installed in the same housing as the motorized blower is of a modular character composed of at least two independently self-contained modules: a blower module 12A and a control module 12B The blower module 12 has its own dedicated blower module housing 16 A, and the control module 12B likewise has its own dedicated control module housing 16B. The two module housings 16 A, 16B are defined entirely separate and independent of one another, though the two module housings 16 A, 16B may be equipped with mechanical coupling interfaces by which the blower and control modules 16 A, 16B may be selectively attachable to, and detachable from, one another, enabling user-selective assembly thereof into an assembled PAPR unit, for example as disclosed in Applicant’s U.S. provisional patent application 63 / 688,783, filed August 29, 2024, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. In this embodiment, it is the blower module 12A that hosts the motorized blower and the separate control module 12B that hosts one or more circuit boards embodying the control circuitry for operation of the motorized blower. The electrical control circuitry of the control modular 12B includes a motor driver which outputs usable operating voltage for the blower motor of the blower module 12, through a flexible power cable 502 connected between the two modules 12A, 12B.

[0069] The air inlet 26’ of the blower module 12A in this embodiment is illustrated as a threaded female inlet port for directly threaded coupling thereto of a threaded male coupling neck of a cannister filter 64, though this is only a non-limiting example of any variety of air inlet capable of directly, or indirectly via an adapter, hosting a suitable air filtration means in operable relationship to the air inlet 26’. The air outlet is again of an externally threaded configuration for mating with an internal threaded end fitting of a PAPR hose 400, or for direct coupling to an internally threaded female air intake port of a full-face respirator mask (in place of where a cannister filter or air hose would conventionally be coupled thereto).

[0070] Instead of using a selected one of a plurality of interchangeable battery holders 14, 14’ to interchangeably host any selected one of a plurality different third-party battery packs in a manner mechanically coupled to a housing of the PAPR in a statically secured position thereon like the first embodiment, the control module 12B of this embodiment instead relies on selectively-tethered cable connection of a separate battery pack or other DC power source to the control module 12B to power the electronic control circuitry thereof and the motorized blower connected thereto via the flexible power cable 502. In the Figure 21 example, the cable-tethered DC power source is embodied in a third-party battery pack, namely a Galvion SoloPack™ battery 600. The control module 12B of this embodiment includes simplified user controls, embodied a singular user control button 110 by which the user can cycle through different operational states of the connected blower module 12A (e.g. on, off, low-speed, high-speed, medium speed, or any subset thereof), and an illumination-based blower status indicator, embodied in the illustrated example by three LED blower status indicators 111 A, 11 IB, 111C by which illumination of these indicators in different quantities provides visual feedback on the current operational status of the blower (zero active LEDS = off, one active LED = low speed, two active LEDs = medium speed, three active LEDs = high speed). An LED low battery indicator 11 ID is preferably included, and preferably is a different colour (e.g. red) from the LED blower status indicators (e.g. green).

[0071] Figure 23 shows a block diagram of the electronic componentry hosted by the control module 12B of this embodiment, among which the electronic control circuitry responsible for powered operation of the blower of the blower module 12A through the flexible power cable 502 includes a microcontroller 504, a motor driver 506 and a buck / boost converter 508. Some outputs of the microcontroller are connected to the three LED blower status indicators 111 A, 11 IB, 111C and the LED low battery indicator 11 ID for controlled operation of these LED’s by the microcontroller, another output of which is connected to the motor driver 506 to impart start, stop and speed control signals thereto based on user actuation of the singular user control button 110, which is connected to a respective input of the microcontroller 504 and is also used thereby to trigger changes to the illuminated statuses of the three LED blower status indicators 111 A, 11 IB, 111C. The buck / boost converter 508 is used to convert a supplied input voltage from a connected DC power source to an appropriate operating voltage of the motor driver 506.

[0072] The control module 12B also includes an adaptable power connection interface for enabling agnostic powering of the control module 12B by any of the interchangeable power sources despite variations therebetween in one or more characteristics such as the brand, model, connector configuration and / or output voltage specifications of those power sources. For hosting selective and interchangeable connection of these different power sources, the control module 12B features a plug interface 510 by which cable-tethered connection between the control module 12B and the selected power source is directly or indirectly achievable by mating of a plug and socket at such interface 510. In the illustrated embodiment, the plug interface 510 is embodied by a male plug terminal fitted on a power source end of a host cable 512 whose opposing control module end is permanently anchored to the control module housing 16B in wired connection to the internally housed control circuit componentry of the control module, typically via a wiring terminal 514 on a circuit board that hosts some or all of that componentry.

[0073] The plug interface 510 in this particular embodiment is thus an external and physically relocatable plug interface 510 that resides outside the control module housing 16B and is movable into different positions and orientations thereto at varying distances therefrom. In this example, the plug interface 510 of the host cable 512 is of a type directly matable to a connector of one of the power sources 600, and in the illustrated example, the plug interface 510 is a male Nett Warrior connector plug that is directly matable with a female Nett Warrior connector socket 602 of the Galvion Sol oPack™ battery 600, as shown in Figure 21. The Nett Warrior connector plug and socket in this non-limiting example have a 6-pin contact configuration, which as disclosed in more detail below, is a more than sufficient to enable all contemplated functionality of this battery agnostic PAPR 10’. In addition to supplying DC power, the Galvion SoloPack™ battery 600 employs a System Management Bus (SMBus) two-wire communication protocol to enable communication of battery life from the battery 600 to connected equipment, which communicative capability is exploited in this preferred embodiment of the battery agnostic PAPR 10’. The host cable 512 in the present embodiment is a five-wire cable, the five internal wires of which are connected to five respective contact pins of the plug interface 510, of which four are actively used in the event of directly plugged connection of the plug interface 510 with the Galvion SoloPack™ battery 600: two contacts for power transmission (positive voltage and ground, abbreviated herein as V+ and GND) and two for SMBus communication (clock and data communi cai ton, abbreviated SMclk and SMdat).

[0074] As schematically shown in Figure 23, the internal control circuitry of the control module 12B includes two communication lines SMclk and SMdat that run to respective inputs of the microcontroller 504 from the wiring terminal 514 at which the host cable 512 first connects to the electronic control circuity, particularly from the terminal contacts thereof at which the SMclk and SMdat communication wires of the host cable 512 are engaged. Battery status data communicated to the microcontroller 504 from the connected battery 600 via the SMclk and SMdat communication lines may include state of battery charge, battery time remaining, voltage, current, etc. In the present embodiment, where the LED low battery indicator H ID is the only battery status indicator of the simplified control module 12B, the microcontroller 504 monitors the state of battery charge on an ongoing basis in comparison thereof against a low battery threshold (e.g. 20% charge remaining), and triggers activation of the LED low battery indicator 11 ID when the communicated state of charge drops below the threshold. In other embodiments with a more comprehensive means of battery status indication, more of the battery status data received from the battery 600 may be communicated to the user, for example using a display screen optionally included in alternative embodiments to display an indication of remaining battery time, and / or any other battery status information communicated to the microcontroller through the SMBus.

[0075] As also schematically shown in Figure 23, two voltage lines V+ and GND run to the buck / boost convertor 508 from the terminal contacts of the wiring terminal 514 thereof at which the two voltage wires V+ and GND of the host cable 512 are engaged. In the case where battery 600 is the chosen DC power source, which may nominally output a voltage somewhere between +10 to +20V, the buck / boost converter 508 steps this received voltage either upward or downward to a sought operating voltage of the motor driver 506, for example +15V, whenever the inputted voltage is below or above that sought operating voltage, respectively, and instead simply passes through the inputted voltage at equal output thereto if the inputted voltage already matches the sought operating voltage (e.g. +15V) for which the buck / boost converter 508 is configured. The outputted voltage of the buck / boost converter 508 is applied to the motor driver 506 in order to drive the blower of the blower module 12 A, subject to on / off and speed control signals from the microcontroller 504, which signal communication is dictated by user input to the user control button 110.

[0076] Figure 22 illustrates a set of three different adapter cables 514A, 514B, 514C each equipped at a power source end thereof with a different terminal connector 516A, 516B, 516C uniquely configured for plugged engagement to a respective one of three different DC power sources 600A, 600B, 600C that, when paired with their respective adapter cables 514B, 514C, 514D, are each usable in place of the battery 600 that is directly couplable to the host cable 512 of the control module 12B. Power source 600A is another battery-based power source, and in the illustrated embodiment is a battery with USB Type C (USB-C) Power Delivery (PD) capability, by which it is able to output a plurality of different “negotiable” output voltages depending on the particular device it is connected to, provided such device is likewise PD capable. The illustrated example of such PD capable battery 600A is the small tactical universal battery (STUB) disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 11,848,457 by Xentris Wireless, the entirety of which is also incorporated hereby by reference, which battery is marketed by Xentris Wireless under their EXO Charge division. The adapter cable 514A for the STUB 200A is a three-wire cable with two wires for power transmission (V+ and GND) and one for communication (via USB Configuration Channel, abbreviated CC). The terminal connector 516A at the power source end of the adapter cable 514A thus employs three contacts 518A respectively connected to the three wires of the adapter cable 514A to mate with three contacts 520A (V+, GND and CC) of the STUB 600A.

[0077] The five contact pins of the plug interface 510 of the host cable 512 of the control module 12B include the four contact pins already described above for active use with the SMbus capable battery 600 (V+, GND, SMclk, SMdat) and one additional contact pin dedicated for the configuration channel CC of USB-C PD compatible power sources like the STUB 600 A. Each adapter cable 514A, at a PAPR end thereof of opposing relationship to the power source end thereof, has a terminal coupler 522 of matching shape to that of each other adapter cable 514A, and of matable relationship to the plug interface 510 of the host cable 512. In the illustrated embodiment, where plug interface 510 is a male Nett Warrior connector plug, the terminal coupler 522 of each adapter cable 514A-514C is a female Nett Warrior connector socket for receiving the male connector plug. The quantity of wired contacts in the terminal coupler 522 of each adapter is equal to the number of actively used wires of the given adapter cable 514A- 514C, whereby there are three wired contacts in the terminal coupler 522 of adapter 514A, for transmitting power and CC communication through a respective three of the five wired contacts in the plug interface 510 of the host cable 512.

[0078] Referring again to Figure 23, among the electronic circuit components inside the control module 12B is a PD trigger circuit 524 that forms part of the adaptable power connection interface. The PD trigger circuit 524 is an integrated circuit connected to the wiring terminal 514 of the host cable 512 at the contacts of this wiring terminal to which the V+, GND and CC wires of the host cable 512 are engaged. When a power source 600, 600A-600C is connected to the host cable 512, directly or via an adapter cable 514A-514C, the PD trigger circuit 524 is powered through V+ and GND connections thereof to the wiring terminal 514. When powered in such fashion, the PD trigger circuit 524 transmits the PAPR’s sought operating voltage (e.g. +15V) necessary to power the motor driver 506, doing so via the CC communication line that connects the PD trigger circuit 524 to the wiring harness 514 and the attached host cable 512. If a non- PD-capable power source (e.g. SMBus battery 600) is connected to the host cable 512, then there is no ultimate communication of the sought voltage to the power source 600, given the incompatible communication protocols (SMBus vs. USB-C) between the power source and the PD trigger circuit. In the event that a STUB 600A or other PD-capable power source is instead connected via a suitable adapter cable 112 A, then that PD-capable power source receives the PD trigger circuit’s communication of the PAPR’s sought operating voltage (e.g. +15V), denoting negotiation of the desired output voltage from the power source 600A. The negotiated voltage (or nearest achievable proxy thereof) is outputted by the power source 600A, and regulated as needed by the buck / boost converter 508 to attain the sought operating voltage.

[0079] Another USB-C PD-capable power source 600B of the illustrated embodiment is a USB-C AC / DC wall adapter with a female USB-C port 520B, for which another three-wire adapter cable 514B is provided. This adapter cable 514B has an identically wired terminal coupler 522 to that of the adapter cable 514A of the USB-C PD-capable battery 600A. At its opposing power source end, this adapter cable 514B has a male USB-C connector as its terminal connector 516B for mating with the female USB-C socket of the power source 600B in a manner connecting the V+, GND and CC wires of the adapter cable 514B to corresponding voltage, ground and CC contacts of the USB-C socket 520B to enable the same negotiation of the sought output voltage as described for the USB-C PD-compatible STUB 600 A.

[0080] The three interchangeably usable power sources 600, 600A, 600B described so far have all had some communicative capability exploitable by the control module 14’, with SMBus communication of battery status data in the case of power source 600 and USB-C Power Delivery negotiability between the power source 600A / 600B and the PD trigger circuit 524 of the control module 12B in the case of such PD-capable power sources. That said, the same control module 12B is also capable of being powered by more conventional power sources lacking any such ubiquitous data communicative functionality, such as a lithium-ion PRC- 148 battery (used for PRC- 148 handheld multiband tactical radios, marketed by Thales Communications). A PRC-148 battery is shown at 600C of Figure 22 as an example of a power source that lacks modern USB-C PD or SMbus communication capability, but can nonetheless be connected to the control module 12B via another respective adapter cable 514C.

[0081] This respective adapter cable 514C need only be a two-wire cable given that only two-wire power transmission need be performed thereby, with no need for any additional communication wire(s) like the preceding adapter cables 514A, 514B. Despite this mere two- wire requirement, the illustrated terminal connector 516C of this adapter cable 514C is shown as having three contacts 518C instead of two, as the illustrated example is an early prototype of the adapter cable 514C created by modification of an existing three-contact PRC-148 battery connector, where the V+ and GND contacts are supplemented with a third DQ contact for available for data communication, but which is unexploited in the present invention owing to a relatively outdated status of that communication protocol, abandoned here in favour of more ubiquitous SMBus and USB-PD protocols. The three respective contacts of the battery’s electrical connection interface, of which two are only actively used in the present embodiment, can be seen at 520C.

[0082] Among the three different adapter cables 514A-514C and the host cable 512, there are included cables that differ from one another in terms of quantity of used contacts at one (or optionally both) of their terminal connectors and couplers 516A-516C, 522 at their opposing ends. At minimum, each cable 512, 514A-514C has at least two utilized contacts at each end, and at least two respectively used wires connected therebetween, for V+ and GND purposes in power transmission from the power source. The SMBus cable 512 needs the greatest number of utilized contacts and respective wires for its purpose (four contacts at each end, and four wires connected therebetween), yet in the illustrated example embodies an additionally utilized fifth wire and associated fifth contacts (CC) at the two ends of the wire that go unused when directly connected to the SMBus power source 600, such that this cable 512 can serve as a permanently attached host cable carrying the plug interface 510 for selective connection of any of the separate adapter cables 514A-514C thereto. Among those adapter cables 514A-514C, at least a subset require the operable presence of the additional CC wire and contact set in the host cable 512.

[0083] The host cable may instead be a six-wire cable wired up to all six contacts of its Nett Warrior connector, although only five of those wires need be connected to the wiring terminal 514 of the control module 12B, and each adapter cable 514A-514C may likewise be a six-wire cable wired up to all six contacts of its Nett Warrior connector, even though only a lesser utilized subset of these six wires are connected to a respective quantity of utilized contacts at the respective terminal connector 516A, 516B, 516C, depending on the type of battery pack or other DC power source 600A, 600B, 600C for which that adapter cable is intended. In other embodiments, each cable may comprise a quantity of wires of equal and dictated relation to the number of actually utilized contacts, resulting in cables of differing wiring quantity to one another.

[0084] Other embodiments similarly using a permanently attached host cable 512 may instead use a different cable type (rather than Nett Warrior) as the permanently attached host cable, provided that the terminal connector at its power source end has a sufficient number of operably wired contacts to serve as a host with the capacity to handle the greatest number of necessary wired contacts found among any one of the adapter cables. It will be appreciated that other embodiments may forgo a permanently attached host cable 512, and instead have the plug interface 510 hosted at a fixed location on the control module housing 16B, which embodiment would require use of a respective adapter cable for each and every different type of interchangeable power source 600, 600A-200C.

[0085] In this embodiment, where the battery-based power sources 600, 600A, 600C are flexibly tethered to the control module 12B via one or more cables, the blower module 12 A, the control module 12B, and the power source 600, 600A, 600C may be worn on the user’s person at up to three different locations of spaced relationship to one another, and optionally on differently worn pieces of garmentry and equipment. On the other hand, it will also be appreciated that the battery agnostic aspect of the control module 12B may also be implemented in embodiments where the blower and the control circuitry therefor are hosted together in a singular unit, like the blower units 12 of Figures 1 through 20. and not in separate modules 12A, 12B of cable-tethered or selectively attachable / detachable relationship to one another. That is, instead of using interchangeably mountable battery holders to enable interchange between a plurality of different (e.g. third-party) battery types, the first embodiment could be modified to instead achieve the equivalent interchangeability via a plurality of differently configured adapter cables, likethe later embodiment of Figures 21 to 23. It will also be appreciated that the different battery types illustrated herein as interchangeable DC power sources for the PAPR are presented purely as a non-limiting subset of any variety of third party batteries by which the PAPR can be powered via an appropriate configured adapter cable or battery holder.

[0086] It will also be appreciated that the embodiment(s) shown in Figures 1 through 20, embodied in a self-controlled blower unit whose control circuitry is integrated in the same housing as the motorized blower and to which interchangeable battery holders are selectively couplable to achieve battery interchangeability in an on-board carried fashion, may employ the same or similar control circuitry to that illustrated in Figure 23 of the modular embodiment. Of particular note is implementation of the USB-C PD trigger circuit 524 in the earlier embodiment to negotiate the sought operating voltage of the PAPR from a connected USB-C PD capable battery pack, whether that battery pack be hosted on a removable battery holder 14 attached the blower unit 12 like in Figures 8, 14, 16 and 18 or instead be tethered to the blower unit 12 by a cable 316 like in Figure 20, or to equivalently negotiate the sought operating voltage from a connected a USB-C adapter 312 like that of Figure 19. The buck / bust converter can likewise be included in the first embodiment, with or without the USB-C PD trigger circuit 524, to convert the inputted voltage appropriately to the PAPR’s sought operating voltage even in absence of PD negotiation capability with non-USB-C batteries or adapters.

[0087] Since various modifications can be made in the invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit housing one or more electrical components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower unit via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively; a power input port that is electrically connected to electronic control circuity of the motorized blower to enabled powered operation thereof through said power input port; and a plurality of interchangeable components each embodied separately of the blower unit and selectively engageable to, and disengageable from, the power input port to serve as an interface by which a respective one of a plurality of different battery types is indirectly connectable to the electronic control circuitry in powering relationship thereto, whereby each of said different battery types is respectively and selectively connectable to the power input port an indirect manner via a corresponding one of the interchangeable components, among which each one of said interchangeable components is of differently configured relationship to each other one of said interchangeable components in at least one detail dictated by differences between said different battery types.

2. The paper of claim 1 wherein the plurality of interchangeable components comprise at least one battery holder attached or attachable to a housing of the blower unit at a location proximate said power input port, and configured to removably receive and hold the respective one of the different battery types in a working position of connected or connectable relationship to said power input port for powered operation of the control circuit of the motorized blower by said separate external battery pack.

3. The PAPR of claim 1 or 2 wherein said power input port is a USB-C port.

4. The PAPR of claim 2 or 3 wherein said power input port is found on a same side of the blower unit at which said battery holder is selectively and detachably attachable to the housing of the blower unit.

5. The PAPR of any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein said power input port is found on a same outer wall of the blower unit to which said battery holder is selectively and detachablyattachable to the blower unit.

6. The PAPR of any one of claims 2 to 5 wherein said battery holder is configured for slidable mating of the of external battery pack therewith.

7. The PAPR of any one of claims 2 to 6 wherein the battery holder comprises a base wall arranged to cantilever outwardly away from the blower unit for rested holding of the external battery pack against said base wall.

8. The PAPR of claim 7 wherein said battery holder further comprises a pair of side walls standing proud of the base wall at opposing perimeter sides thereof for captured holding of the respective one of the different battery types between said side walls.

9. The PAPR of claim 8 wherein said side walls comprise in-turned flanges thereon for retention of the respective one of the different battery types therebetween.

10. The PAPR of any one of claims 2 to 9 wherein said battery holder comprises a latch operable to releasably latch the respective one of the different battery types to the battery holder.

11. The PAPR of any one of claims 2 to 10 comprising a through-port in the battery holder that is positioned align with the power input port of the blower unit when attached thereto.

12. The PAPR of claim 11 comprising a connector configured to engage with the power input port of the blower unit via the through-port in the battery holder to achieve electrical connection between the external battery pack, when held by the battery holder, and the power input port.

13. The PAPR of claim 12 wherein said connector is a male-to-male connector engageable with both the power input port of the blower unit and a female power output port of the external battery pack.

14. The PAPR of any one of claims 2 to 13 further comprising a flexible electrical connector connectable with both the power input port and the respective one of the different battery types to establish electrical connection therebetween in the working position of the respective one of the different battery types.

15. The PAPR of claim 14 wherein said flexible electrical connector is a male- to-male electrical connector engageable with both the power input port of the blower unit and afemale power output port of the external battery pack.

16. The PAPR of any preceding claim in combination with a multi-component one of said different battery types, which multi-component one of said different battery types comprises a battery component and a removable adapter component selectively and detachably attachable to the battery component.

17. The PAPR of claim 16 wherein said battery component is a power tool battery and said adapter component is a power supply output comprising a power output port by which the external battery pack is connectable to the power input port of the blower unit.

18. The PAPR of claim 16 or 17 wherein the corresponding one of the interchangeable components for said multi-component one of said different battery types is a battery holder configured to engage with a singular first one of either said battery component or said adapter component to hold the multi-component one of said different battery types by said singular first one of said components, and thereby also indirectly hold a second one of either said battery component or said adapter component via mated attachment between the two components.

19. The PAPR of any one of claims 2 to 15 and 18 wherein said battery holder is configured for selective and detachable attachment to the blower unit.

20. The PAPR of any one of claims 2 to 15, 18 and 19 wherein the battery holder is configured to at least partially encapsulate the external battery pack in the working position thereof.

21. The PAPR of any one of claims 2 to 15 and 18 to 20 wherein the air outlet resides at a side of the blower unit opposite to a different side thereof at which the battery holder attaches thereto.

22. The PAPR of any one of claims 2 to 15 and 18 to 21 wherein the battery holder, in an attached state thereof to the blower unit, forms an in-line extension of the blower unit in a direction corresponding to a longest overall dimension of the PAPR, including said battery holder.

23. The PAPR of any preceding claim wherein said electronic control circuitry comprises a buck / boost converter operably installed between said power input port and the motorized blower.

24. The PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the electronic control circuitry comprises a power delivery (PD) trigger circuit for providing self-identification of a sought operating voltage of the PAPR under connection of a PD-enabled power source capable of outputting a plurality of different negotiable output voltages.

25. The PAPR of claim 24 wherein said electronic control circuitry comprises a microcontroller, and said electronic control circuitry comprises multiple communication lines connected to the power input port, among which one communication line connects to the PD trigger circuit to enable communication of said self-identification to the PD-enabled power source, when connected, and at least one communication line instead connects to the microcontroller.

26. The PAPR of 23 or 24 wherein said electronic control circuitry comprises a microcontroller, and said electronic control circuitry comprises at least one communication line that runs to the microcontroller from the power input port for conveyance of data between said microcontroller and a connected one of the different battery types.

27. The PAPR of claim 26 wherein said at least one communication line comprises two communication lines running to the micro controller for two-line communication between the microcontroller and a communication-enabled one of the external power sources.

28. The PAPR of claim 26 or 27 further comprising at least one battery status indicator, said microcontroller is connected to said at least one battery status indicator, said microcontroller is configured to receive battery status data over said at least one communication line from said communication-enabled one of the external power sources, and to operate said at least one battery status indicator in responsive relationship to said battery status data.

29. The PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the interchangeable components comprise one or more adapter cables each having a PAPR end equipped with a terminal coupler matable with said power input port, and a power source end equipped with a differently configured terminal connector.

30. The PAPR of any one of claims 1, 16 and 17 wherein: the interchangeable components comprise one or more adapter cables each having a PAPR end equipped with a terminal coupler matable with said power input port, and a power source end equipped with a differently configured terminal connector; andthe electronic control circuitry is hosted internally of a housing; said plug interface is embodied externally of said housing on a host cable that emanates therefrom, and said plug interface is of a type directly matable with one of the plurality of different battery types.

31. The PAPR of claim 29 or 30 wherein said one or more adapter cables comprises a plurality of different adapter cables, each equipped with a respectively different terminal connector at the power source end thereof.

32. The PAPR of any one of claims 29 to 31 wherein at least one of the adapter cables comprise at least three wires and at least three operably wired contacts at each of the terminals to enable voltage, ground and data communication connections.

33. The PAPR of any one of claims 29 to 32 wherein at least one of the adapter cables comprise at least four wires and at least four operably wired contacts at each of the terminals to enable voltage, ground and two-wire data communication connections.

34. The PAPR of any one of claims 29 to 33 wherein the plug interface comprises at least three operably wired contacts.

35. The PAPR of any one of claims 29 to 34 wherein the plug interface comprises at least four operably wired contacts.

36. The PAPR of any one of claims 29 to 35 wherein the plug interface comprises at least five operably wired contacts.

37. The PAPR of claim 36 wherein the plug interface is characterized by inclusion of only said five operably wired contacts.

38. The PAPR of any one of claims 29 to 37 wherein the plug interface comprises a quantity of operably wired contacts that exceeds a quantity of contacts found on the terminal connector of at least one of the adapter cables and different adapter cables make connections to different combinations of said operably wired contacts of the plug interface.

39. The PAPR of any one of claims 1, 16, 17 and 30 wherein the electronic control circuitry and the power input port are embodied by a control module that is separate of the blower unit.

40. The PAPR of claim 39 wherein the control module tethered to the blower unit by a flexible electrical cable through which the motorized blower is powered from the controlcircuitry of the control module.

41. The PAPR of calm 40 wherein the control module and the blower unit are arranged for selective and detachable connection to one another for optional wearing thereof in either one of two different modes: an assembled mode of use in which the blower unit and the control module are attached together as an assembled PAPR unit, and worn by a user at a location of spaced relation to a respirator mask worn by said user, from which the blower unit is fluidly connected to said respirator mask via a flexible respirator hose; and a detached mode of use in which the blower unit and the control module are unattached to one another, and worn by a user at two different locations of spaced relationship to one another, but tethered together via the flexible electrical cable to enable powered operation of the motorized blower of the blower unit from the control circuitry of the control module.

42. A powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit housing one or more electrical components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower unit via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively; a USB-C power input port that is electrically connected to electronic control circuitry of the motorized blower to enabled powered operation thereof through said USB-C power input port from a power source having a USB-C power output; and a battery holder configured to hold a battery back of a type including said USB- C power output in a predetermined position and orientation enabling electrical connection of said USB-C power output of said battery pack to said USB-C power input port of the PAPR.

43. The PAPR of claim 42 wherein said battery holder comprises a USB-C connector thereon that is connectable to both USB-C power output of said battery pack to said USB-C power input port of the PAPR to establish said electronic connection therebetween.

44. The PAPR of claim 43 wherein said USB-C connector is a male-to-maleUSB-C connector.

45. The PAPR of any one of claims 42 to 44 wherein said battery holder is attached or attachable to a housing of the blower unit.

46. The PAPR of claim 45 wherein said battery holder is selectively and detachably attachable to the housing of the blower unit to enable substitution thereof with another interchangeable battery holder configured to hold a different battery pack.

47. The PAPR of any one of claims 42 to 46 wherein said said USB-C power input port resides on the blower unit.48 The PAPR of any one of claims 42 to 47 wherein said USB-C power input port resides on the blower unit at a same side thereof at which the blower unit is configured to removably receive attachment of the battery holder.

49. The PAPR of any one of claims 42 to 47 further characterized in a same manner as recited in any one of claims 2 to 18 and 18 to 22.

50. The PAPR of any one of claims 42 to 49 wherein the electronic control circuitry comprises a power delivery (PD) trigger circuit for providing self-identification of a sought operating voltage of the PAPR under connection of a PD-enabled power source capable of outputting a plurality of different negotiable output voltages.

51. A powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit housing one or more electrical components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower unit via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively; a USB-C power input port that is electrically connected to electronic control circuitry of the motorized blower to enabled powered operation thereof through said USB-C power input port from a power source having a USB-C power output; wherein the electronic control circuitry comprises a power delivery (PD) trigger circuit for providing self-identification of a sought operating voltage of the PAPR under connection of a PD-enabled power source capable of outputting a plurality of different negotiable output voltages.

52. The PAPR of claim 50 or 51 further characterized in a same manner as recitedin any one of claims 25 to 28.

53. A powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit housing one or more electrical components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower unit via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively; and a snap-fit mounting receiver on an exterior of the blower unit in proximity to the air inlet thereof for selective snap-fit attachment thereto of a snap-fit filter mount by which one or more filters are mountable onto the blower unit in filtering relation to the air inlet to filter ambient air drawn therethrough during operation of the motorized blower.

54. The PAPR of claim 53 wherein the snap-fit receiver is configured for tilt-in snap-fit engagement by the snap-fit filter mount.

55. The PAPR of claim 54 wherein the snap-fit receiver comprises a pivotal receiver and a latching receiver, situated on opposing sides of the air inlet, among which the receiver is arranged to accept initial insertion of a pivot tab of the snap-fit mount to form a pivot point about which the snap-fit is tiltable downwardly and upwardly, respectively, during coupling and decoupling of the snap-fit filter mount to the blower unit, and the latching receiver is arranged to receive and capture a deflectable latch tab of the filter-mount during said coupling.

56. The PAPR of claim 55 comprising said snap-fit mount that comprises said pivot tab and said latch tab.

57. The PAPR of any one of claims 53 to 56 comprising a said snap-fit filter mount, wherein said snap-fit filter mount is a multi-filter adapter comprising an inlet-tube that is arranged to lie cross-wise of the air inlet of the blower unit when installed, and at opposing first and second ends of the inlet tube embodies respective first and second adapter inlets at which two filters are respectively supportable to filter air entering said inlet tube through said ends thereof.

58. The PAPR of claim 57 wherein said inlet tube comprises a third adapter inlet that feeds into the inlet tube at a location between said first and second adapter inlets and is fittable with a third filter to filter air entering said inlet tube through said third adapter inlet.

59. The PAPR of claim 57 or 58 wherein an underside of the inlet tube has a midregion cutout between two intact end regions thereof, which mid-region cutout embraces the blower unit and places the inlet pipe in straddling relation over the air inlet.

60. The PAPR of any one of claims 57 to 59 further comprising at least one plug engageable with one of the adapter inlets of the multi-filter adapter to close said one of the adapter inlets and enable use of the multi-filter adapter with a lesser quantity of filters than said adapter inlets.

61. The PAPR of any one of claims 53 to 56 wherein said snap-fit filter mount is embodied in a U-shaped filter that arches over the blower unit, and the air inlet thereof, from one side of the blower unit to another.

62. The PAPR of any one of claims 56 to 61 wherein said snap-fit filter mount is one of a plurality of differently configured and interchangeable snap-fit filter mounts that collectively enable support of different filter types, different filter quantities or different filter locations.

63. The PAPR of any one of claims 53 to 55 comprising a plurality of differently configured and interchangeable snap-fit filter mounts the collectively enable support of different filter types, different filter quantities or different filter locations.

64. A powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit housing one or more electrical components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower unit via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively; a power input port on said blower unit that is connected to a control circuit of the motorized blower to enabled powered operation thereof through said power input port; and a battery holder attached or attachable to the blower unit at a location proximate said power input port, and configured to removably receive and hold a separate external battery pack in a working position of connected or connectable relationship to said power input port for powered operation of the control circuit of the motorized blower by said separate external battery pack.

65. The PAPR of claim 64 wherein said power input port is a USB-C port.

66. The PAPR of claim 64 or 65 wherein said power input port is found on a same side of the blower unit at which said battery holder is selectively and detachably attachable to the blower.

67. The PAPR of any one of claims 64 to 66 wherein said power input port is found on a same outer wall of the blower unit to which said battery holder is selectively and detachably attachable to the blower.

68. The PAPR of any one of claims 64 to 67 wherein said battery holder is configured for slidable mating of the of external battery pack therewith.

69. The PAPR of any one of claims 64 to 68 wherein the battery holder comprises a base wall arranged to cantilever outwardly away from the blower for rested holding of the external battery pack against said base wall.

70. The PAPR of claim 69 wherein said battery holder further comprises a pair of side walls standing proud of the base wall at opposing perimeter sides thereof for captured holding of the external battery pack between said side walls.

71. The PAPR of claim 70 wherein said side walls comprise in-turned flanges thereon for retention of the external battery pack therebetween.

72. The PAPR of any one of claims 64 to 71 wherein said battery holder comprises a latch operable to releasably latch the external battery pack to the battery holder.

73. The PAPR of any one of claims 64 to 72 comprising a through-port in the battery holder that is positioned align with the power input port of the blower unit when attached thereto.

74. The PAPR of claim 73 comprising a connector configured to engage with the power input port of the blower unit via the through-port in the battery holder to achieve electrical connection between the external battery pack, when held by the battery holder, and the power input port.

75. The PAPR of claim 74 wherein said connector is a male-to-male connector engageable with both the power input port of the blower unit and a female power output port of the external battery pack.

76. The PAPR of any one of claims 64 to 73 further comprising a flexibleelectrical connector connectable with both the external battery pack and the power input port to establish electrical connection therebetween in the working position of the externally pack.

77. The PAPR of claim 76 wherein said flexible electrical connector is a male- to-male electrical connector engageable with both the power input port of the blower unit and a female power output port of the external battery pack.

78. The PAPR of any one of claims 64 to 77 in combination with said external battery pack, wherein said external battery pack is a multi-component battery pack comprising a battery component and a removable adapter component selectively and detachably attachable to the battery component.

79. The PAPR of claim 78 wherein the battery holder is configured to engage with a singular first one of either said battery component or said adapter component to hold the external battery pack by said singular first one of said components, and thereby also indirectly hold a second one of either said battery component or said adapter component via mated attachment between the two components.

80. The PAPR of claim 78 or 79 wherein said battery component is a power tool battery and said adapter component is a power supply output comprising a power output port by which the external battery pack is connectable to the power input port of the blower unit.

81. The PAPR of any one of claims 64 to 80 wherein said battery holder is configured for selective and detachable attachment to the blower unit.

82. The PAPR of claim 81 wherein said battery holder is one of a plurality of interchangeable battery holders respectively configured to hold respective ones of a plurality of different external battery packs.

83. The PAPR of any one of claims 64 to 82 wherein the battery holder is configured to at least partially encapsulate the external battery pack in the working position thereof.

84. The PAPR of any one of claims 64 to 83 wherein the air outlet resides at a side of the blower unit opposite to a different side thereof at which the battery holder attaches thereto.

85. The PAPR of any one of claims 64 to 84 wherein the battery holder, in an attached state thereof to the blower unit, forms an in-line extension of the blower unit in adirection corresponding to a longest overall dimension of the PAPR, including said battery holder.

86. A powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower unit having an air inlet through which air is admissible into the blower unit and an air outlet through which air is exhaustible from said blower unit, said blower unit housing one or more electrical components, including at least a motorized blower operable to draw and exhaust air into and from the blower unit via said air inlet and said air outlet, respectively; and a USB-C power input port on said blower unit that is connected a control circuit of the motorized blower to enabled powered operation thereof through said USB-C power input port from a power source having a USB-C power output.

87. The PAPR of claim 88 wherein said USB-C power input port resides on the blower unit at a same side thereof at which the blower unit is configured to removably receive attachment of an external battery pack by which the blower unit is powerable throughs said USB-C power input port.

88. The PAPR of claim 87 wherein the blower unit is configured to removably receive said attachment of the external battery pack via a battery holder attached or attachable to the blower unit at a location proximate said power input port.

89. The PAPR of claim 88 further characterized in a same manner as recited in any one of claims 64 to 85.

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