Modular PAPR with separate blower and control modules

Abstract

A modular powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) features a blower module having a first housing, a blower housed thereby, an inlet through which intake air is drawn by operation of said blower, and an outlet from which output air is evacuated by said operation of said blower. A separate control module of the PAPR comprises a second housing defined independently of said first housing, and electronic control circuitry responsible for powered operation of said blower. A tethered cable connection between the blower and control modules enables wearing thereof at different locations on the user's person, and the minimal size and weight of the blower module enables direct wearing thereof, in one mode of use, on a respirator mask in a position of directly threaded connection to a filtered air inlet of the mask, and with a filter hosted by the blower module at the air inlet thereof.

Description

[0001]

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This application claims priority benefit under of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 688,783, filed August 29, 2024, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[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, petrochemical 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 hosting the blower and associated control circuitry and user control inputs, 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 in the field of modular PAPR design, and Applicant has another new PAPR design of modular character that enables different end-uses not possible with the prior design.

[0010] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a modular powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower module comprising a first housing, a blower housed thereby, an inlet through which intake air is drawn by operation of said blower, an outlet from which output air is evacuated by said operation of said blower; and a separate control module comprising a second housing defined independently of said first housing, and electronic control circuitry responsible for powered operation of said blower.

[0012] Separation of the blower and the control circuitry for same into separate modules enables novel new modes of use, for example with the blower module coupled directly to an air intake port of a full-face respirator mask in place the conventional coupling of a filter or air hose thereto, whereby the blower is carried directly on the respirator mask with no intervening air hose.

[0013] In some embodiments, the blower module and the control module are configured for selective and releasable attachment to one another, for optional alternative use thereof as an assembled PAPR unit, with the attached blower module feeding filtered air to the respirator mask via air hose in a more conventional fashion.

[0014] According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of using the modular PAPR recited above, comprising: wearing of the blower module, by a user, at a first location relative to a person of said user with an air filter coupled to the inlet of the blower module and the outlet of the blower module coupled to a filtered air inlet; and simultaneous wearing of the control module, by said user, at a different second location relative to said person of the user, at which second location the control module is of physically spaced and detached relationship to the blower module, but flexibly tethered thereto by a flexible electrical connector to enable powered operation of the blower of the blower module from the control circuitry of the control module.

[0015] According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of using the modular PAPR recited above, comprising: selecting between different selectable modes of use of said modular PAPR, among which there is at least included: an assembled mode of use in which the blower and control modules 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 module is fluidly connected to said respirator mask via a flexible respirator hose; and a detached mode of use in which the blower and the control modules are unattached to one another, and worn by a user at two different locations of spaced relationship to one another, but tethered together via a flexible electrical connector to enable powered operation of the blower of the blower module from the control circuitry of the control module; and donning said modular PAPR in a selected one of said different selectable modes.

[0016] According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a manifold for hosting a PAPR blower and at least filter, comprising at least one filter port for hosting said at least one filter, and a blower port for hosting said PAPR blower in mounted attachment to the manifold, said blower port comprising a rotatable thumbwheel coupler.

[0017] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0019] Figure 1 is an exploded top front left perspective view of a modular PAPR of the present invention, illustrating selectively attachable and detachable blower and control modules thereof in an unassembled state.

[0020] Figure 2 an assembled top front right perspective view of the modular PAPR of Figure 1 with the blower and control modules thereof attached to form an assembled PAPR unit.

[0021] Figure 3 is a bottom front right perspective view of the assembled PAPR unit of Figure 2.

[0022] Figure 4 is a top rear right perspective view of the assembled PAPR unit of Figure 2.

[0023] Figure 5 is another top front right perspective view of the assembled PAPR unit of Figure 2, with a cannister filter installed at an air inlet of the blower module.

[0024] Figure 6 is a top rear left perspective view of the assembled PAPR unit and cannister filter of Figure 5.

[0025] Figure 7 is a top front left perspective view of the assembled PAPR unit and cannister filter of Figure 5.

[0026] Figure 8 is a front elevational view of the assembled PAPR unit and cannister filter of Figure 5.

[0027] Figure 9 is another top rear right perspective view of the assembled PAPR unit of Figure 4, with a battery cover of the control module removed and a housing of the blower module partly removed to reveal the internal blower of the blower module and a removable battery pack of the control module.

[0028] Figure 9A is another top rear right perspective view of the assembled PAPR unit of Figure 4, with the blower removed to reveal internal details of the blower module housing and with the battery pack removed.

[0029] Figure 10 is a perspective view of the modular PAPR unit of Figure 1 demonstrated tethered connection between the otherwise unattached blower and control modules thereof via a flexible power cable by which the blower module is powered by the control module.

[0030] Figure 10A is another perspective view of the modular PAPR of Figure 10, but with the blower and control modules attached together in formation of the assembled PAPR unit, and illustrating protective wire management of the flexible power cable also used in this assembled mode of the modular PAPR.

[0031] Figure 11 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the modular PAPR, which instead of hosting its battery power source at its control module, makes use of a separate battery module flexibly tethered to the control module by one or more battery cables.

[0032] Figure 12 is an elevational view of the modular PAPR of Figure 11 .

[0033] Figure 13 is an isolated perspective view of the blower module of the modular PAPR of Figure 11 .

[0034] Figure 14 is a perspective view of the blower module of Figure 13 with a cannister filter assembled thereto.

[0035] Figure 15 is a front elevational view demonstrating use of the modular PAPR of Figures 11 and 12 with the blower module thereof worn directory on a user’s full-face respirator mask, and the control module worn separately on the user’s chest.

[0036] Figure 15A is front side perspective view of the demonstrated use of Figure 15.

[0037] Figure 16 is a side elevational view demonstrating use of the modular PAPR of Figures 11 and 12 with the blower module thereof supported by a cannister filter worn a lower back of the user by a lower back filter holder, with a flexible hose running from the blower module to the user’s full-face respirator mask, and with the control modular worn separately on the user’s chest for manual access to the PAPR’s controls.

[0038] Figure 16A is a rear elevational view of the demonstrated use of Figure 16.

[0039] Figure 17 is a rear elevational view demonstrating use of the modular PAPR of Figures 11 and 12 with the blower module thereof assembled with two cannister filters via a Y-adapter, which assembly is supported on the lower back of the user by a waistband support, with the same flexible hose and chest worn control module as Figure 16.

[0040] Figure 17A is an isolated perspective view of the Y-adapter of Figure 17. Figure 18 is a side elevational view demonstrating use of the modular PAPR of Figures 11 and 12 with the blower module thereof supported by a dual-filter inline manifold worn a lower back of the user by a lower back manifold-filter holder, with the same flexible hose and chest worn control module as Figure 16.

[0041] Figure 18A is a rear elevational view of the demonstrated use of Figure 18.

[0042] Figure 18B is an exploded perspective view illustrating assembly of the dual-filter inline manifold with the blower module and two cannister filters.

[0043] Figure 18B is an exploded view of the dual-filter inline manifold, illustrating a rotatable thumbwheel coupler thereof for threaded coupling of the manifold to the blower module.

[0044] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] With reference to the accompanying figures, shown in Figures 1 to 10 thereof is one preferred embodiment of a modular powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) 10 of the present invention, which is composed of at least two independently self-contained modules: a blower module 12 and a separate control module 14. The blower module 12 has its own dedicated blower module housing 16 (also referred to elsewhere herein simply as a first housing, for brevity), and the control module 14 likewise has its own dedicated control module housing 18 (also referred to elsewhere herein simply as a second housing, for brevity). The two module housings 16, 18 are defined entirely separate and independent of one another, as demonstrated by the exploded view of the separate blower and control modules 12, 14 in Figure 1 , though as elaborated on in more detail below, the two module housings 16, 18 are equipped with mechanical coupling interfaces by which the blower and control modules 12, 14 are selectively attachable to, and detachable from, one another, enabling user-selective assembly thereof into an assembled PAPR unit, which is shown assembled in Figures 2 through 8.

[0046] The blower module housing 16 internally houses a blower 20, as revealed in Figure 9 where one of two matable shells 16A, 16B that cooperatively form the blower module housing 16 in encapsulating relationship around the blower 20 when mated and fastened together, has been omitted to reveal the internal blower 20 encased within the blower module housing 16. In the illustrated embodiments, the blower 20 is a miniature radial blower, for example model U51 DL-024KK-5 radial blower from Micronel AG of Switzerland, a compact 24 volt blower, available without an integrated motor driver, and employed in such locally driverless context in preferred embodiments of the present invention to minimize the size, weight and electronically operated componentry bound locally onboard the blower module 12. This particular model of blower has a power dense design, weighing a mere 90 grams, and measuring approximately 50mm in diameter and 35.5mm in axial width Other suitably small, lightweight blowers capable of sufficient output performance for the PAPR context of the present invention may alternatively be used, and may include miniature blowers of both radial and axial blower geometries.

[0047] In the illustrated embodiments, the blower 20 has its own housing, referred to herein as a blower housing or inner housing to differentiate it from the blower module housing 16 in which it is encapsulated, and each of the two shells 16A, 16B of the blower module housing 16 has a round cavity on an internal side thereof that receives a respective axial face of the blower housing 20, the boundary wall of circumferentially encircles that the respective axial face of the blower housing 20. One of the shells 16A, 16B is a closed shell 16A corresponding to a motor-side axial face of the blower housing residing opposite inlet-equipped axial face of the blower that has the blower’s intake opening 22 from which air is forcibly exhausted by the blower, when operating. The closed shell 16A fully caps off the motor-side axial of the blower housing. In contrast, the other shell of the blower module housing 16 is an intake shell 16B that embodies an airflow inlet 24 of the blower module 12 through which intake air of the blower module 12 is initially introduced thereto during operation of the blower 20, which airflow inlet 24 is embodied in the illustrated example by an internally threaded coupling port for mated coupling thereto of an externally threaded coupling neck of a filter (e.g. a cannister filter with a conventional 40mm NATA thread), or a threaded filter adapter by which other filter types (cannister filters with bayonet style couplers) can be indirectly coupled to the blower module 12 through the filter adapter. For such purpose, this airflow inlet 24 may therefore typically feature 40mm NATO threads.

[0048] The airflow inlet 24 of the blower module housing 16 fluidly communicates with the intake opening 22 of the blower 20, with the intake opening 22 of the blower housing residing immediately at an inner end of the internally threaded airflow inlet 24 in the illustrated example, with no intervening plenum or other communicative space therebetween, so that the threaded male neck of a cannister filter 42 is threaded to the airflow inlet 24, the end of that threaded neck resides immediately or closely adjacent the blower 20 and feed directly thereto, without routing through any internal plenum or airflow channels of the housing, thus contributing to a minimal size of the blower module and its assembled combination with the filter 42. In the illustrated example, where the intake opening 22 of the miniature blower is of lesser diameter than 40mm NATO threaded airflow inlet 24, an annular fraction of the inner end of the internally threaded airflow inlet 24 is blocked off by the inlet-equipped axial face of the blower motor, which an interior of the intake shell 16B may fit conformingly around, just as the closed shell 16A may fit conformingly around and against the opposing motor-side axial face of the blower housing. The two shells 16A, 16B of the blower module housing 16 of this embodiment thus reside in close conforming fit to the blower 20 housed inside, leaving substantially no empty space around the blower 20 in the interior of the blower module shell 16, and thereby contributing to a minimized external size of the overall blower module 12.

[0049] The blower module housing 16, in a circumferential direction around the rotational axis of the blower 20, is of a rectangular shape profile, having four substantially flat peripheral sides situated at right angles to one another, among which different discernable sides of the blower module housing 16 include an attachment side 30A at which the blower module housing 16 is configured for selective attachment to the control module 14, an outlet side 30B at which an airflow outlet 32 of the blower module resides in fluidly communicative relationship with a tangential outlet of the blower 20, an attachment opposing side 30C residing opposite the attachment side 30A, and an outlet opposing side 30D residing opposite the airflow outlet 32.

[0050] The airflow outlet 32 resides closer to the attachment opposing side 30C of the blower module housing 16 than to the attachment side 30A thereof to align with the tangential output of the blower 20 that lies substantially orthogonal of the substantially flat outlet side 30B of the blower module housing in substantially parallel relationship to the substantially flat attachment opposing side 30C of the blower module housing, and nearer to said attachment opposing side than to the attachment side 30A. The airflow outlet 32 of the illustrated example comprises an externally threaded port for mated engagement with an internally threaded air intake port of a full-face respirator mask (where a cannister filter or air hose would normally be coupled thereto) as shown in Figure 15, or mated engagement with an internally threaded end-fitting of an air hose a shown in Figures 16 to 18. For such purpose, the airflow outlet 32 may typically feature 40mm NATO threads. In the illustrated example, the airflow outlet 32 includes a stop flange 34 radiating outward from the externally threaded cylindrical wall of the airflow outlet 32, denoting a physical limit against which threading of the airflow outlet 32 to another piece of equipment (e.g. respirator mask or air hose) with a compatibly threaded female coupling feature (e.g. respirator mask air intake port, or air hose end fitting) will bottom out during coupling of the blower module 12 to such equipment. In other embodiments, such stop function may be inherently achievable by the outlet wall 30B of the blower module housing 16, depending on the geometry thereof.

[0051] In supplement to the four substantially flat peripheral sides 30A-30D of the blower module housing 16, a pair of opposing outer faces 36A, 36B of the blower module housing cooperate with the four peripheral sides thereof to finish off a generally cuboidal external shape of the illustrated blower module 12 of this embodiment. Outer face 36A, possessed by the closed shell 16A of the blower housing 16 may be referred to as a closed face of the blower housing, owing to its closed coverage of the respective motor-side of the blower housing. Outer face 36B, possessed by the intake shell 16B of the blower housing 16, may be referred to as an inlet face of the blower housing, owing to the penetrative presence of the airflow inlet 24 in this outer face 36B.

[0052] The closed face 36A of the blower housing 36B has a bump-out 38 thereon at a location of closely adjacent relation to the outlet-opposing side 30D of the blower housing 16, which bump-out 38 hosts a cable connector 40 by which a flexible power cable can make connection to the blower module to convey electrical power to the motor of the blower 20 inside the blower module housing 16. In this embodiment, the cable connector is a threaded male connector and protrudes away from the airflow outlet 32 at the outlet opposing side 30D of the blower housing 16. In the other embodiments, the particular location of the cable connector 40, and / or the type thereof, may vary, for example depending on the location of the power terminals of the blower motor of the blower 20 housed inside the blower module housing 16. In the illustrated embodiments, the only powered component of the blower module 12 is the blower motor thereof, and aside from the cable connector 40 by which a flexible external power cable is electrically connectable to the blower motor, solely for the purpose of delivering operating voltage thereto from the separate control module 14, no other circuitry components are possessed by the blower module 12. In the illustrated example, the blower module 12 is also fully void of any user control-inputs by which powered operation of the blower 20 is switchable on or off, adjustable in speed, or otherwise varied or influenced, all of which control is instead dependent on the separate control module 14.

[0053] The blower module 12 is thus ideally simplified to the utmost essentials, namely a blower, an airflow inlet capable of hosting a filter through which intake air is drawn by operation of the blower, and an airflow outlet couplable to an air hose, a respirator mask or other conveyance channel or final destination for the output air purified by the connected filter. This enables embodiment of the blower module in a unit of minimal size and weight, and advantageously so small and lightweight that the airflow outlet 32 can selectively coupled to a filter coupling port of a full face respirator mask as shown in Figure 15, in place of a filter conventionally coupled thereto in a passive air purifying respirator (APR) context, or an air hose conventionally coupled thereto from a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) of conventional non-modular character, in which the blower and control circuitry are embodied permanently together in a singular unit, worn elsewhere on the user’s person (waistbelt, shoulder harness, etc.). Preferably, the blower module measures 100mm or less in any direction., more preferably 85mm or less, more preferably 75 mm or less, more preferably 70 mm or less, and ideally 65 mm or less. One particular implementation of the first illustrated embodiment measures approximately 34mm x 55mm x 60mm. Referring to Figures 5 through 8, it can be seen that the blower module 12 is lesser in volumetric size than a typical commercially available cannister filter 42, and measures lesser than a diameter thereof in all three dimensions of the blower module 12, denoting a blower-containing PAPR component of notably lesser size that any commercially available or otherwise disclosed PAPR equipment known to Applicant.

[0054] While the particularly small size and associated lightweight character of the blower module, achievable at least in part by offloading any and all, or at least a substantial majority of, all electronic control-related componentry from the blower module 12 to the separate control module 14, can be exploited to enable direct mounting of the blower module 12 to a respirator mask face without an intervening air hose, while bearing the more notable weight of the separate battery-hosting control module 14 elsewhere on the user’s person, it is desirable in at least some circumstances to enable a user selectable option of also combining the blower module 12 and control module 14 together into a cohesive singular unit, for example in situations where the outlet of the blower module 12 and an filtered air inlet (filter coupling port or hose connector) of the respirator mask are not directly compatible, and there’s no suitable adapter available on hand to enable adapted connection between the blower module 12 and the incompatible respirator mask, particularly if the user’s garmentry and equipment does not readily lend itself to separate support of the blower module 12 and the control module 14 as unattached separate components.

[0055] For such purpose, the blower module of this embodiment includes a first quick-attach mechanical coupling interface 44 at the attachment side 30A thereof, and the control module 14 includes a second quick-attach mechanical coupling interface 46 at a corresponding mounting side thereof for selectively attachable / detachable engagement by the first coupling interface 44 to enable user selective coupling and decoupling of the two modules to and from one another. In the illustrated example of this embodiment, the first coupling interface 44 is embodied by a pair of slide grooves 44A, 44B recessed in the attachment side 30A of the blower module, and the second coupling interface 46 is embodied by a respective pair of slide rails 46A, 46B of pronounced relationship to a flat majority surface of the mounting side of the control module 14. In the illustrated example, the slide grooves 44A, 44B and the slide rails 46A, 46B are dovetail shaped in cross-section, but other cross-sectional shapes likewise similar of permitting longitudinal sliding between the grooves and rails but preventing decoupling thereof in a direction normal to the planes of the respective sides of the two modules may alternatively be employed for such purpose. The quantity of rails and grooves may also vary upward or downward from the illustrated pair of rails and pair of grooves, as may the choice of whether to embody the slide grooves on the blower module and the slide rails on the control module, or vice versa.

[0056] In the illustrated example, the slide rails 46A, 46B run in a lengthwise directionality of the control module 14 in which the control module housing 16 is longest, at least in this example of a control module of elongated form whose length notably exceeds its width and thickness, which terms are used in a traditional sense to denote respective measurements in three directions of orthogonal relationship to one another. The mounting side 48A of the control module housing is one of two broad faces 48A, 48B thereof whose respective surface areas each span the width and length dimensions of the control module housing 18, both of which exceed the lesser thickness of the control module. The illustrated control module of this embodiment has an external shape generally characterizable as a rectangular parallelepiped, of which the two broad faces 48A, 48B denote two of its six external sides and faces, of which a remaining four perimeter sides include two lengthwise sides 48C, 48D whose surfaces areas each span the length and thickness dimensions of the control module housing 18, and two end sides 50A, 50B (or simply “ends” of the control module housing) whose surfaces areas each span the width and thickness dimensions of the control module housing 18. The broad faces 48A, 48B thus have the greatest surface area, making the mounting side 48A an optimal location to host the blower module in a reliably stable fashion, with flat surfaces of the attachment side 30A of the blower module 12 resting in flush contact or adjacency with the flat majority surface of the control module’s mounting side 48A. The other broad face 48B opposite the mounting side 48A may be referred to as the mount opposing side 48B of the control module housing 18.

[0057] The slide rails 46A, 46B are interconnected at one pair of matching ends thereof by a stop barrier 52 (visible in Figure 1 ) or raised relation to the flat majority surface of the mounting side 48A of the blower housing 18. This stop barrier 52 denotes a terminal end of an available travel range for sliding of the blower module 12 along the slide rails 46A, 46B from the other matching ends thereof, which lack such a barrier and thus permit sliding admission of the blower module 12 to the slide rails 46A, 46B, from which admission ends the blower module 12 is slidable into eventual abutment of the blower module against the stop barrier 52 at the far ends of the rails, thus denoting a fully engaged position of the blower module.

[0058] In order to automatically retain the blower module 12 in this fully engaged position mated to the coupling interface 46 of the control module 14, a coupling retainer 54 is provided to normally block movement of the engaged blower module 12 from this fully engaged position, and thus prevent disengagement thereof from the control module. In the illustrated example, the coupling retainer 54 is a spring loaded pushbutton provided on the mounting side 48A of the control module 14 between the slide rails 46A, 46B thereon in a position near the admission ends of these slide rails 46A, 46B. From inside the control module housing 18, the push-button coupling retainer 54 is spring biased into a default raised position standing proud of the flat majority surface of the mounting side 48A of the control module housing, which raised position blocks sliding of the blower module 12 from its fully engaged position on the slide rails 46A, 46B. The lengthwise distance between the push-button coupling retainer 54 and the stop barrier 52 closely conforms to a measurement of the blower module housing 16 from the exterior of the outlet side 30B thereof to the exterior of the outlet opposing side 30D thereof, whereby the raised push-button coupling retainer 54 and the stop barrier 52 cooperatively and statically constrain the engaged blower module 12 in its fully engaged position. In order to enable user disengagement of the blower module 12 from the control module, the push-button coupling retainer 54 is finger depressible, against its spring bias, into a depressed position flush or recessed from the flat majority surface of the mounting side 48A of the control module housing 18, thereby denoting a position of non-interfering relationship to sliding of the blower module 12 off the slide rails 46A, 46B at the admission ends thereof.

[0059] A topside of the push-button coupling retainer 54 has a ramped inclination in the lengthwise direction which ramps upwardly toward the stop barrier 52, and thus upward toward the blower module 12 when fully engaged to the control module 14. This way, sliding of the blower module 12 initially onto the slide rails 46A, 46B thereof will automatically depress the push-button coupling retainer 54 to enable clearing thereof by blower module 12 during sliding thereof into its fully engaged position, achievement of which then permits the push-button coupling retainer 54 to automatically pop back up, given the spring-loaded status thereof. In this embodiment, the coupling retainer responsible for holding the engaged blower module 12 in its fully engaged position also operates as its own release mechanism. In other embodiments, a different manner of coupling retainer and release may be employed to similar effect, but the push-button implementation illustrated herein exemplifies mechanical simplicity, minimal parts count, self-actuation into its retaining (raised) position, automatic actuation thereof into its release position during sliding engagement of the blower module to the control module, and simple single-handed actuation therefrom to its release (depressed) position to permit disengagement of the engaged blower module from the control module when necessary and appropriate, thus avoiding, for example, need to insert and remove a locking pin or other separate retention component embodied separately of the modules themselves, which locking pins are subjectable to loss or misplacement. While the illustrated example uses a sliding quick-attach interface between the blower module and control module to quick coupling and decoupling thereof by a user in a self-engaging manner without need for any external fasteners, other means of quick-attach coupling may alternatively being employed, for example to achieve a snap fit coupling of two mechanical coupling interfaces 44, 46, for example using a tilt-in snap fit arrangement such as that disclosed in Applicant’s copending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 661 ,553, filed June 18, 2024, (hereinafter, the incorporated ‘553 application) the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference, in which the tilt-in snap fit arrangement disclosed therein is used for quick-attach coupling of a filter adapter to another of Applicant’s other modular PAPR offerings.

[0060] In the assembled PAPR unit formed by the coupled together blower and control modules 12, 14, the airflow outlet 32 of the blower unit faces lengthwise of the control module 14, while the airflow inlet 24 faces widthwise thereof, and more particularly in a position with the outer end of the airflow inlet 24 generally flush with a plane of a respective one of the lengthwise sides 48 of the control module housing 18. As can be seen in Figures 5 to 8, this widthwise facing directionality of the inlet port enables threaded mating of the externally threaded male coupling of the illustrated cannister filter 42 into the airflow inlet 24 in such a position and orientation that the cylindrical main body of the cannister filter 42 overhangs the control module 14 just outside the lengthwise side 48D thereof. Optimally, and as illustrated, the height at which the airflow inlet resides relative to the control module in the coupled and fully engaged state of the blower module 12 thereon is such that the distance from the center axis of the airflow inlet to the mount opposing side 48B of the control module exceeds the radial measure of the cannister filter’s cylindrical body, whereby the mount opposing side 48B of the control module can be seated flat on a surface without the cannister filter interfering with such placement, as no part of the installed cannister filter 42 extends beyond the plane of the mount opposing side 48B. As can also be visually garnered from the drawings, the combined side of the assembled blower and control modules is of comparable footprint to the cannister itself.

[0061] The width and thickness of the control module 14 are each less than the diameter of the cannister filter, and though the length of the control module in the particularly illustrated example does exceed the diameter of the cannister filter, it does so only minimally, measuring less than 1.5 times, and even less than 1.25 times, the cannister filter diameter, measuring approximately 1.10 times that diameter in the illustrated example reflecting of early prototyping of the modular PAPR, whose control module measures approximately 125mm long, 65mm wide and 36mm thick. Further optimization of the internal electronic componentry of the control module, and / or the battery power source, is anticipated to take place in a manner enabling further reduction of the control module size to one in which no external dimension thereof will exceed the diameter of the filter cannister. In preferred embodiments, each external dimension of the control module is no greater than 150mm, more preferably no greater than 130mm, and in other embodiment, more preferably not greater than 110mm, and optimally no more than 100mm.

[0062] In the present embodiment, end 50A of the control module housing 18, referred to herein as a front end thereof, hosts an on / off switch 56 by which control circuitry housed in a front internal compartment of the control module is turned on and off, and also hosts an LED low battery indicator 58, though either one or both may occupy an alternative location on the control module 14 in other embodiments. The on / off switch is surrounded by a protective shroud 56A to prevent inadvertent actuation thereof.

[0063] The control module may integrate a visual display for visual conveyance of one or more operational status indicators of the PAPR’s operation, for example in the form of an OLED or other display screen 60, which in the illustrated example is incorporated into one of the lengthwise sides 48C of the control module housing 18 at a location adjacent the front end 50A thereof. Such display 60 may be accompanied by one or more user control inputs (not shown), such as a speed control input (e.g. a pair of up and down speed control buttons) operable to increase and decrease the rotational speed (RPMs) of the blower motor, for example by modifying a pulse-width modulation (PWM) output signal from a motor driver of the control circuitry of the control module, which motor driver outputs operating voltage for the blower motor of the blower module 12. The display screen 60, if included, may provide visual indication of an absolute or relative (e.g. percentage of maximum) rotation speed of the motor. Some embodiments may lack any user control inputs other than the simple on / off switch, in which case the optional display will typically be omitted. A removable, or otherwise openable and closeable, access cover 62 of the front internal compartment of the control module is provided to enable service, inspection or repair access to the internal control circuitry contained therein, which access cover 62 is provided at the mount opposing broad side 48B of the control module housing 18 in the present embodiment. A rear internal compartment 64 (Figure 9A) adjacent the opposing rear end 50B of the control module housing 18 serves as a battery compartment in which one or more batteries are held to serve as a power source for the electronic control circuitry in the front internal component, which electronic control circuity includes a motor driver which outputs usable operating voltage for the blower motor of the blower module 12, through a flexible power cable 66 connected between the two modules 12, 14. In the illustrated example, a battery holder 68 designed to hold the one or more batteries, and more particularly a plurality thereof in each of a top and bottom deck of the battery holder in the illustrated example, is slidably insertable into and slidably extractable from the battery compartment 64, when a battery cover of the battery compartment 64 is opened or removed, as shown in Figures 9 and 9A.

[0064] In the illustrated example, the battery cover is a removable snap-fit battery cover 70 that spans a full area of the rear end 50B of the control module housing 18 in its installed position, though other options such as a hinged or other openable / closeable battery cover may be used in place of a fully removable battery cover, and the size of the cover relative to the particular side of the control module housing 18 at which it resides when closed or installed may vary from that of the full wall panel example illustrated herein, for example depending on the battery quantity, battery type and manner of loading and unloading of this power source to and from the battery compartment. While the illustrated example employs end-loading of the power source into the control module from an end thereof, alternative embodiments may employ side loading from one of the lengthwise sides of the control module housing 18. The control module may employ any variety of different battery types in its power source, for example AA batteries, CR123 lithium batteries, or 18650 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

[0065] The manner in which the power source is held securely inside the battery compartment may also vary from the use of a removable or otherwise openable / closeable battery cover. For example, the incorporated ‘553 application discloses a battery holding compartment designed to receive and securely latch a 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 holding compartment may be integrated into, or made attachable to, the control module 14, in either an end-loading or side-loading geometry, as one non-limiting example of enabling STUB compatibility as the power source of the modular PAPR of the present invention.

[0066] A cable management channel 72, perhaps best perceived in Figure 8, is formed at a bottom end of the inlet face 36B, for example by a pair of cable clip tabs 74 that form hanging extensions of an unrecessed majority of this inlet face and are concavely contoured at inner sides thereof to form outer boundaries of the cable management channel, an opposing inner boundary of which is provided by a concave groove running along the bottom of the of the inlet face 36B at the corner intersection thereof with the attachment side 30A of the blower module housing 16. The flexible power cable 66 in the illustrated embodiment runs from a cable port 76 on the control module 14 to the cable connector 40 on the blower module.

[0067] When the blower and control modules are unattached, meaning that their mechanical coupling interfaces 44, 46 are disengaged from one another, the flexible power cable 66 forms a flexibly tethered connection between the two modules, by which communication of electrical power from the control module 14 to the blower module 12 is retained despite the unattached relationship of the two modules 12, 14. In such unattached state, the modular PAPR is usable in a “detached mode” where the two modules 12, 14 are wearable on the user’s person at two different locations of spaced relationship to one another, relying on the tethered connection by the flexible electrical cable 66 for powered operation of the blower 20 of the blower module 12 from the control circuitry of the control module 14. In this detached mode, the blower module 12 may be worn directly on a respirator mask via coupling of the blower module’s airflow outlet 32 to a filter coupling port of the respirator mask, with no intervening air hose therebetween, while the control module is worn elsewhere, such as at a waistband, shoulder or chest location of the user’s person, depending on their worn garmentry and equipment and suitable support locations thereon.

[0068] While the illustrated embodiment of Figures 1 to 10 discloses hosting of the battery power source by the control module, in another embodiment, the battery power source may be embodied or hosted in a separate or attachable / detachable battery module connected or connectable to the control module (that hosts the control circuitry and one or more user-control inputs), with another flexible power cable connected between the control module and battery module, whereby the control module and battery module are also wearable at different locations on the user’s person.

[0069] In either battery scenario, the same modular PAPR 10 is also usable in an assembled mode, with the blower module 12 and control module 14 attached together as a singular assembled PAPR unit via coupled and securely retained engagement of their mechanical coupling interfaces 44, 46. In this assembled mode, the combined weight of the attached blower and control module, especially if said control module hosts the battery power source, is too great to be borne by a respirator mask, and so the assembled PAPR unit composed of the two attached modules 12, 14 is worn at a location independent of, and unsupported by, the respirator mask, for example at a waistband, shoulder or chest location, again depending on the user’s worn garmentry and equipment and suitable support locations thereon, and a flexible air hose is coupled between the airflow outlet 32 of the blower module 12 and an air intake port of the respirator mask.

[0070] To prepare the modular PAPR 10 for the attached mode of use, the flexible power cable is laid along and snapped into the flexible cable management channel 72, during which the cable clip tabs 74 are temporarily flexed outwardly from the grooved side of the channel 72, because the diameter of the flexible power cable slightly exceeds the default gap space left between the terminal tips of the cable clip tabs 74 and the opposing grooved side of the channel 72 at the bottom mouth of the channel 72. Once the flexible power cable clears this intentionally undersized gap size of the bottom mouth of the channel and slips into the larger rounded seat of the channel 72, the cable clip tabs 74 return to their normal unflexed positions, thus capturing the cable securely in the channel 72. The blower module 12 is then slide into engaged attachment with the control module 14, whereupon the portion of the flexible power cable contained in the cable management channel 72 is further constrained therein, owing to closure of the bottom of the channel 72 by the presence of the control module 14 in its predetermined position of attached relationship to the blower module 16. The constrained flexible power cable 66 runs from a power connection port 76 of the control module 14, situated at a corner where the front end 50A lengthwise side 48D intersect, lengthwise over the mounting side 48A of the control module housing 18 through the cable management channel 72, and then arcs across the outlet opposing side 30D of the blower module housing 16 and connects to the cable connector 40 thereof.

[0071] The cable management channel 72 is thus usable to position the flexible power cable 66 in a predetermined position placing a substantial fraction of its length protectively between the blower module 12 and the control module 14 and behind the installed cannister filter 42, or other installed filter type, to mitigate against snagging of the power cable in this assembled state of the PAPR, where the power cable need not be in a freely movable state like it needs to have in the detached mode of use where the two modules are worn separately on different locations on the user’s person, where relative movement between different body part’s of the user must be accommodated. The cable connection port 76 in the present embodiment is hosted on a recessed corner inset 76A of the otherwise parallelepiped control module housing 18, thus affording some protection of the power cable’s connection to the control module by insetting the location of this connection from the outermost peripheral surfaces of the control module housing.

[0072] In addition to basic on / off controls, motor driver, and optional speed controls the electronic circuit componentry hosted by the control module 14 may include Bluetooth or other wireless communication componentry enabling connection of the PAPR to smartphones and other devices, for example including biosensors worn by the user of the modular PAPR to measure biometrics thereof, for which the control module of the modular PAPR may serve as a communicative relay of measured biometric data onward to a smartphone or other wirelessly compatible receiver.

[0073] Figures 11 and 12 illustrate an alternative embodiment of the PAPR 10’ in which the control module 14’ is of smaller size than the preceding embodiment, and is powered by a separate battery module 68’ that is selectively connectable to, and disconnectable from, the control module 14’ by one or more battery cables 100A, 100B. There are two such battery cables in the illustrated example: a host cable 100A having a proximal connector 102 at one end for connection to the control module 14’ and a distal connector 104 at another end, and an adapter cable 100B having a battery connector 106 at one end for coupled connection to the battery module 68’ and a cable connector 108 at the other end for coupled connection to the host cable 100A at the distal connector 104 thereof. The distal connector 104 of the host cable 100A may be a connector type compatible with one or more battery modules of a first cable connection type (not shown), thus permitting direct coupling of the control module 14’ to such battery modules of this first cable connection type by the host cable 100A alone without the adapter cable 100B, but that is incompatible with other battery modules of a different cable connection type, such as the illustrated battery module 68’. The latter scenario necessitates use of the additional adapter cable 100B to achieve connection of the control module 14’ to the battery module 68’ of incompatible connection type to the host cable’s distal connector 104. In the illustrated embodiment, the distal connector 104 of the host cable 100A is a male connector plug, and the cable connector 108 of the adapter cable 100B is a female connector socket, though in other embodiments, the male plug and female socket designations of these two connectors may be reversed from those described and illustrated.

[0074] In this embodiment, the smaller size of the remotely powered control module 14’, referred to as such due to its dependence on the separate battery module 68’ for power, is one that is of lesser measure in all three of its dimensions Derm , Derm, Derm than the diameter of the cannister filter 42, and in the illustrated example is also of lesser measure in all three of its dimensions than at least the greatest dimension of the blower module 12’, and possibly also of lesser measure in one or both of its two other dimensions. In the illustrated example, all three of the control module’s external dimensions Derm , Derm, Dems are lesser than an outer dimension Dbrm of the blower module 12’ measured axially of its blower, and are also lesser than another outer dimension Dbrm of the blower module measured perpendicularly of blower’s rotational axis and axially of the airflow outlet 32. In the illustrated example, all three of the control module’s external dimensions Derm, Derm, Dems are lesser than at an outer dimension Dbmi of the blower module 12’ measured axially of its blower, and are also lesser than an outer dimension Dbrm of the blower module measured perpendicularly of blower’s rotational axis and axially of the airflow outlet 32. All three of the control module’s external dimensions Derm, Derm, Dems in the illustrated embodiment are also lesser than both the length L and width W of the battery module 68’. In the illustrated example, the housing 16’ of the blower module 12’ differs from the generally cuboidal exterior shape of the earlier embodiment, and instead has a generally cylindrical exterior profile at both the airflow inlet 24 and the opposing motor side 36A of the blower module housing 16’. A bump out 38’ at the outlet opposing side 30D of the blower housing 16’ again hosts the cable connector 40 by which the power cable 66 is again connected to the blower module 12’, but this time the cable connector protrudes toward the airflow outlet 32, not away therefrom.

[0075] Between the two externally cylindrical extremities of the illustrated blower module housing 16’ of this embodiment at the airflow inlet 24 and the opposing motor side 36A of the blower module housing 16’, the exterior thereof is generally toroidal in profile where the housing 16’ spans circumferentially around the radial blower contained therein. This toroidal profile, at its area of maximum circumference and diameter, is of greater diameter and circumference than the two cylindrical sections of the housing that straddle the toroidal section. The toroidal midsection of the blower housing 16’ between the two cylindrical sections thereof is therefore of radially bulging relation to those diametrically smaller sections. In the illustrated example of this embodiment, the blower module 12’ and the control module 14’ lack mechanical coupling interfaces for selective attachment of these two modules to one another, hence the reduced need for the relatively broad flat faces of the cuboid geometry of the preceding embodiment that enabled hosting of a robust mechanical coupling interface thereon. Omission of such mechanical coupling features enables the reduced footprint at the module’s now rounded cylindrical extremities at which the motor and the airflow inlet 24 are hosted. The externally toroidal mid-region of the blower module housing 16’ may instead have an externally cylindrical profile in other implementations. In contribution to the minimal size of the control module 14’ in this embodiment, the display screen 60 of the earlier embodiment is omitted, in favour of a simplified user interface featuring a singular user control button 110 by which the user can cycle through different operational states of the connected blower module 12’ (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 112A, 112B, 112C by which illumination of these indicators in different patterns provides visual feedback on the current operational status of the blower (zero active LEDS = off, LED 112A active = low speed, LED 112B active = medium speed, LED 112C active = high speed). In this embodiment relying on a separate battery module with its own battery status indicator, the control module need not incorporate its own battery status indicator. The illustrated control module 14’ of the present embodiment does however add a “low flow” LED indicator 114 LED indicative of reduced airflow output from the blower module 12’, a sign that the filter is becoming plugged, and should be replaced.

[0076] Figure 15 illustrates the use situation where the blower module 12’ hosts a cannister filter 42 at its airflow inlet and has its airflow outlet 32 directly engaged, via threaded mating, to the threaded air intake port of a full-face respirator mask 200, whereby the installed blower module 12’ is supported within the head and neck elevation of the user, while the control module is worn separately of the blower module elsewhere on the user’s person, typically somewhere on the torso of the user’s person, for example on the chest of the user, and thus at a lesser elevation that the blower module. The control module 14 in Figures 15 to 18 has a MOLLE clip thereon at a backside thereof of opposing relationship to a frontside thereof at which the user interface (control button 110 and indicators 112A-c & 114) are located, which enables attachment of the control module 14 to MOLLE (modular lightweight load-carrying equipment) webbing, but other embodiments may incorporate other means of garmentry attachment, or may employ placement of the control module 14’ in a compatibly sized pouch or other holder, which in turn has MOLLE compatible or other attachment means thereon to couple the module-carrying pouch to garmentry or equipment of the user.

[0077] Figure 15 demonstrates how the small, lightweight blower module 12’ can be worn directly on the respirator mask 200, and also how the placement of the airflow inlet 24 and the airflow outlet 32 at two respective non-opposing sides of the blower module 12’ serves to position the connected cannister filter 42 in an optimal position situated posteriorly of the blower module 12’ in non-interfering relationship to the user’s visual sightline through the lens 202 of the respirator mask. Furthermore, user testing of the modular PAPR was found to demonstrate that changing out of the cannister filter is easier in this installed orientation with the posteriorly facing air inlet of the blower module. The cannister filter is held in the user’s hand corresponding to the side of the respirator mask at which the blower module is worn (the user’s left hand, in the lefthand wearing of the blower module 12’ in Figure 15), with that hand in a palm-forward orientation. The opposing hand of the user (the right hand in the illustrated example) is meanwhile used to stabilize the blower in a static position at the anterior side thereof during threading of the cannister filter 42 into the posterior-facing airflow inlet 24 with the first hand. This was found be an easier exercise from a manual dexterity perspective than a design with the airflow inlet and the airflow outlet aligned on a common axis at opposing sides or ends of the blower module, the result of which is placement of the cannister filter in alignment with the air intake port of the respirator mask in a position across the blower module therefrom. In such alternatives, threaded installation of the cannister filter 42 in an orientation requires pointing the filter’s threaded neck posteriorly, and thus requires a palm-rearward orientation of the user’s hand that involves a combination of a twisted forearm position with a wrist cranking movement to thread the cannister filter into place. This is more awkward than the palmforward hand orientation employed with the illustrated blower module 12’ with its nonopposing inlet and outlet, where the forearm occupies a more natural position in the palm-forward orientation, making the wrist cranking movement of the necessary filter rotation more easily and comfortably performed.

[0078] Figure 16 instead illustrates wearing of the blower module 12’ and cannister filter 42, in assembled combination with one another, on the lower back of the user’s torso, by a filter-holder 300 that enshrouds the cannister filter 42 in cradled support thereof, and that is engaged with MOLLE webbing on a worn over-the-shoulder garment of the user to secure the filter holder 300 in place, which in turn supports the cannister filter 42 and the attached blower module 12’. A flexible air hose 400 is threaded to the airflow outlet 32 of the blower module 12’, and runs therefrom to a filtered air inlet of the full-face respirator mask 200, in this case with the hose 400 running up the back of the user, and over the shoulder of the user nearest to the hose- fitted air inlet of the respirator mask (in the illustrated instance, the user’s left shoulder, from which the hose connects to the left air intake of the respirator mask 200). In the illustrated example, the control module 14’ is worn in the same manner described of Figure 15, though alternative placement elsewhere on the user’s garments or worn equipment is also possible.

[0079] Figure 17 illustrates another lower back worn implementation of the blower module 12’, but this time in an assembly in which the blower module 12’ is outfitted with two cannister filters 42A, 42B attached thereto via a Y-adapter 500, and with the assembly supported by a waistband support 600. The Y-adapter, shown in isolation in Figure 17A features a singular male blower port 502 of externally threaded configuration for threaded mating to the airflow inlet 24 of the blower module, and which may be equipped with a stop flange 34 for bottoming out of the threaded connection, and two filter ports 504A, 504B at respective terminuses of a pair of divergent branches 506A, 506B that angle off the blower port 502 in oblique divergency to one another for the hosting of a respectively individual one of the two cannister filters 42A, 42B by each of the two filter ports 504A, 504B. Filtered air from the two cannister filters 42A. 42B is combined inside the Y-adapter and commonly fed into the singular air inlet 24 of the blower module 12’. The illustrated example employs the identical hosed connection of the blower module 12’ to the user’s full-face respirator mask as described above for Figure 16. The same Y-adapter dual-filter blower module combination may be worn at locations other than the lower back placement of the illustrated example.

[0080] Figure 18 illustrates another lower back worn implementation of the blower module 12’, but this time in an assembly in which the blower module 12’ is again accompanied by two cannister filters 42A, 42B, but this time via mounting of the blower module 12’ and the two filters 42A, 42B to an inline manifold 700 instead of a Y-adapter. The inline manifold 700, shown in isolation in Figure 18B, features a hollow rail having three ports 702A, 702B, 702C therein that are each of fluidly communicative relationship to the hollow interior of the rail. Ports 702A, 702B are internally threaded filter ports for respective threaded connection of the threaded necks of the two cannister filters 42A, 42B to these two ports. The third port 702C, preferably situated at a respective end of the series of the ports, is a bloweT port at which the air inlet 24 of the blower module 12’ can be engaged to the inline manifold 700. A lower back manifold holder 800 supports the manifold 700 and its two hosted cannister filters 42A, 42B on the lower back of the user, via MOLLE support of the same type referenced above regarding Figure 15, though again, other worn locations and garment / equipment attachment types may alternatively be employed. Figure 18 shows the respirator end of the air hose 400 unconnected, and hanging freely at the user’s chest, but in practice, is connected to the full-face respirator mask 200 in the same manner described above for Figures 16 and 17.

[0081] 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 modular powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising: a blower module comprising a first housing, a blower housed thereby, an inlet through which intake air is drawn by operation of said blower, an outlet from which output air is evacuated by said operation of said blower; and a separate control module comprising a second housing defined independently of said first housing, and electronic control circuitry responsible for powered operation of said blower.

2. The modular PAPR of claim 1 wherein the blower module is void of any electrically powered components other than a motor of the blower, which receives its operating voltage from the electronic control circuitry of the control module.

3. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the blower is configured to receive its operating voltage from the electronic control circuitry of the control module.

4. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein said blower is a miniature radial blower.

5. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the blower module is void of any user control inputs.

6. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein any and all user control inputs found among the blower module and the control module belong to the control module, and not to the blower module.

7. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the inlet and the outlet of the blower module reside at different and non-opposing sides thereof.

8. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein a peripheral shape of the first housing^ spanning around the blower, is non-cylindrical.

9. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the inlet of the blower module comprises an internally threaded port for mated receipt of an externally threaded coupling neck of a filter or filter adapter.

10. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the outlet of the blower module comprises an externally threaded port for mated engagement with aninternally threaded air intake port of a full-face respirator mask, or an internally threaded end-fitting of an air hose.

11. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim in combination with a respirator mask, wherein the outlet of the blower module is configured for selective coupled engagement thereof to an air intake port of said respirator mask.

12. The modular PAPR of claim 11 in combination with an air hose, wherein the outlet of the blower module is configured for selectively interchangeable coupled engagement thereof to either the air intake port of said respirator mask or an end coupling of said air hose.

13. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the blower module measures no more than 100mm in any direction.

14. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the blower module measures no more than 85mm in any direction.

15. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the blower module measures no more than 75 mm in any direction.

16. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the blower module measures no more than 70 mm in any direction.

17. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the blower module measures no more than 65 mm in any direction.

18. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the control module has a length, a width and a thickness, which are of orthogonal relationship to one another and descending measure in that order, and the blower module is configured for attachment to the control module at a broad face of said control module across which said length and width are measured.

19. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the control module is configured to host one or more batteries from which the control circuitry and the blower are powered.

20. The modular PAPR of claim 19 wherein said control module is configured to removably host said one or more batteries in an insertable and removable battery pack.

21. The modular PAPR of claim 20 wherein the control module is configured to removably receive said insertable and removable battery pack at a different side of the control module than from where the control module is configured for selective attachment to the blower module.

22. The modular PAPR of any one of claims 1 to 18 wherein the control module is configured for cable-tethered connection to a separate battery module from which the control circuitry and the blower are powered.

23. The modular PAPR of claim 22 comprising a host cable connected or connectable to the control module, and configured for interchangeable connection of any one of a plurality of different adapter cables to said host cable to enable connection of the control module to any one of plurality of different battery modules, including one battery module of compatible connection type to the host cable for direct connection thereto, and at least one other battery module of incompatible connection type to the host cable and therefore dependent on one of the adapter cables for indirect connection to the host cable.

24. The modular PAPR of claim 22 or 23 wherein the control module is smaller, in at least one dimension thereof, than at least one dimension said battery module.

25. The modular PAPR of claim 22 or 23 wherein the control module is smaller, in each one of at least two dimensions thereof, than at least one dimension of said battery module.

26. The modular PAPR of claim 22 or 23 wherein the control module is smaller, in each one of three dimensions thereof, than at least one dimension of said battery module.

27. The modular PAPR of any one of claims 24 to 26 wherein said at leaset one dimension of said battery module comprises multiple dimensions thereof.

28. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim in combination with a cannister filter, wherein the blower module is at least one of (a) volumetrically smaller than said cannister filter; and (b) smaller, in one or more dimensions, than a diameter of said cannister filter.

29. The modular PAPR of claim 28 wherein the blower module is volumetrically smaller than said cannister filter.

30. The modular PAPR of claim 28 or 29 wherein the blower module is smaller, in said one or more dimensions, than said diameter of said cannister filter.31 . The modular PAPR of claim 30 wherein the blower module is smaller, in at least two dimensions, than said diameter of said cannister filter.

32. The modular PAPR of claim 31 wherein the blower module is smaller, in three dimensions, than said diameter of said cannister filter.

33. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the control module is smaller, in at least one dimension thereof, than at least one dimension of the blower module.

34. The modular PAPR of any one of claims 1 to 32 wherein the control module is smaller, in each one of at least two dimensions thereof, than at least one dimension of the blower module.

35. The modular PAPR of any one of claims 1 to 32 wherein the control module is smaller, in each one of three dimensions thereof, than at least one dimension of the blower module.

36. The modular PAPR of any one of claims 33 to 35 wherein said at least one dimension of the blower module comprises multiple dimensions thereof.

37. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim comprising first and second mechanical coupling interfaces on the blower and the control module, respectively, which are configured for selective engagement to one another to couple the blower and control modules together into an assembled PAPR unit.

38. The modular PAPR of claim 37 wherein said first and second mechanical coupling interfaces are configured to enable selective disengagement thereof from one another to revert said assembled PAPR unit back into separate modules.

39. The module PAPR of claim 37 or 38 wherein said first and second mechanical coupling interfaces are configured for self-locking attachment to one another when engaged to one another.

40. The modular PAPR of any one of claims to 37 to 39 wherein first and second mechanical coupling interfaces are configured for fastener-free quick-coupled self-engagement to one another.41 . The modular PAPR of claim 40 wherein one of either said first and second mechanical coupling interfaces comprises at least one slide rail, and another of either said first and second mechanical coupling interfaces comprises at least one slide groove slidably engageable with said at least one side rail.

42. The modular PAPR of any one of claims 37 to 41 comprising a coupling retainer operably associated with said first and second mechanical coupling interfaces and movable between a holding state preventing disengagement of said first and second mechanical coupling interfaces from one another, and a release state permitting said disengagement.

43. The modular PAPR of claim 42 wherein said coupling retainer comprises a push-button release.

44. The modular PAPR of claim 42 or 43 wherein said coupling retainer is biased into said holding state.

45. The modular PAPR of any one of claims 37 to 44 comprising an electrical connection connected or connectable between the electronic control circuitry of the control module and the blower of the blower module independently of the mechanical coupling interfaces.

46. The modular PAPR of claim 45 wherein said electrical connection is configured to enable retention thereof in connected relationship between the electronic control circuitry and the blower both regardless of an engaged or disengaged status between the first and second mechanical coupling interfaces, and during engagement and disengagement thereof.

47. The modular PAPR of claim 45 or 46 wherein said electronical connection comprises a flexible connector cable, at least part of which is disposed externally of the first and second housings, making a flexibly tethered connection therebetween permitting movement between the blower module and the control module when unattached from one another.

48. The modular PAPR of claim 47 comprising a cable management path through which the flexible connector cable is routable and in which said flexible connector cable is cooperatively captured by the blower and control modules when coupled together.

49. The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the first housing, at side thereof configured for mating interface with a corresponding side of the second housing, comprises one or more flat surfaces for flush relation to one or more flat exterior surfaces of the control module the modules are attached together.

50. the modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the outlet of the blower module comprises a rotatable thumbwheel coupler.51 . The modular PAPR of any preceding claim wherein the blower module is configured to place the inlet thereof in a posterior facing position in a respirator-worn state of the blower module coupled to a full-face respirator mask at a filtered air inlet thereof.

52. A method of using the modular PAPR of any preceding claim, comprising: wearing of the blower module, by a user, at a first location relative to a person of said user with an air filter coupled to the inlet of the blower module and the outlet of the blower module coupled to a filtered air inlet; and simultaneous wearing of the control module, by said user, at a different second location relative to said person of the user, at which second location the control module is of physically spaced and detached relationship to the blower module, but flexibly tethered thereto by a flexible electrical connector to enable powered operation of the blower of the blower module from the control circuitry of the control module.

53. The method of claim 52 wherein said first location resides within an elevational span of a head and neck of said user, and said second location instead resides within a lower elevation span of a torso of said user.

54. The method of claim 52 or 53 wherein the blower module is worn on said respirator mask.

55. The method of claim 54 wherein the blower module is directlyengaged to said filtered air inlet of the respirator mask, without an intervening air hose between the blower module and said respirator mask.

56. The method of claim 54 or 55 wherein the inlet of the blower module faces posteriorly of the user.

57. The method of any one of claims 52 to 56 wherein the control module is supported on the user independently of the respirator mask.

58. A method of using the modular PAPR of any one of claims 1 to 51 comprising: selecting between different selectable modes of use of said modular PAPR, among which there is at least included: an assembled mode of use in which the blower and control modules 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 module is fluidly connected to said respirator mask via a flexible air hose; and a detached mode of use in which the blower and the control modules are unattached to one another, and worn by a user at two different locations of spaced relationship to one another, but tethered together via a flexible electrical connector to enable powered operation of the blower of the blower module from the control circuitry of the control module; and donning said modular PAPR in a selected one of said different selectable modes.

59. The method of claim 58 comprising donning said modular PAPR in said assembled mode.

60. The method of claim 58 comprising donning said modular PAPR in said detached mode.61 . The method of any one of claims 58 to 60 wherein said detached mode of use comprises wearing of the blower module on the respirator mask, and omitting need for the flexible air hose.

62. The method of claim 61 wherein the inlet of the blower module faces posteriorly of the user.

63. A manifold for hosting a PAPR blower and at least filter, comprising at least one filter port for hosting said at least one filter, and a blower port for hosting said PAPR blower in mounted attachment to the manifold, said blower port comprising a rotatable thumbwheel coupler.

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