Helmet compatible PAPR system and associated filters, connection conduits and protective headwear combinations

Abstract

A protective headwear and respirator combination features a helmet having one or more predefined external mounting points thereon by which one or more accessories are externally mountable to said helmet, a respirator mask wearable together with said helmet in a face-worn position encompassing at least an oronasal portion of a face of the user to which inhalable air is admissible through an air intake port, and a a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising a blower unit configured for selective and removable mounting thereof to said helmet at one of said one or more predefined external mounting points thereon. A PAPR-mask interconnection conduit fluidically interconnects the blower outlet of the PAPR and the air intake of the respirator mask to convey ouptut air from the blower unit to the interior of the respirator mask, and comprises a thumbwheel coupler at an outlet end of the conduit.

Description

[0001] HELMET COMPATIBLE PAPR SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED FILTERS, CONNECTION CONDUITS AND PROTECTIVE HEADWEAR COMBINATIONS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 710,525, filed October 22, 2024, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention relates generally to respirators and filters, and more particularly to powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs).

[0005] BACKGROUND

[0006] Applicant recently developed a small modular PAPR with a particularly compact blower module, various embodiments of which are described in full in Applicant’s U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 688,783, filed August 29,2024, (the 783 Application) and Applicant’s PCT Application PCT / CA2025 / 051146, filed August 29, 2025, the entireties of which are incorporated herein by reference. In conjunction with such novel design of a particularly compact blower module, the inventors of the present application have come to realize new opportunities for unique addition of PAPR functionality into other wearable gear and equipment, breaking from traditional PAPR design where a relatively bulky blower unit is embodied as a dedicated wearable on a waistbelt or shoulder harness. Novel filter designs have also been realized in the inventors work on such novel PAPR solutions.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a protective headwear and respirator combination comprising:

[0009] a helmet having one or more predefined external mounting points thereon by which one or more accessories are externally mountable to said helmet for head borne support of said one or more accessories by a user when wearing said helmet;

[0010] a respirator mask wearable together with said helmet in a face-worn position encompassing at least an oronasal portion of a face of the user, and having an air intake port therein through which air is admissible to an interior of the respirator mask for inhalation of said air by the user;

[0011] a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising a blower unit comprising a blower housing, a blower housed thereby, a blower inlet through which intake air is drawn by operation of said blower, and blower outlet from which output air is evacuated by said operation of said blower, said blower housing being configured for selective and removable mounting thereof to said helmet at one of said one or more predefined external mounting points thereon; and

[0012] a PAPR-mask interconnection conduit configured to fluidically interconnect the blower outlet of the PAPR and the air intake of the respirator mask to convey the output air from the blower unit to the interior of the respirator mask.

[0013] According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a protective headwear and respirator combination comprising:

[0014] a helmet;

[0015] a respirator mask wearable together with said helmet in a face-worn position encompassing at least an oronasal portion of a face of the user, and having an air intake port therein through which air is admissible to an interior of the respirator mask for inhalation of said air by the user;

[0016] a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) mounted or mountable to said helmet;

[0017] an air filter setup mounted or mountable to said helmet and comprising an externally concave profile, at a mounting side of said air filter setup, that is shaped for general conformity, in at least one dimension, with a convexly domed curvature of the helmet at an area thereof overlaid by said air filter setup when installed.

[0018] According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an air filter comprising a holder and a filtration component held or holdable by said holder, wherein said holder has a concavely rounded underside that is concavely rounded in two orthogonally related dimensions.

[0019] According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a protective headwear and respirator combination comprising:

[0020] a helmet;

[0021] a respirator mask wearable together with said helmet in a face-worn position encompassing at least an oronasal portion of a face of the user, and having an air intake port therein through which air is admissible to an interior of the respirator mask for inhalation of said air by the user;

[0022] a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR); and

[0023] an air filter setup connected or connectable in operable relationship to the PAPR;

[0024] wherein at least one of said PAPR and said air filter setup is configured for mounted wearing thereof on an exterior of said helmet.

[0025] According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a coupler-equipped conduit for coupling to a threaded an air intake port of a respirator mask, said coupler-equipped conduit comprising a thumbwheel coupler at an outlet end thereof that is rotatable relative to the conduit, and comprises a threaded fitting for threaded engagement to the air intake port, and a thumbwheel radiating from said threaded fitting for manual actuation of the thumbwheel coupler. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0027] Figure 1 is a front right perspective view of a helmet-compatible powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) system of the present invention in worn combination thereof with a rail-equipped military helmet.

[0028] Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the helmet-compatible PAPR system of Figure 1.

[0029] Figure 3 is a front left perspective view of a first variant of the helmetcompatible PAPR system, differing in its filter setup and placement of its helmetmounted blower.

[0030] Figure 4 is a rear right perspective view of a second variant of the helmetcompatible PAPR system, differing again in its filter setup and its use of a helmetmounted battery module.

[0031] Figure 5 is a perspective view of another variant of the helmet-compatible PAPR system illustrating an alternative style of PAPR-mask interconnection conduit by which to connect the helmet mounted blower to a respirator mask of the PAPR system.

[0032] Figure 6 is an isolated perspective view of the PAPR-mask interconnection conduit of Figure 5, illustrating a rotatable thumbwheel coupler thereof by which the conduit is coupled to an air intake port of the respirator mask.

[0033] Figure 7 is an isolated perspective view of a support fitting by which the blower module of the PAPR system of Figure 5 is attached to the helmet thereof.

[0034] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] As summarized above, the drawings illustrate a novel and inventive powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) system particularly adapted for combined wearing thereof with a helmet of any known type commonly equipped with a set of predefined external mounting points on an exterior helmet by which one or more accessories are externally mountable to said helmet for head borne support of said one or more accessories by a user when wearing said helmet. Examples of such helmets include military helmets (e.g. ballistic combat helmet or bump helmet) and safety helmets used in constructions and industrial applications. The illustrated helmet 10 is an example of a typical military helmet design where these predefined external mounting points include a pair of side rails 12A, 12B each running posteriorly along a respective lateral side of the helmet 10 from around the temple region thereof, a front mounting base 14 situated on a front brow of the helmet a mid-region thereof centered between the two side rails 12A, 12B to reside centrally of the user’s forehead in the worn state of the helmet, and a rear mounting base 16 situated at a rear mid-region of the helmet 10 likewise centered between the two side rails 12A, 12B at a rear of the helmet, thus residing generally opposite of the front mounting base 14, though typically at a lower elevation.

[0036] The PAPR system of the illustrated embodiment is a modular system comprising a blower module 20 and a separate control module 22, among which the blower module 20 hosts a blower of the PAPR for circulating purified air from the blower module 20 to a respirator mask 24, while the separate control module 22 separately hosts electronic control circuitry from which powered operation of the blower is controlled. Isolating the blower in a separate module from its control circuitry enables a reduced blower module size so that, when removably mounted to the helmet 10, the blower module can be of less protrusive character from the helmet than conventionally bulkier PAPRs in which the blower and associated control circuitry are both contained within a singular housing. Separated character of these modules also increases flexibility of mounting options, for example where both can be mounted to the helmet, or one to helmet and another to a different piece of worn garmentry or equipment, for example depending on available space and available mounting locations on the helmet and other garmentry or equipment.

[0037] The blower modular comprises a blower housing 26, a blower internally housed thereby, a blower inlet 28 through which intake air is drawn by operation of said blower, and blower outlet 30 from which output air is evacuated by said operation of said blower, said blower housing being configured for selective and removable mounting thereof to said helmet 10 at one of said one or more predefined external mounting points thereon. In the illustrated example, the blower module 20 is a slightly modified form of that disclosed in the 783 Application, which in the presently illustrated example has been modified solely at one side of its housing to incorporate a mounting geometry of a known type compatible with one of the predefined mounting sites of the helmet 12, and more particularly to one of the side rails 12A thereof in the illustrated example. Rail geometries and compatible mounting geometries already known in the art for mounting of other equipment and accessory types to such helmet rails may be employed for the equivalent purpose in the context of the present invention, and thus need not be explicitly illustrated and described herein.

[0038] In the illustrated example, the blower housing 26 is interchangeably mountable at either of the two symmetrically disposed side rails 12A, 12B of the helmet. The blower inlet 28 resides at one side of the blower housing 26 and the blower outlet 30 resides at another side the housing, of which neither of these sides coincides with the mounting side of the blower housing 26 that features the necessary mounting geometry for attachment to the side rail 12A, 12B of the helmet 10. More particularly, at least in the illustrated example, though not necessarily in other embodiments, the blower outlet 30 resides at front side of the blower housing 26 that faces anteriorly of both the helmet 10 and the user’s face in the worn state of the blower-equipped helmet 10, and the blower inlet 28 resides at either an upwardly / superiorly facing top side of the blower housing 26 or a downwardly / inferiorly facing bottom side thereof in the worn state of the blower equipped helmet, depending on which of the two side rails 12A, 12B of the helmet 10 that the blower module is selectively installed on. Figures 1, 2 and 4 illustrate mounting of the blower module 20 to the right side rail 12A of the helmet 10 above the right ear of the user with the blower outlet facing upwardly at the top of the installed blower module 20, while Figure 3 illustrates alternative mounting of the blower module 20 to the left side rail 12B of the helmet 10 above the left ear of the user with the blower outlet facing downwardly at the bottom of the installed blower module 20. The illustrated examples where the blower inlet 28 and the blower outlet 30 reside at two non-opposing sides of the blower housing 24 corresponds to use of a radial blower in the illustrated blower unit 20 whose intake and output airflows occur at right angles to one another, though other embodiments could employ an axial fan whose intake and output airflow are parallel, in which case the blower inlet and blower outlet would reside at opposing sides of the blower housing 26.

[0039] The PAPR system of Figures 1 and 2 features a helmet-mounted filter setup 32 in which one or more air filters, and more particularly a pair of air filters 34A, 34B, are borne atop the helmet 10. In this example, the two air filters 34A, 34B are configured to be of generally conforming shape to the helmet 10 to occupy a relatively low-profile relationship thereto of minimal protrusion from the helmet 10. Each air filter 34A, 34B thus has a concavely rounded underside whose curved profile is of generally conforming fit over the convexly rounded dome-shaped exterior of the helmet. In the illustrated example, the underside of each air filter 34A, 34B is concavely rounded in two orthogonally related dimensions, whereby the filter arches in conforming relationship to the domed shell of the helmet in both an anterior-posterior direction and in a lateral direction. Each filter 34A, 34B of the illustrated example resides on a respective lateral half of the helmet, with the two filters 34A, 34B residing symmetrically of one another on opposing sides of a longitudinal midplane PM that vertically bisects the helmet in an anterior-posterior direction.

[0040] Each filter 34A, 34B is embodied in the combination of a holder and a filtration medium held thereby. The holder is of a closed-top design, where a top cover wall 36 of the holder is a closed solid cover to protect the underlying filtration media housed inside the holder from the elements (e.g. rain, snow), and which top cover wall 36 may be externally convex (as shown) in matching two-dimensional curvature to the externally concave underside of the holder that conforms to the external convexity of the helmet’s domed outer shell. Owing to such parallel relationship and matching curvatures of the top and bottom of the filter, each filter of the illustrated embodiment has a uniform height profile, though this need not necessarily be the case in other embodiments. In a less preferable alternative, the two filters 34A, 34B need not have concavely curved undersides of conforming relationship to the helmet in one or two dimensions, and may instead be flat filters, each oriented at an angle of laterally outward declination away from the bisecting midplane PM. While being closed at the top cover wall 36 for protection against the elements, the holder of each filter 34A, 34B is at least partially open at a subset or all of the peripheral edges 38 of the filter to define intake openings though which ambient air can thus be admitted into the interior of the holder at an outer perimeter of the filter. Though not illustrated as such, the top cover wall 36 of each filter may overhang beyond the intake openings for additional shielding of the filtration medium from the elements. In the illustrated example of a two-filter setup 32, the filter 34A nearest to the blower module 20 is flu idically coupled to the blower inlet 28 of the blower module 20 through a filter-PAPR interconnection conduit 40 running from a laterally outermost peripheral edge of that filter 34A. In the examples of Figures 1 and 2, the blower module 20 is mounted to the right rail 12A of the helmet 10 with the blower inlet 28 at the top side of the blower housing 26, and the filter-PAPR interconnection conduit 40 is an angled connection tube angling laterally outward and downward from the outer right peripheral edge of the right filter 34A to the right-mounted blower module 20. In other implementations requiring a less direct path of fluidic coupling between the filter setup 32 and the blower module 20, a longer flex hose may be used in place of the illustrated connection tube. In the illustrated example, the two filters 34A, 34B are connected in series, and the filter 34B situated further from the blower module is fluidically connected to the filter 34A nearest the blower module by a filter interconnection conduit 42 that spans across the midplane PM and connects the two filters together at their inner peripheral edges. In this setup, filter 34B furthest from the blower module 20 denotes a first filtration stage from which filtered air is subjected to further second stage filtration at the other filter 34A before entering the blower module 20.

[0041] In other embodiments, the two filters may instead be arranged in parallel, and feed into a shared manifold that in turn feeds into the blower module, an example of which is illustrated in the Figure 3 alternative described further below, where cylindrical cannister filters are used instead of the helmet-conforming concave-bottomed filters 34A, 34B of panel-like shape Figures 1 and 2. In a parallel-filter alternative using the two helmet-conforming concave-bottomed filters 34A, 34B of Figures 1 and 2, a dual-branched manifold could run off the rear peripheral edges of the filters and connect to the blower inlet, for example through a flex hose. In a single- filter alternative to the helmet-conforming two-filter setup shown in Figures 1 and 2, a singular helmet-conforming filter of greater lateral span that the two smaller filters may be used, again having a concave underside for conforming fit with the domed exterior of the helmet, and occupy a position spanning through the mid-plane PM, at which location a filter interconnection conduit 42 would not be required. In another example, instead of concavely-bottomed filter filters mounted directly atop the helmet, or other filters indirectly mounted thereon via a concavely-bottomed manifold of predetermined and relatively fixed shape, a flexible gasket or manifold capable of flexibly conforming fit with the domed curvature of the helmet may be employed to host one or more filters thereon. In each instance is embodied an overall filter setup is characterized by a concavely contoured underside for conforming fit to the convexly domed helmet geometry. While the illustrated placement of the filter setup 32 is on top of the helmet, in other embodiments the filter setup may be installed on the rear of the helmet, in which case the mounting side of the filter setup to be characterized by a preferably two dimensional concavity for conforming fit to the helmet would be a front side of the filter setup, not an underside thereof.

[0042] While the preferred concavity of the filter setup’s mounting side in two dimensions is particularly beneficial for low-profile wearing of the filter(s) on a helmet, concavely conforming filter setups curved in two dimensions may also denote an improved level of conforming fit to other rounded features of either user anatomy or user-borne garmentry or equipment on which filters may be worn. Accordingly, the unique filter geometry described herein can also be used in applications other than the helmet-mounted PAPR context of the illustrated examples.

[0043] The respirator mask 24 is donned in a face-worn position encompassing at least an oronasal area of the user’s face, and may be either a full-face respirator mask (as illustrated) that also encompasses the user’s eyes, or a half-face respirator mask that encompasses only the oronasal area and not the eyes. The respirator mask 24 has at least one air intake port therein through which air is admissible to an interior of the respirator mask for inhalation of said air by the user. The illustrated example is a respirator mask 24 with a conventional right and left pair of such air intake ports 44A, 44B situated at an oronasal elevation on opposite sides of the midplane PM that vertically bisects the mask. A PAPR-mask interconnection conduit 46 for fluidic interconnection of the blower module 20 to the respirator mask 24 is embodied in the illustrated example by a flexible air hose having one end threadingly coupled to the blower outlet 30 of the blower module 20 and the other end threadingly coupled to one of the respirator mask’s air intake ports 44A, the other of which is not used in this instance, and may be closed off, for example a threaded plug (not shown). The filtered air outputted from the blower module 20 is thus communicated through the PAPR-mask interconnection conduit 46 to the interior of the respirator mask for ultimate inhalation by the user.

[0044] As mentioned earlier, the illustrated embodiments employ a modular PAPR whose electronic control circuitry is embodied in a control module 22 that is separate from the blower module 20, and thus features its own control housing 50 in which the electronic control circuity is housed. The control module 22 is electrically communicable with the blower module 20 through a flexible power cable 52 to enable powered operation of the blower inside the blower module 20. For optimal compactness of the blower module 20, the motor driver for the blower motor of the blower module 20 may be included among the control componentry embodied in the separate control module 22, in which case the flexible power cable 52 may be used solely for communication of the operating power to the blower motor. Being separate from the blower module 20, the control module 22 may be worn at a location from separate from where the blower module 20 is mounted to helmet 10, and supported completely independently of the blower module 20, whether the control module 22 is also mounted to the helmet, or instead supported on other garmentry or equipment also born by the user.

[0045] The control module 22 of the illustrated embodiment also hosts the battery power source 54 from which both the electronic control circuitry of the control module 22 and the blower motor of the blower module 20 derive their operational power. In the illustrated embodiment, the control module 22 removably hosts a separate battery power source 54 that has its own separate battery housing of non-destructively detachable relationship to the control module 22. The battery power source may be a small tactical universal battery (STUB) disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 11,848,457 by Xentris Wireless, the entirety of which is incorporated hereby by reference. For such purpose of removably hosting a separate battery power source 54, one end 50A of the control module housing 50 of the illustrated example embodies a battery holding compartment for receiving and automatically latching one end of the battery power source 54. One example of a battery holding compartment designed to receive and securely latch a STUB is disclosed in Applicant’s co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 661,553, filed June 18, 2024, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. That said, the PAPR may employ any of a variety of different battery types, among non-limiting examples from a military perspective include AN / PRC-148, AN / PRC-152 and AN / PRC-163 radio batteries, and the Galvion SoloPack™and SoloPack™ II.

[0046] In other embodiments, instead of removable hosting of the battery power source 54 by the control module 22, the battery power source 54 may reside and be supported separately and independently of the control module 22, and electrically communicated therewith via another flexible power cable 52, thus enabling wearing of the battery power source and the control module at separate locations, whether both on the helmet, both on other worn garmentry or equipment of the user, or separately worn among a combination thereof . The control module 22 of the illustrated example is one featuring only a very basic level of user control, having only an on / off switch 56 thereon by which the blower of the blower module 20 is activated and deactivated, though other embodiments may incorporate additional user controls, such as control over the motor speed of the blower. The control module 22 may be identical or similar in any one or more aspects to the similar control module disclosed in the 783 Application incorporated herein.

[0047] While the illustrated embodiment employs a modular PAPR whose electronic control circuitry is embodied in a control module 22 of separate character from the blower module 20, a PAPR whose blower unit includes the control circuitry could likewise be mounted to the helmet, and similarly employ a flexible power cable 52 or other electronically conductive connection to a battery power source 54 supported elsewhere, whether also on the helmet or on other garmentry or equipment also donned by the user. The term blower unit is thus intended to cover PAPR component in which the blower is embodied, whether that unit is one of multiple modules collectively embodying the motor and associated electronic control circuitry, or embodies both the blower and its electronic control circuitry within itself. Therefore, the terms blower unit and blower module are used interchangeably herein, except in instances when specifically describing interrelation between the blower module and another one or more modules. While the illustrated examples use a flexible power cable 52 to supply the necessary operating power to the blower, military helmets with integrated electronic circuitry for providing electrical interface between a battery power source mounted on the helmet at one of the predefined mounting locations to other one or more electrical devices or accessories hosted by one or more of the other predefined mounting points of the helmet are known, and can be employed in the context of the present invention to enable powered operation of the blower unit 20 when installed from such a helmet mounted battery power source. Optionally, the control module and the blower module may be selectively attachable to one another, for example as disclosed in the 783 application, enabling optional wearing thereof in a combined state, whether on the helmet, or on other garmentry or equipment worn by the user.

[0048] U.S. Patent No. 8,908,389, issued December 9, 2014, assigned to Wilcox Industries Corp., titled “Power Distribution System and Helmet and Method Employing the Same” teaches one example of such a helmet, where a battery power source is mounted to the helmet at a rear center mounting point (locationally equivalent to the presently illustrated rear mounting base 16) in a position making electrical contact with contact pads of a circuit layer that is embodied between an internal ballistic shell of the helmet and an outer layer of the helmet, and the circuit layer likewise embodies contact pads at the side rails and a front center mount (locationally equivalent to the presently illustrated side rails 12A, 12B and front mounting base 14) so that electronic accessories or equipment mounted at the side rails and / or front center mount can be powered from the rear-mounted battery. More recently published Applications US2024 / 0315372, published September 26, 2024, and 2024 / 0204328, published June 20, 2024, both also assigned to Wilcox Industries Corp, disclose a battery pack mounting solution by which two STUB batteries can be commonly mounted to the helmet at the rear center mounting point via a center base module to likewise power electrical devices or accessories mounted elsewhere on the helmet. All three Wilcox references are incorporated herein in their entirety in support for use of the helmet integrated circuity and unique battery pack designs thereof to power the helmetcompatible PAPR of the present invention.

[0049] Figures 3 and 4 illustrate variants of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, and demonstrate that the helmet compatible PAPR system need not necessarily employ filters of helmet conforming shape, nor does the filter setup necessarily need to be one in which the filter(s) is / are installed on the helmet 10. The Figure 3 example demonstrates a multi-filter variant where two cannister filters 134A, 134B are installed on a shared manifold 135 at two threaded intake ports thereof, and the filter-PAPR interconnection conduit is embodied by a flex hose 140. In the illustrated example, this flex hose hangs downward from the blower module 20 to enable wearing of the manifold independently of the helmet on other garmentry or equipment of the wearer, for example on a waistbelt or shoulder harness. In this example, the blower module 20 is therefore mounted on the left side rail 12B of the helmet 10 in a flipped orientation from that of the right-mounted blower module of Figures 1 and 2, whereby the blower inlet 28 is at the bottom of the blower module 20 in Figure 3. Alternatively, noting the concave curvature embodied by the illustrated manifold 135 at the underside 135A thereof, it will be appreciated that this curvature, instead of being dimensioned to conform with anatomical features of the user in the worn position of the manifold, may alternatively be configured with a curvature (in one or two dimensions) of conforming fit to the convexly domed profile of the helmet 10, and the manifold 135 thus worn on the helmet 10, for example arching over the domed top or alternatively arching across the rear of the helmet, in similar fashion to the filters 34A, 34B of Figures 1 and 2. In any of the helmet-mounted filter setups contemplated herein, anchored engagement of the filter setup to the helmet may be by hook and loop fastener, enabling attachment at any available surface area of the helmet shell. Alternatively, the filter setup may be equipped with mounting geometry compatible with any one or more of the predefined mounting sites of the helmet that is / are unoccupied by the PAPR module. In other instances, the PAPR system may be installed in a manner supporting the filter setup 32 on the helmet, with the blower module supported on other garmentry or equipment worn by the user.

[0050] Figure 4 illustrates another alternative to the helmet mounted filter setup of Figures 1 and 2, in this case illustrating direct coupling of a singular filter 134 to the blower inlet 28, which filter 134 may be a cannister filter (as shown), cartridge filter or any known type of suitable filter. This example therefore lacks a filter-PAPR interconnection conduit owing to the directly coupled relationship between the filter 134 and the blower module 20. This example also schematically illustrates optional mounting of the control module 22 and / or the battery power supply 54 to the rear mounting base 16 of the helmet, from which electrical connection to the separate blower module 20 may be made by way of the flexible power cable 52 or by helmet-integrated power distribution circuitry, such as, but not limited to, those disclosed and / or commercialized by Wilcox.

[0051] The illustrated examples feature mounted installation of the blower module 20 of the PAPR system specifically at one of the side rails of the helmet 10, primarily in the interest of maintaining an availability of the front mounting base 14 of the helmet 10 for vision-related equipment or accessories (e.g. night vision) that need to reside near eye-level of the user’s face, and typically to also accommodate hosting of the battery power supply (together with, or separate from the control module 22 in modular embodiments) at the opposing rear mounting base 16 whereby the side-rail mounted addition of the PAPR doesn’t detract from known equipping of military helmets with front-mounted devices / accessories and / or a rear-mounted battery, which capability is retained without necessitating redesign of commercially available devices / accessories in order to accommodate the PAPR system of the present invention. That being said, the present invention is also not specifically limited only side-rail mounting of the blower module 20 of the PAPR, which may alternatively be hosted at a front or rear mounting base 14, 16, or at a top mounting base optionally included atop the helmet, in instances where such area is not designated for a helmet-topped placement of the air filter setup 32.

[0052] The variant shown in Figure 5, instead of a conventional flexible air hose of corrugated character, features a more robust and form-fitted PAPR-mask interconnection conduit 46’ of predefined geometry particularly chosen to span from the blower outlet 30’ of the blower module 20’ to the air intake port 44A’ of the respirator mask 24’ on a predetermined route or path defined by a predetermined and selfretaining shape of the conduit 46’. While this conduit 46’ is sufficiently rigid to substantially hold a predetermined shape, it may preferably be semi-rigid so as to still embody some degree of flexibility to accommodate for small variation occurring in the relative positions of the blower module 20’ and the respirator mask 24’, for example as may be attributable to small differences on how the helmet and the respirator mask fit on a given user’s anatomical form. The conduit 46’, at its outlet end that feeds into the air intake port 44A’ of the respirator mask, is equipped with a rotatable thumbwheel coupler 100 that is rotatably journaled around a cylindrical hub embodied in an end region of the conduit. The thumbwheel coupler 100 embodies an externally threaded cylindrical fitting 102 for threaded engagement into the internally threaded air intake port 44A of the respirator mask that would conventionally be engaged with a threaded cannister filter. A thumbwheel 104 is affixed to and radiates outward from the cylindrical fitting 102 at a proximal end thereof opposite its distal end that threadably engages with the air intake port of the respirator mask, by which thumbwheel 104 the thumbwheel coupler 100 is engageable by a finger or thumb of one hand of a user to drive rotation of the thumbwheel coupler in either direction to thread the thumbwheel coupler into, or out of, the air intake port 44A of the respirator mask 24’, while the conduit itself is held stationary with the user’s other hand.

[0053] To provide a good frictional interface for optimal engagement of the outer perimeter of the thumbwheel 104 by the finger or thumb of the user, the outer perimeter of the thumbwheel 104 preferably deviates from a perfect circle and instead possesses a shape profile of non-uniform radial measure of alternatingly increasing and decreasing radial magnitude from a central axis 106 on which the thumbwheel 104 is centered. This way, the outer perimeter of the thumbwheel 104 is characterized by alternating peaks 108A and valleys 108B, which may be embodied in a scalloped, serrated, zig-zagged or otherwise undulating or fluctuating pattern whose radially longer peaks can be optimally gripped by a thumb of finger of the user. In the illustrated example, the valleys 108B are concavely rounded but the peaks 108A are plateaued rather than rounded or sharply pointed to enable optimal gripping at the two comers formed at the two ends of each plateaued peak 108A, for more confident gripping than a rounded peak, but more comfortably than a sharply pointed apex. That said, the particular shapes of the peaks and valleys may vary in other embodiments. Alternatively, a roughened or knurled finish may be used to impart frictional gripping effect rather than a particularly undulating or serrated perimeter profile. The blower module may incorporate another thumbwheel coupler 100A at the blower outlet 30’ thereof, of the same described character as the thumbwheel coupler 100 of the conduit 46’, for threaded coupling with an internally threaded inlet end of the conduit 26’. The Figure 5 variant also illustrates an alternative geometry of the blower module 20’, of more rounded / cylindrical character than the more cuboidal example illustrated in the earlier figures, and demonstrating an alternative orientation of installation, in which the blower outlet 30’ of the blower module 20’ faces posteriorly of the user when worn on the helmet 10’. The illustrated example is shown in absence of any filter, revealing in this instance how the blower module 20’ is attached to the side rail 12A of the helmet via a support fitting 200 engaged circumferentially around a portion of the blower module 20’ and presenting an attachment flange 202 for placement against, and coupling to, the side rail 12A of the helmet. In the illustrated example, the support fitting 200 is engaged around a cylindrical neck of the blower module 20’ at the blower inlet 28’ thereof, which occupies an upwardly / superiorly facing orientation in this variant, like those of Figures 1 , 2 and 4.

[0054] 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 protective headwear and respirator combination comprising:a helmet having one or more predefined external mounting points thereon by which one or more accessories are externally mountable to said helmet for head borne support of said one or more accessories by a user when wearing said helmet;a respirator mask wearable together with said helmet in a face-worn position encompassing at least an oronasal portion of a face of the user, and having an air intake port therein through which air is admissible to an interior of the respirator mask for inhalation of said air by the user;a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) comprising a blower unit comprising a blower housing, a blower housed thereby, a blower inlet through which intake air is drawn by operation of said blower, and blower outlet from which output air is evacuated by said operation of said blower, said blower housing being configured for selective and removable mounting thereof to said helmet at one of said one or more predefined external mounting points thereon; anda PAPR-mask interconnection conduit configured to fluidically interconnect the blower outlet of the PAPR and the air intake of the respirator mask to convey the output air from the blower unit to the interior of the respirator mask.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the PAPR comprises electronic control circuitry from which operation of the blower is controlled, and which is separate of and external to the blower unit.

3. The combination of claim 2 comprising a controller housing that is separate of and external to the blower housing, and that hosts said electronic control circuitry independently of the blower unit.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said controller housing isconfigured for worn support thereof at a separate location from the mounting site at which the blower unit is selectively and removably mountable to the helmet.

5. The combination of claim 4 or 5 wherein the controller housing contains, selectively hosts or is selectively connectable to a battery power source by which the electronic control circuitry and the blower unit are powered during use.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the battery power source is separate and external to the blower unit.

7. The combination of claim 5 or 6 wherein the battery power source is contained in a battery housing that is separate of the controller housing and is selectively hostable by or connectable to the controller housing.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein the battery housing and the controller housing are unattached or detachable from one another to enable worn support thereof at different respective locations each separate from the mounting site at which the blower unit is selectively and removably mountable.

9. The combination of any one of claims 1 to 4 comprising a battery power source from which the blower unit is powered during use, said battery power source being separate of and external to the blower unit.

10. The combination of claim 8 wherein the battery power source is contained in a battery housing that is configured for worn support thereof at a separate location from the mounting site at which the blower unit is selectively and removably mountable.

11. The combination of any preceding claim wherein said mounting site at which the blower unit is selectively and removably mountable to the helmet resides at a lateral side of said helmet.

12. The combination of claim 11 wherein the mounting site at whichthe blower unit is selectively and removably mountable to the helmet is a side rail of the helmet.

13. The combination of any preceding claim wherein the PAPR-mask interconnection conduit comprises a flexible hose connected or connectable between the blower outlet of the PAPR and the air intake of the respirator mask.

14. The combination of any preceding claim wherein the PAPR-mask interconnection conduit comprises a thumbwheel coupler rotatably journaled thereto at an end thereof, which thumbwheel coupler embodies a threaded fitting and a thumbwheel radiating outward therefrom for manually actuated rotation of the thumbwheel coupler by the thumbwheel thereof.

15. The combination of claim 14 wherein said end of the PAPR-mask interconnection conduit is an outlet end thereof for coupled connection thereof to the air intake port of the respirator mask by threaded coupling of the thumbwheel coupler to said air intake port.

16. The combination of any preceding claim further comprising an air filter setup connected or connectable to the blower inlet of the of the PAPR to filter the air drawn through the blower inlet.

17. The combination of claim 16 wherein said air filter setup is configured for mounting thereof to the helmet independently and separately of the blower unit.

18. The combination of claim 16 or 17 wherein said air filter setup, at a mounting side thereof, has an externally concave profile shaped for general conformity, in at least one dimension, with a convexly domed curvature of the helmet at an area thereof overlaid by said air filter setup when installed.

19. A protective headwear and respirator combination comprising:a helmet;a respirator mask wearable together with said helmet in a face-worn position encompassing at least an oronasal portion of a face of the user, and having an air intake port therein through which air is admissible to an interior of the respirator mask for inhalation of said air by the user;a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR);an air filter setup mounted or mountable to said helmet and comprising an externally concave profile, at a mounting side of said air filter setup, that is shaped for general conformity, in at least one dimension, with a convexly domed curvature of the helmet at an area thereof overlaid by said air filter setup when installed.

20. The combination of claim 18 or 19 wherein said externally concave profile is concavely curved, for general conformity with said convexly domed curvature of the helmet, in two dimensions.

21. The combination of any one of claims 16 to 20 wherein said air filter setup comprises at least one air filter containing a filtration medium contained and comprising a solidly closed cover of fully overlying relation to said filtration medium in an installed position of said air filter.

22. The combination of claim 21 wherein said at least one air filter comprises intake openings at one or more peripheral edges of said air filter.

23. An air filter comprising a holder and a filtration component held or holdable by said holder, wherein said holder has a concavely rounded underside that is concavely rounded in two orthogonally related dimensions.

24. The air filter of claim 23 wherein the filtration component is contained within said holder, and said holder comprises a solidly closed cover that is situated oppositely of the concavely rounded underside and is of fully overlying relation to saidfiltration component.

25. The air filter of claim 23 or 24 comprising one or more intake openings at one or more peripheral edges of the filter.

26. The air filter of claim 25 characterized by inclusion of intake openings solely at said one or more peripheral edges of the filter.

27. A protective headwear and respirator combination comprising:a helmet;a respirator mask wearable together with said helmet in a face-worn position encompassing at least an oronasal portion of a face of the user, and having an air intake port therein through which air is admissible to an interior of the respirator mask for inhalation of said air by the user;a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR); andan air filter setup connected or connectable in operable relationship to the PAPR;wherein at least one of said PAPR and said air filter setup is configured for mounted wearing thereof on an exterior of said helmet.

28. A coupler-equipped conduit for coupling to a threaded an air intake port of a respirator mask, said coupler-equipped conduit comprising a thumbwheel coupler at an outlet end thereof that is rotatable relative to the conduit, and comprises a threaded fitting for threaded engagement to the air intake port, and a thumbwheel radiating from said threaded fitting for manual actuation of the thumbwheel coupler.

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