First-stage diving regulator

Abstract

A first-stage diving regulator including the profiled body, swivel turret and the cylinder connector, whereas the axis of rotation of the swivel turret is perpendicular to the body axis, thus enabling by preferable arrangement of low pressure LP ports and high pressure HP ports of the body, and preferable arrangement of low pressure LP ports in the swivel turret and proper hose configuration at any possible equipment configuration by using the same first-stage regulator.

Claims

1. A first-stage diving regulator comprising a profiled body (1) equipped with low pressure LP ports (30) and high pressure HP ports (31) arranged at an angle to an axis (8) of the body, where inside of the body along the axis (8) there is a set of valves and diaphragms, wherein the body is further equipped with an antifreeze unit and a cylindrical swivel turret (2) equipped with low pressure LP ports arranged at an angle to a turret axis of rotation (7) and to a cylinder connector equipped with a cylinder connector sleeve (3) with a cone filter (50), a cylinder connection knob (4) and a cylinder connection screw (5), the interconnection of which is sealed with O-rings (6), wherein an axis (9) of the cylinder connector is perpendicular to the body axis (8), the turret axis of rotation (7) and the axis (9) of cylinder connector laying in the same plane characterized in that the axis of rotation (7) of the swivel turret (2) is perpendicular to the body axis (8).

2. The first-stage diving regulator according to claim 1, wherein the swivel turret is equipped with at least one low pressure LP port, to which a low pressure LP hose is routed in any direction, around the axis of rotation (7) of the swivel turret (2).

3. The first-stage diving regulator according to claim 1, wherein the body is equipped with at least one adjustment seat (49), for a swivel turret positioning screw (45), and the swivel turret (2) has at least one notch (44), for the swivel turret positioning screw (45), locking the rotation of the swivel turret (2) at a set position.

4. The first-stage diving regulator according to claim 1, wherein the axis of the cylinder connector and the axis of turret rotation (7) are parallel to each other and lay in the same plane.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The object of the solution is presented in the embodiment of the first-stage diving regulator, where:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a main view of the first-stage diving regulator from the front of the body and the front of the swivel turret;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a side view of the first-stage diving regulator;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a cross section along line A-A in FIG. 1 of the first-stage diving regulator, a cross section in the plane of symmetry of the body;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a cross section along line B-B in FIG. 2 of the first stage diving regulator;

(6) FIG. 5 shows an isometric assembly view of components of the first-stage diving regulator;

(7) FIG. 6 shows a main view of the swivel turret of the first-stage diving regulator;

(8) FIG. 7 shows a side view of the swivel turret of the first-stage diving regulator;

(9) FIG. 8 shows a top view of the swivel turret of the first-stage diving regulator;

(10) FIG. 9 shows a cross section along line C-C in FIG. 8 of the first stage diving regulator;

(11) FIG. 10 shows a view of the properly mounted first-stage diving regulator with body ports oriented towards the cylinder bottom and the swivel turret in its extreme left position;

(12) FIG. 11 shows a view of the properly mounted first-stage diving regulator with body ports oriented towards the cylinder bottom and the swivel turret in its second left position;

(13) FIG. 12 shows a view of the properly mounted first-stage diving regulator with body ports oriented towards the cylinder bottom and the swivel turret in its first left position;

(14) FIG. 13 shows a view of the properly mounted first-stage diving regulator with body ports oriented towards the cylinder bottom and the swivel turret in its neutral position;

(15) FIG. 14 shows a view of the properly mounted first-stage diving regulator with body ports oriented towards the cylinder bottom and the swivel turret in its first left position;

(16) FIG. 15 shows a view of the properly mounted first-stage diving regulator with body ports oriented towards the cylinder bottom and the swivel turret in its second right position;

(17) FIG. 16 shows a view of the properly mounted first-stage diving regulator with body ports oriented towards the cylinder bottom and the swivel turret in its extreme right position;

(18) FIG. 17 shows the first-stage diving regulator attached to the dive cylinder in a single cylinder configuration;

(19) FIG. 18 shows the first-stage diving regulators attached to the dive cylinder in a side mount configuration with two independent cylinders;

(20) FIG. 19 shows the first-stage diving regulators attached to the dive cylinder in a double cylinder (twinset) configuration for technical diving;

(21) FIG. 20 shows the first-stage diving regulator with unused stage/decompression bottle in the idle position;

(22) FIG. 21 shows the first-stage diving regulator with a stage/decompression bottle ready for use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(23) In the embodiment the first-stage diving regulator according to the solution comprises a profiled brass body (1) shaped like a cylinder with a semi-circular truncated dome of the brass swivel turret (2) and a cylinder connector.

(24) The cylinder connector is equipped with a brass cylinder connector sleeve (3), a metal cylinder connector knob (4) coated with plastic or rubber for better adhesion, and a brass cylinder connector screw (5) DIN 300 bar. There is a cone filter (50) inside the cylinder connector sleeve (3) made of bronze. The connections of the screw (5) to the dive cylinder, the screw (5) to the cylinder connector (3) and the cylinder connector (3) to the body (1) are sealed with each other with plastic o-rings (6) of the cylinder connector.

(25) The swivel turret (2) is located in the bottom part of the body (1) and its axis of rotation (7) is perpendicular to the body axis (8), The cylinder connector is located in the upper part of the body (1) and its axis (9) is perpendicular to the body axis (8). The axis (9) of the cylinder connector and the axis of rotation (7) of the turret are parallel to each other and lay in the plane of symmetry of the body.

(26) Inside the body (1) along its axis (8) there is a set of valves and diaphragms, and antifreeze protection of the water chamber with an anti-freeze unit with so called dry water chamber. The antifreeze unit is equipped with a silicone anti-freezing membrane (10). The plastic pusher (11) of the anti-freeze unit enters the opening in the brass spring adjusting screw (12) and works with the spring retaining ring (13) and the membrane (14), both made of plastic.

(27) The pusher (11) of the antifreeze unit is placed in the brass pusher seat (15) of the anti-freeze unit. All this is protected with a brass cover (16) of the anti-freeze unit. The set of valves and diaphragms is fitted with a stainless steel adjustment spring (17), supported on one side with the spring adjusting screw (12) and the spring retaining ring (13) on the other side, and a polyamide washer (18), a membrane (14) and a valve. The valve consists of a brass valve tie rod disk (19), a stainless steel valve seat (20) with o-ring (21) in which the stainless steel valve poppet (22) moves being pushed by the brass piston (23), a brass valve sealing sleeve guide (24), steel closing spring (25), a valve sealing sleeve (26) and a Teflon ring (27). The valve is protected against external influences with a valve plug (28) screwed directly into the body (1) and sealed with a plastic o-ring (29).

(28) The profiled body (1) in its front part is equipped with two LP low pressure ports (30) with the UNF 3/6″ thread, and two HP high pressure ports (31) with the UNF 7/16″ thread.

(29) The axes of LP ports (32) and axes of HP ports (33) of the body (1) are tilted 45° to the plane of symmetry of the body. The axes of LP ports (32) are tilted 25° to the body axis (8) towards the upper part of the body and the cylinder connector. The axes of HP ports (33) are tilted 15° to the body axis (8) towards a bottom part of the body and the body turret. At the outlets of LP ports (30) the body (1) has profiling (34), and at the outlets of HP ports (31) the body (1) has profiling (35) to facilitate hose connection. In the embodiment presented in figures, the LP ports (30) of the body (1) are blanked with brass plugs (36) with the UNF 3/6″ thread and sealed with o-rings (38). In the embodiment presented in figures, the HP ports (31) of the body (1) are blanked with brass plugs (37) with the UNF 7/16″ thread and sealed with o-rings (39).

(30) The HP port (31) arrangement described above allows HP hoses to be routed always towards the bottom part of the cylinder, regardless of a regulator position, thus enabling proper HP hose configuration at any possible equipment configurations by using the same first-stage regulator.

(31) The profiled body (1) in its bottom part is fitted with the seat of the swivel turret (2). The seat of the swivel turret of the body (1) is adjusted to the shape of the swivel turret (2), and the axis of rotation (7) of the turret is perpendicular to the body axis (8). The swivel turret (2) has a cylindrical shape and its base (40) joins to the body. The swivel turret (2) is attached to the body (1) with a brass swivel turret screw (51) and its rotation is enabled by a Teflon bearing pad (52).

(32) The tightness at the junction between the body (1) and the swivel turret (2) is ensured by a plastic o-ring (54). The tightness at the junction between the swivel turret (2) and the turret screw (51) is ensured by a plastic o-ring (54).

(33) There are three LP ports (41, 42, 43) of the turret arranged around the circumference of the swivel turret with the UNF 3/6″ thread, and four notches (44) for the swivel turret positioning screw (45). In the embodiment presented in Figures the LP ports (41, 42, 43) of the swivel turret (2) the brass plugs were removed for clarity and better presentation of the essence of the solution.

(34) The LH port (41) and RH port (43) are arranged symmetrically with respect to the central LP port (42) in the front part of the swivel turret (2). The angle between axes of LP ports (46) is 60°. LP ports (41, 42, 43) are arranged at an angle of 15% to the turret base plane. At outlets of LP ports (41, 42, 43) the swivel turret (2) has profiling (47) to facilitate hose connection.

(35) The four notches (44) are distributed in the rear part of the turret. The axes of notches are on the circumference of the swivel turret (2). The angle between axes of notches (48) is 30°. The angle between the axes of extreme ports (41, 43) and the axes of nearest extreme notches (44) is 75°.

(36) The turret positioning screw (45) can be screwed in one of two adjustment seats (49) of the body (1). The arrangement of four notches for the positioning screw (45) allows rotation of the turret to locked at 7 positions every 30 degrees.

(37) In a neutral position of the swivel turret (2) the axis (46) of the central LP port (42) coincides with the body axis of symmetry (8), the axis of LH LP port (41) is tilted 60° to the body axis of symmetry (8) and the axis (46) of a RH LP port (43) is tilted 60° to the body axis of symmetry (8).

(38) The swivel turret (2) can be rotated left from its neutral position and locked with the turret positioning screw (45) screwed in one of the adjustment seats (45) of the body (1) every 30 degrees at one of the following three positions: the first intermediate left, the second intermediate left and the extreme left.

(39) In the extreme left position of the swivel turret (2) the axis (46) of the central LP port (42) is tilted 90° to the body axis of symmetry (8), the axis of LH LP port (41) is tilted 150° to the body axis of symmetry (8) and the axis (46) of RH LP port (43) is tilted 30° to the body axis of symmetry (8).

(40) The swivel turret (2) can be rotated right from its neutral position and locked with the turret positioning screw (45) screwed in one of the adjustment seats (49) of the body (1) every 30 degrees at one of the following three positions: the first intermediate right, the second intermediate right and the extreme right.

(41) In the extreme right position of the swivel turret (2) the axis (46) of the central LP port (42) is tilted −90° to the body axis of symmetry (8), the axis of LH LP port (41) is tilted −150° to the body axis of symmetry (8) and the axis (46) of RH LP port (43) is tilted −30° to the body axis of symmetry (8).

(42) The turret positioning screw (45) can be unscrewed from adjustment seats (49) of the body (1) thus enabling the turret (2) to be rotated freely during underwater diving and a selected LP port (41, 42, 43) of the swivel turret (2) can be oriented at any angle in a full 360° rotation around the turret axis of rotation (7).

(43) In single cylinder configuration for recreational diving the pressure gauge hose (53) is connected to the HP port (31) of the body (1), while the LP hose of the inflator (54) is connected to the LP port (30) of the body (1). The swivel turret (2) is locked at its first left position, the LP hose of the primary second-stage regulator (55) is connected to its LH LP port (41), while the LP hose of the alternate second-stage regulator (56) is connected to the central LP port (42).

(44) In side mount configuration with two independent dive cylinders, two first-stage regulators are used, a LH cylinder regulator and a RH cylinder regulator. To HP ports (31) of bodies (1) of both regulators, HP pressure gauge hoses (53) are connected respectively to the LH cylinder and the RH cylinder. The swivel turret (2) of the LH regulator is locked at its second right position, the LP inflator hose (54) is connected to its RH LP port (43), while the LP hose of the second-stage regulator (57) of the LH cylinder is connected to the central LP port (42). The swivel turret (2) of the LH regulator is locked at its second left position, the LP drysuit hose (59) is connected to its LH LP port (41), while the LP hose of the second-stage regulator (58) of the RH cylinder is connected to the central LP port (42).

(45) In configuration with two cylinders (twinset) for technical diving, two first-stage diving regulators are used, a LH regulator and a RH regulator. The swivel turret (2) of the regulator is locked at its neutral position, the LP hose of the alternate second-stage regulator (56) is connected to its LH LP port (41), while the LP inflator hose (54) is connected to the central LP port (42). The HP pressure gauge hose (53) is connected to the HP port (31) of the RH regulator body (1). The swivel turret (2) of the RH regulator is locked at its neutral position, the LP hose of the primary second-stage regulator (55) is connected to its central LP port (42), while the LP drysuit hose (59) is connected to the RH LP port (43).

(46) During diving with a stage bottle (decompression), the turret positioning screw (45) is unscrewed, so it is possible to change position of the swivel turret when diving at the start of decompression bottle use. The HP pressure gauge hose (53) is connected to the HP port (31) of the body (1). The LP hose of the second-stage regulator (60) can be connected to any LP port (41, 42, 43) of the swivel turret. If the stage bottle is unused, at its idle position, the LP hose of the second-stage diving regulator (60) is routed downwards and fixed to the bottle. If the stage bottle is used, the swivel turret (2) is rotated by the diver so that the LP hose of the second-stage diving regulator is routed towards his/her head.

(47) The hose configurations and their connections to specified ports described above are typical and widely used, however it is obvious to one skilled in the art that other hose configurations and other combinations of connections to regulator ports are also possible.

(48) The solutions described above allow the swivel turret (2) to be rotated freely in a full 360° or its rotation and locking LP ports (41, 42, 43) of the swivel turret (2) within 360°, i.e. from the extreme left position to the extreme right position, thus enabling proper HP hose configuration at any possible equipment configurations by using the same first-stage regulator.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(49) 1 Profiled body 2 Swivel turret 3 Cylinder connector sleeve 4 Cylinder connector knob 5 Cylinder connector screw 6 O-ring seal 7 Turret axis of rotation 8 Body axis 9 Cylinder connector axis 10 Anti-freezing membrane 11 Anti-freeze unit pusher 12 Spring adjustment screw 13 Spring retaining ring 14 Diaphragm 15 Anti-freeze unit pusher seat 16 Anti-freeze unit cover 17 Adjustment spring 18 Shim 19 Valve tie rod disk 20 Valve seat 21 O-ring seal 22 Valve poppet 23 Piston 24 Valve sealing sleeve guide 25 Closing spring 26 Valve sealing sleeve 27 Ring 28 Valve plug 29 O-ring seal 30 LP port of the body 31 HP port of the body 32 Axis of LP port of the body 33 Axis of HP port of the body 34 Profiling of LP port of the body 35 Profiling of HP port of the body 36 LP 3/6″ port plug 37 HP 7/16″ port plug 38 LP port plug o-ring seal 39 HP port plug o-ring seal 40 Swivel turret base 41 LH LP port of swivel turret 42 Central LP port of swivel turret 43 RH LP port of swivel turret 44 Turret positioning screw notches 45 Swivel turret positioning screw 46 Axis of LP port of the turret 47 Profiling of LP port of the turret 48 Axis of turret positioning screw notch 49 Body adjustment seat 50 Cone filter 51 O-ring seal 52 O-ring seal 53 HP pressure gauge hose 54 LP inflator hose 55 LP hose of the primary second-stage diving regulator 56 LP hose of the alternate second-stage diving regulator 57 LP hose of the second-stage regulator of LH cylinder (side mount) 58 LP hose of the second-stage regulator of RH cylinder (side mount) 59 LP drysuit hose 60 LP hose of the second-stage diving regulator (decompression)