Personal hydration system with component connectivity
View Patent ↗A personal hydration system with component connectivity. The hydration system includes a fluid reservoir that may be housed within a pack. Drink fluid is drawn from the reservoir through a drink tube in fluid communication with the reservoir at one end and with a mouthpiece at the other. In some embodiments, the hydration system includes a manually actuated on/off valve downstream from the reservoir and/or a bite-actuated mouthpiece. The hydration system further includes a quick-connect assembly that fluidly interconnects components of the hydration system and which is configured to quickly release, and permit reattachment of, the detached or replacement components. In some embodiments, the hydration system includes a quick-connect assembly that is adapted to selectively couple a bite-actuated mouthpiece and a gas mask adapter to the hydration system's drink tube. In some embodiments, at least a portion, if not the entire, hydration system is formed from a chemically resistant material.
1. A personal hydration system, comprising:
a reservoir having a body portion with an internal compartment adapted to receive a volume of drink fluid, wherein the reservoir includes a selectively sealable fill port having an opening through which drink fluid may be added to or removed from the compartment; and
an elongate downstream assembly extending in fluid communication from the reservoir to define a fluid conduit through which drink fluid may flow from the compartment for drinking by a user, wherein the downstream assembly comprises a plurality of fluidly interconnected components selected from at least the group consisting of one or more of a length of hollow drink tubing through which drink fluid may flow, an on/off valve adapted to selectively obstruct the fluid conduit and prevent drink fluid from flowing therethrough, a mouthpiece adapted to dispense drink fluid to a user's mouth, a bite-actuated mouthpiece adapted to dispense drink fluid to a user's mouth upon receipt of user-applied compressive forces to the mouthpiece, an exit port adapted to fluidly interconnect the downstream assembly and the reservoir to permit drink fluid to be drawn from the compartment into the downstream assembly, and a gas mask fitting adapted to fluidly interconnect a quick-connect assembly with an intake tube of a gas mask, and further wherein the downstream assembly further includes at least one quick-connect assembly adapted to fluidly interconnect at least two of the plurality of components, wherein the plurality of fluidly interconnected components are adapted to be chemically resistant, such that drink fluid may remain in the downstream assembly when the downstream assembly is exposed to a chemical agent present in a concentration of 10 g/m 2 for 24 hours without more than a maximum acceptable amount of the chemical agent penetrating the downstream assembly and contacting the drink fluid, and further wherein the quick-connect assembly comprises:
a male coupling member having a shaft that includes a tip and which defines at least a portion of the fluid conduit, wherein the male coupling member includes a region distal the tip with a port through which drink fluid may selectively flow into or out of the assembled quick-connect assembly;
a female coupling member having a body with an opening sized to receive at least the tip of the male coupling member, wherein the opening is in fluid communication with a cavity that extends through the female coupling member to a region distal the opening that includes a port through which drink fluid may selectively flow into or out of the assembled quick-connect assembly; and
a resilient lock ring coupled to the female coupling member and including a passage extending therethrough, wherein the lock ring is adapted to selectively engage and prevent removal of the shaft of the male coupling member when the shaft of the male coupling member is at least partially inserted into the passage, wherein the passage of the lock ring is selectively deformable to configure the lock ring between an unlocked configuration, in which the tip of the male coupling member may pass through the passage, and a locked configuration, in which the tip of the male coupling member may not pass through the passage, and further wherein the lock ring is biased to the locked configuration.
2. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the shaft of the male coupling member includes a region of reduced cross-sectional area bounded by a pair of regions of greater cross-sectional area than the region of reduced cross-sectional area and further wherein the region of reduced cross-sectional area is sized such that the region of reduced cross-sectional area may extend within the passage with the regions of greater cross-sectional area on respective sides of the lock ring.
3. The hydration system of claim 2 , wherein the tip of the male coupling member defines one of the regions of greater cross-sectional area.
4. The hydration system of claim 2 , wherein when the lock ring is in the locked configuration, the regions of greater cross-sectional area cannot fit through the passage.
5. The hydration system of claim 2 , wherein the lock ring is adapted to deflect from its locked configuration to its unlocked configuration upon urging of one of the regions of greater cross-sectional area through the passage.
6. The hydration system of claim 5 , wherein upon insertion of the one of the regions of greater cross-sectional area through the passage, the lock ring is biased to automatically return toward the locked configuration to seat the lock ring upon the region of reduced cross-sectional area of the male coupling member.
7. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the lock ring includes at least one release member adapted to configure the lock ring to the unlocked configuration responsive to user-applied forces thereto.
8. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the female coupling member includes at least one aperture in the body, wherein the lock ring includes at least one release member that is biased to extend from the passage at least into one of the at least on apertures in the body of the female coupling member, and further wherein upon urging of the at least one release member toward the passage, the lock ring is urged toward the unlocked configuration.
9. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the lock ring is adapted to be configured between the locked and the unlocked configurations without requiring sliding or rotational movement of the lock ring relative to the female coupling member.
10. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the region of at least one of the female and the male coupling members further includes a mount that is adapted to fluidly interconnect the region with another component of the downstream assembly.
11. The hydration system of claim 10 , wherein the mount is adapted to receive a length of drink tubing.
12. The hydration system of claim 10 , wherein the mount is adapted to receive a mouthpiece.
13. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the regions of both of the female and the male coupling members further include mounts that are adapted to fluidly interconnect the regions with other components of the downstream assembly.
14. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the quick-connect assembly is integrated with at least one of the plurality of fluidly interconnected components.
15. The hydration system of claim 14 , wherein at least one of the male coupling member and the female coupling member shares a common housing with at least one of the plurality of fluidly interconnected components.
16. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the quick-connect assembly further includes at least one of the group consisting of an on/off valve adapted to selectively obstruct the fluid conduit and prevent drink fluid from flowing therethrough, a mouthpiece adapted to dispense drink fluid to a user's mouth, a bite-actuated mouthpiece adapted to dispense drink fluid to a user's mouth upon receipt of user-applied compressive forces to the mouthpiece, an exit port adapted to fluidly interconnect the downstream assembly and the reservoir, and a gas-mask fitting adapted to fluidly interconnect the quick-connect assembly with an intake tube of a gas mask.
17. The hydration system of claim 1 , further comprising a pack into which the reservoir is received.
18. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the chemical agent includes mustard blister agent and the maximum acceptable amount is 0.047 mg/L.
19. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the chemical agent includes mustard blister agent and the maximum acceptable amount is 0.0235 mg/L.
20. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the chemical agent includes sarin nerve agent and the maximum acceptable amount is 0.0093 mg/L.
21. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the chemical agent includes sarin nerve agent and the maximum acceptable amount is 0.00465 mg/L.
22. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein the reservoir is also adapted to be chemically resistant, such that drink fluid may remain in the downstream assembly when the downstream assembly is exposed to a chemical agent present in a concentration of 10 g/m 2 for 24 hours without more than a maximum acceptable amount of the chemical agent penetrating the downstream assembly and contacting the drink fluid.
23. The hydration system of claim 22 , wherein the reservoir is formed from a flexible chemically resistant material.
24. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of fluidly interconnected components includes a cover that is formed from a chemically resistant material.
25. The hydration system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of fluidly interconnected components is formed from a chemically resistant material.