US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Life Systems, Inc.

Daniel C Walter

Robert N Schmidt

Franz H Schubert

Rick A Wynveen

Martin Sudar

An apparatus for controlling the flow of fluid, comprising an 8-way switcg valve for directing an inlet stream of air to one of multiple adsorber beds and then to the crew compartment of an air-tight vehicle while simultaneously directing an outlet stream of air to another adsorber bed and then to the atmosphere, whereby the inlet stream may be purified by adsorption on one bed while the other bed is regenerated. The fluid is directed by passageways in rotatable valve spools axially colinearly aligned, connected together so as to rotate simultaneously, and having ports aligned with openings in a sealed valve housing which communicate with inlet and outlet piping and absorber bed piping. Rotating the valve spool aligns various configurations of passageways and piping so as to direct the streams to different beds. The valve spools may be contained in separate housings for safety, avoiding cross contamination during switching. Because all the valve spools are driven by a single drive shaft, all bed inlet and outlet lines are switched simultaneously, providing safe operation and decreasing control logic requirements as well as weight, power and volume requirements.

Adsorber switching valve

A fluid purification system is provided for contaminated fluids such as air ontaminated with a wide spectrum of chemical warfare agents which includes two adsorption chambers with adsorption medium suitable for effectively removing chemical warfare agents from a stream of air; a valve selection device adapted for directing a stream of contaminated air to one or the other of the adsorption chambers, for directing a stream of contaminant-free air from the adsorption chamber, for directing a stream of regeneration fluid to one or the other adsorption chambers requiring regeneration and for directing a fluid stream with a concentration of contaminants from a regenerated adsorption chamber; a fluid stream diverter device adapted for diverting a portion of contaminant-free fluid from one or the other adsorption chambers for use as a regeneration fluid stream for regeneration of the adsorption medium in one or the other adsorption chambers; and a temperature regulation device for heating the regeneration fluid stream to a temperature effective for regeneration of the adsorption medium in the adsorption chambers.

Air purification system

A continuous and valveless sorber device is described which utilizes a novel rotating sorption bed which operates through at least three zones (sorption, desorption and cooling). The rotating sorption bed is contained within a plurality of manifolds and the sorption bed and the manifolds are sealed to one another via sealing means. Contaminated fluid is directed through the sorption zone of the rotating sorption bed where the contaminants are removed by sorbents. The bulk of the fluid which is then cleaned is available for use. A portion of the clean fluid (regeneration fluid) is used to cool the sorbent in the cooling zone of the rotating sorption bed. The warmed regeneration fluid is then heated by a regeneration heater and is subsequently directed into the desorption zone of the rotating sorption bed where the hot clean regeneration fluid is used to desorb and carry away the contaminants from the sorbent. The hot contaminated regeneration fluid, which has a reduced flow rate but a higher concentration of contaminants than the original fluid stream, may then be disposed of or processed in a suitable manner.

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Chardon, OH, United States of America

Daniel C Walter