Patents Assigned to Institut de Recherche en Sante et en Securite du Travail du Quebec
  • Patent number: 5320108
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for specific inhalation challenges, especially bronchical provocation tests, including a compressed air supply, a particle generator an exposure room, an orofacial mask, a gas-aerosol photometer, a manometer, a valve and a suction pump. The invention also relates to a method of using the device and to an improved particle generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 1991
    Date of Patent: June 14, 1994
    Assignee: IRSST Institut de recherche en sante et en securite du travail du Quebec
    Inventor: Yves Cloutier
  • Patent number: 5094353
    Abstract: The disclosure herein describes a clamping device to be mounted to an elet of a crane and which provides contact surfaces for limit switches that maintain the movement of a movable crane structure within predetermined limits. The clamping device defines a body having a top wall which is contacted by the limit switches and a side wall which cooperates with a plunger to clamp the device to the crane element. The plunger is spring-biased so that its head applies constant pressure against the crane element. The housing, in which the plunger is contained, includes a handle which acts as a lever to compress the spring to allow retraction of the head from the crane element and quick removel of the clamping device from the crane element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1992
    Assignee: Institut de Recherche en Sante et en Securite du Travail du Quebec
    Inventor: Joseph-Jean Paques
  • Patent number: 4961916
    Abstract: The invention relates to an improved sampling device for selectively collecting gaseous and aerosol pollutants contained in polluted air, said device being of the type comprising a cartridge provided with an inlet, an outlet and filtering means, a vacuum pump and means for connecting said pump to the outlet of the cartridge to cause some pulluted air to be drawn through said filtering means, the improvement wherein said filtering means consists of three successive filters and wherein: the first filter is made with a material of such a porosity that it collects aersol pollutants but is permeable to gas; the second filter is positioned downstream of the first filter and consists of a porous substrate impregnated with an effective amount of a chemical compound that reacts with one or more specific harmful or toxic gaseous pollutants to produce therefrom derivatives, said second filter being of such a porosity as to be permeable to air but not to said derivatives; and the third filter is positioned downstream of
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 9, 1990
    Assignee: IRSST-Institut de Recherche en Sante et en Securite du Travail du Quebec
    Inventors: Jacques Lesage, Guy Perrault
  • Patent number: 4938111
    Abstract: The disclosure herein describes an anti-kickback device for use in a wood ocessing machine. The invention is concerned with mounting, upstream of an arrangement of circular saws, a series of fingers pivotably mounted on a shaft mounted transversely of the frame. Each finger is characterized by a curved edge, facing the lumber passing by, on which is mounted a series of peripherally spaced lumber-engaging pointed elements, each element defining a different angle with respect to the pivot axis of its shaft. Each lumber-engaging element consists of a support which is removably mounted to the curved edge and a blade, preferably made of carbide material, fixed to this support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 3, 1990
    Assignee: Institut de Recherche en Sante et en Securite du Travail du Quebec
    Inventor: Serge Masse
  • Patent number: 4830341
    Abstract: The disclosure herein describes an anchor for mounting a temporary safety nce to the floor of a building under construction; the anchor includes a flat base plate adapted to be secured to the floor, an upright support member having its lower end fixedly secured centrally of the base plate and its upper end shaped to receive the lower end of a correspondingly-shaped fence upright, and a line fastener fixedly secured to the base plate for connecting thereto a safety line used by workers during construction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 1987
    Date of Patent: May 16, 1989
    Assignee: Institut de Recherche en Sante et en Securite du Travail du Quebec
    Inventors: Jean Arteau, Raymond Bertrand
  • Patent number: 4755733
    Abstract: A cycling device for conditioning battery cells of different types. A selor allows an operator to select the type of the cells to be conditioned. The amplitudes of trickle, discharge and charging currents are automatically selected in response to an output signal from the cell type selector. A control circuit determines the sequence of occurence of the trickle, discharge and charging currents and produces discharge and charge logic conditions, which control circuit includes a timer which delivers a clock signal and which interrupts the charging current after the same has been supplied to the battery cells during a predetermined period of time. Proper discharge operation of the cycling device is indicated only when both the discharge logic conditions are present and the discharge current is detected, while proper charge operation is indicated only when, simultaneously, the charge logic conditions are present, the charging current is detected, and the clock signal is produced by the timer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 1987
    Date of Patent: July 5, 1988
    Assignee: IRSST Institut de Recherche en Sante et en Securite du Travail du Quebec
    Inventor: Lambert Laliberte
  • Patent number: 4721517
    Abstract: An improved sampling device for collecting at least part of air-borne particles in a workman's breathing zone. The device comprises a cassette provided with an inlet, an outlet and an air filter, a vacuum pump and a flexible tubing of determined length connecting the vacuum pump to the outlet of the cassette. In use, a portion of the air contained in the breathing zone of the workman is drawn through the filter and the particles collected thereon. This device is improved in that a deformable metallic tubing is positioned inside a portion of the flexible tubing or is positioned between a short length of a tubing connected to the outlet of the cassette and this flexible tubing. In addition, at least one fastener is provided for fixing the deformable metallic tubing and eventually the flexible tubing, to at least one strap intended to be tightened around a workman's head. This device is useful to position the air-intake of the cassette in the workman's breathing zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 1987
    Date of Patent: January 26, 1988
    Assignee: IRSST - Institut de Recherche en Sante et en Securite du Travail du Quebec
    Inventor: Yves Cloutier
  • Patent number: 4512437
    Abstract: The safety vest of the present disclosure comprises a front panel and a r panel forming a torso encircling garment and displaying a plurality of strap receiving guide strips; a strap arrangement is associated with this garment and includes two main pairs of straps, each strap of the first pair forming a continuous detachable loop with a front portion, a back portion, a shoulder portion and a hip portion, and each strap of the second pair forming also a continuous detachable loop which is adapted to surround the thigh of a user and which is engaged with the lowermost part of the front portion of the first pair of straps; buckles are associated with each strap of each pair for detaching the loops.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 1983
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1985
    Assignee: Institut de Recherche en Sante et en Securite du Travail du Quebec
    Inventor: Garry Savage
  • Patent number: 4502191
    Abstract: The disclosure herein describes a strap buckle which comprises a male elet and a female element, each having a strap engaging portion on one side thereof; the male element has a female engaging part on its opposite side which includes a T-shaped edge member and first locking members; the female element has a male engaging part on its opposite side and is formed of a housing having a shape corresponding to that of the T-shaped edge member, the housing including further locking members which are engageable with the locking members on the male element. To release the buckle, two operations are required: a first lateral movement which consists in forcing the female and male elements towards one another thereby applying pressure against the spring blade to free the interengaged locking members, and a second continuous movement which is normal to the first movement which consists in moving, parallel to and away from one another, the T-shaped member and the housing while maintaining pressure on the spring blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1983
    Date of Patent: March 5, 1985
    Assignee: Institut de Recherche en Sante et en Securite du Travail du Quebec
    Inventor: Garry Savage