FACE MASK SHIELD FOR PROLONGED USE

Abstract

The present invention provides a reusable, lightweight face mask comprising a mouth-nose protection shield, an eye protection shield, a hold-down bar strap, and a one-piece frame band. The mouth-nose protection shield and the eye protection shield are affixed individually onto the hold-down bar strap which is further snapped onto the one-piece frame band.

Claims

1. A reusable protective face mask comprising: a. a separate mouth-nose protection shield, wherein the said mouth-nose protection shield begins at center of the nose and extends below the chin to provide maximum protection to the wearer by covering the nose and mouth of the wearer; b. a separate eye protection shield, wherein the said eye protection shield cover the eyes of the wearer; c. a one-piece frame band extending from nose to ears to hold the entire face mask and consisting of a nose bridge, temples, ear loops, and at least one female snap; and d. a hold-down bar strap consisting of at least one male snap-in plug on the inside, wherein the said mouth-nose protection shield and the said eye protection shield are affixed individually onto the said hold-down bar strap which is further snapped onto the said frame band, whereby the said hold-down bar strap and the said frame band provide easy replacement or detachment of the said mouth-nose protection shield and the said eye protection shield from the hold-down bar strap and the frame band.

2. The face mask of claim 1, wherein the said mouth-nose protection shield is formed when the sheet is vacuum or thermally formed at a particular temperature and trimmed at the ends.

3. The face mask of claim 1, wherein the said mouth-nose protection shield is made up of polycarbonate plastic sheet, a plexiglass sheet, sheet or cloth or Nano filters or a combination thereof.

4. The face mask of claim 1, wherein the said mouth-nose protection shield is colored, tinted, transparent, translucent, or opaque.

5. The face mask of claim 1, wherein the said eye protection shield when affixed to the frame band forms a crescent shape in the center at the top of the said shield thereby providing a comfortable distance between the eyes of the wearer and the said eye protection shield.

6. The face mask of claim 1, wherein the said eye protection shield is made up of polycarbonate plastic sheet or a plexiglass sheet.

7. The face mask of claim 1, wherein the sheet of the eye protection shield is colored, tested, transparent, or translucent.

8. The face mask of claim 1, wherein the frame band is a continuous U-shaped cylindrical piece of plastic with a convex curve in the center.

9. The face mask of claim 1, wherein the said nose bridge is a broad U-shaped over-molded soft foam and rubber to support the forward weight of the said face mask.

10. The face mask of claim 1, wherein the said ear loops are formed when the end of the said frame band bends into a loop shape.

11. The face mask of claim 10, wherein the said ear loops have ear loop covers made up of over-molded soft foam and rubber to provide comfort and extend the wearable time for the wearer.

12. The face mask of claim 1, wherein the male snap on the said hold-down strap is preferably semi-cylindrical protrusions with a thick ball head and a stalk wherein the ball head is wider than the stalk and the whole of the ball head and the stalk is cut into halves.

13. The face mask of claim 12, wherein the male snaps are preferably in the center and on the sides of the hold-down bar strap.

14. The face mask of claim 1, wherein number of male snaps on the hold-down bar strap are preferably 1 to 3.

15. The face mask of claim 1, wherein female snaps are preferably round recess on the body of said frame band.

16. The face mask of claim 1, wherein female snaps are preferably in the center and on the sides of the said frame band.

17. The face mask of claim 1, wherein number of female snaps on the said frame band are preferably 1 to 3.

18. The face mask of claim 1, wherein the said eye protection shield can be removed and the said face mask can be used only with the said mouth-nose protection shield by the wearer.

19. A reusable, lightweight protective face mask comprising a. a plurality of protection shields including a contour fit mouth protection shield and a rectangular continuous eye protection shield wherein the upper corner edges are rounded, a hold-down bar strap to affix the said mouth protection shield and an eye protection shield onto a one-piece frame band; b. a separate eye protection shield wherein the said eye protection shield covers the eyes of the wearer; c. a one-piece frame band extending from nose to ears to hold the entire face mask and consisting of a nose bridge, temples, ear loops, and at least one snap; and d. a hold-down bar strap consisting of at least one snap on the inside for snapping the said mouth protection shield and the said eye protection shield respectively onto the said frame brand, wherein the said mouth-nose protection shield and the said eye protection shield are affixed individually onto the said hold-down bar strap which is further snapped onto the said one piece frame band; and e. a continuous rim around the mouth-nose protection shield and the eye protection shield to maintain the structure of each shield, for providing extra strength, and for aesthetic purposes.

20. The face mask of claim 19, wherein the said rim can be made up of flexible plastic, rubber, or silicone materials.

21. The face mask of claim 19, wherein the said rim is colored, translucent, clear, tinted or opaque.

22. The face mask of claim 19, wherein the said rim is fixed or detachable.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The novel features of the invention, as well as the invention itself, both as to its structure and its operation will be best understood from the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanying description, in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, and in which:

[0021] FIG. 1: shows an isometric view of the face mask of the present invention;

[0022] FIG. 2: shows a front view of the face mask;

[0023] FIG. 3: shows a left-side view of the face mask;

[0024] FIG. 4: shows an isometric view of the face mask with mouth-nose protection shield;

[0025] FIG. 5: depicts an exploded view of all the accent pieces of the face mask;

[0026] FIG. 6: shows a top view of the frame band of the face mask;

[0027] FIG. 7: depicts a right side view of frame band showing enlarged view of the ear loop;

[0028] FIG. 8: shows view of male snaps (Detail I) and female snaps along the lines V-V and

[0029] Detail G on enlarged scale; and

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030] What follows is a description of various aspects, embodiments and/or examples in which the invention may be practiced. Reference will be made to the attached drawings, and the information included in the drawings is part of this detailed description. The aspects, embodiments and/or examples described herein are presented for exemplification purposes, and not for limitation purposes. It should be understood that structural and/or logical modifications could be made by someone of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a full view of reusable, lightweight face mask 10 according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the face mask 10 of the present invention has a plurality of protection shields including a mouth-nose protection shield 11 and an eye protection shield 13, a hold-down bar strap 14 to affix the said mouth-nose protection shield 11 and an eye protection shield 13 onto a one-piece frame band 15.

[0032] As shown in FIGS. 1-5, the mouth-nose protection shield or a mouth protection shield 11, is round U-shaped at the bottom depicting an outline of a human's lower face, a convex shape in the middle to accommodate the entire mouth and the lower part of the nose of the user, whereas, at the top, the mouth protection shield 11 will take the shape of a one-piece frame band 15. The mouth-nose protection shield 11 at the bottom extends beyond the chin of the user thereby providing maximum protection against virus, bacteria, allergens, dust and the like.

[0033] The mouth-nose protection shield 11 is made up of, but not limited to, polycarbonate plastic sheet, a plexiglass sheet, sheet of cloth or Nano filters or a combination. Further, the material used to make the mouth-nose protection shield can be of different opacity, and different colors for the mouth mask. The sheet of the mouth-nose protection shield can be, but not limited to, colored, tinted, transparent, translucent, or opaque. The mouth-nose protection shield is preferably made up of transparent plexiglass sheet, more preferably a translucent plastic sheet. In one embodiment, the mouth-nose protection shield may have a piece of cloth or filter as an additional layer for protection.

[0034] The shape of the mouth-nose protection shield 11 is formed when the sheet is vacuum or thermally formed at a particular temperature and trimmed at the ends. The mouth-nose protection shield 11 is preferably vacuum formed to achieve a contour fit which maintains a gap between the mouth protection shield and the chin of the user. Thus, small amount of air flows through the gap between the mouth protection shield and the chin of the user which extends the usage of the face mask as the wearer does not feel suffocated and the transparent or translucent sheet of the mouth shield also doesn't get foggy when the wearer talks or breathes out. In one embodiment, the mouth protection shield 11 could be slightly pointed at the bottom.

[0035] The face mask 10 of the present invention further comprises an eye protection shield to protect the eyes from any allergens, virus or bacteria exposure, volatile liquids, vapors, chemicals, and the like. The eye protection shield 13, as seen in FIGS. 1-3, is a rectangular continuous clear sheet wherein the upper corner edges are rounded or curved and the bottom portion is in the shape of the one-piece frame band 15. Thus, the eye protection shield. 13, when worn, covers half of the forehead of the user extending down through the brows, to the eyes and ending at the middle of the nose of the user when the said shield is affixed in the one-piece frame band 15 via the hold-down bar strap 14. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 &. 5, the eye protection shield 13 when affixed to the frame band 15 forms a crescent shape 21a in the center at the top of the said shield thereby providing a comfortable distance between the eyes of the user and the said eye protection shield 13.

[0036] The eye protection shield 13 is made up of, but not limited to, polycarbonate plastic sheets or a plexiglass sheet. The sheet of the said eye shield can be, but not limited to, colored, tinted, transparent, translucent. The eye protection shield 13 is preferably made up of translucent plastic sheet b also be tinted to minimize sun glare during the day or artificial light at night like headlight from cars. The clear sheet of the eye protection shield is not vacuum formed to ensure optical clarity.

[0037] FIG. 4 shows a face mask 10 designed to be used without the eye protection shield 13 thereby making the eye protection shield an optional feature in some embodiments. Thus, the face mask of the present invention with a detachable eye protection shield provides a choice to the user to remove the eye protection shield when not needed or if the user wears prescription glasses. It also works with people who wear glasses.

[0038] In one embodiment, the mouth protection shield and the eye protection shield may have an optional rim, a continuous cylindrical line covering the outline of the mouth protection shield and the eye protection shield respectively. The said optional rim can be made up of, but not limited to, flexible plastic, rubber, or silicone materials and the said material is either over-molded or undergoes through the process of piping to produce a continuous piece of cylindrical rim. Further, the said rim can be colored, translucent, clear, tinted or opaque. As seen in FIG. 5, the optional rim 20 around the mouth-nose protection shield 11 is affixed to the frame band via mouth-nose protection shield to frame band and the hold-down bar strap and will mostly cover the edges of the entire mouth-nose protection shield. Whereas the optional rim 21, as seen in FIG. 5, around the eye protection shield 13 is affixed to the frame band via the eye protection shield to frame band and the hold-down bar strap. The feature of rim 21 around the eye protection shield 13 will mostly cover the edges of the entire eye protection shield. The optional rim around the said shields is provided to further strengthen the said shields thereby extending the life of the face mask and also, as an aesthetic highlight.

[0039] In another embodiment, the face masks may have the feature of a rim around the protection shields as either fixed or detachable thereby allowing the user to choose before buying the product depending upon their environment or desire of use. For example, workers in the field of construction may wish to use a rigid shield and they may prefer the strengthening rim affixed to the shield(s). Whereas, individuals and/or fashion-conscious users, may prefer a light-weight product i.e. without the fixed strengthening rim(s), but a detachable rim which may work as an optional fashion aesthetic highlight made of various colors.

[0040] The one-piece frame band 15 of the face mask 10, as seen in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6, is a one-piece of injection molded plastic extending from one ear to another ear of the user. The frame band 15 is thick enough to bear the weight of both the eye protection shield 13 and the mouth protection shield 11. It is generally about 1 mm-4 mm in diameter, preferably 2 mm-3 mm in diameter. The top view of the frame band 15, as shown in FIG. 6, shows a continuous U-shaped cylindrical piece of plastic with a convex curve in the center.

[0041] As seen in FIGS. 5 & 6, the convex curve in the center of the frame band 15 is designed to accommodate a nose bridge 18, which rests crosswise along the length of the nose of the user. The frame band 15 lays across the nose via said nose bridge 18 at the middle of the nose of the user covering almost half of the nose lengthwise. The nose bridge 18 is a broad U-shape over-molded soft foam and rubber and supports the forward weight of the face mask 10 and also, makes sure that it stays on the nose. In another embodiment, the nose bridge 18 can be hard molded plastic with a soft rubber nose pad lining the nose bridge 18 that would come in contact with the nose of the user.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 5, the sides of the frame band 15, adjacent to the mouth and eye protection shields, are curved temples 19, which bend at the end in loop shapes to form ear loops 16 to fit around the ear of the user.

[0043] The ear loop covers 17a & 17b, as seen in FIGS. 4 & 5, provided over the plastic ear loops 16 of the frame band 15, are made up of over-molded soft foam and rubber to provide comfort and extend the wearable time for the user. Detail H, scale 2:1 in FIG. 7 shows the plastic ear loops 16 are slightly thinner than the ear loop covers, which makes it easier to put on the ear loop covers 17a & 17b. In another embodiment, the face mask of the present invention includes a feature of an adjustable one-piece frame band and ear loop to allow for various sizes of faces.

[0044] The shape, structure, and thickness of the frame band 15 ensures easy placement and removal of the face mask 10 around the ears and the nose almost like a pair of eyeglasses.

[0045] The face mask 10 of the present invention further comprises a hold-down bar strap 14 as shown in FIGS. 1-5. According to the present invention, the hold-down strap in a face mask of standard size will be approximately 200 mm in length across face and below eye level, 2-3 mm in thickness, and 8-12 mm in width.

[0046] As can be seen in FIG. 8, a plurality of snap-in plugs are provided on the hold-down bar strap 14 to which the mouth protection shield 11 and the eye protection shield 13 are affixed. The snap-in plugs comprise at least one female snap tab on the frame band and at least one male snap tab on the hold-down bar strap allowing the user to attach and detach the shields conveniently from the hold-down bar strap and the frame band. The male snap-ins on the hold-down bar strap are semi-cylindrical protrusions with a thick ball head 14d and a stalk 14e, as shown in FIG. 8, wherein the ball head 14d is wider than the stalk 14e and the whole of the ball head and the stalk is cut into halves. As seen in FIGS. 5 & 8, the female snaps are small round recesses 15a, 15b & 15c on the frame band 15. The sectional view of a female snap 15b on the frame band 15, taken along line V-V of FIG. 8, shows the recessed hole is wider on top to receive the ball head 14d of the male snap from the hold-down bar strap 14. Detail G, scale 2:1 in FIG. 8 further shows lines 15d within the recessed hole to receive the male snaps from the hold-down bar strap for exerting pressure onto the ball head thereby retaining the ball head of the male snap on the hold down bar strap.

[0047] The mouth protection shield 11 and the eye protection shield 13 are affixed individually to the frame band 15 via the hold-down bar strap 14 through the snap-in plugs thereby providing easy replacement or detachment of the individual shield. Further, the frame band 15 along with the hold-down bar strap 14 holds down the entire face mask 10 in its place and enables easy removal and wearing of the said face mask 10. In order to affix the mouth-nose protection shield 11 and eye protection shield 13 to the hold-down bar strap 14 and the frame band 15, usually 1 to 3 male snaps (14a, 14b & 14c) on the hold-down bar strap and 1 to 3 female snaps (15a, 15b & 15c) on the frame band are preferred as seen in FIGS. 5 & 8

[0048] During the assembly of the face mask 10, the user first inserts the female snaps 14a, 14b & 14c of the hold-down bar strap 14 into the holes 11a, 11b & 11c (FIG. 5) respectively on the mouth protection shield 11 and then into the holes 13a, 13b, 13c (FIG. 5) respectively on the eye protection shield 13 followed by aligning the male snaps 14a, 14b & 14c (FIG. 8) on the hold-down bar strap 14 to snap into the female snaps 15a, 15b & 15c (FIG. 8) on the frame band 15 wherein the head 14d of the female snap expands against the side of the recess holes interlocking within the recess thereby securely holding and locking the shields in their place.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 8, the position of snaps is such that at least one male snap 14a is in center and two 14b & 14c towards each end of the hold-down bar strap 14 whereas, in the case of the frame band 15, at least one female snap 15a is positioned in the center and at least two snaps 15b & 15c on each side right before the temples. The snaps are spaced no more than approximately 2.5 inches or 60 mm apart and preferably 1.5 inches or 40 mm apart. Such spacing and position of snaps also help with not only securely holding down the protection shields in their places but also in bearing the weight of the protection shields.

[0050] The face masks disclosed in the present invention are easy to clean and sterilize before the next use thereby extending the use and wear of the mask. Further, the easy assembly of the said shields onto the frame bands make the disclosed masks user friendly. The face mask is lightweight which further ensures the extended use by the wearer.

[0051] The masks are made in different sizes to incorporate different face sizes for men, women, kids. Therefore, size of the shields, length and thickness of the frame band and the hold-down strap will vary for children, woman, and man. Further, the face masks of the present invention can be made for people with big faces.

[0052] The face masks can be used while working in a lab by scientists, during cleaning to prevent burning in the eyes and inhaling any chemical agents by cleaners, and during construction by workers. They also act as a barrier against viruses, bacteria, chemical vapors, volatile liquids, dust, allergens. Moreover, as both the mouth and eye protection shields cover substantially the whole face of the user, it also prevents the user from touching his face thereby reducing his chances of getting infected from virus or bacteria or injured when working with dangerous liquids/vapors.

[0053] While many of the fundamental characteristics and features of the face mask have been described herein, with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure, and it should be apparent that in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth. It should be understood that such substitutions, modifications, and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Consequently, all such modifications and variations are included within the scope of the invention as defined herein.