FACE SHIELD AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME

Abstract

A method of making a face shield using a bar tack stitch to join a face shield lens to a backing. The backing may be a headband or the combination of the headband and a cushion. The lens and the optional cushion may be joined together and then the lens may be stitched to the cushion and the headband. A bar tack stitch may be used to join the backing and lens together. Stitching the lens to its backing produces a novel face shield with high quality structural integrity that can be made quickly and cost effectively to eliminate limitations associated with bonded face shield lenses and removable joined face shield lenses.

Claims

1. A method of making a face shield having a backing and a face shield lens, the method comprising the step of: stitching the face shield lens to the backing.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the backing is a headband.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the backing is a headband and a cushion.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of joining the cushion to the lens before stitching the face shield lens to the headband and the cushion.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of stitching the face shield lens to the backing includes stitching the lens to the backing using a bar tack stitch.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of stitching using the bar tack stitch to stitch the lens and the backing together includes first stitching a bar stitch and then stitching a tack stitch.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of stitching the face shield lens to the backing involves stitching the face shield lens substantially an entire width of the backing at both ends thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of stitching the face shield lens to the backing involves stitching the face shield lens to a portion of the backing.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the backing is a headband and a cushion, wherein the step of stitching involves stitching through the face shield lens, the cushion and the headband.

10. A face shield comprising: a backing; and a face shield lens, wherein the face shield lens is stitched to the backing.

11. The face shield of claim 10 wherein the face shield lens is stitched to the backing with a bar tack stitch.

12. The face shield of claim 11 wherein the bar tack stitch formed of a tack stitch over a bar stitch.

13. The face shield of claim 10 wherein the face shield lens is made of a clear transparent plastic material.

14. The face shield of claim 10 wherein the backing is a headband.

15. The face shield of claim 10 further comprising a cushion.

16. The face shield of claim 15 wherein the cushion is positioned between the headband and the face shield lens.

17. The face shield of claim 16 wherein the face shield lens is stitched to the cushion and to the headband.

18. The face shield of claim 16 wherein the face shield lens is stitched only to the headband.

19. The face shield of claim 10 further comprising a woven fabric with a pressure sensitive adhesive backing between at least a portion of the face shield lens and the backing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1 is a simplified flow diagram showing primary steps of the face shield manufacturing method of the present invention.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of a novel face shield produced using the manufacturing method of the present invention.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a plan view of an example bar tack stitch that may be used in the method of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a plan view of an example bar stitch that may be used in the method of the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the novel face shield produced using the manufacturing method of the present invention in position on a user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] FIG. 1 shows primary steps of a method 10 of the present invention for making a novel face shield 100 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. The face shield 100 includes a headband 102, an optional cushion 104, which also may be referred to as a forehead bumper, and a face shield lens 106. The headband 102 has an interior surface 108 and an exterior surface 110. The cushion 104 has an interior surface 112 and an exterior surface 114. The lens 106 has an interior surface 116 and an exterior surface 118. The lens 106 also has an upper section 120. The interior surface 108 of the headband 102 is in contact with a wearer's face, and the exterior surface 118 of the lens is in contact with the outer environment when the face shield 100 is in use. It is to be understood that a version of the invention results in the fabrication of a face shield without the cushion 104.

[0022] The headband 102 is preferably made of an elastic material such as rubber or an elasticized fabric. It is sized and shaped to remain snugly engaged about the upper portion of the head of a wearer and that can be easily removed by stretching and pulling the headband 102. The optional cushion 104 is preferably made of a compressible material such as an open-cell or closed-cell foam but is not limited thereto. The cushion 104 is chosen to provide comfort to the wearer at the forehead region and primarily in the vicinity of the lens 106. It may be as wide as the headband 102 or of a different width. The cushion 104 is also chosen of sufficient thickness that even when partially compressed maintains the lens 106 in a position that it stands off from and does not come in contact with the wearer's face. The face shield lens 106 is preferably made of PET but is not limited thereto. The face shield lens 106 is of selectable thickness chosen to ensure that the face shield 100 protects as desired for the particular application. The face shield lens 106 should be transparent enough to see through and may or may not be clear. The width of the lens 106 is about the same as the length of the headband 102, and the length of the lens 106 is substantially longer than the width of the headband 102. Components 102, 104 and 106 of the face shield 100 are of the type generally known and used by those of skill in the art of the production of face shields.

[0023] The method 10 of the present invention for making the face shield 100 includes step 12 of joining the lens 106 to its backing by stitching the two together. The backing may be the headband 102 alone, the optional cushion 104 alone, or the combination of the headband 102 and the optional cushion 104. The stitching is applied to the lens 106 and the backing when the two are aligned together as desired. When the lens 106 and the headband 102 are stitched together, either with or without the cushion 104, the stitching is carried out along a substantial portion of the width of the headband 102 near both ends thereof, with little of the length of the headband 102 stitched. When the lens 106 is only stitched to the cushion 104, the stitching may be carried out along a portion or substantially all of the length of the cushion 104. When the face shield 100 includes the cushion 104, the method includes step 14 of adding the cushion 104 to the headband 102 and the lens 106. Step 14 may be carried out by joining the cushion 104 to the lens 106 on the interior surface 116 thereof using an adhesive, stitching or other joining means. Alternatively, step 14 may be carried out by joining the cushion 104 to the lens as part of step 12. Optionally, the cushion 104 may be made part of the face shield 100 by stitching the headband 102 and the lens 106 together at portions thereof and leaving a gap between the headband 102 and the lens 106 for insertion of the cushion therebetween.

[0024] Step 12 of the method 10 involves stitching the lens 106 to its backing, which may be the headband 102 or the headband 102 and the cushion 104 in combination. In an embodiment, the stitch used to join the lens 106 and its backing together is a bar tack stitch, such as bar tack stitch 120 shown in FIG. 3. The bar tack stitch 120 includes a bar stitch 122 and a tack stitch 124. The bar stitch 122 is first sewn by stitching through the exterior surface 118 and interior surface 116 of the lens 106 and through the backing. Next, the tack stitch 124 is sewn over the bar stitch 122 by stitching through the exterior surface 118 and interior surface 116 of the lens 106 and through the backing. The tack stitch 124 may be of a zigzag configuration as shown in FIG. 3, or it may be of a different angle, such as substantially perpendicular to the bar stitch 122.

[0025] In another embodiment, the stitching may be a bar stitch such as the bar stitch 126 shown in FIG. 4. The bar stitch 126 is sewn by stitching through the exterior surface 118 and interior surface 116 of the lens 106 and through the backing. Either or both of the bar tack stitch 120 and the bar stitch 126 may be used with a supplementary joining component, such as a woven fabric with a pressure sensitive adhesive backing, for example. In addition, either or both of the bar tack stitch 120 and the bar stitch 126 may be sewn at any desired location where the lens 106 and its backing are in contact with one another. For example, the stitching may be sewn across the entirety of the contact area or it may be selectively sewn in areas of interest including, but not limited to, edges of the area.

[0026] The use of stitching in the method 10 of making the face shield 100 of the present invention enables certainty of the joining of the lens 106 to its backing, whether that backing is the headband 102, the cushion 104 or the combination of the headband 102 and the cushion 104. Stitching can be done easily and quickly using conventional sewing equipment, such as the Brother KE-430HS Bar Tacker but not limited thereto, with no delays or uncertainties of the type associated with adhesive alone joining or removable hook-and-port attachment options. As shown in FIG. 5, the resultant novel face shield 100 with stitching is suitable for use by a wearer in a conventional manner. It is to be noted that the order of steps may be changed without deviating from the invention in regard to the order in which the lens 106 is joined to its backing before or after including the optional cushion 104.

[0027] The present invention has been described using specific examples. It is not intended to be limited thereto but instead is defined by the appended claims and reasonable equivalents.