FACEMASK

Abstract

A respiratory face mask having a breathing cartridge therein which face mask breathing cartridge can both filter the breathing air while passing the breathing air through a voltage being generated by the cartridge. The cartridge generates a galvanic cell using spaced apart dissimilar metal particles when immersed in an electrolyte being held by an adjacent hydration layer of liquid retaining foamed polymer having breathing passageways therethrough.

Claims

1. A respiratory face mask comprising: A face shield for covering the mouth and nose, said face shield having a cartridge receptacle forming a breathing opening therethrough; a hydration member for holding an electrolyte solution therein, said hydration member having a plurality of openings therethrough for the passage of air and shaped to fit into said cartridge receptacle; a fabric material having a plurality of dissimilar metal particles thereon, said dissimilar metal particles being spaced apart on said fabric for generating an electric voltage when immersed in an electrolyte, said fabric material being shaped to fit into said cartridge receptacle adjacent said hydration member and being held thereagainst; and a retainer member for holding said hydration member and fabric material in said face mask cartridge receptacle; whereby a respiratory face mask can generate an electrical voltage field in said cartridge receptacle when said fabric having dissimilar particles thereon is immersed in an electrolyte.

2. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 1 in which said fabric material having a plurality of dissimilar metal particles thereon includes silver and zinc particles, each said metal particle being spaced from each other metal particle.

3. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 2 in which said hydration member is a polymer sponge capable of holding an electrolyte therein abutting said fabric material.

4. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 3 in which said hydration member polymer sponge is a polyurethane sponge.

5. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 3 in which said fabric material is made of cotton.

6. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 5 in which said face shield is made of a polymer.

7. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 6 in which fabric material has said silver and zinc particles screen printed on the surface thereof.

8. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 3 in which said cartridge receptacle has a flanged end having said fabric material held thereto with an adhesive bonding agent.

9. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 1 in which retainer member is a generally circular ring having crossed shaped bars.

10. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 9 in which said face mask shield has a headband for holding said face shield onto a person's head.

11. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 6 in which face mask shield has a periphery seal for sealing said face shield to a person's face.

12. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 1 in which said face shield cartridge receptacle protrudes from said face shield and has a flanged end thereon for holding said hydration member and fabric material therein.

13. A respiratory face mask comprising: a face shield for covering a person's mouth and nose, said face shield having a cartridge receptacle on the front hereof; a hydration sponge for holding an electrolyte solution therein, said hydration sponge having a plurality of openings therethrough for the passage of air and shaped to fit into said cartridge receptacle; a cotton fabric shaped to fit into said cartridge receptacle adjacent said hydration sponge, said cotton fabric having a plurality of zinc and silver particles thereon, said silver particles and said zinc particles being spaced apart from each other on said cotton fabric for producing an electric voltage when immersed in an electrolyte; and a retainer member for holding said hydration sponge and cotton fabric in said face shield ring receptacle; whereby a respiratory face mask has a voltage generating breathing cartridge when said cotton fabric is soaked in an electrolyte.

14. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 13 in which said hydration sponge is a foamed polymer sponge capable of holding an electrolyte therein, abutting said fabric material.

15. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 14 in which said hydration member polymer sponge is a polypropylene sponge.

16. A respiratory face mask comprising: A face shield for covering the mouth and nose, said face shield having a cartridge receptacle extending from the front thereof forming a breathing opening therethrough, said cartridge receptacle having a inward flanged end; a filter cartridge shaped to fit into said cartridge receptacle, said filter cartridge comprising fabric material having a plurality of dissimilar metal particles thereon, said dissimilar metal particles being spaced apart on said fabric for generating an electric voltage when immersed in an electrolyte, and a hydration member for holding an electrolyte solution therein; a retainer member for holding said filter cartridge in said cartridge receptacle, said retainer member having an outwardly flanged edge portion fitting over said filter cartridge hydration member with said retainer member inwardly flanged edge portion adjacent said cartridge receptacle outwardly flanged edge forming a passageway therebetween around said filter cartridge with a portion of said fabric material therein; whereby a respiratory face mask can bleed air around said facemask cartridge.

17. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 16 in which said hydration member has a plurality of openings therethrough for the passage of air.

18. The respiratory face mask in accordance with claim 16 in which said retainer member flanged edge portion forms a gap between the retainer member flanged edge and said cartridge receptacle edge wall allowing the passage of air therearound.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide further understanding of the invention, are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification and illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0010] In the drawings:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a facemask showing the hydration layer of the cartridge in accordance with the present invention;

[0012] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of a the face mask of FIG. 1 having the fabric layer of the cartridge having dissimilar metal particles coated thereon;

[0013] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the facemask of FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0014] FIG. 4 is a side sectional view taken through the cartridge of the facemask of FIGS. 1-3;

[0015] FIG. 5 is a second side sectional view taken through the cartridge of the facemask of FIGS. 1-3; and

[0016] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the filter cartridge of the facemask of FIGS. 1 through 5;

[0017] FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of a another embodiment of the of facemask of FIGS. 1 through 6 in accordance with the present invention; and

[0018] FIG. 8 is a side sectional view taken through the cartridge of the facemask of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

[0019] Referring to the drawings FIGS. 1 through 6 and especially to FIG. 1 through 3, a facemask 10 has a face shield or facemask body 11 having a seal 12. The face mask can be made of a polymer such as a polypropylene or co-polymer polypropylene. The seal 12 seals the mask to a person face and may be made of rubber or of a polymer. The mask has a head band 13 for wrapping around the head or ears of a person wearing the mask. The mask has a cylinder shaped ring receptacle 15 for breathing through and for holding a filter cartridge therein. The ring receptacle 15 has a receptacle flange 14 on the front thereof for holding the cartridge therein. A retainer ring 16 holds the cartridge in the breathing opening from the rear of the ring receptacle.

[0020] Referring more specifically to FIGS. 3 through 6, the cartridge 17 can be seen as consisting of a hydration layer 18 which may be a foamed polymer, such as a liquid retaining polyurethane foam, having a plurality of apertures 20 therein to allow the passage of air therethrough. The cartridge 17 has a fabric layer 21, such as cotton, is first shaped and then positioned against the receptacle ring 15 flange 14 and may be held by an adhesive or by double sided tape 19 if desired. The cartridge 17 is held in place in the ring receptacle 15 by the retainer ring 16. The fabric 21, which is commercially available with silver 23 and zinc 24 particles printed on the surface thereof, has each silver particle 23 being spaced from a zinc particle 24 to create a galvanic cell when immersed in an electrolyte, such as tap or salt water to generate a voltage. It should be noted other dissimilar particles can also be used and can be attached to the fabric in other ways or attached to an N95 filter material which also filters the air of micro-particles passing therethrough. The metal particles can be incorporated in the fabric as long as the dissimilar metals are spaced from each other. The silver 23 forms the cathode while the zinc 24 forms the anode to form the galvanic cell. Other dissimilar metals, such as a copper cathode, may also be used. The hydration layer 18 foam can hold the electrolyte to allow for the production of a voltage for the air being breathed to pass through. The retainer ring 16 may have cross bars 26 to more firmly hold the cartridge members in place and may be held to the mask with a press or snap fit or the like. The mask may also include a layer of N95 filter material to remove fine particles as desired. Two layers of fabric 21 may also be used in the cartridge, placing one on either side of the hydration layer 18.

[0021] In operation, the mask cartridge 17 is immersed in an electrolyte, such as salt water, to saturate the hydration layer 18 and the fabric 21. The saturated hydration layer 18 then keeps the adjacent fabric 21 having the dissimilar metals 23 and 24 thereon wet with the electrolyte to form a galvanic cell and produce a voltage. Air breathed through the fabric and voltage field is generated to reduce or destroy microbes. The air passes on through the openings 20 of the hydration layer 18 as a person wearing the face mask breathes.

[0022] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 another embodiment of the present invention has a facemask 30 having a face shield 31 which may be made of a polymer, such as a polypropylene plastic and has a seal 32 to seal the face shield to a person face. The seal 32 may be made of rubber or of a polymer as desired. The mask 30 is held to a persons face with a headband 33. This mask extends the ring receptacle 40 out further from the basic shield 31 than in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 6. This allows for additional space 34 behind the cartridge components.

[0023] The cartridge components consists of a hydration layer 35 and a fabric layer 36 having a plurality of dissimilar metals printed thereon which cartridge components are the same as in the prior embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 6. The fabric layer may be made of cotton and has dissimilar metals placed or printed thereon, including the preferred silver 37 and zinc 38. The silver and zinc are spaced apart to create a voltage when immersed in an electrolyte. The hydration layer 35 can be saturated with an electrolyte such as salt water, to provide the electrolyte to the dissimilar metals on the fabric. The ring receptacle 40 has been extended outward and supported by posts 42 and has a flange 41 on the front thereof to hold the cartridge in the ring receptacle 40. The cartridge is held in place by the retainer ring 43. The retainer ring 43 has a flanged edge 44 that holds the fabric 36 loosely against the face shield flange 41. The retainer ring 43 flange 44 has been shortened to form a gap 45 to allow air to flow there around and can pass between the face shield flange 41 and retainer ring flange 44 over the fabric 36 and through the gap 45. This allows air to bypass going directly through the front of the cartridge while still passing through a voltage created by the dissimilar metals on fabric 36 to enter the space 34 when the breathing resistance increases from a fully saturated fabric 36. This passageway bypassing the direct passage of air through the breathing opening still has the air passing over through a voltage created by the dissimilar metals on the fabric 36. The passageway is illustrated arrows in FIG. 8.

[0024] It should be clear at this time that a facemask has been provided that will reduce or destroy microbes or the like. However the present invention is not to be considered limited to the forms shown which are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.