Self-contained, mobile breathing apparatus or appliance that supplies pathogen and endotoxin free, rhythmically breathable air to the wearer or treated space through active, continuous bio-deactivation and destruction of bacteria, fungi, viral and allergenic/antigenic matter safely when using benign, household, rechargeable filtration media.

Abstract

The present invention relates to a protective face mask and filtration article, a method for using a protective face mask and filtration article, and a design for manufacturing. In particular, the invention relates to a self-contained, mobile, battery-powered bioactive and filtering breathing appliance that provides broad spectrum antimicrobial and allergic protection via an atomized biocidal agent steam/vapor and a torturous hydrophilic filtration article that sterilizes incoming air and captures debris. To this end, antimicrobial activity and filtration functions leverage a redundancy of means/methods comprised of antimicrobial hydrogen peroxide liquid/vapor/steam and an iodized salt containing hydrophilic filtration article. The present invention is a wearable apparatus that sterilizes incoming air by capturing, neutralizing and destroying airborne pathogens and other particulate matter and pumps sterilized oxygen/air for natural, unlabored breathing by the wearer. The present invention further relates to a production method thereof.

Claims

1. A facial contact mask structure that covers a wearer's mouth and nose region, has a separated ocular shield, and an environmental air supply/controller unit for inactivating pathogens from incoming environmental air comprising: (a) wherein the facial contact mask structure is able to be affixed to a wearer to tightly cover an entire face region while in use; (b) wherein environmental air supply/controller unit is battery powered and that is adapted to be affixed to a wearer in use and accepts environmental air through a motor and passes external air through a tubing and into a glass bulb containing a 3%-10% hydrogen peroxide solution that wets incoming particles and deactivates and kills pathogenic material while in use; (c) a flexible polymeric coiled tubing set that has interior wall surfaces coated with an ultra-hydrophilic paint or material that dries excessive moisture via surfaces interactions with the interior tube coating and subsequent drainage by gravity and is connected to a replaceable or cleanable three stage filter article on the facial contact mask or the air supply/controller unit on an outlet of the contained glass bulb; and (d) a replaceable or cleanable three stage filter article that is comprised of iodized table salt as a hydrophilic and sterilizing layer, a water separation layer, and final particulate filtration layer that scrubs incoming air of pathogenic material.

2. The facial contact mask structure and environmental air supply/controller unit for inactivating pathogens from incoming environmental air of claim 1, wherein the facial contact mask is subdivided and adapted to surround and cover the wearer's mouth, nose, and eye regions and, while in use, delivers sterilized air to the wearer's mouth and nose region through a breathing circuit that intakes environmental air through the air supply/controller unit, into the glass bulb containing 3%-10% hydrogen peroxide solution, through a flexible hydrophilic coated interior of the tubing set, and into the replaceable and cleanable three stage filter comprised of an iodized table salt layer, a water separation layer and a particle filtration layer.

5. The facial contact mask structure and environmental air supply/controller unit for inactivating pathogens from incoming environmental air of claim 1, wherein the facial contact mask is connected to an exhaust tubing that sterilizes exhalant air through a secondary glass bulb containing 3%-10% hydrogen peroxide solution and a secondary replaceable and cleanable three stage filter article that is comprised of iodized table salt as a hydrophilic and sterilizing layer, a water separation layer, and final particulate filtration layer that scrubs incoming air of pathogenic material.

12. The facial contact mask structure and environmental air supply/controller unit for inactivating pathogens from incoming environmental air of claim 1, wherein when the environmental air supply/controller unit is not attached to the facial mask structure, the environmental air supply/controller unit can be used to sterilize air in a sealed environment that is large enough for occupancy by a person by attaching the system to an air handling unit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0030] FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of the mobile breathing apparatus as worn on the face and waist of a user according to the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the mobile breathing apparatus facial contact mask.

[0032] FIG. 3 illustrates a front elevation view of the air/supply controller unit.

[0033] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the air supply/controller unit and illustrates the user accessible portion of the invention.

[0034] FIG. 5 is a perspective cut-away view of the air supply/controller unit.

[0035] FIG. 6 is a cut-away detail view of the 50 cc bulb of FIG. 4.

[0036] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the user removable filter module from the facial contact mask of FIG. 2.

[0037] FIG. 8 is a plan view of the removable filter module and air flow of FIG. 7.

[0038] FIG. 9 is an end sectional view of the removable filter module and air flow of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0039] To overcome the drawbacks of incorporating one single active anti-pathogen layer, multiple antimicrobial arrangements are incorporated into the proposed face mask to impart robust and broad-spectrum anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-allergenic properties. During operation, disparate volumes, droplet sizes and phases (liquid, aerosolized, etc.), exposure dynamics, and pathogen types will be encountered by the user and challenged to the mask. The proposed invention utilizes a redundant mechanism of sterilization to ensure wide spectrum pathogenicity and performance with each layer or active agent providing a different method of pathogen killing.

[0040] The proposed invention is intersectional in nature, without altering biology but using bioprocess. Environment air is subjected to multiple neutralizing articles that sterilizing that oxygen without any residue, ancillary contamination or toxins in an inexpensive apparatus with traditional household reagents or media. Theoretically, the air in a room could be appropriately sterilized by highly heating the room until steam is formed and subsequently cooled. In this approach the gas would be sterile or endotoxin free. As such, the environment air requirements for working with virulent pathogens in a highly classified Biosafety Laboratory 3 (BSL3) laboratory requires only HEPA-filtration of 0.3 microns, while many pathogens much smaller. The same holds true for the N95 respirator or ultra-filtration masks. Technically, one might need to pass the air through an autoclave and cool and recalculate the air to eradicate a lethal virus or bacterium especially, double walled gram-negative bacterium, however this mechanism would be overly cumbersome for portable personal protection.

[0041] For the purpose of invention, the term “pathogen” describes microorganisms including, but not limited to, bacteria, protozoa, viruses, molds, yeasts, fungi and the like. The term “antimicrobial” is intended to convey the propensity to inhibit, prevent, or destroy a pathogen, as well as preclude proliferation and growth of a microorganism.

[0042] From an infectious disease perspective, pathogens are transmitted through contagion and require a host organism to survive and prosper. Most pathogens are highly aqueous in nature and fall into the categories of aerobic and anaerobic. Scientifically, the culture and colonization of pathogens in a medium is well known and understood. Further, without a host or culture media, pathogens lack significant life sustaining properties and capabilities. Similarly, pathogens are unable to survive numerous antimicrobial processes. Such processes are predominantly characterized as sterilization using either temperature and/or chemistry. However, most sterilization techniques have not been applied to portable protective breathing apparatuses due to the toxic nature of chemistries or physical nature of the mechanism (i.e.: autoclave). Most sterilization techniques are designed stationary and not easily portable. Such techniques are routinely applied in the medical device field, allowing for penetration of complex design forms (artificial knees, hips, reusable endoscopes, etc.).

[0043] Airborne pathogens can remain active and viable outside of the host, however the organisms are not shielded or protected in the gas form and are especially vulnerable. These lightweight particles or microbes can linger or float in the air for different periods of time, largely dictated by temperature and humidity. These characteristics of a pathogen enable airborne transmission, however their vulnerability outside of the hosts represents an opportunistic method for elimination with a bioactive air sterilization apparatus or respiratory device.

[0044] The proposed invention would meet the objective of air sterilization by manipulating the aqueous life form state (and affinities therein) of pathogens to kill and render the infectious agent harmless and the carrying air safe for breathing.

[0045] FIGS. 1-2 illustrates one embodiment of a mobile breathing apparatus with the air supply/controller worn on the user's waist and the facial contact mask fitted and enclosed on the face. FIGS. 3-7 include perspective and section views of invention components following the flow of air through the pathway from the intake filter to the user respiratory system delivery.

[0046] The pathway is defined accordingly: environment air is taken into an intake filter and air pump connected to wearable battery 4, (c) an elbow pathway and bulb (±50 cc bulb and ±25 cc liquid) filled with ±10% H.sub.2O.sub.2 (fill ports and drains) is connected 18 to (d) a sufficiently long (˜2 feet) flexible tubing 3 containing a polychromic coiled tubing with inner wall coating of ultra-hydrophilic paint for moisture collection and drainage 28 connects to a replaceable, baffled (to scatter air) cartridge 2 containing an iodized sodium chloride salt filter 34 and (f) a water separation 35 and HEPA filter 37. The cartridge is attached to the face mask with four knurled panel screws 7. External air is passed through the H.sub.2O.sub.2, tubing and filter to the sealed face mask (covering the eyes and mouth area) 1, and excess or exhaled air escapes through air filtered one-way baffles 6 or vents 5.

[0047] First, in the preferred embodiment of the invention external air is sucked into the apparatus intake 26 via an oscillating propeller, technically an impeller or meshing impeller 25. The apparatus can be worn as a tunic under or outer the clothing in the back front or side. The battery-powered apparatus can be attached to the beltline, back/shoulders, chest, or many different options 4. The airflow intake is calibrated to exceed oxygen/air breathing needs by 100% and capable of easy adjustments through the controller user interface 16 mounted on the top of the air supply unit. The pumped sterile air and breathing process is unlabored and natural although air movement around the face is notable. In the event of a battery discharge or other pump failure, the ability to inhale air is unimpaired but requires physical inhalation by the wearer, however this failsafe process results in a more unnatural process. The wearable battery technology has been defined historically, dating several decades with the VAD (ventricular assist devices). These devices provide heart pumping assistant by mechanical means and are powered by external battery. Next generation batteries used to support LVADs may last between 12 and 17 hours on a single charge, however, the proposed pumping electrical demand is significantly smaller, and durations of 24 to 36 hours is easily achievable.

[0048] In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, a durable polymer housing 15 would contain a rechargeable lithium polymer battery 24 would be located in the lower casing 14 of the air supply controller unit 4. The battery would be charged using widely available Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 or 3.1 port 22 on the battery controller 23, allowing for rapid 5-20 volt charging at 500 milliamps to 5 amperes. The USB specification aligns with current cellular phone charging and the ubiquitous nature of the technology would allow for convenient charging at home or while traveling. The user may also opt for additional rechargeable battery “tanks” that are widely available on the market and would allow for extended operation of the breathing device.

[0049] A controlled supply of air is taken into the machine by mechanical pumping means 21 into the apparatus and is forced through a tubing 17 into a ±50 cc globe or bulb 18 via a submerged outlet 29 into a volume (25-50%) of H.sub.2O.sub.2 (5-10%) 30. The H.sub.2O.sub.2 liquid 30 containing globe (baffled bubbler) 18 uses an aeration technique to break the air molecules into tiny, unstable, bouncing bubbles that contact and interact with the H.sub.2O.sub.2 liquid 30. The passage of air through the bulb system is indicated in FIG. 6, as indicated by the arrows. The bulb 18 can be easily accessed by the user via convenient opening and hinge 13 for H.sub.2O.sub.2 30 replacement as illustrated in FIG. 4. The user can remove and refill the H.sub.2O.sub.2 30 via the airway exit port 19 of the bulb 18. A clear fill line 20 will indicate the appropriate level so the user can easily fill to an appropriate volume without measuring and allowing for optimal operation of the device.

[0050] Accordingly, the H.sub.2O.sub.2 30 acts as a sterilant with pathogenic matter or as a wetting agent to hydrophilic allergens. These highly wettable, hydrophilic pathogens contained in the environmental are soaked and killed by the combination of the aeration mechanics and the mixing in a vacuous bulb 18 containing H.sub.2O.sub.2 30. H.sub.2O.sub.2 in a household diluted form is at a 3% concentration and used to disinfect wounds. Lower concentrated forms of H.sub.2O.sub.2 (1.5-2%) are routinely added into mouthwashes and other oral hygiene and teeth whitening products. Concentrated H.sub.2O.sub.2 (6-10%) is commonly sold over the counter for hair dying applications and will bleach dark skin spots lighter by disrupting intracellular protections and causes caustic disruption to tissue. At 10% the caustic effect is more remarkable. According to the EPA, H.sub.2O.sub.2 at a drinkable concentration of 0.5% kills coronavirus. A H.sub.2O.sub.2, concentration of 5% will eradicate the most prevalent endotoxin, lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which is virtually indestructible except by very high heat. Technically, concentrations of 5% to 10% H.sub.2O.sub.2 would be lethal to broad-spectrum pathogens assuming the organism is wetted or bathed by the chemistry.

[0051] The sterilized air escapes the liquid and passes through an atomizer 31 and into flexible tube 27 at the base of a polychromic coiled tubing set 28 coated with a hydrophilic inner surface that dries the air of excess moisture simply due to the surface physics (and drainage by gravity). The polychromic coiled tubing set 28 is contained within a flexible tubing 3 that is attached to connection point/disconnect 12 on the air supply controller 4 and extends to the face mask 1.

[0052] Next, the air enters the filtration cartridge 2 through an air inlet 32 and flows through a distal baffling network 33 and into an iodized sodium chloride salt filter 34 calibrated to collide with the air and absorb any remaining wet particles due to the ultra-hydrophilic characteristic of salt. The flow of air through the filtration cartridge 2 is indicated by the arrows in FIGS. 8 and 9. In this embodiment the use of iodized table salt acts as a secondary mechanism to kill an unprotected airborne pathogen. Iodine, remarkably, works at extremely low concentration and can kill broad-spectrum pathogens on contact. Iodine is a nonmetallic element forming black crystals and a violet vapor and from the family of halogens. Iodine is a key material used for surgery site skin sterilization and surgeon hand washing when mixed with soap. A relatively benign household form of iodine is iodized salt and is food grade. Further, a highly iodized salt is ultra-hydrophilic and instantly lethal to aqueous pathogens. Water molecules have a powerful viscosity (on the atomic level) and move together in droplets and resists separation. An aqueous pathogen is instantly adsorbed into salt and once the liquid evaporates, all that remains is the pathogen and the crystallized salt—which slices through the pathogen, neutralizing it, by both the caustic aspects of sodium chloride and by the further caustic characteristics of iodine. It is important to note that a pathogen is dependent on the water content and salt has a natural affinity to the water carrying and contained in the organism. Biologically, the host organism recognizes the pathogen as non-human antigenic or as foreign body, however environmentally, the pathogen is only water to contact materials that are hydrophilic. In addition to the antimicrobial capacity of the iodized salt filter 34, this region also services as a mild and safe desiccant to further remove any moisture from the incoming air supply that passes through the H.sub.2O.sub.2 30 containing globe 18. Salt is considered a safe and affordable desiccant material without being overtly extractive to the relative moisture levels in the sterilized air. The salt-based desiccant would be calibrated to enable the transport of moderately moist air to the user. Incoming air from the mask would be slightly reduced from environmental levels (˜50%), however still suitable for extended durations of uninterrupted use of the device, as the device would not perform any remarkable dehumidification processes.

[0053] The air pathway cannot escape the iodized salt filter and any wetted particle (hydrophilic particle) like dander or pollen will likewise be adsorbed and dissolved by the salt containing filter. As a failsafe, a postliminary water separation media 35 captures any excess moisture in the air. Next, the sterilized air is moved through a proximal baffling network 36 and subsequent HEPA filter (0.3 microns) 37 that feeds directly into a face masks that covers the entire face, snuggly. The excess air is release through filtered baffles and also can be configured to sterilize exhaled air in a reverse order as described for the incoming air. Alternatively, another embodiment that functions by introducing a secondary module or adding a second module, behaving precisely as the intake air to sterilize any outgoing air.

[0054] The filtration cartridge unit 2 allows for user access via a removable covering 38 located on the upper portion of the base. Removal of the filter cartridge unit 2 covering 38 is shown by the arrows in FIG. 7. Once removed, the user can remove and replace the iodized sodium chloride salt filter 34 and the HEPA filter 37 at preferred or recommended intervals. The removable covering 38 can be easily snapped back into place to create an airtight seal within the filtration cartridge unit 2.

[0055] While the mask 1 covers the entire face, air is only introduced to the mouth and nasal region. The ocular shield 9 is sealed off around the bridge of the nose 8 and forehead 10 to prevent any screen fogging or reductions to visibility. In another embodiment, a fan or anti-fog material may be applied to the ocular region to reduce any visual impairments. The entire mask is tightly held and positioned on the head of the user with a synthetic polymer strap 11.

[0056] After use of the protective face mask 1 and once in a suitable environment the entire system is easily disassembled by the user and sterilized at home or workplace. A storage box equipped with full aluminum mirror surface coverage and a high intensity ultraviolet (UV) light lamp at every right angle/box fold (12 lamps). The entire unit is place into the center of the box (drained of H.sub.2O.sub.2 and salt) and the equipment floats at the center of the box for full UV sterilization. This is accomplished by an aluminum wire X-frame in the middle of the box and the unit is simply placed inside on the wire frame. Within two hours the entire unit is sterilized and dry and can be stored in a two-gallon zip lock bag or disposable plastic bag.

[0057] Finally, the proposed antimicrobial mechanism of benign household chemistry, H.sub.2O.sub.2 and iodized sodium chloride, in combination with the air intake and processing method as proposed in this invention could be similarly scaled in a manner to accommodate general environmental air sterilization. In such additional embodiments, a sealed environment, irrespective of size, could adapt the proposed sterilization methods. Such environments include, but are not limited to, cruise vessels, aircrafts, nurseries, hospitals, gymnasiums, warehouses, submarines, universities, or another characteristically sealed environment/space.