Abstract
A full-face mask including a mask body, a breathing tube, an isolation support portion, and a first partition is provided. The mask body includes a lens portion and a soft portion, the soft portion fits a user's face to form an inner space. The breathing tube is disposed above the mask body and is connecting with the inner space. The isolation support portion is disposed in the inner space to define an upper space and a lower space which are connected with each other. A first partition is disposed in the lower space and includes an intake valve. The lower space is defined with a proximal space and a distal space. When the user inhales, the clean air passes through the intake valve into the proximal space. Thus, the user could effectively breathe, exhale and/or isolated from leakage water to avoid danger.
Claims
1. A full-face mask being wearable on a user's face, comprising: a mask body, comprising a lens portion and a soft portion connected to each other, the soft portion is configured to fit the user's face to form an inner space thereof; a breathing tube, being disposed above the mask body and connected with the inner space for the user to inhale clean air; an isolation support portion, being disposed in the inner space to define an upper space and a lower space thereof, wherein the upper space is connected with the lower space; and a first partition, being disposed in the lower space to define a proximal space and a distal space thereof, further comprising an intake valve, whereby the clean air enters the proximal space through the intake valve when the user inhales the clean air; wherein the breathing tube is configured to connect with the proximal space of the lower space, whereby the dirty air exhaled from the user leave the proximal space through the breathing tube.
2. The full-face mask of claim 1, wherein the first partition is shaped to allow the intake valve to be close to and aimed at the user's nostril.
3. The full-face mask of claim 1, wherein the intake valve is a constantly open intake valve.
4. The full-face mask of claim 1, wherein the first partition further comprises an exhaust valve which is disposed below the intake valve to further discharge the dirty air exhaled from the user.
5. The full-face mask of claim 1, further comprising a second partition which is disposed in the distal space to define a guide space and a temporary storage space of the distal space.
6. The full-face mask of claim 5, wherein the lens portion further comprises a guide opening which is connected with the temporary storage space.
7. The full-face mask of claim 5, further comprising at least one one-way valve which is disposed in the temporary storage space to discharge water or the dirty air exhaled from the user.
8. The full-face mask of claim 1, further comprising a channel and a splitter, wherein the channel is formed where the lens portion connects to the soft portion, and the splitter is disposed in the channel to prevent the circulation of air flowing from a lower end of the channel to the breathing tube.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a full-face mask of the prior art;
[0027] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a full-face mask of the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 3A is a schematic rear view of the full-face mask of the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 3B is a schematic perspective view of the full-face mask of FIG. 3A;
[0030] FIG. 4 is a partially cut-away perspective view of the full-face mask of the present invention;
[0031] FIG. 5A is a schematic exploded view of the full-face mask of FIG. 4;
[0032] FIG. 5B is a schematic view of a first partition and a soft portion formed integrally in the full-face mask of the present invention;
[0033] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the airflow path in the full-face mask of the present invention when the user inhales;
[0034] FIG. 7A is a perspective schematic view of a constantly open air valve of the full-face mask of the present invention;
[0035] FIG. 7B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B of the constantly open air valve of FIG. 7A when the user inhales;
[0036] FIG. 7C is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B of the constantly open air valve of FIG. 7A when the user exhales;
[0037] FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the airflow path in the full-face mask of the present invention when the user exhales;
[0038] FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the water flow path in the full-face mask of the present invention;
[0039] FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the water flow path in part of the lens portion in the full-face mask of the present invention;
[0040] FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the flow path of the airflow in the channel of the full-face mask of the present invention when the user exhales; and
[0041] FIG. 12 is a schematic exploded view of a full-face mask of the present invention which comprises a frame and an outer cover.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0042] As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, a full-face mask 200 disclosed in the present invention is wearable on a user's face, and comprises a mask body 210, a breathing tube 220, an isolation support portion 230 and a first partition 260.
[0043] The mask body 210 comprises a soft portion 214 and a lens portion 216 connected to each other. The soft portion 214 (or referred to as “skirt portion”) provided on the periphery of the lens portion 216 fits the user's face, and the mask body 210 forms an inner space 212. The breathing tube 220 is disposed above the mask body 210 and communicates with the inner space 212 so that a user can inhale clean air (fresh air) and exhale dirty air through the breathing tube.
[0044] The isolation support portion 230 is disposed in the inner space 212 so that the inner space 212 defines an upper space 232 and a lower space 234, and the upper space 232 is connected with the lower space 234. In detail, there may be an interval 215 between the front side 2301 of the isolation support portion 230 and the lens portion 216, and the rear side 2302 of the isolation support portion 230 faces backward and faces the face of the user (the face facing frontward and facing and the lens portion 216) and fits the cheek of the user and covers the nose area of the user (approximately from the bridge of the nose to the cheeks on both sides of the mouth). The interval 215 may be disposed generally above the bridge of the nose or extend from above the bridge of the nose to both sides of the mouth. That is, the front side 2301 of the isolation support portion 230 may partially contact the inner side of the lens portion 216 so that the interval 215 presents an opening (not shown) of a micro-arc shape. Alternatively, the front side 2301 does not contact the inner surface of the lens portion 216 at all so that the interval 215 presents an opening of an inverted U shape (as shown in FIG. 3B). Preferably, the position of the interval 215 is closer to the lens portion 216 and the breathing tube 220 than the position where the rear side 2302 fits the user. In this way, when the user inhales, the clean air R flowing in from the breathing tube 220 will directly flow from the upper space 232 into the lower space 234 through the interval 215 in this shorter path, thereby improving the efficiency of inhaling clean air for the user. Different from the prior art where the isolation portion 110 is disposed against the lens portion of the mask, there is an interval 215 between the front side 2301 of the isolation support portion 230 and the lens portion 216 in the present invention, and the isolation support portion 230 is made of a soft material. Thus, when the user wears the full-face mask 200, the isolation support portion 230 can elastically deform and move, can more closely fit the face shape and bridge of the nose of the user, so as to completely fit the cheek and cover the nose area of the user. In this way, there is little or no interstice between the isolation support portion 230 and the user's cheek and nose to prevent dirty air from flowing back through the interstice and accumulating in the inner space 212 or making the lens surface of the lens portion 216 foggy. The isolation support portion 230 may also be provided with a reflex design or a non-reflex design according to different use requirements (the non-reflex design means that the isolation support portion 230 are not completely folded in half and the two tail ends of the isolation support portion 230 are not completely face each other) so as to better conform to differences of face width, bridge height of the nose or the like of different users, thereby avoiding problems of backflow and accumulation of the dirty air or the like.
[0045] As shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the mask body 210 of the present invention further has a first partition 260, which is disposed in the lower space 234 and may be made of a soft material or a hard material. The first partition 260 may be formed independently or formed integrally with the soft portion 214 (as shown in FIG. 5B). When the first partition 260 and the soft portion 214 are formed integrally, materials of different hardness may be used in different regions. For example, the isolation support portion 230 of the soft portion 214 is made softer and the first partition 260 is made harder. When the first partition 260 and the soft portion 214 are formed independently, the first partition 260 has a peripheral portion 261 which may be directly or indirectly fixed on the isolation support portion 230 of the soft portion 214. For example, the peripheral portion 261 may be directly clamped to, abutted on the rear surface of the front side 2301 of the isolation support portion 230, or directly mounted in a clamping groove (not shown) formed by the front side 2301 of the isolation support portion 230 by injection molding. Alternatively, other elements are arranged between the peripheral edge 261 and the isolation support portion 230 to assist fixation and strengthen prevention of water flow from penetrating and touching the user (e.g., using fixing members and an adhesive layer). The lower space 234 is defined with a proximal space 235 and a distal space 236 by the arrangement of the first partition 260.
[0046] Referring to FIG. 6 together, the first partition 260 has an upper plane 262 and a lower plane 263, and the upper plane 262 may be provided with an intake valve 241. The first partition 260 is shaped to allow the intake valve 241 preferably forms an inclination angle with respect to the direction that the user's face faces. That is, when the mask body 210 is placed vertically with respect to the ground, the cross section of the first partition 260 may be generally of an S shape for example. In this way, when the user wears the full-face mask 200, the intake valve 241 is preferably located at the center position of the mask body 210, close to and aimed at the nostril 10 of the user, so that the air inhalation path is shorter and the user can inhale the clean air R more efficiently. The inclination angle of the upper plane 262 may be adjusted according to the configuration or size of different full-face masks so as to be close to the front of the nose (especially the nostril position). The intake valve 241 may be further provided with a larger size than a conventional one-way valve, for example, with a diameter of about 2 cm to 3 cm. In this way, as compared to the longer air intake path where the isolation portion one-way valve 120 is arranged on the isolation portion 110 (approximately located on the left and right sides of the wing of the nose) in the prior art, the present invention allows the clean air R to easily flow into the lower space 234 through the interval 215 and then flow into the proximal space 235 through the intake valve 241 when the user inhales, so that the user can more directly and more efficiently inhale enough clean air without feeling lack of oxygen and dizzy due to insufficient clean air.
[0047] As shown in FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C, the structure of the intake valve 241 may be selected as a bowl-shaped constantly open air valve. The bowl-shaped air valve has a bowl-shaped structure inclined inward (in the direction facing the face of the user after the user wears the full-face mask 200), which is made of a soft and thin material. When the user inhales, the bowl-shaped air valve is kept constantly open to allow the clean air R to flow to the user. When the user exhales the dirty air C, the bowl-shaped air valve is squeezed and unfolded outward into a plane to cover the air inlet 231 (as shown in FIG. 7C). Since the air valve structure does not cover the air inlet 231 when the user inhales, the clean air can pass directly through the air inlet 231 to the proximal space 235 when the user inhales easily with a normal inhaling force. When an appropriate setting angle and distance are provided between the intake valve 241 and the nose of the user (i.e. the intake valve 241 is close to the nose of the user), the intake valve 241 may be a normal intake valve (not shown), i.e., a constantly closed intake valve. When the user inhales, the decrease in pressure in the proximal space 235 (especially near the nostril) will open the intake valve, whereas when the user exhales, the increase in pressure will make the intake valve closed more tightly, thereby avoiding the accumulation of carbon dioxide.
[0048] Moreover, the lower plane 263 is located below the upper plane 262, forms an angle with respect to the upper plane 262, and may be further provided with an inner exhaust valve 257. The inner exhaust valve 257 may be a one-way valve and preferably corresponds to the position of the user's mouth. Thus, when the user exhales from the mouth, the inner exhaust valve 257 will be directly pressurized to open so that the dirty air C can be further directly discharged to the distal space 236 through the inner exhaust valve 257 in addition to being discharged through the breathing tube 220, and will not flow back from the interstice between the isolation support portion 230 and the user (if present inadvertently) and accumulate in the inner space 212. The arrangement of the lower plane 263 may also be modified corresponding to the adjustment of the upper plane 262.
[0049] Referring again to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5A, the mask body 210 further comprises a second partition 270, and the second partition 270 may also be made of a soft material or a hard material and has a peripheral portion 271. The upper end of the peripheral portion 271 may be directly or indirectly fixed (e.g., clamping other elements) on the inner side of the lens portion 216. The lower end of the peripheral portion 271 may be directly or indirectly fixed to and abut against the first partition 260 to divide the distal space 236 into a guide space 237 and a temporary storage space 238.
[0050] The temporary storage space 238 may comprise an upper exhaust valve 252 and a lower drain valve 254. Each of the upper exhaust valve 252 and the lower drain valve 254 may be a one-way valve and may be respectively obliquely set at different angles. In this way, when water accumulates in the temporary storage space 238 due to water penetration of the full-face mask 200, the accumulated water may be selectively discharged by the most suitable valve according to the steering angle of the user's head. If there is only a small amount of accumulated water, then the accumulated water can be easily discharged to the outside from the lower drain valve 254 without waiting for the water accumulating to the height of the upper exhaust valve 252. At this time, the upper exhaust valve 252 is specially responsible for processing the dirty air C exhaled by the user, so that the efficiency of discharging water and dirty air is further improved. Even if the water accumulates to the upper exhaust valve 252, the accumulated water will not touch the nose and mouth of the user due to the arrangement of the first partition 260 and the second partition 270, thereby avoiding the fear and pressure of inhaling water for the user, and naturally improving the safety and fun of snorkeling. When the upper exhaust valve 252 and the lower drain valve 254 are sufficient for the user to completely discharge the accumulated water, it is not necessary to provide the second partition 270.
[0051] With reference to FIG. 6, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the preferred air path of the full-face mask 200 of this application is described as follows:
[0052] When the user inhales, the air B can flow from the breathing tube to the guide space 237 from the upper space 232 and through the interval 215 and enter the proximal space 235 through the intake valve 241 on the upper plane 262 of the first partition 260, and is directly inhaled by the user, so the amount of clean air (oxygen) inhaled by the user can easily reach and exceed the safety standard. When the user exhales, the pressure in the proximal space 235 increases, so that the intake valve 241 becomes closed. At this time, part of the dirty air C flows from the proximal space to the channel 213 and then to the breathing tube 220 to be discharged, and part of the dirty air C flows through the inner exhaust valve 257 from the proximal space into the temporary storage space 238, and then flows out through the upper exhaust valve 252 and/or the lower drain valve 254. As shown in FIG. 9, if water W accidentally flows into the full-face mask 200 and accumulates in the temporary storage space 238, when the user exhales, the pressure of the temporary storage space 238 will be more easily increased due to the blocking of the second partition 270, and the water W will be discharged from the lower drain valve 254 more easily, and will hardly accumulate to the height of the upper exhaust valve 252. In this way, the upper exhaust valve 252 may be specially responsible for processing the dirty air exhaled by the user, thereby improving the efficiency of discharging the dirty air and improving the safety of use.
[0053] As shown in FIG. 10, the lens portion 216 of the full-face mask 200 of this embodiment may further comprise a guide opening 211 located below a guide sheet 217 extending from the inner side of the lens portion 216, e.g., between the guide space 237 and the temporary storage space 238. When water W penetrates into the upper space 232 of the full-face mask 200, it flows along the inner side of the lens portion 216 or the guide sheet 217 to the guide opening 211 and to the lower drain valve 254 of the temporary storage space 238, and then the water is discharged to the outside as the user moves or exhales. Even if the water W is not discharged immediately, the second partition 270 may be arranged to prevent the water W from flowing back to the guide space 237 along the guide opening 211 or reaching the position of the intake valve 241 and being accidentally inhaled by the user. Alternatively, the soft portion 214 may comprise a stopper (not shown), which can cover the guide opening 211 after the soft portion 214 is connected with the lens portion 216 to prevent the water W from flowing back to the guide space 231 along the guide opening 211. That is, the stopper may serve as a one-way valve so that the water W flows to the temporary storage space 238 in a unidirectional manner.
[0054] As shown in FIG. 11, after the soft portion 214 is connected with the lens portion 216, a channel 213 may be formed inside a periphery of the full-face mask 200. The channel 213 has a splitter 213a, the splitter 213a may be a part of the lens portion 216 or a part of the soft portion 214, and is arranged at the connection between the channel 213 and the breathing tube 220 to block the direct circulation of dirty air from a lower end of the channel 213 to the breathing tube 220. Further speaking, when the dirty air C exhaled by the user enters a lower end of the channel 213 from the lower space 234 and then flows to an upper end of the channel 213 and to the breathing tube 220, the splitter 213a can prevent the circulation of the dirty air in the vicinity of the breathing tube 220 (the air in the left channel flows directly from the right channel, or vice versa); otherwise, the dirty air C (carbon dioxide) cannot be completely and smoothly discharged and accumulated in the full-face mask 200. In this way, the danger caused by insufficient clean air inhaled by the user can be avoided. Due to the arrangement of the splitter 213a, the dirty air C from the left and right channels will be blocked and respectively flow to the breathing tube 220 more smoothly and directly, and then discharged to the outside of the full-face mask 200.
[0055] As shown in FIG. 12, the mask body 210 may further comprise a frame 219 and an outer cover 218, wherein the frame 219 may be clamped around the lens portion 216 and the soft portion 214 to further protect the lens portion 216. The outer cover 218 may be detachably fixed to the lens portion 216 or the frame 219 or integrally formed with the frame 219, thereby preferably shielding the region of the lens portion 216 having the upper exhaust valve 252 and the lower drain valve 254 to protect the upper exhaust valve 252 and the lower drain valve 254. If the upper exhaust valve 252 and the lower drain valve 254 have structures that are not easily damaged, then the outer cover 218 may not be required.
[0056] According to the above descriptions, because the upper space 232 and the lower space 234 of the full-face mask of the present invention are directly connected and the intake valve 241 is close to the nose of the user, the user can more efficiently breathe clean air through this shorter and more direct air inhalation path. On the contrary, when the user exhales with the nose and/or the mouth, the intake valve 241 will be directly pressurized to cover the air inlet 231 and turn into a closed state if the intake valve 241 is a constantly open intake valve, and the dirty air C may flow directly to the breathing tube 220 through the channel 213 to be discharged. Alternatively, when the first partition 260 is further provided with an inner exhaust valve 257, the dirty air C can be more efficiently discharged to the temporary storage space 238 because the position of the inner exhaust valve 257 is close to the user's mouth. Meanwhile, the water W accumulated in the temporary storage space 238 can be discharged out of the mask body 210 so that the dirty air C and accumulated water are not easy to flow back or accumulate, thereby meeting various safety standards. By providing the first partition to isolate the water inadvertently flowing into the full-face mask from the nose and mouth of the user, the present invention can avoid anxiety and panic of the user caused by touching the water. Moreover, the present invention may be further provided with the second partition and/or the stopper to block the backflow of the water accumulated in the mask, thereby further increasing the safety in use. Such a design can greatly improve the problems of the prior art that it is difficult to inhale enough clean air (includes the content of carbon dioxide is too high because carbon dioxide cannot be exhaled completely) and the user feels anxious because of touching the accumulated water, and various safety standards are met no matter during air inhalation or exhalation.
[0057] The above disclosure is related to the detailed technical contents and inventive features thereof. People skilled in this field may proceed with a variety of modifications and replacements based on the disclosures and suggestions of the invention as described without departing from the characteristics thereof. Nevertheless, although such modifications and replacements are not fully disclosed in the above descriptions, they have substantially been covered in the following claims as appended.
