Abstract
A method for adding pre-filtration to a HEPA filter canister of a smoke filtration system, the canister's having holes in the bottom for expelling exhaled breath, the canister having a removable mouth piece lid, the pre-filtration method comprising: adding a mat-type fastener that allows multiple fastening and separation on the bottom side of the mouth piece lid on a small diverter platform; the platform having small slits on the side to create a diverting effect, spreading air flow out before entering the HEPA filter, a piece of water absorbing sponge material with a mat-type fastener in the middle of the sponge material, placed to line up with the mat-type fastener on the small diverting platform; and a screen made hydrophobic material acting as breath barrier, with tabs a user can use to hold it in place during assembly, the outer perimeter of the mesh screen being wider all the way around than the canister opening, causing during assembly that the entire outer perimeter of the mesh screen to become pinched between the lid's inner ring and canister's inner circumference creating a seal of hydrophobic mesh separating the pre-filter up above and away from the HEPA filter.
Claims
1. A method of providing moisture absorbing pre-filtration for personal smoke filtration canister systems by assembling pre-filter components into the personal smoke filtration system comprising: removable sponge material which can be air of hand dried; a hydrophobic breath barrier screen; a removable mouth piece lid; a small diverter platform underneath the mouth piece lid in line with the breath flow from the user; the small diverter platform and sponge material connected by mat-type fasters that easily fasten and separate; the mouth piece lid being configured with an inner ring to tightly fit into the inside circumference of the canister the mouthpiece lid, upon assembly of the personal smoke filtration canister system, configure to pinch the outer circumference of the breath barrier screen between the mouth piece lid's inner ring and the inner circumference of the canister.
2. The method of claim 1 where a different fastener system is used to provide multiple fastening and separation activities.
3. The method of claim 1 where the breath barrier is constructed from non-hydrophobic material.
4. The method of claim 1 where another water absorbing material is used instead of the sponge.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0026] FIG. 1 shows an overview of the entire smoke filtration device.
[0027] FIG. 2 shows the canister that the HEPA filter fits within.
[0028] FIG. 3 shows the underside of the lid, showing the raised inner ring, the small diverter platform and location of the mat-type fastener
[0029] FIG. 4 shows the sponge layer with its location of the mat-type fastener that lines up with the mat-type fastener on the mouth-piece lid.
[0030] FIG. 5 shows how the sponge layer and the mouthpiece lid line up prior to placing the sponge into the mouth piece lid
[0031] FIG. 6 shows the hydrophobic breath barrier screen, which is a moisture barrier, and the tabs on the diverter screen that are used to hold the screen in place held by the user held prior to assembly.
[0032] FIG. 7 shows the breath barrier screen, with the tabs for the user to hold it in place during assembly, the breathe barrier screen being larger than the canister diameter.
[0033] FIG. 8 shows how the excess from the breath barrier screen is captured between the inner diameter of the canister and the inner ring of the lid, holding the breathe barrier screen in place.
[0034] FIG. 9 shows a % view of the lid from the bottom, showing the platform, which has slits on a post underneath the platform that acts as a diverter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0035] FIG. 1 shows the outside of the personal smoke filter 1 that housed the components of pre-filtration method. The canister 2 holds a HEPA filter. The mouthpiece lid 5 has, on the exterior, a mouthpiece 6, and the mouthpiece lid 5 is the same circumference as the canister 2, with the tight fit created by an pushing the inner ring on the mouthpiece lid into the inside circumference to the canister. Users breathe their exhaled smoke into the mouth piece where it goes first through a small diverter platform to a sponge layer which absorbs moisture and then goes to the breath barrier screen made of hydrophobic material, which repels a certain amount of moisture, with the small divert platform, which spreads the exhaust air flow out across the HEPA filter, once through the HEPA filter, the exhaust air exits through holes on the bottom of the canister.
[0036] FIG. 2 shows the canister with openings in the bottom 4 to allow air flow out of the canister 2 after it goes through the HEPA filter, whose location 3 lies inside of the canister. The openings in the bottom 4 allow air to pass minimizing air restriction.
[0037] FIG. 3 shows the underside of the mouthpiece lid 5, showing the raise inner ring 13, the small diverter platform 8 extends to a slightly lower height that the inner ring, the height difference to allow the sponge material, after attaching to the platform, to line up with the height of the raise inner ring 14. The figure also show the mat-type fastener on the center of the small diverter platform 7. The mat-type fastener can be attached and then separated multiple times.
[0038] FIG. 4 shows the sponge piece 9 with its mat-type fastener 10, the mat-type fastener is place to line up with the mat-type fastener on the platform in the mouthpiece lid. The mat-type fasteners allow both the sponge material 9 and mouthpiece lid 5 to be easily separated and cleaned.
[0039] FIG. 5 shows how the sponge piece 9 with its protrusion 10, fits into the depression 8 of the mouthpiece lid.
[0040] FIG. 6 shows the breath barrier screen 11 which has two small tabs 12 that squeezed between the inner ring 13 of the mouth piece lid and the inner circumference of the canister upon assembly. This is a key point in the methods as it ensures the that the entire pre-filter setup is inside of the mouth piece lid 5 and most importantly away from and never touching the HEPA filter. If any part of the pre-filter, especially that sponge layer, is too close to the HEPA filter or touching the HEPA filter it would break the hydrophobicity and would create basically a channel for the water to just simply run straight into the HEPA filter. The breath barrier screen 11, due to its hydrophobic properties, will redirect moisture that may come through the sponge material back toward the sponge on the underside of the lid, the result that much of a users' breath moisture getting caught on the underside of the lid
[0041] FIG. 7 shows the hydrophobic breath barrier screen 11 with its tabs 12 as it about to be placed on the top of the canister 2, prior to the lid's inner ringing being pushed inside the inner circumference of the canister.
[0042] FIG. 8 illustrates the breath barrier screen 11 with its outer circumference which is larger than the inner circumference of the diameter of the canister 14, squeezed between the inner circumference of the diameter of the canister 14 and the inner ring of the mouthpiece top 13, note only the inner ring is shown in this figure, the rest of the mouthpiece top is not shown.
[0043] FIG. 9 shows the top at a % view, which shows the inner lid 13 of the mouthpiece lid, the area 16 under the platform 8 which as a post with slits and the mouthpiece fastener 7 on the mouth piece lid 5.
METHOD FOR EXTENDING LIFE FURTHER
[0044] With traditional smoke removal products where users blow their breath into a HEPA filter, human breath is going to saturate that HEPA filter and ruin it by about 300 exhales. The purpose of this device is to greatly extend the HEPA filters life by putting pre-filter components in front of the HEPA filter, those main components being a sponge piece, a small diverter platform, and hydrophobic breath barrier that sits on the top of the canister holding the HEPA filter. The method depends on having a dry sponge. Life can be extended further when users have two units which allows the user to completely dry the sponge in one unit while using the other unit. This can be a major factor if the user frequently uses the personal smoke filtration device and doesn't have time for when using one unit only, which doesn't allow time for the sponge piece to dry out.
