Odor neutralizing mask insert

Abstract

An air-permeable guard adapted to attach to a covering, the air permeable guard comprising a plurality of layers attached together to create one or more compartments. The guard further comprises at least one agent stored in the one or more compartments wherein the at least one agent may be a counteracting agent, a masking agent or a disinfectant agent. The masking agent may be coffee, oil and self encapsulated oil beadlet. The counteracting agent may be activated charcoal, sodium bicarbonate, zeolite, diatomaceous earth, silica gel and bentonite clay. The disinfectant agent may be a water based coating containing a cationic siloxane. In another embodiment of the invention the compartments may store the agents in a portion of the guard that is adapted to come in contact with the wearer's nostrils.

Claims

1. An air-permeable guard adapted to attach to a covering, the air permeable guard comprising: a plurality of layers attached, together to create one or more compartments; at least one agent stored in a first compartment holding one agent adapted to fit a left nostril and a second compartment holding same or different agent adapted to fit a right nostril; and wherein the at least one agent may be a counteracting agent, a masking agent or a disinfectant agent.

2. The air-permeable guard of claim 1 wherein the covering is a surgical mask and wherein the air permeable guard is further adapted to fit a human face.

3. The air-permeable guard of claim 2 wherein the plurality of layers are comprised of one or more material selected from the group consisting of paper, cloth, plastic, or fiber.

4. The air-permeable guard of claim 3 wherein the plurality of layers are attached together with an adhesive.

5. The air-permeable guard of claim 3 wherein the plurality of layers are attached together by bond heating the plurality of layers.

6. The air-permeable guard of claim 3 wherein the plurality of layers are attached together by stitching the plurality of layers.

7. The air-permeable guard of claim 6 wherein the plurality of layers comprises three or more layers wherein the three or more layers form two or more compartments.

8. The air-permeable guard of claim 7 wherein a masking agent is stored in a first compartment and a counteracting agent is stored in the second compartment.

9. The air-permeable guard of claim 8 wherein the masking agent is coffee.

10. The air-permeable guard of claim 6 wherein the plurality of layers comprises five layers, the first layer adapted to fit a human face, the second and third layers adapted to store between 0.5 and 2.5 grams of ground coffee, the third and fourth layers adapted to store between 0.1 and 2.5 grams of activated charcoal and 0.1 to 5 grams of sodium bicarbonate, and wherein the plurality of layers are rectangular in shape.

11. The air-permeable guard of claim 1 wherein the counteracting agent is selected from the group consisting of, sodium bicarbonate, zeolite, diatomaceous earth, silica gel and bentonite clay.

12. The air-permeable guard of claim 11 wherein a disinfectant agent is stored in one of the two or more compartments and wherein the disinfectant agent is a water based coating containing a cationic siloxane.

13. The air-permeable guard of claim 1, wherein the first and second portions of the first compartment are stitched closed.

14. The air-permeable guard of claim 13 therein the guard is attached to the surgical mask with an adhesive.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention comprising five layers and four compartments between the layers.

(2) FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention attached to a standard surgical mask.

(3) FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention in between the user's face and the surgical mask as the mask is peeled away.

(4) FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention wherein the substances stored between the layers are confined to two areas in the middle of the guard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

(5) The preferred embodiment of the guard is one made from a combination of five layers made of paper, plastic, and fibers that serve to block airborne liquids as well as feel soft against the skin, while leaving the person using the device with a pleasant scent.

(6) The layers may be bonded by heat seal or stitching. As shown in in FIG. 1, the guard 10 comprises a first layer 11 that touches the face. Between the second and third layers, 12 and 13 respectively, is between 0.5 and 2.5 grams of ground coffee, though it can be more or less depending on the strength of the scent needed and found useful or tolerable by the individual using the guard. Between the third and fourth layers, 13 and 14 respectively is between 0.1 and 2.5 grams of activated charcoal and 0.1 to 5 grams of sodium bicarbonate, though these amounts may be changed depending on the need of the individual using the guard, the strength of the odor, and the expected length of time the guard will be used. In general, the ratio of sodium bicarbonate to activated charcoal is approximately 2-to-1. The fifth and final layer 15 touches the mask or other object covering the user's face. The outer side of 15 contains a slight adhesive needed to hold the guard in place. On the mask side is a light adhesive covered in removable sections so that the guard may stick slightly to avoid shifting after being placed and also be used multiple times before being disposed.

(7) As shown in FIG. 2, the guard 10 is attached to a standard surgical mask 20. The surgical mask 20 comprises two straps, a strap for the left ear 21 and one for the right ear 22. When a user wears the mask with the guard attached to the mask, the first layer of the guard comes in contact with the user and the last layer is in contact with the surgical mask.

(8) As shown in FIG. 3, the guard 10 is on the user's face with the surgical mask 20 peeled away. On the last layer of the guard 10 is an adhesive strip 16 that is used to connect the guard 10 to the mask 20.

(9) In one embodiment, the shape of the guard is a rectangle approximately 15 centimeters lengthwise and 7.5 centimeters tall. However, other dimensions are contemplated and also within the scope of this invention.

(10) Activated charcoal may be used and stored within the guard because it is porous and adsorbs odors. A single gram of activated charcoal has a surface area between 500 m.sup.2 and 1500 m.sup.2. Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) may be used as a base and neutralizes acidic odors. Coffee ground may be used because odor particles adhere to it and it also provides a pleasant scent that masks most odors.

(11) In another embodiment of this invention, specially placed compartments exist between the different layers. As one example of this embodiment and as shown in FIG. 4 the first two layers are stitched to form two compartments 17 and 18 in which ground coffee or other pleasant smelling substances are placed. The position of these two compartments allow for these substances to be placed close to a user's nostrils. The compartments may be created by stitching the first two layers in the center in addition to the stitching at the corners. One advantage of these compartments is to provide the substance in a compact and direct manner to a user's nostril. In another embodiment of the present invention the specially placed compartments (e.g., near the center by the user's nostrils) exist between all the layers of the guard and not just between the first two layers.

(12) In another embodiment of the present invention oil or a self encapsulated essential oil beadlet may be used. This can replace or be used in conjunction with the coffee ground. Essential Oil beadlets are currently available from companies such as doTERRA and Ameo. These beadlets contain essential oils in a small sphere which can be broken or punctured by applying pressure at which point oil is released. For example, a cardamom essential oil beadlet is made from cardamom seeds which have been distilled into an essential oil. Other non-limiting examples of essential oils include eucalyptus, cinnamon bark, ginger, clove, lemon, juniper berry, peppermint and spearmint. The essential oil may be held in a gelatin matrix. One advantage of these beadlets is that a plurality of them may be contained within the guard and whenever the user wishes to activate them he can break a beadlet. In this manner the user may break several beadlets to intensify the amount of oil or he may conserve the beadlets and break one before each time he wears the guard.

(13) In another embodiment of this invention the disinfectant agent used is a water based coating that contains a cationic siloxane. One such agent is commercially available as BIOSAFE and may be covered by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,572,926 and 6,146,688. This agent is not metabolized by a microbe's cells. Rather this agent may create a network of electrically charged microscopic spikes on the surface of a cell. These spikes may pop the microbe's cell walls, effectively neutralizing it.

(14) Although this present invention is described with a preferred embodiment and includes details related to other embodiments of the same idea, workers skilled in the design will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.