Patent Application
20240400177
The present invention relates to a full-face mask, particularly a breathable mask for snorkeling.
Some of the current full-face snorkel masks (FFSMs) have adopted a shunting design for an intake and an exhaust of airflows. In this design, the lower chamber of the mask (the chamber that covers the user's mouth and nose) will communicate with the exhaust passage. During snorkeling underwater, if the user wants to drain the water in the accumulated mask, the user must exhale heavily through the mouth to overcome the strong external water pressure in order to successfully force the accumulated water through the drain valve.
However, because the lower chamber of the mask needs to accommodate the user's nose and mouth, it inevitably occupies a considerable volume. Moreover, the lower chamber communicates with the exhaust passage, and the exhaust passage communicates with the outside through the breathing tube, causing the lower chamber is not an ideal enclosed system in reality. In addition, the actual exhaust path constituted by the exhaust passage and the breathing tube is quite long, which makes the total volume of the lower chamber and the spaces communicating therewith difficult to be controlled as anticipated. As a result, when the user attempts to drain the accumulated water by exhaling heavily using the mouth, the exhalation pressure created in such an incompletely enclosed, large space is evidently insufficient to overcome the water pressure and successfully drain the accumulated water from the lower chamber outside through the drain valve. Instead, the accumulated water is brought into and stays in the exhaust passage at the periphery of the body of the mask. After the user finishes exhaling, the accumulated water naturally flows back into the body of the mask, resulting in that almost all of the accumulated water is not successfully drained outward.
In summary, the poor drainage efficiency is caused by the insufficient exhalation pressure from the mouth. This insufficient exhalation pressure and flow rate from the mouth also result from the fact that the total space, including the space accommodating the mouth and the communicated spaces therewith, is too large and not well enclosed because of, to some extents, being still in communication with the outside. Specifically, the volume of the total space includes the inner volume of the lower chamber, the inner volume of the exhaust passage provided on the periphery of the mask body, and the inner volume of the exhaust conduit above the mask body. Furthermore, the exhaust conduit above the main body is still in fluid communication with the outside. These are the reasons why it is difficult to force the accumulated water out through the drain valve even when exhaling heavily.
In other words, the design of FFSMs generally lacks efficient drainage during underwater activities. The user must surface and discharge the accumulated water outward, or take off the mask to pour out the accumulated water, which is quite troublesome and significantly reduces the enjoyment of snorkeling. This is a long-standing drainage problem with full-face masks, even though the mask has the interior divided into an upper chamber covering the eyes and a lower chamber covering the nose and mouth and has a shunting design for intake and exhaust airflows. That problem still has not been effectively improved, making it urgent for the industry to continue striving for a breakthrough.
In view of this, the industry is striving to design a snorkeling equipment that can solve some or all of the above problems.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a breathable mask that provides a manual pressing mechanism, allowing the user to press this mechanism with the finger to obstruct the exhaust passage from the communication with the outside. Therefore, when the user needs to drain the accumulated water underwater, this operation temporarily will soon make the lower chamber become an enclosed space, whereby the exhalation pressure will naturally increase significantly. Accordingly, the user can easily overcome the underwater pressure and discharge the accumulated water in the lower chamber of the mask outward through the drain valve with a minimal physical effort.
To achieve the above objective, the present invention discloses a breathable mask, which includes a body and a breathing tube. The breathing tube in fluid communication with an interior of the body, and includes an intake conduit and an exhaust conduit independent of each other. The body includes a main frame, a lens assembly, a waterproof skirt, an intake passage and an exhaust passage. The lens assembly is embedded within the main frame. The waterproof skirt is at least partially embedded with the main frame and the lens assembly and is configured to suitably fit a face of a user. The waterproof skirt has a partition to divide the interior of the body into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, whereby when the user wears the breathable mask through a fastening device, the partition is seated above a nose of the user, eyes of the user are accommodated in the upper chamber, and the nose and a mouth of the user are accommodated in the lower chamber. The intake passage is formed from the intake conduit to the lower chamber. The exhaust passage is formed from the lower chamber to the exhaust conduit; The exhaust channel is provided with a collapsible zone which has an outer portion and an inner portion. The outer portion has an identifiable mechanism exposed to an outside so that when a finger of the user presses the outer portion through the identifiable mechanism, the outer portion is suitably deformed inward and abutted against the inner portion to temporarily obstruct a fluid communication of the exhaust passage with the outside.
Besides, to achieve the aforesaid objective, the present invention further discloses a body of a breathable mask. The body includes a main frame, a lens assembly, a waterproof skirt and an exhaust passage. The lens assembly is embedded within the main frame. The waterproof skirt is at least partially embedded with the main frame and the lens assembly and is configured to suitably fit a face of a user. The waterproof skirt has a partition to divide the interior of the body into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, whereby when the user wears the breathable mask through a fastening device, the partition is seated above a nose of the user, eyes of the user are accommodated in the upper chamber, and the nose and a mouth of the user are accommodated in the lower chamber. The exhaust passage communicates with the lower chamber. The exhaust channel is provided with a collapsible zone which has an outer portion and an inner portion. The outer portion has an identifiable mechanism exposed to an outside so that when a finger of the user presses the outer portion through the identifiable mechanism, the outer portion is suitably deformed inward and abutted against the inner portion to temporarily obstruct a fluid communication of the exhaust passage with the outside.
In an example, the outer portion is a soft outer portion, and the inner portion is a rigid inner portion. The exhaust passage comprises an exhaust tunnel extending along an outer periphery of the lens assembly and communicating with the lower chamber, and the collapsible zone is formed on the exhaust tunnel, whereby when the finger of the user presses the soft outer portion, the soft outer portion is suitably deformed inward and abutted against the rigid inner portion to temporarily obstruct the exhaust tunnel.
In an example, the exhaust tunnel is jointly defined by the waterproof skirt and an inner surface of the lens assembly.
In an example, the lens assembly further includes a stop wall provided along the outer periphery, the stop wall extends along an inner sidewall of the exhaust tunnel, the soft outer portion of the collapsible zone is defined by an outer sidewall of the exhaust tunnel, and the rigid inner portion of the collapsible zone is defined by the stop wall, whereby when the finger of the user presses the outer sidewall of the exhaust tunnel, the outer sidewall is suitably deformed inward and abutted against the stop wall to temporarily obstruct the exhaust tunnel.
In an example, the stop wall and the inner sidewall of the exhaust tunnel are buckled with each other.
In an example, the identifiable mechanism is a pressing device formed on an outer surface of the collapsible zone.
In an example, the pressing device is a block.
In an example, the block is integrally formed with the waterproof skirt.
It shall be appreciated that the following description of the embodiments is only to explain the contents of the present invention, but not to limit the invention as claimed. Elements not directly related to the present invention, such as the head strap that secures the mask to the user's head, are omitted from the description, and the dimensions as depicted for all elements in the drawings are just for easy understanding and do not intend to limit their actual scales. Additionally, the spatial relationship referred to as “inner” and “outer” is defined by the orientation of the user, with portions proximal to the user being termed “inner” and those distal from the user being termed “outer”. Those terms are not used to limit the direction in which elements are disposed.
An embodiment of the present invention is shown in
With further reference to
The body 13 includes a main frame 13a, a lens assembly 13b, a waterproof skirt 13c, an intake passage, an exhaust passage and a drain valve 13f. The lens assembly 13b is embedded within the main frame 13a. The waterproof skirt 13c has at least one portion (the front portion corresponding to the user's eyes) embedded with the main frame 13a and the lens assembly 13b. The waterproof skirt 13c is capable of suitably fitting on the face of a user.
The waterproof skirt 13c has a partition 13c1. The partition 13c1 is provided to divide the interior of the body 13 into an upper chamber 202 and a lower chamber 204. When the user wears the breathable mask 1 through a fastening device (which is usually an elastic head strap connecting two sides of the main frame 13a, not shown), the partition 13c1 is seated above the nose of the user so that the eyes of the user are accommodated in the upper chamber 202, the nose and mouth of the user is accommodated in the lower chamber 204.
The intake passage is formed from the intake conduit 112 to the lower chamber 204, more specifically, is formed between the lower end portion of the breathing tube 11 and the lower chamber 204. Preferably, the body 13 has two intake one-way valves 13d symmetrically provided on both outer sides of the partition 13c1, allowing the inhaled air to unidirectionally pass through the intake passage and enter the lower chamber 204. In this aspect, the intake passage is defined by the upper chamber 202 and the intake one-way valves 13d, and is in fluid communication with the lower chamber 204. The positions of the two intake one-way valves 13d are not limited, and may be provided on the partition 13c1 instead. In addition, although the intake one-way valve 13d shown in the figure are all wing-type one-way valves, the actual shapes and numbers are not limited. In other embodiments, mushroom-type or pivot-type one-way valves may also be feasible.
The exhaust passage is formed from the lower chamber 204 to the exhaust conduits 114 and is in fluid communication with the lower chamber 204. The exhaust passage mainly includes two exhaust tunnels 132, which are formed between the lower end portion of the breathing tube 11 and the lower chamber 204. Each exhaust tunnel 132 extending along the periphery of the body 13 is jointly defined by the waterproof skirt 13c and an inner surface 13b1 of the lens assembly 13b. In this embodiment, the main frame 13a does not form parts of the exhaust tunnels 132.
When the user exhales through the nose and/or mouth during normal breathing, the exhaust path can be referred to by the airflow shown in the dotted line of
In the present invention, when the user needs to drain the accumulated water in the mask during underwater activities, the user can easily overcome the underwater pressure and discharge the accumulated water in the lower chamber 204 outward through the drain valve 13f without surfacing. In an embodiment, each exhaust tunnel 132 is further provided with a collapsible zone 132p. The collapsible zone 132p has an outer portion and an inner portion. Preferably, the outer portion is a soft outer portion P1, and the inner portion is a rigid inner portion P2. The soft outer portion P1 is provided with an identifiable mechanism 13e formed on the outer surface thereof and exposed to the outside. The identifiable mechanism 13e is a mechanism that allows the user to easily identify the position of the collapsible zone 132p by touching it with a finger.
More specifically, in this embodiment, the lens assembly 13b further includes a stop wall 13b2 provided along the outer periphery thereof. The stop wall 13b2 extends along an inner sidewall 13c2 of the exhaust tunnel 132 (i.e., a portion of the waterproof skirt 13c), the soft outer portion P1 of the collapsible zone 132p is defined by an outer sidewall 13c3 (another portion of the waterproof skirt 13c) of the exhaust tunnel 132, and the rigid inner portion P2 of the collapsible zone 132p is defined by the stop wall 13b2. In this way, when having a need to drain water during underwater activities, the user can easily find the identifiable mechanism 13e and press the soft outer portion P1, causing the soft outer portion P1 to deform and abut against the rigid inner portion P2 so as to temporarily obstruct the fluid communication between the exhaust tunnels 132 and the outside.
When the user UR exhales heavily through the mouth, the exhaust path can be referred to by the airflow shown in the dotted lines of
Preferably, the stop wall 13b2 and the inner sidewall 13c2 of the exhaust tunnel 132 are coupled with each other. In other words, the portion of the waterproof skirt 13c corresponding to the inner sidewall 13c2 can be coupled with the stop wall 13b2 of the lens assembly 13b through the clip 13c4 formed by the waterproof skirt 13c to increase the rigidity of the exhaust tunnel 132 to avoid collapse of the exhaust tunnel 132, and also to strengthen the fit between the waterproof skirt 13c and the lens assembly 13b.
The more detailed description of the identifiable mechanism 13e of the present invention is now provided. As shown in each figure, the identifiable mechanism 13e is presented as a pressing device. The pressing device may be a block, disposed on the outer surface of the collapsible zone 132p, and exposed to the outside to provide significant tactile identification. The design of the block can increase the operational reliability of the pressing device so that the soft outer portion P1 would be deformed and abutted against the rigid inner portion P2 as expected.
The configuration of the collapsible zone 132p and the identifiable mechanism 13e can be modified as needed for functionality, as long as the collapsible zone 132p itself maintains a soft outer portion and a rigid inner portion (i.e., the inner portion is relatively more rigid than the outer portion to act as a boundary after the outer portion is deformed). This provides a feasible solution for users to press inward and temporarily obstruct the communication between the exhaust passage and the outside. Regarding the material of the identifiable mechanism 13e, any shape of soft or rigid material is feasible. The identifiable mechanism 13e is preferably integrally formed with the waterproof skirt 13c (e.g., made of silicone rubber) to avoid the problem of detachment. However, in other embodiments, the identifiable mechanism 13e and the waterproof skirt 13c may be separate elements which can be coupled together through gluing or other adhering methods.
In an implementation, the identifiable mechanism may be a granular structure with multiple small bumps, or have any possible configurations that allow the user's fingers to easily identify the position of the collapsible zone by touch. In another implementation, the identifiable mechanism may be a movable portion that is a part of the main frame and is located outside of the soft outer portion of the collapsible zone. This allows the overall profile of the main frame and/or the breathing tube to maintain its continuity and integrity without being affected by the configuration of the collapsible zone, thereby enhancing the overall texture of the product.
In other embodiments, an additional exhaust one-way valve (not shown) can be provided at the connection between the exhaust tunnel 132 and the lower chamber 204 to further prevent the dirty air as being exhaled staying in the exhaust tunnel 132 from flowing back to the lower chamber 204.
The technical content of the present invention lies in the exhaust passage having a collapsible zone, which allows the user to temporarily obstruct the communication between the exhaust passage and the outside by pressing it with the fingers. Then, when the user's fingers are released, the exhaust passage can be restored to its open state. This technical concept can be applied to any form of full-face masks, and the disclosed figures only illustrate one type of breathable mask as an example. In other words, the structure of the main frame 13a, the lens assembly 13b (i.e., the viewing window) and the waterproof skirt 13c in the disclosed figures are only for illustration, and should not be misunderstood as limiting the scope of the present invention. Any type of mask modified based on the concept of the present invention also belongs to the scope of the present invention.
In the present invention, the lens assembly 13b is preferably a single-piece lens design, and the breathing tube is composed of a single intake conduit 112 and two exhaust conduits 114. However, in other embodiments, it is also feasible for the lens assembly to be of a separated dual-lens design (i.e., a left-right separated dual-lens design). The exhaust conduits, exhaust tunnels or exhaust passages mentioned in the above embodiments are preferably designed to be bilaterally symmetrical. However, for the sake of clarity and conciseness, some descriptions only refer to one of them, which does not limit their number.
As for the design of other parts, such as the formation of the intake and exhaust conduits (whether integrated into a single breathing tube or separated into two or more tubes), whether the lower chamber is further divided into two chambers (i.e., a nasal chamber and a mouth chamber), as well as variations in the number and shapes of lens assembly and frames and in the number and types of intake and exhaust valves, these are not of concern. The so-called breathing tube may extend directly outward from the top of the mask body, or may have its lower end portion being integrally extended from the lens assembly 13b, and then connected to the main portion of the breathing tube, as shown in
Therefore, the above embodiments are used only to illustrate the implementations of the present invention and to explain the technical features of the present invention, and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention. Any modifications or equivalent arrangements that can be easily accomplished by those skilled in the art are considered to fall within the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention should be limited by the claims of the patent application.
This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Prov. Ser. No. 63/505,238 filed on May 31, 2023, which is incorporated in its entirety by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63505238 | May 2023 | US |
