The present invention relates to protective face masks for protection of individuals from acquiring diseases as well as for other protective purposes.
Protective face masks are well known. They are used for protection of an individual from inhaling outside air which carries microorganisms that can cause diseases. While they perform these functions they capture inside the space between a user's face and the mask the air which is exhaled by a user and also they do not continuously provide a supply of a completely new clean air between the mask and the user's face to be constantly inhaled by a user.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a protective face mask which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.
In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides in a protective face mask which has a mask element formed so as to cover at least a part of a user's face including at least a user's nose and a user's mouth, and means for supplying into a space between the mask element and the user's nose and the user's mouth a purified air from a source outside the mask element.
When the protective face mask is designed according to the present invention, the user does not inhale his exhaled air and does not inhale air which can be contaminated by impurities, microorganisms, infectious diseases causing elements, etc.
According a further feature of the present invention, the means for supplying into a space between the mask element and the user's nose and the user's mouth a purified air from a source outside the mask element include a filter which purifies an outside air and an air supply component which supplies the thusly purified air into the space between the mask element and the user's nose and the user's mouth.
According to still a further feature of the present invention, the means for supplying into a space between the mask element and the user's nose and the user's mouth a purified air from a source outside the mask element include a container with a purified air and an air supply component which supplies the thusly purified air from the container with a purified air into the space between the mask element and the user's nose and the user's mouth.
The novel features of the present invention will be best understood from the following description of the preferred embodiments which is accompanied by the following drawings.
As shown in
In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention shown in this
In accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention shown in
It is of course possible that the clean air is not pressurized in the tank or the cylinder 7, in which case a not shown pump can be provided to pump the clean air from the tank or the cylinder 7 into the space between the mask element 1 and the user's face.
The tank or the cylinder 7 can be of a relatively small size and carried by a user. On the other hand the tank or the cylinder 7 can be of a significant size and can be stationary located in medical offices, hospitals, etc. In this case it can be used not by a single person, but by many people.
The novel features of the present invention are defined in the appended claims.