Patent Application
20220096275
The present invention relates to devices for personal protection, specifically personal protection from airborne contaminants.
Various forms of head and facial protection exist to protect a human wearer. Some forms of head protection such as beekeeper suits and mosquito nets cover the head and protect the head from insects and sometimes sunlight. Further these types of head protection can be uncomfortable for the wearer when the head is rotated because the head covering cannot effectively rotate independently of the head of the user and the netting or other material of head protection twist and resist the rotation. Thus, the wearer feels an uncomfortable restriction from rotating the head. Also, these forms of protection provide very little if any protection from airborne contaminants.
Some forms of facial protection such as surgical masks provide some protection from airborne contaminants but are very uncomfortable for the wearer who must work harder to breathe through the mask. Also, moisture and heat uncomfortably build up in and on the mask. Further, air is often pulled into the mouth of the wearer around the mask which negates some of the protective qualities of the mask.
One or more embodiments are provided below for a device for protecting a wearer from airborne contaminants. The device may include a head piece, a head covering, a visor and a veil. The head piece may be sized and arranged to sit on a head of a wearer when the device is worn on the head of the wearer. The head covering may be connected to the head piece and may be connected over the head piece and may be configured to rotate relative to the head piece. The visor may be connected to the head covering. The visor may be at least partially transparent. The veil may be connected to the visor. The veil may include a protective material.
The device may provide significant advantages over the devices known in the art. The device may provide superior protection for the head of the wearer by completely covering the head and neck of the wearer while filtering air through a filter. The device may also provide superior comfort because the device allows the wearer to rotate his/her head independently of portions of the personal protection device.
Other advantageous features as well as other aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
In the Summary above and in this Detailed Description, the claims below, and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particular features (including method steps) of the invention. It is to be understood that the disclosure of the invention in this specification includes all possible combinations of such particular features. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular aspect or embodiment of the invention, or a particular claim, that feature can also be used, to the extent possible, in combination with and/or in the context of other particular aspects and embodiments of the invention, and in the invention generally.
The term “comprises” and grammatical equivalents thereof are used herein to mean that other components, ingredients, steps, among others, are optionally present. For example, an article “comprising” (or “which comprises”) components A, B, and C can consist of (i.e., contain only) components A, B, and C, or can contain not only components A, B, and C but also contain one or more other components.
Where reference is made herein to a method comprising two or more defined steps, the defined steps can be carried out in any order or simultaneously (except where the context excludes that possibility), and the method can include one or more other steps which are carried out before any of the defined steps, between two of the defined steps, or after all the defined steps (except where the context excludes that possibility).
The term “at least” followed by a number is used herein to denote the start of a range beginning with that number (which may be a range having an upper limit or no upper limit, depending on the variable being defined). For example, “at least 1” means 1 or more than 1. The term “at most” followed by a number is used herein to denote the end of a range ending with that number (which may be a range having 1 or 0 as its lower limit, or a range having no lower limit, depending upon the variable being defined). For example, “at most 4” means 4 or less than 4, and “at most 40%” means 40% or less than 40%. When, in this specification, a range is given as “(a first number) to (a second number)” or “(a first number)-(a second number),” this means a range whose lower limit is the first number and whose upper limit is the second number. For example, 25 to 100 mm means a range whose lower limit is 25 mm and upper limit is 100 mm.
Certain terminology and derivations thereof may be used in the following description for convenience in reference only and will not be limiting. For example, words such as “upward,” “downward,” “left,” and “right” would refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made unless otherwise stated. Similarly, words such as “inward” and “outward” would refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of a device or area and designated parts thereof. References in the singular tense include the plural, and vice versa, unless otherwise noted.
The term “coupled to” as used herein may mean a direct or indirect connection via one or more components.
Referring now to the drawings and the following written description of the present invention, it will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible to broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the detailed description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention. This disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention.
The visor 130 may be made of a transparent or semi-transparent material such as transparent plastic or glass. The visor 130 may be tinted, include a tinted layer, or embedded with UV protection to provide protection from ultraviolet light or bright light. The visor 130 may be permanently attached to the head covering 120, for example by gluing, sewing, or other attachment mechanisms. The visor 130 may form a 360-degree ring around the head of a wearer of the PPE 100, allowing the wearer to see out of the PPE 100 independently of a direction the head of the wearer is facing relative to the PPE 100. In other embodiments the visor may extend 180 degrees or more around the head of the wearer. And in still other embodiments, the visor 130 may extend 90 degrees or more around the head of the wearer. The visor 130 may extend down about 3-6 inches from the head cover 120. The visor 130 may be arranged and sized such that the wearer can see out of the visor directly in front of the eyes of the wearer.
As will be described in further detail below, the visor 130 may be removably attached to the veil 140. The veil 140 may include a protective material. The protective material may be a filtering material that allows air to pass through and also acts to filter out contaminants (e.g., water particles containing viruses and/or bacteria, allergens, and air pollutants) from the air passing through the veil 140. For example, the veil 140 may include a HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter material or other similar material. In another embodiment, the protective material may be netting for keeping insects such as mosquitoes and bees out. The head covering 120 and the visor 130 may not allow substantial air flow and the veil 140 may filter substantially all air passing into and out of the PPE 100. The veil 140 may extend down about 6-18 inches from the visor 130. The veil 140 may be configured to have a portion of the veil 140 rest on the collar of the wearer, when the wearer wears the PPE 100. The veil 140 may have a reduction in diameter and then flare out such that the wearer may comfortably slip the veil under the collar of a shirt with a portion of the veil being under the shirt of the wearer resting on the collar and back of the wearer. The veil 140 may be sized and arranged to completely encircle a portion of the head of the wearer (about from the nose down) and the neck of the wearer.
The head gripper 150 may have a general bowl shape with portions missing such that fingers extend downward. The general bowl shape of the head gripper 150 may have a diameter less than the diameter of the head cover 120 such that the head gripper 150 may sit in the head cover 120. The head gripper 150 may be sized and arranged to grip onto a head of a wearer when worn on the head of the wearer such that the head gripper 150 rotates less than the head cover 120 when the wearer rotates his/her head. The difference in rotation being enabled by the connection of the head cover 120 to the head gripper 150 by the axel 114.
The PPE 100 may be worn on and around the head of a wearer to protect the wearer from airborne contaminants, sunlight, wind, cold weather, etc. The PPE 100 provides improved comfort for the wearer by allowing the wearer to rotate the head gripper 150 independently of the head covering 120, providing protection at a comfortable distance from the face of the wearer, minimizing pressure on a single location on the head of the wearer, etc.
In one embodiment, a device (e.g., PPE 100) may include a head piece (e.g., head gripper 120), a head cover 120, a visor 130, and a veil 140. The head piece may be sized and arranged to sit on a head of a wearer when the device is worn on the head of the wearer. The head cover 120 may be connected to the head piece, may be connected over the head piece, and may be configured to rotate relative to the head piece. The visor 130 may be connected to the head cover 120, the visor 130 being at least partially transparent. The veil 140 may connect to the visor 130. The veil 140 may include a protective material.
The head cover 120 may be sized and arranged to cover a crown of the head of the wearer. The visor 130 may extend down from the head cover 120 and may be sized and arranged to allow a wearer to see through the visor 130 when the wearer's head is facing forward. The veil 140 may extend downward from the visor 130 and the protective material of the veil 140 may be an air filtering material. The veil 140 may be sized and arranged to filter air breathed by the wearer. The veil 140 may be sized and arranged to encircle the head or the neck of the wearer.
The visor 130 may be sized and arranged to extend at least 90 degrees around the head of the wearer when the device is worn by the wearer. The veil 140 may be removably connected to the visor 130. The veil 140 may be removably connected to the head cover 120 via a groove 125 in the head cover 120 and seal 126 placed into the groove 125 with a portion of the veil 140. The head piece may be sized and arranged to grip the crown of the head of the wearer such that when the head of the wearer is rotated the head piece rotates more than the head cover 120.
The head cover 120 may be sized and arranged to cover a crown of a head of a wearer when the device is worn by the wearer. The head piece may be rotatably connected to the head cover 120 and sized and arranged to grip the crown of the head of the wearer such that when the head of the wearer is rotated the head piece rotates more than the head cover 120. The head piece may be arranged to rotate independently of the head cover 120, the visor 130, and the veil 140. The head piece may be connected to the head cover 120 by an axle 114 configured and arranged to allow the head piece and head cover 120 to rotate independently.
Many different embodiments of the inventive concepts have been shown. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the features from different embodiments may be combined or replaced with other features from different embodiments.
Advantageously, the PPE 100 may provide superior protection for the head of the wearer by completely covering the head and neck of the wearer while filtering air through a filter (veil 140). The PPE 100 may also provide superior comfort because the device allows the wearer to rate his/her head with the head gripper 150 independently of the head cover 120, the visor 130, and the veil 140.
The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The present invention according to one or more embodiments described in the present description may be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Thus, the description is to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive of the present invention.
This application claims priority to provisional application No. 63/084,614, which was filed on Sep. 29, 2020, which is incorporated in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63084614 | Sep 2020 | US |
