Patent Application
20190314203
The present specification relates to protective equipment, and more specifically to protective equipment to protect a user's face.
Protective equipment is desired or required in many situations. As an example, prudence often calls for users of heavy equipment and users in dusty environments to use protective equipment. As another example, government regulations often call for the use of protective equipment on construction job sites or in manufacturing areas.
Many items of protective equipment have been designed and produced to fulfill a great variety of functions. As an example, safety glasses have been designed to protect the eyes of a user. As another example, masks have been designed to filter air inhaled by a user. As another example, ear plugs have been designed to protect the ears of a user.
However, because of the great variety of functions for which protective equipment could be designed and the great variety of circumstances in which protective equipment could be used, improved protective equipment designs may be found desirable.
In an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for protecting a user, comprising: an eye shield defining a nose ridge and a pair of lateral ends, the pair of lateral ends including a first end and a second end; a first arm adjustably secured to the first end and a second arm adjustably secured to the second end; a first ear protector adjustably secured to a distal end of the first arm and a second ear protector adjustably secured to a distal end of the second arm; and a nose respirator secured to the nose ridge of the eye shield.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a protective device for protecting the face of a user, comprising in combination: safety glasses defining a nose arch, a first arm, and a second arm; a first ear plug adjustably secured to the first arm; a second ear plug adjustably secured to the second arm; and a nosepiece secured to the nose arch and configured to direct a nasal fluid flow through a filter.
In an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a replacement kit for the aforementioned apparatus comprising a replacement filtration element, a replacement first ear protector and a replacement second ear protector.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a replacement kit for the aforementioned protective device comprising a replacement filter, a replacement first ear plug and a replacement second ear plug.
The principles of the invention may better be understood with reference to the accompanying figures provided by way of illustration of an exemplary embodiment, or embodiments, incorporating principles and aspects of the present invention, and in which:
The description that follows, and the embodiments described therein, are provided by way of illustration of an example, or examples, of particular embodiments of the principles of the present invention. These examples are provided for the purposes of explanation, and not of limitation, of those principles and of the invention. In the description, like parts are marked throughout the specification and the drawings with the same respective reference numerals. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and in some instances proportions may have been exaggerated in order more clearly to depict certain features of the invention.
This description relates to protective equipment to be provided to protect a user in a variety of circumstances or situations or events. This description relates to protective equipment provided to incorporate eye, nose, and ear protection in a single unit or modular unit.
This description relates to protective equipment which can be securely worn by a user during movement without incorporating bands, such as elastic bands, passing or secured around the user's head or neck. For example, embodiments are configured to be firmly secured to the head or face of a user during rapid movement of the head, including rapid movement of the head when the head is angled otherwise than vertically, without requiring the use of elastic bands passing around the user's head. In some circumstances, bands, such as elastic bands, passing over the head or neck of a user are uncomfortable or impractical or unsafe or difficult to put on.
This description relates to protective equipment incorporating eye and nose protection while limiting the impact of the nose protection on the functionality of the eye protection. For example, embodiments are configured to filter air received at the nose of a user while blocking vapor from the user's breath from fogging up the eye protection component or otherwise impacting the functionality of the eye protection. Embodiments incorporate a respirator to be held firmly against the face of a user to control the passage of air or vapor between a respiration zone defined by the equipment when in use and an ocular zone defined by the equipment when in use. In some embodiments, the protective equipment includes pads built into the nose piece, designed so that the nose piece will sit tightly against the cheek bone to keep vapor from escaping into the eye area of the protective equipment.
This description relates to protective equipment for filtering air inhalation without muffling or otherwise interfering with the ability of a user to speak.
This description relates to protective equipment incorporating adjustable ear protection. For example, embodiments include adjustable or flexible earpieces to allow a user to position earplugs comfortably when wearing the protective equipment.
In some embodiments the protective equipment is a modular design. For example, in some embodiments one or more earpieces can be replaced with compatible earpieces. In some embodiments the nose protection may be interchangeable. For example, a nosepiece or nose respirator may be releasably secured to a nose ridge defined by an eye shield. In some embodiments, a filter component of the nose respirator may be replaceable or interchangeable. According to a further embodiment as shown in
Ear protection may include ear plugs formed of wax, foam, or other material, and may be designed to protect the ears from sound or environmental elements or both.
Eye protection may include an eye shield which is formed or partially formed of a transparent or semitransparent material such as glass, reinforced glass, plastic, or other material. An eye shield may be a singular piece or may be formed of multiple pieces. For example, the eye shield may be formed of a pair of eye lenses, may incorporate one or more frame components, and may include one or more extra components such as side shields.
Nose protection may include a nose cover provided to, when worn by a user, control the passage of fluid such as air between the user's nose and the ambient environment. Such nose protection may be formed of a plastic or other fluidly impervious material, formed to provide a fluid passage to be governed by a filtration element. The nose cover itself may integrally form the filtration element in some embodiments, while in other embodiments the filtration element may be a modular component of the nose protection.
In some embodiments, a filtration element is a carbon filtration element incorporating a volume of activated charcoal or biochar or other material to remove contaminants from a fluid passing through the filtration element. In some embodiments, a filtration element is a screen or other basic filter.
Manufacturing costs, desired lifespan, and reusability may be considerations in determining which elements of the protective equipment are formed integrally and which are formed modularly, as well as informing the choice of materials and construction technique and other design choices.
An embodiment is depicted in
As detailed particularly in
Eye shield 1100 also defines a nose ridge 1150 and a pair of lateral ends 1140 and 1130, where the nose ridge 1150 and lateral ends 1140 and 1130 are understood to be sections or regions as indicated in
As detailed particularly in
In order to minimize the effect of a user's breath on the transparency of eye shield 1100, such as to minimize condensation build-up, nose respirator 1200 is also designed to block the flow of fluid between the nose of a user and the inner surface 1160 of eye shield 1100. In addition to structural components of protection apparatus 1000 designed to be placed between a user's nostrils and eyes, nose respirator 1200 also controls the effect of breath on the eye shield by directing the external end of the defined fluid passage away from eye shield 1100, such as by having the fluid passage directed down through a nose base cover.
In some embodiments, the protective equipment includes one or more cheek pads or other sealing elements to assist in providing a fluid tight seal between the nose respirator and a user's face to assist in controlling the flow of fluid and directing fluid through the defined fluid passage. In some embodiments more than one fluid passage may be defined by nose respirator.
As detailed particularly in
The set of ear protectors 1300 is adjustably secured to the arms. The set of ear protectors 1300 includes a first ear plug 1310 and a second ear plug 1320. First and second ear plugs 1310 and 1320 are each adjustably secured to the distal ends of first and second arms 1400 and 1500. The adjustable securement may be in a variety of ways, such as a pivotal securement to permit a user to adjust angles between the plugs and the arms. In some embodiments the ear protectors may be further adjustable, such as extendable to be compatible with deep-set ears. As depicted, ear protectors 1300 are ear plugs, however in other embodiments other protectors may be employed, such as muffs or covers.
As depicted, ear protectors 1300 substantially form the ends 1410 and 1510 of arms 1400 and 1500, where the ends 1410 and 1510 are understood to be the distal sections or regions of the arms 1400 and 1500 rather than the distal points of the arms. However, in other embodiments, the ear protectors may be secured further up the arms, such as to allow the arms to pass over the tops of a user's ears with the plugs extending down or back to be entered into the user's ear canals. As depicted in
In some embodiments, nose, ear, and eye protection can each provide more than one type of protection. As an example, in some embodiments eye protection may substantially function as safety glasses to protect the eyes from physical impact, and in some embodiments eye protection may also substantially function as goggles to isolate eyes from the environment. In another example, in some embodiments the nose respirator may be provided to filter air breathed through a user's nose, and in some embodiments the nose respirator may also be provided to shield or otherwise protect the nose from physical impact. In another example, in some embodiments ear protectors may be provided to protect a user's eardrums from sound vibrations, and in some embodiments ear protectors may also be provided to shield or otherwise protect ear drums or other ear components from physical impact.
A protection apparatus for providing eye, nose, and ear protection in a single unit or modular unit permits a design in which the components function together to hold the apparatus firmly to a user's head when in use and in which the components do not degrade one another's functionality. In addition, the provision of a single unit or modular unit could be convenient for some users.
Various embodiments of the invention have been described in detail. Since changes in and or additions to the above-described best mode may be made without departing from the nature, spirit or scope of the invention, the invention is not to be limited to those details but only by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62658058 | Apr 2018 | US |
