AT523746B1 - Respirator mask for quick manufacture in case of disaster, fragrance and healing mask - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for producing a respirator mask, which is designed to cover the mouth and nose, from a flat, preferably textile, filter material (1), with a metal piece (2) being attached in the area of one side of the filter material (1), and a nose fold (3 ) is trained with this. A chin fold (14) is formed by folding in the filter material (1) on a side opposite the nose fold (3). Thereafter, the filter material is folded into an N-shaped configuration, and a first rubber band (8) and a second rubber band (9) are attached to the filter material (1).

Description

description

RESPIRATORY MASK FOR QUICK PRODUCTION IN CASE OF A DISASTER, FRAGRANCE AND HEALING MASK

The invention relates to the development of a method for producing respiratory protection masks (half masks) covering the mouth and nose from flat (e.g. textile) filter materials by means of a special folding technique and fixing the fold by conventional sewing technology or other fixing techniques (e.g. clips, ultrasonic welding ), which is characterized by the fact that the special folding technique forms a round bulge in the mouth area and thus creates sufficient distance between the mouth and the filter material without the need for an additional supporting structure and the mask can be optically enhanced with a decorative fabric, filter performance, sealing and breathing resistance remain unaffected.

The respirator mask is characterized in that it has a metal strip in the nose part, which ensures the necessary seal in the nose area, but the mask can create an adequate seal with the face without any supporting structure, so that when using correspondingly high-performance filter materials (EPA , HEPA, ULPA) the highest requirements regarding leakage and filter performance (e.g. according to EN 149:2001+A1:2009 [FFP1/2/3] 0.ä.) are met.

The bulge in front of the mouth can be additionally stabilized in shape by inserting a recyclable plastic device.

INNOVATION

The method differs essentially from the prior art in that 1. respirators can be manufactured without the aid of expensive special machines and thus can be produced locally in large quantities in supply crises without advance and the resulting respirator 2. without supporting structures and 3. these respirators can be optically enhanced with decorative fabrics and these respirators 4. can be reprocessed several times by steam sterilization without deformation problems and 5. a better decontamination result can be achieved by reducing the layers to be penetrated by the steam.

STATE OF THE ART

The filter materials are usually applied to supporting structures (e.g. half-shells) or stiffening cover materials are attached, which are connected to the filter by means of ultrasonic welding. The supporting structures usually consist of different materials than the filter fabrics themselves. The different materials behave differently when exposed to heat and moisture (such as when they are worn for a long time or, even more extreme, when they are steam sterilized at 121 or 134 °C). Experience has shown that different shrinkage ratios when exposed to heat lead to significant deformations of the mask construction (e.g. according to studies by the Vienna Health Association), which is why commercially available FFP2/3 masks can be reprocessed a maximum of 1x or not at all by steam sterilization for multiple use. In addition, rubber coatings that were applied to improve the sealing connection sometimes loosen and deform at the high temperatures.

[0006] Because the method described here does not have a supporting or stiffening structure, the mask can also be penetrated more quickly and more reliably by the steam in the case of vacuum-steam decontamination methods. In tests, we have proven that our masks meet the FFP2 criteria without any problems even after 30 reprocessing cycles. The possibility of multiple reprocessing reduces the total daily requirement for masks, which in turn helps to avoid supply crises.

[0007] In addition, a load-bearing structure, which is also penetrated by the breathing air, is increased

the breathing resistance considerably, which makes breathing more strenuous and, due to the increased pressure difference between inside and outside, leads to increased condensation on the filter medium or on the supporting structure. Conversely, this increases the breathing resistance again and the vicious circle continues until you have to change the mask because you are soaked. Currently commercially available FFP2 and FFP3 masks must therefore be changed after 2 - 4 hours, since the effectiveness of the mask is significantly reduced by the moisture penetration and the breathing resistance increases as a result. By doing without an additional supporting medium in the method described here, wetting is prevented and breathing resistance is reduced to an absolute minimum. Furthermore, the extraordinarily large filter surface also contributes significantly to reducing breathing resistance. Since the masks manufactured using the method described here can be worn longer than usual, the number of masks required per day is also reduced.

The following individual values were achieved with the tested mask made of F9 filter mat: Breathing resistance when inhaling: 0.27 mbar/0.34 mbar

(Condition for CPA according to Decree 2020-0.198.830: at 95l/min for all patterns <= 3.0mbar) Breathing resistance when exhaling: 0.48mbar / 0.54mbar

(Condition for CPA according to decree 2020-0.198.830: at 160l/min for all models <= 3.0mbar)

Because of their large contact surface on the face, which is not tapered by a supporting structure, the masks are also characterized by a high level of comfort, which makes them ideal for use as an all-day mask. Because of the low breathing resistance, the masks are particularly suitable for allergy sufferers, patients with previous lung diseases, old and frail people, people who have to wear the masks for long periods of time, strenuous activities, fitness, sports, deliveries under Covid-19 protective measures and for children , because the masks can be produced in all sizes and can also be customized with colorful fabrics.

In addition, the mask can also be used as a scented and healing mask, in that the edges of the mask are sprinkled with essential oils, for example, which are then released into the breathing air throughout the day.

The method is characterized in that a wide variety of fixing techniques - even very simple ones such as sewing and stapling - can be used. The cutting and folding techniques are designed in such a way that the effective filter areas do not have any seam holes. When the folds are fixed on the left and right, the filter medium is compressed there. This compression on the seam, but also on the surrounding material, ensures a natural seal, which is why the seam cannot have a negative effect on the tightness of the mask in these areas. It would take a large pressure differential for air to enter or exit the mask through these compressed ends. However, due to the large active filter surface and the high permeability of the filter medium, these high pressure differences do not occur. In addition, "false air" that flows into the mask along the compressed filter surfaces would still repeatedly penetrate and exit the filter medium along the flow direction and be filtered in the process.

Commercial respirators can only be produced with expensive special machines that are not available in most countries or only in very small numbers. In the event of a crisis, this makes it impossible to produce large quantities of respiratory masks locally without a long lead time, which was impressively shown during the Covid 19 crisis.

Commercial sewing machines are sufficient for the production of respirators (compliant with EN 149) using the method described here, and in extreme cases, respirators can even be produced using staples and other fixing techniques (e.g. ultrasonic welding, rivets, clamps) using this method. With sufficient storage of the filter material, the production capacities can be increased almost arbitrarily in times of crisis by simply training more seamstresses and loading them with material, since both technically trained workers and the necessary production machines are available in large quantities.

[0014] These methods are not just a production method for respiratory masks, but also a method for preventing supply bottlenecks during pandemic times. An integral part of this process is the training of the seamstresses via online video, which eliminates the need for time-consuming and costly personal training.

ARRANGEMENT BASIC FORM

1. The basic form of the arrangement is made in the universal size from a piece of 25 x 35 cm Fig.1 --1-- large tensile filter mat (to achieve FFP2 according to EN 149, the filter mat must correspond to at least F9 according to EN 779) , a sufficiently dimensionally stable 14 cm long piece of metal --2-- (in the prototype, household 1 x 1.5mm*® solid copper wire with white insulation), a 34 cm long elastic band --8-- (e.g. rubber band with a width of 5 mm) for the upper headband and 28 cm for the neckband below --9--.

2. The piece of metal --2-- is created according to Figure 1 close to the edge of the 25 cm edge in parallel, with an equal distance to the long sides, the edge is about 1 cm wide and the wire is wrapped through a narrow wire attached seam fixed (e.g. with a zipper foot).

The fold --3-- is now tucked in two more times (Fig.3) so that the seam disappears completely into the fold and the wire is again on the outside edge of the fold. This fold forms the future "nose fold" --3--, For the tightness of the arrangement it is important that those surfaces that are in contact with the face for sealing are not pierced by a seam, so that no false air is sucked in through seam holes and thread and thus an optimal sealing closure can be established. The arrangement is also optimized in such a way that the filter surfaces pointing outwards are not pierced by a seam. The attachment of embroidery patterns to these areas (e.g. for a logo) is therefore to be avoided in any case. If logos, prints or decorations are to be attached, mask variant “C” with the additional decorative fabric layer should be selected. This can be printed, embroidered or otherwise decorated before production, since the decorative fabric layer does not contribute to the filter function.

3. Now, in -- Figure 3 -- 7 cm of the lower 25 cm edge are turned upwards --14--. This fold ultimately forms the sealing surface around the chin ("chin crease"). The arrangement is chosen so that the outside of the filter material also lies against the face, which prevents the air between the chin and the inside of the mask from being able to make its way through the coarser inner fabric of the filter mat instead of penetrating through the denser outside of the filter mat to have to. This arrangement guarantees that any air currents flowing through the micro-gap between the chin and the mask must also interact with the active filter side and be filtered in the process. Because of the importance of this fold for tightness and thus for the filter performance and the minimization of leakage, this fold was chosen very generously with 7 cm. This is also intended to prevent the user from intentionally or unintentionally unfolding the fold and thus the mask can no longer be put on properly and a tight fit can no longer be produced.

4. The arrangement is in -- Figure 4 -- folded in half by the lower half being folded up and thus the nose fold --3-- is covered.

5. Then -- Figure 5 -- the arrangement is folded into an N-shape to form an accordion and temporarily fixed with a clip (e.g. clothespin). The nose fold must point to the inside of the accordion and be covered by the future chin fold.

6. The same -- Figure 6 -- is also made on the other side in reverse and fixed by means of a clamp, so that a continuous accordion fold is created.

7. The next two steps are performed sequentially on the left and right sides of the assembly.

8. First, according to -- Figure 8 -- the chin fold --14-- is pulled inwards about 1.5 cm in relation to the rest of the edge of the mask and fixed in this position. This reduces the pull on the chin crease when wearing the mask and thus prevents the filter material from tearing at the seam.

9. Now the mask is turned to the front Fig.9.

10. Now the two folds above the nose fold are also drawn approx. 1.5 cm to the middle of the mask Fig. 10.

[0025] 11 Now the foremost crease (it forms the central mouth crease --15--) is again drawn approx. 1.5 cm towards the middle so that the edge of the crease is again parallel to the edge of the nose crease, however 1, 5 cm offset inwards Fig.11. The staggered folds now form a characteristic “N”.

Steps 8 through 11 are now repeated on the right side.

The arrangement is fixed with a clamp so that it can no longer shift until it is sewn. This arrangement shortens the top and bottom of the mask from the central "mouth crease," creating a rounded bulge. This creates sufficient breathing space in the mouth area. The mask is therefore not in contact with the mouth, which means that the air penetrates through the entire filter surface when breathing. This reduces the pressure difference between outside and inside during inhalation and exhalation, which reduces the likelihood of condensation forming on the filter medium "in the same breath". A small pressure difference (0.3 mbar pressure difference was measured in the test setup, EN 149 allows up to 3 mbar) also means less stress on the lungs, which means that wearing the mask for a long time is bearable.

12. The following two steps are best to be carried out one after the other on one side and to be fixed immediately with a seam and only then to be repeated on the other side. In -- Fig. 12 -- the 34 cm long rubber band --8-- is inserted between the middle fold and the nose fold for sewing. The 28 cm long elastic band --9-- is inserted between the middle fold and the mouth fold for sewing. The arrangement is then fixed with a suture. The seam runs along the edge of the furthest inward fold. This is the mouth crease. It is important to ensure that the rubber bands are inserted deep enough into the fold so that they are caught by the seam. If the seam is set on the first side, the process can be repeated on the other side.

Once both seams have been sewn, the protruding parts of the fold can be cut off to create a straight pattern.

COLOR VARIANT (WITH DECORATIVE FABRIC)

COLOR variant is based on the basic form. The nose and chin folds are slightly modified so that a decorative layer of fabric can be attached.

1. The respirator according to the COLOR variant is made in the universal size from a piece of 25 x 30 cm Fig.13 --1-- large, high-tensile filter mat (to achieve FFP2 according to EN 149, the filter mat must correspond to at least F9 according to EN 779 ), a sufficiently dimensionally stable 14 cm long piece of metal --2-- (in the prototype, household 1 x 1.5mm® solid copper wire with white insulation), a 34 cm long elastic band --8-- (e.g. rubber band with a width of 5 mm) for the upper headband and 28 cm for the neckband below --9--,

2. The fabric is placed so that the rough side of the filter material (outside) faces down and the smooth face up. The piece of metal --2-- is parallel to the 25 cm edge near the edge according to Fig.13, with an equal distance to the

Long sides laid out, the edge folded in about 1 cm or narrower and the wire fixed with a seam that fits tightly to the wire (e.g. with a zipper foot).

3. The fabric is now turned so that the smooth side of the filter material is facing down and the rough side is facing up. Now the decorative fabric is placed with the "right" side down (the side that will eventually form the mask exterior) on the filter mat so that the colored fabric is flush with the bottom edge of the filter material (opposite the nose fold). The elastic side of the decorative is aligned horizontally along the 25 cm edge.

Now the decorative fabric is connected to the filter material with a continuous seam approx. 0.5 cm from its upper --5-- and lower edge --6--.

4. The fold --3-- is now folded or rolled at least two more times until the nose fold is all the way up to the upper decorative seam (5). The seam of the nose fold thus disappears completely in the fold and the wire is again on the outside edge of the fold. This is how the future “nose fold” is formed --3--. For the tightness of the arrangement, it is important that the filter surfaces that lie on the face for sealing are not pierced by a seam, so that no false air can be sucked in through seam holes and thread and thus an optimal seal can be created. The arrangement is also optimized in such a way that the filter surfaces pointing outwards are not pierced by a seam. Since it is not possible to attach embroidery patterns (e.g. for a logo), prints and decorations directly to the filter, mask variant "C" is also equipped with a decorative layer of fabric that can be printed, embroidered or otherwise decorated before production, without affecting the filter function to interfere.

5. The workpiece is tilted as shown in FIG. The nose fold should be temporarily fixed with a clip in such a way that the clip holds the nose fold and the filter fabric, but not the decorative fabric.

6. The collapsed arrangement, consisting of the two superimposed, interconnected fabrics, is folded in half in -- Figure 16 -- by folding the lower half upwards and thus the nose fold --7- - is covered.

13. Then -- Fig.17 -- the arrangement is folded into an N-shape to form an accordion and temporarily fixed with a clip (e.g. clothespin). The nose fold must point to the inside of the accordion and be covered by the future chin fold.

14. The same is also done on the other side in reverse to --Fig.17-- and fixed by means of a clip, so that a continuous accordion fold is created.

15. The next two steps are performed sequentially on the left and right sides of the assembly.

16. We start on the left. First the arrangement is rotated as shown in FIG.

17. According to -- Figure 19 -- the chin fold --14-- is pulled inward about 1.5 cm in relation to the rest of the edge of the mask and fixed in this position. This reduces the pull on the chin crease when wearing the mask and thus prevents the filter material from tearing at the seam.

18. Now the bottom centimeter of the chin fold is about 1 cm folded up --Fig.20--. This ensures that the mask is in full contact with the face on the filter side and that a leak is not accidentally created because the mask is partly in contact with the decorative fabric on the chin.

The indentation is temporarily fixed with staples until suturing.

19. Now steps 17 and 18 are repeated on the right side. 20. The mask turned to the front --Fig.21--. We start on the left.

21. Now the two folds above the nose fold are also pulled about 1.5 cm to the middle of the mask --Fig.22--.

[0043] 22. Now the foremost crease (it forms the central mouth crease --15--) is again pulled approx. 1.5 cm towards the middle so that the edge of the crease is again parallel to the edge of the nose crease, but 1 .5 cm inwards as in --Fig.23--. The staggered folds now form a characteristic “N”.

The arrangement is fixed with a clamp so that it can no longer shift until it is sewn. This arrangement shortens the top and bottom of the mask from the central "mouth crease" --15--, creating a rounded bulge. This creates sufficient breathing space in the mouth area. The mask is therefore not in contact with the mouth, which means that the air penetrates through the entire filter surface when breathing. This reduces the pressure difference between outside and inside during inhalation and exhalation, which reduces the likelihood of condensation forming on the filter medium “in the same breath”. A small pressure difference (0.3 mbar pressure difference was measured in the test setup, EN 149 allows up to 3 mbar) also means less stress on the lungs, which means that wearing the mask for a long time is bearable.

23. Steps 21 and 22 are now repeated on the right side.

24. Now cut off the protruding ends along the outer edge --16-- of the mouth fold --15--.

25. The long head elastic --8-- and the shorter neck elastic --9-- are now placed on the outside of the mouth fold --15-- and using an overlock stitch --10-- or other fixing methods on the Mask fixed as in --Fig.24--. The seam also fixes the folds of the mask and, despite the seam, ensures an adequate seal at the edges of the mask due to the compression of the edge areas.

26. Repeat steps 24 and 25 on the right side.

27. The rubber bands are then beaten onto the other side of the mask and the mask can now be put on.

INSIDE OUT VERSION

The inside-out variant is manufactured for the most part like the COLOR variant, but no decorative fabric is attached. So that the chin crease can be made dimensionally stable, the base material should be made a little longer at the bottom and also folded outwards based on the nose crease.

The arrangement can be arbitrarily adjusted in size in each variant by scaling the section according to the dimensions of the head and face. This also makes it possible to produce children's masks.

[0051] A method is therefore described here for the production of respirator half masks from flat filters using a special folding technique, which can be produced at short notice without special machines even in times of crisis, with a metal clip in the nose piece and a round bulge in the mouth area, but without the need for a supporting structure, with an oversized filter surface and with extremely low breathing resistance and therefore suitable for long wear and strenuous activities, can be reprocessed several times by steam sterilization, can be optically enhanced with decorative, printed or embroidered fabrics, with filter performance, tight closure and breathing resistance in all variants, e.g. Able to meet EN 149 if certified filter materials (EPA, HEPA, ULPA) are used, adaptable to any face size, can also be used as a scented and healing mask.

Claims (5)

patent claims 1. A method for producing a respirator mask, which is designed to cover the mouth and nose, from a flat, preferably textile, filter material (1), characterized by the steps of a) providing the flat filter material (1); b) fastening a piece of metal (2) in the area of one side of the filter material (1), preferably by means of sewing into the filter material (1); c) multiple folding over of the area of the filter material (1) to which the metal piece (2) is attached in order to form a nose fold (3); d) wrapping the filter material (1) on a side opposite the nose fold (3) in order to form a chin fold (14); e) folding the filter material (1) substantially in half between the nose fold (3) and the chin fold (14), the nose fold (3) being superimposed on the chin fold (14); f) folding in the superimposed nose fold (3) and chin fold (14) twice to form an N-shaped arrangement, the nose fold (3) being covered on both sides in the N-shaped arrangement; g) mutually indenting ends of the chin fold (14) from edges of the N-shaped configuration toward a central region; h) mutually indenting ends of one side opposite to the chin fold (14) and the nose fold (3) along the N-shaped configuration from the edges of the N-shaped configuration toward the central region; ij) Inserting a first rubber band (8) into the N-shaped arrangement along the nose fold (3), on an area of the nose fold (3) facing away from the chin fold (14), and fastening the first rubber band (8) to the nose fold (3 ) preferably by means of a suture; )) Laying a second elastic band (9) in a fold of the N-shaped arrangement in which the first elastic band (8) is attached, in a turn-up area of the fold opposite the first elastic band (8), and fastening the second elastic band (9) in the turn-up area preferably by means of a seam; 2. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the step of cutting off edge regions of the N-shaped arrangement between steps h) and 1). 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized by the step of applying a decorative substance on an outside of the filter material (1). 4. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the fastening of the metal piece (2), the first rubber band (8) and/or the second rubber band (9) takes place by means of sewing, stapling, clamping and/or ultrasonic welding. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the metal piece (2) is a wire. 9 sheets of drawings