AU2007201225B2 - Decorative Mask - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicants: Chia-Ching Yeh and Mao-Shan Yeh Actual Inventors: Chia-Ching Yeh and Mao-Shan Yeh Address for Service: A.P.T. Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys PO Box 222, Mitcham SA 5062 Invention Title: Decorative Mask The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:- DECORATIVE MASK FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a mask, and more particularly to a decorative mask.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIGS. 1A and lB for perspective views of a conventional decorative mask viewed at different angles, the decorative mask 100 includes a plastic mask 110 and an elastic band 120, wherein two end points 122 of the elastic band 120 are fixed at an inner lateral side S 1 of the plastic mask 110 S 1, and a user can slip the elastic band 120 around the user's head to wear the decorative mask 100. If the user wears this decorative mask 100 for many times, the elastic band 120 will become elastically fatigue, and thus the decorative mask 100 will be damaged easily. Since the elastic band 120 is fixed onto the plastic mask 110 and cannot be removed or replaced easily, therefore, users hardly find a way to repair a damaged decorative mask 100.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B for a perspective view of another type of conventional decorative mask and a schematic view of a user wearing the decorative mask respectively, the decorative mask 200 includes a plastic mask 210 and a hand stick 220, wherein one of the end points 222 of the hand stick 220 is fixed onto an inner lateral side S2 of the plastic mask 210. In FIG. 2B, the user 50 can hold the hand stick 220 by a hand 52 and adjust the position of the plastic mask 210 to achieve the effect of covering the face 54 of the user For the purposes of this specification the word "comprising" means "including but not limited to", and the word "comprises" has a corresponding meaning. Also a reference within this specification to a document is not to be taken as an admission that the disclosure therein constitutes common general knowledge in Australia.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary objective of the invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a decorative mask that comprises a mask and a head-mounted member.

The mask applicable for covering the face of a user includes two first fasteners installed on an inner lateral side of the mask. The head-mounted member applicable to be worn at the head of the user includes two second fasteners corresponding to the first fasteners, and the second fasteners are applicable for engaging or disengaging the first fasteners.

To make it easy for our examiner to understand the present invention, the following drawing and numerals will be used for a detail description of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views of a conventional decorative mask viewed at different angles; FIG. 2A is a perspective view of another conventional decorative mask; FIG. 2B is a schematic view of a user wearing a decorative mask as depicted in FIG.

2A; FIG. 3A is an exploded view of a decorative mask in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3B is a schematic view of a user wearing a decorative mask as depicted in FIG.

3A; FIGS. 3C and 3D are exploded views of two types of decorative masks in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a decorative mask in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a decorative mask in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a decorative mask in accordance with a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a decorative mask in accordance with a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a decorative mask in accordance with a sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The structure and its connecting relation of the present invention will now be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings that show various embodiments of the invention as follows.

Referring to FIG. 3A for an exploded view of a decorative mask in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B for an exploded view of a decorative mask and a schematic view of a user wearing the decoratively in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention respectively, the decorative mask 300 comprises a mask 310 and a head-mounted member 320. When a user 60 wears the decorative mask 300, the head-mounted member 320 is worn on the head 62 of the user 60, so that the mask 310 covers the face 64 of the user 60. The mask 310 includes two first fasteners 312 disposed on an inner lateral side S3 of the mask 310, and the head-mounted member includes two second fasteners 322 corresponding to the first fasteners 312, wherein the second fastener 322 can be engaged or disengaged with the first fastener 312, so that the head-mounted member 320 can be combined with the mask 310, or the head-mounted member 320 can be removed from the mask 310.

In this embodiment, the first fastener 312 and the second fastener 322 are combined in a form of mother and daughter fasteners. In other words, the first fastener 312 is a mother fastener, and the corresponding second fastener 322 is a daughter fastener. If the user applies a force slightly, the first fastener 312 and the second fastener 322 will be deformed to be engaged or disengaged with each other. Therefore, the user 60 can use various types of masks 310 together with an appropriate head-mounted member 320 to provide different effects when the user wears the decorative mask 300.

Since the first fastener 312 and the second fastener 322 are designed in form of mother and daughter fasteners in a circular shape, therefore the mask 310 can be rotated with respect to the head-mounted member 320, and the user 60 can flip the mask 310 upward to the top of the head to unveil the face 64 of the user 60 without removing the decorative mask 300.

It is noteworthy to point out that this embodiment adopts circular mother and daughter fasteners for the design of the first fastener 312 and second fastener 322, but the first fastener 312 and the second fastener 322 of the invention are not limited to such form only. For instance, the first fastener 312 and the second fastener 322 could be hooks, latches, Velcro tapes, or any other device in an appropriate form.

5 It is noteworthy to emphasize once again that the spirit of the present invention resides (Ni on the application of easy engagement and disengagement of the first fastener 312 and the second fastener 322 allows a user 60 to change the mask 310 and the head-mounted member 320 according to personal preference, so as to improve the exchangeability of the decorative mask 300 and overcome the deficiency of the conventional decorative masks.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the head-mounted member 320 of this embodiment is comprised of a hair band 324 integrated with two engagement plates 326, wherein the hair band 324 is worn at the head of the user 60, and an end of each engagement plate 326 is pivotally coupled with the hair band 324, and another end of each engagement plate 326 is latched onto an inner lateral side S3 of the mask 310 by the second fastener 322. More specifically, the hair band 324 has two opposite pivots 324a, and the engagement plate 326 has a hole 326a corresponding to the pivot 324a. In addition, the second fastener 322 is disposed at an end of said engagement plate 326 corresponding to the hole 326a.

Referring to FIG. 3C for an exploded view of a type of decorative mask in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the decorative mask 300' of this embodiment is similar to the decorative mask 300 as illustrated in FIG. 3A, except the engagement plate 326' has a third fastener 312', and the hair band 324' has a fourth fastener 322' corresponding to the third fastener 312', and the engagement plate 326' can be fixed onto the hair band 324' by engaging the third fastener 312' and the fourth fastener 322'. In other words, the third fastener 312' can be a mother latch which is the same as the first fastener 312, and the fourth fastener 322' can be a daughter latch which is the same as the second fastener 322.

In addition to the aforementioned way of wearing the mask (as shown in FIG. 3B), a user can also remove the engagement plate 326' and fix the mask 310 directly onto the hair band 324' by engaging the first fastener 312 and the fourth fastener 322'.

Therefore, the user can wear the mask in a number of different ways.

Referring to 3D for another type of decorative mask in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the decorative mask 300" of this embodiment is similar to the decorative mask 300 as illustrated in FIG. 3A, except the decorative mask 300" further comprises a partition mask 330, and the partition mask 330 has a third fastener 312' corresponding to the second fastener 322 and a fourth fastener 322' corresponding to the first fastener 312, wherein the third fastener 312' is installed on an inner lateral side of the partition mask 330, and the fourth fastener 322' is installed on an outer lateral side of the partition mask 330.

The user can fix the mask 310 onto the partition mask 330 by engaging the first fastener 312 and the fourth fastener 322', and the partition mask 330 can be fixed onto the headmounted member 320 by engaging the third fastener 312' and the second fastener 322.

Therefore, the user can wear the mask in a number of different ways.

The head-mounted member 320 formed by engaging a hair band 324 and an engagement plate 326 is a form of the present invention only, and other forms of headmounted members will be illustrated in details by the following embodiments. The mask 310 can be a transparent plastic shell formed by going through a thin plastic mold, a punching and cutting process and a thermoplastic process hot and cut into an appropriate shape, and then an ornament such as a piece of cloth, velvet or plastic film is attached onto the surface of the plastic shell.

Referring to FIG. 4 for an exploded view of a decorative mask in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein like components are labeled with the same numeral for simplicity of the illustration, the decorative mask 400 is similar to the decorative mask 300 (as shown in FIG. 3A) except the head-mounted member 420 of this embodiment is an elastic band 420', and the second fastener 322 is disposed separately on both ends of the elastic band 420'. The user can wear the decorative mask 400 by slipping the elastic band 420' around the head of the user.

If the elastic band 420' becomes elastically fatigue, the user just needs to remove the damaged elastic band 420' from the mask 310 and replace it with a new elastic band 420'. Since the user can replace damaged components (such as the elastic band 420') easily, the decorative mask 400 of the invention generally comes with a longer expiration, and the present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the conventional decorative mask, such that users no longer have to throw away the whole decorative mask if a component is damaged.

Referring to FIG. 5 for an exploded view of a decorative mask in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, the decorative mask 500 is similar to the decorative mask 300 (as shown in FIG. 3A) except the head-mounted member 520 of this embodiment includes two hair straps 522, and the second fastener 322 is disposed at an end of the hair strap 522. A user can wind the two hair straps 522 to the backside of the head of the user and tie a knot at another end of the two hair straps 522 to wear the decorative mask 500. Further, the user can wear the decorative mask 500 easily by adjusting the position of the knot.

Referring to FIG. 6 for an exploded view of a decorative mask in accordance with a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, the decorative mask 600 is similar to the decorative mask 300 (as shown in FIG. 3A) except the head-mounted member 620 of this embodiment further includes a hair net 628, and an edge of an opening of the hair net 628 is connected to the hair band 324. Therefore, the hair band 324 and the hair net 628 can be worn on the head of the user simultaneously, and the whole decorative mask 600 can be worn more securely. Even if the weight of the mask 310 is relatively heavy, the mask 600 can be worn in a secured fashion.

Referring to FIG. 7 for an exploded view of a decorative mask in accordance with a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention, the decorative mask 700 is similar to the decorative mask 300 (as shown in FIG. 3A) except the head-mounted member 720 of this embodiment is a head-mounted mask 720', and the second fastener 322 is disposed on an outer lateral side of the head-mounted mask 720'. A user can sheath the headmount mask 720' directly onto the head of the user to wear the decorative mask 700.

In several preferred embodiment described above, different forms of head-mounted members 320, 420, 520, 620, 720 are provided, so that users can select an appropriate head-mounted member for the decorative mask, and thus the decorative mask of the present invention can be changed into a number of ways for its application.

Referring to FIG. 8 for an exploded view of a decorative mask in accordance with a sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention, the decorative mask 800 of the embodiment comprises a mask 310 and a hand stick 820, wherein the hand stick 820 is applicable to be held by a hand of a user, and the second fastener 322 is disposed at an end of the hand stick 820. The user can hold the hand stick 820 by a hand and cover the face by wearing the mask onto the head. Further, the user can select the position of connecting the hand stick 820 according to the user's using habit. In other words, the second fastener 322 on the hand stick 820 can be connected to the first fastener 312 either on the left side or the right side of the mask 310.

In summation of the above description, the present invention herein enhances the performance than the conventional structure and further complies with the patent application requirements. While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.

Claims (7)

1. A decorative mask, comprising: t 5 a mask, applicable for covering the face of a user, and having at least two first 1 fasteners installed on an inner lateral side of said mask; and O a head-mounted member, applicable to be worn at the head of said user, and b having two second fasteners corresponding to said first fasteners, and said second Ofasteners being applicable for engaging or disengaging said first fasteners, two engagement plates, with an end of said each engagement plate coupled to said head mounted member, and said second fastener being disposed on another end of said engagement plate, said engagement plates pivotable about the head-mounted member.

2. The decorative mask of claim 1, wherein said first fastener is a mother fastener and said second fastener is a daughter fastener.

3. The decorative mask of either claim 1 or 2, wherein said head-mounted member comprises: a hair band, applicable to be worn at on the head of said user

4. The decorative mask of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said each engagement plate includes a third fastener, and said head mounted member includes two fourth fasteners corresponding to said third fasteners, and said fourth fasteners being applicable for engaging or disengaging said third fasteners.

The decorative mask of claim 3, further comprising a partition mask having two third fasteners corresponding to the second fasteners and two fourth fasteners corresponding to the first fasteners, and said third fasteners are installed on an inner lateral side of said partition mask, and said fourth fasteners are installed on an outer lateral side of said partition mask.

6. The decorative mask of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said head-mounted 00 10 0 0 cxl 'S member further comprises a hair net, and an edge of an opening of said hair net is O coupled with said hair band.

7. The decorative mask of claim 1, wherein said head-mounted member is a In 5 head-mounted mask, and said second fasteners are disposed on an outer lateral side of CN, said head-mounted mask. 0