JP2022171346A - Mask and method for manufacturing mask - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a mask in which a peripheral edge part of a mask body closely contacts a user's face, a central part of the mask body comfortably covers a user's nose and mouth in a three-dimensional manner, and a top side of the mask body closely contacts the face such that a user's breath does not leak out.SOLUTION: The mask comprises: a mask body 2 with air permeability that covers the user's nose and mouth; a pair of ear hooks 3a and 3b provided on both left and right sides of the mask body 2; and at least one of walls 10a, 10b, 10c and 10d for expanding the mask body 2 in a three-dimensional manner. The walls 10a to 10d extend in a vertical direction which is a right-angle direction with respect to a straight line L in a horizontal direction connecting the pair of ear hooks 3a and 3b. An upper end part and a lower end part in the vertical direction of the wall are joined with the mask body 2 so that the parts do not expand.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a mask that is used to prevent inhalation of fine particles such as pollen and dust, and to prevent infection with viruses that cause colds and other diseases.

Conventionally, Patent Literature 1 discloses a mask provided with folds and shaping assisting members. Folds are folds made in the fabric of the mask to allow the surface area of the mask to be expanded when the mask is in use. The auxiliary member for shaping is a thin linear material having plasticity for matching the shape of the mask to the undulating portion such as the nose of the mask user.

Conventionally, Patent Document 2 discloses a mask in which V-shaped joints are provided at the right and left ends of a mask body. These joints are intended to prevent the mask from expanding vertically (that is, in the vertical direction of the mask user's face) at the left and right ends of the mask.

Another mask is conventionally disclosed in Patent Document 3. In this conventional mask, after sandwiching the left and right ends of the mask body with the side sheets folded in two, the side sheets and the left and right ends of the mask body are joined, and the side sheets and the left and right sides of the mask body are joined. Apart from bonding to the edges, forming bonding lines on the left and right edges of the mask body is disclosed.

Furthermore, conventionally, in Patent Document 4. An example of a mask manufacturing apparatus is disclosed in which the pleats are provided so as to extend in the lateral direction of the mask body. In the manufacturing apparatus shown here, after individually cutting a plurality of mask bodies continuously formed on a strip-shaped sheet material, each mask body is rotated in-plane by an angle of 90°, and then each A technique is disclosed in which an ear hook member is superimposed on the mask body, and an end portion of the ear hook member and an end portion of the mask body are joined by thermocompression bonding or the like.

In the various conventional masks described above, the folds (that is, the folds of the fabric) for increasing the surface area of the mask extend in the lateral direction of the mask (that is, in the direction from one of the left and right ear hooks to the other). was becoming In the conventional mask in which the pleats extend in the lateral direction of the mask, the mask can be vertically expanded at the laterally extending pleats.

However, in this conventional mask, when the ear hooks provided on the left and right sides of the mask are pulled outward in opposite directions, the area of the mask in the vertical direction tends to shrink. For this reason, when the shape and height of the nose of the user varies, and when the relationship between the nose and mouth varies, it is difficult to maintain a space around the mouth, which may lead to suffocation.

Further, in the conventional mask, gaps tend to occur between the mask and the user's face at the upper and lower edges of the mask. In particular, if there is a gap between the top edge of the mask and the face, it will lead to the inhalation of fine particles such as pollen and dust from that gap. The inconvenience of fogging was likely to occur.

In Patent Literature 1, by providing an auxiliary shaping member on the upper side of the mask, the upper side of the mask can be deformed to match the shape of the user's nose. However, even when such an auxiliary member for shaping is provided, it has been difficult to sufficiently reduce the gap between the upper edge of the mask and the face to a satisfactory extent. In addition, when the left and right ear hooks provided on both sides of the mask are pulled outward, the assisting member for shaping deforms in the extending direction, causing the inconvenience of widening the gap between the upper edge of the mask and the face. there was a risk of

Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-111454 Utility Model Registration No. 3157770 Patent No. 4794264 Patent No. 5762804

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of conventional masks, and even if the condition of the user's nose, mouth and surrounding face varies depending on the user, To provide a mask capable of loosely and accurately covering the face around the nose, mouth and their surroundings.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a mask capable of improving the adhesion between the face and the upper edge of the mask, which positionally corresponds to the upper part of the nose.

The mask according to the present invention includes a mask body having air permeability covering the nose and mouth of a user, a pair of ear hooks provided on both left and right sides of the mask body, and at least one ear hook for three-dimensionally expanding the mask body. In a mask having two folds, the folds extend in a longitudinal direction perpendicular to a horizontal straight line connecting the pair of ear hooks, and the upper and lower ends of the pair of ear hooks extend into the mask. It is characterized by being fixed to the main body and not moving.
A "fold" is a portion where the material of the mask body is folded, and is a portion that expands three-dimensionally when the mask body is pulled.

In a second aspect of the mask according to the present invention, the upper and lower ends of the folds are welded to the mask body by heat or ultrasonic waves. According to this configuration, the workability is improved and the folds can be firmly pressed compared to the joining method such as sewing.

In a third aspect of the mask according to the present invention, a shape-retaining member is provided on a center line extending in the longitudinal direction of the mask body, the shape-retaining member extends in the longitudinal direction of the mask body, and the shape-retaining member extends in the longitudinal direction of the mask body. The shaped member has the function of maintaining the three-dimensional shape of the mask body. With this configuration, the shape of the mask can be maintained in a three-dimensional chevron shape from the nose to the chin of the user wearing the mask. This shape-retaining property prevents the mask body from coming into direct contact with the nostrils and mouth. As a result, the user can breathe very easily. In addition, it is possible to prevent the mask body from sticking to the nose and mouth when sniffing.

In a fourth aspect of the mask according to the present invention, at least two shape-retaining members are provided in the mask body, and both of the at least two shape-retaining members extend in the longitudinal direction of the mask body. It is provided at a position separated by 3 mm or more in the left-right direction with respect to the center line. With this configuration, it is possible to improve the shape retention characteristics of the mask body from the nose to the chin of the user. As a result, even if the position and height of the nose of the user vary, the mask body 2 can be prevented from coming into direct contact with the nostrils and mouth. This makes it easier for the user to breathe.

In a fifth aspect of the mask according to the present invention, the mask body has a shape obtained by obliquely cutting four corners of a rectangle or square. By shaping the corners obliquely, it is possible to improve the adhesion from the nose to the cheeks in the upper direction of the user's face, the adhesion from the cheeks to the upper ears, and the lower direction from the chin to the cheeks. It is possible to improve the adhesion, and further the adhesion from the cheek to the lower part of the ear. In addition, by shaping the corners obliquely, when the operator pulls the ear hooks left and right, the pulling force is effectively transmitted to the central portion of the mask body. As a result, the central part of the mask body spreads widely three-dimensionally, so that the user's nose, mouth and their peripheral parts can be comfortably and widely covered, and the user can be given a comfortable wearing feeling.

In a sixth aspect of the mask according to the present invention, the pair of ear hooks are made of an elastic sheet material. By forming the ear hooks from a sheet-like material, the mask can be attached to the user's face in a more stable state than when the ear hooks are made from a string-like material.

In a seventh aspect of the mask according to the present invention, the pair of ear hooks are formed by opening ear openings in the same material as the mask body. With this configuration, when the pair of ear hooks are pulled from the left and right when the mask is worn, the tensile force can be properly transmitted to the entire area of both sides of the mask body. Moreover, it is not necessary to separately prepare the ear hook as a component, and furthermore, the process of joining the ear hook to the mask body is not required. As a result, masks can be manufactured inexpensively and stably.

A method for manufacturing a mask according to the present invention includes the steps of: moving a mask body band-shaped sheet in which a plurality of areas forming a mask body are arranged in succession in the length direction of the band; a step of forming the folds along the direction of movement of the mask body band-shaped sheet; a step of moving in the length direction; and a step of superimposing the mask body formed in the mask body band-shaped sheet and the pair of ear hooks formed in the ear hook band-shaped sheet on each other, wherein the right and left ends of the mask body a step of superimposing the mask body and the ear hooks so that the part and the mask body side end of the ear hook match; and a step of separating the mask body to which the ear hooks are joined from the mask body band-shaped sheet.

According to this manufacturing method, it is possible to superimpose the mask body strip sheet with the ear hook while flowing in the flow direction of the production line without in-plane rotation of the mask body. Therefore, the production efficiency is greatly improved, and the yield is also greatly improved.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the folds extend in the longitudinal direction of the mask body, and the upper and lower ends of the folds are fixed so as not to move. When pulled upwards, the central portion of the mask body is widened, while the upper and lower sides of the mask body are contracted toward the user's face. As a result, a comfortable space is formed around the user's nostrils and mouth, giving the user a comfortable fit.
In addition, since the upper part of the mask body, including the nose, is in close contact with the user's face without gaps, it is possible to effectively suppress the inhalation of fine particles such as pollen and dust. It is possible to effectively prevent fogging of glasses.

It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the mask which concerns on this invention. Figure 2 shows the opposite side of the mask of Figure 1; It is a figure which shows the state which mounted|worn the mask of FIG. 1 on a user's face. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another embodiment of a mask according to the present invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing still another embodiment of a mask according to the present invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing still another embodiment of a mask according to the present invention; 1 is a view showing an embodiment of a manufacturing apparatus for carrying out a mask manufacturing method according to the present invention; FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a part of a fold forming device, which is a main part of the manufacturing device of FIG. 7; 8 is a diagram schematically showing a flow state of a sheet material in the mask manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 7; FIG.

A mask according to the present invention will be described below based on embodiments. It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In addition, in the drawings attached to this specification, there are cases in which constituent elements are shown in proportions different from the actual ones in order to show characteristic parts in an easy-to-understand manner.

(First Embodiment of Mask)
FIG. 1(a) shows one embodiment of a mask according to the present invention. FIG. 1(a) shows the outer surface (that is, the surface facing outward) of the mask, generally designated 1. FIG. FIG. 1(b) is a cross-sectional view along line AA of FIG. 1(a). FIG. 2(a) shows the inner surface of the mask 1 (that is, the surface facing the user's face). FIG. 2(b) is a cross-sectional view along line BB of FIG. 2(a). In addition, FIG.1(b) and FIG.2(b) have designed and shown the characteristic part in order to show a structure easily.

In FIG. 1(a), a mask 1 has a mask body 2 and an ear hook member 3. As shown in FIG. The mask main body 2 has a substantially rectangular planar shape, and has a shape in which four corners C are obliquely cut. The pair of ear hooks 3 has a pair of ear hooks 3a and 3b, as shown in FIG. 2(a). The ear hooks 3a and 3b are connected to each other at the central portion D of the ear hook pair member 3. As shown in FIG. The central portion D has a loose connection structure such as perforations, so that the ear hooks 3a and 3b can be easily separated. The ear hooks 3a, 3b are provided with openings 6 for hooking on the user's ears.

As shown in the enlarged view of the portion indicated by symbol E in FIG. 1(b), the mask body 2 has a three-layer structure in which an outer sheet 4a, an intermediate sheet 4b and an inner sheet 4c are laminated. The ear hook member 3 is superimposed on the surface of the inner sheet 4 c of the mask body 2 . The outer sheet 4a, the intermediate sheet 4b and the inner sheet 4c are joined at the outer peripheral edge of the mask body 2 by a joining portion 5a in FIG. 1(a).

The joining portion 5a can be realized by sewing, bonding using an adhesive, fusion bonding by heat sealing, or the like. Fusion by heat sealing is effective when workability and pressing of folds are taken into consideration. Furthermore, it is desirable to form the joint 5a by pressure bonding using a hot press or hot rolls. Furthermore, it is desirable to form the joint portion 5a by welding and joining by ultrasonic press. In this embodiment, the joint portion 5a is formed by continuously arranging a plurality of dot-shaped welding joints in a ring.

Both the outer sheet 4a and the inner sheet 4c are made of known elastic sheet materials such as spunbond (SB) nonwoven fabric, pointbond (PB) nonwoven fabric, spunlace (SL) nonwoven fabric, and air-through (AT) nonwoven fabric. It is It is preferable that the basis weight of these nonwoven fabrics is appropriately set within a range of, for example, 10 to 100 g/m ² . As a result, desired air permeability is ensured in the mask main body 2 .

The intermediate sheet 4b functions as a filter sheet capable of collecting dust, bacteria, viruses, and the like. The intermediate sheet 4b is made of, for example, meltblown (MB) nonwoven fabric, which is a known elastic sheet material. It is preferable that the basis weight of this nonwoven fabric is appropriately set within a range of, for example, 1 to 50 g/m ² . As a result, the mask main body 2 is ensured with air permeability, and furthermore with good collection performance. Note that the intermediate sheet 4b and the outer sheet 4a can also be integrated using a hot-melt adhesive (HMA).

The ear hook member 3 is joined to the mask main body 2 at the left and right outer edge portions of the mask main body 2 by the joint portions 5b. The ear hook member 3 is a stretch spunbond (SB) nonwoven fabric, a stretch spunbond microweb spunbond (SMS) nonwoven fabric, or a stretch spunbond film spunbond nonwoven fabric, all of which are known elastic sheet materials. , extensible spunlace nonwovens, stretchable hot melt adhesive (HMA) nonwovens, and the like can be used. It is preferable that the basis weight of these nonwoven fabrics is appropriately set within a range of, for example, 20 to 120 g/m ² . Thereby, the desired stretchability is ensured for the ear hooks 3a and 3b.

The joint portion 5b can be realized by sewing, bonding using an adhesive, fusion bonding by heat sealing, or the like. Fusion by heat sealing is effective when workability and pressing of folds are taken into consideration. Furthermore, it is desirable to form the joint 5b by pressure bonding using a hot press or hot rolls. Furthermore, it is desirable to form the joint 5b by welding and joining by ultrasonic press. In this embodiment, the joint portion 5b is formed by continuously arranging a plurality of dot-shaped welding joints in a ring.

Folds 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are provided in the central portion of the mask body 2 in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b). A fold is a material that is folded with a predetermined width by raising a linear portion of a predetermined width in a material such as cloth, and then folding the raised linear portion toward a flat portion of the material. It's about the part. In this embodiment, the folds 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are formed by thinly raising the material in the portions corresponding to the folds 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d, and folding the raised portions into the planar portions of the material. ing.

The folds 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d extend in a direction perpendicular to a horizontal straight line L connecting the pair of ear hooks 3a and 3b in FIG. 1(a) (that is, in the vertical direction). At the upper and lower ends of the longitudinally extending folds 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, the folded portions of the material forming the folds are joined to the planar portions of the material by the action of joints 5a. Therefore, when the mask body 2 is pulled laterally outward as indicated by reference characters F and F, the upper and lower ends of the folds 10a, 10b, 10c and 10d do not move, and the folds 10a, 10b, 10c and 10d do not move. The central portion will expand laterally.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the central portion of the mask body 2 protrudes forward in a mountain shape and expands into a three-dimensional shape. At this time, the upper edge 2a and the lower edge 2b of the mask body 2 move toward the face of the user P as the central portion of the mask body 2 protrudes forward, and the upper edge 2a and the lower edge 2b The left and right ends of the face move toward the center of the face. That is, when the mask body 2 is pulled in the horizontal direction in FIG. 1A, the upper edge 2a and the lower edge 2b of the mask body 2 deform and move so as to narrow toward the face.

Since the mask 1 of this embodiment is configured as described above, when the user wears the mask 1 on the face, first, in FIG. The connection between 3a and ear hook 3b is cut off with a finger. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the openings 6 of the ear hooks 3a and 3b are hooked on the ear.

When the operator hooks the ear hooks 3 a and 3 b on the ears, a force (force F in FIG. 1( a )) that pulls the mask body 2 laterally outward acts on the mask body 2 . As a result, the central portions of the longitudinally extending folds 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d spread laterally, while the upper and lower ends of the folds 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d are joined as shown in FIG. It does not spread due to the action of the portion 5a. As a result, the mask body 2 spreads forward in a mountain shape, while the upper edge 2a, the lower edge 2b and the left and right sides of the mask body 2 are deformed so as to narrow toward the face. As a result, the mask main body 2 can loosely and accurately cover the user's P nose, mouth, and the face around them.

In addition, since the upper edge 2a of the mask body 2 and the left and right sides of the mask body 2 are deformed so as to taper with respect to the face, the upper edge 2a of the mask body 2 corresponding to the upper part of the nose of the user and the face Adhesion with is maintained satisfactorily. As a result, it is possible to effectively suppress the inhalation of fine particles such as pollen and dust. It is possible to prevent fogging of the glasses.

In the mask 1 of this embodiment, the four corners C of the mask body 2 are obliquely cut. By providing this obliquely cut corner C, it is possible to improve the adhesion from the nose to the cheek, which is the upper direction of the user's face, the adhesion from the cheek to the upper part of the ear, and the lower direction, from the chin to the cheek. It is possible to improve the adhesion from the cheeks to the ears.

In addition, since the upper and lower ends of the folds 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are fixed by the joint portion 5a, by shaping the corner portion C obliquely, when the operator pulls the ear hooks 3a and 3b to the left and right, the A tensile force is effectively transmitted to the central portion of the mask body 2 . As a result, the central part of the mask body 2 spreads widely three-dimensionally, so that the user's nose, mouth and their peripheral parts can be covered loosely and widely, and the user can be given a comfortable wearing feeling. .

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2(a), the ear hooks 3a and 3b are made of an elastic sheet material. When the ear hook is in the form of a rubber cord, the junction between the mask main body 2 and the rubber cord-like ear hook becomes a dotted region. When the ear hook is pulled from side to side during use of the mask, the pulling force acts intensively on the point-like joints. On the other hand, if the ear hooks are made of an elastic sheet, the joints with the mask main body are linear, so that the right and left ends of the mask main body have a higher sealing force with the face. Furthermore, when the mask is worn, the pulling force when pulling the ear hooks to the left and right is properly transmitted to the mask body. be able to.

(Second Embodiment of Mask)
FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the mask according to the invention. In this embodiment, a shape-retaining member 11 is provided in the central portion of the mask body 2 . The shape-retaining member 11 has a thin and elongated rectangular shape. The shape-retaining member 11 extends longitudinally. The shape-retaining member 11 is made of a material that can be bent and has a property (that is, plastic deformability) to maintain the bent state, such as elongated metal, elongated synthetic resin, or the like.

The shape-retaining member 11 is formed in a space region between the outer sheet 4a and the intermediate sheet 4b of the mask material forming the central portion G of the mask body 2 in FIG. is inserted in the spatial region between Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, the mask material around the shape-retaining member 11 is joined by a joining portion 5c. This joining prevents the position of the shape-retaining member 11 from changing.

The joint portion 5c can be realized by sewing, bonding using an adhesive, fusion bonding by heat sealing, or the like. Fusion by heat sealing is effective when workability and pressing of folds are taken into consideration. Furthermore, it is desirable to form the joint 5c by pressure bonding using a hot press or hot rolls. Furthermore, it is desirable to form the joint 5c by welding and joining by ultrasonic press. In this embodiment, the joint portion 5c is formed by continuously arranging a plurality of dot-shaped welding joints in a ring.

By providing the shape-retaining member 11, it is possible to improve the shape-retaining characteristics from the nose to the chin of the user wearing the mask. This improved shape retention property can prevent the mask body 2 from coming into direct contact with the nostrils and mouth. As a result, the user can breathe very easily. In addition, it is possible to prevent the mask body 2 from sticking to the nose and mouth when sniffing.

(Third Embodiment of Mask)
FIG. 5 shows still another embodiment of the mask according to the invention. In this embodiment, two shape-retaining members 11a and 11b are provided in the central portion of the mask body 2 with a space therebetween in FIG. 5(a). Each of the shape retaining members 11a and 11b has a thin and elongated rectangular shape. The shape-retaining members 11a and 11b extend longitudinally. A distance J between the shape retaining members 11a and 11b with respect to the vertical center line H of the mask body 2 is set to an appropriate value of 3 mm or more. The number of shape-retaining members may be three or more.

By providing two or more shape-retaining members at a distance of 3 mm or more from the longitudinal center line H of the mask body 2, the shape retention characteristics of the mask body 2 from the nose to the chin of the user can be improved. As a result, even if the position and height of the nose of the user vary, the mask body 2 can be prevented from coming into direct contact with the nostrils and mouth. This makes it easier for the user to breathe.

(Fourth Embodiment of Mask)
FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment of the mask according to the invention. In this embodiment, the mask main body 2, the ear hooks 3a, and the ear hooks 3b are made of the same elastic sheet. In this embodiment, the same elastic sheet material as the mask body 2 is provided with ear openings 6 at both ends thereof by a perforating process.

According to this structure, when the ear hooks 3a and 3b are pulled when the mask is worn, the tensile force is properly transmitted to the entire area of both sides of the mask body 2. Therefore, the upper and lower ends of the folds 10a to 10d are joined. Concurrently, the central portion of the mask main body 2 can be expanded three-dimensionally appropriately. Moreover, when manufacturing the mask 1 according to this embodiment, the ear hooks 3a and 3b as parts can be reduced, and the process of joining the ear hooks 3a and 3b to the mask main body 2 can be reduced, so that the mask can be manufactured at a low cost. And it can be manufactured stably.

(Embodiment of Mask Manufacturing Method)
FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a manufacturing apparatus for carrying out the mask manufacturing method according to the present invention. This mask manufacturing apparatus is a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the mask 1 shown in FIG. This manufacturing apparatus 30 includes an outer sheet feeding device 31, an intermediate sheet feeding device 32, an inner sheet feeding device 33, a sheet stacking device 34, a fold forming device 38, an end folding device 39, and a body crimping device. 40 , an ear hook supplying device 41 , an ear hook crimping device 42 , a product cutting device 46 and a product discharging device 47 .

The outer sheet supply device 31 feeds a belt-shaped outer sheet material 48 . The intermediate sheet supply device 32 feeds out a band-shaped intermediate sheet material 49 . The inner sheet supply device 33 feeds out a band-shaped inner sheet material 50 . The sheet stacking device 34 presses and stacks the outer sheet material 48, the intermediate sheet material 49, and the inner sheet material 50 to form a base sheet as a mask body band-shaped sheet for the mask body 2 of FIG. 1(a). 57.

The fold forming device 38 is a device that implements the process of forming folds, and has a stand-up roll 54 , a folding plate 55 and a pressure roll 56 . A base sheet 57 having a three-layer structure delivered from the sheet stacking device 34 is sent to the erecting rolls 54 of the fold forming device 38 . As shown in FIG. 8, the erecting roll 54 is a roller for thinly erecting a linear predetermined width portion of the base sheet 57 . The raised portion is then folded toward the planar portion of the base sheet 57 by the folding plate 55 . Further, the folded base sheet is pressed against the planar portion of the base sheet 57 by the pressure roll 56 of FIG. As a result, folds 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are formed as shown in FIG. 1(b).

The edge folding device 39 shown in FIG. 7 folds the left and right side edges of the mask body 2 shown in FIG. As a result, fraying of the ends (= chopsticks) of the mask body 2 (that is, unraveling and disordering of the ends of the cloth or the like) can be prevented. Next, a thermocompression bonding process is performed by the body portion pressing device 40 to form the joint portion 5a shown in FIG. 1(a). As a result, the three layers of sheet materials forming the mask body 2 are joined at the annular peripheral portion of the mask body 2 . Moreover, the upper and lower ends of the folds 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are fixed to the upper and lower ends of the mask body 2 by the action of the joining portions 5a at the upper and lower ends of the mask body 2, respectively.

As described above, the base sheet 57 that has completed the joining process to the mask body 2 is sent to the overlapping position J. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, the ear hook supply device 41 feeds out a band-shaped ear hook sheet material 58 having a plurality of ear hook pair members 3 of FIG. 2(a) arranged continuously. As shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of ear hook members 3 are continuously arranged on the band-shaped ear hook sheet material 58 . The plurality of ear hook pairs 3 are formed such that the pair of ear hooks 3 a and 3 b extend in the width direction of the sheet material 58 .

In the mask body disclosed in Patent Document 4 (Patent No. 5762804), the folds extend in the lateral direction of the mask body (that is, in the direction parallel to the center line connecting the left and right ear hooks). Therefore, when the mask main body and the ear hook member are overlapped, the mask main body and the ear hook member are overlapped after the mask main body is rotated in-plane by an angle of 90°.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the folds 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d of the mask body 2 extend in the longitudinal direction of the mask body 2 in FIG. When the main body 2 and the ear hook pair material 3 are overlapped, the mask body 2 does not need to be rotated in-plane, and the mask body 2 can be overlapped with the ear hook pair material 3 while flowing in the flow direction of the production line. Therefore, the production efficiency is greatly improved, and the yield is also greatly improved.

9, the left and right ends of the mask body 2 (depicted as the top and bottom ends in FIG. 9) and the ends of the ear hooks 3 on the side of the mask body 2 (that is, the top and bottom of the ear hooks 3 in FIG. 9) The mask body 2 and the ear hook 3 are superimposed so that the ends of the mask 2 and the ear hook 3 match. The mask main body 2 and the ear hook 3 thus superimposed are subjected to a crimping process by the ear hook crimping device 42 shown in FIG. Specifically, both ends of the ear hooks 3 are joined to the mask body 2 by crimping by the joining portions 5b.

The mask body 2 to which the ear hooks 3 have been joined is then cut off from the mask body band-shaped sheet 57 by the product cutting device 46 . Thereby, each mask 1 (see FIG. 1) is produced. A plurality of manufactured masks 1 are sequentially discharged to the outside by the product discharging device 47 .

(Other embodiments)
Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can be modified in various ways within the scope of the invention described in the claims.

For example, in the above-described embodiments, the folds, which are the structures for causing the spreading movement (that is, the three-dimensional spreading movement) in the central region of the mask, are the structures indicated by reference numerals 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D in FIG. did. However, the specific structure of the folds can be an appropriate structure other than the structure shown in FIG. 1, if necessary.

In the above embodiment, the ear hooks 3a and 3b are formed of elastic sheets having a large area. Instead of this, each of the ear hooks 3a and 3b may be formed of an elongated rubber cord or an elongated cloth cord having a circular or rectangular cross section. When the ear hooks 3a and 3b are formed from these string materials, the tips of the string materials are welded, sewn, or the like to the upper and lower corners K on both sides of the mask body 2 shown in FIG. 2(a). . As a result, the string members are attached to both sides of the mask body 2 in a ring shape so that they can function as ear hooks.

In the mask 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, FIG. 1 shows the outer surface of the mask 1 and FIG. 2 shows the inner surface of the mask 1 (ie, the face facing). That is, the inner surface of the mask body 2 is the surface on which the ear hooks 3a and 3b of FIG. 2 are attached. However, the side opposite the side on which the earhooks 3a, 3b are attached (ie the side of the mask body 2 shown in FIG. 1) can also be used as the inner surface (ie the side facing the face).

1: mask, 2: mask body, 2a: upper edge, 2b: lower edge, 3: ear hook facing material, 3 a, 3 b: ear hook, 4 a: outer sheet, 4 b: intermediate sheet, 4 c: inner sheet, 5 a: Joint 5b: Joint 5c: Joint 6: Ear opening 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d: Fold 11: Shape retaining member 11a: Shape retaining member 11b: Shape retaining member 30: Mask manufacturing apparatus 31: Outer sheet supply device 32: Intermediate sheet supply device 33: Inner sheet supply device 34: Sheet stacking device 38: Fold forming device 39: Edge folding device 40: Body crimping device , 41: ear hook supply device, 42: ear hook crimping device, 46: product cutting device, 47: product discharge device, 48: strip-shaped outer sheet material, 49: strip-shaped intermediate sheet material, 50: strip-shaped inner sheet material , 54: Standing roll, 55: Folding plate, 56: Pressing roll, 57: Base sheet (mask body band-shaped sheet), 58: Strip-shaped ear hooking sheet material (ear hooking strip-shaped sheet), C: Corner of mask body , D: center part of ear hook pair material, E: laminated sheet part, F: tensile force, G: central part of mask body, H: vertical center line of mask body, J: overlapping position, K: mask body Upper and lower corners of the side, L: horizontal straight line, P: user

Claims (8)

a breathable mask body that covers the user's nose and mouth;
A pair of ear hooks provided on the left and right sides of the mask body,
at least one fold for three-dimensionally expanding the mask body;
In a mask having
The fold extends in a vertical direction perpendicular to a horizontal straight line connecting the pair of ear hooks,
A mask, wherein both longitudinal ends of the folds are joined to the mask body so as not to spread. 2. The mask of claim 1, wherein the longitudinal ends of the folds are welded to the mask body by heat or ultrasonic waves. A shape-retaining member is provided on the center line extending in the longitudinal direction of the mask body, the shape-retaining member extends in the longitudinal direction of the mask body, and the shape-retaining member maintains the three-dimensional shape of the mask body. 3. The mask according to claim 1 or 2, which is functional. At least two shape-retaining members are provided in the mask body,
4. Any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the at least two shape-retaining members is provided at a position separated by 3 mm or more in the left-right direction with respect to a center line extending in the longitudinal direction of the mask body. or a mask according to one. 5. The mask according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the mask body has a shape obtained by obliquely cutting four corners of a rectangle or square. 6. The mask according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the pair of ear hooks are made of an elastic sheet-like material. 7. The mask according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said pair of ear hooks are formed by opening ear openings in the same material as said mask body. a step of moving a mask body band-shaped sheet in which a plurality of areas forming the mask body are arranged in succession in the length direction of the band;
pleating the plurality of regions forming the mask body, wherein the pleats are formed along a moving direction of the mask body strip sheet;
a step of moving the ear hook band-shaped sheet in which the pair of ear hooks are continuously arranged in the length direction of the band;
A step of superimposing the mask main body formed in the mask body band-shaped sheet and the pair of ear hooks formed in the ear hook band-shaped sheet on each other, wherein the left and right ends of the mask body and the mask body side of the ear hooks overlapping the mask body and the earhooks so that the edges are mating;
a step of joining the left and right ends of the superimposed mask body and the end of the ear hook on the mask body side;
and separating the mask body to which the ear hooks are joined from the mask body band-shaped sheet.

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