TW202327678A - Magnetic means for mounting masks on a wearer and masks for performing same - Google Patents

Abstract

A mechanism for forming a strapless facial mask that operates by magnetically coupling a facial mask to an adhesive coupling adapted to hold and secure the facial mask to the face of a wearer.

Description

Magnetically attached mask and method of use and manufacture thereof

The present invention relates to a breathing mask. More specifically, the present invention relates to a device for securing a respiratory mask to the wearer's face without the use of straps. In addition, the breathing mask can be freely adjusted according to the needs of the wearer to fit the wearer's face.

Respiratory masks are widely used in medical environments, such as simple oxygen masks, partial rebreathing masks, non-rebreathing masks, venturi masks. However, conventional respirators generally employ straps such as face or head straps, elastic bands, etc. to secure the mask to the wearer's face. This design, while practical, has several problems.

For example, studies have noted that patients wearing respirators often have to wear them for more than 10 days at a time. In this case, prolonged wearing of the respirator can lead to pressure sores on the patient's face and ears. This is because the respirator fits snugly to the face by looping the straps around the ears. And this belt may irritate the wearer's skin and make the wearer uncomfortable, and may also cause skin damage or other injuries due to friction or prolonged compression. If the wearer is a bedridden patient who needs care, it is also troublesome for the caregiver to physically tie the mask to the patient through the straps, and the mask needs to be removed and put on again frequently throughout the day for daily dietary care . The inability to remove the mask quickly can also be a serious and fatal problem when an emergency occurs, such as when a patient needs to be intubated. In short, in order to meet the needs of long-term wear and avoid crushing, the masks with straps often need to attach a lot of protective materials on the patient's face, which is not only unsightly, but also causes discomfort to patients and inconvenience to medical staff , and prolonged use may still cause injury.

Many solutions to these problems are disclosed in the prior art. For example, US Pat. No. 6,196,223 to Belfer discloses a strapless respirator for attachment to the wearer's face comprising a laminate consisting of a cushioning layer and an adhesive layer that conforms to the contours of the face and skin. Formable spacers. However, Belfer's strapless respirator still has the problem of having the gasket once attached to the face difficult to remove and reapply.

Therefore, there is still a need for a better mechanism design to fix the breathing mask on the wearer's face, which will not cause pressure sores and is easy to install and remove frequently.

Through trial and error, the inventors of the present invention have revealed a strapless breathing mask that can be magnetically mounted on the wearer's face.

Correspondingly for the realization of the present invention, the present invention provides a strap for a breathing mask, which can be installed and fixed on the breathing mask, the strap includes a body, and one or more connecting elements extending from the body , the terminal of the connection element is provided with a magnetic coupling element, which is used to fix the connection element on a magnetically permeable anchor element through magnetic force.

In some embodiments, the body of the cuff is made of elastic material such that the body is shaped to fit perfectly on the respirator. In view of the fact that the sizes of breathing masks currently on the market are slightly different, the elastic strap body design is conducive to conforming to different sizes of breathing masks. Alternatively, straps can be designed in different sizes to fit a specific mask.

In order to securely fix the mask, the body of the strap may include a mesh structure, especially an elastic mesh structure is the best choice. In some embodiments, instead of a mesh structure, the body may be constructed of one or more straps, which may include rigid portions and elastic portions to allow for bending, making it structurally favorable for conforming to different respirators size. And its belt-like structure can have a supporting element to fix the ventilation tube on the breathing mask, so that the strap can be more firmly fixed on the mask.

In order to provide sufficient anchoring force to the mask, the strap has one or more extended connecting elements, which can be in the shape of a belt, a small part protruding from the body, or directly on a specific part of the body, with magnetic coupling elements constituted. In some embodiments, the preferred design of the strap is that for each connecting element on the body of the strap, there is another connecting element corresponding to it at the left-right symmetrical position of the body, so as to facilitate the use of the strap When the body is placed on a breathing mask, the mask can be kept on the wearer's face through several symmetrical connecting elements.

Each magnetic coupling element may contain a magnet or a plurality of magnets. The type of magnet is not particularly limited. Those skilled in the art can provide proper anchoring force by adjusting the magnetic strength of the magnet.

In order to make the mask close to the wearer's face, a magnetic coupling element with magnetism is in magnetic contact with a magnetically permeable anchor element fixed on the wearer's face. In some embodiments, the magnetically conductive anchoring element is in the shape of a plate, preferably in the shape of a rectangular plate. The plate-shaped magnetically permeable anchoring element can be entirely made of magnetic material, or only consist of one or more magnets attached or wrapped inside. One side of the magnetically permeable anchor element is an adhering surface coated with adhesive, and the other side is a non-adhering surface magnetically contacted with a magnetic coupling element.

In some embodiments, the magnetic coupling element includes an interlocking element having a magnetic portion; and the non-compliant surface of the magnetically permeable anchoring element includes a compliant element made of magnetic material. (such as magnets, etc...) or magnetically permeable materials (such as iron sheets, etc.) with ferromagnetism (Ferromagnetism). The interlocking element can be mechanically matched with the fitting element, and can also be magnetically coupled with the non-fitting surface and the fitting element through the magnetic part of the interlocking element, and can be fixed to each other.

In some embodiments, a magnetic coupling element and a magnetically permeable anchor element are magnetically coupled in a non-fixed sliding contact, that is, a magnetic coupling element can slide on a magnetically permeable anchor element and still maintain magnetic coupling. This state makes the connecting elements on the sleeve have a certain degree of freedom to adjust their length and angle.

In some embodiments, the non-conforming surface of a magnetically conductive anchor element includes a guard element that protrudes along the edge of the non-conforming surface to prevent the magnetic coupling element from dislodging from the edge of the magnetically conductive anchor element. slide.

In another aspect, the present invention also provides a strapless mask combination that can be secured to the wearer's face. A related embodiment includes a respiratory mask, and a cuff and magnetically permeable anchoring elements as previously described. In some embodiments, the strap and mask are two separate components; while in other embodiments, a mask can be combined with a strap as an integrated component, in such embodiments, the strap is indistinguishable from the mask , it can be considered that the mask itself has a magnetic coupling element, and can be magnetically coupled with the corresponding magnetically conductive anchor element.

In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method of forming a strapless face mask. Related embodiments generally include embedding at least one magnetic coupling element in a mask. In some embodiments, a connection element with a magnetic coupling element extends directly from a mask.

Preferably, the present invention provides a means for securing a respiratory mask to the wearer's face without the use of straps. The device has the advantage that it can be attached to the face relatively safely, so that the breathing mask is not easy to fall off from the wearer's face, and the mask using the device can also be quickly installed on the wearer's face, or removed from the wearer's face. The wearer's face is removed. The device is suitable for all brands and models of face masks, and can use soft and breathable skin patches (such as hydrophilic dressings, etc...) to ensure a good fit between the mask and the wearer's face, preventing skin irritation and injury Can also be minimized. The mask applied to the relevant embodiments of the present invention can also be cleaned and used many times according to the different materials used.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description and claims.

The following description is intended to describe various implementation aspects of the technology of the present invention in detail, but the scope of implementation of the technology of the present invention cannot be limited by this content. The drawings are incorporated in and constitute a part of the detailed description, and the detailed description contains specific details in order to facilitate the understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited in scope to the specific details described herein and may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in diagrammatic form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a beltless mask 1 is the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. The strapless mask 1 shown in the present invention usually has a buffer pad 2 arranged on its body, and two interlocking elements 3 on the magnetic coupling element, and two corresponding magnetic anchoring elements The fitting element 4.

As shown in Fig. 2, in some embodiments, a fitting element 4 is arranged on the wearer's face, and the fitting element 4 is preferably made of a magnetic material (such as a magnet, etc...) or has a ferromagnetism (Ferromagnetism) It is composed of magnetically permeable materials (such as iron sheets, etc...). When the fitting element 4 is secured to the wearer's face in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 2, it serves as a basis for receiving and securing the position of the mask.

Figure 3 is an exploded view illustrating how a mask fits on the wearer's face. As shown there are two magnetic coupling elements extending from one mask, and the interlocking elements 3 on the two magnetic coupling elements serve as anchor points for the mask body. When the mask is close to the two magnetically conductive anchor elements fixed on the face of the wearer, the fitting element 4 on the two magnetically conductive anchor elements can be magnetically coupled with the interlocking element 3 on the mask so that the entire mask remains in place without the need for straps to secure it.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram further illustrating the detailed structure of an interlocking element 3 and a corresponding fitting element 4 . In this particular embodiment, an interlocking element 3 has a magnetic portion 31, and the magnetic material 31 is held securely on the interlocking element 3 and is magnetically coupled to an abutment element 4, which is also magnetic or ferromagnetic. connected.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment in which the interlocking element 3 is connected to the fitting element 4 . In this particular embodiment, the interlocking element 3 has a magnetic portion 31 held securely by the body of the interlocking element 3 . The magnetic portion 31 can be magnetically connected with the conforming element 4 when approaching each other.

Figure 6 is a method of using a strapless mask as a tracheotomy mask. By arranging the magnetically conductive anchoring elements around the trachea, both sides of the neck or the nape of the neck, the tracheotomy mask can also be fixed to a specific position around the trachea by means of the magnetic coupling element arranged on the trachea mask.

Figure 7 illustrates the various shapes in which the cuff body can be implemented. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the cuff can take any shape so long as it securely holds the respirator. The embodiment shown in Figure 7 also shows how the body of the cuff extends and connects to connecting elements, on each side of the cuff, the ends of which are magnetically coupled to provide anchoring force.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a magnetic coupling element. In this particular embodiment, the magnetism of the magnetic coupling element is provided by a composition of three smaller magnets. However, those skilled in the art should understand that the number, size and type of magnets are not particularly limited, and can be changed to different effects as required.

Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a sleeve. In this particular embodiment, the body of the cuff also includes a support element (pictured left) shaped to match the vent tube on the respirator. When the strap is placed on the mask, the support element can be snapped into place with the snorkel of the breathing mask to provide further support. Those skilled in the art should understand that, depending on the shape of the mask, other types of support elements can be designed and added to improve the compatibility between the strap and the mask and ensure a firm fit.

Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a magnetically permeable anchoring element. In this particular embodiment, a magnetically conductive anchoring element is in the shape of a rectangular plate, the back of which is a bonding surface with adhesive, and the front is a non-bonding surface in contact with the magnetic coupling element. As shown in the schematic diagram at the top of Figure 10, a protective element 1010 protrudes along the edge of a non-fitting surface of a magnetically conductive anchor element near the edge to prevent the magnetic coupling element on the sleeve from passing through the guide. Slips off on the magnetic anchoring element. In use, the magnetic coupling element can slide on the non-fitting surface 1020 provided by the magnetically permeable anchor element.

Fig. 11 shows a schematic diagram of the magnetically conductive anchoring element when it is worn and used. As shown in the right figure, a set of straps is fixed by two connecting elements extending from the body of the strap, and by fixing the two connecting elements, the mask can be pressed against and held on the user's face. The two connecting elements contact each other with the magnetically conductive anchoring element attached to the user's face through the magnetic coupling element on them, and fix the strap and the mask assembly on the user's face in a magnetically coupled manner. In this context, the magnetically contacting and slidable nature of the magnetic coupling elements and the magnetically permeable anchoring elements of the strap provides a degree of "elasticity" while the mask is held on the wearer's face. ”, so that the pressure exerted by the mask on the wearer’s face is minimized, so as to reduce the chance of the wearer’s facial pressure sores. In addition, with the contact connection in a magnetic coupling manner, the strap and the mask assembly can be simply and quickly detached from the two magnetically permeable anchor elements on the wearer's face and reinstalled.

Various modifications to the above-described implementations will be apparent, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations. Thus, the claims are not limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the literal claims, wherein an element referred to in the singular is not intended to mean "the only one" unless expressly stated otherwise. , otherwise means "one or more". Unless expressly stated otherwise, "some" means one or more. Masculine pronouns (eg, his) include feminine and neuter pronouns (eg, her and its) and vice versa. Headings and subheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit the inventive technology.

Although the strapless mask of the present invention is discussed and implemented based on a face mask, it is not limited in application. Those skilled in the art will understand that strapless masks will have a wide variety of applications beyond facial masks. In a schematic diagram of an embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , the strapless mask can be used as a tracheotomy mask, placed on the patient's tracheostomy to deliver breathing or aerosol.

Although the present invention has been described according to specific embodiments and schematic diagrams, it should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are for illustrative purposes only, and various modifications and changes can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and spirit of the present invention. . The scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims.

Fig. 1 is a schematic top view of a mask according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the installation configuration of a magnetically conductive anchoring element installed on a human face according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a beltless mask according to an embodiment of the present invention An exploded view of the mask and wearer. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a strapless mask magnetic mounting assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a strapless mask mounting assembly presented in another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is a method of using a strapless mask as a tracheotomy mask. Figure 7 shows different shapes of cuff bodies assembled on a respiratory mask. The figure also shows the body of the cuff with an extended connection element at the end of which the magnetic coupling element is magnetically connected to the magnetically permeable anchor element. 8 is a close-up view of a connecting element according to an embodiment of the present invention, the connecting element extends from the body of the harness and has a magnetic coupling element at the end; Adaptive strap body of the respiratory mask; FIG. 10 is a magnetically conductive anchoring element with a protective element according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of using the magnetically conductive anchoring element in FIG. 10 to fix a strapless mask.

1: Strapless mask

2: Cushion pad

3: Interlocking elements

4: Fitting components

Claims (12)

A strap for a breathing mask comprising: a body that is resilient and conforms to the size of the respirator; and One or more connection elements extend from the body and terminate with a magnetic coupling element components for magnetic coupling to corresponding magnetically permeable anchoring elements. The strap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main body includes an elastic mesh structure, and the elastic mesh structure can be elastically assembled on breathing masks of different sizes. The strap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body includes one or more strap-like structures including rigid portions and elastic portions to allow the strap-like structures to be bent to fit on breathing masks of different sizes . The belt-shaped structure as claimed in claim 3 further includes a supporting element to fix the ventilation tube on the breathing mask, so that the strap is more firmly fixed on the breathing mask. The strap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body has a first connecting portion extending from one end, and a second connecting portion extending in an opposite direction, each connecting portion terminates with a magnetic coupling element. A strapless mask assembly comprising: a set of straps comprising a body and one or more connecting elements extending from the body, the connecting elements terminating in a magnetic coupling element; a breathing mask; and a magnetically permeable anchoring element comprising an adhering surface and a non- adhering surface; Wherein, the magnetically conductive anchoring element is attached to the face of the wearer through the fitting surface; Wherein, the magnetically permeable anchoring element provides a magnetic point through the non-fitting surface, and is in magnetic contact connection with the magnetic coupling element, and the breathing mask is fixed on the face of the wearer through the strap. A magnetically conductive anchoring element of the strapless mask assembly as described in claim 6, comprising: a fitting surface including an adhesive to attach the magnetically permeable anchoring element to the wearer's face; and A non-fitting surface, the non-fitting surface provides a magnetic surface, which can be magnetically contacted with the magnetic coupling element, and the breathing mask is fixed on the face of the wearer through the strap. The magnetically permeable anchoring element as described in claim 7, wherein the non-fitting surface further includes a fitting element, and the fitting element is magnetic or ferromagnetic; wherein the magnetic coupling element further includes an interlocking element, the The interlocking element has a magnetic portion; the interlocking element can be mechanically engaged with the conforming element, and can also be magnetically connected to the non-fitting surface and the conforming element via the magnetic portion of the interlocking element to fix each other. The magnetically permeable anchoring element as claimed in claim 7, wherein the non-fitting surface further includes a guard element protruding along the edge of the non-fitting surface to prevent the magnetic coupling element from being anchored by the magnetically permeable anchor The edge of the component slipped off. A method of removably mounting a respiratory mask to a wearer's face, comprising: The strapless mask assembly described in Claim 6 and the magnetically permeable anchor element described in Claim 7 are magnetically contacted to fix the strapless mask assembly on the wearer's face. A method of removably mounting a respiratory mask to a wearer's face, comprising: The strapless mask assembly described in claim 6 is connected to the magnetically permeable anchoring elements described in claim 7 and claim 8 through magnetic contact, and the strapless mask assembly is fixed on the wearer's face. A method of removably mounting a respiratory mask to a wearer's face, comprising: The strapless mask assembly described in claim 6 is magnetically contacted with the magnetically permeable anchor elements described in claim 7 and claim 9, and the strapless mask assembly is fixed on the wearer's face.