WO2021224749A1

WO2021224749A1 - Disposable hygienic mask, with reusable collar

Info

Publication number: WO2021224749A1
Application number: PCT/IB2021/053665
Authority: WO
Inventors: Geo FORTUNA
Original assignee: Fortuna Geo
Priority date: 2020-05-04
Filing date: 2021-05-03
Publication date: 2021-11-11
Also published as: IT202000002113U1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a disposable hygienic mask (1), with a reusable collar (6), particularly useful in the present period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mask (1) substantially consists of a mask body (4) provided with elastic ear straps (2), as well as a collar (6) irremovably or removably applied thereto. In the removable case, the collar is reusable (6) as it is easily applicable and detachable from said mask body (4), the latter being in turn provided with at least one support means (8) of a pair of coupling and release means (9) applied to the ends of the collar (6). The coupling and release means (9) make the coupling and release of the collar (6) from the mask body (4) easy for the user. The support means (8) of the coupling means (9) is preferably slot-shaped, with the latter made inside the mask body (4) with fiber stitching identical or similar to the material of the mask to facilitate the environmental disposal of the mask (1).

Description

DISPOSABLE HYGIENIC MASK, WITH REUSABLE COLLAR kk:k:k:k:

The present invention relates to a disposable hygienic mask, with a fixed collar, or reusable by means of practical coupling and release means thereof .

The present invention is completely innovative, as it was conceived in the present emergency period for the COVID-19 pandemic, to allow having a useful means for reducing the probability that the user thereof can contaminate the environment and the products with which he/she comes into contact by means of sputum, which is precisely the well-known mask made of gauze or other textile material for hygienic and disposable use, but which can simultaneously be more easily usable and practical to apply to the face and remove from and reapply thereto based on need, avoiding any hindrance in the use thereof, by virtue of the presence of an innovative collar, which although already applied irremovably in other masks today, is made further and easily separable from the same disposable mask and equally as practically insertable and, therefore, reusable, being provided with rapid coupling and release means, such as to be inserted, by means of suitable coupling means, in the supports included on the same disposable mask.

The present innovative solution will be clearer and more evident to those skilled in the art, in light of the current background art, in particular, merely by way of example, reference is made to disposable hygienic masks, with reusable collar, provided with a mask body for sputum reduction of the N95 type, having features completely similar to those of the FFP2 type, but it is specified that the present invention can also be applied to other types of disposable masks .

The disposable masks of the exemplary type considered are usually dust masks, not resistant to oils, but adapted to filter at least 95% of the particles suspended in the air, i.e., belonging to a type of respiratory mask particularly useful as protection against solid particles or more or less thin liquids suspended in the air and against aerosols. These masks, unlike those used for medical purposes, which on the contrary are specifically designed to prevent the wearer' s germs from spreading to the outside, are designed to protect against inhalation of pollutants such as fine particles.

In any case, it should be noted that the same mask can currently have the dual function of dust mask and mask for medical use, while as regards the filtering of harmful gases and vapors, it is necessary to use a filtering half-mask or a complete mask.

The masks of said exemplary type are usually composed of more or less thick fibers, cover the mouth and nose and are held in position by elastic straps. For optimal effectiveness, the mask must be correctly adjusted on the face, being provided, on the upper part, with a flexible metal strip, called nose clip, which allows adherence around the nose and a better adherence to the face of the same pulled under the tension of said elastic straps. The face mask can be flexible, foldable or rigid. If provided with a valve, it allows the expulsion of moisture during exhalation.

A substantial advance in filtering mask technology has been the introduction of the HEPA filter. A HEPA filter can remove up to 99.97% of all particulates present in the air with an aerodynamic diameter greater than 0.3 micrometers; the particles are removed with this type of filter with an efficiency which can reach over 99.99%. Class N95 masks are generally made with a thin mesh of synthetic polymeric fibers, also known as non-woven polypropylene fabric, which is produced through a highly specialized process called "cracking" or "melt-blowing, " which forms the inner filtration layer. The valve has the purpose of facilitating breathing and does not condense the water vapor produced during breathing in the mask, the moisture of which, therefore, is less likely to deposit in the filter, also avoiding the fogging of glasses. Furthermore, the valve prevents resistance to air flows, easily helping to inhale and exhale.

If the advantages and disadvantages of valves are roughly balanced for masks which provide less protection, the durability of use of the same mask must also be taken into account. In fact, as regards the duration over time, at least for the masks of the most filtering type, it is greater when the valve is present, particularly necessary where the filter layers are very thick, which make breathing more difficult and the deterioration thereof easier if the valve is absent. However, with the evolution of technology, versions of masks with ever greater filtering capacity are emerging, even without the presence of a valve.

In this regard, some findings present in the background art are mentioned, which are similar to the present invention, but not equally useful.

In particular, to date, a plurality of utility models related to disposable masks are known, among which the following three are mentioned: Chinese patent CN204181004 (U), published on

03/04/2015; Korean patent KR2 0110007665 (U), published on 08/03/2011 and Chinese patent CN205 671535 (U), published on 11/09/2016.

As regards the first Chinese patent CN204181004, it concerns a weakly acidic nano silver anti-virus and antibiotic mask, consisting of a mask body and elastic ear straps. The mask body is connected to the ear straps by means of connection points present at the four corners of the mask body. The two sides of the mask body are cut so as to conform three-dimensionally to an arch, so the mask adapts to the contours of the face and anchors itself to people's ears, making it comfortable to wear; in addition, it uses nano- silver antivirus technology, activated carbon odor removal technology and particle filtering technology, while still protecting the microenvironment of the wearer's skin, obtaining a valid antiviral, antibiotic and filtering barrier from unwanted particles in the air, also with anti odor functionality.

In any case, said invention does not allow an easy use of the protection device, as well as to keep it close to the user when not in use and, however, to ensure the absence of contact with other surfaces in case of the removal thereof, so as to keep the hands free.

The second Korean invention KR20110007 665 relates to a mask also having cords acting as a collar to be applied around the neck and connected to both ends of the mask body. The length of the cords of this mask can be adjusted, so as to correctly adapt the facial adhesion of the mask body to the user's face. The fact that said cords act as a shoulder strap allows avoiding the loss of the mask even if the ear straps were to be detached.

In any case, said invention does not allow the collar to be recovered in the case of a disposable mask and, therefore, an inevitable waste of further additional material, such as the cord, which forms the collar, rigidly constrained to the mask, which aggravates the environmental pollution problem due to the amount of waste to be disposed of, given the large number of disposable masks currently used.

The second Chinese patent CN205671535 also concerns a gauze mask with collar, but in this case the collar has been purely inserted to facilitate the use of the mask for those who must move or travel, having to wear the same mask. Also in this case the fundamental disadvantage lies in the fact that the recovery of the collar is not allowed in the case of a disposable mask and, therefore, said disadvantages related to environmental pollution mentioned above.

Another disadvantage, in particular of the last two masks, is that they do not fully ensure an optimal filterability of particles of an inorganic or organic nature.

The main object of the present invention is therefore to solve said disadvantages of the background art .

A second object of the present invention, no less important than the previous ones, is to obtain a mask which allows the possibility of recovering the collar, allowing the latter to be used also as a means for supporting eyeglasses or other instruments and devices of current use at the neck.

A third object of the present invention is to use low-cost materials and components with a very low environmental impact index, possibly completely recyclable.

A further object of the invention is to avoid possible accidental contamination of the mask, when the user removes it temporarily: in fact, in this case the mask could be carelessly placed on a contaminated surface, or the user himself/herself touches the interior of the mask with contaminated hands while holding it, and then wears the contaminated mask again. By virtue of the present innovation, when the user temporarily removes the mask, it instead rests on the chest thereof without touching surfaces which could be a source of contamination.

Such objects are achieved by obtaining a disposable hygienic mask, with a reusable collar, by means of practical coupling and release means, such as to be quickly inserted into the supports included on the disposable mask itself.

Such objects and the consequent advantages, as well as the features of the present innovation according to the present invention, will be more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred solution and a variant, given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig .1 is an exemplary diagram of a preferred configuration of a mask 1 according to the present innovation, from which it is possible to deduce some essential features, among which a preferred type of mask 1 (in particular, the KN95 type is shown in the present figure), as well as the presence in addition thereto of a collar 6 easily removable from the same mask 1 when needed and just as easily insertable in the same mask 1 or in another equivalent disposable mask, as long as it is provided with at least one support means 8 (in the figure practically consisting of a pair of slots 8) of the means for coupling the collar 6, in any case so as to allow the easy and practical insertion in and removal from the same support means 8;

Fig . 2 is an exemplary diagram of another possible configuration of a mask 1 (in particular, the three-layer disposable medical-sanitary type is shown in the present figure), provided with a collar 6, easily removable from the mask itself 1 when needed and just as easily insertable in the same mask 1, also provided with a pair of slots 8, such as to allow an easy insertion and removal of said collar 6;

Fig . 3 is an exemplary diagram of the collar 6 specially designed to make it easy and practical to insert and remove it through said slots 8, since said collar 6 is provided at the free ends thereof with special coupling means 9, in particular in the present figure the preferred, but not limiting, type of hinged harpoon hook 9 is shown ;

Figs. 4 and 5, similar to Figs. 1 and 2, show a simplified variant in which the collar 6' is fixed to the lower side ends of the mask 1.

In particular, from the accompanying drawings it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand how the present invention is particularly useful, especially in this period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In light of what has been described and reported above, together with the reading of the accompanying drawings, it can be deduced that the invention consists of some component elements already available on the market, such as disposable masks of the KN95 type (or better N95) or equivalent FFP2, or again FFP3, both with and without filter, or even of the medical-sanitary type or combination of both, where it is desired to ensure dual protection both in emission (to protect the safety of others, such as medical- sanitary masks) and in aspiration (to also protect personal safety, such as FFP2 and FFP3 with or without filter) . However, said disposable masks must be provided with a special pair of support means 8 for the coupling means 9, to be made preferably at the lower part of the body 4 of the same mask, in an axial or central position and at least one in number, so that the ends of a collar 6 can be easily coupled thereto 8, the latter provided with special coupling means 9 on each of the two ends of the collar 6 (as shown in Figures 1 and 2).

It should be noted that said support means 8 of the coupling means 9, in a first preferred solution, consist of elements of the slot 8 type made with notching and stitching of the same fiber or material with which the mask body 4 is made, in order to facilitate the disposal of the latter, having to be of the disposable type. However said support means 8 of the coupling means 9, in other embodiments, could be metal or adhesive felt or tear-off, as in the case of tear- off velcro or tear-off or adhesive buttons, so as to be able to make the collar 6, also in a textile type made of fiber with quick-release coupling, in order to minimize the costs of the mask 1 described thus far.

Finally, said support means 8 can be close to each other or widely spaced apart on the mask body

4 .

A first preferred configuration of the present invention includes making said pair of slots 8 on masks of said N95 type (for example the specific type KN95 9051A diagrammat ically shown in Fig. 1 and applied to the stylized face of a woman, which, it should be noted, protects the wearer from external bacterial emissions, but not vice versa) , but said slots can also be made on any other type of mask, as already mentioned above and depicted merely by way of example in Fig. 2, where the mask type with mask body 4 of the medical- sanitary type is shown, which, it should be noted, unlike the previous one, only protects others from bacterial or viral emissions of the wearer, but not the latter.

A preferred configuration of collar 6 (obviously of a non-disposable type) consists either of a simple cord in textile material which can be easily sanitized even at home with a simple washing, therefore, reusable to be provided at the ends thereof with special coupling means 9 or with collars 6 completely similar to those made for eyeglasses or still other equivalent collars 6, as long as they are provided with special coupling means 9 and can be made in any possible material, from natural fiber textile to plastic in synthetic fibers, from artificial to metallic.

In a preferred solution, said type of coupling means 9 consists of hooks with double hinged harpoon 9, as shown in Fig. 3, which can be made preferably of plastic or metal material, but other equivalent functional solutions not shown are also possible .

Therefore, said configurations shown in the accompanying drawings allow obtaining a plurality of morphologically equivalent and equally valid solutions of the present invention.

In this regard, it is further specified that the possible configurations of the present invention can also be obtained in a plurality of variants even for the same type of configuration.

Purely by way of non-limiting example, the particularly interesting application for the inventor is the most economical one for the end user and the most protective one for the same, i.e., the one depcited in Fig. 1 and made with an N95-type mask body.

As regards the strap or collar 6 to be fastened thereto by means of suitable slots 8 made, as previously mentioned, in the lower part of the mask body 4, the preferred material is that of plastic for eyeglasses.

The designed configurations also allow eliminating the possibility that the mask does not adhere to the face of the person wearing them, since the elastic straps 2 with which said masks are usually already provided allow imparting an optimal adherence of the mask body itself 4 to the face, said adherence is also further favored by the presence of special strips of flexible metal 3 (otherwise known as nose clips) and other stiffening means 7 (as present in the model N95 mask body 4 in Fig.l) or in any case ensured by the same conformation of the mask body 4 under the action of the elastic ear straps 2 (as occurs in the mask body 4 of the medical-sanitary type of Fig . 2).

In the configurations of the accompanying drawings, the present description has briefly but exhaustively described both of the possible configurations of the present type of mask and the manufacturing methods thereof for those skilled in the art.

Other possible embodiments in other new configurations can be related to the fact of being able to combine both of said solutions of mask bodies 4 of the FFP2 or FFP3 type and of the medical-sanitary type, in a single model which contemplates them together or simply by superimposing them, but certainly said model, although included and possible with the present innovation, is not as economical from the point of view of cost for the end user.

It should be noted that the solutions reported in the following description are considered protected as a function of what was previously described and claimed below.

The invention thus conceived, in the multiple insertion configurations thereof of the mask body 4, allows a series of advantages:

^ the reduction of the overall weight and consumable materials, since the collar 6 is reusable, unlike the disposable mask;

^ the minimization of final costs for the user;

^ the possibility of allowing having a comfortable anchoring and release of the mask body 4 from the collar 6, by virtue of the presence of said coupling and release means 9;

^ the use of the devised invention does not require adjustments or careful attention, which will allow a practical use of the mask itself, minimizing the correlated wear and wearability discomfort caused by the known masks.

Said advantages are accentuated if it is necessary to consider making more complex configurations, such as those with body composed for example of FFP2 or FFP3 with medical-sanitary mask body, but further appreciable from the performance point of view.

The advantages provided by the present invention are therefore firstly evident in terms of costs, as well as in performance and manufacturing simplicity applicable to all the mask body types mentioned above, as long as they are provided with special slots or other equivalent means for coupling easily removable and couplable collars to the mask body itself.

Due to the type of components used, the cost of the mask can still be limited in final prices which can also be minimized for the end user.

Other advantages provided by the present invention are:

^ the applicability with any type of mask body 4;

^ the applicability of the collar 6 with any type of coupling means 8 made on the mask body 4 itself or applied thereto 9, as in the case of tear-off or adhesive velcro or tear-off or adhesive buttons;

^ the applicability of the useful operation of the mask with any type of collar 6 and coupling means 9 applied thereto.

A further advantage of the present invention is due to the fact that it does not generate any allergies or intolerances in the application thereof to the user's face.

It is also apparent that many adjustments, adaptations, additions, variants and replacements of elements with others which are functionally equivalent can be made to the exemplary embodiments described above by way of non-limiting example, without however departing from the scope of protection of the following claims.

For example, it is useful to reiterate that, although in the accompanying drawings the collar 6 is fastened to the mask in a single point (or rather in two very close points 8), it is quite clear that the same inventive concept is applicable, with the same advantages and the same practicality, also by constraining the ends of the collar 6 in two points of the mask body 4 which are distant from each other. A variant showing such a configuration is shown in figures 4 and 5.

KEY

1. DISPOSABLE HYGIENIC MASK, FLEXIBLE AND EASILY CONFORMABLE ON THE USER'S FACE, AS WELL AS PROVIDED WITH A COLLAR 6, EASILY COUPLABLE AND RELEASABLE IN A PRACTICAL MANNER FROM THE SAME MASK BODY 4

2. ELASTIC EAR STRAPS

3. FLEXIBLE METAL STRIP OR NOSE CLIP

4. MASK BODY

5. CONNECTION POINTS OF THE STRAPS 2 TO THE MASK BODY 4

6-6'. COLLAR CONSISTING OF A CORD APPLICABLE AROUND THE USER'S NECK

7. POSSIBLE MASK STIFFENING MEANS

8. SUPPORT MEANS (ALSO CALLED SLOT) OF THE COUPLING MEANS

9. COLLAR COUPLING/RELEASE MEANS 6

Claims

1) A disposable hygienic mask (1) comprising a protective mask body (4) provided with elastic ear straps (2), characterized in that it includes a collar (6) which is constrained to said mask body (4) irremovably or removably.

2) A disposable hygienic mask (1), according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said collar (6) is constrained to said mask body (4) removably by means of one or more support means (8) arranged in said mask body (4); the collar (6) being provided, at each of the ends thereof, with quick coupling and release means (9), making it easy and practical for the user to couple and release said collar (6) from the mask body (4).

3) A disposable hygienic mask (1), according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said support means (8) of the coupling means (9) are slot-shaped, the latter being made inside the same mask body (4) with a stitching made with a fiber identical or similar to that of the material forming said mask body (4), thereby facilitating the environmental disposal of the mask (1).

4) A disposable hygienic mask (1), according to one or more of claims 2 onwards, characterized in that said coupling means (9) applied to the ends of the collar (6) consist of hooks with a double hinged harpoon.

5) A disposable hygienic mask (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said collar (6) consists of a cord of easily sanitized textile material.

6) A disposable hygienic mask (1), according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the collar (6) is entirely made of plastic, flexible material .

7) A disposable hygienic mask (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mask body (4) is of the N95 type.

8) A disposable hygienic mask (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mask body (4) is of the FFP2 type.

9) A disposable hygienic mask (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mask body (4) is of the FFP3 type.

10) A disposable hygienic mask (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mask body (4) is of the medical-sanitary type.

11) A disposable hygienic mask (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mask body (4) is of a complex type, combination of said preceding types, at least that of the FFP2 or FFP3 type combined with the medical-sanitary type.

12) A disposable hygienic mask (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said collar (6') is constrained at or near the lower side ends of said mask body (4).