Light-weight disposable protective face shield

A light-weight, disposable face shield assembly for the protection of the eyes and face of a wearer from accidental exposure to infections, hazardous or undesirable substances. The shield assembly includes an elongated, generally rectangular, semi-flexible, transparent face protection panel having a central panel section and like side panel sections which are foldable rearwardly with respect to the central panel section and a semi-flexible head support strip for the face protection panel in alignment with the upper portion of such panel. The head support strip has its ends affixed to the ends of the face protection panel and is of a length that is less than the length of such panel. The head support strip also includes a central strip portion and like side strip portions which are foldable rearwardly with respect to the central strip portion with the fold lines of the head support strip lying within the fold lines of the face protection panel. An elastic head band is affixed to the ends of the head support strip for maintaining such strip in position about the forehead of a wearer of the face shield assembly whereby the face protection panel is formed up into rigidly-supported, arcuate spaced protection orientation about the face of a wearer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to face shields for the protection of the 
eyes and face of wearers from accidental exposure to infections, hazardous 
and undesirable substances. More particularly, the invention relates to 
anti-infection shields for the protection of health care workers and 
professionals and laboratory personnel from accidental exposure to 
infectious and/or hazardous fluids and particulate materials. 
Health care workers have long recognized that caring for patients with 
certain infectious diseases poses risks of contracting such diseases. For 
example, many cases have been reported of accidental transmission of 
Hepatitis B from patients to persons involved in their care. More 
recently, the life threatening epidemic of Acquired Immunodeficiency 
Syndrome (AIDS) caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has 
aroused great concern. Although the bulk of cases of patient to health 
care worker cross infection have resulted from accidental needlesticks, 
medical office, hospital, surgical, dental and laboratory personnel are 
now required to use extreme care in the handling of all patients and body 
fluids as potentially infected with HIV and other pathogens. Particular 
attention has been directed to the risk to surgeons and operating room 
personnel of infection through splashing or splattering of blood or other 
body fluids onto open wounds, into mouths or into the eyes of such 
personnel during the performance of surgical procedures. 
In the United States, the centers for Disease Control, Public Health 
Service of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, has issued a 
comprehensive series of recommendations for the prevention of HIV 
transmission in health care settings and such recommendations are 
applicable to the risks of exposure to all infected body fluids. These 
recommendations show an increasing concern for protection of the eyes 
(particularly conjunctiva) if aerosolization or splashing of blood or 
other fluids is likely to occur. Thus, according to the Centers for 
Disease Control, eye shields should be worn by medical personnel and 
laboratory workers to prevent blood and other body fluids from splattering 
into the eyes. An effective eye shield must protect the eyes no matter 
which direction the wearer faces. Ordinary eyeglasses are not sufficient 
protection. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a face shield for the 
protection of the eyes and face of wearers from accidental exposure to 
infectious, hazardous and undesirable substances. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a face shield for the 
protection of health care workers and professionals and laboratoy 
personnel from accidental exposure to body fluids from infected patients. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a low cost, disposable 
face shield for health care workers and professionals and laboratory 
personnel subject to accidental exposure to infectious body fluids. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a light-weight, full-face 
shield for the protection of the eyes and face of health care and 
laboratory personnel from spattered blood and other body fluids containing 
infectious disease forms. 
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a light-weight, 
protective face shield for a wide variety of worker-wearers exposed to 
infectious, hazardous and undesirable substances. 
Still another object of the invention is to provide a light-weight, 
disposable protective face shield which is readily formed up from a flat 
packaged form and may be worn over ordinary eyeglasses. 
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the 
following summary and detailed description of preferred embodiments of the 
invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to light-weight, disposable, face shields for 
the protection of the eyes and face of wearers from accidental exposure to 
infectious, hazardous and undesirable substances. It is of particular 
interest in the protection of health care workers and professionals and 
laboratory personnel from accidental exposure to body fluids from infected 
patients. The shield includes: a semi-flexible transparent eye/face 
protection panel; and a semi-flexible head support strip for the 
protection panel. An elastic head band is affixed to the head support 
strip for holding same to the forehead of a wearer with the result that 
the protection panel forms up in an arcuate outwardly spaced fashion about 
the wearer's head to provide full face protection while allowing total 
peripheral vision by the wearer. 
The transparent eye/face protection panel may be provided with a frame 
structure of semi-flexible sheet plastic material or coated paper board 
including an elongated upper horizontal frame portion with depending side 
or leg portions. The frame structure may be affixed to the front or rear 
side of the semi-flexible eye/face protection panel which is formed of 
relatively thin optically clear polyester sheet material or other 
appropriate clear plastic sheet material. The clear eye/face protection 
panel also may be coated with an anti-glare substance (compatible with the 
panel material) where the face shield is to be worn under high lighting 
conditions. The frame structure of the face shield may be comprised of one 
or more substantially like sheets of plastic or paper board with one of 
the frame sheets affixed to the front side and the other of the sheets (if 
utilized) affixed to the rear side of the eye/face protection panel. 
In its unformed orientation (for flat packaging and/or storage) the end 
portions of the eye/face protection panel are folded inwardly over the 
central portion of the panel in overlapping fashion. The head support 
strip (affixed at its ends to the rear side of the protection panel at its 
upper corner areas) is of somewhat shorter length than the upper 
horizontal portion of the protection panel and has its end portions also 
folded inwardly over its central portion in overlapping fashion within the 
folded protection panel. The resulting folded face shield has an area of 
approximately 50% of the area of the unfolded protection panel and is most 
suitable for flat packaging and storage. The elastic head band for the 
face shield has its ends affixed to the upper corner areas of the 
protection panel at the points of affixation of the head support strip to 
the protection panel. Instead of an elastic head band, the face shield may 
be provided with head ties to maintain the shield in place on the wearer's 
head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring initially to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings there is illustrated 
front and top views, respectively, of a first preferred form of the 
eye/face shield 10 of the invention in its open (unpackaged) form 
immediately prior to the mounting of the shield assembly to a wearer's 
head. The shield includes as its principal elements: a semi-flexible frame 
structure 12 supporting an elongated, generally-rectangular, transparent 
eye/face protection panel 14; and a semi-flexible head support strip 16 
with an elastic head band 18 affixed to the ends of the head support strip 
at the point of affixation of the ends of strip 16 to the upper corner 
areas of the frame structure 12. The frame structure 12 of the eye/face 
shield 10 preferably is formed of semi-flexible sheet plastic material, or 
semi-flexible coated paper board, and includes an elongated upper 
horizontal frame portion 12a with depending side or leg portions 12b and 
12c. The frame structure 12 may be comprised of a single sheet of plastic 
or paper board material affixed to the front or rear side of the 
transparent protection panel 14 or the frame structure may be comprised of 
sheets of the plastic or paper board material affixed to both sides of 
panel 14 along the upper horizontal portion of the panel and along the 
vertical side portions of the panel. It will be noted from FIGS. 1 and 1a 
that vertical score lines 12d and 12e are provided across the upper 
horizontal frame structure portion 12a and from FIG. 2 that such score 
lines result in partial folding of the frame structure 12 at such score 
(fold) lines. The score (fold) lines 12d and 12e extend vertically 
downward and across the transparent protection panel 14 as fold lines 14a 
and 14b, respectively. 
From FIG. 2 it will be noted that the semi-flexible head support strip 16 
is somewhat shorter in length than the upper horizontal frame portion 12a 
of the frame structure 12. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the head support 
strip 16 is affixed at its ends to the upper corners of frame structure 12 
by rivet means 18a which also affix the ends of elastic head band 18 to 
the frame structure 12. The head support strip 16 may be formed of 
semi-flexible sheet plastic material, or semi-flexible coated paper board, 
and also may be provided with an absorptive liner or facing layer (not 
illustrated) of cloth, soft foam plastic material or absorptive paper for 
absorbing forehead moisture as may be generated by the wearer during use 
of the shield. The head support strip 16 also includes vertical score 
(fold) lines 16a and 16b for assisting in shaping and fitting the shield 
10 to the wearer's head. Since the head support strip 16 is of shorter 
overall length than the upper horizontal frame portion 12a (to which it is 
attached) and the fold lines 16a and 16b of strip 16 lie within the fold 
lines 12d and 12e of the frame portion 12a, the head support strip 16 
(when applied to the wearer's head H as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5) firmly 
supports transparent protection panel 14 of the eye/face shield 10 in 
proper arcuate spaced and full protective alignment with the wearer's head 
without adversly affecting the wearer's forward and peripheral vision 
The eye/shield 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 may be provided with a flexible, fluid 
resistant fabric material piece F extending between the central section of 
the upper horizontal frame portion 12a and the central section of the head 
support strip 16 for providing added protection to the wearer of the 
shield 10 from the splattering of body fluids that may be virus infected 
(also see FIG. 5). The fabric piece F also stabilizes the central 
positioning of the transparent protective panel 14 with respect to the 
head support strip 16 so that the panel 14 rests symmetrically with 
respect to the wearer's head. The face shield assembly 10 may be provided 
with pressure sensitive adhesive means, Velcro type fasteners or other 
type fastener means along the inner surface of the head support strip for 
attachment of the assembly to the lower front edge of a surgical cap C 
that may be worn by the wearer of the face shield as shown in FIGS. 4 and 
5. It should also be understood that the ends of the head support strip 16 
and the ends of the elastic head band 18 may be affixed to the upper 
corners of the frame structure by means other than the rivet fastener 
means 18a as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
In FIG. 5 the eye/face shield assembly 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown 
collapsed nearly to its pre-use, flat-packaged and/or shield storage form 
with the shorter head support strip 16 folded within the folded frame 
structure 12 bearing the folded protection panel. With the shield assembly 
fully collapsed (end portions fully folded inwardly over its central 
portion in overlapping fashion, the resulting folded face shield has an 
area of approximately 50% of the area of the unfolded protection panel. 
In FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawings there is illustrated front and top views, 
respectively, of another preferred form of the eye/face shield of the 
invention in its open (unpackaged) form immediately prior to the mounting 
of the shield to a wearer's head. The shield 20 includes as its principal 
elements: a semi-flexible, transparent eye/face protection panel 24 of 
generally rectangular configuration (without any frame structure); and a 
semi-flexible head support strip 22 with an elastic head band 26 affixed 
to the ends of the head support strip at the point of affixation of the 
ends of strip 22 to the upper corner areas of the protection panel 24. It 
will be noted that vertical score lines 24d and 24e are provided across 
the protection panel 24 and divide such panel into a central panel section 
24a and side panel sections 24b and 24c which are foldable at such score 
(fold) lines inwardly and rearwardly. 
From FIG. 7 it will be noted that the semi-flexible head support strip 22 
is somewhat shorter in length than the protection panel 24 (panel sections 
24a, 24b and 24c). Also, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 7a the head support strip 
22 is affixed to the upper corners of the protection panel 24 by double 
folds 22f and 22g at each end of strip 22 with such folds being adhesively 
cemented to one-another and cemented to panel 24. The ends of the elastic 
head band 26 extend into the fold system 22f and 22g and are thereby also 
affixed to the shield assembly 20. The head support strip 22 may be formed 
of semi-flexible sheet plastic material, or semi-flexible coated paper 
board, and also may be provided with an absorptive liner or facing 
material for absorbing forehead moisture. The head support strip 22 also 
includes vertical score (fold) lines 22d and 22e dividing such strip into 
a central strip section 22a and side strip sections 22b and 22c for 
assisting in shaping and fitting the shield 20 to the wearer's head. Since 
the head support strip 22 is of shorter overall length than the upper 
horizontal portion of protection panel 24 and the fold lines 22d and 22e 
of strip 22 lie within the fold lines 24d and 24e of the protection panel 
24, the head support strip 22 (when applied to the wearer's head H as 
shown in FIGS. 9 and 10) firmly supports transparent protection panel 24 
of the eye/face shield 20 in proper arcuate spaced and full protection 
alignment with the wearer's head without adversly affecting the wearer's 
forward and peripheral vision. It should be understood that the ends of 
the head support strip 22 may be affixed to the upper corners of the 
protection panel by means other than the adhesive means described above. 
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the eye/face shield assembly 20 may be provided 
with a pair of flexible straps 28a and 28b (shown as dashed lines) which 
cross each other and extend between the top central edge portion of the 
protection panel (central panel section 24a) and the central section 22a 
of the head support strip 22. The ends of such straps may be affixed to 
the protection panel and the head support strip by any suitable means. 
These straps stabilize the central positioning of the transparent 
protective panel 24 with respect to the head support strip 22 so that the 
panel 24 rests symmetrically with respect to the wearer' head. 
In FIG. 8 the eye/face shield assembly 20 of FIGS. 6 and 7 is shown 
collapsed nearly to its pre-use, flat-packaged and/or shield storage form 
with the shorter head support strip 22 folded within the folded 
transparent protection panel 24. With the shield assembly 20 fully 
collapsed (end portions fully folded inwardly over its central portion in 
overlapping fashion, the resulting folded face shield has an area of 
approximately 50% of the area of the unfolded protection panel. 
In the specification and drawing figures there has been set forth preferred 
embodiments of a light-weight, disposable, anti-infection face shield for 
the protection of health care workers and professionals and laboratory 
personnel from accidental exposure to body fluids from virus infected 
individuals and from accidental exposure to other hazardous liquids or 
particulate materials, in accordance with the invention. Although specific 
terms have been employed in describing the invention, they are used in a 
generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the 
scope of the invention being defined in the following claims.