Face shield device

A face shield device for protecting the wearer's eyes and face from debris, bacteria, and the like includes an arcuate transparent face shielding panel and a support for holding the face shielding panel in front of and spaced outwardly away from the wearer's face. The support is attached to the face shielding panel and lays on the wearer's chest. In one embodiment, the support is suspended from the wearer's neck by a flexible band which fits around the wearer's neck. In another embodiment, the support is suspended from the wearer's shoulders by shoulder engaging hook members. The face shield device may also include means to protect the wearer from ultra-violet radiation or other types of radiation harmful to the face and eyes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to face and eye protectors or shields, and 
more particularly to a face and eye shield which is supported at the 
wearer's chest and extends in front of and spaced outwardly from the 
wearer's face. 
In the last few years there has developed a lot of interest in the dental 
profession of the transfer of bacteria from patient to dentist. This is 
caused predominantly because dentists are subjected to debris from a 
patients mouth while working on the patient. This debris comprises 
particles of tooth, filling material, water, and air borne particles 
coming from the oral cavity. 
Moreover, there are new processes for repairing teeth which require the use 
of ultra violet radiation. In the use of equipment which emits this 
radiation, the eyes of the dentist or their assistant is subjected to this 
radiation which is harmful to the eyes. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to protect the wearer's face and 
eyes from debris. 
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a face and eye 
shield of the class described which will not hinder the wearer's vision 
and freedom of movement. 
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a face and 
eye shield of the class described which is comfortable to wear. 
Other objectives will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon 
reading the disclosure set forth hereinafter. 
More particularly, the present invention provides a face and eye shield 
device comprising a transparent face and eye shielding panel, and means 
supporting the face shielding panel at the wearer's chest and holding the 
face shielding panel in front of and spaced outwardly from the wearer's 
face.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a face and eye shield device 10 of 
the present invention. As shown, the face and eye shield device, generally 
denoted as the number 10, includes a transparent face shielding panel 12 
and support means, generally denoted as the number 14, for supporting the 
face shielding panel 12 at the wearer's chest and holding the face 
shielding panel 12 in front of and spaced outwardly from the wearer's face 
as shown in FIG. 5. 
The supporting means 14 is illustrated as a support panel 16 adapted to lay 
on the wearer's chest, and the support panel 16 is structurally associated 
with the face shielding panel 12. More particularly, the shielding panel 
12 and the face supporting panel 16 are joined together at their lower 
edges 18 and 20, respectively. Preferably, the face shielding panel 12 and 
supporting panel 16 are formed of a single sheet of transparent material 
which is folded at the bottom edge 18 of the shielding panel 12 and bottom 
edge 20 of the supporting panel 16. The supporting panel 16 and face 
shielding panel 12 cooperate to define an acute included angle "A" 
therebetween with the apex of the angle being the lower edges 18 and 20 of 
the face shielding panel 12 and supporting panel 16. 
Generally, the face shield panel 12 has a larger height dimension measured 
from the lower edge 18 to the top edge 19 than the height dimension of the 
supporting panel 16 measured from the lower edge 20 to the top edge 22. 
And, in one embodiment the top edge 22 of the supporting panel 16 is 
formed with a centrally located notched out area 24 configured and sized 
to receive therein the wearer's throat. 
The face and eye shield device 10 further includes means, generally denoted 
as the numeral 26, for suspending the face shield device 10 from the 
wearer's neck. As shown, the suspending means 26 is a flexible neck band 
or belt 28 connected to the supporting panel 16 proximate the top edge 22 
of the supporting panel 16 adopted to fit around the wearer's neck. Toward 
this objective the flexible neck band 28 is attached at one end to the 
chest contact surface of the supporting panel 16 next to one side of the 
throat receiving notch 24. A neck band fastener 30 is attached to the 
chest contact surface of the supporting panel 16 next to the other side of 
the throat receiving notch 24. The free end of the neck band 28 can be 
adjustably connected to the fastener 30 when the neck band 28 has been 
located across the wearer's neck. Virtually any conventional or otherwise 
convenient fastener can be used. One contemplated type fastener is formed 
of "VELCRO.TM.". 
As an optional feature, for example, an X-ray slide holder 32 may be 
attached to the top edge 19 of the face shielding panel 12 to one end of 
the shielding panel top edge 19 so that it will not obstruct the wearer's 
straight ahead vision, but will be conveniently positioned for viewing by 
the wearer merely glancing upwardly and to one side. Other features may 
include measuring devices incorporated on the shield, and means to prevent 
other types of radiation from penetrating through the shield, such as 
those emitted from laser beams and the like. 
With reference to FIG. 2, there is shown a somewhat different embodiment of 
a face and eye shield device, generally denoted as the numeral 110, of the 
present invention. The face and eye shield device 110 is identical to the 
face and eye shield 10 of FIG. 1 in every respect except for the 
suspending means, generally denoted as the numeral 126. Therefore, all 
features in common with the face and eye shield 10 are denoted by the same 
numerals, and for the sake of brevity, the description of these common 
features will not be repeated. 
The suspending means 126 of the face and eye shield device 1 10 suspends 
the face and eye shield device 110 from the wearer's shoulders. Toward 
this objective, the suspending means 126 comprises a pair of spaced apart 
shoulder engaging hook members 136 and 138 attached to the supporting 
panel 16 proximate the top edge 22 to either side of the throat receiving 
notched out area 24. The engaging hook members 136 and 138 open downwardly 
and are sized, configured and spaced apart by an appropriate distance to 
comfortably receive the wearer's shoulders. 
Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown another embodiment of a face and 
eye shield device, generally denoted as the numeral 210, of the present 
invention. 
As shown, the face and eye shield device 210 includes a transparent face 
shielding panel 212 and supporting means, generally denoted as the numeral 
214, for supporting the face shielding panel 212 at the wearer's chest and 
holding the face shielding panel 212 in front of and spaced outwardly from 
the wearer's face as shown in FIG. 5. 
The supporting means 214 is shown as a pair of spaced apart rigid straps 
233 and 235 joined at their lower ends to the face shield panel 21 
proximate the lower edge 218 of the face shield panel 212 and extending 
upwardly therefrom. The straps 233 and 235 are adapted to lay on the 
wearer's chest and should be spaced apart by an appropriate distance wider 
than the wearer's neck. The rigid supporting straps 233 and 235 each 
cooperate with the face shielding panel 212 to define an equal acute 
included angle "A" between the support strap 233 and 235 and face 
shielding panel 212. 
The face shield panel 212 has a larger height dimension measured from the 
lower edge 218 to the top edge 219 than the length of the straps 233 and 
235 as measured from lower strap ends attached to the face shield panel 
and the top distal ends of the straps 233 and 235. 
The face and eye shield device 210 further includes means, generally 
denoted as the numeral 226, for suspending the face shield device 210 from 
the wearer's neck. As shown, the suspending means 226 is a flexible band 
228 connected to the top distal ends of the rigid supporting straps 233 
and 235 adapted to fit around the wearer's neck. Toward this objective, 
the flexible neck band 228 is attached at one end to one of the supporting 
straps 235. A neck band fastener is attached to the top distal end of the 
supporting strap 233 The free end of the neck band 228 can be adjustably 
connected to the fastener 230 when the neck band 228 has been located 
across the wearer's neck. 
With reference to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a somewhat different 
embodiment of a face and eye shield device, generally denoted as the 
numeral 310, of the present invention. The face and eye shield 310 is 
identical to the face and eye shield 210 of FIG. 3 in every respect except 
for the suspending means, generally denoted as the numeral 326. Therefore, 
all of the features in common with the eye shield 210 are denoted by the 
same numerals, and for the sake of brevity, the description of these 
common features will not be repeated. 
The suspending means 326 of the face and eye shield device 310 suspends the 
face and eye shield 310 from the wearer's shoulders. Toward this 
objective, the suspending means 326 comprises a pair of spaced apart 
shoulder engaging hook members 336 and 338 at the top or distal ends of 
the support straps 233 and 235. Preferably, the hook members 336 and 338 
are integrally formed in the top of distal end of each of the support 
straps 233 and 235. The shoulder engaging hook members 336 and 338 open 
downwardly and are sized, configured and spaced apart from each other by 
an appropriate distance to comfortably receive the wearer's shoulders on 
either side of the wearer's neck. 
As an additional feature of the invention, the face shielding panel in each 
of the above-described embodiments may include an ultra-violet blocking 
material in the area of FIG. 1 denoted by the letter "A". 
With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, there is shown another face and eye shield 
device 410 of the present invention. As shown, the face and eye shield 
device includes an arcuate transparent face shielding panel 412 and 
support means, generally denoted as the numeral 414, for supporting the 
face shielding panel 412 at the wearer's chest and holding the face 
shielding panel 412 in front of and spaced outwardly from the wearer's 
face as shown in FIG. 7. The face shielding panel 412 extends outwardly 
from the wearer's chest at an acute angle to the vertical. The height of 
the face shield panel 412 is such that the wearer's head is tilted 
forwardly toward the wearer's chest, the face shielding panel 412 extends 
across the breadth and height of the wearer's face, and when the wearer's 
head is in an upright position, the top edge 418 of the face shielding 
panel 412 is generally below the wearer's line of sight. The shielding 
panel 412 does not extend to or around the sides of the wearer's head. 
The supporting means 414 is illustrated as a support panel 416 adapted to 
lay on the wearer's chest, and the support panel 416 is structurally 
associated with the face shielding panel 412. More particularly, the 
bottom edge 420 of the shielding panel 412 is joined to the face shield 
support panel 416. The support panel 416 is arcuately formed to define a 
centrally located area 424 configured and sized to provide a clearance for 
the wearer's face and throat. The support panel 416 has a generally flat 
bottom side 430 for resting against the wearer's chest, and a top side 
432. An arcuate flange 434 extends upwardly from the top side 432 of the 
support panel 416 positioned in abutting contact with the convex side of 
the arcuate face shielding panel 416 proximate the bottom edge 420 of the 
face shielding panel 416. The face shield panel 416 is affixed to the 
flange 434 by any convenient means such as mechanical fasteners, or as 
shown by an adhesive. 
The face and eye shield device 410 further includes means, generally 
denoted as the numeral 426, for suspending the face shield device 410 from 
the wearer's neck. As shown, the suspending means 426 is a flexible neck 
band or belt 428 connected at one of its ends to the supporting panel 416 
proximate the end 436 of the supporting panel 416 adapted to fit around 
the wearer's neck and be removably attached at its free end 438 to the 
other end of the support panel. Toward this objective, the end 436 of the 
support panel 426 is formed with a slot 440 through which the fixed end of 
the neck band 428 is looped, and the other end 438 of the support panel 
426 is formed with a slot 442 for receiving a fastener 444 for attaching 
the free end 438 of the neck band 428 to the support panel 416. 
Preferably, the fastener 444 is a section of one half of a hook and eye 
fastener, such as the fastener sold under the trademark "VELCRO.TM." 
looped through the slot 442. The free end 438 of the neck band 428 
includes the mating portion of the hook an eye fastener so that the free 
end of the neck band 428 can be adjustably positioned and attached to the 
end of the support panel 416. 
The foregoing detailed description is given primarily for clearness of 
understanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood 
therefrom for modifications will become obvious to those skilled in the 
art upon reading this disclosure and may be made without departing from 
the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.