RESPIRATOR HARNESS ASSEMBLY

Abstract: A harness assembly for disposable respirators and more particularly a respirator harness assembly which permits the respirator (10) to be applied without passing the harness straps (15) over the user's head and which can be readily adjusted to provide adequate tension during use and an even distribution of pressure over the entire area of the respirator in contact with the face.

Description: RESPIRATOR HARNESS ASSEMBLY This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 650,179, filed September 13, 1984. Background of the Invention The present invention relates to a harness assembly for disposable respirators and more particularly to a respirator harness assembly which permits the respirator to be applied without passing the harness straps over the user's head and which can be readily adjusted to provide adequate tension during use and an even distribu- tion of pressure over the entire area of the respirator in contact with the face. Disposable respirators approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) under Subpart K of Part II, 30 Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, Vol. 37, No. 59, March 25, 1972, and designed for respiratory protection in hazardous partic- ulate atmospheres, such as dust/mist and dust/mist/fume respirators, have traditionally been required to have a harness consisting of a pair of elastic straps secured at spaced points on opposite side edges of the respirator, the so-called four point support requirement. The respirator is secured in place by passing the straps over the user's head and then arranging the straps so that one strap is below the ears and the other strap is above the ears. The elastic straps may then be adjusted to obtain a fit against the user's face by evenly distributing pressure over the entire area of the respirator in contact with the face. Although disposable respirators provided with harnesses of the type described above generally perform satisfactorily in use, a persistent problem has been that many workers consistently do not use their respirators in the workplace. Inquiry as to the reasons for such non-use has revealed that a primary reason was the inconvenience and aggravation experienced in passing the straps over the user's head each time the respirator was applied or removed -- this was especially pronounced when the user was encumbered with auxilliary safety or similar equipment such as hard hats, welder's helmets, goggles, spectacles, miner's lamps, hats or caps, hairnets, and hearing protection. Obviously, no respiratory protection is afforded a worker by even the best and most efficient respirator if the worker does not use it. It is to the elimination of the above noted reasons for not using a respirator that the present invention is directed. Summary of the Invention. The present invention relates to a respirator harness assembly for disposable respirators which permits the respirator to be applied without passing the harness straps over the user's head and which can be readily adjusted to provide adequate tension during use and an even distribution of pressure over the entire area of the respirator in contact with the face, said harness assembly comprising elastic loop support means along one side edge of the respirator, cleat means having arms at spaced points on the other side edge of the respirator, and a light-weight elastic loop of sufficient length to snugly girdle the head of a user and extend between said loop support means and said cleat means. The harness assembly permits the respirator to be applied by holding the respirator against the face with one hand and simply grasping the free end of the elastic loop and passing the loop around the back of the user's head and placing the free end of the loop over the ends of the arms of the cleat means. The thus attached elastic loop thereby provides the functional equivalent of a pair of elastic straps which have been considered to be necessary to gain approval by NIOSH and MSHA. The elastic nature of the loop and the ability to move the loop through the cleat means allow for ready adjustability of the harness and thus provide adequate tension and an even distribution of pressure about the periphery of the respirator. Removal of the respirator is accomplished by passing the elastic loop over the arms of the cleat means. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a side view showing a cupped shape respirator as worn by a user with the respirator held in place by the respirator harness assembly of the present invention; Figure 2 is a front view of a respirator showing one embodiment of the respirator harness assembly of the present invention; Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of another embodiment of the respirator harness assembly of the present invention; Figure 4 is a front view of a respirator showing another embodiment of the respirator harness assembly of the present invention; and Figure 5 is a plan view of the flexible fabric fastener tab forming the elastic loop support means and the cleat means of the respirator harness assembly of Figure 4. Detailed Description of the Invention Referring now more particularly to the drawings, respirator 10, as shown, is representative of a disposable dust/mist and dust/mist/fume respirator comprised of a light, porous, fibrous fabric having a rounded cupped shape. It is large enough to fit over the nose, mouth and chin in a non-constricting spaced-away manner, and can be conformed to make a snug marginal fit such that breathing causes substantially all of the air to pass in and out through the porous fabric structure. If desired, a thin pliable metal strip 11 may be provided at the upper central peripheral edge of the respirator to aid in conforming the respirator over the nose of the wearer. Respirator 10 is provided with a harness assembly compris¬ ing a light-weight elastic loop 15, elastic loop support means 20 positioned along one side edge of the respirator and cleat means 30 positioned along the opposite side edge of the respirator. As most clearly seen in Fig. 2, elastic loop 15 is a continuous elastic loop which is threaded through apertures 22 and 23, spaced about 1.75 inches (4.5 cm) apart in elastic loop support means 20. Elastic loop 15 may comprise any of the commercially available synthetic elastomers, natural rubbers or braided elasticized fabrics as are well known in the art. An elastic loop 15 formed from an elastic polymeric material of 0.25 inch (0.63 cm) width and 500 tm thickness performed satisfactorily in the harness assembly of the present invention. As illustrated, elastic loop support means 20 comprises a rectangular tab ι measuring aDout u.o inch x 2.5 inches (1.3 cm x 6.3 cm) conveniently formed as an extension of the respirator during the respirator molding procedure. Elastic loop 15 may, if desired, be stapled, welded or otherwise attached to tab 21 or to the respirator body itself instead of being threaded through apertures 22 and 23, as illustrated, and such other attachment means are contemplated. When elastic loop 15 is attached directly to the body of the respirator itself, elastic loop support means 20 will comprise the attachment points of the elastic loop 15 to the body of the respirator. The degree of elasticity of elastic loop 15 dictates the actual length thereof. It has been found that for the elastic polymeric material described above, a length of about 25 inches (63 cm) provides a snug fit of the respirator to the user's face. Cleat means 30, in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2, is also a rectangular tab 31 formed during the respirator molding procedure. C-shaped cut-outs adjacent the ends of tab 31 form arms 32 and 33 on cleat means 30. As clearly seen in Figure 2, arms 32 and 33 are spaced to correspond to the spacing of apertures 22 and 23 in loop support means 20. Reinforcing means (not shown) in various forms may be included in the formation of tabs 21 and 31. One such reinforcing means used was a 0.020 inch (SOO^m) thick film of polypropylene sandwiched between the layers forming tab 31 to give rigidity to arms 32 and 33. It will be appreciated that tabs 21 and 31 can also be reinforced by being dipped into or otherwise being impregnated with a resinous material and subsequently dried or cured. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, cleat means 40 comprises a rectangular sheet of plastic material about 1.5 inches by 2 inches (3.8 cm x 5 cm) by 0.030 inch (750^m) thick polypropylene folded longitudinally along its approximate centerline to thus form tab 41 and attaching flap 44. Tab 41 is dimensioned so that its ends 42 and 43 are spaced apart about 1.75 inches (4.5 cm), said space corresponding to the space between apertures 22 and 23. Flap 44 is secured along the side edge of the * respirator body itself by sonic welding at points 45 and 46. Other means of securing flap 44 to the respirator edge such as adhesive bonding will become readily apparent to one skilled in the art and are contemplated. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, elastic loop support means 50 and cleat means 60 are identically formed and comprise a tab 70 about 1.75 x 1.75 inches of a flexible fabric fastener of the hook and loop type described in U.S. Patent No. 3,009,235. The dimensions of tab 70 may be varied as desired. As used herein, the term hook and loop type fastener includes those fasteners wherein the hook structures or the loop structures have been modified to form the so-called hook and pile fastener and the mushroom and pile fastener. Typically, tab 70 comprises a flexible fabric backing 71 with a loop portion 72 along one end thereof, a clear central portion 73 adjoining the loop portion and a hook portion 74 along the other end thereof, each portion comprising approximately one-third of the tab. Tab 70 may be attached to the respirator in the positions shown in Fig. 4 by sewing, sonic welding or with an adhesive. The width of the tab 70 serves to separate the elastic loop 15 to effectively provide two elastic straps secured at spaced points on the opposite side edges of the respirator. In use, elastic loop 15 is placed onto the clear central portion 73 of either tab 70 and the free end of tab 70 is brought into juxtaposition with the other (attached) end of the tab. The hooks will then engage the loop and slidingly hold elastic loop 15 in the clear central portion 73. This tab 70 will then operate as the elastic loop support means 50. The other tab 70 will then operate as cleat means 60 in the manner just described for elastic loop support means 50. It will be appreciated that the "interchangeability" of the elastic loop support means 50 and the cleat means 60 in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4 will greatly facilitate wearing of the respirator by either right or left handed persons. Also, it is now possible to re-use the elastic loop. Although not shown herein, the cleat means can take various other forms such as spaced upstanding posts or they can be more elaborately configured into various hooked shapes. Similarly, the simple tab cleat means illustrated in Figure 3 can be otherwise configured into a form such as a curved tab. The harness assembly of the present invention maxes iτ extremely simple for a worker to don a respirator even while wearing a safety hard hat. In the embodiments illustrated, the worker holds respirator 10 against the face with the left hand, grasps the freely hanging elastic loop 15 at its approximate midpoint with the right hand, raises the right arm over the head simultaneously passing the loop around the back of the head and places the free end of the elastic loop 15 over cleat means 30 or 40. Removal of the respirator 10 is accomplished by simply grasping the elastic loop 15 at a point immediately above or below cleat means 30 or 40 with the right hand and unhooking the elastic loop from the cleat means and thereafter releasing the loop while lightly supporting the respirator with the left hand. While the respirator harness assembly has been described in relation to a rounded cupped shape disposable respirator, it will be immediately apparent that the harness assembly can be used on other masks and respirators such as flat folded respirators, lightweight dust masks, clean room masks, surgical masks, etc., and such uses are contemplated. It will also be apparent that the component parts of the respirator harness assembly may be placed on either edge of the respirator and be functionally equivalent to the respirator harness assembly described and illustrated herein. It is also understood that other variations and modifications of the illustrative embodiments described herein will become evident to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims: What is claimed is: 7 1. A harness assembly for disposable respirators compris¬ ing a light-weight elastic loop of sufficient length to snugly girdle the head of a user, elastic loop support means along one side edge of the respirator and cleat means on the opposite side edge of the respirator, said elastic loop being supported by said elastic loop support means and said cleat means being adapted to retain said elastic loop thereon. 2. A harness assembly according to Claim 1 wherein said elastic loop support means comprises an elongate rectangular tab. 3. A harness assembly according to Claim 2 wherein said elongate rectangular tab is provided with an aperture adjacent each end thereof. 4. A harness assembly according to Claim 1 wherein said elastic loop support means comprises two spaced attachment points on one side edge of the respirator body itself. 5. A harness assembly according to Claim 1 wherein said cleat means comprises an elongate rectangular tab. 6. A harness assembly according to Claim 5 wherein said elongate rectangular tab is provided with a C-shaped cut-out adjacent each end thereof. 7. A harness assembly according to Claim 1 wherein said cleat means comprises two spaced loop retainers. 8. A harness assembly according to Claim 7 wherein said two spaced loop retainers are positioned on the side edge of the respirator body itself. 9. A harness assembly according to claim 1 wherein said elastic loop support means and said cleat means each comprise a flexible fabric fastener tab. 10. A harness assembly according to claim 9 wherein said flexible fabric fastener tabs are attached along each side edge of the respirator body.

Inventors: SEPPALA HAROLD J, SEPPALA, HAROLD, J.
Applicants: MINNESOTA MINING & MFG, MINNESOTA MINING AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY
Application year: 1985
Main classification: A62B18
IPC codes: A41D13, A62B18