FACE PROTECTOR

Abstract: A face protector (10, 11) which includes an eye shield (10) and a face mask (11), wherein the eye shield (10) is disposable and may be effectively attached to and combined with a disposable, surgical face mask (11) to be used as a composite structure to protect both physician and patient from the possible transmission of infectious diseases. The eye shield (10) includes upper and lower sealing members (14, 15) which serve to protect the eyes of a wearer from possible contamination and to provide comfort for the wearer.

Description: "FACE PROTECTOR" BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Th e p re s ent i nvent i on re l a t ed t o a f a ce pr o t e c t or comprising a combination of an eye shield and a face mask, and more particularly to a disposable eye shield which can be effectively attached to and combined with a disposable, surgical face mask and used as a composite structure to protect both phys ician and patient f rom the poss ibl e transmiss ion of infectious disease. 2 . General Background With the advent of communicable diseases such as AIDS, it is possible to transmit diseases to innocent victims such as physicians and their assistants by the accidental splattering of blood during surgical procedures, for example, into the eyes of the surgeon or assistant. Since the blood may be contaminated, any covering which would be provided for the eyes, or the face in general should be disposable to avoid the likelihood of spreading the disease from contaminated material which remains on eye coverings in the event the article is reused. Although medical-type personnel, for example doctors, dentists, nurses, paramedics," etc., have used the surgical mask to protect both the wearer and the patient from communicable diseases, there is no known device which is effective in protecting the entire face of the wearer. Hence, an object of the present invention is to provide a shield which covers the eyes and which includes sealing members which contact the body portion around the eyes for preventing blood from splattering into the eyes, which can be effectively combined with a face mask to form a disposable composite structure which protects the entire face of the user. Another object of the present invention is to provide an eye shield-face mask combination which is inexpensive and easy to make so that its cost will be low. A further object of the present invention is to provide combination eye protector-face mask which gives total fac protection in the operating room, emergency room, laboratory, dental office, clinic, and in emergency medical law enforcemen and in rescue and public safety operations. Still another object oif the present invention is t provide a protective eye shield per se which is effective i protecting the eyes from contamination. Other objects and advantages of the present invention wil become apparent from a consideration of the following detaile description and drawings. SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The total face protection medical device of the presen invention comprises an eye shield and a face mask. The ey shield according to the present invention includes an elongate transparent flexible member having integral symmetrical space planar surfaces joined by an integral narrowing webbed portion The extent that the webbed portion narrows depends on the desig of the eye shield. Elongated sealing members are sealabl attached to the interior surface of the flexible member alon its upper edge and its lower edge. Although an adjustable ban (not shown) can be included at the sides of the flexible membe for holding the flexible member in position with the plana portions curved and covering the eyes of the user advantageously, when the face mask is attached to the ey shield, the band attachment for the face mask is sufficient t hold both the face mask and the eye shield in place on the fac of the wearer. The face mask which can be used in the total face protecto of the present invention can be any of the commonly used fac masks presently used by medical-type personnel since it is onl necessary that the eye shield is attachable to the face mask The disposable face mask is generally made of a soft comfortable, non-irritating inner and outer facing materia which possesses excellent breathability and lightweigh construction which insures air permeability, even for extende periods of time. It is frequently pleated to provide a larg facial pocket for keeping the mask away from the mouth and nos of the user for maximum comfort. One or more ties or elasti bands, which may be adjustable in length, extend from the side of the mask in order to secure the face mask to the face of the user. Frequently, a contour bar, that is, a flexible strip, for example a flexible aluminum nosepiece is sealed inside the mask at the top edge of the mask in order to insure security and provide a superior fit. Of course, the bottom edge of the mask can also be provided with such a flexible strip. In one type of construction, the face mask is a two layer construction which utilizes a nonwoven outer layer to resist shedding and a soft, comfortable, hypo-allergenic inner layer. The eye shield which is used in the total face protector of the present invention is a transparent flexible member which is provided with a cushion material, for example a foam strip which extends across the top edge of the eye shield and a similar cushion material or foam strip which extends across the bottom edge of the eye shield. The foam strip can be made of any type of thin plastic foam material, such as for example a polyurethane foam, open and closed cell sponge rubber, cross linked polyethylene foam, cork, sheet rubber, and the like. The foam strips provide comfort for the user and also serve to effectively seal the eyes from possible contamination. The foam strip at the top of the eye shield is provided with adhesive on one side and thus is adhesively attached to the top of the flexible eye shield. The foam strip or strips provided at the botto of the eye shield contains an adhesive on both sides o the foam strip. Thus the adhesive on one side of the foam stri fixes the foam to the eye shield and the adhesive on the othe side of the foam strip is used to fix the strip and the flexibl eye shield attached thereto to the top of the face mask. Thus, for example, the face mask is first attached to the face of th user, and then protective release liners which cover th adhesive surface of the foam strip at the bottom of the ey shield are removed and the shield is adhesively attached to th top of the face mask. Since the eye shield is of a flexible, light construction, it readily conforms to the contour of th face of the user. The eye shield utilized in the present invention can als be provided with slots on the lateral sides thereof so that i the user wears glasses, templets of the glasses can exten through the lateral slots for engagement with the ears. Thus in operation, the eye glasses are always on the outside of th eyeshield. The optically clear eye shield of the present inventio combines the features of being nonfogging, nonglare nondistortion and spatter resistant whereby a fluid repellen disposal on the shield. causes fluids to bead up. The eye shiel is a one-piece construction which is comfortable, breathable an possesses a 95%-plus bacterial filtration efficiency. The flexible eye shield member is a crystal clear, colorless polyester based film, VISTEX-PS, manufactured by Film Specialists, Inc., Whitehouse, New Jersey, having a permanent anti-fog coating such as that described in U.S. Patent No. 4,467,073 or other similar anti-fog coating. The film has thickness of 0.0015 inches and its coating is a two-par reactive urethane coating which prevents fogging under all temperature-humidity conditions by causing water droplets t spread, rather than form beads which appear as fog. The fil has a scratch resistance which is superior to untreate plastics. Superficial scratches that do appear will heal themselves when moistened by rinsing with water or even b breathing on the film. The film is not affected by freezing, o by temperatures as high as 250 degrees Fahrenheit and it coating will not become soft when wet and will not smudge. Brief Description of the Drawings For a further understanding of the nature of and objects o the present invention, reference should be made to the followin description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which like elements are given like reference numerals an wherein: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the face protecto of the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the rear portion of the face protector of the present invention showing how the eye shield is adhesively attached to the upper portion of a face mask; Figure 3 shows one embodiment of the flexible eye shield which is utilized in the present invention; Figure 4 shows the reverse side of the flexible eye shield which is utilized in accordance with the present invention; Figure 5 shows another embodiment of a flexible eye shield which can be utilized according to the present invention; Figure 6 shows another standard type of face mask which can be utilized in combination with the flexible eye shield of the present invention, in its folded up state; and Figure 7 shows the face mask of figure 6 in its expanded, operative state. Detailed descriptions of the Preferred Embodiment Referring now more specifically to the drawings, element 10 in figure 1 represents the flexible eye shield which is utilized in the face protector of the present invention. Element 11 indicates a typical type of face mask which can be utilized in the face protector of the present invention. As discussed herein above, the flexible eye shield of the present invention has been designed so that it can be utilized with any of the well known type of face masks which are readily available in the market. The transparent flexible eye shield member 10 included integral planar surfaces 12 separated by a narrowed web portion 13 formed integral with the planar surfaces when the flexible elongated member is curved or positioned over the eyes. Elongated sealing members 14 and 15 are sealably attached to the interior surface of the flexible member along its upper edge and its lower edge. The eye shield can optionally be provided with lateral slots 19 which are adapted to receive the templates of eyeglasses. The face mask 11 which can be utilized in the face protector of the present invention can be any of the commonly used face masks which are well known in the art. The face mask is frequently provided with a plurality of pleats 16 in order to provide a large facial pocket for keeping the mask away from the mouth, and nose of the user for maximum comfort. Also, the face mask is provided with, one or more ties 17 or elastic bands 23 which may be adjustable in length for securing the face mask to the face of the user. Frequently, a contour bar 18, such as for example a flexible aluminum nose piece is sealed inside the mask at the top edge of the mask in order to ensure security and provide a superior fit. Figure 2 shows the backside of the face protector of th present invention wherein a foam strip 14 is attached to the to of the eye shield and a second foam strip 15 is attached to th lower portion of the eye shield. The foam strip 15 is provided with a further adhesive surface which is provided with a protective covering 20 shown in figure 4. Thus, when it is desired to attach the eye shield to the face mask, the protective covering 20 is removed from the surface of the foam strip 15, thereby exposing the adhesive material so that the eye shield can be adhesively fixed to the upper portion of the face mask. Thus, while figure 3 shows the exterior surface of the eye shield, figure 4 shows the interior surface of the eye shield. Figure 5 merely shows another embodiment of the eye shield which can be utilized in the face protector of the present invention. Figure 6 shows another type of well known face mask 22 which can be utilized in combination with the eye shield of the present invention. Figure 7 shows the face mask of figure 6 in its expanded form and showing the plurality of pleats 24 which are disposed in the surface of the mask. According to the present invention, the eye shields can be first attached to the face mask and then the composite structure applied to the face of the user or alternatively, the face mask can first be applied to the face of the user and then the face mask attached while the mask is already in place. The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims: What is claimed as an invention is: 1. A disposable face protector for shielding the face of the wearer from contamination which comprises a face mask for covering the mouth and nose of the wearer, said face mask containing means for securing the face mask to the face of the wearer, and a flexible eye shield having an external and internal surface for further protecting the face of the wearer, said eye shield containing upper and lower cushioning strips adhesively attached to the upper and lower portions respectively, on the internal surface of the eye shield, said lower cushioning strip further containing an adhesive material on the exposed surface thereof, said lower cushioning strip being adhesively attached to the upper portion of the face mask thereby forming a composite face mask, eye shield structure. 2. The face protector of claim 1 wherein slots are disposed in the eye shield at the lateral edges thereof, said slots being adapted to receive the templets of eye glasses. 3. The face protector of claim 1, wherein the cushioning strips are strips of a polyurethane foam material. 4. The face protector of claim 1 wherein the securing means are string-type ties attached to the face mask. -12- 5. The face protector of claim 1 wherein the eye shield is provided with securing means. 6. The face protector of claim 5 wherein the securing means are string ties. 7. The face protector of claim 1 wherein the eye shield is made of a flexible plastic material. 8. The face protector of claim 1 wherein the flexible plastic material is provided with an anti-fogging agent. 9. An eye shield for protection against contamination and having an external and internal surface, said eye shield being provided with a foam strip dispersed along the internal surface of the upper and lower edge portions thereof, and means for securing the eye shield to the face of the user. 10. The eye shield of claim 7 wherein lateral slots are provided in the eye shield for receiving the templets of ey glasses.

Inventors: RUSSELL JOHN PATRICK, RUSSELL, JOHN, PATRICK
Applicants: RUSSELL JOHN PATRICK, RUSSELL, JOHN, PATRICK
Application year: 1989
Main classification: A61F9
IPC codes: A41D13, A61B19, A61F9