Patent AU-2020100503-A4 (AU)
Title: Filter Mask with UV LED
Inventor: ASSMANN MARTIN CHRISTOPH
IPC: A62B18/02
Filed: 2020-04-01
Granted: 2020-05-21
Abstract: Abstract So-called filter masks have been known for many years, which are intended to protect users (in private, industry, commerce and rescue workers, etc.) from dangerous substances (gases and particles of solid and liquid substances). Respiratory protection filters are divided into two main categories, namely particle filters and gas filters. In addition, so-called combination filters, which are supposed to offer protection against gases and particles, are available on the markets. The particle filters in turn are categorized into three different classes (P1, P2, P3), the service life of which depends on the load. Depending on the intended use, duration of wear, type of pollutant, etc., different mask types with various filter models are offered to filter hazardous substances from the breathing air, namely respiratory masks with one or more particle filters or particle-filtering half masks. Particle-filtering half masks are a mask and filter in one and therefore, no filter can be replaced after use. Moreover, particle-filtering half-masks mostly consist entirely of a filter material such as non woven fabric and are held on the user's head with elastic rubber bands and a ductile nose piece to enable optimal adaptation to the face. These filtering half masks are available with and without an exhalation valve - however, with the latter, the breathing resistance is considerably lower and the air humidity is drained through the valve, which increases comfort. This variant is widely used in the medical field to protect against infections. The respiratory masks have a corpus, that covers the mouth, chin and nose area and which is equipped with one or two exchangeable filter. The filter cartridges can be screwed on or fixed by bayonet catch. Full face masks additionally protect the user's eye area. Finally, the fan-assisted breathing protection should be mentioned, in which a head part and a separate fan with battery are connected by a hose. The fresh air is passed through the blower into one or more filters and cleaned. All respirators of protection classes FFP 1 and 2 have in common, that they do not offer effective protection against microorganisms (bacteria, fungi and their spores, viruses, etc.) - only protection class FFP 3 is able to remove such pollutant particles as far as possible with size of max. 0.6 microns. The optimal filtering effect of particle-filtering half masks of protection classes 1 - 3 is exhausted after a maximum of 1 day of use (= approx. 8 hours), as the non-woven fabrics clogs up over time and there fore, adequate protection against the pollutants is no longer guaranteed. In order to solve this problem of the (sometimes) inefficient disinfection with particle-filtering half masks mentioned and to increase the service life and safety (in particular, in the event of a health emergency due to microorganisms) of these protective masks intended for e.g., the medical personnel and / or for the immediate surroundings (= patients), the respirator masks described below have been developed with mercury-free UV LEDs, which can be installed as both, as individual UV LED chip(s) and / or as an unit of several combined UV LED chips. The at least one UV radiation source with a wavelength in the range from 100 nm to 380 nm, which are available as UV-LEDs with UVA (315-380 nm), UVB (280-315 nm) and UVC (100-280 nm) radiation, -2- is attached within one and / or more inhalation and / or one and / or more exhalation valve of particle filtering masks in order to irradiate only the fresh air and / or exhaled air flow by preventing the face area (mouth and / or nose) of the user from being endangered by UV radiation. Therefore, it is important to ensure, that the at least one UV-LED radiation source is installed inside in front of the air membrane of one and / or more breathing valve for inhalation and / or in front of the air membrane of one and / or more breathing valve for exhalation. Respiratory masks (half-masks, full masks and fan-assisted full masks) with one and / or more particle filters are equipped with at least one and / or more UV-LED radiation source, which is positioned between one and / or more respiratory filter and one and / or more membrane within one and / or more connector for absorption of the interchangeable respiratory filter, which is fixed by screw thread and / or by bayonet catch, and / or provided with at least one and/or more UV-LED (as single chip(s) and/or as a combination thereof), which is positioned inside and / or near by one and / or more breathing valves for exhalation - to eliminate microorganisms with germ-killing UV radiation. At least one and / or more germ sensor, which is installed outside on the corpus of the filter mask near by one and / or more breathing valve for inhalation and / or near by one and / or more breathing valve for exhalation, enables to switch automatically on and / or off the at least one and / or more UV-LED by detecting the exposure of determined microorganisms, so that the sensor, which has been adjusted to the respective limit values before usage and connected to the at least one UV LED, can automatically activate and / or deactivate the at least one UV radiation sources. The necessary power supply to operate the filter mask with the at least one and / or more germ sensor and at least one and / or more UV LED is ensured by means of a separate, rechargeable accumulator and / or a battery, which are connected by a cable to the mask corpus and which can be worn on the body, and / or by an external device (e.g. power pack, mobile phone etc.) via cable. The washable corpus of the filter mask, which is held by at least two adjustable rubber bands on the face/ head and / or by plastic straps with adjustable rubber bands to the user's face and head and may be by a ductile nose support, and which is sealed on the outer edges with an additional rubber seal applied all around and covers at least the nose, chin and mouth of the user, consists of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) (e.g. silicone rubber, rubber / latex, etc.) or other appropriate material, that is impervious to microorganisms to prevent the ingress of bacteria, viruses and fungi and their spores. Due to the smooth material of the mask corpus ( TPE, e.g. silicone rubber, rubber / latex, etc.) as well as of the all round rubber seal, the mask suits exactly to the face of the user and seals up the nose, chin and mouth airtightly whilst ensuring a good wearing comfort for the wearer. The mask body - in particular, the nose, chin and mouth area - is reinforced and raised to enable the installation and safe use of one and / or more breathing valve for inhalation and one and / or more breathing valve for exhalation and to guarantee a carbon dioxide content of max. 1,0 vol.-% of the inhaled air in the dead space. In case of the respiratory masks with filters (half-mask, full mask and fan assisted full masks), plastic straps with adjustable rubber bands are mounted directly to the mask corpus. Additionally, a material reinforcement may be provided on the ductile nose holder in order to avoid leaks in the area of the covered nose. -3 - The particle filter masks and respiratory masks with filters may be also equipped with at least one and / or more pluggable,exchangeable filter elements - consisting of a frame and suitable non-woven fabric which are positioned on the outside of the body of the filter mask - namely, in front of and / or in the vicinity of one and / or more inlet of one and / or more breathing valve for inhalation and / or in front of and / or in the vicinity of one and / or more outlet of one and / or more breathing valve for breathing out to additionally protect the user and / or the environment against harmful / dangerous micro organisms. The filter elements, which should be preferably changed after 8 hours of usage to ensure a proper filtration, can be easily changed by pulling out them of the frame and by substituting them with a new, unused filter element, which covers the entire diameter of one and / or more breathing valve for inhalation and / or of one and / or more outlet of one and / or more breathing valve for exhalation, are positioned in front of the mask corpus / in front of one and / or more valve. It is mandatory to ensure, that the at least one UV LED radiation source is installed in such a way, that it can only irradiate the fresh air flow and / or exhaled air flow and therefore, UV radiation does not strike the face area of the user and / or the surroundings. Due to this fact, at least one and / or more UV shielding devices (i.a., made of appropriate plastic etc.), which is capable to block UV radiation from irradiate the face area and / or surroundings, may be integrated in the corpus of the respirator mask and / or installed inside and / or near by one and / or more breathing valve for inhalation and one and / or more breathing valve for exhalation. With the invention of the said filter masks with UV LED it is achieved, that users of the respiratory masks with filters and / or of particle filter mask as well as their immediate surroundings are effectively protected against hazardous / harmful microorganisms by largely disinfecting the fresh air flow and / or the exhaled air, which is - possibly - contaminated with microorganisms. Therefore, the infection of people by exhaled air with hazardous / harmful microorganisms in the immediate vicinity is largely excluded. In addition, the use of germicidal and relatively inexpensive UV LED represents a high safety, which is also reflected in an extended period of use / service life of the invented filter masks, because UV LED have a lifespan of about 5,000 hours and the material of the mask corpus (TPE e.g., silicone, rubber/latex etc.) cannot be clogged up. cN0 m r CN co Ct ) 0 C'J CO 9r