Patent Publication Number: US-2022225700-A1

Title: Face mask with resealable opening

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to face masks. More particularly, it relates to a removable opening of the face mask. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the United States in January 2020. The first confirmed case of local transmission was recorded in January, while the first known deaths happened in February. By the end of March, cases had occurred in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and all inhabited U.S. territories except American Samoa. As of Jun. 24, 2020, the U.S. had the most confirmed active cases and deaths in the world. As of Jul. 16, 2020, its death rate was 419 per million people, the seventh-highest rate globally. 
     The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a recommendation to the US population for prevention of contracting COVID 19 as well as other infectious diseases. Those recommendations are: 1) wash hands often; 2) Avoid close contact (social distancing); 3) cover mouth and nose with a cloth face cover when around others; 4) cover cough or sneezes; 5) clean and disinfect; and 6) monitor your health daily. 
     Recent events in our history remind us how susceptible humans are to contaminants in the air we breathe. Whether such contaminants are incidental such as dust, dirt, allergens or the like, or something more dangerous such as bacteria and viruses, many people turn to the use of scarves, masks or respirators for protection. While each of these offer varying levels of protection, face masks are often cumbersome to remove and put back on, while also causing some people to breathe their own carbon monoxide back in. This forces the user to make the decision to proceed without the mask with associated health risks, or have trouble breathing. When no one is within the recommended distance, the user may prefer to open or remove the face mask for ease of breathing. 
     Accordingly, and in light of the foregoing, there exists a need for a means by which an opening over a mouth of a user can be displaced or removed from a face mask such that the face mask can always be readily available for personal respiratory protection. The development of the face mask with a removable opening fulfills this need. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is an illustrated view of an exemplary face mask. 
         FIG. 1B  is a first illustrated view of the with a removable cover displaced from the exemplary face mask shown in  FIG. 1A . 
         FIG. 1C  is a second illustrated view of the with a removable cover displaced from the exemplary face mask shown in  FIG. 1A . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The phrases “in one embodiment,” “in various embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” and the like are used repeatedly. Such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “having,” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise. Such terms do not generally signify a closed list. 
     “Above,” “adhesive,” “affixing,” “any,” “around,” “both,” “bottom,” “by,” “comprising,” “consistent,” “customized,” “enclosing,” “friction,” “in,” “labeled,” “lower,” “magnetic,” “marked,” “new,” “nominal,” “not,” “of,” “other,” “outside,” “outwardly,” “particular,” “permanently,” “preventing,” “raised,” “respectively,” “reversibly,” “round,” “square,” “substantial,” “supporting,” “surrounded,” “surrounding,” “threaded,” “to,” “top,” “using,” “wherein,” “with,” or other such descriptors herein are used in their normal yes-or-no sense, not as terms of degree, unless context dictates otherwise. 
     Reference is now made in detail to the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the drawings. While embodiments are described in connection with the drawings and related descriptions, there is no intent to limit the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents. In alternate embodiments, additional devices, or combinations of illustrated devices, may be added to, or combined, without limiting the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1A ,  FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 1C  are illustrated views of an exemplary face mask  100  for protecting people from spreading infectious diseases and to allow an opening  200  to speak, eat, talk, etc. is presented. The face mask  100  is useful for allowing a mouth  501  and a nose  502  of a person  500  to be exposed or covered without removing the face mask  100 . The opening  200  of the face mask  100  is useful for the person  500  to eat, drink, talk on the phone, to talk in conversation when socially distant, etc. 
     The face mask  100  has a panel  130 , one or more ear connectors  150 ,  170 , the opening  200  and a cover  300 . The face mask  100  is preferably made of a cloth material, however other materials are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, paper, polypropylene, etc. The panel  130  of the face mask  100  is preferably ten (10) inches in width, however other widths are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, seven inches (7″), eleven inches (11″), etc. The one or more ear connectors  150 ,  170  are preferably made of an elastic material, such as rubber bands, etc., however other types of materials are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, string, rope, etc. 
     The panel  130  has a first side  135 , a second side  136 , a first end  137  and a second end  138 . The first of the ear connectors  150  is coupled to the first end  137  of the panel  130 . The second of the ear connectors  170  is coupled to the second end  138  of the panel  130 . 
     The panel  130  is preferably intended to cover a nose  502  and mouth  501  of a person  500 . The first of the ear connectors  150  is moved over and then coupled to a back  505  of a right ear  504  of the person  500 . The second of the ear connectors  170  is coupled moved over and then coupled to a back  506  of a left ear  507  of the person. The panel  130  is configured to cover the mouth  501  and nose  502  of the person  500 . 
     The panel  130  further has one or more female ended cover connectors  131 ,  132 ,  133 ,  134  shown in  FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 1C . The cover connectors  131 ,  132 ,  133 ,  134  are preferably snap connectors, as shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , however other types of connectors are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, hook and loop fastener, such as a Velcro® fastener, as shown in  FIG. 1C , a button, a clip, etc. Each of the cover connectors  131 ,  132 ,  133 ,  134  may be one or more of the different types of connectors such that for example, cover connectors  131 ,  132  may be snap connectors while the cover connector  135  and/or  136 , shown in  FIG. 1C , may be a hook and loop fastener connector. Therefore, it has been contemplated that the connectors are a mix and match condition for determining what works best for a given instance based on cost of goods, consumer desire, etc. 
     The cover  200  has a first side  201 , a second side  202 , a first end  203  and a second end  204 . The first end  203 , optionally and or additionally, has one or more male ended cover connectors  205 ,  206 . Optionally and or additionally, the second end  204  of the cover  200  may have the one or more male ended cover connectors  207 ,  208 . Further, the first end  203  of the cover  200  may optionally, and or additionally, has a seam  209 , where the seam  209  is used for coupling the first end  203  of the cover  200  to the panel  130 . 
     The female ended cover connectors  131 ,  132 ,  133 ,  134  and the male ended cover connectors  205 ,  206 ,  207 ,  208  are configured to be coupled and decoupled to allow the cover  200  to be opened or closed from the second end  138  of the panel  130  or to be removable and attachable to the panel  130  of the face mask  100 . 
     In the numbered clauses below, specific combinations of aspects and embodiments are articulated in a shorthand form such that (1) according to respective embodiments, for each instance in which a “component” or other such identifiers appear to be introduced (with “a” or “an,” e.g.) more than once in a given chain of clauses, such designations may either identify the same entity or distinct entities; and (2) what might be called “dependent” clauses below may or may not incorporate, in respective embodiments, the features of “independent” clauses to which they refer or other features described above. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing specific exemplary processes and/or devices and/or technologies are representative of more general processes and/or devices and/or technologies taught elsewhere herein, such as in the claims filed herewith and/or elsewhere in the present application. 
     The features described with respect to one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments or combined with or interchanged with the features of other embodiments, as appropriate, without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.