Patent Publication Number: US-2020281301-A1

Title: Face Protection Device for Head Gear

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Applications 62/994,150 filed Mar. 24, 2020; 63/003,157 filed Mar. 31, 2020; and 63/005,761 filed Apr. 6, 2020; the disclosures of each are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     1. Field of the Disclosure 
     The disclosure relates to a device that protects the user&#39;s face from particles disposed in the air that may carry infectious material such as viruses or bacteria. The device can be removably mounted to head gear such as to the brim of a cap or to the suspension inside a helmet or hard hat. 
     2. Background of the Disclosure 
     During times of widespread viral infections and shortages of medical-grade masks such as during the pandemic of 2020, many people must interact with other people while at grocery stores, while picking up food from restaurants, and during essential business activities. Although national health officials advise frequent hand washing and the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers to protect from infection, they also advise maintaining at least six feet of distance between people because a common manner of spreading viruses is through droplets of material put into the air by a person&#39;s sneeze, cough, speaking, or breath. One way of preventing these droplets from entering one&#39;s body is to wear a quality mask. However, quality masks are not always available and such masks do not cover the eyes. Those people who are out in the public for various necessary interactions desire personal protective gear for the face that defends against the airborne droplets of potentially infectious material. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The disclosure provides a personal protective device that is removably mounted to head gear such as to the brim of a cap. The device has a thin transparent body that extends down in front of the user&#39;s face. The device blocks items such as the discharge from another person&#39;s cough or sneeze from contacting the user&#39;s face. The device also blocks items disposed in the air from coming into contact with the user&#39;s face by contacting them first as the user moves or by creating a dam of air that pushes them off to the side as the user moves. The device can be rapidly mounted and rapidly dismounted to a wide variety of caps which are owned by a majority of the population in the United States. The ease of mounting the device to the bill of a cap increases the likelihood that a person will use the device when leaving a car to interact with the public. The device also has the benefit that it doesn&#39;t directly rest on the user&#39;s mouth so that the user&#39;s breathing is not restricted. The user is thus more likely to wear the device. Also, the device can be worn in conjunction with a cloth face mask that fits closely over the mouth and nose. 
     In the exemplary configuration, the thin transparent body of the device defines an elongated opening through which the brim of a cap is placed. In the exemplary configuration, the opening is curved downwardly on both sides from a middle section in the manner of many cap brims. A majority of the body is disposed below of opening such that the majority of the body is disposed in front of the user&#39;s face when the device is carried by a cap worn by the user. Other openings shapes are used with flat-billed caps and caps with tightly-curved bills. The body of the device can be curved back along the sides of the user&#39;s face. The body of the device also can include scored fold lines that define sidewall flaps to cover the sides of the face back toward the ears. 
     In one exemplary configuration, the device includes locking fingers that pivotable extend into the curved opening that receives the brim of the hat. The locking fingers engage the hat with a resilient force while the device is worn. When the device is pushed onto the hat brim, the locking fingers are bent in the forward direction. These forwardly-bent locking fingers have to be bent backwards through the opening in order to remove the device from the brim which provides a substantial holding force to the device. 
     The device also can be used to protect the user&#39;s face from other splatter such as paint from a roller when painting a ceiling. 
     In another exemplary configuration, the disclosure provides a personal protection device that is removably mounted to the suspension of a helmet or hard hat. The device has a thin transparent body that extends down in front of the user&#39;s face. The device blocks items such as the discharge from another person&#39;s cough or sneeze from contacting the user&#39;s face. The device also blocks items disposed in the air from coming into contact with the user&#39;s face by contacting them first as the user moves or by creating a dam of air that pushes them off to the side as the user moves. The device can be rapidly mounted and rapidly dismounted to a wide variety of suspension straps disposed inside hats that accommodate suspensions. In this configuration, the thin transparent body defines a pair of oppositely-extending mounting flanges spaced from the main body by slots that adapted to receive the straps from the hat suspension. 
     In other embodiments, the bottom portion of the body is scored, microperforated, or perforated to allow a portion to fold inwardly to be disposed under the chin. Folding this portion inwardly stiffens the body and provide additional protection to the face from below. 
     The preceding non-limiting aspects, as well as others, are more particularly described below. A more complete understanding of the processes and equipment can be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, which are not intended to indicate relative size and dimensions of the assemblies or components thereof. In those drawings and the description below, like numeric designations refer to components of like function. Specific terms used in that description are intended to refer only to the particular structure of the embodiments selected for illustration in the drawings, and are not intended to define or limit the scope of the disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevation view of an exemplary configuration of the protective device. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing an exemplary configuration mounted to the brim of a cap. 
         FIG. 3  is a front elevation view of another exemplary configuration of the protective device for use with hard hat suspensions. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the  FIG. 3  configuration mounted to the suspension of a hard hat. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing the connection between the protective device and the suspension. 
         FIG. 6  is a front elevation of another exemplary configuration of the protective device. 
         FIG. 7  is a front elevation of another exemplary configuration of the protective device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     A first exemplary configuration of the protective device is indicated generally by the reference numeral  2  in  FIG. 1 . Device  2  includes a thin, transparent body that defines an elongated opening  4  that allows device to be rapidly mounted to the brim of a cap as shown in  FIG. 2 . The body is flexible so that the body can be bent rearwardly at least slightly along the sides of the user&#39;s face. Bending the body slightly helps define the shape of device  2  when it is worn. Overall, the body is trapezoidal with its upper width being larger than its lower width. The corners are rounded so that there are not sharp points. The edges can be rounded. Except for opening  4 , the body is solid so that airborne droplets cannot penetrate the body if the user moves device  2  into the droplets or if the droplets are directed into device  2  by moving air such as from another person&#39;s cough or sneeze. 
     Elongated opening  4  has a central portion that is centered with respect to the body and two end portions that curve down from the central portion to approximate the curvature of the brim of a cap. The curvature does not have to match the curvature of the cap&#39;s brim exactly as some difference between the two will create a resilient holding force between the brim and device  2 . Elongated opening  4  has a width that is generally wider than most brims so that it can accommodate a wide variety of cap brims. The straight distance between the two tips of elongated opening  4  is five to nine inches. The width of elongated opening  4  is sufficient to receive a wide variety of cap brims with a frictional fit. A distance of one eighth inch to a half inch can be used. 
     Device  2  can be cleaned and sanitized. Device  2  is easy to use by simply slipping the brim of a cap through elongated opening  4 . Device  2  covers the user&#39;s entire face from droplets that the user may walk into which not obstructing the user&#39;s view. 
     Another exemplary configuration of device  2  is depicted in  FIG. 6 , wherein the main body of device  2  defines two fold lines  6  spaced from the sides of the main body. These fold lines  6  are scored or die punched fold lines that allow the lateral portions  8  of the main body be folded rearwardly along the sides of the user&#39;s face back toward the user&#39;s ears. 
       FIG. 6  also depicts three locking fingers  10  that project into opening  4 . Each locking finger  10  is connected to the main body of device  2 . The connection between locking finger  10  and the main body can be a scored or punched living hinge. When device  2  is pushed onto the brim of a hat, locking fingers  10  are bent forward and provide a retention force that helps keep device  2  on the brim of the hat. The retention force can be a resilient force depending on the strength of the connection between locking fingers  10  and the main body. In order for device  2  to be removed, locking fingers  10  have to be bent rearwardly through opening  4  which takes a considerable amount of force. Otherwise, the use must hold these locking fingers  10  down and out of the way for device  2  to be slid off of the hat brim. 
       FIG. 7  depicts another configuration wherein a bottom portion of the body of device  2  is defined by a scored, microperforated, or perforated line  40  that allows the bottom portion to fold inwardly to be disposed under the chin. Line  40  can be curved from corner to corner such that the main body will naturally curve when the bottom portion is bent inwardly along line  40 . Folding this bottom portion inwardly stiffens the body and provide additional protection to the face from below. 
     A second exemplary configuration of the protective device is indicated generally by the reference numeral  20  in  FIG. 13  Device  20  includes a thin, transparent body that defines a pair of oppositely-projecting mounting flanges  22  at its top portion. Mounting flanges  22  are spaced from the upper end of the main body by slots  24  that are sized and shaped to receive different types of straps and/or clips used to secure a suspension device inside a helmet or hard hat as shown in  FIG. 5 . Slots  24  extend in about 1.50-3.00 inches and are about 0.25 to 1.25 inches wide. Each mounting flange  24  is defined by a flat lower edge  26 , a curved end wall  28 , and a flat upper edge  30  that is shorter than flat lower edge  26 . Mounting flanges  22  slip between the inner surface of the front of the hat and the two front suspension straps and/or clips. This locates the top of device  20  in a curved condition between the inner surface of the front of the hat and the suspension strap that engages the user&#39;s forehead. The body of device  20  is flexible so that the body can be bent to match the curve of the hat so that the body extends rearwardly at least slightly along the sides of the user&#39;s face. Bending the body slightly helps define the shape of device  20  when it is worn and helps it maintains its shape. Overall, the main body below slots  24  is trapezoidal with its upper width being larger than its lower width. The corners are rounded so that there are not sharp points. The edges can be rounded. The main body below slots  24  is solid so that airborne droplets cannot penetrate the body if the user moves device  2  into the droplets or if the droplets are directed into device  2  by moving air such as from another person&#39;s cough or sneeze. 
     The body of each embodiment can be made from a substantially clear polymer and has a thickness of 8 to 45 mils, 0.018 inch, 0.0625 inch, 0.125 inch, or up to 0.25 inch. The bodies have maximum widths of 8 to 12 inches and heights of 8 to 18 inches. These dimensions can be increased or decreased as much as fifty percent for a variety of users. The body can be a vinyl (such as polished PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETG), APET, a polyester, an acrylic, a plastic lens material such as that made from Columbia Resin  39 , a polycarbonate, or a polyurethane. The material can be polarized and/or tinted. 
     In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed. Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is an example and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described. Modifications and alterations of those embodiments will be apparent to one who reads and understands this general description. The present disclosure should be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or equivalents thereof. Throughout the description and claims of this specification the words “comprise” and “include” as well as variations of those words, such as “comprises,” “includes,” “comprising,” and “including” are not intended to exclude additives, components, integers, or steps.