Patent Publication Number: US-2006016450-A1

Title: Air filter device for the nose

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The disclosed embodiments herein relate to air filtration devices that may be worn on a person&#39;s nose in order to enhance the cleanliness of air inhaled through the nostrils. One aspect, then, of these embodiments, is to provide a simple and inexpensive product which acts as an interface between the ambient air and a person&#39;s respiratory system in order to remove particulate matter during breathing. Another aspect of these embodiments is to provide the personal air filtration device which can conform to differently shaped noses yet which is comfortable to wear. A further aspect of at least some of these embodiments is to provide a disposable filtration device which may be worn for a desired period of time and then discarded.  
      It is well known that, for a variety of health or comfort reasons, many people wish to clean the air that is passing into their lungs through the nasal passageways. Such desire may rise from specific health considerations or from a general desire to avoid particulate matter, such as dust and smoke entrained in the air. In addition, it may be desirable to remove certain odors from the air.  
      In the past, it has been known to provide various filtration devices which may be positioned over a person&#39;s nose and/or mouth in order to remove particulate contaminants from the inhaled air. Typically, a mask was provided that included a cup-shaped piece of filter material to which elastic bands, string or loops are provided to secure the mask to the head of the wearer by extending over the ears or around the back of the neck. Attentatively, it is known to use adhesives to hold the filter material in place. In many instances, persons have felt that such masks were uncomfortable to wear. In addition, many persons have felt that such masks detract from their appearance so that they were reluctant to these masks in public.  
      In addition, the use of masks which cover the nose and/or mouth of the wearer may allow unfiltered air to get around parts of the mask which are not seeded sufficiently against the curves of the face. When these masks get wet by rain or water, they may become additionally uncomfortable to wear and, in some instances, difficult to breath through. Such masks may also cause excessive sweating, especially in hot climates, and, may cause eyeglasses to fog due to water vapor exiting the top of the mask, especially during cooler weather. Because the mask is closely attached to the face, the skin may become irritated, and, where the mask is hung on the ears, the skin of the ears may become chaffed. Finally, the ability of the person wearing the mask to communicate when talking is diminished.  
      As a result, it has also been known to provide various inserts for a person&#39;s nostrils in order to dispense with the mask device discussed above. Nostril inserts, however, may be uncomfortable where they are forced to fit into the nostrils in order to be held in place. Indeed, many people find nostril inserts to be very distracting, and these nostril inserts may result in an undesirable nasal twang when the person speaks. Such devices, for example, are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,205 issued May 23, 1995 to Wang, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,690 issued Sep. 19, 2000 to Pantaleo and U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,335 issued Sep. 16, 1975 to Kapp.  
      In addition to these nasal inserts, it has also been known to provide an air filter device which only partially inserts into the wearer&#39;s nostrils. An example of such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,386 issued Jan. 23, 1996 to Lincoln. Here, the filter structure is positioned under the nose with portions of the structure extending into the nostrils. The structure is mounted to the nose by means of adhesive strips which extend upwardly along side the nose and are adhered to the person&#39;s skin in order to hold the structure in place.  
      While the prior art devices are directed to providing enhanced air quality for the inhaled air, there nonetheless remains a need for improved devices which are more comfortable for the wearer. There is a further need for such devices to be inexpensive in cost so that they may be used and subsequently disposed. The disclosed embodiments described herein are directed to meeting such needs.  
     SUMMARY OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
      Accordingly, the filter assemblies according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention are adapted to mount on a person&#39;s nose and fit within the person&#39;s nostrils when in a mounted state. Broadly, the disclosed embodiments include a support member that has a pair of annular sections and a pair of side sections extending upwardly from outer locations of the annular sections. At least some portion of the support member is malleable so that the support member may be configured to conform to the shape of the person&#39;s nose when in the mounted state thereby to secure the support member to the person&#39;s nose. When so secured, the annular portions are spaced apart from one another a distance corresponding to the distance between the person&#39;s nostrils. A pair of filter pieces are provided with there being a filter piece disposed in each of the annular sections. These filter pieces are then supported by the support member for seated engagement with respective ones of the person&#39;s nostrils.  
      In at least some of the exemplary embodiments, the side sections are formed of a malleable material so that the side portions can be configured to extend alongside the sides of the person&#39;s nose in generally confronting relation thereto. In several embodiments, the side sections are interconnected by a bridge section configured to extend across the bridge of the person&#39;s nose, with the bridge section being formed of a malleable material. In some embodiments, the annular sections are interconnected by a band section extending between inner locations of the annular sections that are generally opposite the outer locations thereof. This band section may have an arch-shaped configuration adapted to receive the columella of the person&#39;s nose.  
      The filter pieces, in some embodiments, may be interconnected by an inner strip of filter material. In some instances, an outer strip of filter material may extend outwardly of each of the filter pieces. Each of the filter pieces may, if desired, be formed as a shell having a generally convex shape. Here, each filter piece may have an outer rim, a generally flat margin section adjacent the rim and a frustoconical section extended upwardly from an inner edge portion of the margin. Thus, the margin section of the frustoconical section form a seat for the edges of the person&#39;s nostrils. If desired, each filter piece can have a generally flat landing section extending from an upper edge portion of the frustoconical section and a dome-shaped section extending upwardly from an inner portion of the landing section. The filter material may be any suitable fiber material and, if desired, can be comprised of electrostatically charged fibers or include activated charcoal.  
      The malleable material may be selected from a group consisting of plastics, metals and plastic coated metals. In certain embodiments, the support member includes a substrate formed of a plastic material and a metallic rib secured to the substrate as the malleable material.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in a mounted state on a person&#39;s nose;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is a side view in elevation of the filter assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a rear view in elevation of the filter assembly of  FIGS. 2 and 3 ;  
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken about lines  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 ;  
       FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the filter assembly of  FIGS. 2-5  shown ceded in a person&#39;s nostril;  
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 8  is a side view in cross-section taken about lines  8 - 8  of  FIG. 7 ;  
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in a mounted state on a person&#39;s nose;  
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 12  is an exploded front view in cross-section showing the construction of the filter assembly of  FIG. 11 .  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
      The exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to filter devices that are adapted to mount on a person&#39;s nose and which have filter pieces that fit within a person&#39;s nostrils when in a mounted state in order to assist in filtering air that is breathed by a person. Broadly these embodiments include a support member having a pair of annular sections that receive filter pieces for seated engagement with the person&#39;s nostrils. The support member has side sections that extend upwardly so as to help secure the device to the nose with at least some portion of the support member being malleable so that the support member may be configured to the shape of the person&#39;s nose. By “malleable” it is intended that the shape of the support member may be at least slightly changed by being bent yet which will hold the shape under normal circumstances after being so configured.  
      With reference to  FIG. 1 , then, a first exemplary embodiment of filter assembly  10  is shown in a mounted state on the nose  12  of a person&#39;s face  14 . Filter device  10  is illustrated in greater detail in  FIGS. 2-4  where it may be seen that filter device  10  includes a support member  20  that includes a pair of annular sections  22  and a pair of side sections  24  which extend upwardly from outer locations  26  of annular sections  22 . It should be understood that, in the context of this disclosure, the word “annular” should not be confined to being circular, such that annular sections  22  could have an oval, elliptical or other closed loop geometric shape. With reference again to  FIG. 1 , it may be seen that side sections  24  extend along the sides of the person&#39;s nose with annular portions  22  being spaced apart from one another a distance corresponding to the distance between a person&#39;s nostrils.  
      With reference now to  FIGS. 2-4 , it may be seen that filter device  10  includes a pair of filter pieces  30  are provided with there being one filter piece  30  disposed in each of annular sections  22  so that they are supported by the support member for seated engagement with respective ones of the person&#39;s nostrils (again as seen in  FIG. 1 ). As noted above, annular sections  22  receive filter pieces  20 , and In order to configure the support member for conformity to the shape of the wearer&#39;s nose, at least some portion of the support member should be formed of a malleable material. This malleable material may be any suitable plastic, metal or combination of plastic and metal which lends sufficient rigidity to the support member so that it will hold its shape during use yet which will allow selective configuration in forming of the support member to the contour of the nose.  
      In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 2-4 , support member  20  includes a bridge section  28  which is configured to extend across the bridge of the person&#39;s nose when in the mounted state. As is seen, bridge section  28  interconnects side sections  24  to form a continuous band between the outer locations  26  of each annular section  22  with this band extending across the bridge of the person&#39;s nose. In this embodiment, side sections  24  and bridge section  28  are all formed by the malleable material.  
      The structure of filter piece  30  according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . Here, it may be seen that a representative filter piece  30  is formed as a shell having a generally convex shape. With greater detail, though, filter piece  30  has an outer rim  32  with a generally flat, annular margin section  34  adjacent the rim. A frustoconical section  36  extends upwardly from an inner edge portion of the margin with the margin section  34  and the frustoconical section  36  forming a seat for the edges of the person&#39;s nostrils, as is best illustrated in  FIG. 6 .  
      With further detail, each filter piece  30  has a generally flat, annular landing section  38  extending from an upper edge portion of the frustoconical section and a dome-shaped section  40  extending upwardly from an inner edge portion of the landing section  38 . Each of filter pieces  30  may be secured across the opening  42  of annular section  22  and secured to annular section  22 , for example, by means of an adhesive  44 . Naturally, other methods of attaching filter piece  30  in annular section  22  are contemplated by this invention as would be understood by the ordinarily skilled person in the art. Filter pieces  30  may be made of any suitable filter material of a type commercially available. This material is selected to remove particulate matter from the inhaled air. Particularly suitable materials include commercially available filters made of electrostatically charged fibers, such as those manufactured by the 3M Corporation of St. Paul, Minn. If desired, an activated charcoal may be included to reduce unpleasant odors.  
      With reference now to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , a second exemplary embodiment of the filter device according to the present invention is illustrated. Here, filter device  110  has a general shape that is the same of that with respect to the first exemplary embodiment. Here, however, the support member  120  is formed to include a substrate  152  of a suitable plastic material and a metallic rib  154  which acts to reinforce substrate  152  and to provide malleability therefore. Thus, metallic rib  154  has an annular section  162  that extends around and is bonded to annular section  122  of substrate  152 , side sections  164  that extend along side sections  124  of substrate  152  and a bridge section  168  that extends along and is bonded to bridge section  128  of substrate  152 .  
      In this second embodiment, and in specific reference to  FIG. 8 , it may be seen the filter pieces  130  are convex in shape having an outer rim  132 , a flat margin section  134  and a dome-shaped central section  136  so that it is of a more simple shape than the shape of filter piece  30 , described above. However, it should be clearly understood that the shape of the filter pieces could be the same as in the first embodiment. Here, also, it may be seen that margin section  134  of filter piece  130  is located in a channel  140  formed in annular section  122  and that margin  134  of filter piece  130  is mechanically trapped in channel  140  by annular section  162  of metal rib  154 .  
      Turning now to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , a third exemplary embodiment of the filter device according to the present invention is illustrated. Here, filter device  210  includes a support member  220  that includes a pair of annular sections  222  and a pair of side sections  224  that extend upwardly from outer locations  226  of annular sections  222 . A filter piece  230  is disposed and is supported and each annular section  222  so that filter pieces  230  may be seated within the person&#39;s nostrils. Again, each of filter pieces  230  is dome-shaped in configuration, but they could be of other shapes as well.  
      In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , bridge section  28  is eliminated. Instead, annular sections  222  are interconnected by means of an inner band section  228  which extend between inner locations  232  of annular sections  222  that are generally opposite the outer locations  226  thereof. Band section  228  has an arch-shaped configuration with the arch projecting downwardly, so as to have a shape that is adapted to extend around and receive the columella  234  of the person&#39;s nose, as is shown in  FIG. 9 . Here, it should be appreciated that annular sections  222  are again spaced apart from one another a distance corresponding to the distance between the person&#39;s nostrils, and the malleability of support member  220 , and especially side sections  224 , allow the filter device  210  to be secured in a mounted position on the person&#39;s nose.  
      Finally, a fourth exemplary embodiment of the filter device according to the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 11 and 12 . Here, filter device  310  again includes a support member  320  having a pair of annular sections  322  having inner locations interconnected by means of a band section  328  and with a pair of side sections  324  extending upwardly from outer locations  326  opposite the inner locations. This support member  320  provides a support frame for a filter strip  350  that includes filter pieces  330  that are configured in a convex shape and which are interconnected by an inner strip  332  of filter material and an outer strip  352  of filter material that extends outwardly from each of filter pieces  330 . Thus, filter strip  350  can be an integrally formed strip entirely made of filter material that is supported by a backbone in the form of support member  320  which may be the suitably malleable plastic, metal or other construction.  
      Accordingly, the present invention has been described with some degree of particularity directed to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention. It should be appreciated, though, that the modifications or changes may be made to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention without departing from the inventive concepts contained herein.