Patent Publication Number: US-10307623-B2

Title: Nasal filter

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a nasal filter. 
     Air pollution becomes a serious problem in this world full of burning of fossil fuels in a gigantic and accelerating speed nowadays. The internal combustion engines, factories, and other air-polluting products or cultures in a human scale such as smoking are the sources of dust, fine dust, etc. 
     Protection from such pollutants is one of major issues in the health or environment community. 
     Personal protection gears have been suggested in the corresponding industry, but there are many issues to improve. 
     The invention suggests a new approach to solve the above problems of the prior arts. 
     Accordingly, a need for a nasal filter has been present for a long time considering the expansive demands in the everyday life. This invention is directed to solve these problems and satisfy the long-felt need. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention contrives to solve the disadvantages of the prior art. 
     An object of the invention is to provide a nasal filter, which can be used personally and can be worn very conveniently. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a nasal filter, which can provide the maximized protection by maximizing its filtering surface inside of the nostril. 
     An aspect of the invention provides a nasal filter, comprising a first rim portion, a first crease portion, a second rim portion, a second crease portion, and a bridge portion. 
     The first rim portion has a shape configured for contacting and being latched on a perimeter of the user&#39;s nostril. 
     The first crease portion is provided in the first rim portion, and the first crease portion comprises a plurality of concentric ring-shaped creases and collapsed into a first plane defined by the first rim portion when flattened and deployed into a conic or circular pyramid shape configured to fit in the user&#39;s nostril when pressed perpendicularly to the first plane. 
     The second rim portion has a shape configured for contacting and being latched on a perimeter of the other nostril of the user. 
     The second crease portion is provided in the second rim portion, and the second crease portion comprises a plurality of concentric ring-shaped creases and collapsed into a second plane defined by the second rim portion when flattened and deployed into a conic or circular pyramid shape configured to fit in the user&#39;s nostril when pressed perpendicularly to the second plane. 
     The bridge portion connects the first rim portion to the second rim portion. 
     The nasal filter is configured to be deployed into the user&#39;s nostrils and to provide a filtering of breathed-in air. 
     The first and second rim portions may be thicker than the first and second crease portions, respectively. 
     Each of the rim portions and the crease portions may have a color coded for properties of the nasal filter including effectiveness, enhancement, and flavor. 
     Each of the first and second rim portions may have substantially a shape of circle, ellipse, or rectangle. 
     Each of the first and second crease portions may have at least four (4) concentric ring-shaped creases. Actually, the number of ring-shaped creases can be selected for a specific design of the nasal filter. Their numbers and exact dimensions can be chosen for maximizing the filtering area. 
     The bridge portion may comprise one or more creases for facilitating to adjust a width thereof. 
     The nasal filter may further comprise a first folding holder portion and a second folding holder portion. 
     The first folding holder portion is attached to an outer end of the first rim portion, comprises a horizontal part and a vertical part extending from the horizontal perpendicularly, and is configured for holding a perimeter of the user&#39;s nostril. 
     The second folding holder portion is attached to an outer end of the second rim portion, comprises a horizontal part and a vertical part extending from the horizontal perpendicularly, and is configured for holding a perimeter of the other nostril of the user. 
     Each of the first and second folding holder portions may be adapted to be flattened or bent and held in a specific shape. 
     The nasal filter may further comprise a filter container made of a plate having a recess with a shape of the nasal filter adapted to receive the nasal filter. 
     The recess of the filter container may have a substantially same thickness as the first or second rim portion. 
     The nasal filter may further comprise a top sheet cover portion to be applied to and cover a top side of the filter container with the nasal filter received in the recess. 
     Each of the first and second folding holder portions  19 ,  29  may comprise a plurality of impressions configured for bending, so that each of the first and second folding holder portions  19 ,  29  can be bent, forming the horizontal and vertical parts described in the above. 
     The top sheet cover portion may be detachable. 
     The advantages of the present invention are: (1) the nasal filter according to the invention has a simple structure, enabling very powerful filter against air pollution; (2) the nasal filter according to the present invention is easy to put on and use; (3) One size fits all without any other assistant material; and (4) There is no chemical adhesive needed to adjust fitting the filter to or inside the nostrils. 
     Although the present invention is briefly summarized, the fuller understanding of the invention can be obtained by the following drawings, detailed description and appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  shows a cross-sectional view and a top plan view of a nasal filter according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a conceptual perspective view of a first crease portion deployed according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  shows a top plan view of a nasal filter according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of a filter container for a nasal filter according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  shows a cross-sectional view of a nasal filter with a crease portion deployed according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  shows a cross-sectional view of a nasal filter with a crease portion flattened according to an embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 7  shows a perspective view of a nasal filter packaged in a filter container according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the figures, the embodiments of the invention are described in detail. 
       FIGS. 1 through 7  show nasal filters according to embodiments of the present invention. 
     An aspect of the invention provides a nasal filter  100 , comprising a first rim portion  10 , a first crease portion  15 , a second rim portion  20 , a second crease portion  25 , and a bridge portion  30  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The first rim portion  10  has a shape configured for contacting and being latched on a perimeter of nostril of the user&#39;s nose  900  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The first crease portion  15  is provided in the first rim portion  10 , and the first crease portion  15  comprises a plurality of concentric ring-shaped creases and collapsed into a first plane defined by the first rim portion  10  when flattened and deployed into a conic or circular pyramid shape configured to fit in the user&#39;s nostril when pressed perpendicularly to the first plane as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     The second rim portion  20  has a shape configured for contacting and being latched on a perimeter of the other nostril of the user. 
     The second crease portion  25  is provided in the second rim portion  20 , and the second crease portion  25  comprises a plurality of concentric ring-shaped creases and collapsed into a second plane defined by the second rim portion when flattened and deployed into a conic or circular pyramid shape configured to fit in the user&#39;s nostril when pressed perpendicularly to the second plane as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     The bridge portion  30  connects the first rim portion  10  to the second rim portion  20 . 
     The nasal filter  100  is configured to be deployed into the user&#39;s nostrils and to provide a filtering of breathed-in air as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The first and second rim portions  10 ,  20  may be thicker than the first and second crease portions  15 ,  25 , respectively. However, in certain embodiments of the invention, the first and second rim portions  10 ,  20  may have same thickness as the first and second crease portions  15 ,  25 . 
     Each of the rim portions  10 ,  20  and the crease portions  15 ,  25  may have a color coded for properties of the nasal filter  100  including effectiveness, enhancement, and flavor. Thus, the user may know the various kinds of the nasal filter by the color. The nasal filter may be impregnated with a specific texture, fragrance, etc. Sometimes the color may give a clue of the material of which the nasal filter is made. 
     Each of the first and second rim portions  10 ,  20  may have substantially a shape of circle, ellipse, or rectangle. In the illustrated embodiments, the first and second rim portions  10 ,  20  have rectangular shape. Of course, the shapes can be mixed in a nasal filter  100  as long as they can be deployed into a conic or pyramid shape or any shape which can fit in the nostrils. 
     Each of the first and second crease portions  15 ,  25  may have at least four (4) concentric ring-shaped creases as shown in  FIG. 3 . However, the number of creases is not limiting in any case. The exact number of creases may depend on the pitch of the creases and even of the material thereof. 
     The bridge portion  30  may comprise one or more creases  35  for facilitating to adjust a width thereof as shown in  FIG. 5 . With the one or more creases  35 , the nasal filter  100  may accommodate more easily for different users. 
     The nasal filter  100  may further comprise a first folding holder portion  19  and a second folding holder portion  29  as shown in  FIGS. 1, 3, 5, and 6 . 
     The first folding holder portion  19  is attached to an outer end of the first rim portion  10 , comprises a horizontal part and a vertical part extending from the horizontal perpendicularly especially when deployed, and is configured for holding a perimeter of the user&#39;s nostril. However, sometimes the distinction between the crease portions  15 ,  25  and the folding holder portions  19 ,  29  is not so obvious. They may form a crease portion together as shown in  FIGS. 1, 3, and 5 . 
     Likewise, the second folding holder portion  29  is attached to an outer end of the second rim portion  20 , comprises a horizontal part and a vertical part extending from the horizontal perpendicularly, and is configured for holding a perimeter of the other nostril of the user. 
     Each of the first and second folding holder portions may be adapted to be flattened or bent and held in a specific shape. 
     The nasal filter  100  may further comprise a filter container  40  made of a plate having a recess  42  having a shape of the nasal filter  100  adapted to receive the nasal filter  100  as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     The recess  42  of the filter container  40  may have a substantially same thickness as the first or second rim portion  10 ,  20 . 
     The nasal filter  100  may further comprise a top sheet cover portion  50  to be applied to and cover a top side of the filter container  40  with the nasal filter  100  received in the recess  42  as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     The top sheet cover portion  50  may be detachable. 
     The rim portions  10 ,  20  and the crease portions  15 ,  25  are made of filtering material such as filtering paper. In certain embodiments of the invention, the crease portions  15 ,  25  only may be made of filtering material. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the flat mesa portion at the top of the crease portions  15 ,  25  may be provided with a pointed structure with another crease, which may contribute more filtering area as discussed in the above. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the recess  42  has a bottom floor blocking the bottom side thereof, which was indicated by double dashed lines on the bottom and by the differences between the depth of the recess  42  and the thickness of the filter container  40 . 
     Each of the first and second folding holder portions  19 ,  29  may comprise a plurality of impressions configured for bending as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , so that each of the first and second folding holder portions  19 ,  29  can be bent as shown in  FIG. 5 , forming the horizontal and vertical parts described in the above. 
     While the invention has been shown and described with reference to different embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations in form, detail, compositions and operation may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.