Patent Abstract:
A battery powered portable human body carrying electronic human breath filtration device is an electronic nose mask and is the most ideal alternative to conventional filter paper type nose mask. It utilizes electronic ionization technique and electrostatic field to remove air borne particles, dust, pollens, contaminants, bacteria, viruses, toxic chemical, fume and tobacco smoke from human inhalation and exhalation breath. It interacts with human breathing action as the air flow driving system to move the inhalation and exhalation breaths through the electronic filter elements, in addition to a front louver cover and a rear louver cover&#39;s protection as pre-filters. The system requires very low running current and uses small batteries usually found in household electronics. This filtration system is light weight with negligible air flow resistance and is integrated into the nose mask which is connected to a pocket size control system via a connection cable.

Full Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to respiratory filtration nose mask with electronic air filtration system for human breath, and more particularly, a filtration device for both inhalation and exhalation breath.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Nose mask has been widely used in all kinds of industries from medical to industrial; from field works to home cleaning; and also in many different occasions whenever filtration of inhaling air is necessary. Usually the filter materials are of paper or fiber properties. The basic mechanism is using the human inhalation action as air suction driving force to suck the air through the filter media and stop all particles which is larger than the pores of the filtration media. It becomes very uncomfortable when someone has to wear the nose mask for an extended period of time and it is even worse if the user is kind of weak or having asthma or breathing difficulties.  
           [0003]    Secondly, the filtration function is usually less efficient during the exhalation because the exhaust air tends to leak through the edges along the users&#39; face rather than through the filter media.  
           [0004]    Thirdly, the air passage resistance of the better filtration media is always higher and tougher to inhale through it.  
           [0005]    Thus there is a need for a good inhalation and exhalation filtration system that does not exert breathing resistance to users during the normal breathing process. This filtration system shall be able to remove most of the contaminant in the air including airborne particles, bacteria and virus. The whole system shall be light enough for users to feel comfortable if wearing for extended time. It has to be very efficient in power consumption such that small consumer electronic type battery pack can support operation of the system for over a period of at least 8 hours. Easiness to clean and cost effective are also critical.  
           [0006]    Furthermore, the filtration process shall be as efficient during both inhalation and exhalation such that if a patient is the user; the bacteria or viruses from the user breath will not get to outside ambient environment.  
           [0007]    The present invention provides such an inhalation and exhalation filtration system nose mask.  
         CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0008]    Field of Search  
           [0009]    International Class: A62B 23/00, 7/10  
           [0010]    US Class 128/200.24; 96/29, 54, 69, 71, 72, 75, 78, 97, 98, 100  
         U.S. Patent Documents  
         [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,887 Oct. 29, 1985 Joannou 96/58  
           [0012]    This is not a human breathe cleaning device.  
           [0013]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,997 Aug. 27, 1991 Rhodes 96/18  
           [0014]    This is not a human body carrying electronic breath filtering mask.  
           [0015]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,478 Aug. 3, 1993 Farris 96/26  
           [0016]    This is not a human body carrying electronic breath filtering mask.  
           [0017]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,577 Nov. 12, 1996 Joannou 96/66  
           [0018]    This is not a human body carrying electronic breath filtering mask.  
           [0019]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,720 Nov. 25, 1995 Spero 96/26  
           [0020]    This is not a human body carrying electronic breath filtering mask.  
           [0021]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,302 Dec. 8, 1998 Putro 96/66  
           [0022]    This is not a human body carrying electronic breath filtering mask.  
           [0023]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,132 Jun. 12, 2001 Feldman 96/28  
           [0024]    This is not a human body carrying electronic breath filtering mask.  
           [0025]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,754 Dec. 24, 2002 Joannou 96/67  
           [0026]    This is not a human body carrying electronic breath filtering mask.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0027]    An electronic human breath filtration device is a human wearable light weight nose mask equipped with an absolute miniature electronic filtration system.  
           [0028]    The unique feature of this invention is to provide a highly efficient filtration device to the user such that the air inhaled is purely clean and the exhaled air is also bacteria and virus free. The user can breathe through this filtration device without requiring extra effort as compare to sucking/breathing heavily through convention paper filter mask.  
           [0029]    It is an object of this present invention to provide a very compact dual stages element filtration system mounted on a nose mask and utilizing small consumer electronic size battery as power source to operate this ultra high voltage ionic filtration system as well as electrostatic filtration system. It relies on the human breath as the air flow source to move the air stream through the dual stages filtration system during the inhalation and exhalation processes.  
           [0030]    Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiments have been set forth in detail, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0031]    [0031]FIG. 1 is the overall diagram of the electronic inhalation and exhalation filtration device. It depicts a portion of the sectioned nose mask, a portion of the sectioned dual stages electronic filter, a portion of the sectioned front louver system, the electronic control box, the connecting cable with strain relief, a service loop clip and a user wearing the device to demonstrate the relative usage of the system according to present invention.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 2 illustrates the isometric front view of the filtration system with the contoured mask mounting system. It depicts the mask housing, the overall external view of the filtration system, the front louver cover, the contoured mask mounting system with the elastic face-contoured seal, the mounting strap and the under ear straps.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 3 is the sectioned illustration of the dual stages electronic filtration system, which depicts a portion of the front louver cover, a portion of the mask, a portion of the filter housing, a portion of the ionic stage filter, a portion of the electrostatic stage filter, a portion of the rear louver system, a portion of the electrical connection from the cable to the ionizing pins subassembly, a portion of the electrical connection from the cable to the electrostatic filter subassembly according to present invention.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 4 is the illustration showing the sectioned view as per FIG. 3 with negative ions released by the pins forming the ionic filtration chamber and the electrostatic charges established in the electrostatic filtration chamber.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 5 illustrates the electronic dual filtration mechanism system during inhalation of the user.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 6 illustrates the electronic dual filtration mechanism system during exhalation of the user.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 7 illustrates the application of the present invention into face mask with eye protection incorporated with the above mentioned nose mask electronic filtration system.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 8 illustrates the application of the present invention into a hood with eye and head protection incorporated with the above mentioned nose mask electronic filtration system.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 9 illustrates the modular concept of the filtration system assembly with the voltage multiplier PCBA integrated into the mask housing.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 10 illustrates the modular concept of the filtration system assembly with the voltage multiplier PCBA integrated into the electronic filter element subassembly.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 11 is the electronic circuit of generating a high voltage output to operate a dual stages electronic filtration device with a low voltage battery source.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0042]    [0042]FIG. 1 is the overall electronic inhalation and exhalation breath filtration device system  2 . The overall system  2  is comprised of  3  subsystems namely the filtration system  11 , the control system  12 , and the contoured mask mounting system  6 .  
         [0043]    The filtration system  11  includes the mask housing  26 , a dual stages filter element module  3 , a front louver cover  4  and a rear louver cover  55 . This filtration system  11  is shown in cross section view and is further detailed in FIG. 3. The front louver cover  4  is mounted to the outside of the mask housing  26 . The assembly can be by snap on, press-fitting, or by fastener which can facilitate the assembly means. The front louver cover  4  provides protective cover with a sufficient air passage for the air to pass from the ambient  22  to the dual stages filter element module  3  without resistance at low flow rate as human inhaling breath. It also provides a sufficient air passage for the air to pass to the ambient  22  from the dual stages filter element module  3  without resistance at low flow rate as human exhaling breath. The dual stages filter element module  3  is mounted inside the center opening of the mask housing  26 . The assembly can be by snap on, press-fitting, or by fastener which can facilitate the assembly means. This dual stages filter element module  3  will filter/capture all the particles entering inside the module carried by air stream induced by breath of the user  1 . The front louver cover  4  also blocks off some larger particles and rain drops from entering into the filter element module  3  as well. The rear louver cover  55  is mounted to the rear side of the mask housing  26  next to the filter element module  3 . The assembly can be by snap on, press-fitting, or by fastener which can facilitate the assembly means. The rear louver cover  55  provides protective cover with a sufficient air passage for the air to pass from the mask chamber  23  to the dual stages filter element module  3  without resistance at low flow rate as human exhaling breath. It also provides a sufficient air passage for the air to pass to the mask chamber  23  from the dual stage filter element module  3  without resistance at low flow rate as human inhaling breath. The rear louver cover  55  also blocks off contaminants from sneeze and saliva of the user  1  from entering into the filter element module  3 .  
         [0044]    The mask housing  26  provides a rigid contoured shape cover the nose  10  and mouth  20  of the user  1 ; and a chamber to accommodate the front louver cover  4 , the dual stages filter element module  3  and the rear louver cover  55 . The mask housing  26 , front louver cover  4  and the rear louver cover  55  can be made of metal, plastic, paper product, fiberglass or carbon fiber material. The best choice and most cost effective method of producing this mask housing  26  is by plastic molding to achieve the shape and rigidity supporting the function of the mask housing  26 .  
         [0045]    The contoured mask mounting system  6  is consisted of an elastic face-contoured seal  5 , a mounting strap  7 , a under ear strap  21  on each ear of the user  1 . The elastic face-contoured seal  5  is assembled to the mask housing  26  by snap on, press-fitting, or by fastener which can facilitate the assembly means. It is made of elastic material such as rubber, silicon rubber, foam pad, nylon or any other material which can facilitate a soft, flexible and sealing function of the contoured seal  5 . It can be made of one single piece part or an assembled piece part to facilitate the functions of the contoured seal  5 . The mounting strap  7  is with both ends assembled to the contoured seal  5  or the mask housing  26 . The mounting strap  7  is to be worn the way that it rests on the ears  9  of the user  1  and wraps around the back of the head of user  1 . The under ear strap  21  is with one end assembled to the contoured seal  5  or the mask housing  26 , and the other end assembled to the mounting strap  7  surrounding the ear of the user  1 . In result, the filtration system  11  is firmly mounted to cover the mouth and nose of the user  1  with the contoured seal  5  resting on the nose and cheek of the user  1 . The elastic contoured seal  5  separates the mask chamber  23  from the ambient  22  by forming a seal along the contour of the face and chin of the user  1 . The dual stages element filter module  3  becomes the only air passage between the air in the mask chamber  23  and the ambient  22 . The driving mechanism for the air exchange is the breathing process of user  1  with air movement from ambient  22  to mask chamber  23  caused by inhalation and air movement from mask chamber  23  to ambient  22  caused by exhalation of user  1 .  
         [0046]    The control system  12  consists of a control unit  31  which is equipped with the main PCBA  35  with connection to the battery  33  and a multi-level power selector on/off switch  34 . The main PCBA  35  is equipped with electronic components and with the multi-level power selector on/off switch  34  set at “ON” position; the main PCBA  35  will generate high negative voltage functions to activate the dual stages element filter module  3  via the connector cable  28 . The connector cable  28  has a cable strain relief  24  at the connecting joint with the mask housing  26  and a cable strain relief  29  at the connecting joint with the control unit  31 . The control unit  31  is also equipped with a status indicator  36  showing the status of the battery  33  supply and the level of the power setting of the switch  34 . The control unit  31  is also equipped with a power adaptor input connector  32  allowing external power supply to be used or to recharge the battery  33  if rechargeable battery is being used.  
         [0047]    An utility clip  25  is attached to the connector cable  28  and is to be used to clip onto the collar  30  or shirt of the user  1 . This feature provides a section of the connector cable  28  as the service loop  27  such that only the service loop  27  portion of the connector cable  28  will move with the user  1  as the user  1  rotates or tilts his/her head while the remaining portion of the connector cable  28  will stay still. The control unit  31  is also equipped with a belt mounting clip  13  to allow the user  1  to carry the control unit  31  with a belt.  
         [0048]    [0048]FIG. 2 is the front isometric view of the filtration system  11  with the contoured mask mounting system  6 . The front louver cover  4  is assembled to mask housing  26  covering the front air entrance of the filtration system  11 . The mounting strap  7  is supported by the elastic face-contoured seal  5  and/or the mask housing  26  at both ends. The under ear strap  21  is supported by the elastic face-contoured seal  5  and/or the mask housing  26  at one end and attached to the mounting strap  7  at the upper end. The connection cable  28  is connected to the mask housing  26  with a strain relief feature  24  right at the connection joint. The mounting strap  7  may be made of rubber, silicon rubber, nylon, nylon base cloth like material, cotton base cloth like material; and may be made up of more than one piece part for easier mounting and dismounting onto the face of the user  1 .  
         [0049]    [0049]FIG. 3 is the section view of the filtration system  11  with the basic structural support of the mask housing  26 . The mask housing  26  is designed to contour around the mouth  20  and nose  10  of general user  1 &#39;s face profile. The inner mask chamber  23  provides room for the user  1  to speak and move the lips freely without obstacle. The rear louver cover  55  is placed at the inside entrance of the dual stages element filter module  3 . The louvers  57  is set at an angle such that it will block off direct blow of contaminants generated by the user  1  during sneezing, coughing, and saliva from speaking from entering into the filter module  3  while leaving generous air passages  56  for the user to breathe through without restriction or resistance. This rear louver cover  55  can be made of plastic or metallic material. It is assembled to the mask housing  26 . The assembly can be by snap on, press-fitting, or by fastener which can facilitate the assembly means.  
         [0050]    The dual stages element filter module  3  is in the middle of the mask housing  26  behind the rear louver cover  55 . It is assembled to the mask housing  26 . The assembly can be by snap on, press-fitting, or by fastener which can facilitate the assembly means. The dual stages element filter module  3  is comprised of two filtration system namely the ionic filtration system  93  and the electrostatic filtration system  94  enclosed in the filter housing  44 . The ionic filtration system  93  consists of a highly charged negative (−) electrode  42  with sharp metallic needles  50  connected to it and the needle points of the needle  50  locating in the center portion of the ionic filtration system  93 . The positively charged (+) conductive collector electrode  45  surrounds the negative electrode  42  and lines along the internal wall of the filter housing  44 . The negative electrode  42  is insulated from the positive electrode conductive collector  45  by the insulator  41 . The positive electrode conductive grill  49  is located at the front of the opening of the ionic filtration system  93 . It is connected to the positive electrode conductive collector  45  with perforated holes over the whole surface to allow generous air passages for the user  1  to breathe through without restriction or resistance. It also serves as the positive electrode collective conductor for the negatively charged particles to adhere to. The negatively (−) charged electrode  42  is assembled to the filter housing  44  by fastener  43 , which can be screw, rivet or any other mechanical fastener which can facilitate the assembly function.  
         [0051]    The electrostatic filtration system  94  consists of parallel sets of negatively charged electrode fins  53  sandwiching with positively charged electrode fins  67 . An electrostatic field is formed between a negatively charged electrode fin  53  and positively charged electrode fin  67 . The strength of the electrostatic field is determined by the gap width  54  between the two oppositely charged electrodes and the potential difference between them. Further detail explanation of the filtration processes are illustrated in FIG. 4. The negatively charged electrode fins  53  are mounted inside the filter housing  44  with the insulator  41 . The positively charged electrode fins  67  are supported by the positive conductive collector  45  and are also electrically connected to the positive conductive collector  45 .  
         [0052]    The negative (−) electrode  42  of the ionic filtration system  93  is connected to the control system  12  through the cable  28  via the conductor lead  60  and the wire conductor  62  of the cable  28 . The negatively charged electrode fins  53  of the electrostatic filtration system  94  are connected to the control system  12  through the cable  28  via the conductor lead  59  and the wire conductor  62  of the cable  28 . The positively charged electrode fins  67  of the electrostatic filtration system  94  are connected to the control system  12  through the cable  28  via the conductor lead  58  and the wire conductor  62  of the cable  28 . The electrical connection joint between the conductor lead  59 ,  58 ,  60  and the wire conductors  62  can be by contact, soldering or fastener whichever can facilitate the electrical conduction.  
         [0053]    The cable strain relief  24  is present at the joint between the cable  28  and the mask housing  26  providing support to the cable  28  and the conductor wires  62  inside from breaking due to extensive bending and flexing action under normal usage of the breath filtration device  2 .  
         [0054]    The front louver cover  4  is placed at the outside entrance of the dual stages element filter module  3 . The louvers  47  is set at an angle such that it will block off direct blow of large objects and rain from entering into the dual stages element filter module  3  while leaving generous air passages  51  for the user to breathe through without restriction or resistance. This front louver cover  4  can be made of plastic or metallic material. It is assembled to the mask housing  26 . The assembly can be done by snap on, press-fitting, or by fastener which can facilitate the assembly means.  
         [0055]    [0055]FIG. 4 is the section view of the filtration system  11  illustrating the ionization status of the ionic filtration system  93  and the electrostatic charged status of the electrostatic filtration system  94 . Within the ionic filtration system  93 , needlepoint  50  produces high levels of negative ions  63  when high negative DC voltage is applied to it. This is the by far most effective way of ions  63  generation and will help to clean the air inside the ionic chamber  64 . The negative ion generators cause an electron to be added to molecules of Oxygen, Nitrogen and other trace gases in the inhaling or exhaling air from the user  1 &#39;s breath. This process creates ions with a negative charge  63 . When the ions become negatively charged, they collide with airborne pollutants such as pollen, mold spores, dust, bacteria, tobacco smoke, saliva moisture, sneeze moisture and many other airborne particles. The negative charge of ion is then transferred to the airborne particles. Surrounding this newly negatively charged particle are many other particles that are positively charged. These positively charged particles are drawn to the negatively charged particle and begin to build-up, eventually these particles become too heavy and fall harmlessly to the bottom positively charged conductor collector  45 . The other negatively charged airborne particles will then be attracted to the positively charged collector conductors, which include the positive conductor  45 , the anode conductive grill  49  and the positively charged fin  67 , when traveling along the air stream.  
         [0056]    Small amount of ozone molecules and hydroxide molecules may also be generated in the ionic chamber  64  under very high voltage input potential. These ozone molecules and hydroxide molecules can help to fight bacteria in the air stream. The excessive ozone molecules and hydroxide molecules will be neutralized by the electrostatic filtration system  94  and will not harm the user  1 .  
         [0057]    In the electrostatic filtration system  94 , a high negative voltage is induced to the negative fin  53  and the positive fin  67  is connected to the electrically positive. It results that the surface of the negative fin  53  will be highly negatively charged  66  and the causing an electrostatic field to form between the negative fin  53  and the positive fin  67 , which becomes equally highly positively charged  65 . This electrostatic field is an uniform electric field of force and causes an uniform distribution of electrons (negative charge  66 ) on the surface of negative fin  53 , and an equal and uniformly distributed deficiency of electrons (positive charge  65 ) on the positive fin  67 . The voltage graduation is uniform throughout this field, except at its edges and near sharp corners of the plates/fins.  
         [0058]    A single positively-charged particle entering this electrostatic field is acted upon by a force equaling the sum of all attracting and repelling forces. These forces are due to the charge on the particle interacting with the field produced by the negative fin  53  and the positive fin  67 . These forces accelerate the positively-charged particles towards the negatively-charged fin  53 . In the same manner, a negatively charged particle is forced towards the positive fin  67 . The amount of force acting on the particle depends on the particle&#39;s charge, the voltage applied to the collecting fins and the space between the fins.  
         [0059]    The uniformity of the field causes a particle to be acted upon by an equal force regardless of whether the particle is close to a negative fin  53 , to a positive fin  67 , or somewhere between. If no other force is acting on the particle, it moves with a constant acceleration toward the negative fin  53 .  
         [0060]    The particles that are collected and are in physical contact with the charged collector fins lose their “opposite charge” and take on the charge of the respective collector fins. They remain attached to the collector fins because of molecular adhesion and due to cohesion to other particles already collected. As a result, contaminants are removed form the air stream of breath induced by the user  1 &#39;s inhalation and exhalation efforts. In practice, the filtration system  11  will charge floating particles as small as 0.01 micron and drive them to adhere to the collector plates where they will stay for good.  
         [0061]    [0061]FIG. 5 is the section view of the filtration system  11  with the user  1  inhaling through the filtration system  11 . The inhaling breath becomes the engine to draw the air stream  92  from the mask chamber  23  into the user  1 &#39;s nose  10  and mouth  20 . As results, the air pressure in the mask chamber  23  will be lower than the air pressure in the electrostatic filtration system  94  and cause the air stream  95  in the electrostatic filtration system  94  to flow through the rear louver cover  55  into the mask chamber  23 . In the same token the air in the ionic filtration system  93  will flow to electrostatic filtration system  94 ; and the air stream  91  in the ambient  22  will flow through the front louver cover  4  to the ionic filtration system  93 . Eventually, during the inhalation process, the air flow from the ambient  22  through front louver cover  4 , the ionic filtration system  93 , the electrostatic filtration system  94  and the rear louver cover  55  into user  1 &#39;s nose  10  and mouth  20 . When the desirable voltage potential is applied to the filtration system  11 , the ionic filtration system  93  and the electrostatic filtration system  94  will remove most of the air borne particles, contaminants and bacteria from the inhaling air stream and supplying only very clean air to the user  1 . During the filtration processes, the air stream is free to move from one stage to the other and there will be no resistance induced to the inhalation effort. This is an advantage of this invention over the conventional filtration by filter material type nose mask. Weaker users  1  especially those with breathing difficulty like Asthma will find this electronic inhalation and exhalation breath filtration device system  2  very comfortable to use.  
         [0062]    [0062]FIG. 6 is the section view of the filtration system  11  with the user  1  exhaling through the filtration system  11 . The exhaling breathe becomes the engine to drive the air stream  98  from the user  1 &#39;s nose  10  and mouth  20  to the mask chamber  23 . As results, the air pressure in the mask chamber  23  will be higher than the air pressure in the electrostatic filtration system  94  and cause the air stream  96  in the mask chamber  23  to flow through the rear louver cover  55  into the electrostatic filtration system  94 . In the same token the air in the electrostatic filtration system  94  will flow to the ionic filtration system  93 ; and the air stream  97  in the ionic filtration system  93  will flow through the front louver cover  4  to the ambient  22 . Eventually, during the exhalation process, the air flow from the user  1 &#39;s nose  10  and mouth  20  through rear louver cover  55 , the electrostatic filtration system  94 , the ionic filtration system  93  and the front louver cover  4  into ambient  22 . When the desirable voltage potential is applied to the filtration system  11 , the ionic filtration system  93  and the electrostatic filtration system  94  will remove most of the air borne particles, contaminants and bacteria from the exhaling air stream and supplying only very clean air to the ambient  22 . During the filtration processes, the air stream is free to move from one stage to the other and there will be no resistance induced to the exhalation effort. This is an advantage of this invention over the conventional filtration by filter material type nose mask. The exhaling air will pass through the filtration system  11  and be filtered rather than leaking through the edges as of using paper filter nose mask where the exhaling air finds easier way out.  
         [0063]    [0063]FIG. 7 is the front view illustrating the application of the electronic inhalation and exhalation breath filtration device system  2  being applied as a face mask with built in goggle  99  to cover and protect the eyes of the user  1 . The seal  98  seals along the forehead of the user  1 . The air inside the mask chamber  23  is free to flow to the chamber covered by the eye goggle  99  resulting that the air surrounds the user  1 &#39;s eye is also cleaned by the dual stages element filter module  3  of the filtration system  11 .  
         [0064]    An alternative method of providing the service loop  27  is also illustrated. A mechanical clip  100  is attached to the connecting cable  28 . This mechanical clip  100  is also attached to a string  102 , which loops around the user  1 &#39;s neck. This string  102  can be made of fabric, cloth, nylon, leather or any other material that can facilitate the function of hanging around the neck of the user  1 . The mechanical clip  100  can be made of metal, plastic or any other material that can facilitate the function of mounting the control cable  28  to the string  102 . The string  102  may also be used to tight directly to the connector cable  28  in the absence of the mechanical clip  100  to facilitate the mounting function of the control cable  28  and hanging around the neck of the user  1 .  
         [0065]    [0065]FIG. 8 is the front view illustrating the application of the electronic inhalation and exhalation breath filtration device system  2  being applied as a hood  103  with built in lens  104  to cover and protect the eyes and the head of the user  1 . The air inside the mask chamber  23  is free to flow to the chamber covered by the lens  104  and the hood  103 , resulting that the air surrounds the user  1 &#39;s eye and head is also cleaned by the dual stages element filter module  3  of the filtration system  11 . The bottom edge  108  of the hood  103  can be sealed along the neck of the user  1  or connected to other garment worn by the user  1 .  
         [0066]    [0066]FIG. 9 is the section view of the filtration system  11  showing the assembly of the front louver cover  4 , dual stages element filter module  3  and the rear louver cover  55  with respect to the mask housing  26 . An alternative to the former discussed arrangement in FIG. 3 is the addition of a PCBA  110  with electronic components. This PCBA  110  is installed between the cable  28  and the connector wires  62  inside the PCB compartment  109 . In the previous arrangement of FIG. 3, the cable  28  will carry the high voltage from the control system  13  all the way to the connector wires  62  and eventually to the dual stages element filter element  3 . In this alternative arrangement, the PCBA  110  is a voltage multiplier which works on the input voltage to produce a very high output voltage such that the cable  28  will only requires to carry a much lower voltage than the original arrangement. The PCBA  110  receives its input voltage source from the cable  28  and sends its high voltage potential output to the connector wires  62 . The connector wires  62  are connected to the connector  37 . Since the system requires very low current (less than 100 mA), there are a lot of choices of small components including surface mounting components to fit into a very small form factor and not causing the mask housing  26  to be too bulky to handle by the user  1 .  
         [0067]    In the assembly the dual stages filter element module  3  will be assembled into the center cavity  106 . The assembly can be performed by fastener, snap on, press-fitting or any other means that can facilitate the assembly function. In the assembly the conductor leads  58 ,  59  and  60  will be connected to connector  37  and receive the electrical power to operate the dual stages filter element module  3 . The front louver cover  4  is to be assembled into the front cover well  105  and the rear louver cover  55  is to be assembled into the rear cover well  107  respectively.  
         [0068]    [0068]FIG. 10 is the section view of the filtration system  11  showing the assembly of the front louver cover  4 , dual stages element filter module  3  and the rear louver cover  55  with respect to the mask housing  26 . An alternative to the former discussed arrangement in FIG. 3 and FIG. 9 is the integration of the PCBA  110  with electronic components to be part of the electronic dual stages element filter module  3 . All the electronic components on the PCBA  110  are encapsulated  81  with encapsulation resin to protect the PCBA  110  from electrical shorting. The lead conductors  82  and  83  are connected to connector  37 , which is connected to the main PCBA  35  of the control system  12  through the connector wires  62  of cable  28 . The PCBA  110  receives the input power from main PCBA  35  through the lead conductors  82  and  83  with conductor  82  connected to the positive charge and the conductor  83  connected to the negative charge of main PCBA  35 . It performs the voltage multiplier function and sends the high voltage output to the electronic dual stages element filter element module  3  through the lead conductor  58 ,  59  and  60  respectively.  
         [0069]    In this alternative arrangement, the PCBA  110  is a voltage multiplier which works on the input voltage to produce a very high output voltage directly to the electronic dual stages element filter module  3  and minimizes the potential drop; resulting that the cable  28  is only required to carry much lower voltage than original arrangement as in FIG. 3. Since the system requires very low current (less than 100 mA), there are a lot of choices of small components including surface mounting components to fit into a very small form factor and not causing the mask housing  26  to be too bulky to handle by the user  1 .  
         [0070]    In the assembly the dual stages filter element module  3  will be assembled into the center cavity  106 . The assembly can be performed by fastener, snap on, press-fitting or any other means that can facilitate the assembly function. In the assembly the conductor leads  82  and  83  will be connected to connector  37  and receive the input electrical power for the voltage multiplier PCBA  110  to generate high voltage to operate the dual stages filter element module  3 . The front louver cover  4  is to be assembled into the front cover well  105  and the rear louver cover  55  is to be assembled into the rear cover well  107  respectively.  
         [0071]    [0071]FIG. 11 is the circuit diagram illustrating the high voltage power supply source that drives the dual stages element filtration system  3 . A low voltage battery  33  supplies power through a power level selector circuit  70  to an oscillator stage circuit  72 . The output is then stepped-up by transformer (TI)  74 , which in turn feeds the input of voltage to the voltage multiplier  71 . The high voltage output  68  from the voltage multiplier  71  is then sent to the needle points  50  where ionization occurs in the ionic filtration system  93 . The high voltage output  68  is also sent to the negatively charged fins  53  of the electrostatic filtration system  94 . The power selector circuit  70  allows the user  1  to select one of the preset voltage levels at the high voltage output  68 , which also represents the rate of ionic activities with respect to the ambient surroundings. User  1  can use a power saving mode or a high reaction rate filtration mode if the surrounding is dusty. Experiment shows the power consumption rate is less than 40 mA at 12 VDC power supply. As a result, a 1200 mAH battery pack of 12 VDC may support the breath filtration system  2  to operate for over 24 hours.  
         [0072]    It will be appreciated that the sizes, quantities, shapes and dispositions of various components like needlepoint ionization pins, electrode fins, electro-collectors, louver covers, conductor leads, wires, cable length, material use, filter size, filter gap clearance, size of the mask and size of the seal can be varied, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Similarly, the sizes and contour of the nose mask, face mask and hood with reference to adult, children, male and female, and the like may be varied. While the methods of connecting the service loop of the cable are illustrated, other methods may instead be used to facilitate the concept of service loop. While the methods of mounting the mask-filter system with straps concept is illustrated, other methods may instead be used to facilitate the concept of mounting to the user&#39;s face. While this electronic inhalation and exhalation breath filtration device system has been described with respect to application to nose mask, face mask and hood, the described system may also apply to other human wearing electronic filtration systems and may have more than one air inlet or air outlet.  
         [0073]    Modifications and variations may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the subject and spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0