Abstract:
Designs and constructions for facemasks which, when properly used, can enable a small child&#39;s head hair to be washed by a parent without interference by the child while preventing liquid being applied to the head hair from washing across eyes, nose and mouth. The facemask has handgrips at either side which are grasped by the hands of the child while the child presses a seal against his/her forehead. The facial designs of the masks present artistic renderings of animals&#39; faces, cartoon characters, etc.

Description:
FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to facemasks. 
     BACKGROUND 
     It is known to cover at least a portion of a person&#39;s face when certain substances are being applied to a person&#39;s scalp, such as when the person&#39;s hair and/or scalp is/are being treated and/or washed and rinsed. 
     A purpose of doing so is to protect a person&#39;s eyes, nose, and/or mouth from liquid or substances which may be carried by a liquid. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Some persons, small children for example, may be unable to wash their own hair, and consequently that task must be performed by another person. A responsible adult whose hair is being washed is unlikely to interfere with washing of his/her own hair by another person. That is not necessarily true of a young child. 
     The inventors have created designs and constructions for facemasks which, when properly used, can enable a small child&#39;s hair to be washed by a parent or other older person without interference by the child while preventing liquid being applied to the scalp and hair from washing across eyes, nose and mouth. For purposes of description in the present disclosure, a parent can be considered a second person and a child a first person. 
     These designs and constructions are intended to be grasped by both hands of the first person to whose scalp and hair liquid is being applied by the second person. 
     One general aspect of the disclosure relates to a facemask comprising: a mask body shaped for anterior placement over at least a person&#39;s forehead, eyes, cheeks, nose and mouth; the mask body having a superior margin which leaves a person&#39;s scalp uncovered so as to allow liquid to be applied to the scalp; the mask body having right and left margins disposed laterally beyond the eyes, cheeks and mouth and extending inferiorly from the superior margin to an inferior margin of the mask body; a seal disposed on a posterior surface of the superior margin and extending between the right and left margins for sealing the mask body to the forehead along the superior margin from a first location outward of one eye to a second location outward of the other eye to prevent intrusion of liquid between the mask body and the forehead; a right handgrip which joins with the right margin for grasping by a person&#39;s right hand; and a left handgrip which joins with the left margin for grasping by a person&#39;s left hand. 
     In one embodiment, the right handgrip is defined by a right through-slot in the mask body through which fingers of a person&#39;s right hand can extend, and the left handgrip is defined by a left through-slot in the mask body through which fingers of a person&#39;s left hand can extend. 
     Another general aspect of the disclosure relates to a method of enabling a second person to wash a first person&#39;s scalp and hair without manual interference by the first person. 
     The method comprises: placing a mask body anteriorly over at least a forehead, eyes, cheeks, nose and mouth of the first person to dispose a superior margin of the mask body which extends between right and left lateral margins of the mask body, which are laterally beyond the eyes, cheeks and mouth and which extend inferiorly from the superior margin to an inferior margin of the body, in a position which leaves the first person&#39;s scalp uncovered so as to allow liquid to be applied to the first person&#39;s scalp while causing a seal on a posterior surface of the superior margin to seal continuously to the first person&#39;s forehead from a first location outward of one eye of the first person to a second location outward of the other eye of the first person to prevent intrusion of liquid between the mask body and the first person&#39;s forehead; and after the mask has been so placed, using the first person&#39;s hands to hold the mask body in place by the first person&#39;s right hand grasping a right handgrip which joins with the right lateral margin and by the first person&#39;s left hand grasping a left handgrip which joins with the left lateral margin. 
     The foregoing summary is accompanied by further detail of the disclosure presented in the Detailed Description below with reference to the following drawings which are part of the disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of one embodiment of facemask. 
         FIG. 2  is a left side view of  FIG. 1  in the direction of arrows  2 - 2  in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is perspective view of  FIG. 1  from the rear. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating use of the facemask of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of still another embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded view of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the left side of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 8  is a left side view of a child&#39;s face. 
         FIG. 9  is a fragmentary cross section view showing shape of a seal at its midpoint above the nose. 
         FIG. 10  is a front view of still another embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a side view of the left side of the mask shown in  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 12  is a left side view of a child&#39;s face. 
         FIG. 13  is a fragmentary rear view of a seal. 
         FIG. 14  a fragmentary cross section view in the direction of arrows  14 - 14  in  FIG. 13 . 
         FIG. 15  is an enlarged cross section view of the seal of  FIGS. 13 and 14  taken in the direction of arrows  15 - 15  in  FIG. 13 . 
         FIGS. 16 and 17  show a modified form of handgrip. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1-4  show a facemask  10  having a mask body  12  shaped for anterior placement over at least a person&#39;s forehead, eyes, cheeks, nose and mouth. The mask body which is illustrated in  FIGS. 1-4  covers the forehead, eyes, cheeks, nose, and mouth. 
     Mask body  12  has a superior margin  14  which leaves a person&#39;s scalp uncovered so as to allow liquid to be applied to the scalp and its hair. 
     Mask body  12  also has a right margin  16  disposed laterally of the medial plane beyond the eyes, cheeks and mouth and extending inferiorly from superior margin  14  to an inferior margin  18  of mask body  12 , and a left margin  20  disposed laterally of the medial plane beyond the eyes, cheeks and mouth and extending inferiorly from superior margin  14  to inferior margin  18 . 
     A seal  22  is disposed on a posterior surface of superior margin  14  and extends between right margin  16  and left margin  20  for sealing mask body  12  to a person&#39;s forehead along superior margin  14  to prevent intrusion of liquid between mask body  12  and the person&#39;s forehead. 
     A right handgrip  24  joins with right margin  16  and is large enough for grasping by a person curling fingers of his/her right hand around the right handgrip  24 . A left handgrip  26  joins with left margin  20  and is large enough for grasping by a person curling fingers of his/her left hand around the left handgrip. 
     Right handgrip  24  is defined in part by a right through-slot  28  in mask body  12  through which fingers of a person&#39;s right hand can extend. Left handgrip  26  is defined in part by a left through-slot  30  in mask body  12  through which fingers of a person&#39;s left hand can extend. 
     The embodiment shown presents a facial appearance corresponding to that of an artistic rendering of an animal character, an elephant in this instance. Such embodiments are intended to encourage use of the masks by young children. 
     The eyes  32  are transparent material which allows the user to see through the mask and the mask body has air holes  34  which allow the user to breathe freely without drawing in liquid. 
       FIG. 4  shows mask  10  in use over a child&#39;s face. The fingers of the child&#39;s hands grasp the handgrips  24 ,  26  and hold mask  10  over his/her face while pressing seal  22  against his/her forehead. The thumbs are shown against the sides, but alternately can go behind them to aid in more forceful gripping of the handgrips. 
     Other designs and constructions which are contemplated but not necessarily illustrated in the Figures include: Dolphin and Turtle where the mask shows the front of the character&#39;s face and a fin extends from the mask body at each of the right and left sides allowing the fins themselves to be the hand grips. Alternately, through-slots can be added to create the handgrips. 
     Still others which have through-slots forming the handgrips include: Zebra, Horse, Gorilla, Monkey, Grizzly Bear, Giraffe, Panda Bear, Polar Bear, Tiger, Lion, Raccoon, Dog and Cat. These masks show the animal&#39;s face with the through-slots on either side. 
     For an Octopus, the mask is constructed in a way to allow the 8 legs of the octopus to be split 4 on the right side and 4 on the left side of the mask for use as the handgrips. 
     For a Camel, the mask shows the face with the animal&#39;s ears protruding on the right and left sides to be used as the handgrips. 
       FIGS. 5-7 and 9  show another facemask having a mask body  48  comprising bottom mask part  50 , a top mask part  52 , and a seal  54 . Bottom mask part  50  has a top edge  56  which fits congruently to a bottom edge  58  of top mask part  52  so that the anterior surface of the two fitted-together parts  50 ,  52  forms the complete mask body  48  having a face of an animal character. A generally concave posterior surface of the parts  50 ,  52  fits over at least a person&#39;s forehead, eyes, cheeks, nose and mouth. The facemask which is illustrated covers the forehead, eyes, cheeks, nose, mouth, and chin. 
     Top mask part  52  forms a superior margin which leaves a person&#39;s scalp uncovered so as to allow liquid to be applied to the scalp and its hair. Collectively, bottom mask part  50  and top mask part  52  provide the facemask with a right margin disposed laterally of the medial plane beyond the eyes, cheeks, mouth, and chin and extending inferiorly from the superior margin to an inferior margin which is contained entirely in bottom mask part  50 . Collectively, parts  50  and  52  provide the facemask with a left margin disposed laterally of the medial plane beyond the eyes, cheeks, mouth, and chin and extending inferiorly from the superior margin to the inferior margin. 
     Seal  54  runs along top edge  56  and bottom edge  58  between a location (reference numeral  62 ) below and laterally outward of the facemask&#39;s right eye and a location (reference numeral  64 ) below and laterally outward of the mask&#39;s left eye. With bottom and top parts  50 ,  52  fit together, seal  54  is not seen when looking toward the front of the facemask as in  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 9  shows the cross section shape of seal  54  at its midpoint above the nose. From the midpoint the seal runs along generally horizontal, but slightly curved portions  66  of edges  56 ,  58  before turning downward and slightly outward toward lengthwise ends of the seal at  62  and  64 . Laterally outward beyond ends of seal  54 , edges  56 ,  58  are essentially horizontal as they curve rearward and outward in both right and left margins. 
     The portion of seal  54  running generally horizontal has a base  68  which is trapped between edges  56 ,  58 . In addition to being mechanically trapped, it may be adhered to one or both mask parts  50 ,  52 . A sealing lip  70  extends upward and rearward from base  68  beyond top edge  56 . Sealing lip  70  may have an upwardly concave shape as shown. Seal  54  is molded to its shape by molding material which when cured is elastomeric, such as silicone rubber, which allows sealing lip  70  to flex in the sense indicated by arrow  72  in  FIG. 9 . 
     Bottom and top mask parts  50 ,  52  may be held fast together in any of various ways, such as by incorporating features which allow them to be snapped together without using fasteners, features which will accept fasteners, and/or features which allow them to be adhesively joined or bonded together. Such features are located so as to not interfere with the sealing of the facemask to a person&#39;s face as described herein. 
     A right handgrip  74  in bottom part  50  is large enough for grasping by a person curling fingers of his/her right hand around it. A left handgrip  76  is large enough for grasping by a person curling fingers of his/her left hand around it. 
     Each handgrip is defined in part by a respective through-slot  78 ,  80  through which fingers of a person&#39;s respective hand can extend. 
     When used, the facemask is grasped with both hands by a person to whose hair a liquid is to be applied and is placed over his/her face with corresponding parts of the mask face in approximate registration with the person&#39;s eyes, nose, cheeks, mouth, and chin as suggested by  FIGS. 7 and 8 . Sealing lip  70  is pressed against the forehead by the person&#39;s arms forcing the facemask in the posterior direction, flexing a portion of the surface area of the sealing lip into contact with the forehead to seal continuously from a location outward of one eye to a location outward of the other eye. Where seal  54  begins to turn downward, sealing lip  70  ends by merging into sides of seal  54  which are thick enough laterally to resiliently compress as they come into contact with the person&#39;s temples as the facemask is being forced in the posterior direction, and which extend downward below the level of the person&#39;s eyes. In this way the facemask is sealed to the forehead along a surface area extending from a location laterally outward of one eye to a location laterally outward of the other eye and then downward along the temples to a point below the eyes as suggested in  FIG. 8  where sealing lip  70  is shown in phantom. 
     Alternately, a second person who will be washing the scalp of a first person can place the facemask in proper position and then instruct the first person to grasp the handgrips and hold the facemask in place. 
     When the scalp is being washed, the seal directs liquid running down the forehead laterally away from the eyes and then downward posterior to the eyes to a level below the eyes. By requiring the person whose scalp is being washed to hold the facemask in place to maintain the sealing contact, that person&#39;s hands do not interfere with the scalp washing process. 
       FIGS. 10, 11, and 13-15  show a facemask like the one in  FIGS. 5-7  but having a one-piece mask body which in all material respects is identical to mask body  48 .  FIG. 15  shows the cross section shape of seal  54  at its midpoint above the nose. Seal  54  of  FIG. 15  places its sealing lip  70  in the same position as described in  FIGS. 5-7  but has a different shaped base  68 . 
     Base  68  is assembled to the posterior surface of the margin of top edge  56  of bottom mask part  50  of mask body  48  in  FIG. 6  in any suitably appropriate way such as by adhesive and/or fasteners. Sealing lip  70  extends upward and rearward from base  68  to place sealing lip  70  on the person&#39;s face in the same location as in  FIG. 8 . 
       FIGS. 16 and 17  show a modified form of handgrip  84  which is formed by a depression  86  in the mask body rather than a through-slot as in the previous Figures. The mask body of all masks can itself be fabricated by molding of a suitable plastic material which when cured will be fairly rigid, but may have a slight degree of flexibility. Plastic is non-absorbent to liquids such as shampoo and water. 
     The embodiments of the various Figs. and accompanying descriptions, especially the embodiment of  FIGS. 1-4 , disclose that the right lateral margin comprises a right wall which extends to the right of the concave interior of the mask body which fits over the first person&#39;s face and the left lateral margin comprises a left wall which extends to the left of the concave interior of the mask body which fits over the first person&#39;s face. In  FIGS. 1-4  those walls are the elephant&#39;s ears which are spaced laterally outward of the concave interior of the mask body.  FIG. 4  shows that the concave interior of the mask body has a concave posterior surface. It also shows that the right wall which contains the right handgrip has a posterior surface extending from the posterior surface of the concave interior of the mask body and that the left wall which contains the left handgrip has a posterior surface extending from the posterior surface of the concave interior of the mask body. The angle at which the posterior surface of each wall extends from the posterior surface of the concave interior of the mask body is greater than a straight angle, and is in fact significantly greater.