U.S. patent application number 16/909762 was filed with the patent office on 2021-12-23 for lightweight face shield.
The applicant listed for this patent is Dustin James EATON, KEVIN P. PARKER. Invention is credited to Dustin James EATON, KEVIN P. PARKER.
Application Number | 20210392972 16/909762 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005030565 |
Filed Date | 2021-12-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210392972 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
PARKER; KEVIN P. ; et
al. |
December 23, 2021 |
LIGHTWEIGHT FACE SHIELD
Abstract
A face shield including a flexible transparent sheet and a strap
component having a strap configured to encircle a wearer's neck,
with a pair of support arms disposed on the strap which are secured
to a lower portion of the sheet at two spaced apart locations. The
support arms extend away from the strap so as to support the sheet
in front of, and spaced apart from, the wearer's face. The extended
support arms further introduce a bend in the sheet to provide
lateral facial coverage.
Inventors: |
PARKER; KEVIN P.; (Berkeley,
CA) ; EATON; Dustin James; (Hayward, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
PARKER; KEVIN P.
EATON; Dustin James |
Berkeley
Hayward |
CA
CA |
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005030565 |
Appl. No.: |
16/909762 |
Filed: |
June 23, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 2300/32 20130101;
A41D 13/1161 20130101; A41D 13/1184 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A41D 13/11 20060101
A41D013/11 |
Claims
1. A face shield comprising: a flexible transparent sheet having
first and second opposite side edges spaced apart from one another
a distance W along the transparent sheet and first and second
opposite end edges; a strap component including an elongated strap
configured to encircle a user's neck; first and second support arms
disposed on the elongated strap, with each support arm including an
attaching section and an arm section separated by an intermediate
transition region, with each of the support arms being secured to
the elongated strap along a length of the attaching section and up
to and terminating at the transition region; and first and second
fasteners positioned to secure the respective first and second
support arms to the transparent sheet at separate respective first
and second spaced apart sheet locations and wherein the transparent
sheet is supported on the strap component exclusively at the
transparent sheet locations.
2. The face shield of claim 1 wherein the first fastener includes
first and second fastener elements that form a hook and loop
fastener mechanism and the second fastener includes third and
fourth fastener elements that form a hook and loop fastener
mechanism, wherein the second and fourth fastener elements are
secured to the transparent sheet at the respective first and second
sheet locations and wherein the first and third fastener elements
are secured to the respective first and second arm sections of the
support arms.
3. The face shield of claim 1 wherein the first and second support
arms are disposed on the elongated strap with the respective arm
sections facing one another.
4. The face shield of claim 3 wherein the first and second
transparent sheet locations are spaced apart from one another along
the sheet a distance C which is at least 0.3 times distance W.
5. The face shield of claim 4 wherein portions of each of the arm
sections extend past a first edge of the elongated strap when the
arm sections are positioned adjacent the elongated strap.
6. The face shield of claim 5 wherein each of the arm sections has
an arm section length L extending from the transition region to a
distal end of the arm section, where length L is at least 1.5
inches.
7. The face shield of claim 6 wherein the arm section of the first
support arm defines a first alignment edge disposed adjacent the
first fastener element and wherein the arm section of the second
support arm defines a second alignment edge disposed adjacent the
third fastener element and wherein the first and second alignment
edges are each disposed at an angle with respect to the elongated
strap which is at least 10 degrees.
8. The face shield of claim 7 wherein the second fastener element
is disposed on the transparent sheet adjacent a corner defined by
the first side edge and the first end edge of the transparent sheet
and the fourth fastener element is disposed on the transparent
sheet adjacent a corner defined by the second side edge and first
end edge of the transparent sheet.
9. The face shield of claim 8 configured such that when the shield
component is secured to the first support arm and to the second
support arm, the respective first and second alignment edges are
substantially aligned with the first end edge of the transparent
sheet.
10. A face shield comprising: a flexible transparent sheet having
first and second opposite side edges spaced apart from one another
a distance W along the transparent sheet and first and second
opposite end edges; a strap component including an elongated strap
configured to encircle a user's neck; first and second support arms
disposed on the elongated strap, with each support arm including an
attaching section and an arm section separated by an intermediate
transition region, with each of the support arms being secured to
the elongated strap along a length of the attaching section and up
to and terminating at the transition region and wherein each of the
arm sections has an arm section length L extending from the
transition region to the distal end of the arm section, wherein
length L is at least 1.5 inches; and first and second fasteners
positioned to secure the respective first and second support arms
to the transparent sheet at respective first and second transparent
sheet locations and wherein the transparent sheet is supported on a
user exclusively by the support arms.
11. The face shield of claim 10 wherein the first fastener includes
first and second fastener elements that form a hook and loop
fastener mechanism and the second fastener includes third and
fourth fastener elements that form a hook and loop fastener
mechanism, wherein the second and fourth fastener elements are
secured to the transparent sheet at the respective first and second
sheet locations and wherein the first and third fastener elements
are secured to the respective first and second arm sections of the
support arms.
12. The face shield of claim 10 wherein the first and second
support arms are disposed on the elongated strap with the
respective arm sections facing one another and wherein the first
and second fasteners are spaced apart from one another along the
transparent sheet a distance C, with distance C being at least 0.3
times distance W.
13. The face shield of claim 12 wherein portions of each of the arm
sections extend past a first edge of the elongated strap when the
arm sections are positioned adjacent the elongated strap.
14. The face shield of claim 13 wherein the arm section of the
first support arm defines a first alignment edge disposed adjacent
the first fastener element and wherein the arm section of the
second support arm defines a second alignment edge disposed
adjacent the third fastener element and wherein the first and
second alignment edges are each disposed at an angle with respect
to the elongated strap of at least 10 degrees.
15. The face shield of claim 14 wherein the second fastener element
is disposed on the transparent sheet adjacent a transparent sheet
corner defined by the first side edge and the first end edge of
transparent sheet and the fourth fastener element is disposed on
the transparent sheet adjacent a transparent sheet corner defined
by the second side edge and the first end edge of the transparent
sheet.
16. The face shield of claim 15 configured such that when the
shield component is secured to the first support arm and to the
second support arm, the respective first and second alignment edges
are substantially aligned with the first end edge of the
transparent sheet.
17. A face shield comprising: a flexible transparent sheet having
first and second opposite side edges spaced apart from one another
a distance W along the transparent sheet and first and second
opposite end edges; a strap component including an elongated strap
configured to encircle a user's neck; first and second support arms
disposed on the elongated strap, with each support arm including an
attaching section and an arm section separated by an intermediate
transition region, with each of the support arms being secured to
the elongated strap along a length of the attaching section and up
to and terminating at the transition region; and first and second
fasteners positioned to secure the respective first and second
support arms to the transparent sheet at respective first and
second transparent sheet locations, with distance C between the
first and second locations along the transparent sheet being at
least as great as 0.3 times the distance W and wherein the
transparent sheet is supported on the user exclusively by the
support arms.
18. The face shield of claim 17 wherein the arm section of the
first support arm defines a first alignment edge disposed adjacent
the first fastener, wherein the arm section of the second support
arm defines a second alignment edge disposed adjacent the third
element, wherein the first and second alignment edges are disposed
at an angle with respect to the elongated strap of at least 10
degrees.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates generally to face shields and
in particular to low cost, lightweight face shields that can be
shipped in a compact form and then easily assembled for use by the
end user.
2. Description of Related Art
[0002] Various types of face shields are employed to protect all,
or part of, the wearer's face from hazards such as flying objects,
chemical splashes or potentially infectious materials. Such shields
can also be useful in discouraging the wearer for touching his/her
face. Face shields intended for infection control, sometimes
referred to as medical face shields, are usually constructed from
relatively lightweight materials as compared to shields intended to
provide protection from flying objects such as wood chips, roadside
debris and the like. Medical face shields have a tendency to be
somewhat awkward to wear over extended periods of time,
particularly those devices intended for use in healthcare settings
such as hospitals.
[0003] There is a need for a very lightweight and low cost face
shield, particularly for non-healthcare settings. Such a face
shield needs to provide adequate room to accommodate eye glasses,
face masks and other items frequently worn concurrently with the
face shield. As will become apparent to those skilled in the art
upon a reading of the following Detailed Description of the
Invention together with the drawings, the present invention
addresses these needs and requirements unlike conventional face
shields.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] A face shield is disclosed which includes a flexible
transparent sheet supported over the user's face by a strap
component, with the strap component having an elongated strap
configured to be worn around the user's neck. The strap component
further includes a pair of support arms secured at spaced apart
locations on the elongated strap. Each support arm includes an
attaching section and an arm section, with the arm section being
separated from the attaching section by an intermediate transition
region. The support arms are secured to the elongated strap
exclusively by way of the respective attaching sections and are
positioned on the strap facing one another so that the transition
regions are spaced apart from one another a distance of at least
one half a width of the transparent sheet.
[0005] Fasteners are positioned to secure the first and second arm
sections to spaced apart locations on the transparent sheet. When
the elongated strap is formed around the user's neck, the arm
sections extend away from the curved strap at the respective
transition regions and spread apart from one another. This action
allows the support arms to position and secure the transparent
sheet in front of the user's face and further introduces a bend in
the transparent sheet so that the sheet wraps around the user's
face to provide lateral coverage. The geometry of the support arms
is such that the bent sheet is spaced apart from the user's face a
sufficient distance to accommodate eye glasses and other items worn
concurrently with the shield. In addition, the support arms are
disposed at an angle with respect to the elongated strap so that
the sheet is positioned vertically in front of the face. Typically,
the fasteners are implemented using hook and loop mechanisms so
that the flexible sheet can be readily separated from the strap
component for ease in cleaning, shipping and storing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 depicts a face shield being worn by a user in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0007] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the face shield of FIG.
1.
[0008] FIG. 3 is side view of the face shield of FIG. 1.
[0009] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the face shield of FIG. 1.
[0010] FIG. 5 is a plan view of the strap component in planar form
of the FIG. 1 face shield.
[0011] FIG. 6 is a plan view of the shield component of the FIG. 1
face shield including a transparent sheet in planar form.
[0012] FIG. 7 is a elevation view of one of the two support arms of
the FIG. 5 strap component.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] Referring again to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows one embodiment
of the subject face shield worn by a user. The face shield includes
a shield component 20 supported on the user by a strap component
26. The two components 20 and 26, when separate, can be shipped and
stored in a compact from and then easily combined by a user to form
the final face shield shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings.
The entire face shield can be manufactured from lightweight
materials, with the total weight typically being less than 2
ounces.
[0014] FIG. 6 shows an exemplary shield component 20 in planar
form. The shield component 20 is comprised primarily of an 81/2 by
11 inch transparent sheet 22. A clear polyester 7 mil binding cover
sold by Tamerica Products, Inc. of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. has
been found suitable for this application. If desired, the upper
corners can be trimmed to form rounded edges as shown in the
drawings. The distance W between edges 22A and 22B is the 11 inches
when transparent sheet 22 is in planar form. The undesignated
distance between edges 22C and 22D is 81/2 inches.
[0015] The shield component 20 further includes pair of the
fasteners for securing the transparent sheet 22 to the strap
component 20. A segment 24A of one half a hook and loop fastener,
sometimes referred to herein as a fastener half, is secured by
adhesive to the sheet at the corner formed by edges 22A/22C.
Another fastener half 24B is secured by adhesive to the sheet at
the corner formed be edges 226/22C. The active side of the fastener
halves 24A and 24B are both facing the observer of FIG. 6.
[0016] As previously noted, the shield component 20 is supported
over the user's face by the strap component 26. In particular, the
transparent sheet 22 of the shield component is supported
exclusively on the user by a pair of support arms 28/30, as will be
described.
[0017] In addition to securing the transparent sheet 22 on the
user, the strap component 26 is configured to introduce a bend in
the otherwise planar transparent sheet 22 so that the sheet
provides lateral coverage of the user's face as depicted, by way of
example, in FIG. 1.
[0018] The strap component 26 is shown in FIG. 5 in planar form.
The strap component 26 includes an elongated strap 36 which is
typically 24 inches long and functions to encircle the user's
necks. A hook type fastener half segment 24E or fastener half, is
secured to the one distal end of elongated strap 36 (FIG. 5). The
entire inner surface of strap 36, not observable in FIG. 5, is
covered with a loop material which is complementary to fastener
half 24E. Since the inner loop material extends over the length of
the strap, the fastener half 24E can attach to the inner material
over a wide range so as to accommodate a wide range of user sizes.
In that the strap 26 will encircle a user's neck the inner fastener
material is preferably fabricated from a well known softer version
of loop material that does not irritate the wearer's skin. A
product sold by The Velcro Companies under the brand Veltex has
been found suitable for this application. The fastener material
extending along the interior of elongated strap 36 functions as a
substrate for a thin layer of plastic (not designated) that covers
the substrate. The plastic cover can carry printed matter and/or
decorative designs of various kinds if desired. Preferably, the
plastic cover is, in turn, covered by a clear plastic layer to
provide a three layer laminate structure, with the outer clear
layer functioning to protect the underlying layer and any printed
material on that layer.
[0019] A pair of identically shaped, spaced apart support arms 28
and 30 are supported in the central region of the elongated strap
36. The support arms 28/30 can be fabricated having a cardboard
substrate which is covered by the same two plastic outer layers
used on the elongated strap 36. FIG. 7 shows one of the support
arms 30 in further detail. The support arms 28/30 each include an
attaching section 28A/30A and an arm section 28B/30B, with the
support and arm sections being separated by a narrow transition
region represented by lines 28C and 30C. The respective support
arms 28/30 are supported on the elongated strap 36 by way of
respective attaching sections 28B/30B, preferably by using an
adhesive (not depicted) which is distributed along the entire inner
surfaces of the attaching sections up to, and terminating at, the
transition regions 28C/30C. The transition regions are spaced apart
from one another along the length of strap 36 a typical distance D
(FIG. 5) of 7 inches. As will be described later, that portion of
strap 36 designated by D will extend along the front of the wearers
neck.
[0020] The two arm sections 28B/30B of the respective support arms
28/30 are attached to the elongated strap 36, utilizing an
adhesive, exclusively by way of the respective attaching sections
28B/30B. The surfaces of the arm sections facing away from the
observer of FIG. 5 are covered with hook and loop fasters halves
24C/24D (FIGS. 2 and 4). The fastener half 24C on arm section 28B
is of the appropriate type to engage the fastener half 24A of the
shield component 20. Similarly, the fastener half 24D on arm
section 30B is of the appropriate type to engage the fastener half
24B. The fastener halves 24A/24B are positioned on the transparent
sheet 22, typically at the respective corners formed by edges
22A/22C and formed by edges 226/22C. The fastener halves 24A/24B,
and hence the underlying transparent sheet locations where the
fastener halves are positioned, are spaced apart from one another a
distance C (FIG. 6) along sheet 22. In the depicted embodiment,
distance C is somewhat less than W due to the width of fastener
halves 24A/24B. As will be subsequently described, the fastener
spacing C can be made substantially less than the sheet width W,
with those two portions of the sheet intermediate the fastener
halves and the sheet edges 22A/22B extending around the respective
sides of the user's face so as to provide additional facial
coverage. In any event, the distance C between the transparent
sheet locations, i.e. the spacing between the connector halves,
should be at least 0.3 times distance W. The transparent sheet 22
is supported on the strap component 26 exclusively at the
transparent sheet locations.
[0021] The arm sections 28B/30B extend away from the respective
narrow transition regions 28C/30C toward one another when the strap
component 28 is in the planar form shown in FIG. 5. Further, the
arm sections 28B/30B tend to lay flat against the surface of the
elongated strap 36 when the strap component is in planar form. In
addition, the two arm sections 28B/30B extend away from the major
axis 38 of the elongated strap at an angle so that a portion of
each of the arm sections extends past an edge of the elongated
strap as can be seen in FIG. 5. As will be described later in
greater detail, when the shield component 20 and the strap
component 26 are assembled together, typically by the user, the
user positions the fastener half 24D disposed on arm section 30B
over fastener half 24B, with care being taken to align the lower
edge 22C of transparent sheet 22 with the lower edge 30D of the arm
section 30B, with edge 30D sometimes being referred to as an
alignment edge. Once this alignment is achieved, a task that can be
readily carried out by feel alone, the fastener halves are pressed
together to secure the arm section 30B and shield component 20
together. Similarly, when the user positions the fastener half 24C
on arm section 28B over fastener half 24A, the lower edge 22C of
transparent sheet 22 is substantially in alignment with the lower
alignment edge 28D. The faster halves24A and 24C are then pressed
together.
[0022] The above-described alignment steps insure that transparent
sheet 22 is disposed at a desired fixed angle A (FIGS. 3 and 7)
with respect to the strap component 26, and in particular, with the
major axis 38 of the elongated strap 36. For a typical arrangement,
angle A is around 20 degrees to compensate for the fact that the
elongated strap 36, when encircling a user's neck while also
partially resting on the user's shoulders/chest, is naturally
disposed at an non-orthogonal angle with respect to the user's
face. When supported at angle A in this manner, the transparent
sheet 22 will be substantially parallel to the user's face.
Preferably, angle A is at least 10 degrees.
[0023] As can perhaps best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, when the
subject face shield is positioned on the user, the elongated strap
will tend to form a circular structure, when looped around the
neck. The curved portions of strap 36, which were previously
adjacent arm sections 28B and 30B (FIG. 5) will become displaced
from the curved strap at respective transition regions 28C/30C.
This action causes support arms 28B/30B to extend outward to
provide support to the transparent sheet 22 (FIGS. 2 and 4). At
this point, sheet 22 is slightly compressed at edges 22A/22B by the
respective arm sections 28B/30B so that the desired curve in the
sheet is achieved. The compressed sheet 22 will exert an opposite
expansion force on the support arms 28/30 which carry the arm
sections 28B/30B. The support arms 28/30 are constructed to have
sufficient rigidity to resist further expansion of the sheet
thereby maintaining the desired curved shape in the sheet.
[0024] There should be sufficient space between the curved sheet 22
and the user's face to readily accommodate eyeglasses, surgical
face masks and the like which may be concurrently worn by the user.
This spacing is dependent, in large part, upon the distance that
the support arms 28/30 extend away from the looped elongated strap
36 (FIGS. 2, 4). That distance depends in large part on the spacing
D between the transition regions 28C/30C together with length of
each of the arm sections 28B/30B. Arm section length L is the
distance from each of the transition regions 28C/30C to the distal
ends 28E/30E of the respective arm sections. That distance is
labeled distance L in FIG. 7 for arm section 30B. In the presently
disclosed embodiment, distance L for each of the two arm sections
28B/30B is 2.5 inches. Distance L should be at least 1.5
inches.
[0025] The face shield embodiment just disclosed allows the
configuration of the shield to be altered by varying, within
limits, the values of dimensions W, D, L and C (FIG. 4). By way of
example, in the event increased lateral facial coverage is desired,
a flexible sheet 22 having a width W greater than 11 inches can be
used. In that event, the connector halves 24A and 24B can disposed
equal distances from respective edges 22A and 22B, while still
retaining the same spacing C apart from one another used for the
smaller value of W. In addition, the connector halves 24A/24B are
secured to the reverse side of the sheet 22 so that the arm
sections 28B/30B are attached to the inner side of the sheet
relative to the user. This arrangement (not depicted) allows that
portion of sheet 22 now disposed intermediate connector half 24A
and sheet edge 22A to extend over a right side of the wearer's
face. Since the support arm 28B is now disposed on the inner side
of sheet 22, the support arm does not interfere with added sheet
extension. Similarly, this arrangement allows that portion of sheet
22 now disposed intermediate connector half 24B and sheet edge 2BA
to extend over a right side of the wearer's face.
[0026] Thus, a lightweight and low cost face shield has been
disclosed. The shield relies solely on the neck mounted strap
component for support rather than, for example support from ear
loops and the like. Thus, eyeglasses and face masks of the type
which utilize the ears for support can be easily accommodated.
Although a single embodiment of the face shield has been disclosed,
it is understood that various changes can be made by those skilled
in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention as defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *