RESPIRATORY PROTECTION DEVICES AND FOLDING SAMPLES FOR RESPIRATORY FILTERS

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to respirator filters. In particular, it relates to folding patterns for filters in air purifying respirators.BACKGROUND

[0002] Air purifying respirators (APRs) and powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs) utilize various filters to protect users from various environmental hazards, contaminants, and pollutants to which they may be exposed. Filters must be of a certain size to maximize their effectiveness in the respirator. Smaller filters may concentrate the filtered matter in too small of an area, reducing the filter's lifespan. However, increasing the size of the filter may increase the size and / or weight of the respirator and may become uncomfortable for a user when the respirator is attached to a facepiece for use.

[0003] Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, Applicant has solved problems relating to respirator filters by developing solutions embodied in the present disclosure, which are described in detail below.

[0004] CN201098482Y discloses a filtering structure, which comprises a filtering main body and a corrugated filtering sheet disposed on the filtering main body with multiple corrugations; and a flattening portion disposed around the corrugated filtering sheet. The flattening portion is contacted with the inner side wall of a mounting position so that gas leakage is prevented at the mounting position and air or gas can be filtered at the mounting position. The filtering structure can therefore adopt the filtering sheet to filter air or other gases.

[0005] US10751660B2 discloses a filter cartridge having a filter media with two opposing ends each being occluded by an adhesive edge seal.

[0006] US5240479A discloses a pleatable filter media, suitable for a use in a respirator for humans comprising a filter material including a meltblown polymeric material, such as polypropylene. A laminate construction is disclosed for the filter material comprising a plurality of layers of the meltblown polypropylene laminated together with adhesive. The filter media is preferably glassless. Protective layers enclose the layers of meltblown polypropylene. Methods of manufacture of pleated material are disclosed wherein the adhesive between the layers is extruded in a particular pattern to provide increased stiffness in the machine direction of the pleated filter media. Methods of manufacture are also disclosed wherein the filter media is pleated before the adhesive has cured, and the adhesive is then permitted to cure while the filter media is maintained in the pleated state. Methods of manufacture are also disclosed wherein the filter media is heated, and possibly compressed, after pleating to help form stiffer pleats and sharper pleat tips.

[0007] EP3503991B1 discloses a pleated filter element comprising a pleated filter media comprising a plurality of oppositely-facing pleats with a pleat direction and with a plurality of upstream and downstream pleat tips and pleat valleys, wherein the pleated filter media comprises two corrugated edges and two noncorrugated edges. The first (second) corrugated edge of the pleated filter media comprises an edge dam of hardened adhesive that occupies the upstream and downstream pleat valleys at a location laterally inwardly proximate the first (second) corrugated edge and that extends along an entire longitudinal extent of the pleated filter media. The pleated filter media is a multilayer media comprising an organic polymeric nonwoven web, that exhibits a Percent Penetration of less than 5, laminated with a fiberglass prefilter layer that is disposed upstream of the primary filtration layer and that exhibits a Percent Penetration of greater than about 70.

[0008] JP2006006406A discloses a plurality of first folding lines which are formed by bending so as to become a zig-zag shape in one direction, and a plurality of second folding lines which are formed by bending so as to become a straight line in the other direction are formed into a filter medium. Thus, the surface area of the filter medium can be ensured. At the same time, by providing respective folding lines in two directions which are different from each other, unevenness by the bending of respective folding lines and is prevented from becoming more than necessary, and dust and dirt caught by the filter medium can easily be removed from the filter medium.

[0009] GB1148942A discloses a method of producing a filter structure comprises the steps of sandwiching between two sheets of malleable filter material f + g an interlayer of a sheet of resilient material, h, alternately folding the sandwich to produce in the sandwich a series of mutually identical substantially parallel folds of the sandwich, and then disengaging the two outer folded structures from one another and from the interlayer by drawing such interlayer from between the two outer sheets.

[0010] CN2598620Y discloses a filter paper structure used for filter element of air cleaner, which is characterized in that: both surfaces of the filter paper are transversely pressed in succession with herringbone folds arrayed along horizontal direction; the herringbone folds are divided into forward directed fold and backward directed fold both horizontally arrayed at intervals; moreover, both surfaces of the filter paper are also vertically pressed in succession with straight line folds arrayed along longitudinal direction; the straight line are divided into left directed fold and right directed fold with the front left fold and back right fold arrayed at intervals along longitudinal and horizontal directions.SUMMARY

[0011] In general, embodiments of the present disclosure provide respirator devices, filters, and / or the like. The present invention is defined in the independent claims, to which reference should now be made. Advantageous features are set out in the sub claims.

[0012] In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure there is provided a respirator device including a housing having a first half and a second half, wherein the second half defines one or more slots; a filter disposed within the housing and configured to remove particulate matter from a fluid medium as it passes through the filter, wherein the filter is folded such that it defines a plurality of parallelograms.

[0013] In some embodiments, the plurality of parallelograms are dimensioned such that the filter is folded into a Miura pattern.

[0014] In some embodiments, the plurality of parallelograms are dimensioned such that the filter is folded into a herringbone tessellation.

[0015] In some embodiments, the filter is a disc.

[0016] In some embodiments, a diameter of the disc is 56 millimeters.

[0017] In some embodiments, the filter is composed of fiberglass, paper, or cloth.

[0018] In some embodiments, the respirator device is an air purifying respirator or a powered air purifying respirator.

[0019] The above summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some example embodiments to provide a basic understanding of some embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above-described embodiments are merely examples. It will be appreciated that the scope of the disclosure encompasses many potential embodiments in addition to those here summarized, some of which will be further described below.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRA WING(S)

[0020] Having thus described the disclosure in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein: FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an example respirator device in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is an isometric view of an example filter for a respirator device in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure; and FIG. 3 is a top plan view of an example respirator device in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Various embodiments of the present disclosure now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the disclosure are shown. Indeed, this disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. The term "or" (also designated as " / ") is used herein in both the alternative and conjunctive sense, unless otherwise indicated. The terms "illustrative" and "exemplary" are used to be examples with no indication of quality level. Like numbers may refer to like elements throughout. The phrases "in one embodiment," "according to one embodiment," and / or the like generally mean that the particular feature, structure, or characteristic following the phrase may be included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure and may be included in more than one embodiment of the present disclosure (importantly, such phrases do not necessarily may refer to the same embodiment).Overview

[0022] According to various embodiments, a respirator (powered or non-powered) may include a housing having a first half and a second half. In some embodiments, the first half may be a bottom half and the second half may be a top half, and the first and second halves may be detachable from each other. In some embodiments, a filter may be placed within the housing, either within the first half, the second half, or partially in either half.

[0023] In some embodiments, the filter for a respirator may be folded in a variety of patterns intended to optimize filtering of particulate matter while reducing overall size of the filter. In some embodiments, the filter may be folded such that the crease pattern of the filter generates a plurality of parallelograms on the surface of the filter. In some embodiments, the plurality of parallelograms may have angles ranging between 84 degrees and 96 degrees.Example Respirator Devices and Filters

[0024] FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of an example respirator device 100, according to various embodiments. In some embodiments, the respirator device 100 may be configured to attach to a facepiece or similar apparel that may be worn by a user. The respirator device 100 may be powered or non-powered, as desired.

[0025] In some embodiments, the respirator device 100 may include a housing having a first half 102 and a second half 104. In some embodiments, the first half 102 may be a hollow, substantially cylindrical component, as shown in at least FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the second half 104 may be substantially circular and configured to fit on top of the first half 102. In some embodiments, the first and second halves 102, 104 may be configure to snap-fit or slot together to form the housing. In some embodiments, the first and second halves 102, 104 may be attached via one or more fasteners (e.g., screws or clips).

[0026] In some embodiments, an example respirator device 100 may include a filter 106. In some embodiments, the filter 106 may be a particulate filter configured to remove particulate matter containing one or more hazards, contaminants, or pollutants from a fluid medium (e.g., air) as the fluid medium passes through the filter 106. In some embodiments, the filter 106 may be porous and composed of semi-permeable paper. In some embodiments, the filter 106 may be composed of fiberglass, or of pleated paper or cloth.

[0027] In some embodiments, the filter 106 may be folded into one or more configurations. In some embodiments, once folded, the filter 106 may be substantially circular or disc-shaped. In some embodiments, the filter 106 may be folded to optimize the surface area of the filter 106 to the volume occupied in the respirator device 100 by the filter. In some embodiments, when the filter 106 is folded such that it is substantially circular or disc-shaped, the filter 106 may have a diameter ranging between 50 and 60 millimeters. In some embodiments, the filter 106 may have a diameter of 56 millimeters.

[0028] In some embodiments, the filter 106 may be folded such that dimensions of the filter 106 are compressed in one or more dimensions. As shown in greater detail in at least FIG. 2, the filter 106 may be folded such that it defines a plurality of parallelograms 108. In some embodiments, the parallelograms 108 may be identical, and in some embodiments they may be separately dimensioned. In some embodiments, the parallelograms 108 may have angles ranging between 84 and 96 degrees. In some embodiments, the filter 106 may be folded such that the plurality of parallelograms form a Miura pattern. In some embodiments, the filter 106 may be folded such that the plurality of parallelograms form a herringbone tessellation. In some embodiments, the filter 106 may be folded such that the plurality of parallelograms 108 form an accordion-like folding pattern. In some embodiments, the filter 106 may be used in devices other than respirators, including HVAC systems.

[0029] In some embodiments, and as shown in at least FIG. 3, the second half 104 may include one or more slots 110. In some embodiments, the one or more slots 110 may be configured to allow air to pass through and be purified or decontaminated by the filter 106. In some embodiments, the one or more slots 110 may be distributed in a variety of patterns on the second half 104.

[0030] Many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosure set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

1. A respirator device (100) comprising: a housing comprising a first half (102) and a second half (104), wherein the second half (104) defines one or more slots (110) for air passage; and; a filter (106) disposed within the housing and configured to remove particulate matter from a fluid medium as it passes through the filter (106), wherein the filter (106) is folded into a Miura pattern comprising a plurality of parallelograms (108)having angles ranging between 84 degrees and 96 degrees, and wherein the filter (106) is disc-shaped with a diameter ranging between 50 millimeters and 60 millimeters.

2. The respirator device (100) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of parallelograms (108) is dimensioned such that the filter (106) is folded into a herringbone tessellation.

3. The respirator device (100) of claim 1, wherein a diameter of the disc comprises 56 millimeter.

4. The respirator device (100) of claim 1, wherein the filter (106) is composed of fiberglass, paper, or cloth.

5. The respirator device (100) of claim 1, wherein the respirator device (100) is an air purifying respirator or a powered air purifying respirator.