Eyeglass-Attached Face Shield with Breath Bypass Vent
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Solution Overview
Problem
Standard face shields are expensive, complex to manufacture, and can interfere with eye loupes commonly used during surgery, posing challenges in high-demand situations like pandemics and causing issues with vision and light reflection.
Innovation Solution
A face shield designed to attach directly to eyeglasses using a thin, flexible sheet with cutouts around the lenses and a breath bypass vent, eliminating the need for a headband and allowing for high-density storage and low-cost production, while preventing fogging and accommodating different eyewear sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a standard face shield with headband is used, then protective coverage is achieved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the headband component from the face shield system and attaches the shield directly to eyeglasses temples. This extraction of the complex headband component simplifies manufacturing while maintaining protective coverage through the eyeglasses attachment mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The face shield design utilizes the existing eyeglasses structure (temples and lenses) as the attachment and support mechanism, making the eyeglasses serve multiple functions: visual aid, shield support, and headband replacement. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate complex components.
2Reliability
If a headband is included in the face shield, then secure attachment is achieved, but sterilization difficulty and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The headband is completely removed from the design, eliminating the need for sterilization of this component. The attachment function is transferred to the eyeglasses temples, which are already part of the surgical professional's equipment and do not require separate sterilization handling.
3Reliability
If a traditional face shield design is used, then protection is provided, but storage and shipping density decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The removal of the headband and attachment mechanism allows the face shield to be folded or collapsed into a compact form, significantly increasing storage and shipping density while maintaining the protective function when deployed.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a face shield is designed to fit all eye sizes, then versatility is improved, but precision of fit and vision clarity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The design leverages the universality of eyeglasses temples as the attachment point, which come in various sizes to fit different users. This universal attachment mechanism provides both adaptability across eye sizes and precision of fit through the standardized temple interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The face shield provides a customized fit at the local area of the temples and lenses where it attaches to the eyeglasses, while maintaining overall versatility. The cutout around the lenses provides precise fitting for vision clarity while the temple attachment handles the variability in eye sizes.
5Adaptability or versatility
If a face shield is made to accommodate eye loupes, then surgical functionality is maintained, but shield stability and vision interference increase
Solution Approach 1:
The face shield incorporates a specific cutout around the lens area to accommodate eye loupes, providing local adaptation to surgical requirements. This cutout design maintains shield stability by preserving attachment points while allowing the loupes to be positioned correctly for surgical visibility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a cost-effective, interference-free face shield that can be shipped flat, reducing manufacturing and storage costs, and effectively prevents fogging, ensuring clear vision for surgical procedures without the need for complex tooling or clips.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient flexible sheet with an upper edge and left and right edges and adapted to flex in an arc over a front of the user's face and rearwardly along the temples of the eyeglasses
Implementation Method 2
The breath bypass vent provides a path of diffusion of moist air out from behind the shield while still maintaining the protective shield properties
Data Source
AI summary
A face shield is formed of a sheet of flexible material bent in an arc about a user's face with ends supported by the temples of glasses worn by the user. Cut outs allow use of the face shield without interference with the glasses lenses or accessories such as eye loupes worn during