Semi-Disposable Face Mask Segmentation for Reusable Seal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing semi-disposable face masks lack effective decontamination and reuse capabilities, and often provide inadequate comfort and breathing resistance for extended use by emergency personnel and industrial workers.
Innovation Solution
A semi-disposable face mask design featuring a shaped molded base made of silicone and/or TPE for a comfortable face seal, combined with a filter media housed in a support structure that allows for easy disassembly and decontamination, enabling repeated use with replaceable and washable filters, and adaptive fit options for improved comfort and protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing semi-disposable face masks are used, then initial protection is provided, but they lack effective decontamination and reuse capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The mask is divided into separable components: a reusable face seal portion and replaceable filter portions. This segmentation allows the face seal to be decontaminated and reused while filters can be replaced, resolving the contradiction between maintaining protection reliability and enabling decontamination/reuse.
Solution Approach 2:
The design allows selective discarding of disposable filter portions while recovering and reusing the durable face seal portion after decontamination. This principle enables the mask to transition from single-use to reusable status, addressing the lack of decontamination and reuse capabilities in existing masks.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional face mask materials are used, then manufacturing is simple, but comfort and breathing resistance are inadequate for extended use
Solution Approach 1:
The face seal is constructed from composite materials including silicone rubber and thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) that combine durability with comfort properties. These materials provide both adequate breathing resistance and comfort for extended wear while remaining manufacturable through molding processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention modifies material parameters by selecting specific elastomeric materials with appropriate durometer values and physical properties. This allows optimization of comfort and breathing resistance parameters while maintaining ease of manufacture through standard molding techniques.
3Device complexity
If disposable masks are used, then decontamination is unnecessary, but reuse and cost-effectiveness are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the mask into reusable and disposable portions, the design eliminates the need for decontaminating entire masks while enabling reuse of the face seal portion. This resolves the contradiction by making decontamination unnecessary for disposable filters while enabling productivity gains through reuse of the face seal.
Solution Approach 2:
The design employs cheap, disposable filter portions that eliminate decontamination requirements, while the more expensive face seal portion is designed for reuse. This selective application of disposability principles optimizes both productivity and cost-effectiveness.
4Ease of manufacture
If standard face seal materials are used, then manufacturing is straightforward, but adaptive fit and comfort for different face shapes are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The face seal is designed with adjustable parameters including soft portions of varying durometer values and configurable dimensions. This allows adaptation to different face shapes and sizes while maintaining manufacturability through standard molding processes with variable tooling parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The face seal incorporates local quality variations with softer materials in specific contact areas and firmer materials in structural areas. This localized differentiation provides adaptive fit for different face shapes while maintaining overall manufacturing simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
A semi-disposable face mask has a shaped molded base composed of silicone and/or TPE and molded forming a face seal, a filter media and a support structure that houses the shaped molded base and filter media in fluid communication allowing airflow from an environment through the filter media to the face seal.