Foldable Nose Cover for Mask Position Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional masks tend to slide down during vigorous activities, exposing the external nostrils of the user, as they lack effective mechanisms to maintain the mask's position on the head.
Innovation Solution
A mask design incorporating a foldable nose cover that protrudes from the mask main body, which can be unfolded to prevent nostril exposure and features a marked boundary for easy folding, and can be detachably attached to reduce discomfort and exposure risk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the mask main body slides down during vigorous exercise, then the mask fails to maintain its position, but adding a nose cover portion increases the covered area and may cause discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The nose cover portion is designed to be foldable with respect to the mask main body at a boundary, allowing it to transition between extended and folded states. This dynamic structure enables the nose cover to be unfolded when mask sliding occurs during vigorous exercise to prevent nostril exposure, and folded when not needed to minimize discomfort and reduce covered area, thus resolving the contradiction between position stability and user comfort
2Reliability
If the nose cover portion is always extended to prevent nostril exposure, then nostril coverage is ensured, but the discomfort due to wide face coverage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The foldable nose cover portion allows users to adjust its state dynamically - extended when nostril coverage is needed (such as during vigorous exercise when mask sliding is likely), and folded when not needed to minimize discomfort. This on-demand deployment resolves the contradiction between ensuring nostril coverage and maintaining user comfort
3Ease of operation
If the nose cover portion is made foldable, then user comfort is improved when not needed, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mask is divided into distinct segments - the mask main body and the nose cover portion - connected at a boundary that allows folding. This segmentation enables the nose cover to be independently folded or extended without affecting the overall mask structure, providing comfort benefits while maintaining relatively simple construction through clear functional division
Data Source
AI summary
A mask includes: a mask main body for preventing exposure of a mouth of a user; and a nose cover portion protruding from the mask main body to prevent exposure of an external nostril of the user. The nose cover portion is foldable with respect to the mask main body at a boundary with the mask main body. The mask has: a usage mode in which the mask is attached to a head of the user in a state where the nose cover portion is folded with respect to the mask main body at the boundary; and a usage mode in which the mask is attached to the head in a state where the nose cover portion is unfolded with respect to the mask main body at the boundary.