Segmented transparent face mask with ear risers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing face coverings are often uncomfortable, restrictive, and hinder communication due to their design, which can limit airflow, obstruct vision, and muffle sound, making them unsuitable for extended wear in active or outdoor environments.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight, transparent face mask with a flexible plastic body and ear risers that uses a pressure fit joint and a multi-faceted design to enhance comfort and communication, allowing for unobstructed airflow and visibility while controlling respiratory droplets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a face shield with clear plastic is used, then visibility is improved, but weight and cost increase making it unsuitable for extended wear
Solution Approach 1:
The face mask is divided into multiple segments (front segment, side segments, rear segment) that can be independently configured. This segmentation allows the mask to achieve the desired visibility and protective functions while reducing overall weight compared to a single large shield piece.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the mask have different properties - the front segment provides visibility, the side segments provide structural support and fit, and the rear segment provides anchoring. This local differentiation optimizes each area for its specific function while minimizing overall weight.
2Weight of moving object
If a cloth face mask is used, then it is lightweight and comfortable, but it muffles sound and obscures facial expressions
Solution Approach 1:
The mask utilizes transparency (optical property) rather than opacity to allow visual information to pass through. The front segment and side segments are configured to be substantially transparent, enabling observers to see facial expressions and the wearer to see through the mask, thus preventing information loss.
3Reliability
If a face mask with tight sealing is used, then respiratory droplet containment is improved, but breathing comfort and airflow are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The mask is segmented into multiple sections with gaps between them. The side segments are positioned to allow airflow while the front and rear segments provide containment. This segmentation enables the mask to maintain droplet containment reliability while preserving breathing comfort through the gaps.
Solution Approach 2:
The mask structure acts as an intermediary between the wearer's breath and the external environment. It provides droplet containment through its segmented structure while allowing breathable air to pass through the gaps, mediating between containment requirements and breathing needs.
4Reliability
If a face shield is used, then respiratory droplet protection is provided, but it restricts facial movements and head motions
Solution Approach 1:
The mask is divided into multiple flexible segments that can move independently. This segmentation allows the mask to accommodate facial movements and head motions while maintaining droplet protection, as each segment can adapt to the changing geometry during movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The mask is designed with dynamic characteristics - the segments can move and adjust relative to each other, and the mask can be positioned at different distances from the face. This dynamic design maintains protective function while allowing natural facial movements and head motions.
Data Source
AI summary
A transparent face mask for enhancing communications while controlling release of respiratory droplets. The mask includes a body formed from a thin flexible plastic material such as polypropylene. The mask body has a center diamond shaped segment that cantilevers the mask body from the bridge of a wearer's nose. The body includes right and left side segments, which each extend outward from one of the four sides of a diamond-shaped center segment to form a segment-to-segment joint between adjacent side segment pairs that flexibly conforms the side portions to the wearer's face. The face mask includes risers formed of an elongate strip of flexible material with a cloth covering for comfort and ease of fit, and the risers each provides a contact point between the mask and the wearer's face adjacent to and inward of the ear from which the mask body is cantilevered away from the wearer's face.