Ski Mask Skeleton with Open Mouth Zone for Breath Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ski masks trap breath and sweat, leading to muffled breathing, moisture accumulation, and fogging of goggles, while solid mouth or face portions are uncomfortable and offer limited protection against cold and falls.
Innovation Solution
A ski mask design featuring a skeleton portion with a concave skeletal structure and a cover portion that uses a mounting mechanism and fastening device to secure the mask without covering the mouth, allowing for breath and sweat to escape and providing flexibility and adjustability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a ski mask covers the user's mouth and nose, then thermal protection is improved, but breath and sweat are trapped causing moisture accumulation and fogging
Solution Approach 1:
The mask is divided into separate functional zones: a solid upper portion covering the nose for thermal protection, and an open lower portion exposing the mouth for breath escape. This segmentation allows different regions of the mask to perform different functions - the solid portion provides warmth while the open portion prevents moisture buildup from trapped breath
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the mask have different structural properties: the upper nose-covering portion is solid and enclosed to provide thermal protection, while the lower mouth area is intentionally left open without solid material. This local variation in quality (solid vs. open) optimizes both thermal protection and breath circulation simultaneously
2Object-generated harmful factors
If a ski mask does not cover the user's mouth, then breath and sweat can escape, but the user's mouth becomes unprotected from the environment
Solution Approach 1:
The protective function is segmented to cover only the nose area with solid material while leaving the mouth exposed. This selective coverage allows the mask to provide thermal protection where most needed (nose) while maintaining breath circulation (open mouth area), thus resolving the contradiction between protection and moisture escape
3Temperature
If solid mouth or face portions are added to protect from environment, then thermal protection is improved, but the mask becomes heavy and uncomfortable
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding solid material throughout the entire mask, the invention applies solid material only to the specific nose-covering portion where thermal protection is most needed. The lower mouth area remains open without additional solid material, thus providing necessary thermal protection while minimizing added weight and maintaining comfort
Data Source
AI summary
A skeleton support has a concave shape configured to fit around a nose and mouth of a user. The support includes a skeletal structure that defines a plurality of connecting regions which form a first common connection interface. A cover includes a mounting mechanism with a plurality of fastening units which form a second common connection interface corresponding to the first common connection interface. Each fastening unit is configured to removably engage a corresponding connecting region of the skeleton support to hold the cover together with the skeleton support and form a mask. Different skeleton supports or covers with a different size, shape, color, pattern, flexibility, or material that also include the corresponding common connection interface can be swapped out to adjust the mask.