Transparent Anti-Contagion Mask with Peripheral Filtration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional facemasks obstruct visibility of the mouth, making it difficult to understand speech and communication, as they cover the mouth and face with opaque filter material, which also leads to muffled speech.
Innovation Solution
A transparent anti-contagion facemask design that allows visibility of the mouth and nose while providing filtration, featuring a clear face covering cup with breathing perforations and a filter gasket that compresses against the face to ensure effective air filtration without obstructing the view, using a filter band or gasket to cover breathing perforations and ensure only filtered air passes through.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If opaque filter material is used to cover the mouth and face, then effective filtration of airborne pathogens is achieved, but visibility of the mouth is obstructed and speech becomes muffled
Solution Approach 1:
The mask is divided into distinct functional zones: a transparent front panel for visibility and an opaque rear section with filter material for filtration. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function without interfering with the other, resolving the contradiction between visibility and filtration effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the mask have different optical properties - the front panel is transparent to allow visibility of the mouth, while the rear filtration section is opaque to block pathogens. This local differentiation of material properties enables simultaneous achievement of visibility and filtration.
2Reliability
If opaque filter material is used to cover the mouth, then effective filtration is achieved, but speech communication is deteriorated due to muffling
Solution Approach 1:
The mask separates the filtration function (rear opaque section) from the communication function (front transparent panel). Speech sounds generated at the mouth can propagate forward through the transparent panel without being muffled by filter material, while the rear filtration section remains protected and effective.
Solution Approach 2:
The transparent panel acts as an intermediary that allows sound waves to pass through freely while providing a physical barrier. This mediator enables speech communication to occur without the dampening effect of opaque filter material.
3Loss of information
If transparent material is used for the face covering cup, then visibility of the mouth is improved, but filtration effectiveness may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The mask structure segments the transparent viewing area from the filtration area. The transparent front panel provides unobstructed visibility, while the opaque rear section contains the filter material necessary for effective pathogen blocking, eliminating the need to compromise filtration for transparency.
Solution Approach 2:
The mask extends in the depth dimension, with the transparent panel forming the front surface and the filtration material positioned at the rear. This three-dimensional arrangement allows both transparency and filtration to coexist by utilizing different spatial zones.
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
Improves communication by allowing the viewer to see the wearer's face and lips while speaking, while maintaining effective filtration of airborne pathogens, enhancing the protection against respiratory illnesses.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of breathing perforations dispersed in the face covering cup at a distance greater than 1.25 inches from the midpoint; and at least one filter that covers the breathing perforations. Exchange of air can essentially only occur through the breathing perforations via the at least one filter.
Implementation Method 2
transparent anti-contagion facemasks that do not obstruct visibility of a person's mouth when worn
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed anti-contagion facemask embodiments are a family of transparent facemasks that do not obstruct visibility of a person's mouth when worn. One problem with a typical, widely used, facemask is the difficulty in understanding a person speaking when they are wearing the typical facemask. Not only does the listener have to contend with the muffled speech of a person talking through a facemask, communication is made worse by covering up, or otherwise hiding the wearer's mouth and face with opaque filter material. Accordingly, some embodiments described herein present a clear/see-through filtration mask embodiment that does not visibly obstruct a person's mouth by providing a filtration system along or near the periphery of the facemask.