Face Shield For Protecting Face of Wearer

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a face shield including one or more airstream-deflecting protrusions for deflecting airstream away from the wearer so as to avoid bacteria, virus or any other hazardous materials in the airstream from depositing on the head and/or hair of a wearer. The present disclosure further provides a full face shield including a flexible sheet, and the flexible sheet has a top portion comprising two folding structures located adjacent to lateral edges of the flexible sheet respectively for bending the top portion towards a forehead of a wearer. As the top portion of the full face shield is bent towards a forehead of the wearer through the folding structure, the face, forehead and a large portion of the front skull of the wearer can be protected.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefits of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/988,956, filed on Mar. 13, 2020, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/000,531, filed on Mar. 27, 2020, which are incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to a face shield for protecting the face of a wearer.

BACKGROUND

In various service industries, service providers (e.g., healthcare workers, dentists, cashiers, receptionists and taxi drivers) need to face various clients at close vicinity. The transmission and subsequent deposition of body fluid, splatter and saliva from the clients to the service providers can induce various hygiene or health problems. In the catering industry, hot oil splatter, boiling water and steams can hurt the face of the workers. In factories, the flying debris from machining processes can hurt the operators. In hospitals, bacteria or virus can be transmitted to the medical professions when the patients breathe, cough or vomit towards the medical professions. In health care sectors (e.g., home for the aged), caretakers may face spilling water when they bathe the old folks.

Accordingly, wearing a face shield can help to reduce the accidents mentioned above. There are various designs of face shields in the market but most of them are heavy for the wearer to wear for a long time, disposable and not reusable, difficult to re-sterilize because of the existence of different soft materials (e.g., rubber), not comfortable because the shield touches and rubs against the face and cause skin reaction, or difficult to breathe because of insufficient space between the shield and the nose. Furthermore, most of the light weight face shield in the market cannot protect the front part of the head and there exists a big gap between the forehead and the mask. Hence aerosol droplets can fall into the gap and deposit on the nose, eyes, face forehead and/or hair of the wearer.

A need therefore exists for an improved face shield that eliminates or at least diminishes the disadvantages and problems described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Provided herein is a face shield comprising: a sheet for protecting a face of a wearer, the sheet comprising one or more airstream-deflecting protrusions, each airstream-deflecting protrusion protruding from the sheet and being located below a top edge of the sheet for deflecting airstream away from the wearer when the airstream directs to the sheet.

In certain embodiments, the one or more airstream-deflecting protrusions are arranged in a line being in parallel with the top edge.

In certain embodiments, the each airstream-deflecting protrusion is hollow.

In certain embodiments, the each airstream-deflecting protrusion is rectangular, cubic, cylindrical, or semi-conical.

In certain embodiments, the each airstream-deflecting protrusion has a height between 3 mm and 15 mm.

In certain embodiments, the sheet and the one or more airstream-deflecting protrusions are integrally formed as one piece.

In certain embodiments, the sheet further comprises one or more head-contacting protrusions, each head-contacting protrusion protruding from the sheet and being located below the top edge for contacting to a head of the wearer.

In certain embodiments, the one or more head-contacting protrusions are arranged in a line being in parallel with the top edge.

In certain embodiments, the each airstream-deflecting protrusion and the each head-contacting protrusion are arranged in consecutive sequence in line, the each airstream-deflecting protrusion outwardly protruding from the sheet, the each head-contacting protrusion inwardly protruding from the sheet.

In certain embodiments, the face shield further comprises a headband being attachable to the sheet for mounting the face shield on the head of the wearer.

In certain embodiments, the sheet further comprises a plurality of slots; the headband comprising a narrower portion and a wider portion, the narrower portion having a width being less than a width of each slot to allow the narrower portion to pass through the plurality of slots, the wider portion has a width being greater than the width of each slot such that the wider portion is stopped by an individual slot at a transition between the narrower portion and the wider portion.

In certain embodiments, the headband comprises a hook fastener and a loop fastener for connecting the headband.

Provided herein is a full face shield comprising: a flexible sheet for protecting a face of a wearer, the flexible sheet having a top portion, the top portion comprising two folding structures located adjacent to lateral edges of the flexible sheet respectively for bending the top portion towards a forehead of the wearer, each folding structure comprising a first patch, a second patch, a cutting line and a securing structure, the first patch being located between the lateral edge and the second patch, the cutting line separating the first patch and the second patch, the first patch and the second patch being arranged to be overlapped with each other, the securing structure being used for fastening the overlapped first and second patches together.

In certain embodiments, the flexible sheet is bent along a direction of the cutting line, the first patch and the second patch are bent such that the first patch and the second patch are overlapped with each other; and the securing structure fastens the overlapped first and second patches together.

In certain embodiments, the securing structure comprises one or more sinking bulbs located within the first patch and one or more bulging bulbs located within the second patch, each sinking bulb protruding from the first patch, each bulging bulb protruding from the second patch, each bulging bulb being arranged to be attached to a respective sinking bulb such that the overlapped first and second patches are fastened together.

In certain embodiments, the securing structure comprises one or more sinking bulbs located within the second patch and one or more bulging bulbs located within the second patch and one or more bulging bulbs, each sinking bulb protruding from the first patch, each bulging bulb protruding from the second patch, each bulging bulb being arranged to be attached to a respective sinking bulb such that the overlapped first and second patches are fastened together.

In certain embodiments, the flexible sheet further comprises one or more head-contacting protrusions, each head-contacting protrusion protruding from the flexible sheet and being located below the top portion for contacting to a head of the wearer.

In certain embodiments, the flexible sheet further comprises one or more airstream-deflecting protrusions, each airstream-deflecting protrusion protruding from the sheet and being located below the top portion for deflecting airstream away from the wearer when the airstream directs to the flexible sheet.

In certain embodiments, the full face shield further comprises a headband being connectable to the flexible sheet.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other aspects of the present invention are disclosed as illustrated by the embodiments hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The appended drawings, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements, contain figures of certain embodiments to further illustrate and clarify the above and other aspects, advantages and features of the present invention. It will be appreciated that these drawings depict embodiments of the invention and are not intended to limit its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view depicting a face shield according to certain embodiments;

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram depicting the sheet and the headband of the face shield;

FIG. 1C depicts the connection of the headband to the sheet;

FIG. 1D depicts an airstream with aerosol deflected by the airstream-deflecting protrusions of the face shield;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view depicting a full face shield according to certain embodiments;

FIG. 2B is another perspective view of the full face shield;

FIG. 2C shows different views of the full face shield;

FIG. 3A depicts a flexible sheet of a full face shield before folding according to certain embodiments;

FIG. 3B depicts the flexible sheet of the full face shield during folding;

FIG. 4 depicts a full face shield with a headband according to certain embodiments;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications, including additions and/or substitutions, may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Specific details may be omitted so as not to obscure the invention; however, the disclosure is written to enable one skilled in the art to practice the teachings herein without undue experimentation.

The present disclosure provides a face shield comprising one or more airstream-deflecting protrusions for deflecting an airstream away from a wearer so as to avoid bacteria, virus or any other hazardous materials in the airstream from depositing on the head and/or hair of the wearer.

FIGS. 1A-1D depict a face shield according to certain embodiments. The face shield 100 comprises a sheet 110 for protecting a face 191 of a wearer 190, a headband 120 for securing the face shield 110 on the head of the wearer 190, and a connecting member 130 for connecting the headband 120 to the sheet 110. The sheet 110 is flexible and transparent, and comprises four airstream-deflecting protrusions 111a-111d and three head-contacting protrusions 112a-112c. Each of the airstream-deflecting protrusions 111a-111d outwardly protrudes from the sheet 110 and is located below a top edge 113 of the sheet 110 for deflecting an airstream away from the wearer 190 when the airstream directs to the sheet 110 (as shown in FIG. 1D). As the incoming aerosol in the airstream is deflected by the airstream-deflecting protrusions 111a-111d, this substantially reduces the probability of bacteria, virus or any other hazardous material to deposit on the hair and/or head 192 of the wearer 190.

Each of the three head-contacting protrusions 112a-112c inwardly protrudes from the sheet 110 and is located below the top edge 113 for contacting to the head 192 of the wearer 190 (as shown in FIG. 1D). The head-contacting protrusions 112a-112c leaves space between the sheet 110 and the face 191 of the wearer 190 so as to allow air circulation on the face 191 to make the wearer 190 comfortable.

In this embodiment, the airstream-deflecting protrusions 111a-111d and the three head-contacting protrusions 112a-112c are arranged in consecutive sequence in a line, which is in parallel with the top edge 113 so as to minimize the space of sheet 110 occupied by the airstream-deflecting protrusions 111a-111d and the head-contacting protrusions 112a-112c.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the headband 120 includes a head headband portion 121 with a hook fastener 1211 and a tail headband portion 122 with a loop fastener 1221, and the hook fastener 1211 and the loop fastener 1221 are used for connecting the head headband portion 121 and the tail headband portion 122 together such that the headband 120 enables the face shield 100 to be mounted on the head 192 firmly and comfortably at the length required. In this embodiment, the sheet 110 includes four slots 131, which are located adjacent to lateral sides 114a, 114b of the sheet 110 respectively. As shown in FIG. 1C, the headband 120 includes a narrower portion 123 and a wider portion 124 along the length of the headband 120. The connecting member 130 includes the slots 131 at the sheet 110 and a transition 132 between the narrower portion 123 and the wider portion 124 of the headband 120.

As shown in FIG. 1C, the headband 120 is connected to the sheet 110 by the connecting member 130. The narrower portion 123 has a width being less than the width of the slots 131 for allowing the narrower portion 123 to passes through the slots 131, and the wider portion 124 has a width being larger than the width of the slots 131 such that the wider portion 124 is stopped by the slots 131 at the transition 132. The narrower portion 123 can pass through slots 131 from the front surface to the back surface of the sheet 110 or vice versa.

In certain embodiments, the sheet is made of a chemically-resistant material such that the sheet can be re-sterilized or cleaned by a sterilizing or cleaning agent so as to make the face shield reusable. In certain embodiments, the sheet comprises a plastic, which is inert so as to avoid any allergic problems to the wearer. The plastic can be polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polycarbonates (PC). The plastic can be a lightweight plastic such that the face shield can be worn for a long time.

In certain embodiments, the sheet is flat and bendable so as to allow the face shield to be carried around conveniently by storing in a container (e.g., a carry bag, big handbag or rucksack) such that it can be easily taken out and assembled into a functional face shield when it is required to be used.

In certain embodiments, the sheet and the airstream-deflecting protrusions are integrally molded and formed as one piece (e.g., by vacuum forming or thermoforming).

In certain embodiments, the airstream-deflecting protrusion is hollow.

In certain embodiments, the each airstream-deflecting protrusion is rectangular, cubic, cylindrical, or semi-conical. In certain embodiments, the airstream-deflecting protrusion has a height (being a distance from the sheet to the top of the protrusion) between 3 mm and 15 mm, a length (along the horizontal axis of the sheet) between 5 mm and 30 mm, and a width (along the vertical axis of the sheet) between 1 mm and 5 mm.

In certain embodiments, the sheet, the airstream-deflecting protrusions and the head-contacting protrusions are integrally molded and formed as one piece by vacuum forming or thermoforming.

In certain embodiments, the head-contacting protrusion is hollow.

In certain embodiments, the head-contacting protrusion is rectangular, cubic, cylindrical, or semi-conical. In certain embodiments, the head-contacting protrusion is semi-conical and has a height between 3 mm and 35 mm, a bottom diameter between 10 mm and 50 mm, and a top diameter between 5 mm and 25 mm.

The present disclosure further provides a full face shield that covers the entire face and a large portion of the front skull of a wearer. The full face shield can be bended at the top to protect the forehead and a large portion of the front skull. This reduces the probability of bacteria, virus or any other hazardous materials from depositing on the forehead, front portion of the head and hair of the wearer.

In certain embodiments, the full face shield comprises a transparent plastic flexible sheet including a folding structure with a securing structure including a number of bulging and sinking bulbs at the top left and top right sides of the flexible sheet for fastening the folding structure. The full face shield also includes headbands for mounting the full face shield on the head firmly and comfortably by various locking mechanisms at the length required such that there is no constant stress applied to the head as that exerted by an elastic headband. This provides extra comfort to the wearer. After use, the wearer can simply take the full face shield out and clean it with a cleaning agent or sterilization agent. There is no need to disassemble the flexible sheet and the headbands.

In certain embodiments, a full face shield comprises: a flexible sheet for protecting a face of a wearer, the flexible sheet having a top portion, the top portion comprising two folding structures located adjacent to lateral edges of the flexible sheet respectively for bending the top portion towards a forehead of the wearer, each folding structure comprising a first patch, a second patch, a cutting line and a securing structure, the first patch being located between the lateral edge and the second patch, the cutting line separating the first patch and the second patch, the first patch and the second patch being arranged to be overlapped with each other, the securing structure being used for fastening the overlapped first and second patches together.

In certain embodiments, the flexible sheet is bent along a direction of the cutting line, the first patch and the second patch are bent such that the first patch and the second patch are overlapped with each other; and the securing structure fastens the overlapped first and second patches together.

In certain embodiments, the securing structure comprises one or more sinking bulbs located within the first patch and one or more bulging bulbs located within the second patch, each sinking bulb protruding from the first patch, each bulging bulb protruding from the second patch, each bulging bulb being arranged to be attached to a respective sinking bulb such that the overlapped first and second patches are fastened together.

In certain embodiments, the securing structure comprises one or more sinking bulbs located within the second patch and one or more bulging bulbs located within the second patch and one or more bulging bulbs, each sinking bulb protruding from the first patch, each bulging bulb protruding from the second patch, each bulging bulb being arranged to be attached to a respective sinking bulb such that the overlapped first and second patches are fastened together.

In certain embodiments, the flexible sheet further comprises one or more head-contacting protrusions, each head-contacting protrusion protruding from the flexible sheet and being located below the top portion for contacting to a head of the wearer.

In certain embodiments, the flexible sheet further comprises one or more airstream-deflecting protrusions, each airstream-deflecting protrusion protruding from the sheet and being located below the top portion for deflecting airstream away from the wearer when the airstream directs to the flexible sheet.

In certain embodiments, the full face shield further comprises a headband being connectable to the flexible sheet.

FIGS. 2A-2C depict a full face shield according to certain embodiments. The full face shield 200 comprises a flexible sheet 210 and a headband 220. The flexible sheet 210 has a top portion 211 at an upper part of the flexible sheet 210 and the top portion 211 is bent toward the forehead of a wearer 230 by two folding structures 212 so as to protect the front part of the head of the wearer 230 and avoid aerosol from falling into a gap between the forehead of the wearer 230 and the flexible sheet 210.

FIG. 3A depicts a full face shield according to certain embodiments. A full face shield 300 comprises a flexible sheet 310 having a top portion 311. The top portion 311 comprises a first folding structure 320 and a second folding structure 321 for bending the top portion 311 toward the forehead of a wearer. The first folding structure 320 and the second folding structure 321 are oppositely located adjacent to lateral edges 312a, 312b of the flexible sheet 310 (on the left side and the right side) respectively.

The first folding structure 320 comprises an outer patch 320a, a middle patch 330a, a cutting line 321a and a first securing structure. The outer patch 320a and the middle patch 330a are part of the top portion 311. The outer patch 320a is located between the lateral edge 312a and the middle patch 330a, and the cutting line 321a is located between the outer patch 320a and the middle patch 330a and separates the outer patch 320a and the middle patch 330a. The flexible sheet 310 can be bent along the direction of the cutting line 321a. The outer patch 320a and the middle patch 330a can be bent such that the outer patch 320a and the middle patch 330a are overlapped with each other.

In this embodiment, the first securing structure is used for fastening the overlapped outer patch 320a and middle patch 330a together and comprises sinking bulbs 325 located within the outer patch 320a and bulging bulbs 326 located within the middle patch 330a as shown in FIG. 3A. The bulging bulbs 326 and the sinking bulbs 325 protrude from the back side of the flexible sheet 310. The bulging bulbs 326 can be attached to the sinking bulbs 325 respectively after the outer patch 320a and the middle patch 330a are overlapped with each other.

The second folding structure 321 comprises an outer patch 320b, a middle patch 330b, a cutting line 321b and a second securing structure. The outer patch 320b and the middle patch 330b are part of the top portion 311. The outer patch 320b is located between the lateral edge 312b and the middle patch 330b, and the cutting line 321b is located between the outer patch 320b and the middle patch 330b and separates the outer patch 320b and the middle patch 330b. The flexible sheet 310 can be bent along the direction of the cutting line 321b. The outer patch 320b and the middle patch 330b can be bent such that the outer patch 320b and the middle patch 330b are overlapped with each other.

In this embodiment, the second securing structure is used for fastening the overlapped outer patch 320b and middle patch 330b together and comprises sinking bulbs 335 located within the outer patch 320b and bulging bulbs 336 located within the middle patch 330b as shown in FIG. 3A. The bulging bulbs 336 can be attached to the sinking bulbs 335 respectively after the outer patch 320b and the middle patch 330b are overlapped with each other.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the flexible sheet 310 is bent along the direction of the cutting line 321b. The outer patch 320b and the middle patch 330b can be bent such that the outer patch 320b and the middle patch 330b are overlapped with each other. The bulging bulbs 336 are attached to the sinking bulbs 335 respectively after the outer patch 320b and the middle patch 330b are overlapped with each other.

In this embodiment, the full face shield 300 further comprises a plurality of rectangular head-contacting protrusions 350 located below the top portion 311 as shown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4 depicts a full face shield 410 having a flexible sheet 411, a headband 412. The headband 412 includes a hook fastener 412a at the head of the headband 412 and a loop fastener 412b at the tail of the headband 412. The head and tail are connected are connected by the hook fastener 412a and the loop fastener 412b. The flexible sheet 411 comprises rectangular head-contacting protrusions 450.

In certain embodiments, the material used to make the full face shield can be any kind of transparent plastic materials, e.g., PET, PE, PP and PVC, etc.

In certain embodiments, as the full face shield is made up with one type of material or different materials of similar properties, which can be re-sterilized or cleaned in one type or a combination of sterilizing or cleaning agents.

In certain embodiments, the relatively flat design of the full face shield before folding allows it to be carried around conveniently by storing in a container (e.g., carry bag, big handbag or rucksack) such that when it is used, it can be taken out and assembled into a functional face shield easily.

In certain embodiments, the full face shield is made of a lightweight plastic such that it can be worn for a long time.

In certain embodiments, the plastic used for forming the full face shield is inert such that it does not cause any allergic problems to the wearer.

In certain embodiments, the existence of the rectangular, semi-conical, cylindrical, spherical or square head-contacting protrusion at the full face shield touching the foreheads allow air flow and circulation at the face to make the wearer comfortable.

Thus, it can be seen that an improved face shield and full face shield have been disclosed which eliminates or at least diminishes the disadvantages and problems associated with prior art products. The airstream-deflecting protrusions of the face shield can deflect airstream away from a wearer when the airstream directs to the sheet. As the top portion of the full face shield is bent towards a forehead of a wearer through the folding structure, the forehead and a large portion of the front skull can be protected. This reduces the probability of bacteria, virus or other hazardous materials depositing on the forehead, front portion of the head and hair of the wearer. In addition, the folding structure is simple that enables the full face shield to be easily manufactured and assembled.

Although the invention has been described in terms of certain embodiments, other embodiments apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art are also within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is intended to be defined only by the claims which follow.

Claims

1. A face shield comprising:

a sheet for protecting a face of a wearer, the sheet comprising one or more airstream-deflecting protrusions, each airstream-deflecting protrusion protruding from the sheet and being located below a top edge of the sheet for deflecting airstream away from the wearer when the airstream directs to the sheet.

2. The face shield of claim 1, wherein the one or more airstream-deflecting protrusions are arranged in a line being in parallel with the top edge.

3. The face shield of claim 1, wherein the each airstream-deflecting protrusion is hollow.

4. The face shield of claim 1, wherein the each airstream-deflecting protrusion is rectangular, cubic, cylindrical, or semi-conical.

5. The face shield of claim 1, wherein the each airstream-deflecting protrusion has a height between 3 mm and 15 mm.

6. The face shield of claim 1, wherein the sheet and the one or more airstream-deflecting protrusions are integrally formed as one piece.

7. The face shield of claim 1, wherein the sheet further comprises one or more head-contacting protrusions, each head-contacting protrusion protruding from the sheet and being located below the top edge for contacting to a head of the wearer.

8. The face shield of claim 7, wherein the one or more head-contacting protrusions are arranged in a line being in parallel with the top edge.

9. The face shield of claim 7, wherein the each airstream-deflecting protrusion and the each head-contacting protrusion are arranged in consecutive sequence in line, the each airstream-deflecting protrusion outwardly protruding from the sheet, the each head-contacting protrusion inwardly protruding from the sheet.

10. The face shield of claim 1 further comprising a headband being attachable to the sheet for mounting the face shield on the head of the wearer.

11. The face shield of claim 10, wherein the sheet further comprises a plurality of slots; the headband comprising a narrower portion and a wider portion, the narrower portion having a width being less than a width of each slot to allow the narrower portion to pass through the plurality of slots, the wider portion has a width being greater than the width of each slot such that the wider portion is stopped by an individual slot at a transition between the narrower portion and the wider portion.

12. The face shield of claim 10, wherein the headband comprises a hook fastener and a loop fastener for connecting the headband.

13. A full face shield comprising:

a flexible sheet for protecting a face of a wearer, the flexible sheet having a top portion, the top portion comprising two folding structures located adjacent to lateral edges of the flexible sheet respectively for bending the top portion towards a forehead of the wearer, each folding structure comprising a first patch, a second patch, a cutting line and a securing structure, the first patch being located between the lateral edge and the second patch, the cutting line separating the first patch and the second patch, the first patch and the second patch being arranged to be overlapped with each other, the securing structure being used for fastening the overlapped first and second patches together.

14. The full face shield of claim 13, wherein the flexible sheet is bent along a direction of the cutting line, the first patch and the second patch are bent such that the first patch and the second patch are overlapped with each other; and the securing structure fastens the overlapped first and second patches together.

15. The full face shield of claim 14, wherein the securing structure comprises one or more sinking bulbs located within the first patch and one or more bulging bulbs located within the second patch, each sinking bulb protruding from the first patch, each bulging bulb protruding from the second patch, each bulging bulb being arranged to be attached to a respective sinking bulb such that the overlapped first and second patches are fastened together.

16. The full face shield of claim 14, wherein the securing structure comprises one or more sinking bulbs located within the second patch and one or more bulging bulbs located within the second patch and one or more bulging bulbs, each sinking bulb protruding from the first patch, each bulging bulb protruding from the second patch, each bulging bulb being arranged to be attached to a respective sinking bulb such that the overlapped first and second patches are fastened together.

17. The full face shield of claim 13, wherein the securing structure comprises one or more sinking bulbs located within the second patch and one or more bulging bulbs located within the first patch, each sinking bulb protruding from the second patch, each bulging bulb protruding from the first patch, each bulging bulb being arranged to be attached to a respective sinking bulb.

18. The full face shield of claim 13, wherein the flexible sheet further comprises one or more head-contacting protrusions, each head-contacting protrusion protruding from the flexible sheet and being located below the top portion for contacting to a head of the wearer.

19. The full face shield of claim 13, wherein the flexible sheet further comprises one or more airstream-deflecting protrusions, each airstream-deflecting protrusion protruding from the sheet and being located below the top portion for deflecting airstream away from the wearer when the airstream directs to the flexible sheet.

20. The full face shield of claim 13 further comprising a headband being connectable to the flexible sheet.