Abstract: A personal protective equipment (PPE) interrogation device that uses auditory or visual data to ascertain a readiness state of the article of PPE. The auditory or visual data come from an inspection of the article of personal protective equipment in advance of determining whether the article ready for use.

Abstract: A method of fit testing includes providing a respirator; providing a sensor having a sensing element removably positioned substantially within an interior gas space of the respirator; providing a reader configured to be in wireless communication with the sensor; positioning the respirator over a mouth and a nose of a user while the sensor is positioned substantially within an interior gas space of the respirator; and observing respirator fit assessment data communicated from the sensor to the reader.

Abstract: One or more embodiments of a respirator that includes a polymeric netting is disclosed. The respirator can include a mask body including a perimeter, a harness attached to the mask body, and a face seal disposed adjacent at least a portion of the perimeter of the mask body. In one or more embodiments, the face seal includes a polymeric netting including polymeric ribbons and polymeric strands, where each of the polymeric ribbons and strands having a length, width, and height, where the length is the longest dimension, the width is the shortest dimension, and the height is the dimension transverse to the length and the width. The polymeric ribbons have a height-to-width aspect ratio of at least 5 to 1, a major surface that is intermittently bonded to only one polymeric strand, and a height that is at least two times greater than a height of the one polymeric strand.

Abstract: A system includes a computing device and an article of personal protective equipment (PPE). The article of PPE includes at least one sensor configured to generate a stream of PPE data. The computing device is configured to store the PPE data in transaction data that is stored by a distributed ledger managed by a consensus network of computing devices. The computing device is further configured to perform at least one action based at least in part on the transaction data stored by the distributed ledger.

Abstract: A method of fit testing includes providing a respirator; providing a sensor having a sensing element removably positioned substantially within an interior gas space of the respirator; providing a reader configured to be in wireless communication with the sensor; positioning the respirator over a mouth and a nose of a user while the sensor is positioned substantially within an interior gas space of the respirator; and observing respirator fit assessment data communicated from the sensor to the reader.

Abstract: One or more embodiments of a respirator that includes a polymeric netting is disclosed. The respirator can include a mask body including a perimeter, a harness attached to the mask body, and a face seal disposed adjacent at least a portion of the perimeter of the mask body. In one or more embodiments, the face seal includes a polymeric netting including polymeric ribbons and polymeric strands, where each of the polymeric ribbons and strands having a length, width, and height, where the length is the longest dimension, the width is the shortest dimension, and the height is the dimension transverse to the length and the width. The polymeric ribbons have a height-to-width aspect ratio of at least 5 to 1, a major surface that is intermittently bonded to only one polymeric strand, and a height that is at least two times greater than a height of the one polymeric strand.

Abstract: A face mask for filtering contaminants from the air. The face mask includes a harness for securing the mask over the nose and mouth of the wearer and a nonwoven fibrous layer attached to the harness. The nonwoven fibrous layer contains at least 40 weight percent thermally bonding fibers, where at least 10 weight percent of the fibers in the nonwoven fibrous layer are bicomponent fibers. The nonwoven fibrous layer is molded in a cup-shaped configuration and has a surface fuzz value of not less than 7.5 after being subjected to a surface fuzz abrasion test.

Abstract: A method of forming a cup-shaped, non-woven fibrous shaping layer for a filtering face mask. The method includes the steps: (a) heating a non-woven fibrous web that contains at least 40 weight percent thermally bonding fibers, where at least 10 weight percent of the fibrous material is bicomponent fibers, to a temperature at which the thermally bonding fibers, including at least one component of the bicomponent fibers, are softened; and then (b) molding the heated non-woven fibrous web, while the thermally bonding fibers and the at least cone component of the bicomponent fibers are still soft, in a mold having molding members that are at a temperature below the softening temperatures of the thermally bonding fibers, including all components of the bicomponent fibers.

Abstract: A nonwoven thermal insulating batt is provided. The batt comprises structural staple fibers and bonding staple fibers, the fibers being entangled and substantially parallel to the faces of the batt at the face portions and substantially perpendicular to the faces of the batt in the central portion of the batt. The bonding staple fibers are bonded to the structural staple fibers and other bonding staple fibers at points of contact. Also provided is a method of making the nonwoven thermal insulating batt which comprises air-laying a web of structural staple fibers and bonding staple fibers with the fibers being entangled and substantially parallel to the faces of the web at the face portions and in an angled, layered configuration in the central portions of the web.

Abstract: A nonwoven cleansing pad is provided. The pad comprises high-sorbency, liquid sorbent fibers capable of forming a hydrogelatinous outer surface by sorption of liquid and thermally bondable binder fibers. The cleansing pad is substantially free of supplemental lubricant and is integrally self-lubricating when wet with water.