DISPOSABLE MASK EQUIPPED WITH PLASTIC BAG
Provided is a disposable mask equipped with a plastic bag, which is easily disposed of by sealing a mask body with the plastic bag after use of the mask body. The disposable mask includes an outshell and a lining which are integrally formed into one body by thermal bonding. The disposable mask includes a mask body having an oblong shape and including a wire disposed at the upper side thereof and adhering the mask body closely to the face of a user in accordance with the facial contour and ear bands disposed at both sides of the mask body, and a plastic bag disposed between the outshell and the lining at the upper side of the mask body and allowing the mask body to be hygienically disposed of after use.
This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0101854, filed on Jul. 17, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention disclosed herein relates a disposable mask equipped with a plastic bag, and more particularly, to a disposable mask which can be easily disposed of by sealing a mask body with the plastic bag after use of the mask body.
Recently, the number of people who have allergic disease such as rhinitis and bronchial asthma are increasing, and the cause of allergic disease is allergen, and only the currently known number of allergens' species reaches about two hundreds.
Viral infection cases together with these allergic diseases are also increasing. The typical viruses that threaten people's health are Influenza virus and MERS Virus. These viruses contain DNA or RNA as a nucleic acid component, and are structures parasitic and proliferated in the living cells. Also, on account of air-viral infection or droplet infection, viral infection easily spreads especially in case of dried air.
As preventive measures for allergic diseases and viral infection, the simplest and effective way is to wear a disposable mask. However, typical disposable masks are only able to physically block allergens, and active allergens and viruses may remain on the mask. For this reason, the active allergens and viruses may infiltrate into the human body, and particularly, when a user takes off a mask, the risk of infection is very high.
That is, when a disposable mask is discarded without any measure upon disposal, allergens and viruses may be exposed to air and dispersed into air, causing dangerousness of secondary infection. Accordingly, a method of safely disposing of used disposable masks safely is needed so as not to expose and disperse allergens and viruses to air.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a disposable mask equipped with a plastic bag, which can be easily disposed of by sealing a mask body with the plastic bag after use of the mask body.
Embodiments of the present invention provide disposable masks equipped with a plastic bag including: a mask body including an outshell and a lining attached to each other and including ear bands allowing the mask body to be worn on the ears of a user; and a plastic bag disposed between the outshell and the lining of the mask body so as to hygienically dispose of the mask body after use.
In some embodiments, the disposable mask may include a wire disposed in an upper side of the mask body and adhering the mask body closely to the face of a user in accordance with a facial contour of a user.
In other embodiments, the outshell or the lining of the mask body may have a cutting line formed thereon and removing the wire from the mask body.
In still other embodiments, the plastic bag may be fixedly disposed in the outshell or the lining of the mask body while being folded.
In even other embodiments, the mask body may have an oblong shape, and the plastic bag may be disposed at an edge of the mask body.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain principles of the present invention. In the drawings:
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be constructed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.
Also, parts irrelevant to the description of the present invention will be omitted for clarification of description, and like parts are indicated as like reference numerals throughout the specification.
Furthermore, when it is described that one comprises (or includes or has) some elements, it should be understood that it may comprise (or include or has) only those elements, or it may comprise (or include or have) other elements as well as those elements if there is no specific limitation.
Hereinafter, it will be described about an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
As shown in
Here, the mask body 10 may include an outshell formed of a synthetic resin film and a lining formed of a non-woven fabric having air permeability which are integrally formed into one body by, for example, thermal bonding. The mask body 10 may interrupt the passage of fine particles, and may include a wire 11 disposed at the upper side thereof and an ear band 12 fixedly disposed at both sides thereof
In this case, the wire 11 may have flexibility so as to be deformable around the nose in accordance with the curvatures of the face when a user applies a force while wearing the mask body 10 on his/her face, and the ear band 12 may have elasticity so as to be adjustable in length.
The mask body 10 may have a cutting line 10a formed on the outshell or the lining on which the wire 11 is disposed, and the cutting line 10a may be provided to conveniently remove the wire 11 when the mask body 10 is disposed of after use.
When the cutting line 10a is not formed and thus the wire 11 is not smoothly removed, it may be difficult to open the outshell and the lining which are thermally bonded to each other in order to take the plastic bag 20 out of the mask body 10, and it may be difficult to seal the plastic bag 20. Accordingly, the cutting line 10a may be formed on the outshell or the lining on which the wire 10 is disposed, such that the wire 11 can be conveniently and quickly removed from the mask body 10.
Meanwhile, the plastic bag 20 may be disposed between the outshell and the lining at the upper side of the mask body 10 in order to contain the mask body 10 after use of the mask body 10. The plastic bag 20 may be formed of a material containing starch, e.g., corn starch in order to reduce the environmental contamination upon disposal, but the present invention is not limited thereto. More specifically, the plastic bag 20 may be manufactured by mixing polyvinyl chloride resin, vegetable starch and plasticizer. Examples of vegetable starches may include rice, wheat, corn, potato, and sweet potato starches, and may include at least one of oxidized starch, acid-treated starch, starch ester, starch ether, crosslinked starch, and hydroxyalkyl starch. Meanwhile, polyvinyl chloride resin may be manufactured by mixing at least one component selected from the group consisting of lubricant, thermal stabilizer, light stabilizer, weather-resistant stabilizer, processing aid, silicone preparation, antioxidant, antistatic agent, pigment and dye, anti-wear agent, inorganic filler, releasing agent and antimicrobial. Also, the plasticizer may include at least one component selected from the group consisting of phthalic acid ester plasticizer, aromatic carboxylic acid ester plasticizer, aliphatic dibase acid ester plasticizer, phosphate ester plasticizer, and epoxy plasticizer.
When the mask body 10 is used, the outshell and the lining of the mask body 10 may be stained with contaminants. When contaminants are left unattended, various kinds of bacteria and viruses may be distributed. Accordingly, various kinds of bacteria and viruses need to be prevented from spreading, by containing the mask body 10 in the plastic bag 20.
The plastic bag 20 may be fixedly installed while being folded inside the outshell or lining of the mask body 10. The size of the plastic bag 20 may not be limited, but may be manufactured to be two-thirds of the size of the mask body 10 so as to minimize the volume and contain only the mask body 10. The plastic bag 20 may be disposed at the edge of the mask body 10 having an oblong shape. In this embodiment, the plastic bag 20 is exemplified as being fixedly installed on the outshell or lining of the mask body 10, but may also be maintained to be inserted into a space between the outshell and the lining of the mask body 10.
If the plastic bag 20 is installed while being spread out between the outshell and the lining of the mask body 10, a user may not smoothly breathe due to the plastic bag 20 when a user wears the mask body 10, and the plastic bag 20 may generate a sound whenever a wearer breathes. Accordingly, the plastic bag 20 may be installed so as to be folded in the mask body 10 in order not to interrupt breathing of a user.
Hereinafter, a process of disposing of the disposable mask 1 after use will be described with reference to
First, the wire 11 may be pulled out of the mask body 10 through the cutting line 10a formed on the mask body 10, and thus may be separated from the mask body 10.
Thereafter, the upper side of the mask body 10 may be opened such that the plastic bag 20 installed between the outshell and the lining of the mask body 10 can be taken out. In this case, as shown in
The upper side of the mask body 10 may be opened, and then the plastic bag 20 which is installed while being folded between the outshell and the lining at the upper side of the mask body 10 may be taken out and unfolded at the outside of the mask body 10.
When the plastic bag 20 is unfolded at the outside of the mask body 10, the plastic bag 20 may be turned inside out to contain the mask body 10 that is used.
When the mask body 10 is contained in the plastic bag 20, the open inlet of the plastic bag may be sealed using the wire that is separated, and then the mask body 10 may be disposed of.
In this embodiment, the plastic bag 20 is exemplified as being installed between the outshell and the lining at the upper side of the mask body 10, but may be installed at any location of the edge of the mask body 10 unless the plastic bag 20 interrupts breathing of a user. Also, the plastic bag 20 may be disposed at a location where the plastic bag 20 does not interrupt adhering of the mask body 10 closely to the face of a user while not interrupting breathing of a user in accordance with the compressible degree of the plastic bag 20.
Also in this embodiment, the wire 11 is exemplified as being provided for the disposable mask 1, but the wire 11 may be selectively applied to the disposable mask 1.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, since a plastic bag is provided in a mask body such that the mask body can be sealed and disposed of using the plastic bag after use, there is no need to worry about secondary infection by various kinds of bacteria and viruses left on the mask, and epidemic bacteria and viruses can be prevented from spreading, thereby enabling very hygienic disposal of the mask body.
The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative and not restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.
Claims
1. A disposable mask equipped with a plastic bag comprising:
- a mask body comprising an outshell and a lining attached to each other and comprising ear bands allowing the mask body to be worn on the ears of a user; and
- a plastic bag disposed between the outshell and the lining of the mask body so as to hygienically dispose of the mask body after use.
2. The disposable mask of claim 1, comprising a wire disposed in an upper side of the mask body and adhering the mask body closely to the face of a user in accordance with a facial contour of a user.
3. The disposable mask of claim 2, wherein the outshell or the lining of the mask body has a cutting line formed thereon and removing the wire from the mask body.
4. The disposable mask of claim 1, wherein the plastic bag is fixedly disposed in the outshell or the lining of the mask body while being folded.
5. The disposable mask of claim 4, wherein the mask body has an oblong shape, and
- the plastic bag is disposed at an edge of the mask body.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 3, 2016
Publication Date: Jan 19, 2017
Inventor: Sung Kyo Lee (Seoul)
Application Number: 15/014,510
