HALF FACEPIECE
A half facepiece respirator has a shaped support piece supporting and fixing the position of a particle or paper filter insert or outsert with either the support piece or the particle filter incorporating a face sealing component. Placed within the shaped support piece, a grille may be placed in the lower section of the shaped support piece. Additionally the half facepiece includes a head harness having a release mechanism.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/402,041 filed May 2, 2019 entitled “HALF FACEPIECE”, which claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 14/528,159 filed Oct. 30, 2014 entitled “HALF FACEPIECE”, which claims priority to International Application Number PCT/US2013/038816 filed Apr. 30, 2013 entitled “HALF FACEPIECE”, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/640,531 filed Apr. 30, 2012, the entireties of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present disclosure relates generally to half facepiece protective equipment for emergency personnel or industrial work.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA half facepiece respirator has a shaped support piece supporting and fixing the position of a particle or paper filter insert or outsert with either the support piece or the particle filter incorporating a face sealing component. Placed within the shaped support piece, a grille may be placed in the lower section of the shaped support piece. Additionally the half facepiece includes a head harness having a release mechanism.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, and together with the description above, serve to explain further features of the invention.
The invention includes multiple improvements for half facepiece personal protective equipment. As seen in
Referring to
The filter 30 of the half facepiece 100 preferably includes a particle filter that is more preferably a shaped molded particle filter 30. The shaped molded particle filter 30 has a sealing edge 32 component, preferably having a composition of silicone, thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) or combination thereof. Silicone and TPE materials include any appropriate silicone rubber or thermoplastic rubbers having thermoplastic and elastomeric properties appropriate for facial contact and filter support. This sealing edge 32 component is molded to the filtering paper 32 to provide a comfortable fit and wear of the half facepiece 100 to the wearer 200. Generally the molded sealing edge 32 includes a rounded and/or textured edge for a comfortable facial contact to increase the area of contact with the wearer's 200 face for extended times of use. As seen in
Referring to
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In operation, the half facepiece 100 is easily donned or doffed for convenient cleaning and decontamination. The filter 30 is removed from the support piece 20 and as such each component may be most efficiently clean. In high use area, the filter 30 may be removed and the support piece 20 and head harness 40 may be cleaned locally and immediately used with a new filter 30. The quick release mechanism 42 further advances this rapid turnaround of equipment use.
While certain embodiments of the disclosure have been described herein, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto, as it is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of particular embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto.
Claims
1. A half facepiece, the half facepiece comprising:
- a support piece;
- a head harness detachably connected to the support piece;
- at least one laterally positioned filter removably adjacent to the support piece, the support piece fixing the position of the at least one filter to the half facepiece, the at least one filter allowing air to pass therethrough and separating contaminants from the air; and
- a sealing edge molded to either the support piece or filter.
2. (canceled)
3. (canceled)
4. The half facepiece of claim 1, wherein the composition of the sealing edge is selected from the group consisting of silicone, TPE and combinations thereof.
5. The half facepiece of claim 1, wherein the support piece is at least partially transparent.
6. The half facepiece of claim 5, wherein the support piece is fully transparent.
7. The half facepiece of claim 1, wherein the head harness is connected to the support piece with a quick release mechanism.
8. (canceled)
9. (canceled)
10. The half facepiece of claim 1, wherein the head harness includes a net head crown support.
11. (canceled)
12. (canceled)
13. The half facepiece of claim 1, further comprising a frame member for supporting the filter within the support piece.
14-19. (canceled)
20. A method of decontaminating a half facepiece, comprising:
- providing a non-porous support piece, a head harness detachably connected to the support piece, at least one porous filter removably adjacent to the support piece, the support piece fixing the position of the at least one filter to the half facepiece, at least one exhaust valve, the at least one exhaust valve being positioned to transmit exhaust air through the support piece and a sealing edge, and a grille of slotted overlays in the support piece, the grille being configured to deflect spray and prevent splashed liquids from passing through the grille and into contact with the at least one filter;
- disconnecting the support piece from the head harness;
- separating the filter from the support piece;
- washing the support piece, head harness and exhaust valve; and
- inserting a new filter into the support piece for renewed use.
21. A method of decontaminating a half facepiece, the method comprising:
- providing a support piece, a head harness including a head support and support straps, and a filter removably attached to the support piece, the filter being a peel-off filter paper including a glue border and a peel-off backing, the support piece including a sealing edge and an exhaust grille to prevent contamination from splash hazards;
- disconnecting the support piece from the support straps;
- peeling the filter from the support piece;
- washing the support piece, head harness and exhaust valve;
- remove a peel-off backing from a new peel-off filter paper to expose a glue border; and
- adhering the new peel-off filter paper onto the support piece to create an air-tight glue joint.
22. The half facepiece of claim 1, wherein the at least one laterally positioned filter includes a first laterally positioned filter on a first side of the half facepiece and a second laterally positioned filter on a second side of the half facepiece.
23. The half facepiece of claim 22, wherein the first and second laterally positioned filters are pancake-type filters.
24. The half facepiece of claim 23, wherein the first and second laterally positioned filters are attached to the half facepiece by quick attachment/release clips.
25. The half facepiece of claim 22, wherein the first and second laterally positioned filters are conformal filters.
26. The half facepiece of claim 22, wherein the support piece includes an exhaust valve, the exhaust valve positioned to transmit exhaust air through the support piece, the exhaust valve being positioned between the first and second laterally positioned filters.
27. The half facepiece of claim 26, wherein the exhaust valve is positioned behind a cover.
28. A half facepiece, the half facepiece comprising:
- a support piece, the support piece forming an opening therein;
- at least one filter removably attached to the support piece, the at least one filter being at least partially located within the support piece; and
- a frame member, the frame member removably sealing the at least one filter to the support piece.
29. The half facepiece of claim 28, further comprising:
- a first exhaust valve on a first side of the at least one filter; and
- a second exhaust valve on a second side of the at least one filter, each of the first and second exhaust valves being located behind a cover.
30. The half facepiece of claim 28, wherein the support piece includes:
- a hard plastic body; and
- a soft molded sealing edge, the hard plastic body and the soft molded sealing edge being molded together.
31. The half facepiece of claim 28, further comprising goggles removably attached to the support piece.
32. The half facepiece of claim 31, wherein the goggles are removably attached to the support piece by a quick release mechanism.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 28, 2020
Publication Date: May 21, 2020
Inventors: Antti SEPPÄLÄ (Vaasa), Robert Charles SUTTON (Merseyside), Amy Elizabeth QUIRING (Matthews, NC), Michael PARHAM (Weddington, NC)
Application Number: 16/774,395