JP7465468B2 - Bottom-opening face shield - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a face shield with an open bottom that covers the nasal and oral cavities of the face with the bottom open.

Masks are used to prevent infection by viruses and other substances. When wearing a mask while wearing glasses, there is an issue that the glasses will fog up due to exhaled air, and techniques have been proposed to prevent this. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique in which cushioning material made of foam is attached to both sides of the nose of the mask. Patent Document 2 proposes a technique in which an adhesive part is provided to fit the upper edge of the mask to the face. Patent Document 3 proposes a technique in which an aluminum plate is attached to the upper edge of the mask to maintain a shape that fits closely to the nose.

On the other hand, as a means of preventing infection, open-bottom face shields that cover the nasal and oral cavities of the face with the bottom open are also used.
Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional open-bottom face shield. This face shield is composed of a headband to be worn on the head and a transparent resin shield fixed to the headband. The shield is sized and shaped to cover the nasal and oral cavities, but does not adhere to the face, so it has the advantage of being able to be worn without feeling suffocated.
With a face shield that is open at the bottom, exhaled air flows out through the open part, so glasses tend to be less likely to fog up than with a mask, but fogging of glasses is still an issue.

JP 2008-148984 A JP 2006-263172 A JP 2006-305279 A

To prevent infection with masks and bottom-opening face shields, it is necessary to pay close attention when putting them on and taking them off. Touching parts of the body or the inside of the mask or shield when putting them on or taking them off may reduce their effectiveness in preventing infection.
Conventional face shields with open bottoms use a headband, which means that the hands may touch the head when putting on or taking off the shield. In addition, users tend to grab the bottom of the shield with their hands to adjust the position of the shield, which may result in touching the inside of the shield. Therefore, the action of putting on or taking off the shield may pose a risk of infection.
In view of the above problems, the present invention has an object to provide a bottom-opening type face shield that is easy to put on and take off.

The present invention provides a lower-open type face shield that covers the nasal and oral cavities of the face with the lower part open,
a shield member for covering the nasal cavity and the oral cavity;
The face shield can be configured as a bottom-open type face shield having a retaining member that is attached to the shielding member, has a shape in which the back of the head is not connected, and when worn on the face at approximately the height of the cheekbones, holds the shielding member at a predetermined distance in front of the nasal cavity and oral cavity by an elastic force that pinches the face or the worn eyeglasses from both sides.

According to the present invention, the bottom-opening face shield can be held on the face by the elastic force of the holding member. The holding member has a shape that is not connected to the back of the head, such as a U-shaped flat shape, so that the bottom-opening face shield can be attached and detached from the front of the face. In other words, the user can grasp and detach the shield by grasping the outer surface of the shield member. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily attach and detach the shield and to reduce the risk of infection during the attachment and detachment.
In addition, the present invention has the advantage that the bottom-opening face shield is held around the cheekbones, making it possible to use the face shield without any problems even while wearing glasses.

In the present invention, the holding member may be one that holds the face or the glasses. The part that contacts the face or the glasses and the part that applies the elastic force may be the same or different. For example, a pad attached to the shield may be provided as the part that contacts the face, and an elastic body such as a metal spring or rubber may be used as the part that applies the elastic force in addition to the pad.
The length of the holding member may be, for example, just before the ears, which makes it easier to put on and take off. This embodiment also has the advantage that it is possible to put on the bottom-open face shield while wearing glasses.
Also, the length may be such that it can be hung on the ear like glasses. In this way, it can be held more stably by hanging it on the ear, not only by the elastic force. At the same time, the elastic force required for holding it can be reduced, so that the feeling of pressure, discomfort, and pain when worn for a long time can be reduced.
Furthermore, the holding member may be extended to the rear of the ear while pinching or bypassing the outside of the ear. This allows the shield to be held stably for a long time. This embodiment also has the advantage that the open-bottom face shield can be worn while wearing eyeglasses, since it is not hung on the ear.

The shield member and the holding member may be joined partially or over the entire holding member.
In the present invention, the shield member may have various shapes as long as it covers the nasal cavity and the oral cavity. The shield member may cover the lower half of the face including the nasal cavity and the oral cavity, or may cover the entire face including the eyes. In order to enhance the effect of infection prevention, it is preferable that the shield member has a shape that can cover the nasal cavity and the oral cavity as far down as possible.
The shielding member may be made of various materials such as resin, metal, paper, etc. It does not necessarily have to be transparent. It is preferable that the shielding member has a rigidity sufficient to maintain its shape while covering the nasal and oral cavities.

In the present invention,
Furthermore, a nose pad may be provided for supporting the shield member at the nose to prevent it from falling off.

This allows the bottom-opening face shield to be worn stably. The nose pads may be separate from the holding member, for example, like the nose pads of eyeglasses. The nose pads may be attached to the shield member or to the holding member.

In the present invention,
The holding member has an eyeglass pad that holds the strings of the eyeglasses worn on the face from the outside,
The eyeglass pad may have a groove for holding the strings of eyeglasses, the groove being tapered so that the width narrows in the depth direction.

According to the above aspect, the tapered groove formed in the eyeglass pad can stably hold the string of the eyeglasses. Also, the tapered groove has a varying width, so that it can accommodate strings of various thicknesses.
The eyeglass pads can be formed in various lengths, but it is preferable to make them sufficiently long in the longitudinal direction, i.e., along the chord, so that the shield member is prevented from wobbling in the vertical direction.

In the present invention, including the case where the eyeglass pad is not provided,
The holding member and the nose pad may be integrated together.

This simplifies the structure of the holding member and the nose pad. As an example of the above embodiment, a recess that comes into contact with the nose may be provided in part of the holding member. Also, a portion of the holding member may be provided that corresponds to a nose pad.

In the present invention,
The holding member may be in intimate contact with an inner surface of the shield member over an area wider than a width of the oral cavity of the face.

By doing so, the retaining member forms a wall along the inner surface of the shield member that blocks the flow of exhaled air, preventing the exhaled air from flowing above the retaining member. Therefore, even if the wearer is wearing glasses, the glasses can be prevented from fogging up due to exhaled air. To fully obtain this effect, it is preferable that the retaining member has a sufficiently large dimension in the normal direction of the shield member.

In the above aspect,
The holding member may further be shaped to fit the face when worn.

This allows the retaining member to create a wall that closes the gap between the inner surface of the shield member and the face, making it even more effective at preventing exhaled air from flowing upwards.

In an embodiment in which the retaining member serves as a wall blocking the flow of exhaled air,
The lower surface of the holding member may be formed with a continuous groove from the center to the end of the shield member.

By doing so, the groove on the underside of the retaining member acts to receive the exhaled air, making it possible to further prevent the exhaled air from leaking through the gap between the retaining member and the face. In addition, since this groove is formed continuously to the end face of the shielding member, it is possible to encourage the exhaled air to flow to the left and right and to be discharged outside the shielding member.
In the above embodiment, the groove may have various shapes, but an arc-shaped groove is preferable from the viewpoint of smoothing the flow of exhaled air.
In the above embodiment, the groove formed by the lower surface of the retaining member and the shield member may be inclined so that it is lower in the center near the nose and higher on both sides. This prevents exhaled air from accumulating around the nose and causes it to flow to both sides of the face, further preventing leakage of exhaled air.

In the present invention,
The shield member has a shape that covers only a portion lower than the cheekbone,
The holding member may have a rotation mechanism for holding the shield member on the left and right of the face so that the shield member can be rotated up and down.

In this way, the oral cavity can be exposed by rotating the shield member, making it possible to eat and drink while wearing the open-bottom type face shield, and avoiding the risk of infection caused by removing the open-bottom type face shield and placing it on a table, etc.
In the above embodiment, although it is acceptable for a gap to be formed between the retaining member and the shielding member, it is more preferable if the two can be brought into close contact. For example, by forming the retaining member from an elastic material to be slightly larger, when the shielding member is lowered to a position covering the nasal cavity and the oral cavity, the retaining member can be brought into close contact with the inner surface of the shielding member by its elastic force.

In the present invention,
The holding member may be made of urethane foam or silicone resin.

In this way, the retaining member can be made relatively elastic and lightweight. Not limited to this, various materials can be used.

The present invention does not necessarily have to have all of the various features described above, and some of them may be omitted or combined as appropriate.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a lower-open type face shield in Example 1. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which the lower-open type face shield in Example 1 is worn. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a lower-open type face shield in Example 2. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a lower-open type face shield in Example 3. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which the lower-open type face shield in Example 3 is worn. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a lower-open type face shield in Example 4. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a lower-open type face shield as a conventional technology.

Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a lower-open type face shield 10 in Example 1. The lower-open type face shield (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a "face shield") 10 is a type that covers the lower half of the face. Figure 1(a) shows a perspective view of the face shield as seen from the front.

The shield member 11 is made of transparent resin and has a shape that allows it to cover the nasal and oral cavities when worn. The shape is not limited to that shown in the figure. The shield member 11 may also be made of an opaque material, and various materials other than resin, such as metal and paper, can be used.

A retaining member 12 made of urethane foam is attached to the upper part of the shielding member 11. The retaining member 12 may be made of silicon or the like. The retaining member 12 may be attached partially, but in this embodiment, it is attached over the entire surface.
In addition, a protrusion 13 is formed on the holding member 12 at a portion that comes into contact with the cheekbone. In this embodiment, the holding member 12 and the protrusion 13 are integrally molded, but they may be formed as separate members and then bonded together.

FIG. 1(b) shows the face shield as viewed from the rear, that is, from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1(a).
The retaining member 12 is affixed across the entire width of the face shield 10. Also, it is not annular, but rather has a U-shape with the rear portion not connected. The retaining member 12 applies elastic force to sandwich the face from the left and right when worn, and serves to hold the face shield 10. Therefore, to enable this, the left-right width of the retaining member 12 is made slightly narrower than the width of the face.
In order to stabilize the face shield 10 when worn, it is preferable to increase the elasticity, i.e., to narrow the width of the holding member 12 in the left-right direction. On the other hand, if the width of the holding member 12 in the left-right direction is too narrow, it may become necessary to spread the holding member left and right with both hands when wearing it. Therefore, the width and shape of the holding member 12 may be determined appropriately taking these factors into consideration.

In addition, between the protruding parts 13 is a recessed part 14 that comes into contact with the nose when worn. This corresponds to the nose pad. By providing the recessed part 14 in this way, the face shield 10 can be supported by the nose to prevent it from falling off, and the face shield 10 can be worn stably. A shape that does not form a nose pad may also be used.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the lower-open type face shield 10 in the first embodiment when worn.
As shown in the figure, the face shield 10 is worn so that the holding member 12 is located around the cheekbones below the user's eyes. The holding member 12 can hold the face shield 10 by applying elastic force to the face so as to pinch it from the left and right. In addition, the recess 14, which serves as a nose pad, can be brought into contact with the nose, so that the face shield 10 can be held more stably.
Another advantage is that the face shield 10 is held around the cheekbones, allowing the wearer to wear glasses without any problems.
The length of the holding member 12 can also be freely determined. In the embodiment, it is set to reach the front of the ear. This makes it easy to put on and take off. It may be extended to reach the rear of the ear while pinching the outside of the ear or going around the outside of the ear. This makes it possible to hold the earphone stably for a long time.
Also, the length and shape may be such that it can be hung on the ear like glasses. In this way, it can be held more stably by hanging it on the ear, not only by the elastic force. At the same time, the elastic force required for holding it can be reduced, so that the feeling of pressure, discomfort, and pain when worn for a long time can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the retaining member 12 is bonded to the shielding member 11. Therefore, the boundary line 12L between the two is in a completely sealed state. When the face shield 10 is worn, the exhaled air flows along the inner surface of the shielding member 11, but the retaining member 12 acts as a wall that obstructs this flow. Therefore, the exhaled air is prevented from flowing above the retaining member 12, and even if the wearer is wearing glasses, the glasses can be prevented from fogging up due to the exhaled air.

Furthermore, the convex portion 13 is shaped to fit the nose and cheekbones. Therefore, when worn, the holding member 12 fits closely to the face, preventing leakage from areas around the cheekbones (area a in the figure) and the sides of the nose (area b in the figure). As a result, it is possible to further prevent fogging when wearing glasses.

According to the first embodiment, the face shield 10 can be easily attached and detached from the front of the face by grasping the outer surface of the face shield 10 with the hands. This makes it possible to reduce the risk of infection caused by the hands touching various parts of the body or the inner surface of the shield member 11 when putting on or taking off the face shield.

3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a lower-open type face shield 20 in Example 2. As in Example 1, this type covers the lower half of the face.
In the face shield 20, the structures of the shield member 21, the holding member 22, and the protrusion 23 are the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, like the first embodiment, the face shield 20 can be easily attached and detached.

In the second embodiment, the rotating mechanism 24 is provided at the end of the holding member 22 , and the shield member 21 is rotatably attached to the holding member 22 by the rotating mechanism 24 .
The shield member 21 can be rotated up and down by a rotation mechanism 24. Fig. 3(a) shows the shield member 21 in a lowered state, and Fig. 3(b) shows the shield member 21 in a raised state as indicated by an arrow B. In the second embodiment, the shield member 21 and the holding member 22 are not bonded together, so that even when the shield member 21 is raised, the holding member 22 remains held around the cheekbone.

By making the shield member 21 rotatable in this way, the oral cavity can be exposed while the face shield 20 is still attached, making it possible to eat and drink as is. This avoids the risk of infection caused by removing the face shield 20 when eating and carelessly placing it on the table.

In the second embodiment, the thickness t of the retaining member 22 is formed to be slightly larger than the distance between the face and the shielding member 21 when the mask is worn. By doing so, as shown in FIG. 3(a), when the shielding member 21 is lowered, the retaining member 22 is pressed against the inner surface of the shielding member 21 by its elastic force, so that the two come into close contact with each other. Therefore, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent exhaled air from flowing upward along the inner surface of the shielding member 21.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a lower-open type face shield 30 in the third embodiment.
In the third embodiment, the shield member 31 is composed of a lower shield member 31L that covers the lower half of the face including the nasal cavity and the oral cavity, and an upper shield member 31U that covers the upper half of the face including the eyes. The lower shield member 31L and the upper shield member 31U may be formed separately and then joined together, or may be formed integrally.
The holding member 32 and the protruding portion 33 have the same shapes as those in Example 1. The holding member 32 is attached to the shielding member 31.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the lower-open type face shield 30 according to the third embodiment is worn.
As in the first embodiment, the face shield 310 is worn so that the holding member 32 is positioned at the cheekbone below the user's eyes. The holding member 32 can hold the face shield 30 by applying elastic force to the face so as to pinch it from the left and right. In addition, the recess 34, which serves as the nose pad, can be brought into contact with the nose, so that the face shield 30 can be held more stably.
The convex portion 33 fits closely to the face so as to fill the gap with the cheekbone. The concave portion 34 and the convex portion 33 may not be provided.

The CC cross section of the holding member 32 is shown at the bottom of the figure. As shown in the figure, the holding member 32 has a recess 32a formed on the bottom surface. This recess 32 forms a continuous groove from the center to the end of the shield member 31, and serves to receive the exhaled air. That is, the presence of this recess 32a effectively receives the exhaled air and prevents the exhaled air from flowing toward the face, which further suppresses fogging of glasses or a face shield due to leakage of the exhaled air. In addition, since the groove is continuous to the end of the shield member 31, it is possible to promote the exhaled air to be discharged to the outside by extending it to the left and right of the face, which further suppresses fogging.
These cross-sectional shapes are similarly applicable to the other embodiments.

The face shield 30 of the third embodiment can be easily worn from the front of the face, similarly to the first embodiment.
The holding member 32 in the third embodiment is extended to the front of the ear, but the length can be freely determined. As shown by the dashed lines in Fig. 5, it may be extended to the rear of the ear while pinching the outside of the ear or bypassing the outside of the ear. This allows the ear to be held stably for a long time.
Also, the length and shape may be such that it can be hung on the ear like glasses. In this way, it can be held more stably by hanging it on the ear, not only by the elastic force. At the same time, the elastic force required for holding it can be reduced, so that the feeling of pressure, discomfort, and pain when worn for a long time can be reduced.
These configurations are also applicable to the other embodiments in the same manner.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a lower-open type face shield in Example 4.
The open-bottom type face shield 40 of the fourth embodiment is configured for a user who wears glasses. The shield member 41 is of a type that covers the entire face, similar to the third embodiment.
The holding member 42 is shorter than that in Example 3. It may have the same length as that in Example 3. The convex portion 43 of the holding member 42, like the other examples, serves to fill the gap between the cheekbone and the shield member 41. The concave portion 44 also serves as a nose pad, like the other examples.
In the fourth embodiment, a pad 45 is provided to hold the string of the glasses. Fig. 6(a) shows an enlarged view of the pad 45. A tapered groove 45a is formed in the pad 45 at the portion that holds the string. As the groove 45a is tapered, the string of the glasses is stably held by the pad 45, as shown in Fig. 6(b). Furthermore, as the groove 45a is tapered, the pad 45 can be applied to strings of various thicknesses.
Furthermore, the pad 45 is formed to be sufficiently long in the longitudinal direction, i.e., in the direction along the string, so that it is possible to suppress rattling of the face shield 40 in the up and down direction.

The face shield of the fourth embodiment, like the other embodiments, can be easily put on and taken off from the front of the face.
It is also possible to hold the glasses stably by using the strings of the glasses.

In the fourth embodiment, the holding member 42 and the pad 45 are configured as separate members, but they may be connected to form a single member. Furthermore, if the holding member 42 has the same length as in the third embodiment and is configured to provide an elastic force for pinching the face, the face shield 40 can be held more stably.
Furthermore, in the fourth embodiment, the recess 44 constitutes the nose pad, but it may not contact the nose. This is because in the fourth embodiment, the strings of the glasses are sandwiched between the pads 45, and the nose pads of the glasses are utilized to prevent the face shield 40 from slipping down.

Various embodiments of the present invention have been described above. The face shield of the embodiments can be easily put on and taken off, and can reduce the risk of infection during the putting on and taking off.
The various features described in each embodiment do not necessarily have to be provided in their entirety, and some of them may be omitted or combined as appropriate. In addition to the above-described embodiments, the present invention can be configured in various modified forms.

The present invention is applicable to bottom-opening face shields that cover the nasal and oral cavities of the face with the bottom open.

10 Lower-open type face shield 11 Shield member 12 Holding member 12L Boundary line 13 Convex portion 14 Concave portion 20 Lower-open type face shield 21 Shield member 22 Holding member 23 Convex portion 24 Rotation mechanism 30 Lower-open type face shield 31 Shield member 31L Lower shield member 31U Upper shield member 32 Holding member 33 Convex portion 34 Concave portion 40 Lower-open type face shield 41 Shield member 42 Holding member 43 Convex portion 44 Concave portion 45 Pad 45a Groove

Claims (7)

A face shield with an open lower portion that covers the nasal and oral cavities of the face with the lower portion open,
a shield member for covering the nasal cavity and the oral cavity;
a holding member attached to the shield member, the back of the head being unconnected, and configured to hold the shield member at a predetermined distance in front of the nasal cavity and oral cavity by an elastic force that pinches the face or the spectacles when the shield member is worn at approximately the height of the cheekbones on the face ;
The holding member is in close contact with the inner surface of the shield member over an area wider than the width of the oral cavity of the face, and the lower surface thereof forms a continuous groove from the center to the end of the shield member.
Bottom-opening face shield. The lower open-type face shield according to claim 1,
The face shield further includes a nose pad for supporting the shield member at the nose to prevent it from falling off. The lower open-type face shield according to claim 1 or 2,
The holding member has an eyeglass pad that holds the strings of the eyeglasses worn on the face from the outside,
The eyeglass pad is a groove for holding the strings of eyeglasses, and is a bottom-opening face shield having a tapered groove whose width narrows in the depth direction. The lower open type face shield according to claim 2,
A bottom-open type face shield in which the holding member and the nose pad are integrated. The lower open-type face shield according to claim 1 ,
The holding member is further a bottom-opening type face shield that is shaped to fit the face when worn. The lower open-type face shield according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
The shield member has a shape that covers only a portion lower than the cheekbone,
The holding member is a bottom-opening face shield having a rotation mechanism that holds the shield member on the left and right sides of the face so that the shield member can be rotated up and down. The lower open-type face shield according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
The holding member is a bottom-open type face shield formed of urethane foam or silicone resin.

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