FIELD OF APPLICATION

The present invention concerns an anti-smog mask which is equipped with a connection system that facilitates its application to the user's head.

More specifically, the anti-smog mask according to the invention, which is equipped with appropriate and effective filtration means positioned in the front part, comprises a system for connecting and restraining it in the worn position for simple and immediate use and that makes it extremely practical in the positioning stages when it must be put on by the user who intends to breathe filtered air, that is, air purified from smog and more generally from pollutants which notoriously accumulate especially in cities, causing well-known health risks affecting urban populations.

The anti-smog mask according to the invention substantially makes use of a retention system for retaining dusts constituting a health hazard for man, said system providing for simple and immediate use, in addition to being quite pleasant aesthetically, and its strongpoint lies in its being equipped with efficient and elegant attachment means, and possibly hidden filtration modules .

The present invention advantageously finds application in the industrial sector of respiratory passage protection systems and particularly for applications concerning anti-smog masks. Moreover, given its particular aesthetic shape, the invention is also intended for the application sector of the fashion field as an accessory for protection of the respiratory passages from smog or atmospheric pollutants in general.

STATE OF THE ART

The use of filtering devices of the mask type is known in the prior art for protection of the airways of people whose intention is to protect themselves from smog or pollution due to the suspension of more or less fine particulate matter in large cities, or from harmful emissions of various types dispersed into the atmosphere and that prove to be potentially hazardous to health.

As is known, these protective masks which can be worn by the user to protect his/her airways, are configured, when . worn, to realize a breathing chamber that is separated from the outside environment and that contains the person's mouth and nose.

In the simplest models, traditional masks consist of disposable face masks that comprise a shaped spherical cap made of a filtering cloth and suitable for being positioned by the user to cover the upper airways such as the nose and mouth, and these masks remain restrained in position by means of restraining elements generally of an elastic type or by fastenable straps, so that breathing is filtered, enabling the user to breathe clean air.

In the more complex forms, the masks for protecting the upper airways comprise a shaped spherical cap adapted to be positioned by the user so as to cover the upper airways, that is, in front of the nose and mouth, so as to form a breathing chamber, the spherical cap being equipped with filtration means which enables the user to exhale carbon dioxide and to inhale clean air, restraining means for restraining it to the user' s head and that start from the sides of the spherical cap and end behind at the nape of the neck or in some other cases, they are positioned around the ears in the form of a loop.

In some cases, a traditional filtration means is represented by a filtering surface that enables the introduction of filtered air in the breathing chamber and that is associated with a one-way valve that enables the exhaled air to leave the breathing chamber. In this case, the one-way valve is the only element that protrudes from the external surface of the mask.

In other cases, the filtration means is represented by a filtering cartridge for the introduction of filtered air and a one-way valve for the air exhaled by the user to leave the breathing chamber. In this case, the filtering cartridge for the entering air and the one-way valve for the exiting air form two elements protruding from the external surface of the mask.

Additional . solutions envisage that the mask be of a type with total coverage of the face and in this case, these are reusable devices generally of a professional type, constituted by a structure that covers the entire face and that is provided with a visor made of a transparent material, and they are equipped with an exhalation valve and replaceable filters designed to retain the pollutants present in the air.

As regards the attachment and restraining means, traditional masks generally comprise the use of elastic means that are fixed to the sides of the mask so as to be tensioned by the user during the stages of application in front of the user's face.

In other cases, the elastic means are replaced with flexible straps that are fixed to the sides of the mask and that serve to be joined together in the nape area by means of fastening elements of types such as strings, elastics or the like.

Furthermore, there are also known attachment means in the prior art for attaching the mask to the user's head by means of temples that are fixed to the two sides of the mask and that are positioned at the auricles, one on each side.

Yet problems have been observed with each one of these traditional solutions, problems which the present invention intends to resolve.

Limiting the sector of application to anti-smog masks that can be used in the leisure time sector, sports and in all those cases in which they may need to be used, occasionally, by people who wish to protect their airways from smog and particulate matter and/or metropolitan fog, for example in the case of users who want to walk or work out or simply move around on foot and/or by bicycle or other means of locomotion, it is necessary that the protective masks be simple, practical, effective, easy to be put on, yet aesthetically pleasing all of which are aspects that are not offered by traditional masks as single aspects, much less all together.

In the case of filtering and/or valve elements, the traditional masks that do include them suffer from an unsatisfactory aesthetic appearance, in that the external parts of said components protrude from the filtering spherical cap and they are extremely unattractive, giving the user a disturbing look that is visually quite gloomy.

Precisely because of these appearance-related aspects, many potential users who should wear a mask with a filter and valve to protect the upper airways do not wear one owing to the uneasiness caused by the aesthetic appearance of these products, which is judged to be unacceptable or embarrassing.

As regards their practicality, in the case in which they are equipped with elastic restraining means, it has been found that the restraining of the traditional anti- smog masks to the head of the user can create a sense of uneasiness associated with an aesthetic appearance that is unattractive, especially when the masks are combined with protruding filtering or valve elements, or when their positioning is somewhat complicated, or, otherwise, they are impractical when it becomes an upsetting factor for special or ordinary hairstyles.

In the case in which the traditional masks are equipped with restraining means of the type with a flexible temple, it has been noted on the one hand that their shape does not ensure correct and stable restraint and on the other hand that they limit their practicality in that they form protrusions that make it difficult to limit the dimensions when the masks are not being used.

In other words, as they are protruding, substantially rigid elements or in any case elements that perpendicularly protrude from the outline of the mask, the traditional temples applied to traditional anti-smog masks become cumbersome and difficult to position when not in use, given that they are not foldable.

Patent documents JP S54 63495 U, JP 2016 093318 A, and KR 2006 0083536 A disclose masks equipped with temples and filtering elements according to the preamble of claim 1. However, they do not comprise means for adapting the filters inside the mask itself and that make it possible to restrain the filters securely in position and that make it possible to use the mask in an industrial environment without risks for the user.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention proposes to make available an anti-smog mask that can be used in urban areas subject to atmospheric pollution and that is equipped with restraining elements for restraining it to the user' s head and which are of a rigid and/or non-rigid type, but foldable in any case, thus creating a condition capable of eliminating or at least reducing the drawbacks highlighted hereinabove.

The invention also proposes to provide an anti-smog mask that is equipped with elements of a filtering type that are recessed inside the front outline of the mask, so as to be aesthetically more attractive.

Another aim of the invention is to realize an anti- smog mask that is simple to realize, so as to be simple and relatively economical in terms of production so as to be commercially competitive even on a large scale.

This is achieved by an anti-smog mask, the characteristics of which are disclosed in the main claim.

The dependent claims for the solution constituting the object of the invention delineate advantageous embodiments of the invention.

The principal advantages of this solution are derived from that which has been stated hereinabove, that is, from a first standpoint, the practicality of use is improved, ensuring restraint and limiting dimensions when not in use and during transport.

A further advantage offered by the anti-smog mask according to the invention concerns optimization of the aesthetic appearance thereof, which is markedly improved compared to traditional solutions in that it provides for the possibility of incorporating the filters and valves inside the front surface of the spherical cap and using means for fastening it to the head of the user which are attractive and adjustable, in addition to being practical and foldable if necessary.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent . upon reading the following description of an embodiment of the invention, provided by way of non-limiting example, with the aid of the drawings appearing in the accompanying plates, of which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic overall view of an anti-smog mask according to the invention with a partially exploded view of the internal components;

Figures 2 and 3 are schematic views showing the anti-smog mask represented from the rear side with attachment ^· temples in the folded and partially folded positions, respectively;

Figure 4 is an exploded schematic side view of the mask according to the invention;

Figures 5 and 6 are schematic views of the mask according to the invention from the front and from the side, respectively;

Figure 7 is a partially transparent schematic side view of the mask according to the invention;

Figures 8 to 10 are schematic views of the mask according to the invention from the rear side with the temples open and closed, and from above, respectively; Figures 11 to 14 are views of the mask according to the invention, in which side pieces for attachment to the ears are used and the side pieces are provided with means for adjustment in length;

- Figures 15 and 16 represent an embodiment of the anti-smog mask equipped with a filter of a universal type.

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the attached figures and initially

Figure 1 in particular, reference number 20 generally indicates an anti-smog mask that comprises a front part 21 shaped in the form of a spherical cap which ends laterally with two opposite protrusions 22 and 23 designed to receive the restraining means for restraining it to the user's head.

According to the embodiment represented in Figure 1 and in greater detail in Figure 7, the spherical cap 21 comprises a front face that is screened and/or perforated 24, or provided with openings and/or slits 25, and it is shaped in the upper part so as to include the nose of a user, following its anatomical shape at the sides.

The spherical cap 21 is, in turn, associated with a shaped internal filtering element 26, which also has a spherical cap shape in order to be arranged in a parallel manner inside the front face provided with openings and/or slits 24, but it is shaped to include a front surface 27 provided with an opening 28 in which a valve body 29 is housed, as shown in Figure 7.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the valve body

29 comprises a screened female disc-shaped body 30 associated with a screened male disc-shaped body 31, between which a membrane 32 made of latex, rubber or silicone material is arranged.

Moreover, in accordance with a characteristic of the invention, in proximity to the central internal area of the front screened and/or perforated face 24, a pin 33 is fixed and protrudes perpendicularly inwards and it represents the element that restrains the valve unit 29.

In fact, in terms of operation and assembly of the mask, it is provided that in a first step, the entire filtering unit, which is made up of elements 30, 29, 32, 28, 26, 27, 34, and 31, is inserted and attached onto the pin 33, which is inserted and locked in an attachment cylinder 34 located on the element 31.

Note that the valve body 29, which comprises the screened disc-shaped body 30 associated with the screened disc-shaped body 31 between which a membrane 32 is arranged, has the function of locking the entire filtering body and the entire filtering body is locked through the valve in the pin 33 of the mask body, which is inserted in the attachment cylinder 34.

The valve 29 enables the carbon dioxide emitted by ^■ the user during the exhaling stages to exit from internal chamber of the front spherical cap 21.

According to a characteristic and particular embodiment of the invention, the restraining means for restraining the anti-smog mask 20 to the user's head are represented by a pair of temples 35 and 36 which are associated with the spherical cap, that is, with the front screened and/or perforated face 24, and particularly with the two opposite protrusions 22 and 23, by means of connection and articulated joint elements 37.

According to one embodiment, these connection and articulated joint elements 37 comprise a hinge.

The shape of the temples 36 as well as the type and the arrangement of the connection and articulated joint elements 37 determine the correct arrangement of the temples, which can be arranged in a closed position of non-use starting from the open position for use.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the temples 35 and 36 are associated with connection and articulated joint elements 37, the pin of which is arranged on an axis that is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis located on the middle ^' extension of the protrusions 22 and 23, so as to enable the temples to be folded back in the stage of non-use, remaining contained within the least amount of space possible.

According to additional embodiments, it is also provided that the connection and articulated joint elements 37 be equipped with means for adjusting the inclination of the angle arranged on a perpendicular axis with respect to the opening and closing angle thereof, so as to permit correction of the height for connection to the auricles.

According to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 11 to 14, the temples 35 and 36 are not only set on hinges 37 that enable them to be opened and closed, but they can also be equipped with adjusting means 38 for adjustment of the height, said means being represented by one or more inserts of a telescopic type associated with a distance adjuster 39, and the distance can possibly be calibrated by means of reference notches.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 13 and 14, the temples 35 and 36 have ends 40 that are curled. In this case, the rounded shape of the ends 40 of the temples determines a better hold around the auricles.

The combination of the length adjustment means and the curled ends 40 of the temples 35 and 36 can determine better conditions for use, in that the ad ustability feature is associated with a better hold given the curled anatomical shape of the temple, which follows the shape of the auricle.

According to further embodiments, the anti-smog mask according to the invention is equipped with temples 35 and 36 associated with a hinge system of a removable type, that is, a hinge system that can be coupled or uncoupled with respect to the mask body. In this case, for example, coupling means that can be used include coupling means of the bayonet type, of the quick-coupling button lock type, or of the quick-coupling type with a rotation lock.

According to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 15 and 16, said pin 33 protruding perpendicularly inside the screened and/or perforated front face 24, which represents the element that restrains the valve unit 29, is also suitable for restraining flexible multi-layer filters 41, which, being made of a flexible material, remain adherent to the internal part of the rigid screened spherical cap 21 by means of the use of a counter-mask 42.

This counter-mask 42 has the shape of a frame corresponding to the edge of the flexible filter 41, which, in turn, corresponds to the shape of the internal part of the spherical cap 21, and in the example illustrated, it comprises a central arcuate reinforcement element 43, which, in turn, is equipped with a cylinder 44 adapted to have a locking element pass through it for locking it to the pin 33, to achieve the necessary stability between the parts associated with each other.

As can be noted, the anti-smog mask described and illustrated in one or more embodiments thereof makes it possible to achieve all of the aims indicated hereinabove and particularly the aim of optimizing the aesthetic appearance with respect to the traditional solutions, in that the filters and valves have been incorporated within the front surface of the spherical cap and the means for fastening it to the user' s head have been perfected in terms of aesthetic form and in terms of practicality in use in that in addition to being foldable, they can also be adjusted.

The invention has been described hereinabove with reference to one preferred embodiment. However, it is clear that the invention is susceptible to numerous variants which fall within the scope of the invention, within the framework of technical equivalents.