The present invention relates to breathing masks and more particularly to breathing masks which incorporate a fabric hood that extends over the head of the wearer to protect against breathing in hazardous particles.

Positive pressure breathing systems operate by delivering breathing gas into a mask so as to maintain a positive pressure therein. The pressure inside the mask then prevents hazardous particles from entering into the breathing atmosphere within the mask from the surroundings.

Positive pressure breathing masks are known in the art which incorporate a fabric hood which extends over the users head to protect against breathing in hazardous particles. Due to the manner in which the positive pressure within the mask prevents particles from the surrounding environment from entering the breathing atmosphere within the mask, the fabric hood typically has only an elastic seal to hold it in place around the users head.

One prior art such hooded mask is a one size fits all design in which the hood simply extends from the top of the mask rearward with an elasticated bottom which grips around the wearers head. The hood then protects the users head from hazardous material and also guards the top of the mask to prevent hazardous particles entering into the mask area. Variants of this prior art design also include a neck cap which extends down over the wearers neck and shoulders to extend the protection afforded by the mask.

The manner in which the hood is secured to the users head plays and important role in user protection and comfort. A good seal is required around the face and head to prevent contaminants entering the hood during breathing. The problem, however, is that the human head varies in shape and size, and this presents a challenge when designing a one size fits all solution - the hood should be able to adapt to different head and face shapes, as well as being able to provide good seal tension on small head sizes whilst not being uncomfortably tight on large head sizes.

The known prior art solves this problem by use of an elasticated head net which is provided inside the hood and extends rearward from a brow support, together with a neoprene face seal. This system improves user protection and comfort, being able to adapt to a wide variety of head shapes and sizes whilst maintaining the highest respiratory protection standard. However, the tension which retains the mask on the head only resolves to pull the face seal vertically onto the wearers face, so that the effectiveness of the seal is limited.

According to the present invention there is provided a protective breathing mask assembly comprising a face mask portion having a brow support at the top thereof which, in use, extends around the brow of the wearer, and a face seal which extends around the back of the mask portion so as, in use, to engage around the sides of the wearers face to prevent the ingress of material into the mask portion, characterised in that the mask assembly further includes a rear of head strap which extends between the ends of the brow support, in use, around the back of the wearers head, a crown strap which is connected to opposing sides of the mask assembly so as, in use, to extend across the top of the wearers head in opposing relation to the face seal, thereby pulling the face seal up against the wearers face; a head panel which extends between and is connected to the crown strap and the rear of head strap so as to be diametrically opposite to the face seal; and a hood which extends from the brow support rearward over the head panel so as, in use, to enclose the wearers head and protect against exposure to hazardous material; whereby, in use, the head panel engages the top of the wearer's head so as to properly locate the assembly on the wearers head.

A protective breathing mask assembly in accordance with the invention has the advantage that the provision of the head panel in diametric opposition to the face seal operates to pull the face seal up and back, rather than just up as was the case with the prior art systems, thereby improving the effectiveness of the seal.

Preferably, the hood is a flexible hood, in particular a fabric hood, and it advantageously has an air inlet opening at the rear thereof to which is connectable an inlet hose of a breathing air supply means such that breathing air is supplied into the back of the hood. This has the advantage that the air will tend to inflate the hood, making it more comfortable, and also the movement of air across the head of the wearer will help to help to keep the wearer cool.

The rear of head strap and crown strap are preferably elastic so as to accommodate heads of different sizes and shapes. However, they may alternatively or even additionally be adjustable by means of buckles, hook and loop material fastening systems or the like.

The head panel is preferably made of net fabric and is shaped to the typical contour of a wearers head.

Preferably, the head panel is attached at one end to the brow support, preferably adjustably connected and in particular connected by adjustable straps. The head panel is preferably attached at its back end to the rear head strap, in particular by elastic straps.

The front attachment of the head panel to the brow support is preferably achieved by means of at least one strap extending to the front of the brow support and at least one strap extending to either side of the brow support.

An important aspect of the invention is the connection of the head panel at the back of the hood, as this enables the apparatus to be fitted by the wearer hooking the apparatus onto the front of the head and them pulling down over the back of the head, the connection if the net member to the back of the hood / rear strap enabling the back of the net member to be pulled back over the head.

The present invention offers an intuitive to don system, that can adapt to a wide variety of head size and shapes whilst maintaining maximum respiratory protection Comfort has also been improved through spreading seal tension loads. In particular, the present invention offers the advantages of Improved head and face seal performance; One size fits all solution; Improved hood security; Improved user comfort; Easier / more intuitive to don

In a preferred improvement to the present invention; the face seal is formed through using a flat sheet of neoprene that is cut into a 'U' shape. When this is stitched into the hood it forms an adaptable seal that can bend and flex to the shape of any face, To ensure good contact is made with the face an elastic strap is preferably attached to the top ends of the neoprene panel that runs over the crown of the head. When the hood is donned this elastic strap stretches which applies a tension into the neoprene creating a good seal. The stretch of the elastic strap and flexibility of the neoprene face seal means that it can stretch to different sized heads, in order for the seal to remain comfortable on large head sizes it can be adjusted in length through a buckle to reduce tension, the opposite can also be done by shortening the elastic for smaller head sizes in order to maintain a good face seal tension.

In order to position this elastic strap in the correct position across the crown of the head it is attached to the head assembly. The head panel is directly attached to the brow support and rear head strap, which preferably forms an elastic seal, through a series of short elastic lengths. These prevent the head net from sitting too far forward or backward on top of the head. The large surface area of the head net provides good grip which improves the security of the overall hood, this system also keeps the elastic straps in their optimal position to provide tension into the head ad face seals, a third benefit of the larger surface area is to spread the load of the elastic tensions across a wider area therefore improving comfort.

A common problem with current available hoods is the complexity of donning the hood correctly so the user gets maximum protection, floating brow pads, crown straps and harnesses can be tricky to align during the donning process. The head net system simplifies donning by connecting everything together, the user can see immediately where to position there head, once in place the head and face seals can be pulled down and donning is complete without the need for aligning any straps.

In order that the invention may be well understood, there will now be described an embodiment thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the internal mounting system of a mask according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the mounting system of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side view of the mounting system of Figure 1 with a hood and mask overlaid; and

Figure 4 is a top view of the mask of the invention.

Referring first to Figure 1, there is shown a breathing mask harness assembly which forms part of a breathing mask assembly according to the invention. The assembly has a neoprene face seal 6 which attaches around the edge of a face screen 10 so as to form a fluid tight seal therewith, the face seal 6 sealing engaging with the sides of the face and under the chin of a wearer to protect the wear from harmful particles in the surrounding atmosphere.

An adjustable length elastic crown strap 2 extends between the upper end of the seal 6 on each side of the assembly and links with a head net fabric panel 1 located to engage with the top of the wearers head. The crown strap 2 includes a buckle 3 by means of which the length of the strap 2 can be adjusted to accommodate different head sizes and shapes.

A brow support 5 is connected between the the ends of the face seal 6 and extends forwards of the face searl 6 so as, in use, to engage against and around the brow of the wearer and thereby locate the assembly relative to the wearer's face. The brow support 5 preferably has a towelling sweat pad provided on the inner surface thereof.

Extending rearwardly from the ends of the brow support 5 is a rear of head elastic strap / seal 4, which, in use, extends around the back of the wearer's head so as to secure the mask in place on the wearer's head and also seal the back of the mask against the ingress of harmful materials and particles.

In order to facilitate proper locating and securing of the mask on the wearer's head, the harness assembly also includes a net fabric head panel 1 which is shaped to fit the general shape of the top of a wearer's head and extends from the crown strap 2 rearward to the back of the harness so that, in use, it engages with and overlies the top and back of the wearer's head. The head panel 1 has a pair of crown strap positioning strips 9 on the front end thereof located symmetrically on either side of the centre line of the head panel 1 through which the crown strap 2 is fed so as to attached the head panel 1 to the crown strap 2 as shown in Figure 1.

The head panel 1 also has three elasticated rear positioning straps 8 extending from its back edge and one elasticated front positioning strap 7 extending from its front edge. The rear positioning straps 8 are attached to the rear of head strap 4 so as to secure the back of the head panel 1 in relation to the back of the harness. In the illustrated embodiment the rear position straps 8 are permanently attached to the rear of head strap 4 but they may alternatively have loops formed in them through which the rear of head strap 4 is fed. Similarly, the front positioning strap 7 is attached to the middle of the brow support 7 so as to locate the front of the head panel 1 in relation to the crown support. Again this may be a permanent fastening or a releasable fastening such as by means of a buckle, hook and loop fastening material, a loop formed in the front positioning strap 7 through which the crown support is fed or the like.

The harness assembly is covered by a hood 1 1 (Figure 3) which is fastened to the top of the mask 10 and also to the rear of head strap 4. The harness is then located within the mask assembly by means of the attachment of the seal 6 to the mask and attachment of the rear of head strap 4 to the hood 11. A coupling 13 is provided in the back of the hood at the bottom for attaching an air delivery hose (not shown) for delivering breathing air to the inside of the mask assembly.

The interconnection of the various components of the mask assembly simplifies fitting and removal of the mask as compared with prior art system. The mask is fitted by the wearer inserting is head through the opening in the bottom of the mask so that the forehead engages against the brow support. The rear of the assembly is then simply pulled over the back of the head using the convenient pulling eye 12.