Flat-folded personal respiratory protection devices and processes for preparing same
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsDaniel T. Chen, Dana W. Nouri
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Respiratory devices having first and second lines of demarcation bisected by a fold. The devices are capable of being folded in a first substantially flat configuration for storage (e.g., in a pocket) and are capable of being unfolded in a second ready-to-wear configuration so that a portion of the device covering the nose and the mouth is off-the-face. Processes for making such devices include folding a preform over a bisecting axis and cutting the preform at desired angles and sealing the cuts together to form the mask.
Claims28
A personal respiratory protection device comprising:
- a non-pleated main body comprising:
- a first portion;
- a second portion distinguished from the first portion by a first line of demarcation;
- a third portion distinguished from the second portion by a second line of demarcation;
- and
- a bisecting fold that is substantially vertical when viewed from the front when the device is oriented as in use on a wearer, the substantially vertical bisecting fold extending through the first portion, second portion and third portion;
- wherein the device is capable of being folded to a first substantially flat-folded configuration along the bisecting fold and is capable of being unfolded to a convex open configuration.
A method for producing respiratory devices, comprising folding a preformed blank over a bisecting axis to create a preform having a bisecting fold-line and cutting the preform at a first desired angle at a first position relative to the bisecting fold-line, wherein the first desired angle depends on a desired size of the device.
A personal respiratory device comprising:
- a non-pleated main body comprising:
- a first portion;
- a second portion distinguished from the first portion by a first line of demarcation;
- a third portion distinguished from the second portion by a second line of demarcation;
- and
- a bisecting fold extending through the first portion, second portion and third portion, the bisecting fold being oriented vertically when the device is viewed from the front and is oriented upright as in use on a wearer;
- wherein the lines of demarcation laterally extend from the bisecting fold and the device is capable of being folded to a first substantially flat-folded configuration along the bisecting fold and is capable of being unfolded to a convex open configuration.
A personal respiratory protection device comprising:
- a non-pleated main body comprising:
- a first portion;
- a second portion distinguished from the first portion by a first line of demarcation;
- a third portion distinguished from the second portion by a second line of demarcation;
- and
- a bisecting fold extending through the first portion, second portion and third portion;
- wherein the lines of demarcation do not intersect and the device is capable of being folded to a first substantially flat-folded configuration along the bisecting fold and is capable of being unfolded to a convex open configuration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.