# US 6,718,982 B2 · Face mask incorporating respiratory flow sensor > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 6,718,982 B2 - Document ID: US6718982B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 09/850,334 - Filed: 2001-05-07 - Published: 2002-11-07 - Granted: 2004-04-13 - Earliest claimed: 2001-05-07 - Inventors: Mark A. Smith; Rex T. Fasching; C. Peter Howard - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US6718982B2 ## CPC - A61B 5/6803: {Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles} - A61B 5/087: Measuring breath flow - A61M 16/06: Respiratory or anaesthetic masks - A61M 16/0683: {Holding devices therefor} - A61M 2230/42: Rate - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - A61M: DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY (introducing media into or onto the bodies of animals A61D7/00; means for inserting tampons A61F13/26; devices for administering food or medicines orally A61J; containers for collecting, storing or administering blood or medical fluids A61J1/05); DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY (surgery A61B; chemical aspects of surgical articles A61L); DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR {(Electrotherapy, e.g. producing anaesthesia by the use of alternating or intermittent currents A61N1/36021)} ## Abstract A respiratory monitor apparatus comprises, in combination, a flexible mask fabricated from a stretchable fabric, such as spandex, that is designed to support a pneumotach flow measuring instrument in a way that does not require the instrument to be placed in the wearer's mouth, yet still remaining in fluid communication with the wearer's mouth and with little or no dead-space or leakage between the mask member and the wearer's face. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A respiratory monitor apparatus comprising: (a) a mask adapted to be secured to the face of a person so as to enclose the nose and mouth of that person, the mask being formed of a gas impermeable elastic fabric that is made to conform to the person's face with substantially zero dead air space therebetween when worn, the elastic fabric having at least one aperture of a predetermined size and shape therethrough that is generally aligned with the person's mouth when the mask is in place on the person's face; (b) a toroidal rubber grommet fitting tightly within the aperture; and (c) a respiratory flow sensor having a tubular body extending through a central opening of the toroidal rubber grommet in a sealed relationship. ### Claim 2 A respiratory monitor apparatus comprising: (a) a mask adapted to be secured to the face of a person so as to enclose the nose and the mouth of that person, the mask being formed of a gas impermeable elastic fabric that is made to conform to the person's face with substantially zero dead air space therebetween when worn, the elastic fabric having first and second apertures, each being aligned with a nare of the person when the mask is in place on the person's face, said first and second apertures each supporting and sealed to a respiratory flow sensor. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The respiratory monitor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fabric comprises woven Lycra® fibers. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The respiratory monitor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fabric is spandex. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The respiratory monitor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fabric is laminated with sponge neoprene rubber. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The respiratory monitor apparatus of claim 1 and further including a deformable metal strip affixed to an exterior surface of said mask so as to overlay the bridge of a person's nose when the mask is in place on the person's face, the metal strip being readily bendable and non-resilient. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The respiratory monitor apparatus of claim 1 and further including: (a) an adapter ring surrounding and sealed to the tubular body of the respiratory flow sensor; and (b) the toroidal rubber grommet surrounding the adapter ring and fitting tightly within the aperture. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) The respiratory monitor apparatus as in any one of claims 1, 3-6 and 7 wherein the mask includes at least one pair of straps for encircling the person's head, the pair of straps including hook and loop fastener material thereon for releasably joining the pair of straps together. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The respiratory monitor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the mask includes the at least one and a further aperture, each being aligned with a nasal opening when the mask is in place on the person's face, the at least one and the further aperture supporting and sealed to a respiratory flow sensor. ### Claim 10 (depends on 2) The respiratory monitor apparatus of claim 2 wherein the fabric is spandex. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The respiratory monitor apparatus of claim 2 wherein the fabric is laminated with sponge neoprene rubber. ### Claim 12 (depends on 2) The respiratory monitor apparatus of claim 2 and further including a deformable metal strip affixed to an exterior surface of said mask so as to overlay the bridge of a person's nose when the mask is in place on the person's face, the metal strip being readily bendable and non-resilient. ### Claim 13 (depends on 2, 11, 12) The respiratory monitor apparatus as in any one of claims 2 and 11-12 wherein the mask includes at least one pair of straps for encircling the person's head, the pair of straps including hook and loop fastener material thereon for releasably joining the pair of straps together. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The respiratory monitor apparatus of claim 11 wherein the fabric has a thickness in a range of from about 1 mil to about 3 mils. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1, 2) The respiratory monitor apparatus of either claim 1 or 2 wherein the mask comprises: (a) first and second mask segments formed as a lamination of outer layers of spandex fabric and an inner layer of synthetic foam rubber, each segment cut in a pattern to define a convex curve of a predetermined radius of curvature at a first end thereof, a concave curve along a lower edge thereof joining the convex curve to a generally trapezoidal shaped area at a second end thereof and with a concave curve along an upper edge thereof joining the trapezoidal shaped area to the convex curve, the first and second mask segments being stitched together along their respective convex curved first ends; and (b) hook and loop fastening pads affixed to the generally trapezoidal shaped areas of the first and second mask segments and which, when joined together are adapted stretch and conform predetermined portions of the first and second mask segments to the face of the said person with the stitched together first ends aligned with a midline of the person's face. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The respiratory monitor apparatus of claim 15 and further including: (a) first and second straps of a predetermined length, the straps being attached at one end, respectively, to the upper edges of the first and second mask segments; and (b) hook and loop fastener pads affixed to the first and second straps proximate a second end to allow joining of the second ends of the first and second straps to one another. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The respiratory monitor apparatus of claim 16 wherein the at least one aperture is centered about a junction line where the convex curved first ends of the first and second mask segments are stitched together.