Hi All,
I have a beard and glasses, which makes conventional dust masks uncomfortable and/or ineffective. I find that I have to really cinch down a dust mask for it to seal well and that results in a sore nose bridge after an hour or so.
I tried a belt-mounted air-filtering mask, (“PAPR”) but the need to put on a waistbelt and then a mask was a hassle. It also pressed against the face uncomfortably. I made a mask that was powered with air from my air compressor, but being tethered to an air hose was not optimal.
There are other head-mounted units commercially available, but they are expensive, and don’t actually get great reviews.
So… I set out to make my own, and the one pictured here is the result of a long process of prototyping and testing. The breakthrough was the use of a woodworking visor to hang all the parts off of. The face mask shown was taken from another mask and is held in place just barely touching the face. It is there to concentrate the flow of filtered air directly into the vicinity of your nose and mouth. It is adjustable by means of the visor ratcheting system.
The filter is a 4.5″ dia. plastic canister from another mask. I cut a disk of HEPA filter material to fit inside as well as a foam pre-filter. The fan is a $10 USB-powered dinosaur costume inflator from Amazon. It seems to blow the perfect amount of air, and despite being quite cheap, is light and quiet. The fan is glued to the canister. The whole fan/canister assembly hangs from a piece of webbing. I found that rigid connections transmit too much noise.
Replies
Nice prototype. Everyone is different. I struggled to find a mask that worked and didn't fog my glasses. Never tried one of these.
That's actually quite cool.
I have a slightly quicker and cheaper solution to the problem ;-)
Darth Idahowoods.
Have you checked to see if your idea is patentable? It might be worth it to shop it around to see if you can sell the concept to a manufacturer that has the resources to navigate the safety regulations, marketing, production etc.
That horse has likely left the barn. I have 2 patents and 2 in progress, public disclosure prior to filing is a major no-no.
I once had patent leather shoes.
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