US-12616856-B2 - Mask apparatus

US12616856B2US 12616856 B2US12616856 B2US 12616856B2US-12616856-B2

Abstract

A mask apparatus that includes a mask body including: a front body; and a rear body coupled to a rear surface of the front body and from which a pair of accommodation portions protrudes forward; a face guard coupled to a rear surface of the rear body configured to contact a user's face and define a breathing space formed therein; a fan module seated in the accommodation portion; a flow guide placed on a rear surface of the fan module and defining a portion of a discharge port communicating with the breathing space; a filter seated on the flow guide; and a filter housing rotatably connected to the rear body to cover the filter, in which the filter housing includes: a plurality of filter frames; a filter cover; a hinge; and a fastening hook.

Inventors

Yeongcheol MUN
Dongkwon AN
Sejeong AHN

Assignees

LG ELECTRONICS INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20221214
Priority Date: 20220802

Claims (13)

1 . A mask apparatus comprising: a mask body including: a front body, and a rear body that is coupled to a rear surface of the front body and from which a pair of accommodation portions protrudes forward; a face guard that is coupled to a rear surface of the rear body, the face guard being configured to contact a user's face and defining a breathing space formed therein; a fan module seated in an accommodation portion of the pair of accommodation portions; a flow guide provided at a rear surface of the fan module and defining a portion of a discharge port configured to communicate with the breathing space; a filter seated on the flow guide; and a filter housing that is rotatably coupled to the rear body and configured to cover the filter, wherein the accommodation portion includes: a fastening surface protruding forward from a side end portion of the rear body and having a rear surface from which a filter hook protrudes; a seating surface extending from an end portion of the fastening surface toward a center of the rear body and having a rear surface on which the filter is seated; an air guide surface connecting an end portion of the seating surface and a front surface of the rear body; an upper surface connecting upper ends of the fastening surface, the seating surface, and the air guide surface to the front surface of the rear body; and a lower surface connecting lower ends of the fastening surface, the seating surface, and the air guide surface to the front surface of the rear body, wherein the filter housing includes: a filter cover including (i) a cover body and (ii) an extension portion that is rounded at a first side end portion of the cover body; a filter frame extending forwards from a front surface of the filter cover, the filter frame including (i) a side frame positioned near the first side end portion of the cover body, (ii) an upper frame positioned at an upper end portion of the cover body, and (iii) a lower frame positioned at a lower end portion of the cover body; a hinge protruding from an end portion of each of the upper and lower frames, the hinge being located closer to a second side end portion of the cover body than to the first side end portion of the cover body; and a fastening hook protruding from a front surface of the extension portion of the filter cover and configured to be caught on the filter hook, wherein the fastening hook includes: an extension portion protruding from the front surface of the extension portion of the filter cover; and a catching portion defined at an end portion of the extension portion, and wherein the catching portion includes: a catching surface that is inclined toward an outer edge of the filter housing; a sliding surface that is curved at an end portion of the catching surface and extending in a straight line; and a contact surface that is rounded with a predetermined curvature at an end portion of the sliding surface.
2 . The mask apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sliding surface is curved in a direction away from the outer edge of the filter housing, and wherein the contact surface is curved in the same direction as the direction in which the sliding surface is curved.
3 . The mask apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a suction port is defined in the cover body and configured to let external air pass through.
4 . The mask apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a hinge hole is defined at each edge of the upper and lower surfaces, the hinge hole configured to accommodate the hinge, wherein the hinge hole extends from the air guide surface toward the fastening surface by a predetermined length, wherein one end of the hinge hole is defined to be closer to front ends than rear ends of the upper and lower surfaces, and wherein the other end of the hinge hole is defined to be closer to the rear ends than the front ends of the upper and lower surfaces.
5 . The mask apparatus of claim 4 , wherein based on the filter housing being closed, the hinge is configured to be in contact with one end of the hinge hole, and wherein based on the filter housing being opened and the fastening hook being separated from the filter hook, the hinge is configured to be moved to a position close to the other end of the hinge hole.
6 . The mask apparatus of claim 5 , wherein based on the filter housing being closed and the hinge being in contact with the other end of the hinge hole, the contact surface of the fastening hook is configured to be in contact with a tip of the filter hook.
7 . The mask apparatus of claim 6 , wherein based on a pressing force being applied to the filter housing and the contact surface of the fastening hook being in contact with the tip of the filter hook, the hinge is configured to move toward one end of the hinge hole and the tip of the filter hook is configured to move along the contact surface and the sliding surface.
8 . The mask apparatus of claim 7 , wherein based on the filter housing being completely closed, the catching surface is configured to be in contact with an inner surface of the filter hook and the hinge is configured to be in contact with one end of the hinge hole.
9 . The mask apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a direction in which the catching surface is curved at the end portion of the extension portion of the fastening hook is opposite to a direction in which the sliding surface is curved at the end portion of the catching surface and a direction in which the contact surface is curved at the end portion of the sliding surface.
10 . The mask apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the mask apparatus further comprises: a power supply module provided at the front surface of the rear body; and an indicator module that is coupled to the power supply module, wherein the power supply module includes a power substrate and a plurality of electrical components.
11 . The mask apparatus of claim 10 , wherein a plurality of mounting holes are defined at the power substrate and configured to accommodate a portion of the indicator module.
12 . The mask apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the indicator module comprises: an indicator body; a button sealing portion provided at a bottom surface of the indicator body; a power button provided at the button sealing portion; and a light guide portion provided at the indicator body.
13 . The mask apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the button sealing portion comprises a sealing portion body, the sealing portion body defining an insertion space configured to accommodate the power button.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims the benefits of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0096157, filed on Aug. 2, 2022 of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. THE BACKGROUND 1. The Field The present disclosure relates to a mask apparatus. 2. Description of the Related Art The mask may be defined as a hygiene product that can cover the user's nose and mouth so that harmful substances including germs and dust contained in the air are filtered when the user breathes in and so that spreading of the virus or bad breath emitted when the user exhales to surrounding people can be minimized. Recently, as a virus that is highly spreadable and highly contagious has spread, it is recommended that individuals wear a mask and go out for safety in order to minimize transmission. Currently, various types and forms of masks are on the market, and in particular, in order to minimize harmful substances contained in the air from introducing into the mask wearer's respiratory tract directly, many masks equipped with a filter module are being sold. In addition, in order to facilitate the flow of air passing through the mask when the user breathes in or breathes out, a mask equipped with a fan is also on sale. A conventional mask, including the mask disclosed in the published prior art EP3398657A (Apr. 21, 2021), includes a filter so that harmful substances contained in external air are filtered out and then introduce into the user's respiratory tract. In addition, the mask is provided with a pressure detection means for detecting the pressure of the breathing space formed between the mask and the user's face, and a fan module whose rotation speed is variable according to the pressure detected by the pressure detection means, so that the mask helps the user to breathe comfortably even while the mask wears a mask. However, most of the masks currently on the market and publicly available has a structure in which the air suction port is formed on the front surface of the mask, and the air discharge port is formed on the rear surface of the mask, specifically, the rear surface of the mask corresponding to a point close to the user's mouth or nose. Here, the front surface of the mask means a portion exposed to the outside, and the rear surface of the mask means a portion in close contact with the user's face. In detail, the air suction port formed in the mask is generally formed on the front surface close to the center of the mask or on the front surface close to both side ends, and, in the case of the prior art, the air suction port is formed on the front surface close to both side ends of the mask. As such, in a structure in which the air suction port is formed on the front surface of the mask and the air discharge port is formed on the rear surface of the mask, in a process that external air introduces into the mask, passes through the fan and filter, and thus is discharged to the user's respiratory tract through the air discharge port, there is a problem in that the flow conversion of air occurs excessively. As the number of flow conversions of the suctioned air increases, the flow resistance increases, and as a result, the load of the fan increases. In addition, as the load of the fan increases, there is a problem in that the power consumption of the battery supplying power to the fan increases. In addition, as the number of flow conversions of the suctioned air increases, there is a problem in that the flow noise increases. In addition, since there are many case where a user wearing a mask in which the air suction port is disposed on the front surface of the mask often takes off the mask and leaves the air suction port facing upward or forward, there is a disadvantage in that the possibility of dust introducing through the air suction port is relatively high. In addition, when the air suction port is disposed on the front surface of the mask, it may give an impression that the outer appearance is not good when worn. In addition, when the user walks or runs while wearing the mask apparatus, since there is a high possibility that foreign substances or flies floating in front of the user are directly introduced into the suction port, there is a disadvantage in that the life of the filter is shortened and the filter replacement cycle is shortened. In addition, a suction port cover may be mounted to prevent the air suction port from being exposed to the outside as it is, and in this case, a phenomenon that the suction port cover is separated from the mask or damaged due to external force or impact may occur. In addition, in a case of a structure in which the suction port is not formed in the mask body, but is formed in another portion, for example, a structure in which the suction port is formed in a separate air cleaning module that is detachably or foldably coupled to the side of the mask body, there is a disadvantage in that the flow resistance significantly in