Face mask for patient breathing
First Claim
1. A mask for directing air to the facial area of a patient comprising:
- a mask body in the form of a conduit, a seal connected to an outlet end of said mask body for contacting such patient'"'"'s face in a sealing relationship, said seal being soft and pliable for patient comfort, and a vent tube connected to an inlet end of said mask body to supply air to said mask body, wherein said mask body is relatively flexible compared with said vent tube so that lateral stresses on said mask body are initially accommodated by distortion of said mask body rather than on breaking the sealing relationship between the seal and such patient'"'"'s face, and a frame mounted for movement along said mask body, said frame having an opening through which said mask body extends, where movement of said frame toward said outlet end of said mask body and into contact with said seal causes said frame to press said seal against such patient'"'"'s face.
12 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A mask for directing air to the facial area of a patient includes a mask body in the form of a conduit, a seal connected to an outlet end of the mask body for contacting the patient'"'"'s face in a sealing relationship, the seal being soft and pliable for patient comfort, and a vent tube connected to an inlet end of the mask body to supply air to the mask body. The mask body is relatively flexible compared with the vent tube so that lateral stresses on the mask body are initially accommodated by distortion of the mask body rather than on breaking the sealing relationship between the seal and the patient'"'"'s face. A frame is mounted for movement along the mask body to press the seal against the patient'"'"'s face. The frame includes a nose bridge portion, an upper jaw portion, and two lateral portions, and the two lateral portions of the frame are contoured to conform to the shape of the seal so that gentle contact between the frame and the seal causes only the two lateral portions of the frame to touch the seal. A spacer is positioned between the frame and the seal, where the spacer is adjustable to vary the contact between the frame and the seal, thereby enabling the frame to selectively press against the seal so that the shape of the seal can be modified to conform to the shape of the patient'"'"'s face. The vent tube can be connected to the mask body with a ball and socket connection and an exit air vent which directs exhaled air away from the patient'"'"'s face.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A mask for directing air to the facial area of a patient comprising:
- a mask body in the form of a conduit, a seal connected to an outlet end of said mask body for contacting such patient'"'"'s face in a sealing relationship, said seal being soft and pliable for patient comfort, and a vent tube connected to an inlet end of said mask body to supply air to said mask body, wherein said mask body is relatively flexible compared with said vent tube so that lateral stresses on said mask body are initially accommodated by distortion of said mask body rather than on breaking the sealing relationship between the seal and such patient'"'"'s face, and a frame mounted for movement along said mask body, said frame having an opening through which said mask body extends, where movement of said frame toward said outlet end of said mask body and into contact with said seal causes said frame to press said seal against such patient'"'"'s face.
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2. A mask for directing air to the facial area of a patient comprising:
- a mask body in the form of a conduit, a seal connected to an outlet end of said mask body for contacting such patient'"'"'s face in a sealing relationship, said seal being soft and pliable for patient comfort, and a vent tube connected to an inlet end of said mask body to supply air to said mask body, wherein said mask body is relatively flexible compared with said vent tube so that lateral stresses on said mask body are initially accommodated by distortion of said mask body rather than on breaking the sealing relationship between the seal and such patient'"'"'s face, and wherein said seal includes a mask body flange extending radially outwardly from outlet end of said mask body, thereby forming an outer circumferential edge, and a soft and flexible patient face flange connected to said outer circumferential edge and extending radially inwardly from said outer circumferential edge.
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3. A mask for directing air to the facial area of a patient comprising:
- a mask body in the form of a conduit;
a seal connected to an outlet end of said mask body for contacting such patient'"'"'s face in a sealing relationship, said seal being soft and pliable for patient comfort; and
a frame mounted for movement along said mask body, said frame having an opening through which said mask body extends, where movement of said frame toward said outlet end of said mask body and into contact with said seal causes said frame to press said seal against such patient'"'"'s face. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
- a mask body in the form of a conduit;
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11. A mask for directing air to the facial area of a patient comprising:
- a mask body in the form of a conduit;
a seal connected to an outlet end of said mask body for contacting such patient'"'"'s face in a sealing relationship, said seal being soft and pliable for patient comfort; and
a frame mounted for movement along said mask body, said frame having an opening through which said mask body extends;
where movement of said frame toward said outlet end of said mask body and into contact with said seal causes said frame to press said seal against such patient'"'"'s face;
said frame including a nose bridge portion, an upper jaw portion, and two lateral portions, and wherein said two lateral portions of said frame are contoured to conform to the shape of said seal so that gentle contact between said frame and said seal causes said two lateral portions of said frame to touch said seal; and
wherein said nose bridge and said upper jaw portions of said frame are contoured out of conformance with the shape of said seal so that gentle contact between said frame and said seal does not cause said nose bridge and said upper jaw portions of said frame to touch said seal. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
- a mask body in the form of a conduit;
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18. A mask for directing air to the facial area of a patient comprising:
- a mask body in the form of a conduit;
a seal connected to an outlet end of said mask body for contacting such patient'"'"'s face in a sealing relationship, said seal being soft and pliable for patient comfort;
a frame mounted for movement along said mask body, said frame having an opening through which said mask body extends, where movement of said frame toward the outlet end of said mask body and into contact with said seal causes said frame to press said seal against said patient'"'"'s face; and
an adjustable spacer positioned between said frame and said seal, said spacer being adjustable to vary the contact between said frame and said seal, thereby enabling said frame to selectively press against said seal so that the shape of said seal can be modified to conform to the shape of such patient'"'"'s face. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
- a mask body in the form of a conduit;
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26. A mask for directing air to the facial area of a patient comprising:
- a mask body in the form of a conduit;
a seal connected to an outlet end of said mask body for contacting such patient'"'"'s face in a sealing relationship, a vent tube connected to an inlet end of said mask body to supply air to said mask body and to act as an exit for air exhaled by such patient, said vent tube including a ball and socket connection to said mask body and an exit air vent located to direct exhaled air away from such patient'"'"'s face; and
wherein said ball and socket connection includes an inner shell and an outer shell, and spacers separating said inner and outer shells. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
- a mask body in the form of a conduit;
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31. A mask for directing air to the facial area of a patient comprising:
- a mask body in the form of a conduit;
a seal connected to an outlet end of said mask body for contacting such patient'"'"'s face in a sealing relationship, a vent tube connected to an inlet end of said mask body to supply air to said mask body and to act as an exit for air exhaled by such patient, where said vent tube includes a ball and socket connection to said mask body and an exit air vent located to direct exhaled air away from such patient'"'"'s face, wherein said ball and socket connection includes an inner shell and an outer shell, and spacers separating said inner and outer shells, wherein said spacers are protuberances on said inner shell, wherein a space between said separated inner and outer shells define an exit path for exhaled air to move to said exit air vent, wherein the exit path for exhaled air to move to the exit air vent is different from the path of air supplied to said mask, and wherein the flow of exhaled air through the exit air path is controlled by an annular ridge on said inner shell.
- a mask body in the form of a conduit;
Specification