3M Innovative Properties Company

Nhat Ha T Nguyen

Seyed Abolhassan Angadjivand

Yonas Gebrewold

Debra R Dawson

Ronald Wayne Ausen

John M Brandner

John J Rogers

Thomas J Xue

Various embodiments of a respirator are disclosed. The respirator can include a mask body and one or more elastic straps that are secured to the mask body on opposing sides. The elastic straps can have an openwork construction and can include a netting that has an array of polymeric strands periodically joined together at bond regions throughout the array. In one or more embodiments, the openwork elastic straps are lighter and more breathable than conventional straps. This improvement in breathability can make the respirator more comfortable to wear.

Respirator having elastic straps having openwork structure

A respiratorthat has a mask bodyand a harnessthat is attached to the mask body. The mask bodyincludes a filtering structurethat has an inner cover web, an outer cover webthat comprises melt-blown fibers and staple fibers, and a filtration layerthat is located between the inner and outer cover webs. The mask bodyalso has a meshthat is joined to the outer cover web. A respirator having this construction is more resistant to inward collapse of the filter media during breathing and is more aesthetically pleasing.

Molded respirator having outer cover web joined to mesh

A filtering face-piece respiratorthat comprises a mask bodyand a harnessthat is joined to the mask body. The mask bodyincludes a filter layerand a nonwoven fibrous cover web. The fibrous cover webis partially occluded and is generally parallel to and spaced from the filter layersuch that air passing through the cover webcan move freely between the cover weband the filter layerso that it can enter the filter layerat essentially any available point over the filter layer surface. The inventive respirator is beneficial in that it can provide very good splash fluid and airborne contaminant protection while also exhibiting an extraordinary low pressure drop across the mask body during breathing.

Splash-fluid resistant filtering face-piece respirator

Respiratory mask

Growing community of inventors

Woodbury, MN, United States of America

Nhat Ha T Nguyen