Air filter for endonasal use

The present invention relates to an environmental air filter device, specifically, a device attached to the inside of a nasal cavity to filter inhaled air.

Depending on the conditions, it is extremely important to filter the air from the environment before it is inhaled into the lungs, if any serious damage to the respiratory system or other visceral system is to be avoided. For example, urban areas with heavy traffic are highly polluted by exhaust gas from automobiles and unburned particles from diesel engines. Other sources of air pollution are also caused by human activity, such as transporting building materials, quarrying marble, and painting car bodies, which produces highly dangerous dust known as fine particles. Even in the countryside where these activities are not seen, various forms of pollution such as pollen and microorganisms from plants still exist. In addition, household dust, including mites and hair from animal coats, can also be considered a source of pollution, especially in winter when heating systems are used. The diameter of the dust particles is 0.5 μm or more.

Air filter devices can be divided into two categories. That is, a filter that is installed in a place where air enters a closed environment, and a filter that is applied to a device worn by a person. The present invention covers only the second category of filters. Filters worn by humans include various facial masks with more or less complex filters to deal with common contamination. For such filters, special gas masks to simple surgical masks fall into this category. The latter mask is considered to be the closest to the present invention and will be briefly described. A simple facial mask consists of a filter component shaped to match the lower half of the face covering the wearer's nose, mouth and chin. A string or elastic band that turns behind the head to hold the mask in place so that air does not enter along the edges and passes through the filter material that makes up the mask. Hold in close contact. The most popular fabrics for this purpose are densely woven cotton fabrics, but generally speaking, different weaves such as non-woven fabrics, cotton and other fibers, microporous resins, carbon particles and various salts. Natural or synthetic materials are also available.

While effective for the above purposes, these simple masks are somewhat unsightly and may be useless if the air pollution is not severe enough to require complete filtering of the environmental air. If the contamination is not so severe, keep your mouth open<u style="single">Nasal cavity</u>It seems wise to assist with the natural filtering function of, but this cannot be achieved with ordinary masks. Purified air and oxygen<u style="single">Nasal cavity</u>There is a device that feeds directly to. In the case of these devices, it fits in the nose pillow<u style="single">nostril</u>It consists of two plastic tubes that are inserted into the head and a sling device behind the head is used to hold these tubes in place. However, these devices require separate filters and oxygen supply devices and are too bulky to carry.

In German Patent DE668395,<u style="single">Nasal cavity</u>An intranasal filter with two flat capsules introduced into is described. Each capsule in this case consists of two punched cover plates (a, b), and a disk-shaped filter (c) is inserted between them. The two outer plates (b, b) of the two capsules are interconnected by flexible ribs (d), and each capsule is connected by a rubber ring (e) that surrounds the two plates (a, b). This intranasal filter is too stiff to match various noses and is too complex to be easily discarded.

The USA2,282,681 also consists of a single piece of wire, has a U-shaped bridge for attachment to the nose, and part of this wire is extended and looped from the end to support the filter number 8. Consists of a shield in the shape of. One loop of number 8 is smaller than the other, so the shield is tapered to shape the nasal passages. The two filter elements are preferably formed by punching a fabric material, and an elastic member is sewn along the edges thereof. These elements are mounted along a shield that is held in a stretched state. Since the filter elements used in this intranasal filter are limited to filter elements made of a unique, inflexible material, only the looped ends of the connecting elements should be attached to the nasal cavity. become.

<p><patcit num="1"><text>German Patent DE668395 Gazette</text></patcit><patcit num="2"><text>USP 2,282,681</text></patcit></p>

<p> An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide an air filter that is attached only to the nose, that is, a device that is not directly visible and takes up almost no space.</p><p> A gist of the present invention is an air filter described in the claims.</p>

<p> The air filter of the present invention consists of two intranasal filter components that are essentially flat, with the ends of these components at a spring-like flexible connection that extends across the cartilage pieces between the two nostrils. The parts are joined. The shape of the filter component, which is essentially flat, is a lunet shape similar to the nasal cavity shape that connects to the nasal cavity, and because of this shape, it can be worn on differently shaped noses. This is because the nostrils vary from person to person, but the cavities are almost the same in all cases. The surface area of one side of the filter component is set to be somewhat larger than the area of the cross section at the entrance point of the nasal cavity to be worn, so it can be partially bent inward along the edge, thus on the sinus wall. Can be in close contact.</p><p> As for the material used for the filter component, care must be taken to select a material that is thick enough not to interfere with normal breathing. By the way, those skilled in the art are considered to know which material is best to use according to common types of contamination.</p><p> The filter components are joined by a U-shaped thin bar, and the parallel side pieces of the bar form a nearly elliptical support that projects toward the filter component and adheres to the filtering surface. As the material of the joint portion, a plastic material such as transparent polyethylene is suitable, or a thin steel wire having an arch portion formed by bending can also be used. The materials that make up the U-shaped arch, their thickness and radius of curvature, and the length of the two shanks ensure elastic adhesion between the nasal cavities to the cartilage and penetrate well into the nasal cavity, the nasal cavity entrance tube. It is necessary to ensure elastic adhesion to the filter component that needs to close the cavity. These requirements can also be easily met with normal knowledge.</p><p> The filter device of the present invention is highly practical, is not unsightly when worn, and is hardly noticeable. The manufacturing cost is extremely low, and it is preferable to prepare three sizes, large, medium and small. Although it is a disposable filter device, it can be used repeatedly several times for a short period of time. The duration of the effect as a filter depends on the concentration of pollutants in the air, but in any case, the method of use may be indicated on the package.</p>

Purposes and effects of the present invention other than the above should be clarified from the accompanying drawings which are intended only for the following detailed description and illustration of production examples and which do not limit the invention.<figref num="1">It is a perspective view which shows the intranasal filter of this invention.</figref><figref num="2">It is a perspective view of another embodiment.</figref><figref num="3">It is a side view which shows the detail of the connection between a spring for mounting a filter and a filter action substrate.</figref><figref num="4">It is a figure which shows the example of the attachment method to the nasal cavity of the intranasal filter device of FIG.</figref><figref num="5">It is a figure which shows the example of the attachment method to the nasal cavity of the intranasal filter device of FIG.</figref>

As shown in FIG. 1, the intranasal filter consists of two substantially flat lunet-shaped filter components 1 and 2 arranged adjacent to each other, and a connecting element 3 acting as a spring is provided between these components. Element 3 is a single thread-like piece that constitutes the arch portion 4, and both ends reach the two filter components 1 and 2 and reach the two parallel shank portions 5 and 6 that are in vertical contact with the surface of the filter component. Become. In this case, the shank is bent to form two elliptical elements 7 and 8. These elliptical elements 7 and 8 are located in the filter component near the inner edge portion rather than the outer edge portion, and the length is about a quarter of the filter component length. The filter component is the filamentous arch<u style="single">4</u>It is thinner than the diameter of and sticks to the elliptical elements 7 and 8 located above them. The materials, geometric dimensions and thickness of each part shown in FIG. 1 have already been described.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the connecting element 3 is made of a plastic material, and the filter components 1 and 2 are also made of a plastic material. In order to permanently fix the elliptical elements 7 and 8, it is sufficient to press them while maintaining a high temperature in the press, so without using an adhesive, filter component 1 , 2 can be fixed to elliptical elements 7 and 8.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment. Compared to the embodiment of FIG. 1, the base of the two shank portions 5 and 6 consists of two small solid disc portions 9 and 10. These can also be manufactured by molding the same material as the shank portion and fixing it to the filter components 1 and 2 in the same manner as described above.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a method of bending the shank portion 5 fixed to the filter component 1 to form the elliptical element 7. The thickness shown in FIG. 3 is close to the actual thickness.

Filter components 1 and 2 are very thin, but since not only the elliptical parts 7 and 8 but also the extension part is thick, it is possible to give some rigidity to the central region of filter components 1 and 2 and insert it to the required depth. It will be easier to do.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an actual example of how to attach the intranasal filter.<u style="single">nostril</u>Insert two filter components 1 and 2 into the back of the nose 11 when entwined, and two<u style="single">nostril</u>To separate<u style="single">cartilage</u>It is joined by a central connecting element 3 provided across the twelve. As shown, the shapes of the filter components 1 and 2 are quite similar to the contours of the nasal cavities 13 and 14, so that they can sufficiently cover the nasal cavities when expanded.

FIG. 5 shows a cross section of the nose 11.<u style="single">cartilage</u>The connecting element 3 provided in a transverse relationship with respect to 12 acts as a spring and holds the filter components 1 and 2 at the positions indicated by the dotted lines. By sandwiching the arch part 4 between two fingers and pushing it into the nose, filter components 1 and 2 are removed.<u style="single">nostril</u>Insert inside. Due to this pressure, the shank portions 5 and 6 become wider, and the curve of the arch portion 4 which tends to return to the initial curve due to elasticity acts on the two facing surfaces of the shank portions 5 and 6. All of these forces<u style="single">cartilage</u>The opposite direction to 12 will keep the filter in its correct position.

As shown, there is some adaptability inside filter component 2 (same for filter component 1) due to the large surface that can be attached to the cross section at the entrance point of the nasal cavity, so it is not filtered. Air does not get into the sides.

From the above description of preferred embodiments, one of ordinary skill in the art should be able to understand that various modifications can be made to this without departing from the scope of the present invention.

2, 2: Filter component, 3: Connection element, 4: Arch part, 5, 6: Shank section 7, 8: Oval part, 11: Nose, 12: Cartilage, 13, 14: Nasal cavity.