STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to a protective face shield, and more specifically, to a protective face shield connectable to a headwear of a user.

2. Description of the Related Art

It is known that communicable disease can be transferred from one person to another. Indeed, certain viruses and bacteria can become airborne when an infected individual sneezes or coughs. Those airborne particles, which may include virus or bacteria droplets, may be inhaled by another individual, thereby infecting the individual. The virus and bacteria may also fall onto a surface, which may be subsequently touched by an individual. Should that individual touch his mouth, nose, or eyes, the virus or bacteria may pass to that individual.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many jurisdictions issuing restrictions or stay-at-home orders to combat the spread of the highly infectious disease. While staying at home may provide protection for those individuals who have the ability to stay home, health care workers are needed on the front lines to combat the disease, and thus, may have an elevated degree of exposure to the disease. Accordingly, the use of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face masks, face shields, face coverings, gowns and gloves are critical in ensuring the safety of the healthcare professionals, while also mitigating the spread of the disease.

While PPE is critical to healthcare workers treating patients with the disease, there is also a desire to ease stay-at-home restrictions in a safe and calculated manner. It has been recommended that in order to ease such restrictions, the use of masks and face shields may be adopted to certain degrees on a society-wide level. See Moving Personal Protective Equipment Into the Community, Eli Perencevich, Daniel Diekema, Michael Edmond, JAMA, Apr. 29, 2020. For instance, states, airlines, retail stores, or other commercial or public establishments may mandate face masks or “face coverings” as they reopen.

Commonly used face masks include N95 masks, which may filter approximately 95% of airborne contaminants, and cloth face masks, which may filter approximately 2% of airborne contaminants. Although such masks may provide a certain level of protection to a user, face shields may be more effective is protecting the wearer and slowing the spread of communicable disease. Face shields generally extend over the eyes, nose and mouth of the wearer, and thus, typically provide a greater amount of coverage when compared to conventional medical masks. Furthermore, face masks may be limited in their durability and lifespan, whereas face shields may be reused indefinitely and can be easily cleaned with common household disinfectants. Face shields are also preferable to the typical face mask because the configuration of face shields may reduce the likelihood of potential autoinoculation by preventing the wearer from touching their face.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved face shield that which can be easily and comfortably worn to mitigate the spread of contaminants. Various aspects of the present disclosure address this particular need, as will be discussed in more detail below.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a low-cost, unitary, protective shield for use with headwear having a brim and wearable by a user, the protective shield comprising a panel having an elongate slot formed therein and sized to receive the brim of the headwear to facilitate attachment of the protective shield to the headwear. The panel additionally includes an upper suspension strap portion and a lower protective portion configured to extend over the user's eyes, nose, and mouth when the protective shield is attached to the headwear. The lower protective portion and the upper suspension strap portion are on opposite sides of the elongate slot. The panel additionally includes at least one lateral tab engageable with the headwear.

The at least one tab may include an adhesive thereon to facilitate engagement with the headwear.

The suspension strap portion may include an upper edge and an opposing lower edge to define a strap height therebetween, the strap height may preferably be between 0.20 inches and 0.40 inches.

The panel may have a haze level that is preferably less than 2%.

The protective shield may additionally include a layer of silver disposed on the panel.

The upper suspension strap portion may include a lower edge and the lower protective portion may include an upper edge. A slot height may be defined as a distance between the lower edge and the upper edge, with the slot height preferably being between 0.05 inches-0.13 inches.

The elongate slot may be sized to include a region that extends below the brim when the brim is received within the elongate slot, such that the region facilitates ventilation to permit air flow across the back surface of the lower protective portion to reduce fogging caused by user breath exhalation.

The lower protective portion or the upper suspension strap portion may include friction elements extending into the elongate slot to facilitate frictional engagement with the brim when the brim is inserted into the elongate slot.

The upper suspension strap portion and the lower protective portion may be configured such that a lower edge of the suspension strap portion may contact an upper edge of the protective portion when the brim is removed from the elongate slot, and the lower edge of the upper suspension strap portion may be spaced from the upper edge of the lower protective portion when the brim is received within the elongate slot.

The protective shield may additionally include a centering notch formed on the upper suspension strap portion.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a protective shield for use with headwear having a brim. The protective shield includes a unitary panel having a slot, an upper region, a lower region, and at least one lateral tab. The upper region and the lower region are separated by the slot, with the slot being sized to receive the brim of the headwear. The upper and lower regions are positioned on opposite sides of the brim when the brim is received within the slot. The lower region is sized to extend over the eyes, nose and mouth of a user when the brim is received in the slot and the headwear is worn on the user's head. The at least one tab is engageable with the headwear.

The protective shield may include a peripheral frame coupled to the unitary panel adjacent a peripheral edge thereof. The peripheral frame may be bendable and configured to assume a desired configuration.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a method of forming a protective shield for use in combination with headwear having a brim. The method includes the step of cutting a sheet of an optically clear material to form a unitary panel having a slot, an upper region, a lower region, and at least one lateral tab.

The method may include the step of printing a band adjacent at least a portion of a peripheral edge of the unitary panel.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a method of wearing a protective shield in combination with headwear having a brim. The method includes aligning the protective shield with the brim. The protective shield includes a panel having an elongate slot formed therein and sized to receive the brim of the headwear to facilitate attachment of the protective shield to the headwear. The panel additionally includes an upper suspension strap portion and a lower protective portion configured to extend over the user's eyes, nose, and mouth when the protective shield is attached to the headwear. The lower protective portion and the upper suspension strap portion are on opposite sides of the elongate slot. The panel additionally includes at least one lateral tab engageable with the headwear. The method further includes inserting the brim through the slot to connect the headwear to the protective shield.

The method may also include the step of adhering the at least one tab to the headwear.

The method may further include the step of adjusting a position of the protective shield along the brim.

The method may additionally include removing the headwear from the user's head without touching the protective shield.

The protective shield may transition from a generally planar configuration to a generally arcuate configuration in response to the brim being inserted through the slot.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a method of connecting a protective shield to headwear having a brim and a main head portion. The method includes aligning the protective shield with the brim. The protective shield includes a panel having an elongate slot formed therein and sized to receive the brim of the headwear to facilitate attachment of the protective shield to the headwear. The panel additionally includes an upper suspension strap portion and a lower protective portion configured to extend over the user's eyes, nose, and mouth when the protective shield is attached to the headwear. The lower protective portion and the upper suspension strap portion are on opposite sides of the elongate slot. The panel additionally includes at least one lateral tab engageable with the headwear. The method also includes positioning the protective shield in close proximity to the main head portion of the headwear such that the protective panel is positioned relative to the user's eyes to urge the user to view through the protective panel and focus on an object beyond the panel and mitigate the user from focusing directly on the protective panel.

The method may also include the step of engaging the at least one lateral tab to the headwear to fix the position of the protective shield relative to the headwear.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a protective shield for use with headgear. The protective shield includes a unitary panel having a protective portion including a first surface and an opposing second surface. The unitary panel additionally includes at least one lateral tab extending from the protective portion and connectable to the headgear. The protective portion is sized to extend over the eyes, nose, and mouth of a user when the at least one lateral tab is connected to the headgear and the headgear is worn on the user's head. The unitary panel is selectively connectable to the headgear in at least one of a first configuration and a second configuration. In the first configuration, the at least one lateral tab is connected to the headgear such that the first surface assumes a convex configuration and faces away from the user. In the second configuration, the at least one lateral tab is connected to the headgear such that the first surface assumes a concave configuration and faces toward from the user.

The protective shield may additionally include an adhesive extending over the at least one lateral tab. The at least one lateral tab may include a pair of lateral tabs. The protective shield may additionally include a centering notch formed within the panel and located between the pair of lateral tabs.

The unitary panel may include a slot extending therethrough, with the slot being sized to receive a portion of the headgear.

The protective portion may be transparent.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a method of using a protective shield with headgear having an inner surface configured to face a user's head when the headgear is worn by the user. The method includes attaching the protective shield to the inner surface of the headgear. The protective shield includes a protective portion configured to extend over the user's eyes, nose, and mouth when the protective shield is attached to the headgear and the headgear is worn by the user. The protective shield additionally includes at least one lateral tab coupled to or extending from the protective portion, and an adhesive extending over a portion of the at least one lateral tab. The at least one lateral tab is attached to the inner surface of the headgear via the adhesive.

The adhesive may extend over a first side of the at least one lateral tab, and the method may additionally include positioning the protective shield such that the first side of the at least one lateral tab faces the inner surface of the headgear.

The method may further comprise the step of placing the adhesive on the at least one lateral tab.

The method may also include placing the headwear on the user's head, such that the at least one lateral tab extends between a portion of the headwear and the user's head.

According to yet another embodiment, there is provided a protective shield for use with a first type of headgear having a brim and a second type of headgear not necessarily having a brim, but including an inner surface that may contact the user's head. The protective shield includes a unitary panel having a slot, an upper region, a lower region, at least one lateral tab, and an adhesive on the at least one tab, with the upper region and the lower region being separated by the slot. The unitary panel is configurable for use in a first configuration for attachment to the first headgear and a second configuration for attachment to the second headgear. In the first configuration, the slot is advanceable over the brim such that the slot receives the brim of the headgear, and the upper and lower regions are positioned on opposite sides of the brim when the brim is received within the slot. The lower region is sized to extend over the eyes, nose and mouth of a user when the brim is received in the slot and the first headgear is worn on the user's head. In the second configuration, the at least one tab is engageable with the inner surface of the second headgear via the adhesive, and the lower region is sized to extend over the eyes, nose and mouth of a user when the at least one tab is attached to the second headgear and the second headgear is worn on the user's head.

The unitary panel may include a first surface and an opposing second surface, and may be configured such that when the unitary panel is in the first configuration, the first surface faces the user when worn, and when the unitary panel is in the second configuration, the second surface faces the user when worn.

The present disclosure will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

