The Patented Bra That Turns Into Two Emergency Face Masks
Photo: andrey_and_olesya / Pixabay
What should you do if there is a sudden release of smoke, dust or toxic gas and you have no mask? US Patent No. 7,255,627 offers an answer that is hard to forget: take off your bra. The patent, titled "Garment device convertible to one or more facemasks", was granted on 14 August 2007 to inventors Elena N. Bodnar, Raphael C. Lee and Sandra Marijan and assigned to Avocet Polymer Technologies of Illinois.
How it works
The application was filed on 1 February 2005, claiming priority from a provisional application of 16 June 2004. The patent describes a bra with two detachable cups, each containing a filter. The cups are joined at the front by one fastener, and the straps connect at the back. In an emergency the wearer unclips the cups. Each half can then be secured to the face as a separate filtering mask.
The first of the patent's 26 claims also requires a valve device in each cup section. Because there are two cups, the wearer gets two masks: one to keep and one to give to someone nearby.
The prize
In 2009 the three inventors received the Ig Nobel Prize for Public Health. The organisers cited them for "inventing a brassiere that, in an emergency, can be quickly converted into a pair of protective face masks, one for the brassiere wearer and one to be given to some needy bystander." Dr Bodnar attended the ceremony and demonstrated the invention on stage with the help of Nobel laureates.
Status
According to Google Patents, the patent has since expired because maintenance fees were not paid, so the design is now free for anyone to use.
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