ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,766,346, issued on Oct. 20.
"Filter facemask" was invented by John Mark Jay (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A facemask apparatus is provided comprising a sealing layer of flexible, non-porous material sized to cover a wearer's nose and mouth, the sealing layer including an input aperture and an output aperture. An input valve is disposed over the input aperture to permit airflow toward the wearer while blocking reverse flow, and an output valve is disposed over the output aperture to permit exhaled airflow away from the wearer while blocking reverse flow. A stretchable fabric portion supports the sealing layer, d...