Sports Protection Accessory with Attachable Face Mask

Abstract

A sports helmet is provided including a filtering element attached to the lower portion of the face orifice to allow some degree of airflow in, but act as a barrier for the wearer from aerosolized exposure from reaching the eyes mouth and nose. Installed under or over a protective face cage, the filtering element is removably attached for allow for replaced as it gets dirty and/or damaged. The instant abstract is neither intended to define the invention disclosed in this specification nor intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sports equipment accessory that includes a protective element to act as a harder to minimize the transfer of aerosolized contagions to or from the user. 
     
     
         2 . The protective element of  claim 1  consisting of a filter mesh screen. 
     
     
         3 . The protective element of  claim 1 , wherein said protective element is installed to the sports helmet under a protective face cage in a removable manner. 
     
     
         4 . The protective element of  claim 1 , wherein said protective element is installed to the sports helmet over a protective face cage in a removable manner. 
     
     
         5 . The protective element of  claim 1 , wherein said protective element is attached to a protective mouthguard. 
     
     
         6 . The protective element of  claim 1  wherein the protective element extends beyond an edge of the protective cage and uses reinforcement, mass and/or attachment to maintain a functional position. 
     
     
         7 . The protective element of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one element of structural integrity that purposely creates distance between a user's mouth/nostrils and the protective barrier 
     
     
         8 . In a football, hockey, baseball or lacrosse style helmet having a shell and providing a face guard affixed to a frontal portion of the shell, wherein the improvement composes:
 at least one attachment fastener about at least the mid-perimeter portion of the face guard; and   a filtering element attached to a lower portion of the face guard utilizing at feast one attachment elements.   
     
     
         9 . The improvement of  claim 8 , wherein the filtering element is formed of a polymeric material. 
     
     
         10 . The improvement of  claim 8 , wherein the material is made of woven fibers or non-woven materials. 
     
     
         11 . The improvement of  claim 8 , wherein the material is made of metal mesh or fiber materials. 
     
     
         12 . The improvement of  claim 8 , further comprising a hydrophobic treatment on the filtering element. 
     
     
         13 . The improvement of  claim 8 , further comprising geometry and/or surface characteristics that enhance desired airflow. 
     
     
         14 . In combination:
 a sports helmet having a shell and forming a frontal opening for accommodating a wearer's face;   a plurality of attachment fasteners about at least a lower portion of the total opening; and   a filtering element attached using at least one attachment fastener.   
     
     
         15 . The combination of  claim 13 , wherein the filtering element is formed of a polymeric material. 
     
     
         16 . The combination of  claim 13 , wherein the material is made of woven fibers or non-woven materials. 
     
     
         17 . The combination of  claim 13 , further comprising a hydrophobic coating on the protective element. 
     
     
         18 . The protective element of  claim 1 , wherein said protective element is attached to a protective full-face protective mask with spacing between said mask and element. 
     
     
         19 . The protective element of  claim 1 , wherein said protective element is attached to a lower portion of sports headgear that includes a protective visor. 
     
     
         20 . The protective element of  claim 1 , wherein said protective element is secured via a system that interfaces directly with the wearer with at least one element of structural integrity that purposely creates distance between the mouth/nostrils and the protective element.