Adjustable breath guard

Abstract

An adjustable breath guard includes a frame, a shield, and a hinge assembly. The hinge assembly includes a base fixedly coupled to the frame and a hinge body coupled to the shield. The hinge body is pivotally coupled to the base. The base is configured to engage the hinge body to prevent translation of the hinge body relative to the frame. The hinge assembly is reconfigurable between (a) an engaged configuration in which the hinge assembly limits downward movement of the shield and permits upward movement of the shield and (b) a disengaged configuration in which the shield permits both downward movement of the shield and upward movement of the shield. The hinge assembly is configured to change from the engaged configuration to the disengaged configuration in response to the shield moving upward.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An adjustable breath guard, comprising:
 a frame;   a shield; and   a hinge assembly including a base fixedly coupled to the frame and a hinge body coupled to the shield, wherein the hinge body is pivotally coupled to the base, and wherein the base is configured to engage the hinge body to prevent translation of the hinge body relative to the frame,   wherein the hinge assembly is reconfigurable between (a) an engaged configuration in which the hinge assembly limits downward movement of the shield and permits upward movement of the shield and (b) a disengaged configuration in which the shield permits both downward movement of the shield and upward movement of the shield; and   wherein the hinge assembly is configured to change from the engaged configuration to the disengaged configuration in response to the shield moving upward.   
     
     
         2 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 1 , wherein the hinge assembly is configured to change from the engaged configuration to the disengaged configuration in response to the shield moving upward into a release position. 
     
     
         3 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 2 , wherein the hinge assembly is configured to change from the disengaged configuration to the engaged configuration in response to the shield moving downward. 
     
     
         4 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 3 , where the hinge assembly is configured to change from the disengaged configuration to the engaged configuration in response to the shield moving downward into an engagement position. 
     
     
         5 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 1 , wherein the shield is rotatable between a plurality of discrete positions, and wherein the hinge assembly is configured to prevent the downward movement of the shield when the shield is in one of the discrete positions and the hinge assembly is in the engaged configuration. 
     
     
         6 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 1 , further comprising an arm coupling the shield to the hinge body. 
     
     
         7 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of (a) the shield is fixedly coupled to the hinge body or (b) the shield is selectively fixedly coupled to the hinge body. 
     
     
         8 . An adjustable breath guard, comprising:
 a frame;   a shield;   a first hinge assembly including a first base fixedly coupled to the frame and a first hinge body coupled to the shield, wherein the first hinge body pivotally couples the shield to the first base; and   a second hinge assembly including a second base fixedly coupled to the frame and a second hinge body coupled to the shield, wherein the second hinge body pivotally couples the shield to the second base,   wherein the first hinge assembly is reconfigurable between (a) an engaged configuration in which the first hinge assembly limits downward movement of the shield and permits upward movement of the shield and (b) a disengaged configuration in which the shield permits both downward movement of the shield and upward movement of the shield;   wherein the first hinge assembly is configured to change from the engaged configuration to the disengaged configuration in response to the shield moving upward; and   wherein the first hinge body and the second hinge body are configured to fully support the shield at least when the first hinge assembly is in the engaged configuration.   
     
     
         9 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 8 , wherein the first hinge assembly is configured to change from the engaged configuration to the disengaged configuration in response to the shield moving upward into a release position. 
     
     
         10 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 9 , wherein the first hinge assembly is configured to change from the disengaged configuration to the engaged configuration in response to the shield moving downward. 
     
     
         11 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 10 , where the first hinge assembly is configured to change from the disengaged configuration to the engaged configuration in response to the shield moving downward into an engagement position. 
     
     
         12 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 8 , wherein the shield is rotatable between a plurality of discrete positions, and wherein the first hinge assembly is configured to prevent the downward movement of the shield when the shield is in one of the discrete positions and the first hinge assembly is in the engaged configuration. 
     
     
         13 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 8 , wherein the second hinge assembly permits both downward movement of the shield and upward movement of the shield. 
     
     
         14 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 8 , wherein the frame includes a first frame member fixedly coupled to the first base and a second frame member fixedly coupled to the second base, and wherein the shield extends between the first frame member and the second frame member. 
     
     
         15 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 14 , wherein the first hinge body is positioned between the first frame member and the second frame member. 
     
     
         16 . An adjustable breath guard, comprising:
 a frame;   a shield;   a hinge assembly including a base coupled to the frame and a hinge body pivotally coupled to the base; and   an arm fixedly coupled to the shield and slidably coupled to the hinge body such that the shield is translatable relative to the hinge body, wherein the hinge assembly is configured to selectively limit movement of the arm relative to the hinge body based on a user input,   wherein the hinge assembly is reconfigurable between (a) an engaged configuration in which the hinge assembly limits downward movement of the shield and permits upward movement of the shield and (b) a disengaged configuration in which the shield permits both downward movement of the shield and upward movement of the shield; and   wherein the hinge assembly is configured to change from the engaged configuration to the disengaged configuration in response to the shield moving upward.   
     
     
         17 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 16 , wherein the arm is translatable relative to the hinge body along an axis that extends parallel to the arm. 
     
     
         18 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 17 , wherein the hinge body defines an arm passage that receives the arm, and wherein the axis extends through the arm passage. 
     
     
         19 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 16 , wherein the hinge assembly is configured to selectively fix the arm to the hinge body in response to the user input. 
     
     
         20 . The adjustable breath guard of  claim 16 , wherein the hinge assembly includes a user interface member, and wherein the user input includes repositioning the user interface member.