ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,357,850, issued on July 15.

"Devices for preventing inhalation of, exposure to, airborne material" was invented by Landon Duval (San Clemente, Calif.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A protection device for preventing exposure to undesired airborne material. The device including a filter assembly having a filter, and a proximal and a distal layer configured to hold the filter sandwiched between the proximal layer and the distal layer, a one-way valve positioned in the filter assembly and coupled to the proximal layer of the filter assembly, and a seal positioned along a peripheral edge of the filter assembly, the filter assembly and the se...