Nose Filters Help Our Troops and You
April 26 2005 Toby McCormick runs around the shop working feverishly to complete packaging of a shipment of product The product is Tobys Nose Filters The shipment is going to a base in IRAQ to your sons and daughters fighting on the front lines This product was developed with the help of the NASA SATOP program and is a disposable filter that you wear over your nose It blocks out harmful dust pollen mold allergens fumes odors smoke and much more
Everyone who suffers from allergies should be using our
nose filters said the maker of the product in an interview They just work
McCormick wanted to help the troops overseas by providing them a superior product to help them overcome the sand and dust and other things that would hinder breathing under normal conditions
For more information on the product people should visit the website at wwwnosefilterscom
Tobys disposable
nose filters consist of two units connected with a clip this safety clip allows for easy removal The units open the nostrils for natural breathing while filtering the unwanted pollutants Each soft plastic disposable nose unit contains a filter The white cellulose filter is used for dust pollen and general pollutants The dual white and black filter contains cellulose and carbon which reduces odors like cigarette smoke The Nose Filters are patented D451193
Toby's Nose Filters a small business in Merritt Island Fla was in need of technical assistance for a new nose filter that they had in development The business owner Toby McCormick was excited to learn from a friend employed at NASA that a program existed that could provide him with the assistance he needed to make his new product a reality When I said I wished that I could get 'NASA engineering expertise' I never dreamed that I could get exactly that - and at no cost to my business said McCormick
That's how McCormick found out about SATOP Through SATOP McCormick would receive free assistance from a university or company within the aerospace industry to solve a problem that his business was facing He wasted no time getting in touch with the SATOP Center in Florida who paired him with one of the program's Space Alliance Partners the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry SUNYESF
Toby's Nose Filters had already developed an apparatus that can be inserted in a person's nose to filter debris dust pollen etc while allowing air to flow smoothly The nose filter will allow people working in dusty and smoky environments or people with allergies to breath without being affected by particles in the air However McCormick wanted to make his product even more beneficial by developing a dualfilter that would also filter out offensive odors The quest was a personal one for McCormick as well because he was often bothered by the odor of secondhand cigarette smoke His Request for Technical Assistance RTA focused on the question What can I put into my filter that will alleviate offensive odors
The RTA was directed to a professor at SUNYESF who specialized in chemical engineering and the filtration and absorption abilities of fibrous materials - Bandaru Ramarao Ramarao got in touch with McCormick and began discussing the use of carbon as an odorabsorbing element Based on work I am familiar with my idea was to impregnate the carbon with materials which would effectively absorb odors said Ramarao
Based on his knowledge and experiments on the behavior of filter materials Ramarao began investigating a novel filter medium that would enable McCormick to enhance the performance of his product McCormick's quest was now the shared quest of an expert in the field - exactly what McCormick had hoped for and achieved though contacting SATOP
After toiling with different possibilities for a solution Ramarao decided that the use of activated carbon would do the job The method involves taking fibers from another material and heating them so that when carbon is added the carbon will bond to the fibers making the fibers odor absorbent These carbon filaments can now be put into the original filter to make a dualfilter that would not only filter out dust pollen and smoke but offensive odors as well By capturing the odor molecules in the carbon filaments users of the dualfilter especially McCormick will not be bothered by secondhand smoke or potent perfumes
We feel our
nose filters can be benefit many people by providing them with cleaner air said McCormick
However Ramarao's assistance didn't stop there He introduced McCormick to Professor George Chase at the University of Akron Ohio who was able to provide him with a list of manufacturers that had the capabilities to produce his dualfilter - three in the US and one in Germany
McCormick says response to the dualfilter has been unprecedented As a result of being able to produce this filter we have uncovered a source of prospective buyers that we never knew existed says McCormick Many people are offended by secondhand smoke and perfumes so our new dualfilter has even more applications and therefore increased salability
With his RTA solved by SATOP within only three months Toby's Nose Filters has enhanced its product line and is much more productive McCormick is now looking for investors to increase the size of his company and also plans to begin massproduction and marketing for the dualfilter
The personal assistance I received from the SATOP Space Alliance engineer was incredible SATOP made sure the communication lines were always open and my whole experience with the program was easy and beneficial says McCormick This is simple an example of another satisfied small business owner and another technical challenge solved thanks to SATOP
Nose Filters Help Our Troops and You
