Padded protective garment

Details Padded protective garment Padded protective garment

1997-12-10

2001-09-18

Neas, Michael A. (Department: 3765)

Apparel

Guard or protector

C002S457000, C002S069000, C002S079000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06289524

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to protective garments. More specifically, this invention relates to padded protective garments.
BACKGROUND
Disposable protective garments worn by workers prevent liquids or dust from reaching the skin, thereby preventing skin irritation or damage. Besides being liquid or particulate barriers, these garments may also be breathable permitting greater comfort. The desirability of disposing of the garments after use is due to the relatively high cost of washing them.
Often workers wear disposable protective garments when cleaning in wet environments, such as the interiors of brewery vessels. Unfortunately, a fall may result during cleaning. Consequently, workers often wear separate, individual pads over the garments providing a cushion if a fall should occur. In addition, it may be desirable for workers to wear separate, individual pads over disposable garments during other jobs as well, such as finishing floors or painting.
Unfortunately, the wearing of separate individual pads suffers several disadvantages. Putting the pads on takes time, thereby lengthening the completion of the job. In addition, some workers may not wear some or all of the pads, thereby increasing their risk of injury. Furthermore, often these pads are constructed from a material that absorbs liquids. When the pads absorb liquid, this liquid becomes concentrated on the garment, thereby increasing the risk of the liquid penetrating the garment and reaching the worker's skin.
Accordingly, a disposable protective garment that improves worker efficiency and protection will improve over conventional protective garments.
DEFINITIONS
As used herein, the term “nonwoven web” refers to a web that has a structure of individual fibers or filaments that are interlaid, but not in an identifiable repeating manner. Nonwoven webs have been, in the past, formed by a variety of processes known to those skilled in the art such as, for example, meltblowing, spunbonding and bonded carded web processes.
As used herein, the term “spunbonded web” refers to a web of small diameter fibers and/or filaments that are formed by extruding a molten thermoplastic material as filaments from a plurality of fine, usually circular, capillaries in a spinneret with the diameter of the extruded filaments then being rapidly reduced, for example, by non-eductive or eductive fluid-drawing or other well known spunbonding mechanisms. The production of spunbonded nonwoven webs is illustrated in patents such as Appel, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,563; Dorschner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,618; Kinney, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,338,992 and 3,341,394; Levy, U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,944; Peterson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,538; Hartman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,763; Dobo et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,615; and Harmon, Canadian Pat. No. 803,714.
As used herein, the term “meltblown fibers” means fibers formed by extruding a molten thermoplastic material through a plurality of fine, usually circular, die capillaries as molten threads or filaments into a high-velocity gas (e.g. air) stream that attenuates the filaments of molten thermoplastic material to reduce their diameters, which may be to microfiber diameter. Thereafter, the meltblown fibers are carried by the high-velocity gas stream and deposited on a collecting surface to form a web of randomly disbursed meltblown fibers. The meltblown process is well-known and is described in various patents and publications, including NRL Report 4364, “Manufacture of Super-Fine Organic Fibers” by V. A. Wendt, E. L. Boone, and C. D. Fluharty; NRL Report 5265, “An Improved device for the Formation of Super-Fine Thermoplastic Fibers” by K. D. Lawrence, R. T. Lukas, and J. A. Young; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,241, issued Nov. 19, 1974, to Buntin, et al.
As used herein, the term “microfibers” means small diameter fibers having an average diameter not greater than about 100 microns, for example, having a diameter of from about 0.5 microns to about 50 microns, more specifically microfibers may also have an average diameter of from about 1 micron to about 20 microns. Microfibers having an average diameter of about 3 microns or less are commonly referred to as ultra-fine microfibers. A description of an exemplary process of making ultra-fine microfibers may be found in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,881, entitled “A Nonwoven Web With Improved Barrier Properties”, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
As used herein, the term “sheet” refers to a material that may be a film, nonwoven web, woven fabric, knit fabric, or laminates of the like.
As used herein, the term “disposable” is not limited to single use articles, but also refers to articles that can be discarded after only a few uses. Generally, a disposable article is not intended to be cleaned by automated devices, such as a washing machine.
As used herein, the term “garment” is any article of clothing, such as a glove, sleeve protector, apron, shirt, pants, shoe, coat or coverall.
As used herein, the term “pad” refers to a cushionlike mass of soft material used as filling or for protection against falling, jarring, scraping, or other injury. A pad may be constructed from any suitable material, such as foams, textiles, fibers, plastics, bubble-pack, bulky cloth, wadding, or elastic materials, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,415, to Vander Wielen et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,729, to Cohen et al., which disclosures are hereby incorporated by reference.
As used herein, the term “pocket” refers to at least one piece of material that secures an article, such as a pad, to a garment.
As used herein, the term “closure mechanism” is a device used to close and open a garment permitting a person to wear and remove the garment. Examples of closure mechanisms include zippers, button fasteners, clip fasteners, snap fasteners, magnetic fasteners, and hook and loop connectors.
As used herein, the term “machine direction” refers to the planar dimension of a nonwoven fibrous web, which is in the direction of travel during web formation.
As used herein, the term “cross-machine direction” refers to the planar dimension of a nonwoven fibrous web, which is the direction perpendicular to the machine direction.
As used herein, the term “liquid resistant” refers to material having a hydrostatic head of at least about 25 centimeters as determined in accordance with the standard hydrostatic pressure test AATCC TM No. 127-1980.
As used herein, the term “breathable” refers to material having a Frazier porosity of at least about 25 cubic feet per minute per square foot (cfm/ft
2
) as determined in accordance with the standard Frazier porosity test Federal Test Method 5450, Standard no. 191A or a Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate (MVTR) of at least about 500 grams per square meter per 24 hours (g/m
2
/24 h) as determined in accordance with the standard MVTR test method ASTM E96-80.
As used herein, the term “particle resistant” refers to a fabric having a useful level of resistance to penetration by particulates. Resistance to penetration by particulates may be measured by determining the air filter retention of dry particles and can be expressed as a particles holdout efficiency. More specifically, particle hold-out efficiency refers to the efficiency of a material at preventing the passage of particles of a certain size range through the material. Particle holdout efficiency may be measured by determining the air filter retention of dry particles utilizing tests such as, for example, IBR Test Method No. E-217, Revision G (Jan. 15, 1991) performed by InterBasic Resources, Inc. of Grass Lake, Michigan. Generally, a high particle holdout efficiency is desirable for barrier materials/fabrics. Desirably, a particle resistant material should have a particle hold-out efficiency of at least about 40 percent for particles having a diameter greater than about 0.1 micron.
As used herein, the term “polymer” generally includes homopolymers, copolymers, such as block, graft, random and alternating copolymers, terpolymers, and blends and modifications thereof. F

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Padded protective garment does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Padded protective garment, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Padded protective garment will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2479803