Apparel – Garment protectors – Aprons
Patent
1997-09-18
1999-06-22
Vanatta, Amy B.
Apparel
Garment protectors
Aprons
2 93, 2 85, A41D 1312
Patent
active
059134062
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a surgical coat made of plastic material.
In addition to having a liquid-blocking and bacterial-blocking function, a surgical coat shall also be comfortable to wear. To this end, surgical coats are often made of air-permeable and/or vapour-permeable material, such as textile material or nonwoven material which while providing a comfortable coat do not always provide effective protection. In order to enhance protection in this regard, coats and aprons of this kind are sometimes coated completely or partially with a plastic layer, which diminishes comfort to a corresponding degree.
The present invention aims at providing at low cost a surgical coat which has better barrier properties with regard to the blocking of liquid, fluid and bacteria, than surgical coats that are made of textile material, while still providing much better comfort than coats that are coated with plastic layers.
The aim of the invention is achieved with a surgical coat which is characterized in that it is comprised at least partially of plastic material that has been provided with a pattern of projections that extend out from the inside of the coat. Because the surgical coat includes a plastic layer which provides a highly effective liquid and bacteria barrier, the coat will provides the wearer with effective protection. Furthermore, the projections on the inside of the coat greatly reduce the surface area of the coat that is in contact with the wearer's skin, while, at the same time, distancing from the wearer most of the material on which the projections are provided, so as to define between coat and wearer a space in which air can circulate freely. The projections also eliminate the risk of plastic material sticking to the wearer's skin.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least the sleeves of the coat are made of material on which projections have been provided. In a preferred variant of the invention, the entire coat is made of material that has been provided with projections. In one alternative embodiment, absorbent material is fastened to the outside of the coat, at least on parts thereof. The plastic material may also include patterns of projections which project outwardly from the outside thereof, and the coat material has a sinusoidal shape in cross-section, both longitudinally and transversely, wherein the projections have a size such that light which falls onto the coat will be reflected essentially by diffuse reflection. The surgical coat may, for instance, be made of low density polyethylene (LLD).
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a surgical coat according to one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a piece of material in the coat shown in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a piece of material of a different embodiment suitable for use in an inventive surgical coat.
The surgical coat 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is made of a plastic material 2, for instance linear low-density polyethylene (LLD), having a thickness of 20-200 .mu.m. The plastic material 2 is provided with a pattern of cup-shaped projections 3 which project out inwardly from the inner surface of the coat material, i.e. the surface which will lie proximal to the wearer. The major part of the coat material will therefore be distanced from the wearer's body, since only the apices or tips of the projections will lie against the wearer. Those regions of the coat material that lie directly against the wearer's skin, e.g. against the arms of the wearer, will generate only a small degree of friction against the skin, at the same time as the space between the planar parts of the coat material and the wearer's skin enables air to circulate freely between the projections. The projections also eliminate the risk of coat material sticking to the skin, this risk being much greater when the coat is made of smooth plastic material. The inventive surgical coat is therefore more c
REFERENCES:
patent: 2884639 (1959-05-01), Klepper
patent: 2897508 (1959-08-01), Bashore
patent: 3219514 (1965-11-01), Struycken De Roysancour
patent: 3706102 (1972-12-01), Grenier
patent: 3771170 (1973-11-01), Leon
patent: 4685155 (1987-08-01), Fingerhut et al.
patent: 4739522 (1988-04-01), Lassiter et al.
patent: 4810559 (1989-03-01), Fortier et al.
patent: 5014358 (1991-05-01), Matumori
patent: 5150476 (1992-09-01), Statham et al.
patent: 5155867 (1992-10-01), Norvell
patent: 5381558 (1995-01-01), Lo
patent: 5673433 (1997-10-01), Rothrum
patent: 5794266 (1998-08-01), Han
Billgren Tomas
Lofgren Kristina
Molnlycke Health Care AB
Vanatta Amy B.
LandOfFree
Surgical coat does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Surgical coat, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Surgical coat will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1702112