Apparel – Guard or protector – Body cover
Patent
1994-08-18
1997-02-18
Vanatta, Amy B.
Apparel
Guard or protector
Body cover
2 69, 21611, 2239, 2272, A41D 1300
Patent
active
056031165
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is that of tight-fitting garments, notably but not exclusively garments used in certain sports such as for example underwater diving (or any other aquatic sport requiring the use of a suit, gloves or shoes) or again in motorcycling.
The invention can be applied especially to diving suits as well as to the corresponding shoes and gloves.
More generally, the invention can be applied to all types of garments whose tight-fit makes it difficult to put on or take off.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Thus, it is known that it is fairly difficult to pull on a diving suit, notably because of its shape and its elasticity. Similarly, when a diver removes a diving suit, after having come out of the water, he has to make considerable efforts to get himself out of the suit.
The reasons for these difficulties can be found in several phenomena.
First of all, the constituent materials of the tight-fitting clothes are generally elastic and are stretched when worn by the user. It is this elasticity that gives the garment its tight-fitting character, but it also increases the forces of friction between the garment and the body when it is put on or taken off.
Furthermore, these materials are often of a porous type, for example neoprene for divers' suits or surfers' suits. Now, the pores of this material tend to expand in contact with the heat of the body. This gives rise to a sort of suction effect between the tight-fitting garment and the undergarments or the skin. This suction effect is increased by perspiration and by the possible penetration of sea water into the garment (in the case of a nautical sports suit), by external surface pressure when the garment is used in an underwater environment and probably also by the user's movements which contribute to the expulsion of air that may be trapped in the interstices when the garment is pulled on.
Besides, when the wearer comes out of the water, the water held between the suit and the body runs out almost entirely through the ends of the suit. However, because of the quantity of water remaining (through absorption by the material), the suit continues to adhere strongly to the skin by the same suction effect.
Users generally try different ways of putting on or removing their suits more easily. One of the known approaches consists in removing the suit while remaining in the water. However, with this method, not only is there very little reduction in the adherence but, furthermore, the difficulty of the operation in itself is often further increased.
Another approach consists in lubricating the interior of the suit. The lubrication, which is done for example with soap or a washing-up liquid, is not very effective and furthermore causes pollution. In general, the use of a lubricant is disagreeable and often ineffective, generally causes pollution, and is sometimes even chemically harmful to the body and the material constituting the suit.
The patent document FR-A-1 379 022, filed on 8 Oct. 1963 by Dubois and Beraud, describes a latex garment molded to the desired shape, to the back of which there is bonded a flexible and highly stretchable undervest. This undervest makes the garment pleasant to wear and preserves the heat of the body.
This document specifies that the undervest lining can be coated with a thin layer of plastic (or other material) to make it easier to pull on and prevent contact between the undervest lining and the skin.
However, a garment of this kind has numerous drawbacks. Thus, the fact that the skin slides on the thin layer of plastic (or other material), while it makes the garment easy to pull on, also means that the body is not held securely in the garment (the suction effect does not exist in this case) and may accidentally slip inside this garment.
Furthermore, a garment of this kind, wherein the skin is in contact with only a thin layer of plastic, does not permit the removal of perspiration.
Consequently, it can clearly be seen that, during intense physical effort, as is the
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