US20100031427A1 - Garment With Interior Surface Indicator - Google Patents
Garment With Interior Surface Indicator Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20100031427A1 US20100031427A1 US12/186,933 US18693308A US2010031427A1 US 20100031427 A1 US20100031427 A1 US 20100031427A1 US 18693308 A US18693308 A US 18693308A US 2010031427 A1 US2010031427 A1 US 2010031427A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- garment
- indicia
- interior surface
- folded configuration
- protective
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A41—WEARING APPAREL
- A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
- A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
- A41D13/12—Surgeons' or patients' gowns or dresses
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A41—WEARING APPAREL
- A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
- A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
- A41D13/02—Overalls, e.g. bodysuits or bib overalls
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
- B65D81/18—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient
- B65D81/20—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas
- B65D81/2007—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas under vacuum
- B65D81/2023—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas under vacuum in a flexible container
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
- B65D81/18—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient
- B65D81/20—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas
- B65D81/2069—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas in a special atmosphere
- B65D81/2084—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas in a special atmosphere in a flexible container
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
- B65D85/18—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for wearing apparel, headwear or footwear
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A41—WEARING APPAREL
- A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
- A41D2400/00—Functions or special features of garments
- A41D2400/44—Donning facilities
Definitions
- protective garments designed to provide barrier properties. Such protective apparel keeps clothing clean and keeps dirt and other residue off of the wearer's skin. For a variety of reasons, it is undesirable for hazardous liquids and/or pathogens that may be carried by liquids to pass through protective apparel. It is also highly desirable to use protective apparel to isolate persons from dusts, powders, and other particulates that may be present in a work place or accident site. Conversely, in cleanroom, critical manufacturing, and surgical environments, the protective apparel protects the environment from dust and debris that may otherwise be carried into the environment by the wearer. For example, in aseptic manufacturing, various components are sterile when introduced to the aseptic environment and are assembled in the aseptic environment such that the resultant assembled article need not be sterilized. Such a manufacturing process is often found within the manufacturing and packaging of certain pharmaceuticals. Similar critical environments are also found in other areas such as certain surgical environments.
- Protective garments utilized in such various environments are generally made from protective sheet materials that are designed to minimally keep the wearer clean and optimally provide some degree of comfort to the wearer.
- such garment materials are typically designed to prevent contaminants and/or chemicals from contacting the wearer.
- such garments are designed and processed to substantially eliminate particles, dust and free fibers that may contaminate the work environment.
- To optimally provide such protection such garments and their materials of construction are often designed to have specific interior and exterior surfaces. If incorrectly donned, such garments may not provide the wearer (or the particular environment) with the desired protection.
- tags are associated with the neck openings of such protective garments (as well as with many other articles of clothing) to relay information such as sizing, branding, country of origin, or the like.
- tags are pieces of materials attached proximate the neck opening or on a seam within the recesses of the garment. In some instances, such tags are merely printed on the interior surface of the garment proximate the neck opening.
- all such tags are relatively small (generally, much smaller than about 50 square centimeters) in comparison to the square area of material of the garment on which such a tag is utilized. Such small tag size helps avoid the potential discomfort of a tag on the neck of a wearer, but is also makes it difficult to locate such tags within the larger context of the entire garment.
- tags may not be easily viewable such that the wearer can quickly and easily distinguish the interior surface from the exterior surface of the garment.
- protective apparel are made from barrier materials/fabrics engineered to be relatively impervious to liquids and/or particulates as well as being low-linting.
- the materials used, the garment design, and garment manufacturing are all important factors affecting the costs of such garments. Desirably, all of these factors should be suited for the manufacture of protective garment, such as coveralls, at such low cost that it may be economical to discard the garment, if necessary, after only a single use.
- nonwoven-based material or “nonwoven web” refers to a material or web that has a structure of individual fibers or filaments which 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.
- sheet and “sheet material” shall be interchangeable and in the absence of a word modifier, refer to a material that may be a film, nonwoven web, woven fabric or knit fabric, or laminates made from such materials.
- machine direction refers to the planar dimension of a material web, which is in the direction of a material parallel to its forward direction during processing.
- cross-machine direction refers to the planar dimension of a material, which is in the direction that is generally perpendicular to the machine direction.
- 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 AATCCTM No. 1998 with the following exceptions: (1) the samples are larger than usual and are mounted in a stretching frame that clamps onto the cross-machine direction ends of the sample, such that the samples may be tested under a variety of stretch conditions (e.g., 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% stretch); and (2) the samples are supported underneath by a wire mesh to prevent the sample from sagging under the weight of the column of water.
- stretch conditions e.g. 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% stretch
- the term “breathable” refers to the air permeability of a material, and specifically to a material having a Frazier porosity of at least about 25 cubic feet per minute per square foot (cfm/ft 2 ).
- the Frazier porosity of a breathable material may be from about 25 to more than 45 cfm/ft 2 .
- the Frazier porosity is determined utilizing a Frazier Air Permeability Tester available from the Frazier Precision Instrument Company. The Frazier porosity is measured in accordance with Federal Test Method 5450, Standard No. 191A, except that the sample size is 8′′ ⁇ 8′′ instead of 7′′ ⁇ 7′′.
- 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 particle 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, Mich. Generally speaking, high particle holdout efficiency is desirable for barrier materials/fabrics. Desirably, a particle resistant material should have a particle holdout efficiency of at least about 40 percent for particles having a diameter greater than about 0.1 micron.
- the term “elastomeric” refers to a material or composite which can be extended or elongated by at least 25% of its relaxed length and which will recover, upon release of the applied force, at least 10% of its elongation. It is generally preferred that the elastomeric material or composite be capable of being elongated by at least 100%, recover at least 50% of its elongation.
- An elastomeric material is thus stretchable and “stretchable”, “elastomeric”, and “extensible” may be used interchangeably.
- the terms “elastic” or “elasticized” means that property of a material or composite by virtue of which it tends to recover towards its original size and shape after removal of a force causing a deformation.
- the term “disposable” is not limited to single use articles but also refers to articles that are so relatively inexpensive to the consumer that they can be discarded if they become soiled or otherwise unusable after only one or a few uses.
- garment refers to protective garments and/or shields including for example, but not limited to surgical gowns, patient drapes, work suits, coveralls, jumpers, aprons, and the like.
- the term “coverall(s)” refers to a relatively loose fitting, one-piece, protective garment that can be worn over other articles of clothing and protects substantial areas of a wearer's body, typically, from the neck region over the trunk of the body and out to the ends of extremities, such as a wearer's wrists and ankles, which sometimes may include the hands and feet.
- the garment may include an attached head cover, such as a hood, or integrated gloves and socks, boots, or other footwear.
- polymer generally includes, but is not limited to, homopolymers, copolymers, such as, for example, block, graft, random and alternating copolymers, terpolymers, etc. and blends and modifications thereof.
- polymer shall include all possible geometrical configurations of the material. These configurations include, but are not limited to, isotactic, syndiotactic and random symmetries.
- the term “consisting essentially of” does not exclude the presence of additional materials which do not significantly affect the desired characteristics of a given composition or product.
- Exemplary materials of this sort would include, without limitation, pigments, antioxidants, stabilizers, surfactants, waxes, flow promoters, particulates or materials added to enhance ability to process of a composition.
- the term “couple” or “affix” includes, but is not limited to, joining, connecting, fastening, linking, or associating two things integrally or interstitially together.
- the term “releasably affix(ed)” refers to two or more things that are stably coupled together and are at the same time capable of being manipulated to uncouple the things from each another.
- the terms “configure” or “configuration” means to design, arrange, set up, or shape with a view to specific applications or uses. For example: a military vehicle that was configured for rough terrain; configured the computer by setting the system's parameters.
- the term “substantially” refers to something which is done to a great extent or degree; for example, “substantially covered” means that a thing is at least 95% covered.
- alignment refers to the spatial property possessed by an arrangement or position of things in a straight line or in parallel lines.
- orientation or “position” used interchangeably herein refer to the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated; for example, “the position of the hands on the clock.”
- the problem of garment donning is eased by a protective garment that is provided to the wearer including indicia on the interior surface in a position that is easily visible to wearer when the garment is in the folded configuration and during donning of such a garment.
- the present disclosure is directed to a protective garment with an interior and exterior surface, front and back sides, a neck opening, and a body section having upper, central and lower portions.
- a pair of legs extends from the lower portion and a pair of sleeves extends from at least the upper portion.
- At least one surface indicia is positioned on the interior surface of the central portion of the garment.
- such a garment may be a part of a packaged garment in which such a garment is configured in a folded configuration, within a packaging member, and the packaging member is sealed.
- the present disclosure is also directed to a method of preparing a protective garment for donning.
- the method includes the steps of providing a garment having at least one surface indicia positioned on an interior surface of the garment and folding the garment into a folded configuration, in which the interior surface of the garment is present on the outer surface of the folded configuration such that a wearer may grasp the garment by the interior surfaces without touching the exterior surface of the garment. Additionally, the surface indicia is present on the outer surface of the folded configuration such that the wearer may easily identify the interior surface.
- the present disclosure is also directed to a protective coverall having a first body half and second body half; each half is made of a seamless sheet of material.
- the second body half is substantially the mirror image of the first body half.
- Each body half includes 1) a body portion with a first edge and second edge, 2) a sleeve portion, and 3) a leg portion.
- a closure means joins the first edges of each body portion on each body half and a vertical back seam joins the second edges of each body portion on each body half.
- the vertical back seam includes a binding strip that further includes a surface indicia.
- the present disclosure is also directed to a protective garment having interior and exterior surfaces, an upper portion, a central portion, and a neck opening defined by the upper portion.
- the garment further includes at least one surface indicia positioned on the interior surface of the central portion of the garment.
- FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an exemplary protective garment according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 2 illustrates a rear view of an exemplary protective garment according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 3 illustrates a detail of an exemplary protective garment.
- FIG. 4 illustrates a detail of an exemplary protective garment.
- FIG. 5 illustrates a detail of an exemplary protective garment.
- FIG. 6 illustrates a detail of an exemplary protective garment.
- FIG. 7 illustrates a front view of an exemplary protective garment according to the present disclosure, where the closure means is opened to show the interior surface of the garment.
- FIG. 8 illustrates a detail of an exemplary protective garment.
- FIGS. 9-15 illustrate exemplary steps in preparing an exemplary protective garment for donning by folding the garment into a folded configuration and packaging the folded configuration of the garment.
- FIG. 9 illustrates a top plan view of the back side of an exemplary protective garment with the sleeves and legs in a shortened configuration
- FIG. 10 illustrates a top plan view of the garment of FIG. 9 after the shortened sleeves and shortened legs have been folded on to the back side of the garment;
- FIG. 11 illustrates a top plan view of the folded garment of FIG. 10 after folding the folded garment of FIG. 10 lengthwise;
- FIG. 12 illustrates a top plan view of the folded garment of FIG. 11 after folding the folded garment of FIG. 11 widthwise;
- FIG. 13 illustrates a top plan view of the folded garment of FIG. 12 after pulling the opening flaps about the folded garment of FIG. 12 , exposing the interior surface of the garment;
- FIG. 14 illustrates a top plan view of the folded configuration formed after a horizontal fold of the folded garment of FIG. 13 ;
- FIG. 15 illustrates a top plan view of the garment in its folded configuration within a packaging member to form a packaged garment.
- FIG. 16 illustrates a rear view of an exemplary protective garment according to the present disclosure, where the closure means is opened to show the interior surface of the garment.
- the present invention pertains to a protective garment having a surface indicia to facilitate and ease the handling and donning of the garment.
- Such protective garments are of particular interest to work areas and industries such as, for example, healthcare, home improvement do-it-yourself, chemical, industrial, sanitation, cleanrooms, and other similar applications.
- this description uses an exemplary protective coverall(s) garment to illustrate the inventive concept which may be applied to any protective garment.
- Terms such a “protective garment” and “protective coverall(s)” may be used interchangeably in the description.
- the concepts of the present disclosure may be applied to other protective garments as are well known and defined above.
- FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate at 10 a front view of an exemplary protective garment 12 .
- the protective coveralls 12 include a first (or left) body half 14 and a second (or right) body half 16 . Each body half 14 and 16 is formed from a seamless sheet of material. The second body half 16 is substantially a mirror image of the first body half 14 .
- the protective coveralls 12 contain left and right sleeves 18 and 20 as well as left and right legs 22 and 24 .
- a neck opening 26 is visible at the top of the coveralls 12 .
- a closure means 28 is visible from a front view 10 of the coveralls 12 .
- the garment 12 has a front side 11 and a back side 13 .
- FIG. 2 illustrates at 30 a rear view of exemplary protective coveralls.
- the protective coveralls 12 includes a first body half 14 and a second body half 16 (in reversed position as the view is from the rear).
- the sleeves 18 , 20 and the legs 22 , 24 are also in reversed position.
- a vertical back seam 32 and a horizontal back seam 34 are visible from the rear view 30 of the coveralls 12 .
- the body of the garment 12 includes a torso section 72 from which the sleeves 18 , 20 and legs 22 , 24 extend.
- the torso section 72 includes an upper portion 74 , a central portion 76 , and a lower portion 78 .
- the upper portion 74 extends downward from the shoulder portions 63 to the central portion 76 and will generally include all the areas of the garment 12 over the shoulders of the wearer that will contact the shoulders and neck of the wearer.
- the neck opening 26 is defined within the upper portion 74 .
- the upper portion 74 generally forms the shoulder cap of the garment 12 .
- the sleeves 18 , 20 generally extend from at least a portion of the upper portion 74 .
- the lower portion 78 extends upward from the crotch 86 to the central portion 76 and will generally include all the areas of the garment 12 that will contact the waist area of the wearer.
- the legs 22 , 24 extend from the lower portion 78 .
- the central portion 76 extends between the upper and lower portions 74 , 78 and generally will include the areas of the garment 12 corresponding to the chest and midsection of the front of the wearer, generally including the collarbone of the wearer. Additionally, the central portion 76 also generally extends from the shoulder blades to the small of the back on the back side of the wearer, generally including the shoulder blades and the small of the back of the wearer.
- the upper portion 74 extends over and downward from the shoulder portions 63 to a point between neck opening 26 and horizontal back seam 34 .
- the lower portion 78 extends upward from the crotch 86 to a point generally corresponding to the elastic waistband 84 and circumferential waist of the garment 12 .
- the central portion 76 accounts for the remainder of the torso section 72 of the garment 12 and is illustrated as extending from a horizontal line above the horizontal back seam 34 and extending down to the elastic waist band 84 .
- Each of the portions 74 , 76 , 78 include parts of the front side 11 and back side 13 of the garment 12 and collectively account for all of the surfaces of the torso of the garment from which the limbs (legs/sleeves) extend.
- FIG. 7 illustrates the inside of the garment 12 of FIGS. 1 and 2 .
- the left and right opening flaps 80 , 82 of the closure means 28 are opened and pulled back to reveal the interior surfaces 101 of the garment 12 .
- the vertical back seam 32 and the horizontal back seam 34 are visible on the interior surface 101 of the back side 13 of the garment 12 .
- an elastic waist band 84 may be present on the interior surface 101 of the back side 13 to provide the garment 12 with enhanced waist fit.
- the garment 12 may include at least one surface indicia 92 on the interior surface 101 of the garment 12 , to help the wearer easily identify the interior surface 101 when donning the garment 12 .
- a surface indicia 92 may be any sensory cue that communicates to the wearer which is the interior surface 101 of the garment 12 .
- the sensory cue will be some form of visual cue (color, shape, text, symbol, graphic, or the like) that the wearer can see.
- visual cues may be visual, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, auditory, or combinations of such sensory cues.
- a surface indicia 92 is associated with the vertical back seam 32 and extends from proximate the neck opening 26 to proximate the crotch 86 along the interior surface 101 of the back side 13 of the garment 12 .
- the vertical back seam 32 is a bound seam 732 where the binding strip 734 of the bound seam 732 is made of a material having a color that is visually distinct from the color of the seamless sheet 36 that makes up the garment 10 .
- the indicia color will be distinctly different than the color of the interior surface 101 to easily identify the interior surface 101 by contrast.
- the binding strip 734 may be a blue strip of material that is in contrast to the white background of the interior surface 101 .
- the surface indicia 92 may be associated with the horizontal back seam 34 , or with both a vertical back seam 32 and a horizontal back seam 34 .
- the surface indicia 92 may be other similar visual cues.
- the surface indicia 92 may be repeating contrasting colored shapes printed on the interior surface 101 .
- the surface indicia 92 may be a colored strip that extends down the central back spine of the garment (generally located along the line where the vertical back seam 32 is located in the garment 12 of FIG. 7 ). Such a colored strip may be printed directly on the interior surface 101 or may be an additional strip of colored material that is associated with the interior surface 101 .
- the surface indicia 92 may be large text printed (or otherwise placed) on the interior surface 101 , such as “OK” or “INSIDE SURFACE”.
- the surface indicia 92 may be a symbol such as a check mark or a thumbs-up symbol. Similarly, such text or symbols may be repeated across the entire interior surface 101 , or some smaller portion thereof.
- the surface indicia 92 may be a holographic image present on the interior surface 101 .
- stitching only present on the interior surface 101 may be made using a stitching color that is a contrasting color to the that of the material being stitched together.
- the surface indicia 92 is desirably present in at least the central portion 76 of the interior surface 101 as the central portion 76 makes up a large area of the visible torso section 72 of the garment 12 when the garment 12 is being handled for donning.
- the surface indicia 92 may extend into the upper portion 74 , into the lower portion 78 , or may be positioned in all of the portions of the torso section 72 .
- presence of the surface indicia 92 in at least a portion of the central portion 76 is believed to provide the most reliable minimal indicator to a wearer that handles and dons such a garment 12 .
- the surface indicia 92 may additionally, or alternatively, include a material having a texture that is distinct from the textures of the surrounding surfaces, which then may be used by the wearer to identify the interior surface 101 by touch.
- the surface indicia 92 may additionally, or alternatively, include a material that produces a unique sound when handled.
- the surface indicia 92 may include metalized nylon, foil, biaxially-orientated PET film, or other similar material that produces an audible crinkling sound when handled that is distinct from the sound of handling the sheet material the makes up the remainder of the garment 12 .
- the surface indicia 92 present on the interior surface 101 may be absence of a particular sensory cue relative to the remainder of the surfaces of the garment 12 .
- the garment 12 may include colored circles printed only on the exterior surface 103 of the garment 12 .
- the surface indicia 92 of such a garment may be the absence of any such printed circles on the interior surface 101 .
- the surface indicia 92 may be any sensory cue that may be used to communicate to the wearer the distinction between the interior surface 101 and the exterior surface 103 of the garment 12 .
- the garment 12 may include a secondary indicia 94 such as illustrated in FIG. 7 .
- the secondary indicia 94 may be any sensory cue that communicates to the wearer a desired message.
- the secondary indicia 94 may be an alternative indicator of the interior surface 101 or may be used to convey a different message.
- the secondary indicia 94 is a shape on the interior surface 101 that both indicates the interior surface 101 and the proper orientation of the garment 12 .
- Such secondary indicia 94 may be helpful to communicate instructions to the wearer such as where on the garment 12 the wearer should grab hold of the interior surface 101 for optimal donning.
- the manufacture of such garments 12 may be in accordance with known automated, semi-automated, or hand assembly procedures. It may be desired that the protective garment 12 contain the fewest practical number of panels, portions or sections in order to reduce the number of seams in the garment for better barrier properties and to simplify the manufacturing steps. However, it is contemplated that the protective garment 12 may contain sections, panels, or portions of barrier fabrics that may have different degrees of strength to customize the coverall for a particular application.
- the sleeves 18 , 20 or other portions e.g., leg portions, shoulder portions or back portions of the coveralls
- the sleeves 18 , 20 or other portions may include double layers of barrier fabrics with very high levels of strength and toughness. Examples of the type of garments 12 contemplated may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,189 to Bell, which is herein incorporated by reference, and in those garments available from Kimberly-Clark Corporation (Roswell, Ga.) sold under the KLEENGUARD® brand.
- the assembly of an exemplary garment 12 is illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 6 .
- the first body half 14 includes a body portion 38 having a first edge 40 , a second edge 42 and a top edge 44 .
- the top edge 44 extends approximately half-way across the body portion 38 from the second edge 42 .
- the first body half 14 includes a sleeve portion 46 having a top sleeve edge 48 and bottom sleeve edge 50 , a top edge 52 , and a segment 54 of the second edge 42 of the body portion 38 .
- the first body half 14 also includes a leg portion 56 having a front leg edge 58 and a rear leg edge 60 .
- a sleeve 18 of the first body half 14 may be constructed by folding the sleeve portion 46 along line 62 as illustrated in FIG. 4 .
- the body portion 38 and leg portion 56 are folded along line 64 as illustrated in FIG. 5 .
- the top edge 52 of the sleeve portion 46 is attached to the top edge 44 of the body portion 38 producing a horizontal back seam 34 which can be seen in FIG. 1 .
- the sleeve portion 46 is closed into a sleeve 18 by attaching the top sleeve edge 48 to the bottom sleeve 44 edge producing a sleeve seam 66 running from point 68 to point 70 .
- the first body half 14 is attached to the second body half 16 (i.e., the mirror image of the first body half 14 ).
- the body halves are joined by attaching the respective second surfaces 42 and 42 ′ of the body portions 38 and 38 ′.
- a closure means e.g., zipper, button fasteners, clip fasteners, snap fasteners, hook and loop fasteners and the like
- the leg portions are closed by attaching the front leg edge 58 to the back leg edge 60 and the front leg edge 58 ′ to the back leg edge 60 ′ on each body half.
- the left sleeve 18 may be an integral part of the first body half 14 (i.e., the first body half 14 cut to form a left sleeve 18 ), such as for the garment discussed above. It is contemplated that the left sleeve 18 may be a separate piece of material that may be joined to the first body half 14 by a seam (not shown). In the same way, it is desirable that the right sleeve 20 may be an integral part of the second body half 16 (i.e., the right body panel 16 cut to form a right sleeve 20 ). It is contemplated that the right sleeve 20 may be a separate piece of material that may be joined to the upper right body panel 28 by a seam (not shown).
- the sleeves 18 , 20 are shown as extending outward from the body 14 , 16 substantially parallel with the shoulder portions 63 .
- the sleeves may be designed to extend upward from the general plane of the shoulder portions 63 .
- the legs 22 , 24 are formed in a way similar to the formation of the sleeves 18 , 20 .
- the left leg 22 may be an integral part of the left body panel 14 (i.e., the left body panel 14 cut to form a left leg 22 ), such as for the garment discussed above. It is contemplated that the left leg 22 may be a separate piece of material that may be joined to the first body half 14 by a seam (not shown).
- the right leg 24 may be an integral part of the second body half 16 (i.e., the right body panel 16 cut to form a right leg 24 ). It is contemplated that the right leg 24 may be a separate piece of material that may be joined to the right body panel 16 by a seam (not shown).
- the seams used to form the garment may be any type of seam that is appropriate in forming such garments. Such seams must be appropriate for the materials used in forming the garment, the strength required, and the level of security and protection that is desired. Typical seams used for such garments include serged, sewn, bound, taped, welded, and heat sealed seams. Bound seams 732 (such as shown in FIG. 8 ) are often used in protective garments. Such bound seams 732 use a binding strip 734 that reinforces the serged seam (formed by two material edges 740 being seamed) for strength and tear resistance as well as covers the raw edges of the materials being joined, to further reduce the possibility of introducing free fibers into the environments in which such garments are to be used.
- Such a protective garment 12 may be packaged by any means and/or method that allows for the wearer to easily access the garment 12 for donning, while ensuring that the wearer does not touch an exterior surface 103 of the garment 12 .
- One exemplary method of preparing the garment 12 for donning is shown in FIGS. 9 to 15 . The method shown includes the first step of laying the garment 12 with the front side 11 face-down on a surface, opening the closure means 28 , and shortening the sleeves 18 , 20 and legs 22 , 24 of the garment 12 .
- a garment 12 in such a resultant shortened limb configuration (with shortened sleeves 218 and shortened legs 222 ) is illustrated in FIG. 9 . As shown in FIG.
- the sleeves 18 , 20 and legs 22 , 24 may be shortened by tucking the ends of such legs and sleeves back up into such sleeves 18 , 20 and legs 22 , 24 .
- Such shortened sleeves 218 and/or shortened legs 222 may be releaseably attached on the inside surface 101 of the garment 12 to hold the garment 12 in the shortened configuration of FIG. 9 .
- the shortened sleeves 218 may be folded, along the fold line 95 , toward the back side 13 of the garment.
- the shortened legs 222 may then be folded up, along the fold lines 97 , toward the back side 13 of the garment 12 .
- the front side 11 of the shortened legs 222 and shortened sleeves 218 now rest (facing up) on the back side 13 of the garment 12 .
- the initially folded garment may be folded lengthwise in thirds, along the fold lines 99 , to form the folded garment illustrated in FIG. 11 .
- the left side edge 114 is folded along line 99 toward the center of the back side 13 of the folded garment of FIG. 10 .
- the right side edge 116 is folded, along line 99 , towards the center of the garment and on top of the previously folded over left side edge, to form the folded garment of FIG. 11 .
- the bottom edge 118 of the folded garment of FIG. 11 may then be folded upwards along fold line 111 and then again upwards along fold line 113 to form the folded garment of FIG. 12 .
- a portion of the interior surface 101 (within the opened closure means 28 ) is now facing upwards, along with portions of the left and right opening flaps 80 , 82 .
- the portions of the left and right opening flaps 80 , 82 that lie underneath the folded garment of FIG. 12 may be pulled around from underneath to on top of the folded garment of FIG. 12 .
- the interior surface 101 of the garment 12 are exposed on the outer surfaces of the folded garment, as shown in FIG. 13 .
- the garment may be folded upward along fold line 115 to form the final folded configuration 140 illustrated in FIG. 14 .
- such a folded configuration 140 desirably provides the interior surfaces 101 of the garment 12 readily available for the wearer to grasp when donning the garment 12 .
- the central portion 74 of the back side 13 is provided on the outer surface 142 of the folded configuration 140 .
- the surface indicia 92 present on the interior surface 101 of the central portion 74 is clearly visible to the wearer and serves as further confirmation that the outer surface 142 of the folded configuration 140 is the interior surface 101 .
- the outer surface 142 being the surface forming the exterior of the folded configuration 140 and thus includes all of the surfaces that may be potentially touched when handling the garment 12 in such a folded configuration 140 .
- substantially all of the outer surface 142 of the folded configuration 140 is made up of the interior surface 101 of the garment 12 .
- the folded configuration 140 may include a lesser percentage of the outer surface 142 being made of the interior surface 101 .
- This illustrated method of folding of the garment 12 is only one potential method of folding the garment 12 .
- Other methods that fold the garment 12 such that the surface indicia 92 and the interior surface 101 are made available to the wearer during subsequent unfolding and donning are also contemplated.
- One skilled in the art would see how a different order of folding steps, numbers of folds, desired final folded dimensions, and other such considerations, may contribute to different methods of folding up the garment 12 .
- Such garments 12 may be laundered and dried to remove any excessive particulates that may be present from the garment manufacturing process. This step would likely need to occur before the folding steps.
- the garment 12 may be packaged by any method as known to package such garments 12 to form a protective garment package 810 to be delivered to the wearer.
- the folded configuration 140 of the garment 12 may be placed within packaging member 800 and the packaging member 800 sealed to form a packaged garment 810 .
- a packaging member 800 may be a bag, a pouch, film layers, or the like. It may be desired that the packaged garment 810 be sterilized by any sterilization method as is known for such products. Additionally, it may be desirable that the air within the packaging member 800 be removed during packaging, such that the garment 12 is vacuum-packed, prior to such sterilization.
- FIG. 16 Another embodiment of a protective garment including a surface indicia 92 for identifying the interior surface 101 of the garment, is illustrated in FIG. 16 .
- the garment illustrated in FIG. 16 is the rear view 30 of a rear-opening gown garment 120 , such as may be used in a surgical or laboratory environment.
- the garment 120 is shown with the closure means 28 (on the back side 13 of the garment 120 ) opened and the left and right opening flaps 80 , 82 pulled back to reveal the interior surfaces 101 of the garment 120 .
- the garment 120 includes an upper portion 74 , a central portion 76 , and a lower portion 78 .
- the upper portion 74 extends downward from the shoulder portions 63 to the central portion 76 and will generally include all the areas of the garment 120 over the shoulders of the wearer that will contact the shoulders and neck of the wearer.
- a neck opening 26 is defined within the upper portion 74 .
- the upper portion 74 generally forms the shoulder cap of the garment 120 .
- the sleeves 18 , 20 generally extend from at least a portion of the upper portion 74 .
- the lower portion 78 extends upward from the bottom opening edge 122 to the central portion 76 and will generally include all the areas of the garment 120 proximate the waist 85 of the garment 120 down to the bottom opening edge 122 .
- the central portion 76 extends between the upper and lower portions 74 , 78 and generally will include the areas of the garment 120 corresponding to the chest and midsection of the front of the wearer, generally including the collarbone of the wearer. Additionally, the central portion 76 also generally extends from the shoulder blades to the small of the back on the back side of the wearer, generally including the shoulder blades and the small of the back of the wearer.
- a surface indicia 92 is shown in the garment 120 of FIG. 16 extending along the interior surface 101 of the front side 11 of the garment 120 .
- the surface indicia 92 may be any sensory cue that enables the wearer to distinguish the interior surface 101 from the exterior surface 103 of the garment.
- the manufacture and packaging of such garments may be in accordance with known automated, semi-automated, or hand assembly procedures.
- attachment of the various portions of the garment may be achieved utilizing sewing or stitching, ultrasonic bonding, solvent welding, adhesives, thermal bonding and similar techniques.
- the order of manufacturing and packaging steps described above is believed to provide an efficient process for fabricating and packaging protective garments. However, it is contemplated that changes in the order of these steps may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
- the neck opening 26 may be fitted with a collar and/or hood.
- Sleeve and leg portions extending from the body portion may be fitted with elastic cuffs and/or other elastic means to ensure that they fit snugly against a wearer.
- structures such as thumb loops and stirrups may be added to wrist and/or leg cuffs to aid in donning of the garment 12 .
- Piping may be added to the garment 12 , to allow for attachment of badges to the garment without breaching the integrity of the garment material.
- Such piping may additionally, or alternatively, be included for aesthetic purposes.
- Other features such as pockets are also considered.
- the garment 12 may additionally include re-sealable openings to allow a wearer to access the interior of the garment 12 without having to remove the garment 12 .
- the closure means 28 of the garment 12 may include any type of fastener as are common for such protective garments. Desirably, the closure means 28 will be a mechanical closure device, such as a standard zipper for barrier protection. However, it is contemplated that other fasteners such as hook-and-loop fasteners, snaps, re-sealable tapes, or other similar fasteners may be used, depending on the level of protection required of the garment 12 . Additionally, the closure means 28 of the garment 12 may include a closure flap that covers the closure means 28 . Such a closure flap may be secured by a variety of fasteners.
- the garment 12 may alternatively incorporate an obliquely oriented opening with an associated fastener, across the front torso region of the garment, instead of a conventional vertical opening for entry into the garment.
- a zipper may start at the shoulder and proceed diagonally across the torso down to the upper thigh region. This allows the torso of the garment to be opened wide.
- An angled zipper that starts away from the neck of the wearer may be less irritating.
- colors, symbols, words, logos, or other such indicia may be employed to communicate a particular message, such as the relative level of protection, sterility or non-sterility, or to provide distinctive appearance as a style element. Colors may be applied to the material of the entire garment 12 , individual portions of the garment 12 , or as fabric piping along seams, around pockets or leggings, or in distinctive patterns. A logo denoting branding or level of protection may be located on the garment 12 . Color may be added to the closure means for communication and appearance purposes.
- All materials used in the protective garment 12 have barrier properties that meet industrial standards for their respective designated level of protection.
- the garment materials are generally breathable and liquid resistant barrier materials. The breathability of the material increases the comfort of someone wearing such a garment, especially if the garment is worn under high heat index conditions, vigorous physical activity, or long periods of time.
- Various suitable woven and non-woven barrier materials are known and used in the art for garments such as surgical gowns, coveralls, industrial protective garments, and the like. All such materials are within the scope of the present disclosure.
- the material used to form the garment may be one or more bonded carded webs, webs of spunbonded fibers, webs of meltblown fibers, webs of spunlaced fibers, webs of other nonwoven materials, one or more knit or woven materials, one or more films, and combinations thereof.
- the material may be formed from polymers such as, for example, polyamides, polyolefins, polyesters, polyvinyl alcohols, polyurethanes, polyvinyl chlorides, polyfluorocarbons, polystyrenes, caprolactams, copolymers of ethylene and at least one vinyl monomer, copolymers of ethylene and n-butyl acrylate, and cellulosic and acrylic resins, and mixtures and blends of the same.
- the polyolefin may be polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, ethylene copolymers, propylene copolymers and butene copolymers.
- Laminates can be formed by combining layers of seamless sheet materials with each other and/or forming or depositing layers of such materials on each other.
- the material may be a laminate of two or more nonwoven webs.
- the material may be a laminate of at least one web of spunbonded fibers and at least one web of meltblown fibers and mixtures thereof.
- useful multi-layer materials may be made by joining at least one web of meltblown fibers (which may include meltblown microfibers) with at least one spunbonded continuous filament web.
- An exemplary multi-layer seamless material useful for making the protective garment of the present invention is a nonwoven laminated fabric constructed by bonding together layers of spunbonded continuous filaments webs and webs of meltblown fibers (which may include meltblown microfibers) and may also include a bonded carded web or other nonwoven fabric.
- Such materials may generally be produced inexpensively such that they may be considered to be disposable.
- An exemplary three-layer fabric having a first outer ply of a spunbonded web, a middle ply of a meltblown web, and a second outer ply of a spunbonded web may be referred to in shorthand notation as SMS.
- Such fabrics are described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,041,203, 4,374,888, and 4,753,843, all of which patents are assigned to the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the assignee of the present invention.
- a protective garment 12 Another exemplary material which may be used for the manufacture of a protective garment 12 is a laminated fabric constructed by bonding together at least one layer of a nonwoven web with at least one layer of a film.
- the film layer may range in thickness from about 0.25 mil to about 5.0 mil.
- the film may have a thickness ranging from about 0.5 mil to about 3.0 mil.
- the film will have a thickness ranging from about 1.0 mil to about 2.5 mil.
- Such films may be applied by extrusion coating the substrates and then passing the superposed materials through the nip of smooth calendar rolls.
- the films may be formed so they would create a layer on the substrate having a desired thickness (excluding the substrate).
- Exemplary film layers include films formed from polymers which may include polyamides, polyolefins, polyesters, polyvinyl alcohols, polyurethanes, polyvinyl chlorides, polyfluorocarbons, polystyrenes, caprolactams, copolymers of ethylene and at least one vinyl monomer, copolymers of ethylene and n-butyl acrylate, and cellulosic and acrylic resins.
- the polyolefin may be polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, ethylene copolymers, propylene copolymers and butene copolymers and blends of the above.
- the seamless sheet material of the garment 12 may have a basis weight ranging from about 15 gsm (i.e., grams per square meter) to about 300 gsm.
- the seamless sheet material may have a basis weight ranging from about 20 gsm to about 100 gsm.
- the material may have a basis weight ranging from about 20 gsm to about 75 gsm.
- the basis weight of the laminate will vary depending on the materials used, lower basis weight materials are desirable for comfort and conformability, and higher basis weight materials are desirable for toughness and durability.
- a film-nonwoven web laminate construction may permit combinations of materials providing high strength at relatively low basis weights and the design of the coveralls allows such strong and relatively unyielding materials to be used in a comfortable garment.
- Such garments often need to be designed with materials adapted to protect the wearer in hazardous and general, non-hazardous environments.
- hazardous environments include protection against water-based acids, bases, salts and splashes of certain liquids, such as pesticides and herbicides.
- the garments may provide a reliable barrier against exposure to harmful dry particles, such as lead dust, asbestos and particles contaminated with radiation.
- Non-hazardous, industrial uses include wearing the garments for “dirty jobs” at factories, workshops, engineering plants, farms and construction sites.
- the resistance hydrostatic pressure (hydrohead) of the protective articles will depend, in part, on the particular kind of material from which the article is constructed.
- the garment may be designed to have a liquid hydrohead resistance of at least about 15, 17 or 20 millibars, up to about 180, 187, or 200 millibars, inclusive of all range combinations thereinbetween. More commonly, the garment may have a hydrohead resistance of about 25 or 30 to about 115 millibars, preferably between about 45 to about 110 millibars, and more preferably between about 50 millibars to about 95 millibars of pressure.
- the air permeability of the garment materials may be designed to be within the range from at least about 2 cubic feet per meter (cfm) up to about 47 or 50 cfm, inclusive of all range combinations thereinbetween. More typically, the air permeability may be in the range from about 5 or 10 cfm to about 43 or 45 cfm, and preferably between about 15, 17, 20, or 25 cfm to about 40 or 42 cfm.
- the garment may be designed to have a moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) of up to about 4700 g/m 2 /24 hours, more typically about between about 2700 or 3600 MVTR to about 4500 or 4600 MVTR.
- MVTR moisture vapor transmission rate
- the protective garment may protect the wearer resistance of about 9-100% against dry particle barrier intrusion of a particle size of 0.3-05 microns.
- the garment may be made from a material that provides a barrier to dust and microparticulates (e.g., ranging in size from about 0.05-0.10 microns or larger (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,753) or light-splash fluids.
- the materials of the garment may also be electret-treated to generate a localized electrostatic charge within the fibers of the nonwoven web (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,446 to Tsai).
- these materials may be treated with compositions such as Zepel® and Zelec®, available from E. I. du Pont De Nemours, located in Wilmington, Del.
Abstract
A protective garment with an interior surface indicator to facilitate proper donning of the garment is described. The garment includes at least one indicia on the central portion of the interior surface of the garment to communicate to the wearer which is the interior surface of the garment. This allows the garment to be handled and donned by the wearer, without the wearer touching an exterior surface of the garment. A method of preparing a protective garment for donning is also disclosed.
Description
- There are many types of protective garments designed to provide barrier properties. Such protective apparel keeps clothing clean and keeps dirt and other residue off of the wearer's skin. For a variety of reasons, it is undesirable for hazardous liquids and/or pathogens that may be carried by liquids to pass through protective apparel. It is also highly desirable to use protective apparel to isolate persons from dusts, powders, and other particulates that may be present in a work place or accident site. Conversely, in cleanroom, critical manufacturing, and surgical environments, the protective apparel protects the environment from dust and debris that may otherwise be carried into the environment by the wearer. For example, in aseptic manufacturing, various components are sterile when introduced to the aseptic environment and are assembled in the aseptic environment such that the resultant assembled article need not be sterilized. Such a manufacturing process is often found within the manufacturing and packaging of certain pharmaceuticals. Similar critical environments are also found in other areas such as certain surgical environments.
- Protective garments utilized in such various environments are generally made from protective sheet materials that are designed to minimally keep the wearer clean and optimally provide some degree of comfort to the wearer. In more critical environments, such garment materials are typically designed to prevent contaminants and/or chemicals from contacting the wearer. Additionally, in critical manufacturing and surgical environments, such garments are designed and processed to substantially eliminate particles, dust and free fibers that may contaminate the work environment. To optimally provide such protection, such garments and their materials of construction are often designed to have specific interior and exterior surfaces. If incorrectly donned, such garments may not provide the wearer (or the particular environment) with the desired protection.
- While correct donning of garments is seemingly simple, the nature of such protective garments often makes the task difficult and cumbersome. Commonly, garments such as protective coveralls are provided to the wearer in a compact folded configuration in which the interior and exterior surface are often indistinguishable. Further compounding the issue is the fact that such garments are often a single color of material which makes distinguishing interior and exterior surfaces and distinguishing between the various components of the garment difficult. Finally, protective coveralls are relatively large in relation to the wearer such that the wearer often does not have a clear view of the entire garment while holding the garment at any one specific point.
- Often tags are associated with the neck openings of such protective garments (as well as with many other articles of clothing) to relay information such as sizing, branding, country of origin, or the like. Often such tags are pieces of materials attached proximate the neck opening or on a seam within the recesses of the garment. In some instances, such tags are merely printed on the interior surface of the garment proximate the neck opening. However, all such tags are relatively small (generally, much smaller than about 50 square centimeters) in comparison to the square area of material of the garment on which such a tag is utilized. Such small tag size helps avoid the potential discomfort of a tag on the neck of a wearer, but is also makes it difficult to locate such tags within the larger context of the entire garment. Depending on placement of such tags within the garment, how the user grasps the garment when donning, and/or how the garment is provided to the user in a folded configuration, such relatively small tags may not be easily viewable such that the wearer can quickly and easily distinguish the interior surface from the exterior surface of the garment.
- Such difficulties in determining the interior surface and the exterior surface can be frustrating to the wearer and increase the amount of time used in donning such garments. While such donning frustration may be a mere inconvenience in many industrial manufacturing environments, in cleanrooms, critical manufacturing, and surgical environments, such issues are critical.
- Due to the critical, sterile character of cleanroom manufacturing and surgical environments, stringent protocols regarding apparel and apparel donning are followed such that no contaminants, including things such as dead skin and natural bacteria which may be present on workers' skin, are not accidentally transferred to the product or patient that the environment is structured to protect. To prevent such contamination, workers don head-to-toe coverage, including booties, gloves, and coveralls, to protect the environment. To ensure cleanliness, workers undergo extensive training regarding the donning of such garments. The worker is careful to don such garments without touching exterior surfaces of the garment while being careful that the garment does not touch the floor or other surfaces. If either occurs, the worker must obtain another, uncontaminated, garment to don. Such workers are not able to merely manipulate the garment to determine which is the interior surface; they must be able to determine which is the interior surface before they first touch such garments.
- Additionally, workers typically change their coveralls once a day, or every other day, depending on the requirements or standards of their respective industry. In some situations, workers may change their protective apparel even more frequently. After use, it can be quite costly to decontaminate, clean, and/or sterilize protective apparel after it has been used. Thus, it is often important that the protective apparel be inexpensive so as to be a disposable or limited-use garment. Generally speaking, protective coveralls are made from barrier materials/fabrics engineered to be relatively impervious to liquids and/or particulates as well as being low-linting. The materials used, the garment design, and garment manufacturing are all important factors affecting the costs of such garments. Desirably, all of these factors should be suited for the manufacture of protective garment, such as coveralls, at such low cost that it may be economical to discard the garment, if necessary, after only a single use.
- As used herein, the term “nonwoven-based material” or “nonwoven web” refers to a material or web that has a structure of individual fibers or filaments which 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 terms “sheet” and “sheet material” shall be interchangeable and in the absence of a word modifier, refer to a material that may be a film, nonwoven web, woven fabric or knit fabric, or laminates made from such materials.
- As used herein, the term “machine direction” (hereinafter “MD”) refers to the planar dimension of a material web, which is in the direction of a material parallel to its forward direction during processing. The term “cross-machine direction” (hereinafter “CD”) refers to the planar dimension of a material, which is in the direction that is generally 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 AATCCTM No. 1998 with the following exceptions: (1) the samples are larger than usual and are mounted in a stretching frame that clamps onto the cross-machine direction ends of the sample, such that the samples may be tested under a variety of stretch conditions (e.g., 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% stretch); and (2) the samples are supported underneath by a wire mesh to prevent the sample from sagging under the weight of the column of water.
- As used herein, the term “breathable” refers to the air permeability of a material, and specifically to a material having a Frazier porosity of at least about 25 cubic feet per minute per square foot (cfm/ft2). For example, the Frazier porosity of a breathable material may be from about 25 to more than 45 cfm/ft2. The Frazier porosity is determined utilizing a Frazier Air Permeability Tester available from the Frazier Precision Instrument Company. The Frazier porosity is measured in accordance with Federal Test Method 5450, Standard No. 191A, except that the sample size is 8″×8″ instead of 7″×7″.
- 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 particle 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, Mich. Generally speaking, high particle holdout efficiency is desirable for barrier materials/fabrics. Desirably, a particle resistant material should have a particle holdout efficiency of at least about 40 percent for particles having a diameter greater than about 0.1 micron.
- As used herein, the term “elastomeric” refers to a material or composite which can be extended or elongated by at least 25% of its relaxed length and which will recover, upon release of the applied force, at least 10% of its elongation. It is generally preferred that the elastomeric material or composite be capable of being elongated by at least 100%, recover at least 50% of its elongation. An elastomeric material is thus stretchable and “stretchable”, “elastomeric”, and “extensible” may be used interchangeably.
- As used herein, the terms “elastic” or “elasticized” means that property of a material or composite by virtue of which it tends to recover towards its original size and shape after removal of a force causing a deformation.
- As used herein, the term “disposable” is not limited to single use articles but also refers to articles that are so relatively inexpensive to the consumer that they can be discarded if they become soiled or otherwise unusable after only one or a few uses.
- As used herein, the term “garment” refers to protective garments and/or shields including for example, but not limited to surgical gowns, patient drapes, work suits, coveralls, jumpers, aprons, and the like.
- As used herein, the term “coverall(s)” refers to a relatively loose fitting, one-piece, protective garment that can be worn over other articles of clothing and protects substantial areas of a wearer's body, typically, from the neck region over the trunk of the body and out to the ends of extremities, such as a wearer's wrists and ankles, which sometimes may include the hands and feet. In some embodiments, the garment may include an attached head cover, such as a hood, or integrated gloves and socks, boots, or other footwear.
- As used herein, the term “polymer” generally includes, but is not limited to, homopolymers, copolymers, such as, for example, block, graft, random and alternating copolymers, terpolymers, etc. and blends and modifications thereof. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically limited, the term “polymer” shall include all possible geometrical configurations of the material. These configurations include, but are not limited to, isotactic, syndiotactic and random symmetries.
- As used herein, the term “consisting essentially of” does not exclude the presence of additional materials which do not significantly affect the desired characteristics of a given composition or product. Exemplary materials of this sort would include, without limitation, pigments, antioxidants, stabilizers, surfactants, waxes, flow promoters, particulates or materials added to enhance ability to process of a composition.
- As used herein, the term “couple” or “affix” includes, but is not limited to, joining, connecting, fastening, linking, or associating two things integrally or interstitially together. As used herein, the term “releasably affix(ed)” refers to two or more things that are stably coupled together and are at the same time capable of being manipulated to uncouple the things from each another.
- As used herein, the terms “configure” or “configuration” means to design, arrange, set up, or shape with a view to specific applications or uses. For example: a military vehicle that was configured for rough terrain; configured the computer by setting the system's parameters.
- As used herein, the term “substantially” refers to something which is done to a great extent or degree; for example, “substantially covered” means that a thing is at least 95% covered.
- As used herein, the term “alignment” refers to the spatial property possessed by an arrangement or position of things in a straight line or in parallel lines.
- As used herein, the terms “orientation” or “position” used interchangeably herein refer to the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated; for example, “the position of the hands on the clock.”
- In light of the problems discussed above, a need exists for an inexpensive protective garment that allows for a wearer to easily identify the interior surface of the garment and to don the garment without touching the exterior of the garment. In accordance with the present disclosure, the problem of garment donning is eased by a protective garment that is provided to the wearer including indicia on the interior surface in a position that is easily visible to wearer when the garment is in the folded configuration and during donning of such a garment.
- The present disclosure is directed to a protective garment with an interior and exterior surface, front and back sides, a neck opening, and a body section having upper, central and lower portions. A pair of legs extends from the lower portion and a pair of sleeves extends from at least the upper portion. At least one surface indicia is positioned on the interior surface of the central portion of the garment. In some embodiments, such a garment may be a part of a packaged garment in which such a garment is configured in a folded configuration, within a packaging member, and the packaging member is sealed.
- The present disclosure is also directed to a method of preparing a protective garment for donning. The method includes the steps of providing a garment having at least one surface indicia positioned on an interior surface of the garment and folding the garment into a folded configuration, in which the interior surface of the garment is present on the outer surface of the folded configuration such that a wearer may grasp the garment by the interior surfaces without touching the exterior surface of the garment. Additionally, the surface indicia is present on the outer surface of the folded configuration such that the wearer may easily identify the interior surface.
- The present disclosure is also directed to a protective coverall having a first body half and second body half; each half is made of a seamless sheet of material. The second body half is substantially the mirror image of the first body half. Each body half includes 1) a body portion with a first edge and second edge, 2) a sleeve portion, and 3) a leg portion. A closure means joins the first edges of each body portion on each body half and a vertical back seam joins the second edges of each body portion on each body half. Additionally, the vertical back seam includes a binding strip that further includes a surface indicia.
- Finally, the present disclosure is also directed to a protective garment having interior and exterior surfaces, an upper portion, a central portion, and a neck opening defined by the upper portion. The garment further includes at least one surface indicia positioned on the interior surface of the central portion of the garment.
-
FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an exemplary protective garment according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 2 illustrates a rear view of an exemplary protective garment according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 3 illustrates a detail of an exemplary protective garment. -
FIG. 4 illustrates a detail of an exemplary protective garment. -
FIG. 5 illustrates a detail of an exemplary protective garment. -
FIG. 6 illustrates a detail of an exemplary protective garment. -
FIG. 7 illustrates a front view of an exemplary protective garment according to the present disclosure, where the closure means is opened to show the interior surface of the garment. -
FIG. 8 illustrates a detail of an exemplary protective garment. -
FIGS. 9-15 illustrate exemplary steps in preparing an exemplary protective garment for donning by folding the garment into a folded configuration and packaging the folded configuration of the garment. - Specifically,
FIG. 9 illustrates a top plan view of the back side of an exemplary protective garment with the sleeves and legs in a shortened configuration; -
FIG. 10 illustrates a top plan view of the garment ofFIG. 9 after the shortened sleeves and shortened legs have been folded on to the back side of the garment; -
FIG. 11 illustrates a top plan view of the folded garment ofFIG. 10 after folding the folded garment ofFIG. 10 lengthwise; -
FIG. 12 illustrates a top plan view of the folded garment ofFIG. 11 after folding the folded garment ofFIG. 11 widthwise; -
FIG. 13 illustrates a top plan view of the folded garment ofFIG. 12 after pulling the opening flaps about the folded garment ofFIG. 12 , exposing the interior surface of the garment; -
FIG. 14 illustrates a top plan view of the folded configuration formed after a horizontal fold of the folded garment ofFIG. 13 ; and -
FIG. 15 illustrates a top plan view of the garment in its folded configuration within a packaging member to form a packaged garment. -
FIG. 16 illustrates a rear view of an exemplary protective garment according to the present disclosure, where the closure means is opened to show the interior surface of the garment. - The present invention pertains to a protective garment having a surface indicia to facilitate and ease the handling and donning of the garment. Such protective garments are of particular interest to work areas and industries such as, for example, healthcare, home improvement do-it-yourself, chemical, industrial, sanitation, cleanrooms, and other similar applications. For the ease and convenience of describing the present invention, this description uses an exemplary protective coverall(s) garment to illustrate the inventive concept which may be applied to any protective garment. Terms such a “protective garment” and “protective coverall(s)” may be used interchangeably in the description. However, as would be understood by those skilled in the art, the concepts of the present disclosure (as illustrated for coveralls) may be applied to other protective garments as are well known and defined above. Thus, the following discussion should not be limited to application in coveralls, but may also extend to surgical gowns, patient drapes, worksuits, jumpers, aprons, and the like. Additionally, the following discussion applies to both durable/reusable protective garments and to limited-use/disposable protective garments.
- In part,
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate at 10 a front view of an exemplaryprotective garment 12. Theprotective coveralls 12 include a first (or left)body half 14 and a second (or right)body half 16. Eachbody half second body half 16 is substantially a mirror image of thefirst body half 14. Theprotective coveralls 12 contain left andright sleeves right legs neck opening 26 is visible at the top of thecoveralls 12. As shown inFIG. 1 , a closure means 28 is visible from afront view 10 of thecoveralls 12. Thegarment 12 has afront side 11 and aback side 13. -
FIG. 2 illustrates at 30 a rear view of exemplary protective coveralls. Theprotective coveralls 12 includes afirst body half 14 and a second body half 16 (in reversed position as the view is from the rear). Thesleeves legs FIG. 2 , avertical back seam 32 and ahorizontal back seam 34 are visible from therear view 30 of thecoveralls 12. - The body of the
garment 12 includes atorso section 72 from which thesleeves legs torso section 72 includes anupper portion 74, acentral portion 76, and alower portion 78. Theupper portion 74 extends downward from theshoulder portions 63 to thecentral portion 76 and will generally include all the areas of thegarment 12 over the shoulders of the wearer that will contact the shoulders and neck of the wearer. Theneck opening 26 is defined within theupper portion 74. Theupper portion 74 generally forms the shoulder cap of thegarment 12. Additionally, thesleeves upper portion 74. - The
lower portion 78 extends upward from thecrotch 86 to thecentral portion 76 and will generally include all the areas of thegarment 12 that will contact the waist area of the wearer. Thelegs lower portion 78. - The
central portion 76 extends between the upper andlower portions garment 12 corresponding to the chest and midsection of the front of the wearer, generally including the collarbone of the wearer. Additionally, thecentral portion 76 also generally extends from the shoulder blades to the small of the back on the back side of the wearer, generally including the shoulder blades and the small of the back of the wearer. For thegarment 12 illustrated inFIGS. 1 , 2 and 7, theupper portion 74 extends over and downward from theshoulder portions 63 to a point between neck opening 26 andhorizontal back seam 34. Thelower portion 78 extends upward from thecrotch 86 to a point generally corresponding to theelastic waistband 84 and circumferential waist of thegarment 12. Thecentral portion 76 accounts for the remainder of thetorso section 72 of thegarment 12 and is illustrated as extending from a horizontal line above thehorizontal back seam 34 and extending down to theelastic waist band 84. Each of theportions front side 11 and backside 13 of thegarment 12 and collectively account for all of the surfaces of the torso of the garment from which the limbs (legs/sleeves) extend. -
FIG. 7 illustrates the inside of thegarment 12 ofFIGS. 1 and 2 . The left and right opening flaps 80, 82 of the closure means 28 are opened and pulled back to reveal theinterior surfaces 101 of thegarment 12. Thevertical back seam 32 and thehorizontal back seam 34 are visible on theinterior surface 101 of theback side 13 of thegarment 12. Additionally, anelastic waist band 84 may be present on theinterior surface 101 of theback side 13 to provide thegarment 12 with enhanced waist fit. - Desirably, the
garment 12 may include at least onesurface indicia 92 on theinterior surface 101 of thegarment 12, to help the wearer easily identify theinterior surface 101 when donning thegarment 12. Such asurface indicia 92 may be any sensory cue that communicates to the wearer which is theinterior surface 101 of thegarment 12. Typically, the sensory cue will be some form of visual cue (color, shape, text, symbol, graphic, or the like) that the wearer can see. However, it is contemplated that such sensory cues may be visual, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, auditory, or combinations of such sensory cues. - In the
garment 12 illustrated inFIG. 7 , asurface indicia 92 is associated with thevertical back seam 32 and extends from proximate theneck opening 26 to proximate thecrotch 86 along theinterior surface 101 of theback side 13 of thegarment 12. In this particular embodiment, thevertical back seam 32 is a boundseam 732 where thebinding strip 734 of the boundseam 732 is made of a material having a color that is visually distinct from the color of theseamless sheet 36 that makes up thegarment 10. Thus, the indicia color will be distinctly different than the color of theinterior surface 101 to easily identify theinterior surface 101 by contrast. For example, for agarment 12 that is primarily made of aseamless sheet 36 that is white, thebinding strip 734 may be a blue strip of material that is in contrast to the white background of theinterior surface 101. Similarly, instead of being only associated with thevertical back seam 32, thesurface indicia 92 may be associated with thehorizontal back seam 34, or with both avertical back seam 32 and ahorizontal back seam 34. - Alternatively, the
surface indicia 92 may be other similar visual cues. For example, thesurface indicia 92 may be repeating contrasting colored shapes printed on theinterior surface 101. For garments that are constructed without avertical back seam 32, thesurface indicia 92 may be a colored strip that extends down the central back spine of the garment (generally located along the line where thevertical back seam 32 is located in thegarment 12 ofFIG. 7 ). Such a colored strip may be printed directly on theinterior surface 101 or may be an additional strip of colored material that is associated with theinterior surface 101. In another embodiment, thesurface indicia 92 may be large text printed (or otherwise placed) on theinterior surface 101, such as “OK” or “INSIDE SURFACE”. The surface indicia 92 may be a symbol such as a check mark or a thumbs-up symbol. Similarly, such text or symbols may be repeated across the entireinterior surface 101, or some smaller portion thereof. The surface indicia 92 may be a holographic image present on theinterior surface 101. In some embodiments, stitching only present on theinterior surface 101 may be made using a stitching color that is a contrasting color to the that of the material being stitched together. - The surface indicia 92 is desirably present in at least the
central portion 76 of theinterior surface 101 as thecentral portion 76 makes up a large area of thevisible torso section 72 of thegarment 12 when thegarment 12 is being handled for donning. In some embodiments, thesurface indicia 92 may extend into theupper portion 74, into thelower portion 78, or may be positioned in all of the portions of thetorso section 72. However, presence of thesurface indicia 92 in at least a portion of thecentral portion 76 is believed to provide the most reliable minimal indicator to a wearer that handles and dons such agarment 12. - The surface indicia 92 may additionally, or alternatively, include a material having a texture that is distinct from the textures of the surrounding surfaces, which then may be used by the wearer to identify the
interior surface 101 by touch. Similarly, thesurface indicia 92 may additionally, or alternatively, include a material that produces a unique sound when handled. For example, thesurface indicia 92 may include metalized nylon, foil, biaxially-orientated PET film, or other similar material that produces an audible crinkling sound when handled that is distinct from the sound of handling the sheet material the makes up the remainder of thegarment 12. - In some embodiments, the
surface indicia 92 present on theinterior surface 101 may be absence of a particular sensory cue relative to the remainder of the surfaces of thegarment 12. For example, thegarment 12 may include colored circles printed only on theexterior surface 103 of thegarment 12. The surface indicia 92 of such a garment may be the absence of any such printed circles on theinterior surface 101. Again, thesurface indicia 92 may be any sensory cue that may be used to communicate to the wearer the distinction between theinterior surface 101 and theexterior surface 103 of thegarment 12. - Additionally, the
garment 12 may include asecondary indicia 94 such as illustrated inFIG. 7 . Like thesurface indicia 92, thesecondary indicia 94 may be any sensory cue that communicates to the wearer a desired message. Thesecondary indicia 94 may be an alternative indicator of theinterior surface 101 or may be used to convey a different message. InFIG. 7 , thesecondary indicia 94 is a shape on theinterior surface 101 that both indicates theinterior surface 101 and the proper orientation of thegarment 12. Suchsecondary indicia 94 may be helpful to communicate instructions to the wearer such as where on thegarment 12 the wearer should grab hold of theinterior surface 101 for optimal donning. - One skilled in the art would understand that various types of sensory cues and execution of such cues could be used in combination to help the wearer identify the
interior surface 101, aid the wearer in donning the garment, and/or provide the wearer with additional information. - The manufacture of
such garments 12 may be in accordance with known automated, semi-automated, or hand assembly procedures. It may be desired that theprotective garment 12 contain the fewest practical number of panels, portions or sections in order to reduce the number of seams in the garment for better barrier properties and to simplify the manufacturing steps. However, it is contemplated that theprotective garment 12 may contain sections, panels, or portions of barrier fabrics that may have different degrees of strength to customize the coverall for a particular application. For example, thesleeves garments 12 contemplated may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,189 to Bell, which is herein incorporated by reference, and in those garments available from Kimberly-Clark Corporation (Roswell, Ga.) sold under the KLEENGUARD® brand. - The assembly of an
exemplary garment 12 is illustrated inFIGS. 3 to 6 . Referring now toFIG. 3 , there is shown at 36 a seamless sheet of material used to form thefirst body half 14. Thefirst body half 14 includes abody portion 38 having afirst edge 40, asecond edge 42 and atop edge 44. Thetop edge 44 extends approximately half-way across thebody portion 38 from thesecond edge 42. Thefirst body half 14 includes asleeve portion 46 having atop sleeve edge 48 andbottom sleeve edge 50, atop edge 52, and asegment 54 of thesecond edge 42 of thebody portion 38. Thefirst body half 14 also includes aleg portion 56 having afront leg edge 58 and arear leg edge 60. - A
sleeve 18 of thefirst body half 14 may be constructed by folding thesleeve portion 46 alongline 62 as illustrated inFIG. 4 . Next, thebody portion 38 andleg portion 56 are folded alongline 64 as illustrated inFIG. 5 . After these two folds are made, thetop edge 52 of thesleeve portion 46 is attached to thetop edge 44 of thebody portion 38 producing ahorizontal back seam 34 which can be seen inFIG. 1 . Referring again toFIG. 5 , thesleeve portion 46 is closed into asleeve 18 by attaching thetop sleeve edge 48 to thebottom sleeve 44 edge producing asleeve seam 66 running frompoint 68 topoint 70. - Generally speaking, this operation would be performed on the
second body half 16 following exactly the same procedure as it would apply to the mirror image shape. Referring toFIG. 6 , thefirst body half 14 is attached to the second body half 16 (i.e., the mirror image of the first body half 14). The body halves are joined by attaching the respectivesecond surfaces body portions first surfaces front leg edge 58 to theback leg edge 60 and thefront leg edge 58′ to theback leg edge 60′ on each body half. - At this point other features may be added such as, for example, a collar, hood, boots and/or elastic cuffs at the wrists and/or ankles of the coveralls.
- Desirably, the
left sleeve 18 may be an integral part of the first body half 14 (i.e., thefirst body half 14 cut to form a left sleeve 18), such as for the garment discussed above. It is contemplated that theleft sleeve 18 may be a separate piece of material that may be joined to thefirst body half 14 by a seam (not shown). In the same way, it is desirable that theright sleeve 20 may be an integral part of the second body half 16 (i.e., theright body panel 16 cut to form a right sleeve 20). It is contemplated that theright sleeve 20 may be a separate piece of material that may be joined to the upperright body panel 28 by a seam (not shown). Additionally, In thegarment 12 illustrated inFIGS. 1 , 2 and 7, thesleeves body shoulder portions 63. However, other designs are possible. For example, the sleeves may be designed to extend upward from the general plane of theshoulder portions 63. - Desirably, the
legs sleeves left leg 22 may be an integral part of the left body panel 14 (i.e., theleft body panel 14 cut to form a left leg 22), such as for the garment discussed above. It is contemplated that theleft leg 22 may be a separate piece of material that may be joined to thefirst body half 14 by a seam (not shown). In the same way, it is desirable that theright leg 24 may be an integral part of the second body half 16 (i.e., theright body panel 16 cut to form a right leg 24). It is contemplated that theright leg 24 may be a separate piece of material that may be joined to theright body panel 16 by a seam (not shown). - The seams used to form the garment may be any type of seam that is appropriate in forming such garments. Such seams must be appropriate for the materials used in forming the garment, the strength required, and the level of security and protection that is desired. Typical seams used for such garments include serged, sewn, bound, taped, welded, and heat sealed seams. Bound seams 732 (such as shown in
FIG. 8 ) are often used in protective garments. Such boundseams 732 use abinding strip 734 that reinforces the serged seam (formed by twomaterial edges 740 being seamed) for strength and tear resistance as well as covers the raw edges of the materials being joined, to further reduce the possibility of introducing free fibers into the environments in which such garments are to be used. - Such a
protective garment 12 may be packaged by any means and/or method that allows for the wearer to easily access thegarment 12 for donning, while ensuring that the wearer does not touch anexterior surface 103 of thegarment 12. One exemplary method of preparing thegarment 12 for donning is shown inFIGS. 9 to 15 . The method shown includes the first step of laying thegarment 12 with thefront side 11 face-down on a surface, opening the closure means 28, and shortening thesleeves legs garment 12. Agarment 12 in such a resultant shortened limb configuration (with shortenedsleeves 218 and shortened legs 222) is illustrated inFIG. 9 . As shown inFIG. 9 , thesleeves legs such sleeves legs sleeves 218 and/or shortenedlegs 222 may be releaseably attached on theinside surface 101 of thegarment 12 to hold thegarment 12 in the shortened configuration ofFIG. 9 . - Next, with the
front side 11 of thegarment 12 laying against a table, the shortenedsleeves 218 may be folded, along thefold line 95, toward theback side 13 of the garment. Similarly, the shortenedlegs 222 may then be folded up, along the fold lines 97, toward theback side 13 of thegarment 12. As seen in folded garment ofFIG. 10 , thefront side 11 of the shortenedlegs 222 and shortenedsleeves 218 now rest (facing up) on theback side 13 of thegarment 12. - Next, as shown in
FIG. 10 , the initially folded garment may be folded lengthwise in thirds, along the fold lines 99, to form the folded garment illustrated inFIG. 11 . Specifically, theleft side edge 114 is folded alongline 99 toward the center of theback side 13 of the folded garment ofFIG. 10 . Then, theright side edge 116 is folded, alongline 99, towards the center of the garment and on top of the previously folded over left side edge, to form the folded garment ofFIG. 11 . Thebottom edge 118 of the folded garment ofFIG. 11 may then be folded upwards along fold line 111 and then again upwards alongfold line 113 to form the folded garment ofFIG. 12 . - As seen in
FIG. 12 , a portion of the interior surface 101 (within the opened closure means 28) is now facing upwards, along with portions of the left and right opening flaps 80, 82. In a next step, the portions of the left and right opening flaps 80, 82 that lie underneath the folded garment ofFIG. 12 (not visible) may be pulled around from underneath to on top of the folded garment ofFIG. 12 . By doing so, theinterior surface 101 of thegarment 12 are exposed on the outer surfaces of the folded garment, as shown inFIG. 13 . Finally, the garment may be folded upward alongfold line 115 to form the final foldedconfiguration 140 illustrated inFIG. 14 . - As seen in
FIG. 14 , such a foldedconfiguration 140 desirably provides theinterior surfaces 101 of thegarment 12 readily available for the wearer to grasp when donning thegarment 12. Additionally, and more specifically, thecentral portion 74 of theback side 13 is provided on theouter surface 142 of the foldedconfiguration 140. Thus, thesurface indicia 92 present on theinterior surface 101 of thecentral portion 74 is clearly visible to the wearer and serves as further confirmation that theouter surface 142 of the foldedconfiguration 140 is theinterior surface 101. Theouter surface 142 being the surface forming the exterior of the foldedconfiguration 140 and thus includes all of the surfaces that may be potentially touched when handling thegarment 12 in such a foldedconfiguration 140. As shown inFIG. 14 , substantially all of theouter surface 142 of the foldedconfiguration 140 is made up of theinterior surface 101 of thegarment 12. In other potential folding methods, the foldedconfiguration 140 may include a lesser percentage of theouter surface 142 being made of theinterior surface 101. However, to ensure that the wearer only handles thegarment 12 by theinterior surfaces 101 it may be desirable to fold the garment such that a majority (greater than 50 percent) of theouter surface 142 of the foldedconfiguration 140 is made up of theinterior surfaces 101 of thegarment 12. - This illustrated method of folding of the
garment 12 is only one potential method of folding thegarment 12. Other methods that fold thegarment 12 such that thesurface indicia 92 and theinterior surface 101 are made available to the wearer during subsequent unfolding and donning are also contemplated. One skilled in the art would see how a different order of folding steps, numbers of folds, desired final folded dimensions, and other such considerations, may contribute to different methods of folding up thegarment 12. - Additionally,
such garments 12 may be laundered and dried to remove any excessive particulates that may be present from the garment manufacturing process. This step would likely need to occur before the folding steps. - Once folded, the
garment 12 may be packaged by any method as known to packagesuch garments 12 to form a protective garment package 810 to be delivered to the wearer. Typically, as shown inFIG. 15 , the foldedconfiguration 140 of thegarment 12 may be placed within packaging member 800 and the packaging member 800 sealed to form a packaged garment 810. For example, such a packaging member 800 may be a bag, a pouch, film layers, or the like. It may be desired that the packaged garment 810 be sterilized by any sterilization method as is known for such products. Additionally, it may be desirable that the air within the packaging member 800 be removed during packaging, such that thegarment 12 is vacuum-packed, prior to such sterilization. - Another embodiment of a protective garment including a
surface indicia 92 for identifying theinterior surface 101 of the garment, is illustrated inFIG. 16 . The garment illustrated inFIG. 16 is therear view 30 of a rear-openinggown garment 120, such as may be used in a surgical or laboratory environment. Thegarment 120 is shown with the closure means 28 (on theback side 13 of the garment 120) opened and the left and right opening flaps 80, 82 pulled back to reveal theinterior surfaces 101 of thegarment 120. - The
garment 120 includes anupper portion 74, acentral portion 76, and alower portion 78. Theupper portion 74 extends downward from theshoulder portions 63 to thecentral portion 76 and will generally include all the areas of thegarment 120 over the shoulders of the wearer that will contact the shoulders and neck of the wearer. Aneck opening 26 is defined within theupper portion 74. Theupper portion 74 generally forms the shoulder cap of thegarment 120. Additionally, thesleeves upper portion 74. Thelower portion 78 extends upward from thebottom opening edge 122 to thecentral portion 76 and will generally include all the areas of thegarment 120 proximate the waist 85 of thegarment 120 down to thebottom opening edge 122. Thecentral portion 76 extends between the upper andlower portions garment 120 corresponding to the chest and midsection of the front of the wearer, generally including the collarbone of the wearer. Additionally, thecentral portion 76 also generally extends from the shoulder blades to the small of the back on the back side of the wearer, generally including the shoulder blades and the small of the back of the wearer. - A
surface indicia 92 is shown in thegarment 120 ofFIG. 16 extending along theinterior surface 101 of thefront side 11 of thegarment 120. As discussed above, thesurface indicia 92 may be any sensory cue that enables the wearer to distinguish theinterior surface 101 from theexterior surface 103 of the garment. - Generally speaking, the manufacture and packaging of such garments may be in accordance with known automated, semi-automated, or hand assembly procedures. For example, attachment of the various portions of the garment may be achieved utilizing sewing or stitching, ultrasonic bonding, solvent welding, adhesives, thermal bonding and similar techniques. The order of manufacturing and packaging steps described above is believed to provide an efficient process for fabricating and packaging protective garments. However, it is contemplated that changes in the order of these steps may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
- Additionally, it is contemplated that additional helpful features may also be included on the
garment 12. For example, theneck opening 26 may be fitted with a collar and/or hood. Sleeve and leg portions extending from the body portion may be fitted with elastic cuffs and/or other elastic means to ensure that they fit snugly against a wearer. Additionally, structures such as thumb loops and stirrups may be added to wrist and/or leg cuffs to aid in donning of thegarment 12. Piping may be added to thegarment 12, to allow for attachment of badges to the garment without breaching the integrity of the garment material. Such piping may additionally, or alternatively, be included for aesthetic purposes. Other features such as pockets are also considered. Thegarment 12 may additionally include re-sealable openings to allow a wearer to access the interior of thegarment 12 without having to remove thegarment 12. - The closure means 28 of the
garment 12 may include any type of fastener as are common for such protective garments. Desirably, the closure means 28 will be a mechanical closure device, such as a standard zipper for barrier protection. However, it is contemplated that other fasteners such as hook-and-loop fasteners, snaps, re-sealable tapes, or other similar fasteners may be used, depending on the level of protection required of thegarment 12. Additionally, the closure means 28 of thegarment 12 may include a closure flap that covers the closure means 28. Such a closure flap may be secured by a variety of fasteners. - The
garment 12 may alternatively incorporate an obliquely oriented opening with an associated fastener, across the front torso region of the garment, instead of a conventional vertical opening for entry into the garment. For example, a zipper may start at the shoulder and proceed diagonally across the torso down to the upper thigh region. This allows the torso of the garment to be opened wide. An angled zipper that starts away from the neck of the wearer may be less irritating. - In addition to
surface indicia 92 andsecondary indicia 94, it may be desired communicate additional messages or information to users. Colors, symbols, words, logos, or other such indicia may be employed to communicate a particular message, such as the relative level of protection, sterility or non-sterility, or to provide distinctive appearance as a style element. Colors may be applied to the material of theentire garment 12, individual portions of thegarment 12, or as fabric piping along seams, around pockets or leggings, or in distinctive patterns. A logo denoting branding or level of protection may be located on thegarment 12. Color may be added to the closure means for communication and appearance purposes. - All materials used in the
protective garment 12 have barrier properties that meet industrial standards for their respective designated level of protection. The garment materials are generally breathable and liquid resistant barrier materials. The breathability of the material increases the comfort of someone wearing such a garment, especially if the garment is worn under high heat index conditions, vigorous physical activity, or long periods of time. Various suitable woven and non-woven barrier materials are known and used in the art for garments such as surgical gowns, coveralls, industrial protective garments, and the like. All such materials are within the scope of the present disclosure. - The material used to form the garment may be one or more bonded carded webs, webs of spunbonded fibers, webs of meltblown fibers, webs of spunlaced fibers, webs of other nonwoven materials, one or more knit or woven materials, one or more films, and combinations thereof. The material may be formed from polymers such as, for example, polyamides, polyolefins, polyesters, polyvinyl alcohols, polyurethanes, polyvinyl chlorides, polyfluorocarbons, polystyrenes, caprolactams, copolymers of ethylene and at least one vinyl monomer, copolymers of ethylene and n-butyl acrylate, and cellulosic and acrylic resins, and mixtures and blends of the same. If the material is formed from a polyolefin, the polyolefin may be polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, ethylene copolymers, propylene copolymers and butene copolymers.
- Multiple layers of seamless sheet material may be joined into a seamless laminate and used to form garments having desirable barrier properties. Laminates can be formed by combining layers of seamless sheet materials with each other and/or forming or depositing layers of such materials on each other. For example, the material may be a laminate of two or more nonwoven webs. As a further example, the material may be a laminate of at least one web of spunbonded fibers and at least one web of meltblown fibers and mixtures thereof.
- For example, useful multi-layer materials may be made by joining at least one web of meltblown fibers (which may include meltblown microfibers) with at least one spunbonded continuous filament web. An exemplary multi-layer seamless material useful for making the protective garment of the present invention is a nonwoven laminated fabric constructed by bonding together layers of spunbonded continuous filaments webs and webs of meltblown fibers (which may include meltblown microfibers) and may also include a bonded carded web or other nonwoven fabric. Such materials may generally be produced inexpensively such that they may be considered to be disposable. An exemplary three-layer fabric having a first outer ply of a spunbonded web, a middle ply of a meltblown web, and a second outer ply of a spunbonded web may be referred to in shorthand notation as SMS. Such fabrics are described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,041,203, 4,374,888, and 4,753,843, all of which patents are assigned to the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the assignee of the present invention.
- Another exemplary material which may be used for the manufacture of a
protective garment 12 is a laminated fabric constructed by bonding together at least one layer of a nonwoven web with at least one layer of a film. Generally speaking, the film layer may range in thickness from about 0.25 mil to about 5.0 mil. For example, the film may have a thickness ranging from about 0.5 mil to about 3.0 mil. Desirably, the film will have a thickness ranging from about 1.0 mil to about 2.5 mil. - Such films may be applied by extrusion coating the substrates and then passing the superposed materials through the nip of smooth calendar rolls. The films may be formed so they would create a layer on the substrate having a desired thickness (excluding the substrate). Exemplary film layers include films formed from polymers which may include polyamides, polyolefins, polyesters, polyvinyl alcohols, polyurethanes, polyvinyl chlorides, polyfluorocarbons, polystyrenes, caprolactams, copolymers of ethylene and at least one vinyl monomer, copolymers of ethylene and n-butyl acrylate, and cellulosic and acrylic resins. If the film layer is made of a polyolefin, the polyolefin may be polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, ethylene copolymers, propylene copolymers and butene copolymers and blends of the above.
- The seamless sheet material of the
garment 12 may have a basis weight ranging from about 15 gsm (i.e., grams per square meter) to about 300 gsm. For example, the seamless sheet material may have a basis weight ranging from about 20 gsm to about 100 gsm. Desirably, the material may have a basis weight ranging from about 20 gsm to about 75 gsm. Although the basis weight of the laminate will vary depending on the materials used, lower basis weight materials are desirable for comfort and conformability, and higher basis weight materials are desirable for toughness and durability. A film-nonwoven web laminate construction may permit combinations of materials providing high strength at relatively low basis weights and the design of the coveralls allows such strong and relatively unyielding materials to be used in a comfortable garment. - Such garments often need to be designed with materials adapted to protect the wearer in hazardous and general, non-hazardous environments. Examples of uses for hazardous environments include protection against water-based acids, bases, salts and splashes of certain liquids, such as pesticides and herbicides. The garments may provide a reliable barrier against exposure to harmful dry particles, such as lead dust, asbestos and particles contaminated with radiation. Non-hazardous, industrial uses include wearing the garments for “dirty jobs” at factories, workshops, engineering plants, farms and construction sites.
- The resistance hydrostatic pressure (hydrohead) of the protective articles will depend, in part, on the particular kind of material from which the article is constructed. The garment may be designed to have a liquid hydrohead resistance of at least about 15, 17 or 20 millibars, up to about 180, 187, or 200 millibars, inclusive of all range combinations thereinbetween. More commonly, the garment may have a hydrohead resistance of about 25 or 30 to about 115 millibars, preferably between about 45 to about 110 millibars, and more preferably between about 50 millibars to about 95 millibars of pressure.
- The air permeability of the garment materials may be designed to be within the range from at least about 2 cubic feet per meter (cfm) up to about 47 or 50 cfm, inclusive of all range combinations thereinbetween. More typically, the air permeability may be in the range from about 5 or 10 cfm to about 43 or 45 cfm, and preferably between about 15, 17, 20, or 25 cfm to about 40 or 42 cfm.
- The garment may be designed to have a moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) of up to about 4700 g/m2/24 hours, more typically about between about 2700 or 3600 MVTR to about 4500 or 4600 MVTR. The protective garment may protect the wearer resistance of about 9-100% against dry particle barrier intrusion of a particle size of 0.3-05 microns.
- The garment may be made from a material that provides a barrier to dust and microparticulates (e.g., ranging in size from about 0.05-0.10 microns or larger (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,753) or light-splash fluids. The materials of the garment may also be electret-treated to generate a localized electrostatic charge within the fibers of the nonwoven web (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,446 to Tsai). For example, these materials may be treated with compositions such as Zepel® and Zelec®, available from E. I. du Pont De Nemours, located in Wilmington, Del.
- The present invention has been described in general and in detail by way of examples. Persons of skill in the art understand that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed. Modification and variations of the general concept may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims or equivalents, including, equivalent components.
Claims (22)
1. A protective garment comprising:
an interior surface and an exterior surface;
a front side and a back side;
a torso section comprising an upper portion, a central portion, and a lower portion;
a right leg and a left leg, where both legs extend from the lower portion;
a right sleeve and a left sleeve, where both sleeves extend from at least the upper portion;
a neck opening defined by the upper portion; and
at least one surface indicia positioned on the interior surface of the central portion.
2. The garment of claim 1 , where the at least one surface indicia is positioned on the back side.
3. The garment of claim 1 , where the at least one surface indicia extends from the central portion into the upper portion.
4. The garment of claim 1 , where the at least one surface indicia extends from the central portion into the lower portion.
5. The garment of claim 1 , where the at least one surface indicia comprises an indicia strip that extends from the neck opening through the central portion and into the lower portion.
6. The garment of claim 1 , further comprising at least one secondary indicia positioned on the interior surface.
7. The garment of claim 1 , where the at least one surface indicia comprises a seam along the back side of the interior surface.
8. The garment of claim 1 , where the at least one surface indicia comprises an indicia color, where the interior surface comprises an interior surface color, and where the indicia color is different than the interior surface color.
9. A packaged garment comprising:
the garment according to claim 1 , where the garment is folded into a folded configuration, where in the folded configuration the interior surface of the garment is present on an outer surface of the folded configuration, and where the at least one surface indicia is presented to the wearer on the outer surface of the folded configuration; and
a packaging member, where the packaging member contains the folded garment, and
where the packaging member containing the folded garment is sealed.
10. The packaged garment of claim 9 , where the packaging member containing the folded configuration is vacuum packaged.
11. The packaged garment of claim 9 , where the sealed packaging member containing the folded configuration is sterilized.
12. The packaged garment of claim 9 , where the interior surface of the garment comprises a majority of the outer surfaces of the folded configuration.
13. The packaged garment of claim 12 , where the interior surface of the garment comprises all of the outer surfaces of the folded configuration.
14. A method of preparing a protective garment for donning, the method comprising the steps:
a) providing a garment comprising an interior surface, an exterior surface, a front side, a back side, a torso section, a left sleeve, a right sleeve, a left leg, a right leg, and at least one surface indicia, where the torso section comprises an upper portion, a central portion, and lower portion, and where the at least one surface indicia is positioned on the interior surface of the central portion; and
b) folding the garment into a folded configuration, where in the folded configuration the interior surfaces of the torso section are positioned on an outer surface of the folded configuration such that a wearer may grasp the garment by the interior surface without touching the exterior surface of the garment, and where in the folded configuration the at least one surface indicia is present on the outer surface of the folded configuration.
15. The method of claim 14 , where the interior surface of the garment comprises a majority of the outer surface of the folded configuration.
16. The method of claim 15 , where the interior surface of the garment comprises all of the outer surface of the folded configuration.
17. The method of claim 14 , further comprising the step:
c) placing the folded configuration into a packaging member and sealing the packaging member; and
d) sterilizing the packaging member containing the folded configuration.
18. The method of claim 17 , where in the step (c) substantially all of the air is removed from the packaging member prior to sealing the packaging member.
19. A protective coverall comprising:
a first body half and a second body half, each composed of a seamless sheet of material, said second body half being substantially a mirror image of said first body half, and each body half comprising:
a body portion comprising a first edge and a second edge;
a sleeve portion; and
a leg portion;
a closure means joining the first edges of each body portion on each body half;
a vertical back seam joining the second edges of each body portion on each body half,
where the vertical back seam further comprises a binding strip, where the binding strip comprises a surface indicia.
20. The protective coverall of claim 19 , where the surface indicia comprises an indicia color, where the seamless sheet of material of each body half comprises a sheet color, and where the indicia color is different than the sheet color.
21. The protective coverall of claim 19 , where the protective coverall is a disposable protective coverall.
22. A protective garment comprising:
an interior surface and an exterior surface;
an upper portion and a central portion;
a neck opening defined by the upper portion; and
at least one surface indicia positioned on the interior surface of the central portion.
Priority Applications (8)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US12/186,933 US20100031427A1 (en) | 2008-08-06 | 2008-08-06 | Garment With Interior Surface Indicator |
CA2730167A CA2730167C (en) | 2008-08-06 | 2009-08-01 | Garment with interior surface indicator |
EP09804627.9A EP2320757B1 (en) | 2008-08-06 | 2009-08-01 | Garment with interior surface indicator |
AU2009278789A AU2009278789B2 (en) | 2008-08-06 | 2009-08-01 | Garment with interior surface indicator |
CN200980131034.1A CN102118984B (en) | 2008-08-06 | 2009-08-01 | There is the clothes of interior surface indicator |
PCT/IB2009/053351 WO2010015983A2 (en) | 2008-08-06 | 2009-08-01 | Garment with interior surface indicator |
MX2011001302A MX2011001302A (en) | 2008-08-06 | 2009-08-01 | Garment with interior surface indicator. |
BRPI0911705-9A BRPI0911705B1 (en) | 2008-08-06 | 2009-08-01 | clothing with inner surface indicator |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US12/186,933 US20100031427A1 (en) | 2008-08-06 | 2008-08-06 | Garment With Interior Surface Indicator |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20100031427A1 true US20100031427A1 (en) | 2010-02-11 |
Family
ID=41651557
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/186,933 Abandoned US20100031427A1 (en) | 2008-08-06 | 2008-08-06 | Garment With Interior Surface Indicator |
Country Status (8)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20100031427A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP2320757B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN102118984B (en) |
AU (1) | AU2009278789B2 (en) |
BR (1) | BRPI0911705B1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2730167C (en) |
MX (1) | MX2011001302A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2010015983A2 (en) |
Cited By (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20100313324A1 (en) * | 2007-11-15 | 2010-12-16 | Nam Kyu Park | Coverall convenient to act |
US20120017360A1 (en) * | 2010-07-20 | 2012-01-26 | Joseph Tony Lonodn | Safety net harness |
ITFI20110095A1 (en) * | 2011-05-09 | 2012-11-10 | Golden Lady Co Spa | "BREATHABLE TEXTILE PRODUCT WITH DOUBLE LAYER" |
USD736883S1 (en) * | 2011-09-28 | 2015-08-18 | Swimways Corporation | Swimming assistance shirt with inflatable sleeve |
US20150272228A1 (en) * | 2014-03-27 | 2015-10-01 | 7933657 Canada, Inc. | Baby Garment |
US20210267292A1 (en) * | 2020-03-02 | 2021-09-02 | Yantai Shulang Medical Technology Co., Ltd. | Cutting structure and sewing process for back wearing protective clothing |
US20220132956A1 (en) * | 2020-11-05 | 2022-05-05 | David Aaron Schwartz | Garment with directional indicia for visualizing and remembering a coordinated movement of body segments |
US20220167688A1 (en) * | 2019-06-13 | 2022-06-02 | Toray Industries, Inc. | Protective clothing |
Families Citing this family (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN103222692B (en) * | 2013-04-24 | 2015-04-01 | 上海嘉柏服装科技有限公司 | Cleaning clothes suit packaging and folding method |
CN106275888A (en) * | 2015-05-29 | 2017-01-04 | 中国人民解放军海军医学研究所 | Quickly escape danger diving dress packing method |
CN111264947B (en) * | 2020-02-24 | 2022-03-22 | 自贡市第四人民医院(自贡市急救中心) | Medical protective clothing for exercise and exercise monitoring method for putting on and taking off medical protective clothing |
Citations (81)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US57950A (en) * | 1866-09-11 | Improvement in ladiess dress-elevators | ||
US222262A (en) * | 1879-12-02 | Improvement in sleeve-adjusters | ||
US1593027A (en) * | 1925-05-26 | 1926-07-20 | Montague Powell | Shirt-sleeve holder |
US1840888A (en) * | 1930-05-31 | 1932-01-12 | Dooley Ann Nellie | Baby's and young child's sleeping garment |
US2352614A (en) * | 1942-09-17 | 1944-07-04 | Fred O C Brown | Safety sleeve |
US2670471A (en) * | 1950-06-16 | 1954-03-02 | Tidy Products Co | Child's adjustable garment |
US2675326A (en) * | 1950-05-16 | 1954-04-13 | Thomas C Whitner | Aqueous solution of silk |
US2846686A (en) * | 1955-06-06 | 1958-08-12 | Tames Daniel | Surgical gowns |
US2994089A (en) * | 1954-04-12 | 1961-08-01 | Jr Benjamin E Ferguson | Protective garment |
US3276944A (en) * | 1962-08-30 | 1966-10-04 | Du Pont | Non-woven sheet of synthetic organic polymeric filaments and method of preparing same |
US3328809A (en) * | 1965-02-05 | 1967-07-04 | Rosida Corp | Trouser leg length adjuster |
US3338992A (en) * | 1959-12-15 | 1967-08-29 | Du Pont | Process for forming non-woven filamentary structures from fiber-forming synthetic organic polymers |
US3341394A (en) * | 1966-12-21 | 1967-09-12 | Du Pont | Sheets of randomly distributed continuous filaments |
US3359569A (en) * | 1966-04-12 | 1967-12-26 | Johnson & Johnson | Surgical gown |
US3372402A (en) * | 1965-11-23 | 1968-03-12 | Little Europ Ski Shop | Ski pants |
US3429433A (en) * | 1967-03-28 | 1969-02-25 | Sterile Products Corp | Sterile package assembly and process of making same |
US3496572A (en) * | 1964-06-24 | 1970-02-24 | Benno Herzig | Dust-proof garment |
US3502763A (en) * | 1962-02-03 | 1970-03-24 | Freudenberg Carl Kg | Process of producing non-woven fabric fleece |
US3502538A (en) * | 1964-08-17 | 1970-03-24 | Du Pont | Bonded nonwoven sheets with a defined distribution of bond strengths |
US3542615A (en) * | 1967-06-16 | 1970-11-24 | Monsanto Co | Process for producing a nylon non-woven fabric |
US3625206A (en) * | 1969-11-03 | 1971-12-07 | John Charnley | Protective clothing |
US3692618A (en) * | 1969-10-08 | 1972-09-19 | Metallgesellschaft Ag | Continuous filament nonwoven web |
US3721999A (en) * | 1972-01-24 | 1973-03-27 | Cenco Medical Health Supply Co | Surgical gown and method of folding |
US3774240A (en) * | 1972-02-09 | 1973-11-27 | L Johnson | Safety garment |
US3849241A (en) * | 1968-12-23 | 1974-11-19 | Exxon Research Engineering Co | Non-woven mats by melt blowing |
US4000521A (en) * | 1975-11-05 | 1977-01-04 | The Kendall Company | Disposable garment and method |
US4041203A (en) * | 1972-09-06 | 1977-08-09 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Nonwoven thermoplastic fabric |
US4117552A (en) * | 1976-05-14 | 1978-10-03 | The Secretary Of State For Defence In Her Britannic Majesty's Government Of The United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland | Protective clothing |
US4214320A (en) * | 1979-01-11 | 1980-07-29 | Superior Surgical Mfg. Co., Inc. | Surgical gown and method of donning gown |
US4253197A (en) * | 1979-03-02 | 1981-03-03 | Posta Keith F | Indication assembly |
US4340563A (en) * | 1980-05-05 | 1982-07-20 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Method for forming nonwoven webs |
US4374888A (en) * | 1981-09-25 | 1983-02-22 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Nonwoven laminate for recreation fabric |
US4523335A (en) * | 1983-09-15 | 1985-06-18 | Surgikos, Inc. | Surgical gown |
US4655760A (en) * | 1985-07-30 | 1987-04-07 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Elasticized garment and method of making the same |
US4657802A (en) * | 1985-07-30 | 1987-04-14 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Composite nonwoven elastic web |
US4705171A (en) * | 1986-11-20 | 1987-11-10 | Temple University-Of The Commonwealth System Of Higher Education | Wrapper for delivering sterile disposables |
US4720415A (en) * | 1985-07-30 | 1988-01-19 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Composite elastomeric material and process for making the same |
US4753843A (en) * | 1986-05-01 | 1988-06-28 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Absorbent, protective nonwoven fabric |
US4781966A (en) * | 1986-10-15 | 1988-11-01 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Spunlaced polyester-meltblown polyetherester laminate |
US4783854A (en) * | 1987-02-26 | 1988-11-15 | Landstingens Inkopscentral Lic, Ekonomisk Forening | Folded protective garment |
US4789699A (en) * | 1986-10-15 | 1988-12-06 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Ambient temperature bondable elastomeric nonwoven web |
US4942987A (en) * | 1989-03-27 | 1990-07-24 | Stack Holding Inc. | Method of folding sterile surgical garments before and after sterilization |
US4965122A (en) * | 1988-09-23 | 1990-10-23 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Reversibly necked material |
US4981747A (en) * | 1988-09-23 | 1991-01-01 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Composite elastic material including a reversibly necked material |
US4983817A (en) * | 1989-03-01 | 1991-01-08 | Battelle Memorial Institute | Background compensating bar code readers |
US5033115A (en) * | 1989-05-31 | 1991-07-23 | Bowling Patricia J | Protective garment |
US5097534A (en) * | 1991-04-05 | 1992-03-24 | Chicopee | Protective garment |
US5169697A (en) * | 1990-05-25 | 1992-12-08 | Kappler Safety Group | Seaming tape for composite chemical barrier fabrics and method of forming bonded seams |
US5213881A (en) * | 1990-06-18 | 1993-05-25 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Nonwoven web with improved barrier properties |
US5226992A (en) * | 1988-09-23 | 1993-07-13 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Process for forming a composite elastic necked-bonded material |
US5253369A (en) * | 1992-11-10 | 1993-10-19 | Patterson Jr William H | Method of making a reversible scarf with visor |
US5401446A (en) * | 1992-10-09 | 1995-03-28 | The University Of Tennessee Research Corporation | Method and apparatus for the electrostatic charging of a web or film |
US5410758A (en) * | 1993-11-15 | 1995-05-02 | Embellished Uniforms | Protective garment having retaining bag |
US5487189A (en) * | 1994-03-16 | 1996-01-30 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Coveralls having reduced seams and seamless shoulder construction and method of manufacture |
US5491753A (en) * | 1993-11-22 | 1996-02-13 | Chrysler Corporation | Method and device for testing for audio induced sympathetic buzzes |
US5535453A (en) * | 1995-06-20 | 1996-07-16 | Howard; Michael A. | Adjustable length garment |
US5628064A (en) * | 1995-09-22 | 1997-05-13 | Chung; Chin-Fu | Separtable clothes including shirts |
USD402439S (en) * | 1997-07-21 | 1998-12-15 | Anglina Marks | Combined convertible adjustable length dress |
US5862525A (en) * | 1997-04-08 | 1999-01-26 | Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. | Folded surgical gown for aseptic donning, apparatus and method for producing same |
US5867825A (en) * | 1997-07-30 | 1999-02-09 | Scheerer; Michael Robert | Cuffed and folded garment package and method of forming same to prevent contamination |
US5960473A (en) * | 1997-02-28 | 1999-10-05 | Kabushiki Kaisha Phenix | Sportswear |
US6029274A (en) * | 1997-08-26 | 2000-02-29 | Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. | Protective garment and method of manufacture |
US6345392B1 (en) * | 2001-04-16 | 2002-02-12 | Fermina Rios | Disposable garment-protecting cover for use when holding infants |
US6654968B2 (en) * | 2002-01-07 | 2003-12-02 | Harley-Davidson Motor Company Group, Inc. | Apparatus and method for adjusting the length of a garment limb |
US20030226196A1 (en) * | 2002-06-11 | 2003-12-11 | Grilliot Mary I | Protective garment packed in sealed pouch wherein partial vacuum is drawn |
US6694522B1 (en) * | 2003-04-08 | 2004-02-24 | Jay G. Neal | Universal hospital gown |
US6817033B2 (en) * | 2001-10-17 | 2004-11-16 | Angel Hugs Llc | Garment for an infant |
US20060064797A1 (en) * | 2004-09-30 | 2006-03-30 | Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. | Expandable material for use in a garment |
US20060107437A1 (en) * | 2004-09-30 | 2006-05-25 | Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. | Apparel with telescoping sleeves |
US20060185065A1 (en) * | 2005-02-18 | 2006-08-24 | Bradley Allen | Adjustable leg width trousers |
US20060191054A1 (en) * | 2004-10-27 | 2006-08-31 | Noe James W | Hazardous environment protective suit |
US20060272070A1 (en) * | 2003-05-28 | 2006-12-07 | Paula Hakkarainen | Clean room overall and a method for dressing and undressing the same |
USD534334S1 (en) * | 2006-04-03 | 2007-01-02 | Davis Linda A | Hospital garment |
US20070266472A1 (en) * | 2006-04-21 | 2007-11-22 | Dufaux Douglas P | Adjustable garment |
US7305717B1 (en) * | 2005-10-21 | 2007-12-11 | Michelle Brown | Clothing for autistic children |
US20080127398A1 (en) * | 2006-12-01 | 2008-06-05 | Karima Ryan | Modifying Garments to Provide an Adjustable Length Feature |
US20090019616A1 (en) * | 2007-07-20 | 2009-01-22 | Aaron Drake Smith | Easy Donning Garment |
US20090019622A1 (en) * | 2007-07-20 | 2009-01-22 | Mayfield Frances W | Easy Donning Garment |
US20090235434A1 (en) * | 2004-02-12 | 2009-09-24 | Suzy Ratcliffe | Garment length adjustment mechanism |
US20100175166A1 (en) * | 2009-01-15 | 2010-07-15 | Tanica Bradt | Adjustable apparel |
US20100299802A1 (en) * | 2009-05-29 | 2010-12-02 | Teresa Bailey | Expandable children garment with an improved adjustable feature |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP2001355110A (en) * | 2000-06-13 | 2001-12-26 | Uni Charm Corp | Disposable surgical gown |
JP2002235223A (en) * | 2001-02-13 | 2002-08-23 | Uni Charm Corp | Disposable outerwear of backside closable type |
US20040117889A1 (en) * | 2002-12-20 | 2004-06-24 | Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. | Method of selecting or identifying a surgical gown |
US7395555B2 (en) * | 2003-12-31 | 2008-07-08 | Lion Apparel, Inc. | Garment with storage pouch |
-
2008
- 2008-08-06 US US12/186,933 patent/US20100031427A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2009
- 2009-08-01 BR BRPI0911705-9A patent/BRPI0911705B1/en active IP Right Grant
- 2009-08-01 MX MX2011001302A patent/MX2011001302A/en active IP Right Grant
- 2009-08-01 EP EP09804627.9A patent/EP2320757B1/en active Active
- 2009-08-01 WO PCT/IB2009/053351 patent/WO2010015983A2/en active Application Filing
- 2009-08-01 AU AU2009278789A patent/AU2009278789B2/en active Active
- 2009-08-01 CN CN200980131034.1A patent/CN102118984B/en active Active
- 2009-08-01 CA CA2730167A patent/CA2730167C/en active Active
Patent Citations (83)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US57950A (en) * | 1866-09-11 | Improvement in ladiess dress-elevators | ||
US222262A (en) * | 1879-12-02 | Improvement in sleeve-adjusters | ||
US1593027A (en) * | 1925-05-26 | 1926-07-20 | Montague Powell | Shirt-sleeve holder |
US1840888A (en) * | 1930-05-31 | 1932-01-12 | Dooley Ann Nellie | Baby's and young child's sleeping garment |
US2352614A (en) * | 1942-09-17 | 1944-07-04 | Fred O C Brown | Safety sleeve |
US2675326A (en) * | 1950-05-16 | 1954-04-13 | Thomas C Whitner | Aqueous solution of silk |
US2670471A (en) * | 1950-06-16 | 1954-03-02 | Tidy Products Co | Child's adjustable garment |
US2994089A (en) * | 1954-04-12 | 1961-08-01 | Jr Benjamin E Ferguson | Protective garment |
US2846686A (en) * | 1955-06-06 | 1958-08-12 | Tames Daniel | Surgical gowns |
US3338992A (en) * | 1959-12-15 | 1967-08-29 | Du Pont | Process for forming non-woven filamentary structures from fiber-forming synthetic organic polymers |
US3502763A (en) * | 1962-02-03 | 1970-03-24 | Freudenberg Carl Kg | Process of producing non-woven fabric fleece |
US3276944A (en) * | 1962-08-30 | 1966-10-04 | Du Pont | Non-woven sheet of synthetic organic polymeric filaments and method of preparing same |
US3496572A (en) * | 1964-06-24 | 1970-02-24 | Benno Herzig | Dust-proof garment |
US3502538A (en) * | 1964-08-17 | 1970-03-24 | Du Pont | Bonded nonwoven sheets with a defined distribution of bond strengths |
US3328809A (en) * | 1965-02-05 | 1967-07-04 | Rosida Corp | Trouser leg length adjuster |
US3372402A (en) * | 1965-11-23 | 1968-03-12 | Little Europ Ski Shop | Ski pants |
US3359569A (en) * | 1966-04-12 | 1967-12-26 | Johnson & Johnson | Surgical gown |
US3341394A (en) * | 1966-12-21 | 1967-09-12 | Du Pont | Sheets of randomly distributed continuous filaments |
US3429433A (en) * | 1967-03-28 | 1969-02-25 | Sterile Products Corp | Sterile package assembly and process of making same |
US3542615A (en) * | 1967-06-16 | 1970-11-24 | Monsanto Co | Process for producing a nylon non-woven fabric |
US3849241A (en) * | 1968-12-23 | 1974-11-19 | Exxon Research Engineering Co | Non-woven mats by melt blowing |
US3692618A (en) * | 1969-10-08 | 1972-09-19 | Metallgesellschaft Ag | Continuous filament nonwoven web |
US3625206A (en) * | 1969-11-03 | 1971-12-07 | John Charnley | Protective clothing |
US3721999A (en) * | 1972-01-24 | 1973-03-27 | Cenco Medical Health Supply Co | Surgical gown and method of folding |
US3774240A (en) * | 1972-02-09 | 1973-11-27 | L Johnson | Safety garment |
US4041203A (en) * | 1972-09-06 | 1977-08-09 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Nonwoven thermoplastic fabric |
US4000521A (en) * | 1975-11-05 | 1977-01-04 | The Kendall Company | Disposable garment and method |
US4117552A (en) * | 1976-05-14 | 1978-10-03 | The Secretary Of State For Defence In Her Britannic Majesty's Government Of The United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland | Protective clothing |
US4214320A (en) * | 1979-01-11 | 1980-07-29 | Superior Surgical Mfg. Co., Inc. | Surgical gown and method of donning gown |
US4253197A (en) * | 1979-03-02 | 1981-03-03 | Posta Keith F | Indication assembly |
US4340563A (en) * | 1980-05-05 | 1982-07-20 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Method for forming nonwoven webs |
US4374888A (en) * | 1981-09-25 | 1983-02-22 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Nonwoven laminate for recreation fabric |
US4523335A (en) * | 1983-09-15 | 1985-06-18 | Surgikos, Inc. | Surgical gown |
US4655760A (en) * | 1985-07-30 | 1987-04-07 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Elasticized garment and method of making the same |
US4657802A (en) * | 1985-07-30 | 1987-04-14 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Composite nonwoven elastic web |
US4720415A (en) * | 1985-07-30 | 1988-01-19 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Composite elastomeric material and process for making the same |
US4753843A (en) * | 1986-05-01 | 1988-06-28 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Absorbent, protective nonwoven fabric |
US4781966A (en) * | 1986-10-15 | 1988-11-01 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Spunlaced polyester-meltblown polyetherester laminate |
US4789699A (en) * | 1986-10-15 | 1988-12-06 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Ambient temperature bondable elastomeric nonwoven web |
US4705171A (en) * | 1986-11-20 | 1987-11-10 | Temple University-Of The Commonwealth System Of Higher Education | Wrapper for delivering sterile disposables |
US4783854A (en) * | 1987-02-26 | 1988-11-15 | Landstingens Inkopscentral Lic, Ekonomisk Forening | Folded protective garment |
US5226992A (en) * | 1988-09-23 | 1993-07-13 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Process for forming a composite elastic necked-bonded material |
US4965122A (en) * | 1988-09-23 | 1990-10-23 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Reversibly necked material |
US4981747A (en) * | 1988-09-23 | 1991-01-01 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Composite elastic material including a reversibly necked material |
US5336545A (en) * | 1988-09-23 | 1994-08-09 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Composite elastic necked-bonded material |
US4983817A (en) * | 1989-03-01 | 1991-01-08 | Battelle Memorial Institute | Background compensating bar code readers |
US4942987A (en) * | 1989-03-27 | 1990-07-24 | Stack Holding Inc. | Method of folding sterile surgical garments before and after sterilization |
US5033115A (en) * | 1989-05-31 | 1991-07-23 | Bowling Patricia J | Protective garment |
US5169697A (en) * | 1990-05-25 | 1992-12-08 | Kappler Safety Group | Seaming tape for composite chemical barrier fabrics and method of forming bonded seams |
US5213881A (en) * | 1990-06-18 | 1993-05-25 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Nonwoven web with improved barrier properties |
US5097534A (en) * | 1991-04-05 | 1992-03-24 | Chicopee | Protective garment |
US5401446A (en) * | 1992-10-09 | 1995-03-28 | The University Of Tennessee Research Corporation | Method and apparatus for the electrostatic charging of a web or film |
US5253369A (en) * | 1992-11-10 | 1993-10-19 | Patterson Jr William H | Method of making a reversible scarf with visor |
US5410758A (en) * | 1993-11-15 | 1995-05-02 | Embellished Uniforms | Protective garment having retaining bag |
US5491753A (en) * | 1993-11-22 | 1996-02-13 | Chrysler Corporation | Method and device for testing for audio induced sympathetic buzzes |
US5487189A (en) * | 1994-03-16 | 1996-01-30 | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Coveralls having reduced seams and seamless shoulder construction and method of manufacture |
US5535453A (en) * | 1995-06-20 | 1996-07-16 | Howard; Michael A. | Adjustable length garment |
US5628064A (en) * | 1995-09-22 | 1997-05-13 | Chung; Chin-Fu | Separtable clothes including shirts |
US5960473A (en) * | 1997-02-28 | 1999-10-05 | Kabushiki Kaisha Phenix | Sportswear |
US5862525A (en) * | 1997-04-08 | 1999-01-26 | Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. | Folded surgical gown for aseptic donning, apparatus and method for producing same |
US6062444A (en) * | 1997-04-08 | 2000-05-16 | Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. | Folded surgical gown for aseptic donning apparatus and method for producing same |
USD402439S (en) * | 1997-07-21 | 1998-12-15 | Anglina Marks | Combined convertible adjustable length dress |
US5867825A (en) * | 1997-07-30 | 1999-02-09 | Scheerer; Michael Robert | Cuffed and folded garment package and method of forming same to prevent contamination |
US6029274A (en) * | 1997-08-26 | 2000-02-29 | Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. | Protective garment and method of manufacture |
US6345392B1 (en) * | 2001-04-16 | 2002-02-12 | Fermina Rios | Disposable garment-protecting cover for use when holding infants |
US6817033B2 (en) * | 2001-10-17 | 2004-11-16 | Angel Hugs Llc | Garment for an infant |
US6654968B2 (en) * | 2002-01-07 | 2003-12-02 | Harley-Davidson Motor Company Group, Inc. | Apparatus and method for adjusting the length of a garment limb |
US20030226196A1 (en) * | 2002-06-11 | 2003-12-11 | Grilliot Mary I | Protective garment packed in sealed pouch wherein partial vacuum is drawn |
US6694522B1 (en) * | 2003-04-08 | 2004-02-24 | Jay G. Neal | Universal hospital gown |
US20060272070A1 (en) * | 2003-05-28 | 2006-12-07 | Paula Hakkarainen | Clean room overall and a method for dressing and undressing the same |
US20090235434A1 (en) * | 2004-02-12 | 2009-09-24 | Suzy Ratcliffe | Garment length adjustment mechanism |
US20060064797A1 (en) * | 2004-09-30 | 2006-03-30 | Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. | Expandable material for use in a garment |
US20060107437A1 (en) * | 2004-09-30 | 2006-05-25 | Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. | Apparel with telescoping sleeves |
US20060191054A1 (en) * | 2004-10-27 | 2006-08-31 | Noe James W | Hazardous environment protective suit |
US20060185065A1 (en) * | 2005-02-18 | 2006-08-24 | Bradley Allen | Adjustable leg width trousers |
US7305717B1 (en) * | 2005-10-21 | 2007-12-11 | Michelle Brown | Clothing for autistic children |
USD534334S1 (en) * | 2006-04-03 | 2007-01-02 | Davis Linda A | Hospital garment |
US20070266472A1 (en) * | 2006-04-21 | 2007-11-22 | Dufaux Douglas P | Adjustable garment |
US20080127398A1 (en) * | 2006-12-01 | 2008-06-05 | Karima Ryan | Modifying Garments to Provide an Adjustable Length Feature |
US20090019616A1 (en) * | 2007-07-20 | 2009-01-22 | Aaron Drake Smith | Easy Donning Garment |
US20090019622A1 (en) * | 2007-07-20 | 2009-01-22 | Mayfield Frances W | Easy Donning Garment |
US20100175166A1 (en) * | 2009-01-15 | 2010-07-15 | Tanica Bradt | Adjustable apparel |
US20100299802A1 (en) * | 2009-05-29 | 2010-12-02 | Teresa Bailey | Expandable children garment with an improved adjustable feature |
Cited By (11)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20100313324A1 (en) * | 2007-11-15 | 2010-12-16 | Nam Kyu Park | Coverall convenient to act |
US8256023B2 (en) * | 2007-11-15 | 2012-09-04 | Nam Kyu Park | Coverall convenient to act |
US20120017360A1 (en) * | 2010-07-20 | 2012-01-26 | Joseph Tony Lonodn | Safety net harness |
US8826469B2 (en) * | 2010-07-20 | 2014-09-09 | Joseph Tony London | Safety net harness |
ITFI20110095A1 (en) * | 2011-05-09 | 2012-11-10 | Golden Lady Co Spa | "BREATHABLE TEXTILE PRODUCT WITH DOUBLE LAYER" |
WO2012153252A3 (en) * | 2011-05-09 | 2013-01-03 | Golden Lady Company S.P.A. | A dual layer breathable textile product |
USD736883S1 (en) * | 2011-09-28 | 2015-08-18 | Swimways Corporation | Swimming assistance shirt with inflatable sleeve |
US20150272228A1 (en) * | 2014-03-27 | 2015-10-01 | 7933657 Canada, Inc. | Baby Garment |
US20220167688A1 (en) * | 2019-06-13 | 2022-06-02 | Toray Industries, Inc. | Protective clothing |
US20210267292A1 (en) * | 2020-03-02 | 2021-09-02 | Yantai Shulang Medical Technology Co., Ltd. | Cutting structure and sewing process for back wearing protective clothing |
US20220132956A1 (en) * | 2020-11-05 | 2022-05-05 | David Aaron Schwartz | Garment with directional indicia for visualizing and remembering a coordinated movement of body segments |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO2010015983A2 (en) | 2010-02-11 |
EP2320757B1 (en) | 2016-10-05 |
WO2010015983A3 (en) | 2010-06-17 |
AU2009278789B2 (en) | 2013-12-12 |
MX2011001302A (en) | 2011-03-29 |
EP2320757A4 (en) | 2014-12-31 |
BRPI0911705A2 (en) | 2020-08-04 |
AU2009278789A1 (en) | 2010-02-11 |
CN102118984B (en) | 2016-12-07 |
CA2730167C (en) | 2016-10-25 |
EP2320757A2 (en) | 2011-05-18 |
CA2730167A1 (en) | 2010-02-11 |
CN102118984A (en) | 2011-07-06 |
BRPI0911705B1 (en) | 2020-12-08 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
AU2009278789B2 (en) | Garment with interior surface indicator | |
US10729189B2 (en) | Easy donning Garment | |
US7841020B2 (en) | Easy donning garment | |
JP5317220B2 (en) | Protective clothing with an elastic panel at an angle | |
WO2018057856A1 (en) | Multilayered barrier garment | |
WO2008010140A2 (en) | Protective apparel component assembly | |
WO2008010142A2 (en) | Method for use of protective apparel |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: KIMBERLY-CLARK WORLDWIDE, INC.,WISCONSIN Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:SMITH, AARON DRAKE;LILLEY, DAVID ARARON;LARKIN, DAMON RICHARD;SIGNING DATES FROM 20081006 TO 20081008;REEL/FRAME:021687/0422 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- AFTER EXAMINER'S ANSWER OR BOARD OF APPEALS DECISION |