Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to protective garments
primarily for firemen to protect them against heat, water
and chemicals, but which can be worn for other purposes. The
term "garment" as used herein means a jacket or coat and/or
pants. However, the invention is mainly concerned with
jac~ets and will be described in connection with these.
~ here are jackets or coats in existence which are
used mainly by firemen. The jacket most commonly in use is
made of a heavy canvas-like material. Many of these jackets
have liners removably mounted therein so that they can be
taken out for cleaning purposes~ The material of the prior
art jackets resists heat and fire but only up to a certain
point. They also repel water for a short period of time,
but when exposed to much water they absorb some of it and
gradually become heavier. The prior jackets are relatively
heavy in the first place, and this taking on of water
increases the load while a fireman continues to fight the
fire. The longer he is exposed to water the greater becomes
his load ~hile he is tiring as a result of his efforts.
2Q The present invention eliminates the problems of
the garments used by firemen in the past by providing a
garment that is very light in weight, will withstand very
high temperatures before starting to char or deteriorate, is
impervious to water and air, does not absorb any moisture,
and can be cleaned by normal methods. It preferably does
not have a removable lining, and it can be improved by a
rollout hood permanently secured thereto which is immediately
available to protect the wearer's head but is normally
folded out of sight in a collar arrangement of the garment.
In addition, the present garment does not have any metal
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components.
A garment in accordance with this invention
comprises a mairl section for enclosing a portion of the body
of a wearer, and tubular sections connected to and opening
into the main section and positioned so that limbs of the
wearer can extend therethrough; said main and tubular
sections comprising an outer sheet of light-weight, non-
moisture-absorbent fabric capable of withstanding high
temperatures before starting to char, a liner of relatively
soft and heat resistant fabric, and an inner shell of light-
weight, fire-resistant, non-moisture-absorbent fabric, said
outer shell, liner and inner shell being secured together at
edges thereof to form a cloth unit, said liner besides
helping to protect the wearer acting as a spacex in the
cloth unit to allow for air insulation and circulation within
said unit and giving the latter a predetermined thickness.
This garment can be a jacket or a coat, in which
case the tubular sections receive the arms of the wearer, or
it can be in the form of a pair of pants so that the tubular
sections receive the legs of the wearer.
The construction and method of manufacturing the
garment are important in obtaining the desirable results,
but the most important factor is the cloth unit from which a
garment is made. The cloth unit consists of an outer shell,
a liner and an inner shell which are secured together at
edges thereof. These two sheIls and the liner each have an
important function, but they also form a combination which
result in a light-weight protective garment primarily for
firemen which is a vast improvement over any garment for the
same purpose which is in use today. Of very great importance
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is the fact that the cost of this garment is roughly the
same as the garments presently in use for the same purposes.
The outer shell is made of a light weight, non-
moisture-absorbent fabric capable of withstanding high
temperatures, for example, up to about 850F, before starting
to char. The most successful for this purpose so far is a
fabric made of aromatic nylon yarn. A very desirable fabric
for this purpose is on the market and sold under the trade
mark NOM~X. This aromatic nylon product consists of synthe-
tic man-made fibres which are processed and twisted to
create the yarn which is woven into the fabric. 'rhe finished
warp is 200 denier, and the weave is a 2 X 2 basket with
about 97 X 60 or 96 X 74 pic count. The woven yarns produce
a fabric weighing from 3 oz. to 6 oz. per square yard~ A
fabric weighing about 5.73 ozs. per square yard has been
found very suitable for this purpose since it can withstand
up to about 850F of heat. The inner surface of this fabric
is coated with a suitable waterproofing material, such as
Neoprene or Polyurethane. This coating is applied at a rate
~o of about 2 ozs. per square yard, and the resulting fabric
will not absorb any water, and is moistureproof under a
water pressure of about 200 psi. It is also desirable to
heat set and scour this fabric in preparation for a follow-
ing treatment with a suitable substance such as silicone,
which helps to retard soil, oil, grease stains, and assists
in providing a water barrier.
The liner must be light in weight, soft and very
flexible. It also must have considerable thickness since it
must produce with the outer and inner shells a fabric unit
having a thickness sufficient to meet the standards set for
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fire protective garments. At the present time a total
thickness of at least about 0.175 in. is required in the
United States.
The preferred form of liner is made of synthetic
nylon fibres such as aromatic nylon fibres with a resin
finish and weighing about 6 oz. per square yard. This
fabric is needle punched so as to provide for air circulation
between the outer and inner shells. This circulation is
assisted by the fact that the shells and the liner are
secured together only at edges thereof so that they are free
for limited movement relative to each other.
Another suitab}e liner is one made of needle
punched Dacron fibres with lanolin treatment and weighing
about 4 ozs. per square yard. In either case, the liner
acts as a inner heat resistant barrier and gives the wearer
additional protection and comfort.
The inner shell can be made of material which is
the same as or similar to that of the outer shell. It has
been found preferable to use a fabric of aromatic nylon
yarns which is lighter in weight than the outer shell
fabric, for example, 3.73 to 4.5 ozs. per square yard. It
is also preferable to subject this fabric to a calendering
process which tightens the weave and gives the fabric
additional moisture resistance and a soft, pliable feeling
for the wearer. It also should be treated with silicone so
that it will act as a soil, oil, grease repellent and also
produces an additional water barrier.
Preferred forms of this invention are illustrated
in the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is an enlarged diagrammatic view of a
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portion of a fabric unit in accordance with this invention,
Figure 2 is a front elevation of a man wearing a
jacket or coat with the hood up and pants, in accordance
with this invention,
Figure 3 is a rear view of the man ~ith the jacket
and pants,
Figure 4 is a front elevation of the jacket alone
closed and with the colla.r in the normal fold-down position,
Figure 5 is a view o the jacket opened and with
the collar up and the hood partially raised,
Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view through ~he
collar and taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 4,
Figure 7 is an enlarged view of a pocket arrange-
ment for the jacket, showing one po~ket open,
Figure 8 is a front view of the pants in accord-
ance with this invention,
Figure 9 is a elevation of the pants with the
front open, and
Figure 10 is a rear view of the pants showing a
pocket arrangement, showing one pocket opsn.
Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, 10 is a
fabric unit made in accordance with the present invention.
This fabric unit comprises an outer shell 12, a liner 14,
and an inner shell 16. These are secured together at edges
thereof in any suitable manner such as double stitching
either visible or unseen indicated at 18.
The outer shell 12 consists of a tightly woven
fabric 24 having applied to the inner surface thereof, a
layer 2~ of water-repellent material, such as neoprene or
polyurethane. This layer is very thin and is absorbed
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paxtly into the woven fabric, but it is shown in Figure 1 as
being relatively thick in order to be seen. The thickness
of the coating 26 can be visualized when it is realized that
it is applied at the rate of about 2 oz. per square yard.
As stated above, fabric 24 is preferably an aromatic nylon
yarn tightly woven into the cloth, and it is preferably
treated with silicone to render it resistant to soil, oil
and grease stains. The suit~ble fabric without the moisture
proof layer applied thereto and without the silicone treat-
ement is on the mar~et under the trade mark NOMEX.
The liner 14 is preferably formed of needle
punched aromatic nylon fibers with a resin finish. ~hese
fibres are more or less in felted form, and the liner is
relatively thick so as to provide the entire fabric unit 10
with the necessary thickness, which at the present time is
about 0.175 in. in the United States.
As an alternative, the liner 14 can be made of
needle punched Dacron fibers with the lanolin treatment and
weighing about 4 ozs. per yard.
The inner shell 16 is preferably formed of fabric
similar to the fabric of outer shell 12. It can be exactly
the same as the outer shell, but for the sake of weight and
comfort to the wearer, it is preferably made up of tightly
woven aromatic nylon yarn having a weight o~ about 3.73 to
~5 about 4.5 ozs. per square yard~ This fabric is preferably
calendered to tighten the weave, to provide additional
moisture resistance, and to give it a soft pliable feeling
for the wearer. This fabric also is preferably treated with
silicone.
As the outer and inner shells and liner 14 are
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secured together mainly at the edges thereof, there are
spaces 30 and 31 therebetween so that air can circulate
between th~m and to some extent at least through the needle
holes of the liner. This air also acts as heat insulation.
In addition, these elements can move to a limited degree
relative to each other so as to make it easier or a person
wearing the garment to bend. Although the three layers form
a relatively thick fabric unit, the later is quite flexible
because of this relative movement of the layers.
Referring to Figures 2 to 7, 35 is a jacket or
coat formed of the $abric unit 10. This jacket has a main
section 38 which when the jacket is worn encloses the body
of the wearer. Tubular sections 40 and 41 are positioned to
receive the arms of the wearer. The tubular sections 40 and
41 open into the body se~tion 38 in the usual way, and are
secured thereto in any desired manner, such as by double
stitching 43. In this example, the tubular sections 40 and
41 are shaped to form raglan shoulders 45 for the garment.
The outer ends of the sections 40 and 41 are provided with
expansible wristlets 48 which fit tightly around the wrists
of the wearer. The material of these can be similar to the
material of the inner shell, but loosely knit or woven.
Alternatively, the wristlets can be replaced by elastic
material attached to the outer ends of tubular sections 40
and 41.
Jacket 35 is open at the front, as indicated at 52
in Figure 5, and has a wide flap 54 along one side of the
opening and integrally formed with the main section 38.
This flap is adapted to overlie a wide portion 55 of the
main section. It is preferable to use a non-metal fastener,
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105t~5S3
and in this example, it consists of the male and female
elements or tapes of a fastener known as "VELCRO" secured to
the flap and tc the wide portion. These tapes are non-
metallic and fire and heat resistant. It is preferable to
make flap 54 wide enough to place a relatively wide element
or tape 57 of the fastener thereon, in which case a relatively
wide corresponding element or tape 58 o the fastener is
secured to the wide portion 55. Flap 54 overlaps a sub-
stantial portion of the main section 38 at the opposite side
of opening 52 so as to provide the wearer good protection
against water, heat and air. The corresponding wide tapes
of the fastener firmly and reliably hold the flap in position,
and yet tha flap can be quickly and easily opened merely by
grasping and pulling it away from the body of the jacket. If
desired, an additional storm flap closure 59 may be attached
by sewing or-the like to the jacket along the inner side of
the wide portion 55. This flap closure is wide enough to
reach over said wide portion and ~lap 54. Mating elements
60 of a fastener are secured to the inner surface of flap
closure 59 and the outer surface of the jacket along the
inner edge of flap 54.
The body section 38 of jacket 35 is provided with
a collar 62 at the upper end thereof. This collar is
preferably formed of the same material as the main section
or it may be made of the outer shell fabric alone, in
either case it preferably is integrally connected to the
body section. This collar is wide enough to fold back on
itself into overlapping inner and outer collar sections 64
and 65, respectively. These sections form a pocket 66
therebetween in which a rolled hood 68 normally fits out of
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sight. This hood is preferably ~ormed of the same material
as the outer shell 12. The hood i5 relatively thin, light-
weight and pliable. This hood is secured at an edge thereof
to the collar 62 along the outer edge 70 thereof. When the
hood is rolled or folded up, it lies along the outer surface
of the inner collar section 64 so that the outer collar
section 65 can be turned down or folded over the hood, as
shown in Figure 6. It is preferable to provide fastener
tabs 72 on the opposed surfaces of the collar sections 64
and 65 so that the outer section 65 can be fastened in place
when the hood is not required.
Jacket 35 is preferably provided with one or more
accordian pockets 75 on its outer surface. These pockets
can be made from the same material as outer shell 12, and
secured to the said outer shell in any desired manner such
as by stitching. Each pocket 75 preferably has a plurality
of drain holes 76 at the bottom thereof, and a flap 78
positioned to be folded over and close the top of the
pocket. If desired, suitable astening means can be provided
2Q for each flap 78, such as male and female ~elcro elements 79
as shown in Figure 7.
Referring to Figures 8, 9 and 10, the garment of
this invention may comprise a pair of pants 82 made of the
fabric unit 10. In this case, the pants include a main
section 84 for enclosing the lower part of the wearer's body
and tubular sections 85 and 86 for receiving his legs. The
outer ends of tubular sections 84 and 85 may be provided
with flexible anklets 89 for gripping the ankles of the
wearer. These pants may be h~ld up in any suitable manner,
such as by a heavy stretchable band 90 extending around and
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secured to the top thereof.
The pants 82 are formed with a fly opening 92 at
the front thereof, and with a relatively wide flap 93 along
one edge of the opening and a relatively wide portion 94
along the opposite edge thereof. Non-metal, co-operating
fastening elements 96 are provided on the opposing suraces
of flap 93 and portion 94 so that when the flap is folded
o~er this portion, these elemen~s are pressed togather to
hold the flap closed.
Pants 82 may be provided with one or more pockets
98, each having a flap 99 adapted to overlap and close the
upper end thereof. Each pocket may be formed with drain
holes 102 in the bottom thereof, and the flap 99 and the
pocket portion overlapped thereby are provided with non-
metal, co-operating tapes 104 on their opposed surfaces so
that when the flap is folded over the pocket, these tapes
are pressed together to retain the flap in the closed
position.
The above-described garments protect the wearer
against heat, cold and water. The finished product will
withstand temperatures up to about 2,000F for about 14
seconds before starting to char. The material of the outer
shell will not char when exposed to temperatures up to about
850F for even longer periods than that. Water is repelled
so that not only is the wearer protected from it, but his
garments do not increase in weight no matter how long
he is exposed to the water. The extra large size jacket
weighs about 3.14 lbs. and the corresponding pants about
2.9 lbs. These are at least 200~ lighter than any other
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corresponding garments now available for the same purposes
when the latter are dry. ~owever, the latter garment
readily absorbs water for protection purposes and so
its weight rapidly increases.
