Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PROTECTIVE SUIT
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention concerns a protective suit with a trunk part comprising an
upper shoulder part with a neck opening and sleeve openings arranged on
either side of the neck opening, a lower trouser part with two leg openings, a
waist part arranged between the shoulder part and the trouser part, and
sleeves attached to the sleeve openings and legs attached to the leg
openings, and having a front intended to face forwards on the user during
use of the protective suit and a back intended to face rearwards on the user
during use of the protective suit, the protective suit comprising an openable
seal arranged in the trunk part.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Full body protective suits are used within a number of different areas, for
example as dry suits or wet suits for diving, in connection with various types
of water sports, during sailing or fishing and as protection during
decontamination work. One particular type of protective suit is tight suits,
for
example dry suits and pressure suits. The latter type of protective suit is
used
particularly for chemical decontamination in order to prevent the user from
being exposed to harmful chemicals.
A problem with full body protective suits is that they need to be able to be
put
on and taken off in a simple and comfortable way while still having a good
enough fit to be flexible and comfortable to wear and move around in. A
further problem is to be able comfortably to relieve oneself without having to
remove the suit. Unfortunately, protective suits which meet all of these
demands have not been available until now.
EP 1 352 577 describes a dry suit with a seal which extends diagonally
across the front of the suit. A seal of this type requires the back portion to
be
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formed with extra length in order to allow the head to be inserted through the
neck opening when the suit is being put on. Consequently, the suit will be
roomier than necessary and will not have as good a fit as is desirable. Once
the suit has been put on, the length of the suit has to be adjusted with a
special drawstring which gathers together excess material. The design of the
dry suit makes it necessary to take the suit off in order to relieve oneself.
US 3 421 188 describes a suit intended for astronauts or divers and which is
provided with a seal running in a symmetrical, continuous line from a point at
chest level on one side of the front of the suit diagonally downwards and
outwards to the waist of the suit and straight across the back at waist level
on
the back of the suit, then back on the front diagonally up to chest level.
This
suit is relatively difficult to get into and out of as the available opening
is fairly
small. In addition, the user must take off the suit in order to relieve
himself/herself.
A further variation of a seal in a full body suit is described in US
6,219,841. In
this document, the seal extends from the front of the suit diagonally upwards
from a point near one of the user's groins up to the waist and diagonally
across the back up the armpit and a short distance in onto the front. A suit
of
this type is difficult for the user to close and open unaided as it is awkward
to
reach and manoeuvre the sealing device on the back of the suit.
Accordingly, there is a need for a protective suit with improved fit and an
openable seal which permits the protective suit to be put on and taken off
easily and comfortably and also enables the user to relieve himself/herself
without removing the suit.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention, a protective suit of the type mentioned in
the introduction has now been achieved, which protective suit has
considerably improved properties with regard to putting on and removing the
suit.
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A protective suit produced in accordance with the invention is chiefly
characterised in that it comprises an openable seal which extends
continuously from a point on the front of the protective suit located level
with
one sleeve opening, in a line down past the waist part and continuing in
across the trouser part and thereafter in a downward curve across the back
of the protective suit, back to the front of the trouser part continuing in a
line
up past the waist part to a point located level with the second sleeve
opening.
The location of the openable seal is such that the seal will be running down
below the user's waist when the suit is being worn. This location is extremely
advantageous compared with previously known seals. For example, the suit
can be put on and removed simply and comfortably and with minimal strain
on the sealing device. In addition, the suit can be made with a better fit
than
has previously been possible, since the location of the seal is optimal with
respect to the scope for movement when the suit is being put on and
removed. The suit will therefore be smooth, flexible and comfortable to wear
without uncomfortable folds and excess material.
The seal has no sharp corners or bends but runs in a line with only straight
or
softly curved segments. Furthermore, due to the location of the seal,
movements of the trunk and bending movements do not affect the length of
the seal. This results in high wearer comfort and reduced strain and wear on
the seal both during use of the suit and when it is put on and taken off. In
addition, it is easy for a user to close and open the suit without assistance.
In the case of pressure suits, i.e. gas-filled protective suits, the improved
fit
which is made possible by the optimum location and form of the seal results
in better distribution of the gas in the suit. The location of the seal also
permits the diameter of the upper sleeves to be minimised and adapted to
the wearer, thus allowing the volume of gas in the sleeves to be reduced.
Due to the fact that the suit can be opened up at the back without being
taken off, a large part of the user's back can be ventilated if so desired.
This
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is a particular advantage in diving suits and gives improved comfort when the
user is waiting on alert or during surface intervals.
A further advantage of a protective suit in accordance with the invention is
that it allows the user discreetly to relieve himself/herself without needing
to
remove the suit. This is particularly advantageous for female users, who for
example on board a boat or in other environments where it can be difficult to
find a private place to relieve oneself, can find this very embarrassing. With
a
protective suit in accordance with the invention, the front of the suit can be
used as a concealing screen in such situations.
The location of the seal also means that breathing equipment can be
enclosed in the suit and can be exchanged without removing the suit and
putting it on again. This is also the case for rebreathers, which thereby give
a
considerably increased hydrostatic breathing balance and efficiency due to
the fact that insulation increases the capacity for such equipment. In
addition,
the wearer will be supplied with heat due to the cleansing process of the gas.
The location of the seal is also optimal in so far as it does not prevent use
of
different types of peripheral equipment or interfere with it. For example, the
protective suit can be provided with a urisheath connection. Due to the
location of the seal, it is easy to access and connect a urisheath when the
suit is being worn.
The starting point for the openable seal is, as stated, located level with the
sleeve opening of the protective suit. This means that the starting point
should be located at least level with the lower edge of the sleeve opening,
but can be placed further up, nearer the neck opening.
It is suitable that the openable seal on the front of the protective suit cuts
a
horizontal line at waist level through the protective suit with an angle a
that is
75 - 115 .
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The protective suit in accordance with the invention preferably has two
symmetrically formed halves, each comprising a sleeve and a leg, the
openable seal being mirror-symmetrically arranged on both halves.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the openable seal
5 extends beyond a point on the back of the protective suit level with the leg
openings. In such an embodiment, the openable seal will extend down under
the user's buttocks when the suit is being worn. This is particularly
advantageous when the user of the suit wishes to relieve himself/herself
without removing the suit.
For liquid impermeable suits it is of course suitable that the openable seal
is
also liquid impermeable. A number of different types of tight zip fasteners
and
other sealing devices are previously known and can be used for the purpose.
Two examples of tight sealing devices are described in US 3,421,188 and US
6,219,841.
It is also possible to arrange the openable seal so that it runs in a closed
loop
over the trunk, whereby the protective suit is completely separable into an
upper part and a lower part. An embodiment of this type can be practical if it
is desirable to be able to exchange damaged or worn parts or to adapt the
length of the suit to different users by selecting parts of different lengths.
It is
also possible to put together parts with different functions for different
users.
For example, male users may wish to choose a lower part with a urisheath
connection.
In order to facilitate correct assembly of the two parts, the openable seal
can
be provided with a mark for positioning the upper part of the suit in relation
to
the lower part.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the
figures shown in the attached drawings, in which
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Fig. 1 shows a protective suit in accordance with a first embodiment of
the invention, seen from the front,
Fig. 2 shows the protective suit in Fig. 1 seen from the side,
Fig. 3 shows the protective suit in Figs 1 and 2 seen from behind,
Fig. 4 shows the protective suit in Figs 1-3 with the seal open,
Fig. 5 shows a protective suit in accordance with a second embodiment
of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
The protective suit 1 shown in Figs 1-4 is, for example, a dry suit for
diving.
The suit is made of some suitable watertight material. Examples of such
materials are laminates of textile and foamed neoprene, laminates with an
inner layer of synthetic rubber, for example polyurethane rubber, and an
outer layer of nylon weave, Gore-Tex materials or TeflonO-coated textile
materials.
The protective suit 1 has an upper part, the shoulder part 2, a lower part,
the
trouser part 3 and an intermediate waist part 4. The shoulder part 2, the
trouser part 3 and the waist part 4 together form the trunk part 5 of the
protective suit. The shoulder part 2 has a neck opening 6 and sleeve
openings 7, 8 arranged on either side of the neck opening. The trouser part
has two leg openings 9, 10. In addition, the trunk part 5 has sleeves 11, 12
attached to the sleeve openings 7, 8 and legs 13, 14 attached to the leg
openings 9, 10. In Fig. 1, the suit is seen from the front 15, which is the
side
that is intended to face forwards on the user during use of the protective
suit
1. In Fig. 3, the suit is seen from the back 16, which is the side that is
intended to face rearwards on the user during use of the protective suit.
An openable seal 19 is arranged in the trunk part 5 and extends continuously
from a point on the front 15 of the protective suit 1 located level with one
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sleeve opening 7, in a slightly curved line down past the waist part 4 and
continuing in over the trouser part 3 and thereafter over one of the user's
hips
and in a downward arch across the user's buttocks on the back 16 of the
protective suit, back to the front 15 of the trouser part 3 over the user's
other
hip, up past the waist part 4 in a slightly curved line to a point 18 situated
level with the other sleeve opening 8. Suitably, the downward segments of
the seal 19 cut a transverse line 25 at waist level on the suit with an angle
a
which is 75 - 115 .
The seal 19 is thus symmetrically arranged around a central vertical line
through a standing user, so that the suit has two mirror-symmetrical halves.
The seal 19 is suitably watertight. Several watertight sealing arrangements
are available for use. For example, tight zip fasteners and similar sealing
arrangements are manufactured and sold by YKK, New Zipper Company,
EOB, Dynet and Taylon, among others.
Fig. 4 shows how the protective suit 1 appears from the side when it has
been opened. The available opening 20 is sufficiently wide to allow the
protective suit to be easily put on and taken off. Despite this, the suit in
its
opened state is still in a condition in which it sits in one piece on the
user's
arms and upper body and also lower body and legs. Due to the fact that the
suit is in one piece at the front 15, the user can easily and discreetly
conceal
himself/herself behind the front of the suit while answering a call of nature.
Answering calls of nature is also made easier by the low location of the seal
19 on the back 16 of the suit, preferably completely under the user's buttocks
but at least a long way down on the buttocks, to a point 23 level with the leg
openings 9, 10 of the suit.
Due to the location of the seal 19, it is easy for the user to open and close
unaided when putting on and taking off the suit. As the seal runs in a
continuous line without sharp bends or edges, the opening and closing of the
suit is facilitated. Furthermore, strain on the seal will be minimal when the
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user moves with the suit on. The location of the seal is also beneficial with
regard to different types of peripheral equipment such as air supply,
urisheath connections, or the like. A further advantage of the location of the
sealing device 19 is that the user can ventilate a large part of his/her back
without taking off the suit.
The protective suit 1 shown in Fig. 5 differs from the suit in Figs 1-4 due to
the form of the seal 19 on the front 15 of the suit. In addition, the suit is
shown with vents 30 for supply or removal of air or gas.
Instead of having the beginning and end of the seal 19 at different places on
the shoulder part 2 of the suit as in Figs 1-4, the seal 19 extends on the
protective suit 1 shown in Fig. 5 in a closed loop which divides the suit into
an
upper part and a lower part. As can be seen in Fig. 5, the seal thus extends
in an arch 21 across the user's chest, the upper part of the arch 21 being
situated at least level with the lowest point of the sleeve openings 7, 8, but
being able to extend further up towards the neck opening 22 of the suit. The
sealing device of the seal 19, is then suitably of such a type that the two
parts
of the suit can be separated completely.
The advantages of a completely separable suit are that it is possible to
select
the upper and lower parts independently of one another and thus put
together a suit that is individually adapted to the user's needs with respect
to
the length of the suit and connections for equipment. It is also possible to
exchange a part that has become worn or is broken.
In order to facilitate assembly of the suit, it is suitable if the seal 19 has
some
type of mark 24 so that the parts do not end up in the wrong place in relation
to one another.
If the protective suit is to be completely tight, the sealing device should be
chosen with a view to obtaining a tight seal around the entire sealing loop.
This means that the seal is preferably in the form of a sliding fastener, such
as Zip-Lock .
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The invention should not be considered to be limited to the embodiment
described here, a number of further embodiments being conceivable within
the framework of the following patent claims. In particular, the sealing
device
in accordance with the invention can be used for all types of protective
suits,
such as dry suits, wet suits and protective suits for chemical decontamination
and the like. In addition, the sealing device can be used on protective suits
for use in water sports, fishing, sailing, etc.
Neither can the described materials for the suit be considered as limiting. It
is
of course possible to choose a suit material adapted for the intended use.
