Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
PROTECTIVE DEVICE AGAINST THE BITING OF INSECTS
ABSTRACT
A new, improved protective garment for use against the biting and stinging of
ticks, mosquitoes and
other insects and in particular the control of diseases which can be
transmitted to humans by the biting
action of these arthropods.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a new, improved protective device for use
against the biting of
ticks, mosquitoes, horseflies and other insects and specifically to be used to
limit or stop the
transmission of diseases, such as Lymes Disease and Malaria etc., which are
transmitted to humans via
the biting and sucking action of such arthropods. Additional features for
comfort and convenience are
added including a removable face veil, extra long frontal zipper, knee and
elbow padding, specialized
cuffs on forearms and ankles etc.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Harassment by biting insects and, to some extent, the transmission of diseases
to humans by
insects has been an age old concern, especially when people work outside of
their urban environments,
where ticks, mosquitoes, blackflies, horseflies, deer flies, chiggers and
other biting insects are found in
large numbers.
Malaria and more recently, West Nile Virus have been known to be transmitted
to humans by
biting mosquitoes and have been a serious concern for many years. A large
amount of time and money
his been spent to try to eradicate mosquitoes by applying pesticides, dredging
low lying, wet areas and
by other means. People also try to control the transmission of diseases by
applying insect repellants on
their skin and/or by wearing mesh type head coverings, either alone or in
combination with mesh
jackets of varying designs. The simple wearing of long sleeved shirts and long
pants has been proven
to be almost futile.
In recent years, the transmission to humans of Lymes Disease, which is carried
primarily by the
Black Legged Tick, has become a huge concern, especially considering the
recent rapid geographical
migration of the disease across North America and the long lasting effects
that this disease can have on
human hosts. Loss of energy, generalized pain throughout the joints and body
of humans and a
reduction in cardiovascular endurance are common complaints and these symptoms
can last for many
years. A lot of money has been spent on research to try to ameliorate these
symptoms using drugs and
physiotherapy etc.
Money, time and energy has also been spent, over the past decades, on clothing
to try to protect
vulnerable people. Mesh headgear and mesh jackets have been around for years
and the application of
pesticides, such as Permethrin/Pyrethrin on the legs and sleeves of common
outdoor clothing have been
attempted to try to thwart the transmission of Lymes Disease from ticks.
Permethrin and Pyrethrin
immediately discourages the attachment of the ticks by immediately irritating
and poisoning them and
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,
ultimately kills the ticks if they do not drop off.
These 2 methods have their limitations. For example, the pesticides applied to
clothing
degrades in effect due to repeated laundering and must be reapplied.
Additionally, the odour is quite
noticeable to humans and animals and can impede a hunter's success. Improper
handling of this
pesticide is potentially hazardous as well because one is, in essence,
handling a poison. The containers
carrying the said pesticides are full of warning labels.
The mesh jackets and headgear methods also have their short comings. In very
recent years,
mesh pants have been introduced onto the market. These 3 garments (pants,
jacket and head mesh) can
have reduced effectiveness when the arms, legs or body is bent to the extent
that the mesh material is
pressed right against the bare skin. Such areas would include: the outer area
of the elbows and knees,
across the shoulders and across the back. Ticks, mosquitoes and the like are
able to press their heads
and mouth parts through the mesh in those areas and into the skin when the
mesh is pressed firmly
against the skin under such conditions. Openings between the headgear and the
jacket, as well as
openings between the jacket and pants of the protective gear can also allow
biting insects an
opportunity to suck blood, cause irritation and potentially to transmit
diseases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the above shortcomings by several means.
Firstly, it is a full
body suit, covering the top of the head down to the ankles, although the hands
and feet are not covered.
Hikers, hunters, fishermen and wildlife biologists etc. typically have a
preference as to the type of
footwear and gloves that they choose to wear and so footwear and gloves are
not covered in the present
invention. The full body suit, analogous to a pair of coveralls, effectively
eliminates the potential for a
space to be inadvertently created, either between the jacket and the pants, or
between the headpiece and
the jacket, typically done when the person is bending over etc.
As we will discuss later, the present invention/full body suit is also unique
because it is
comprised of select panels or sections of fine mosquito netting sewn in
combination with other panels
of solid textile material. In fact, the majority of the suit's surface is
covered with a more impenetrable
and solid textile material. The alternation of the solid textile panels and
the fine mesh panels creates a
micro-environment where the human body is substantially protected from insect
attacks while, at the
same time, significantly ventilated by a cross breeze of cooler ambient air.
Protection and comfort can
be achieved at the same time.
In this invention, the fine mesh panels are incorporated in the areas behind
the knees and calves
as well as under the arms and along the sides of the torso. The head piece is,
of course, entirely
comprised of fine mesh material. The inescapable need to bend the arms and
legs makes it necessary
for this invention to have solid textile material along the back and upper
sections of the arms, where the
material will be pressed against the skin during bending motions, while
having, at the same time, the
fine mesh incorporated in the frontal sections of the elbows where slack and
spacing between the skin
and mesh are created by the bending of the arms. The same concept is applied
to the back of the legs,
where a fine mesh is incorporated. As with the arms, the front of the legs and
knees are protected from
bites by the incorporation of a heavier, impermeable textile.
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,
..
Additionally, it is possible to construct this full body suit using 2 layers
of breathable, mesh
material along the 2 sides of the torso, underneath the arms and behind the
legs, whereby the outer layer
of mesh is comprised of a heavier material to reduce the possibility of
tearing by sharp branches as the
wearer pushes his/her way through heavy brush. The inner layer of mesh could
be finer, with smaller
openings, ensuring that even the smallest insects cannot penetrate the garment
right to the wearers skin.
Of course, the finer mesh material would be more fragile than the outer layer.
That way, a wearer has
both the luxury of protection from smaller biting arthropods while being
protected against common
tearing of materials by dense brush. A torn mosquito jacket with its
subsequent, localized exposure to
mosquitoes etc. will very likely shorten the persons stay in the dense woods.
This can be very
inconvenient when the hiker/hunter/lumberjack is focused on accomplishing an
important task in a
mosquito infested area.
Additionally, it is possible to construct this full body suit using spacing
materials between the 2
layers of breathable, mesh as described above. Spacers between the inner fine
mesh and the outer
course mesh could consist of strips of woolen, coursely weaved mesh material
or strips of rubber tubes
or button-like contraptions etc. which can create a spacer between the inner
and outer meshes. These
types of designs are extensively discussed in the prior arts and so will not
be described any further.
Thirdly, the present invention provides for a temporary facial opening to
allow for eating,
drinking, smoking, socializing, or simply better visibility. The opening, vent
or veil section in front of
the face is temporarily sealed against insect attacks by means of two (2)
vertical articulated, integrated
closure devices (ie. zippers) along the 2 sides (left and right) of the veil
and sealed along the bottom
section by means of VELCRO TM closures. The 2 zippers can be opened up when
needed, and the veil
lifted up and out of the way, being substantially and temporarily attached to
the top of the headpiece by
means of other VELCRO TM strips or snaps etc., thereby allowing for
convenience and freeing of the
hands to do other things. As such, most of the head and neck area is never
exposed to biting
arthropods.
Fourthly, the present invention incorporates a long, articulated, integrated
closure device (ie.
zipper) which extends from the front of the neck area and down the front of
the garment, then
continuing around under the crotch area and then up the back of the garment
for a short distance. The
purpose of this "double ended zipper" is to allow access to any inner shirt
pockets in the front and also
access to the buttocks/crotch area of the user should that person need to
relieve themselves. A common
problem that hikers, campers and lumberjacks etc. share is having to urinate
or have a bowel movement
in the woods in a cloud of voracious, biting arthropods such as mosquitoes or
black flies. This can be a
most stressing and painful situation, not to mention, of course, the
possibility for the said hiker etc. to
be attacked by a potential disease carrier such as a mosquito or tick.
Fifthly, the present invention incorporates a densely woven, slippery and
light coloured material
in the wrist and ankle areas of the wearer, such that ticks and other blood
sucking arthropods can be
quickly and easily observed as their dark bodies contrast against the light
coloured background. The
wrist areas and the ankle areas usually come into contact with ambushing
ticks, ants or wasps before
other areas of the body. Once observed against the light coloured background,
the parasites/insects can
be quickly swept away etc.
The sixth unique design incorporated into the present invention is the
addition of thin or thick
foam or rubber padding in the elbow and knee areas. Very often a hiker,
hunter, lumberjack etc. needs
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to get down on their hands and knees to fix some piece of equipment or examine
something in greater
detail. Making a fire also requires one to get down onto their knees and
sometimes elbows. Because
the substrate of the ground surface can be varied, such as a plethora of
stones lying about or branches
etc. padding in these areas adds extra comfort, as well as extending the life
of the textile material in
those areas.
WHAT IS CLAIMED
The embodiments of the invention for which an exclusive property or privilege
is claimed are as
follows:
1. A full body protective suit comprising a head piece, an upper body piece
and a lower body
piece, each comprised of a combination of both a barrier cloth and a mosquito
netting mesh
material.
2. A protective suit as defined in Claim 1, the head portion or hood,
comprising a barrier cloth top
with mesh sides.
3. A protective suit as defined in Claim 1, the head portion or hood,
including an opening located
near an upper and frontal portion being substantially aligned with the user's
face.
4. A protective suit as defined in Claim 1, the head portion or hood,
including a mesh veil or clear
visor which is substantially complementary to the facial opening as defined in
Claim 3 above.
5. A protective suit as defined in Claim 1, the visor of the head portion
or hood of which is
substantially and temporarily held in place using a double sided tape, such as
Velcro TM and/or
Zippers such that the facial opening can be either opened, to allow
socializing, smoking, eating
etc., or closed to protect the wearer's face from biting insects.
6. A protective suit as defined in Claim 1, the upper body section of which
is comprised of both
barrier cloth and mosquito netting/mesh.
7. A protective suit as defined in Claim 1, with an upper body section as
defined in Claim 6 which
includes 2 sleeves for the wearers arms, each of which are also comprised of
both barrier cloth
and mosquito netting.
8. A protective suit as defined in Claim 1, with an upper body section
which includes 2 sleeves for
the wearers arms as defined in Claim 7, and which sleeves each have an area of
protective
padding located in the rear elbow area to protect the wearers elbows if he/she
should have to
crawl on their elbows, hands and knees etc.
9. The 2 sleeves of the said upper body section, as defined in Claim 7
above, each have a section
of shiny, light coloured textile material incorporated into the far extremity
of each sleeve which
would allow the wearer to quickly and easily observe any crawling insects such
as ticks or
spiders etc.
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10. A protective suit as defined in Claim 1, with an upper body section as
defined in Claim 6 of
which the belly area and the back area are comprised of a barrier cloth, while
the sides of the
upper body section, under the sleeves is comprised of mosquito netting from
the armpit area
down to the waist area.
11. A protective suit as defined in Claim 1, with an upper body section as
defined in Claim 6 which
has a robust 2 way articulated fastener, such as a "Zipper", traveling all the
way down the front
of the suit to allow the wearer to open or close the garment for purposes of
entry into the
garment or removal of the garment.
12. A protective suit as defined in Claim 1, with a lower body section
which is comprised of both a
barrier cloth and a mosquito netting/mesh.
13. The lower body section of the protective suit as defined in Claim 12
above, which includes 2
leggings or pant legs/sleeves to accommodate the wearers legs, above which is
a section to
accommodate the wearers waist or lower torso area.
14. The 2 leggings of the lower body section as defined in Claim 13 above
are each comprised of a
combination of barrier cloth and mosquito netting mesh.
15. The 2 leggings of the lower body section as defined in Claim 13 above
are comprised of a
barrier cloth on the frontal section of each legging and mosquito netting mesh
on the back
section of each legging
16. The 2 leggings of the lower body section as defined in Claim 13 above
each have a section of
padding in the knee portion of the frontal barrier cloth section to provide
the wearer with some
protection to his/her knees should they have to work in a kneeling position or
work on their
elbows, hands and knees etc.
17. The lower body section of the protective suit as defined in Claim 13
above, is comprised in part
by a section that accommodates the wearers waist or lower torso area, which
area is comprised
entirely of an impermeable barrier cloth and which includes pockets in which
items may be
stored.
18. The lower body section of the protective suit as defined in Claim 13
includes 2 vertical zippers,
one on each side of the waist area to allow the wearer to access any items
which may be in
his/her pockets in the inner pants that he/she may be wearing under the said
protective suit.
19. The lower body section of the protective suit as defined in Claim 13
above, is comprised in part
by a section that accommodates the wearers lower torso and waist area, and
through which the
robust 2 way articulated fastener (zipper), as described in Claim 11 above,
continues downward
to the lower crotch area and then back upwards on the backside of the lower
torso/waist area,
not only to allow the wearer to access or egress from the interior of the said
protective suit, but
also to allow the wearer to open strictly the crotch area to allow the wearer
to urinate or defecate
without exposing an unnecessarily large area of the wearers skin to biting
insects.
20. The 2 leggings of the lower body section, as defined in Claim 13 above,
each have a section of
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shiny, light coloured textile material incorporated into the lower extremity
of each legging
which would allow the wearer to quickly and easily observe any crawling
insects such as ticks
or spiders etc.
21. The 2 leggings of the lower body section, as defined in Claim 13 above,
each have a drawstring
or elastic closure device to prevent any crawling insects from climbing up and
accessing the
lower leg areas of the wearer.
22. The 2 sleeves of the upper body section, as defined in Claim 7 above,
each have a drawstring or
elastic closure device to prevent any crawling insects from climbing up and
accessing the arms
of the wearer.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ARTS
The following relevant patents will be examined:
1. Canadian Patent Number: 2090187 (Tisdale, 1993) refers to a fine insect
excluding mesh
which has affixed to it, on the inner surface, parallel strips of reticulated
polyurethane foam which are
about 1/4 inch thick by 3/8 inch wide. These strips are sewn into place at a
distance of about 3/4 inch
apart. Theoretically the proboscis or biting mouth parts of an insect would
not be able to physically
span the distance between the flesh and outer mesh fabric. This patent goes on
to describe that this
material can be used to create 3 separate garments, ie. A separate hood, a
jacket which is not attached to
the hood, and a set of trousers. The said invention however, does not describe
a particular jacket, hood
and/or pants but focuses primarily on the structure of the fabric itself.
Although filed in February 1993
this application was allowed to lapse such that this patent was never issued.
The current proposed invention, on the other hand, does not employ a spatial
barrier, nor does it
propose 3 separate garments, for example a hood, a jacket and trousers. The
current invention is a
combination of all 3 components (hood, jacket and trousers) into 1 garment
with several other unique
features, such as a convenient facial opening, padding in the elbows and knees
and an extra long front
zipper which extends part way up the back, as well as other features.
2. Canadian Patent Number: 2472683 (Volgyesi, 2004) refers to a similar
protective garment as
2090187 (Tisdale, 1993) above, wherein he focuses on the fabric, as above and
not on any particular
design. He describes a fabric which is comprised of a reticulated foam
material and how to form a
headpiece but he does not describe a particular design for a jacket or pants.
Again, the theory is that the
proboscis or biting mouth parts of an insect would not be able to physically
span the distance between
the flesh and outer clothing. This patent was not issued because of a lack of
novelty.
3. Canadian Patent Number: 02695027 (Brennan, 2010) refers to a protective
head covering
only which is comprised of a fine mesh covering which is draped over a
supporting structure which
wraps around the head and then a clear plastic visor or face shield is
attached to the said supporting
structure. This patent was not issued as the requested response was not
received by the CIPO. This
invention is not at all similar to the current, proposed invention.
4. Canadian Patent Number: 2410690 (Ketcha et al., 2001) comprises a small,
portable device
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which emits a low dose pesticide such as pyrethroids which discourage
mosquitoes from landing on the
wearer of the device. This patent was granted in 2007. Since this patent does
not reference a fabric suit
or other form of permanent barrier to biting insects, it is not relevant to
the current proposed invention.
5. Canadian Patent Number: 2430952 (Zeiler et al., 2001) refers to a full
body suit comprised of
4 separate pieces: pants, jacket, gloves and a head piece/hood. The main
distinguishing feature of this
suit is the fabric material which itself consists of 3 separate layers: an
inner or base layer of an open
mesh fabric, a middle layer of thick (between 3 to 7 millimeters) breathable
woven or knitted material,
and an outer cover layer of a solid construction mesh. Although highly
breathable, this fabric material
is thick enough to prevent the biting parts, or probosci, of insects from
being able to reach through to
the wearers skin. Included in this patent application is a pair of leather
gloves to protect the hands.
Although similar to the present, proposed invention, Patent # 2430952 by
Zeiler and Bernard et
al. fails to address access into the suit via means of a frontal zipper or
other means of ingress/egress
even though they suggest that this 3 part garment could be formed into one
"jump suit". The patent
relies on the 3 sectional system of pants, jacket and head piece to make their
argument. As noted
before a 3 part garment creates the possibility for openings to be
accidentally created, thereby allowing
biting insects to access the wearers flesh.
Additionally, Patent # 2430952 fails to fully describe the facial covering or
veil. They propose
making the face covering (a) of the 3 layered fabric material but that would
greatly reduce visibility.
Alternatively (b) they propose that the front of the face could consist of one
layer of mosquito netting
which could be held away from the face by the simple use of a baseball cap or
other device. Thirdly,
(c) they propose that the facial area of the head piece could be left open.
This, of course, would be
disastrous during black fly season as the latter flies prefer to attack the
eyes where the flesh is softest.
Patent # 2430952 fails to fully describe what the veil/facial opening would
look like or whether it could
be opened or closed at will.
The current, proposed invention addresses the visibility and protection
deficiencies noted above
by incorporating a fine mosquito netting in front of the face which is
temporarily held in place by
zippers and/or Velcro TM closures such that the veil can be lifted up and away
from the face for short
periods of time, as needed, before being temporarily held back in place during
work.
Additionally, the current invention proposes the use of a long zipper closure
which runs down
the full length of the front of the one piece suit and partially up the back
of the waist area; the latter
being convenient when one needs to relieve themselves. The current, proposed
invention does not
suggest the use of a 3 layered mesh material. Patent # 2430952, although
suggesting that the 3 sections
could be incorporated into 1 suit, such as a "jump suit", fails to adequately
describe how the wearer
would put on or take off the suit. No zippers or other means of egress/ingress
are referred to.
It should be further noted that Canadian Patent # 2430952 was an idea that was
also registered
in the United States of America under US Patent # 09/738,526 dated 2000/12/15.
6. Canadian Patent Number: 2020429 (Merrill and Biron, 1990) refers to a
full body suit
comprised of 2 separate pieces: pants, and a jacket which has a head
piece/hood permanently attached
thereto. The main distinguishing feature of this suit is again the fabric
material which is described as
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being of a "semi-rigid insect excluding but see-through mesh" which is "a
fiberglass screening material
commonly used in campers and tents". The patent further describes the suit as
being "rigid enough to
make the mesh stand away from body surfaces of the wearer without the need for
any other devices."
The garment is "deliberately made loose fitting to enable the user to
comfortably wear the garment over
regular clothes and to produce the blousing effect necessary for maximum
insect protection properties."
The patent goes on to describe the headpiece as being solid without any
separate facial openings, but
briefly describes a mouth piece which may or may not be incorporated into the
facial area to allow
eating. Apart from adding that the mouth piece flap could be sealed with a
strip of Velcro TM, the
patent fails to describe any type of facial openings in any great detail and
no diagrams are presented.
The patent emphasizes the simplicity of its construction, "without the need
for complicated features and
unnecessary openings.. .there are no zippers or other forms of closers..." The
patent clearly states that
this insect protection suit must be worn over other clothing and that it is
rigid in structure.
It should be noted that this patent was issued by the CIPO on April 11, 1995
and that it was
transferred from the USA where it was patented by the USPTO. A US patent
number could not be
found however.
Although somewhat similar to the instant, present, proposed invention, many
differences must
be noted. Firstly, patent # 2020429 must be constructed of a simi-rigid
fibreglass mesh material in order
for it to stand away from the wearers skin. Anyone with experience with such a
mesh would
immediately find it uncomfortable and not easily conforming to the movements
of the body. This
invention/suit is also designed to be worn over regular clothing (pants,
shirts etc.) which can easily lead
to over-heating during physical activity.
This proposed invention easily corrects these deficiencies with its blend of
solid impermeable
textile material with open, breathable meshing. Such a suit abrogates the need
for excessive clothing
to be worn underneath, if any at all, allowing breath ability and comfort.
The 2 separate pieces (jacket and pants) again produce the potential for a gap
to be created
between the 2 pieces during activity, invariably creating a space where biting
insects could easily access
the flesh of the wearer. One solid suit prevents this accident from happening.
7.
Canadian Patent Number: 1279953 (Shannon, filed in 1988 and issued by CIPO
in 1991)
refers to yet another full body mesh suit comprised of 2 separate pieces:
pants and a jacket that has a
hood attached to it. There is no protection offered for the face by any form
of veil or clear visor etc.
Instead, the focus of this patent is on the construction of the mesh material
itself. As with Canadian
Patent Number: 2430952 (Zeiler et al., 2001) noted above, multiple layers are
proposed. Again, the
inner layer, closest to the skin is comprised of a course fabric with
relatively large openings to allow
breath ability and to act as a spacer between the skin and the finer, outer
mesh layer. The course, inner,
woven layer simply acts as a physical spacer whereby the limited length of the
mosquitos proboscis, or
biting parts, cannot span the distance thereby created.
The features described in the instant, proposed invention overcome the
inadequacies of Patent #
1279953 as described in the lengthy examination of Patent # 2430952 above.
Again, it will be noted
that Patent # 2430952 makes some vague description of a facial veil whereas
Patent # 1279953
completely ignores this crucial discussion.
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8.
USSR Patent # 267,858 makes essentially the same argument as Canadian
Patent Number:
1279953 but only focuses on a 2 layered shirt as opposed to a full body suit.
Similar ideas are presented in US Patents # 2,028,947 to Palm, US Patents #
2,074,390 to
Green, US Patents # 3,191,185 to Martin and US Patents # 3,783,451 to Malin.
This group of patents
discloses garments which utilize various devices such as: buttons, springs,
spacers made of rope, plastic
or cloth tufts, inflatable tubes, plastic inserts and the like to space the
garment away from the body of
the wearer so as to prevent an insect or snake from biting or stinging the
wearer through the garment.
As noted above, the bending of the body at the knees, elbows or shoulders etc.
would reduce the
effectiveness of the spacing devices as bending would, by necessity, compress
the spacing and allow
the skin to become more closely approximated to the insects etc. Moreover,
these prior art devices are
expensive and difficult to manufacture on a broad scale. A thorough search of
available data has
revealed that none of these inventions have been commercialized to any extent.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the overall features of this invention. It
shows the frontal view
of the garment with the location of the removable facial panel which is
bordered on either side with a
short zipper and then along the bottom by a strip of some form of sticky
textile (eg. "Velcro"). It also
shows the location of the double ended zipper as it proceeds down the front of
the garment. The
location of chest pockets, cargo pockets, knee pads and elbow pads are also
noted.
Figure 2 is a similar perspective view of the backside of the garment with the
long vertical
articulated integrated closure device (eg. A zipper) appearing in the crotch
area and proceeding upwards
for a distance of about 14 inches (or 32 cms.) The location of back pockets
and the mesh panels behind
the legs are also noted, as are the location of the elbow pads.
Figure 3 is a close up view of the design structure of the front of the
headpiece. The
proportional size of the removable face shield (or mesh) located in the
central area of the front of the
head piece is noted along with the location of the two (2) vertical
articulated integrated closure devices
(or zippers) and the lower Velcro TM strip along the lower edge which allow
the facial shield to be
lifted up and out of the way. This convenience allows the user to eat, drink,
smoke or socialize without
exposing the entirety of the head and neck regions.
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