1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fire protective apparel, and more particularly to fire protective coats worn by firefighters, emergency responders and rescue workers.
2. The Prior Art
Fire protective coats worn by firefighters, emergency responders and rescue workers conventionally include an outer shell made of a fire protective material and a removable liner formed of an outer layer of a moisture barrier material and an inner layer of a thermal material. The removable liner is attachable inside the outer shell so that the moisture barrier layer is located between the thermal layer and the outer shell. In order to facilitate movements of the arms of the person wearing the coat, it is known to provide a central rear pleat in the back panel of the body portion of the outer shell which extends downwardly from the neckline and to provide front and rear pleats in its sleeves near where the sleeves connect to the body portion. The central rear pleat in the back panel enables lateral expansion of the back panel when the sleeves of the outer shell are moved forwardly due to forward movement of the wearer's arms, and the pleats in the sleeves facilitate upward extension of the sleeves of the outer shell when the wearer raises his or her arms.
It is also known to provide similar front and rear pleats in the sleeve portions of the thermal layer of the removable liner to enable these sleeves to extend upwardly with the sleeves of the outer shell.
However, when an SCBA apparatus is positioned on the coat, the shoulder straps thereof will inhibit the functioning of the central rear pleat in the back panel of the outer shell and thus inhibit forward extension of the wearer's arm. And because the moisture barrier layer of the removable liner is not constructed with pleats due to the necessity of maintaining a waterproof seal, this layer tends to inhibit full sleeve movement of the outer shell in both a forward and upward direction. As a result, the coat will rise or uplift a large amount when the wearer extends his arms upwardly. This is not desirable as a minimum two inch overlap by the bottom of a fire protective coat with cooperating fire protective trousers must be maintained at all times according to code requirements.
A need exists for a fire protective coat having an outer shell and a removable liner which will provide maximum sleeve movements even when an SCBA apparatus is mounted thereon and which will exhibit a minimum rise when its sleeves are extended upwardly.
According to a preferred embodiment of our invention, a fire protective coat is provided which includes an outer shell having a body portion that includes right front panel, a left front panel and a back panel, and right and left sleeve portions sewn to the body portion, the back panel of the body portion including generally vertical pleats near where the respective right and left sleeve portions are sewn to the body portion, and each of the right and left sleeve portions includes front and rear generally vertical pleats extending downwardly from their front and rear longitudinal seams near where the sleeves are sewn to the body portion. The generally vertical pleats in the back panel of the body portion provide supplemental material that can unfold when a wearer of the coat moves one or both of his or her arms (and thus the associated sleeve portions) forwardly, such that the sleeve portions can freely rotate forwardly to the degree the supplemental material allows. This provides enhanced freedom of forward arm movement to the wearer of the coat even when an SCBA apparatus is worn over the coat, i.e., because the pleats will be located outside the shoulder straps of the apparatus. The pleats in the sleeves result in supplemental material in the bottom sides of the sleeve portions near the armpit areas of the wearer which enables the sleeve portions to freely rotate upwardly to the degree the supplemental material allows. This provides enhanced freedom of upward arm movement to the wearer of the coat and reduced rise or uplift to the bottom of the coat when the wearer's arms are extended upwardly.
The fire protective coat also includes a removable liner which is detachably mounted within the outer shell and which is formed of an outer moisture barrier layer and an inner thermal layer. The inner thermal layer preferably includes a body portion defined by a right front portion, a left front portion and a back portion, and right and left sleeve portions attached to the body portion, the sleeve portions including front and rear pleats near where the sleeve portions connect to the body portion, as well as darts in its back portion near its respective sleeves to provide expansion material therebelow while tucking in the neck. These pleats and darts in the inner thermal layer accommodate forward and upward extension of its sleeve and the sleeves of the outer shell.
The outer moisture barrier preferably includes a body portion formed of a right front portion, a left front portion and a back portion, and right and left sleeve portions which are connected to the body portion. The sleeve portions of the moisture barrier include front and rear darts near where the sleeve portions connect to the body portion to provide expansion material therebelow while tucking in the neck, as well as darts in its back portion near its respective sleeves to provide expansion material therebelow while tucking in the neck. These darts accommodate forward and upward extension of its sleeves and the sleeves of the outer shell.
A fire protective coat is thus provided which displays enhanced sleeve movements and reduced rise.
The invention will be better understood by reference to the attached drawings, taken in conjunction with the following discussion.
A fire protective coat according to the preferred embodiment of this invention is generally identified by reference numeral 10 in
As seen in
As can be seen in
As can be seen from
a, 5b and 6 depict the fire protective coat 10 opened so as to see the removable liner 40 therein, this liner including an outer moisture barrier layer 60 and an inner thermal layer 50. The removable liner 40 can be attached to face portions on the front edges of the outer shell by spaced snap fasteners and to the collar 27 by cooperating hook and loop fastening strips (not shown) in a conventional manner. The liner (and each of the layers thereof) includes a body portion having right and left front portions, a back portion and right and left sleeve portions attached to the body portion.
The back portion of the body portion 51 of the thermal layer 50 includes a right dart 52 that extends downwardly from a seam 53 which extends downwardly from an upper edge of the back portion to an annular seam 54 that connects the right sleeve 55 thereof to the body portion 51. A corresponding left dart (not shown) extends downwardly from a corresponding seam that extends downwardly from an upper edge of the back portion to an annular seam that connects the left sleeve thereof to the body portion 51. These darts provide extra thermal barrier material therebelow to accommodate upward sleeve of the sleeves.
These darts can be between 5 and 8 inches in length, preferably about 5½ inches. The right sleeve 55 includes front and rear pleats (only rear pleat 56 is shown in
As best seen in
The right sleeve portion 65 also includes front and rear darts 65a and 65c which extend down from front and rear longitudinal seams 65b and 65d near the endless seam 69 to provide extra moisture barrier material therebelow to accommodate upward movement of the right sleeve 65. These darts 65a and 65b can be in register. The left sleeve 66 also includes front and rear darts 66a and 66c which extend down from front and rear longitudinal seams 66b and 66d near the endless seam 72 to provide extra moisture barrier material therebelow to accommodate upward movement of the left sleeve 66. These pleats can be between 1 and 3 inches from the seams connecting the sleeves 65, 66 to the body portion 61, preferably 1¼ inches. The combination of the pleats in the outer shell, the darts and pleats in the thermal layer and the darts in the moisture barrier provide the coat 10 with exceptional sleeve movements, both forwardly and upwardly, without causing a large rise in the lower edge 15 of the coat.
Although various features of the invention have been shown and described in detail, modifications therein can be made and still fall within the scope of the appended claims.