Patent Application
20070234462
This invention pertains to a protective garment, such as a firefighter's garment, of a type comprising an outer shell and a reflective, fluorescent, or vision-enhancing strip, which is sewn to the outer shell, substantially or completely around a generally tubular portion of the protective garment. This invention provides the protective garment with a protective strip, which covers one end of the reflective strip, were the covered end meets, is near, or overlaps the opposite end of the reflective strip.
Protective garments of the type noted above are available commercially from Morning Pride Manufacturing, L.L.C. of Dayton, Ohio, under its MORNING PRIDE trademark, and from other sources. Reflective or fluorescent strips for such garments are available commercially from Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company of Saint Paul, Minn., under its SCOTCHLITE trademark, from Reflexite Corporation of Avon, Conn., under its REFLEXITE trademark, and from other sources. Typically, a protective garment of the type noted above has multiple reflective, fluorescent, or vision-enhancing strips of other types, such as strips having a color contrasting with the color of the protective garment, on arm portions, on leg portions, and elsewhere.
Typically, on an arm portion or on a leg portion, the reflective, fluorescent, or vision-enhancing strip has a seam where one end of the reflective strip meets, is near, or overlaps to the opposite end of the reflective strip. If one end overlaps the opposite end, the overlapping end may be also sewn to the overlapped end. Heretofore, when a protective garment of the type noted above was worn under adverse conditions, such a seam and threads used at such a seam were prominent so as to be particularly susceptible to possible abrasion, particularly if a wearer of the protective garment, such as a firefighter, crawled on or brushed against an abrasive object.
Further background of related interest is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,684 B2, which is assigned to Morning Pride Manufacturing, L.L.C. of Dayton, Ohio.
This invention provides a protective garment comprising an outer shell and a reflective, fluorescent, or vision-enhancing strip, which is sewn to the outer shell on a generally tubular portion of the protective garment so that a given end of the reflective, fluorescent, or vision-enhancing strip meets, is near, or overlaps an opposite end of the reflective, fluorescent, or vision-enhancing strip, wherein the protective garment comprises a protective strip, which covers the given end of the reflective, fluorescent, or vision-enhancing strip.
Preferably, the protective strip is made from a wear-resistant fabric, such as a p-aramid or an m-aramid. Preferably, the protective strip covers the end that meets, is near, or overlaps the opposite end. Preferably, the protective strip is sewn to the outer shell.
As illustrated in
Moreover, it is conventional for each reflective strip 20 to have a seam 24, where one end of said reflective strip 20 overlies and is sewn to the other end of said reflective strip 20 and to the generally tubular portion 10. Thus, the seam 24 and the threads 26 used to sew the overlying end of said reflective strip 20 to the other end of said reflective strip 20 and to the generally tubular portion 10 are prominent, so as to be particularly susceptible to abrasion, as discussed above. Alternatively, if one end does not overlap the other end, each reflective strip 20 has a seam where the respective ends of said reflective strip meet or, at each end, has a seam where the respective seams are near each other.
As illustrated in
The protective strip 30 is sacrificial, in a sense that the protective strip 30 can be abraded while protecting the seams 24 and the threads 26 against being abraded. Eventually, when the protective garment is being rehabilitated for reuse, it is expected to be far less expensive to replace the protective strip 30, than to replace any of the reflective strips 20.
Rather than one protective strip 30 being used with plural reflective strips 20, separate protective strips may be alternatively used, one for each reflective strip 20. Rather than reflective strips, fluorescent strips or vision-enhancing strips of other types, such as strips having a color contrasting with the color of the generally tubular portion 10 of the protective garment, may be alternatively provided.
