U.S. patent application number 17/257111 was filed with the patent office on 2021-05-06 for protective clothing.
This patent application is currently assigned to TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.. Invention is credited to Yuichiro HAYASHI, Yoshiro KOYAMA, Taira OMORI, Hiroki TAKEDA, Masanobu TAKEDA, Masami TANAKA.
Application Number | 20210127764 17/257111 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005332896 |
Filed Date | 2021-05-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210127764 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
TAKEDA; Hiroki ; et
al. |
May 6, 2021 |
PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
Abstract
Provided is a protective garment that ensures facilitated
doffing. A protective garment 10 according to one embodiment
includes an upper part 12 of the garment, a lower part 14 of the
garment, and an open/close portion 24. The upper part 12 of the
garment includes a body portion 16, a pair of sleeve portions 18a,
18b, and a hood portion 20. The lower part 14 of the garment is
connected to the upper part of garment. The open/close portion 24
is formed in a front body portion 16a of the body portion for
donning and doffing the protective garment. A stretchable portion
32 is formed in a boundary between a back body portion of the body
portion and the hood portion.
Inventors: |
TAKEDA; Hiroki; (Otsu-shi,
JP) ; OMORI; Taira; (Otsu-shi, JP) ; TAKEDA;
Masanobu; (Otsu-shi, JP) ; HAYASHI; Yuichiro;
(Otsu-shi, JP) ; KOYAMA; Yoshiro; (Kyoto-shi,
JP) ; TANAKA; Masami; (Kyoto-shi, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC. |
Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
1000005332896 |
Appl. No.: |
17/257111 |
Filed: |
July 3, 2019 |
PCT Filed: |
July 3, 2019 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP2019/026403 |
371 Date: |
December 30, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 2400/44 20130101;
A41D 13/129 20130101; A41D 13/02 20130101; A41D 2300/22 20130101;
A41D 2600/20 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A41D 13/12 20060101
A41D013/12; A41D 13/02 20060101 A41D013/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 4, 2018 |
JP |
2018-127495 |
Claims
1. A protective garment comprising: an upper part of the garment
that includes a body portion, a pair of sleeve portions, and a hood
portion; a lower part of the garment connected to the upper part of
the garment; and an open/close portion formed in a front body
portion of the body portion for donning and doffing of the
protective garment, wherein a stretchable portion is formed in a
boundary between a back body portion of the body portion and the
hood portion.
2. The protective garment according to claim 1, wherein fabrics of
the upper part of the garment and the lower part of the garment
have a viral barrier property of class 4 or higher.
3. The protective garment according to claim 1, wherein an
elongation of the stretchable portion is greater than or equal to
120%, and the elongation is calculated by Formula (1) assuming that
a length of the stretchable portion before applying a tension in a
direction of stretching the stretchable portion is referred to as a
first length, and a maximum length of the stretchable portion in a
case where a predetermined tension is applied to the stretchable
portion to stretch the stretchable portion is referred to as a
second length, and the elongation of the stretchable portion
(%)=(the second length/the first length).times.100 (1).
4. The protective garment according to claim 1, wherein the
stretchable portion is configured to be stretched to have a
distance between shoulder portions or more assuming that a distance
between a shoulder portion in a left side and a shoulder portion in
a right side of the upper part of the garment is defined as the
distance between the shoulder portions in a state where the front
body portion and the back body portion are stacked and a state
where the stretchable portion is not stretched.
5. The protective garment according to claim 1, wherein the
stretchable portion is configured to be stretched to have a
shoulder width or more of a wearer in a state where the wearer
having the shoulder width of 406 mm wears the protective
garment.
6. The protective garment according to claim 1, wherein at least a
part of the hood portion and at least a part of the back body
portion, disposed across the boundary, and the boundary are formed
of one continuous fabric.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a protective garment.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] A protective garment has various kinds of forms and
functions depending on its purpose and usage. Especially, to
prevent dirt, chemicals, viruses, bacteria, and the like from
adhering to a body, there has been a protective garment of a
coverall type (overall type) in which an upper part of the garment
that includes a body portion, a hood portion, and sleeve portions
is integrally formed with a lower part of the garment.
[0003] A wearer of protective garment needs not only to follow a
proper method of donning to reduce a risk of contamination, but
also to prevent contamination (secondary contamination) when
doffing the protective garment. Since a mistake in a procedure and
a method for doffing the protective garment possibly causes the
secondary contamination, ease in doffing the garment is very
important for the prevention of the secondary contamination.
Further, for example, when it takes a time for a person engaged in
medical treatment dealing with an emergency patient to doff the
garment in doffing protective garment after dealing with an
emergency patient suspected of having an infectious disease in a
state of wearing the protective garment, a response to the next
patient transported emergently delays. Meanwhile, attempting to
doff the garment in a short time raises the possibility of adhesion
of viruses, bacteria, and the like adhered to the surface of the
protective garment to the body. Therefore, the protective garment
that is facilitated to doff has been desired. As such a protective
garment, there has been known a protective garment that includes an
open/close portion from an upper body portion to a lower part of
the garment (see Patent Literature 1).
CITATION LIST
Patent Literature
[0004] Patent Literature 1: JP 2005-23460 A
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Technical Problem
[0005] The protective garment of Patent Literature 1 is a coverall
type protective garment that includes an open/close portion for
doffing it. According to the findings by the present inventors,
when doffing the protective garment disclosed in Patent Literature
1, the open/close portion is opened and its hood is doffed at
first. Subsequently, after shoulders are removed from an opening
portion of the protective garment formed by opening the open/close
portion, arms are removed, thereby doffing its upper part of the
garment. Then, its lower part of the garment is doffed. While the
protective garment of Patent Literature 1 includes the open/close
portion for donning and doffing it in a front body, the movement of
the upper part of the garment is restricted by the lower part of
the garment because of the coverall type. Therefore, there has been
a problem in that the removal of the shoulders is difficult in
doffing the garment, and consequently, doffing the garment is
difficult.
[0006] Accordingly, the present invention has an object to provide
protective garment that ensures facilitated doffing.
Solution to Problem
[0007] A protective garment according to one aspect of the present
invention comprises: an upper part of the garment that includes a
body portion, a pair of sleeve portions, and a hood portion; a
lower part of the garment connected to the upper part of the
garment; and an open/close portion formed in a front body portion
of the body portion for donning and doffing of the protective
garment. A stretchable portion is formed in a boundary between a
back body portion of the body portion and the hood portion.
[0008] The protective garment is a coverall type protective
garment. When this protective garment is doffed, shoulders, arms,
and legs are removed from an opening portion (opened portion) of
the protective garment formed by opening the open/close portion. In
the protective garment, since the open/close portion is formed in
the front body portion of the body portion, a wearer of the
protective garment easily operates the open/close portion. Since
the stretchable portion is formed in the boundary between the back
body portion and the hood portion, the opening portion can be
expanded by stretching the stretchable portion in the removal of
the shoulders from the opening portion. Consequently, the shoulders
are easily removed from the opening portion. Accordingly, the
protective garment facilitates doffing.
[0009] Fabrics of the upper part of the garment and the lower part
of the garment may have a viral barrier property of class 4 or
higher. The protective garment using such a fabric is effective for
the infection control.
[0010] An elongation of the stretchable portion may be greater than
or equal to 120%, and the elongation is calculated by Formula (1)
assuming that a length of the stretchable portion before applying a
tension in a direction of stretching the stretchable portion is
referred to as a first length, and a maximum length of the
stretchable portion in a case where a predetermined tension is
applied to the stretchable portion to stretch the stretchable
portion is referred to as a second length, and the elongation of
the stretchable portion (%)=(the second length/the first
length).times.100 . . . (1)
[0011] When the elongation of the stretchable portion is greater
than or equal to 120%, the shoulders of the wearer are easily
removed by stretching the stretchable portion (boundary) in doffing
the garment.
[0012] The stretchable portion may be configured to be stretched to
have a distance between shoulder portions or more assuming that a
distance between a shoulder portion in a left side and a shoulder
portion in a right side of the upper part of the garment is defined
as the distance between the shoulder portions in a state where the
front body portion and the back body portion are stacked and a
state where the stretchable portion is not stretched. In this case,
since the stretchable portion can be stretched and expanded to the
shoulder width or more of the wearer by stretching the stretchable
portion (boundary) in doffing the garment, doffing the garment is
further easier.
[0013] The stretchable portion may be configured to be stretched to
have a shoulder width or more of a wearer in a state where the
wearer having the shoulder width of 406 mm wears the protective
garment. Also in this case, since the wearer can stretch the
stretchable portion (boundary) in doffing the garment and the
stretchable portion is stretched and expanded to the shoulder width
or more of the wearer, doffing the garment is further easier. Note
that, here, the shoulder width of the wearer means a direct
distance between right and left acromial points.
[0014] At least a part of the hood portion and at least a part of
the back body portion, disposed across the boundary, and the
boundary may be formed of one continuous fabric. In this case,
since there is no joint line in the boundary, the protectiveness
can be ensured more.
Advantageous Effects of Invention
[0015] According to the present invention can provide the
protective garment that is further facilitated in doffing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram in a case where a protective
garment according to one embodiment is viewed from a front
side.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram in a case where a cover is
omitted from the protective garment illustrated in FIG. 1.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram in a case where the protective
garment illustrated in FIG. 1 is viewed from a back side.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a drawing for describing a configuration of a
stretchable portion.
[0020] FIG. 5 is a drawing in a state where an open/close portion
is opened in doffing the protective garment.
[0021] FIG. 6 is a drawing for describing a process of removing
shoulders after opening the open/close portion.
[0022] FIG. 7 is a drawing when the state illustrated in FIG. 6 is
viewed from the back side.
[0023] FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating a state where the shoulders
are removed from the protective garment.
[0024] FIG. 9 is a table illustrating results of examples and
comparative examples.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0025] The following describes embodiments of the present invention
by referring to the drawings. The same reference numerals are
attached to the same components and the overlapping descriptions
are omitted. Dimensional proportions of the drawings do not
necessarily match those in descriptions. In this description, the
terms indicating directions, such as "upper," "lower," "left," and
"right," mean directions viewed from a wearer when a person
(wearer) wears protective garment.
[0026] A protective garment 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is
a coverall type (overall type) protective garment in which an upper
part 12 of the garment is integrally connected to a lower part 14
of the garment. The protective garment 10 is an infection control
garment block harmful substances (or contaminant) for preventing
infectious diseases caused by pathogens, such as viruses and
bacteria. The exemplary harmful substance includes a liquid (for
example, blood and bodily fluid) containing a pathogen and floating
particles in the air containing a pathogen. The exemplary harmful
substance may include dirt and chemicals.
Fabric of Protective Garment
[0027] The fabric of the protective garment 10 may be any fabric
insofar as the harmful substances can be blocked and certain
workability is ensured. The fabric is, for example, a fabric that
has a viral barrier property of class 4 or higher. Such a fabric
can deal with various kinds of harmful substances. The class of the
viral barrier property is a class classified by a successful test
pressure with a method D defined by JIS T8061 (2010) based on
bacteriophage permeability resistances of JIS T8122 (2007). This
class is the same as a class classified by a successful test
pressure with a method D defined by ISO 16604 (2004) based on
bacteriophage permeability resistances of EN14126 (2003).
[0028] The specific example of the material of the fabric includes
fiber structural bodies (for example, woven fabric, knitted fabric,
nonwoven fabric, and paper), a film, a metal foil, and the like. As
the material of the fabric, among the exemplified materials, the
nonwoven fabric is preferable from the viewpoint of cost, tensile
strength, and the like.
[0029] The exemplary nonwoven fabric used for the fabric of the
protective garment 10 includes wet-laid nonwoven fabric, resin
bonded dry-laid nonwoven fabric, thermal bonded dry-laid nonwoven
fabric, spunbonded dry-laid nonwoven fabric, meltblown dry-laid
nonwoven fabric, needle punched dry-laid nonwoven fabric, water jet
punched dry-laid nonwoven paper fabric, flash spun dry-laid
nonwoven fabric, and the like. In addition, nonwoven fabric
manufactured by a paper making method capable of achieving a
uniform mass per unit area and a uniform thickness can be used as a
fabric of the protective garment 10. Among the exemplified nonwoven
fabrics, the spunbonded dry-laid nonwoven fabric is preferable in
view of the cost, the tensile strength, and the like.
[0030] The exemplary material of a fiber layer included in the
nonwoven fabric includes a polyolefin, such as polyethylene and
polypropylene, a polyester, such as polyethylene terephthalate and
polylactic acid, a nylon, a rayon, a vinylon, an aramid, a glass, a
polycarbonate, a polystyrene, a polyphenylene sulfite, a
fluorine-based resin, a mixture of them, and the like.
[0031] A resin impregnated or coated nonwoven fabric may be used.
The nonwoven fabric to which such a treatment has been performed is
improved in viral barrier property.
[0032] The exemplary film is a film that provides the viral barrier
property and water vapor permeability at the same time. For
example, the film is a porous film provided with multiple fine
through holes that penetrate both surfaces of the film and have gas
permeability. The exemplary resin that constitutes the porous film
includes a polyolefin resin, a polycarbonate, a polyamide, a
polyimide, a polyamide imide, an aromatic polyamide, a
fluorine-based resin, and the like. Among the exemplified resins,
the polyolefin resin is preferable from the viewpoint of heat
resistance, formability, production cost reduction, chemical
resistance, oxidation-reduction resistance, and the like.
[0033] A monomer component contained in the polyolefin resin
includes a compound having a carbon-carbon double bond, for
example, ethylene, propylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene,
3-methyl-pentene-1, 3-methyl-1-butene, 1-hexene,
4-methyl-1-pentene, 5-ethyl-1-hexene, 1-heptene, 1-octene,
1-decene, 1-dodecene, 1-tetradecene, 1 -hexadecene, 1 -heptadecene,
1-octadecene, 1-eicosene, vinylcyclohexene, styrene, allylbenzene,
cyclopentene, norbornene, and 5-methyl-2-norbornene.
[0034] A material of the polyolefin resin includes a homopolymer of
the monomer component, a copolymer containing at least two or more
of the monomer component selected from the group including the
above-described monomer components, a composition in which the
homopolymer and the copolymer are blended, and the like, while it
is not limited to them. In addition to the above-described monomer
components, copolymerized or graft-polymerized polyvinyl alcohol,
maleic anhydride, and the like also can be used as the material of
the polyolefin resin. The material of the polyolefin resin is not
limited to those exemplified.
[0035] As a substrate for the fabric, a polyethylene that uses
ethylene as a monomer component and/or a polypropylene that uses
propylene as a monomer component is preferable. Especially, from
the viewpoint of heat resistance, gas permeability, porosity, and
the like, the polypropylene that uses propylene as a monomer
component is preferable, and is preferably a main component.
[0036] In this embodiment, the "main component" means that a
proportion of a specific component in all the components is greater
than or equal to 50 mass %, more preferably greater than or equal
to 80 mass %, even more preferably greater than or equal to 90 mass
%, and most preferably greater than or equal to 95 mass %.
[0037] A method for forming the through holes in the porous film
may be any of a wet method and a dry method.
[0038] The exemplary metal foil includes an aluminum foil, a copper
foil, a stainless steel foil, and the like. Among them, the
aluminum foil is preferable from the viewpoint of cost.
[0039] The fabric used for the protective garment 10 may be a
laminate in which a fiber structural body and a film or a metal
foil are laminated. Accordingly, a puncture strength, a tensile
strength, a tensile elongation, and a water pressure resistance
required of the protective garment 10 can be provided.
[0040] The laminate can have, for example, a laminated structure
(three-layer structure) in which a fiber structural body, a film or
a metal foil, and a fiber structural body are laminated in this
order. In this case, a surface (outer layer) and an inner surface
(surface in the wearer side) of the protective garment 10 are fiber
structural bodies. While the film or the metal foil can be
protected by the surface of the protective garment 10 as the fiber
structural body, the inner surface as the fiber structural body can
provide a comfortable touch to the wearer. The laminated structure
of the laminate may be a two-layer structure of the fiber
structural body and the film or the metal foil, or may be a
laminated structure of four or more layers.
[0041] The tensile elongation of the fabric is preferably less than
or equal to 110%, more preferably less than or equal to 50%, and
further preferably less than or equal to 30%. The tensile
elongation of the fabric of 110% or less can prevent texture
opening and the like of the fabric during a work when the
protective garment is worn and also in doffing it, thus ensuring
the suppressed entry of the viruses and the bacteria inside the
protective garment. The tensile elongation of the fabric can be
measured based on, for example, a strip method specified in JIS
L1096 (2010) Appendix J. A Young's modulus of the fabric is
preferably greater than or equal to 1 N/mm.sup.2, more preferably
greater than or equal to 10 N/mm.sup.2, and further preferably
greater than or equal to 15 N/mm.sup.2. The Young's modulus of the
fabric can be measured based on the strip method specified in JIS
L1096 (2010) Appendix J. The Young's modulus of the fabric of 1
N/mm.sup.2 or more can prevent the texture opening and the like of
the fabric during a work when the protective garment is worn and
also in doffing it, thus ensuring suppressed entry of the viruses
and the bacteria inside the protective garment.
Configuration of Protective Garment
[0042] Next, the configuration of the protective garment 10 will be
described in detail. As illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the
protective garment 10 includes an upper part 12 of the garment and
a lower part 14 of the garment connected to the upper part 12 of
the garment. The protective garment 10 can have sizes, for example,
corresponding to sizes (S, M, and L sizes, and the like) specified
in the garment industry. The protective garment 10 may be made to
order for each wearer.
[0043] The upper part 12 of the garment includes a body portion
(trunk portion) 16, a pair of sleeve portions 18a, 18b, and a hood
portion 20. The body portion 16 is a portion that covers the trunk
of the wearer. The body portion 16 includes a front body portion
16a that covers mainly a front side (chest side) of the wearer and
a back body portion 16b that covers mainly a back surface (back)
side of the wearer. The sleeve portion 18a is a portion that covers
the left arm (upper arm and lower arm) of the wearer, and the
sleeve portion 18b is a portion that covers the right arm (upper
arm and lower arm) of the wearer. The hood portion 20 is a portion
that covers the head and the neck of the wearer. In a front surface
(face side of the wearer) of the hood portion 20, an approximately
circular hood opening 20a to ensure the visibility is formed. To
the hood opening 20a and cuffs of the sleeves of the upper part 12
of the garment, a stretchable member, such as a rubber, may be
attached to improve the protectiveness.
[0044] The lower part 14 of the garment is trousers that includes a
pair of leg portions 22a, 22b that cover the left leg and the right
leg of the wearer. To edges of the leg portions of the lower part
14 of the garment, a stretchable member, such as a rubber, may be
attached to improve the protectiveness.
[0045] In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, for convenience of explanation, a
boundary between the upper part 12 of the garment and the lower
part 14 of the garment and boundaries between the body portion 16
and the sleeve portions 18a, 18b of the protective garment 10 are
schematically illustrated by one dot chain lines. The boundaries
illustrated by the one dot chain lines do not necessarily match
joint lines of a plurality of parts (fabrics) to form the
protective garment 10. Note that the protective garment 10 includes
a stretchable portion (gather portion) also in the back body
portion 16b in the waist circumference.
[0046] For donning and doffing of the protective garment 10, an
open/close portion 24 (see FIG. 2) is formed in at least the front
body portion 16a. The open/close portion 24 is a portion, for
example, openable/closable by a locking tool. The specific example
of the open/close portion 24 includes a hook-and-loop fastener, a
zip fastener, and a snap-button. For the improvement of
protectiveness and ease of doffing, the hook-and-loop fastener or
the zip fastener is preferable. The open/close portion 24 can be
formed, for example, from a lower edge portion of the hood opening
20a toward the lower part 14 of the garment. The open/close portion
24 may extend to the lower part 14 of the garment exceeding the
boundary between the upper part 12 of the garment and the lower
part 14 of the garment. Accordingly, doffing the garment is
facilitated. In this embodiment, the open/close portion 24 is
formed only in the front surface of the protective garment 10, and
not formed in the back surface (back side).
[0047] The protective garment 10 may include a cover 26 that covers
the open/close portion 24 for increasing the protectiveness as
illustrated in FIG. 1. The exemplary cover 26 is a fly front. The
cover 26 includes a first edge portion (one edge portion in a
right-left direction) joined to any portion of right and left
across the open/close portion 24 in the front body portion 16a (in
the embodiment of FIG. 1, left side viewed from the wearer) by, for
example, a seam tape 28. The cover 26 includes a second edge
portion (edge portion on the opposite side of the first edge
portion) configured to be attachable to and detachable from a
portion opposing the second edge portion in the surface of the
protective garment 10. For example, to the inner surface of the
second edge portion, a double-sided tape is disposed. Two tabs 30
may be attached to the second edge portion of the cover 26. One tab
of the two tabs 30 is attached to, for example, an upper end
portion (end portion in the hood portion 20 side) of the cover 26,
and the other the tab 30 can be attached around the chest of the
front body portion 16a. The tab 30 also may be configured to be
attachable to and detachable from the portion opposing the second
edge portion in the surface of the protective garment 10. For
example, to the inner surface of the tab 30, a double-sided tape is
disposed.
[0048] The upper part 12 of the garment includes a gather portion
(stretchable portion) 32 having stretchability in the boundary
between the hood portion 20 and the back body portion 16b. The
gather portion 32 is a portion to improve the ease of doffing (ease
of doffing the garment) when doffing the protective garment 10.
[0049] In one embodiment, the gather portion 32 can be formed by
joining a stretchable member 34, such as a rubber, to the boundary
as illustrated in FIG. 4. The stretchable member 34 only needs to
be stretchably joined to the boundary. For example, the stretchable
member 34 may be attached to the boundary by a double-sided tape or
may be sewn to the boundary so as to be stretchable. In the
embodiment in which the stretchable member 34 is used to form the
gather portion 32, usually, a length of the boundary (length in a
circumferential direction of the neck) before forming the gather
portion 32 is longer than a length of the stretchable member 34.
While FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment in which the stretchable
member 34 is joined to the inner side of the protective garment 10,
the stretchable member 34 may be joined to the outer side of the
protective garment 10.
[0050] The boundary between the hood portion 20 and the back body
portion 16b corresponds to, for example, the narrowest portion (in
other words, most narrowed portion) from the body portion 16 to the
hood portion 20. For example, the boundary can be a portion
corresponding to a portion in the back side in the circumference of
the neck base (boundary between the body and the neck) of the
wearer in the upper part 12 of the garment.
[0051] In a state where the front body portion 16a and the back
body portion 16b are stacked and a state where the gather portion
32 is not stretched, when a distance between a left side shoulder
portion 36a and a shoulder portion 36b in the upper part 12 of the
garment of the protective garment 10 is defined as a distance
between the shoulder portions 36a, 36b, the gather portion 32 may
be configured to be stretched to have the distance between the
shoulder portions 36a, 36b or more. Since the wearer stretches the
gather portion 32 when doffing the protective garment 10 and the
gather portion 32 is stretched and expanded to the shoulder width
or more of the wearer, doffing the garment is more facilitated. The
shoulder portions 36a, 36b are upper most portions of the
boundaries between the body portion 16 and the sleeve portions 18a,
18b. The shoulder portions 36a, 36b can be portions corresponding
to distal ends of left and right shoulder lines. The shoulder
portions 36a, 36b also can be portions corresponding to shoulder
points (specifically, acromial points) of the wearer in the upper
part 12 of the garment.
[0052] When the elongation of the gather portion 32 is defined by
Formula (I), the elongation of the gather portion 32 can be greater
than or equal to 120%. With the gather portion 32 having such an
elongation, the portion originally having the small width in the
circumference of the neck can be stretched to close to the shoulder
width of the wearer (or upper part 12 of the garment). The
elongation of the gather portion 32 is preferably greater than or
equal to 130%, and more preferably greater than or equal to 160%.
This is because the gather portion 32 can be stretched to closer to
the shoulder width (or the shoulder width or more), and the
elongation of the gather portion (%)=(the second length/the first
length).times.100 . . . (I)
[0053] In Formula (I), the first length (unit: cm) is a length of
the gather portion 32 before a tension to stretch the gather
portion 32 is applied to the gather portion 32, and the second
length (unit: cm) is the maximum length of the gather portion 32
when a predetermined tension is applied to the gather portion 32 to
stretch the gather portion 32. The exemplary predetermined tension
is a tension applied with a load of 15 N at a tensile speed of 100
mm/min.
[0054] While the upper limit value of the elongation of the gather
portion 32 is not specifically limited, it is preferably less than
or equal to 500%, more preferably less than or equal to 300%, and
further preferably less than or equal to 200%. Since the length of
the gather portion 32 stretched by both hands of the wearer can be
maintained to a constant length by using such an upper limit value,
the upper part 12 of the garment of the protective garment 10 can
be easily doffed by moving both hands of the wearer downward from
the state of FIG. 7.
[0055] In the embodiment in which the gather portion 32 is formed
using the stretchable member 34, usually, the length of the
boundary (length in the circumferential direction of the neck)
before forming the gather portion 32 is longer than the length of
the stretchable member 34 in a state of not being stretched. In
this case, it is only necessary to join the stretchable member 34
to the boundary after contracting the boundary longer than the
length of the stretchable member 34 in a gathered shape (or while
forming creases in a wave shape along boundary) so as to have the
substantially same length as the stretchable member 34.
Alternatively, the gather portion 32 may be formed by joining the
stretchable member 34 to the position in the boundary before
joining the stretchable member 34 while applying the tension to the
stretchable member 34 to stretch it, and subsequently releasing the
tension after the joining. In the protective garment 10, usually,
from the viewpoint of preventing the texture opening and the like,
a fabric hard to be stretched is used in some cases. In the
embodiment in which the gather portion 32 is formed as described
above, and when the fabric hard to be stretched is used, the length
when the gather portion 32 is maximally stretched substantially
matches the length of the boundary before joining the stretchable
member 34. Accordingly, from the viewpoint of improving the ease of
doffing, the length of the boundary before the joining the
stretchable member 34 is preferably the length between the shoulder
portion 36a and the shoulder portion 36b of the protective garment
10 or more.
[0056] Here, in a state where a wearer having the shoulder width of
406 mm wears the protective garment 10, the gather portion 32 may
be configured to be stretched to have the shoulder width or more of
the wearer. Also in this case, since the wearer can stretch the
gather portion 32 to stretch and expand the gather portion 32 to
the shoulder width or more of the wearer when doffing the garment,
doffing the garment is more facilitated. Here, the shoulder width
of 406 mm is an average value of the shoulder width measured in the
standing position posture for males of their 30s. Note that this
shoulder width is a direct distance between right and left acromial
points.
[0057] In this embodiment, the boundary between the hood portion 20
and the front body portion 16a preferably has an elongation per
unit length smaller than that of the gather portion (stretchable
portion) 32 when a predetermined tension (for example, a tension
applied at the tensile speed of 100 mm/min and the load of 15 N) is
applied. Specifically, in this embodiment, since the stretchable
member is not joined to the boundary between the hood portion 20
and the front body portion 16a, the stretchability other than the
stretchability by the fabrics of the hood portion 20 and the front
body portion 16a is not provided. Therefore, when doffing the
protective garment 10, after opening the open/close portion 24, it
is easy to grip the proximity of the boundary between the hood
portion 20 and the front body portion 16a positioned at the base of
the neck of the wearer and bring it to the back side of the wearer
(see FIG. 5 to FIG. 7).
[0058] In the protective garment 10, a predetermined region
(hatched region in FIG. 3) may be formed of one continuous fabric.
The predetermined region includes at least a part of the hood
portion 20 and at least a part of the back body portion 16b, which
are disposed across the boundary between the hood portion 20 and
the back body portion 16b, and the boundary. Since the
predetermined region that includes at least a part of the hood
portion 20 and at least a part of the back body portion 16b, which
are disposed across the boundary between the hood portion 20 and
the back body portion 16b, and the boundary is formed of the one
continuous fabric, the proximity of the boundary between the back
body portion 16b and the hood portion 20 becomes flexible, thus
improving wearing comfort of the protective garment 10. Note that
when the predetermined region is formed by joining two or more
separate bodies, the predetermined region includes a joint portion
(for example, sewn portion), and further, the joint portion is
present at the boundary between the back body portion and the hood
portion, the flexibility at the proximity of the boundary is
inferior, and the wearing comfort of the protective garment tends
to be inferior. The hatching in FIG. 3 is a hatching for indicating
the predetermined region. The predetermined region is a region, for
example, from the back surface portion of the hood portion 20 to
the center portion of the back body portion 16b. In this case,
there is no joint line in the boundary (portion in which the gather
portion 32 is formed) between the hood portion 20 and the back body
portion 16b. Accordingly, since the protectiveness is easily
ensured and the gather portion 32 becomes flexible, thus avoiding
decrease in comfort and workability.
[0059] The protective garment 10 can be manufactured, for example,
as follows. First, parts corresponding to a plurality of regions in
the protective garment 10 are formed using the exemplified fabric.
Subsequently, they are joined in the form of the protective garment
10. In joining the plurality of parts in the form of the protective
garment 10, the open/close portion 24 is formed.
[0060] After joining the plurality of parts in the form of the
protective garment 10, the gather portion 32 is formed. The gather
portion 32 is formed by joining the stretchable member 34 to the
boundary between the hood portion 20 and the back body portion 16b.
As described above, usually, the length (length in the extending
direction of the boundary) of the boundary between the hood portion
20 and the back body portion 16b before forming the gather portion
32 is longer than the length of the stretchable member 34.
Accordingly, in forming the gather portion 32, the gathered shape
is made by joining the stretchable member 34 to the boundary after
contracting the boundary before joining the stretchable member 34
to the length of the stretchable member 34 in the gathered shape,
or joining the stretchable member 34 to the position of the
boundary before joining the stretchable member 34 in the state
where the tension is applied to stretch the stretchable member 34,
and subsequently releasing the tension after the joining.
[0061] In the embodiment in which the protective garment 10
includes the cover 26, for example, it is only necessary to attach
the cover 26 to the front body portion 16a after joining the
plurality of parts in the form of the protective garment 10. When
the tabs 30 are attached to the cover 26, the cover 26 to which the
tabs 30 have been attached may be attached to the front body
portion 16a, or the tabs 30 may be attached to the cover 26 after
the cover 26 is attached to the front body portion 16a.
[0062] From the viewpoint of the protectiveness, the joint portions
between the parts are preferably covered with the seam tape 28 as
illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3. The parts need not to correspond
to the portions, such as the upper part 12 of the garment, the
lower part 14 of the garment, and the body portion 16 and the
sleeve portions 18a, 18b of the upper part 12 of the garment, in
one to one.
[0063] Since the protective garment 10 includes the open/close
portion 24 in the front surface, the wearer easily opens and closes
the open/close portion 24 by himself/herself. Therefore, donning
and doffing the protective garment 10 is easy. Since the protective
garment 10 includes the gather portion 32, the ease of doffing is
further improved. This respect will be described using FIG. 5 to
FIG. 8 schematically illustrating a method for doffing the
protective garment 10. In wearing the protective garment 10, gloves
are generally worn in addition to the protective garment 10.
Usually, the harmful substances adhere more on the outer surfaces
of the gloves than the outer surface of the protective garment 10.
Accordingly, in doffing the protective garment 10 and the gloves,
the gloves are generally doffed at first, and in this case, the
protective garment 10 is doffed after doffing the gloves.
Therefore, to prevent the harmful substances and the like adhered
to the outer surface of the protective garment 10 from adhering to
the body of the wearer (especially, the hand of the wearer) in
doffing the protective garment 10, the protective garment 10 is
doffed while holding the inner side of the protective garment 10,
thereby allowing reduction of the risk of the secondary
contamination. FIG. 5 to FIG. 8 illustrate an exemplary method for
doffing the protective garment 10 after doffing the gloves. In
addition, to further reduce the risk of the secondary
contamination, double gloves (inner gloves and outer gloves) are
worn during the work, and in doffing the protective garment 10 and
the gloves, the outer gloves are doffed at first, and subsequently,
the protective garment 10 is doffed while the inner gloves are kept
to be worn. Also in this case, the risk of the secondary
contamination can be reduced by doffing the protective garment 10
while holding the inside of the protective garment 10.
[0064] In doffing the protective garment 10, first, the wearer
opens the open/close portion 24, and subsequently, doffs the hood
portion 20 (see FIG. 5). Next, to prevent the harmful substances
and the like adhered to the outer surface of the protective garment
10 from adhering to the body (especially, the hand of the wearer or
the inner gloves) in doffing the garment, the shoulder are removed
from an opening portion of the protective garment 10 formed by
opening the open/close portion 24 while holding the inner side of
the protective garment 10 and rolling the outer surface of the
protective garment 10 inward (see FIG. 6 to FIG. 8). Then, after
removing the arms from the protective garment 10 to doff the upper
part 12 of the garment, the legs are removed from the lower part 14
of the garment, thus doffing the protective garment 10.
[0065] In removing the shoulders from the protective garment 10,
the neck base portion (the boundary between the hood portion 20 and
the back body portion 16b) of the protective garment 10 can be
stretched by pulling the gather portion 32 as illustrated in FIG. 6
and FIG. 7. Accordingly, it is easy for the wearer to remove the
shoulders from the protective garment 10. Therefore, in doffing the
protective garment 10, the shoulders can be easily removed even by
the wearer alone without the need for a helper. That is, since the
protective garment 10 includes the gather portion 32, the ease of
doffing is improved.
[0066] When the length of the gather portion 32 while the gather
portion 32 is maximally stretched is the distance between the
shoulder portion 36a and the shoulder portion 36b of the upper part
12 of the garment or more, the neck base portion of the upper part
12 of the garment can be expanded to the shoulder width or more of
the wearer in removing the shoulders from the protective garment 10
(see FIG. 6 and FIG. 7). Consequently, the shoulders are more
easily removed, thus improving the ease of doffing. Similarly, when
the elongation of the gather portion 32 defined by Formula (I) is
greater than or equal to 120%, the neck base portion of the upper
part 12 of the garment is more easily made close to the shoulder
width of the wearer in removing the shoulders from the protective
garment 10. Consequently, the shoulders are easily removed, thus
improving the ease of doffing.
[0067] When the fabric having the viral barrier property of class 4
or higher is used, the fabric is hard to be stretched because of
increasing the protectiveness. For example, the elongation of the
fabric can be less than or equal to 50%, or further, less than or
equal to 30%. The Young's modulus of the fabric can be greater than
or equal to 10 N/mm.sup.2, or further, greater than or equal to 15
N/mm.sup.2. Provisionally, when a protective garment without the
gather portion 32 is manufactured with such a fabric, the shoulders
are hard to be removed because the boundary between the hood
portion and the back body portion is not expanded in doffing the
protective garment. In contrast, in the protective garment 10 that
includes the gather portion 32, since the gather portion 32 can be
stretched in doffing the protective garment 10, the protective
garment 10 is easily doffed. Accordingly, when the fabric hard to
be stretched is used, the protective garment 10 is more
effective.
[0068] As described above, in the embodiment, the stretchable
member 34, such as a rubber, is joined to the boundary, thereby
forming the gather portion 32. In this case, the length of the
boundary before attaching the stretchable member 34 is longer than
the length of the stretchable member 34. For example, it is also
considered that the improvement of the ease of doffing is ensured
by setting the length of the boundary before attaching the
stretchable member 34 to, for example, the shoulder width or more
of the wearer. However, since the proximity of the boundary of the
protective garment becomes loose, the comfort and the workability
of the wearer decrease. Meanwhile, since the looseness can be
suppressed by attaching the stretchable member 34 to the boundary
to form the gather portion 32, the decrease in comfort and
workability can be avoided while improving the ease of doffing.
EXAMPLES
[0069] The following describes examples and comparative examples.
First, various measurement methods and doffing tests used in the
examples and the comparative examples will be described.
Measurement Method
(1) Tensile Elongation of Fabric
[0070] The measurement was performed based on the strip method
specified in JIS L1096 (2010) Appendix J, and the unit was
indicated by %.
(2) Young's Modulus of Fabric
[0071] The measurement was performed based on the strip method
specified in JIS L1096 (2010) Appendix J, and the unit was
indicated by N/mm.sup.2.
(3) Elongation of Stretchable Portion
[0072] The elongation of the stretchable portion in the protective
garment in which the rubber was joined to the fabric to form the
stretchable portion was obtained as follows.
[0073] Test pieces having widths of 50 mm were obtained from the
protective garment assuming that the length as a length of the
rubber+a length of surplus fabric (sum of the lengths of both
sides, the length of 50 mm, of the rubber: 100 mm) having the
rubber in the center. As a length (unit: cm) (hereinafter referred
to as a "first length") of the stretchable portion in a state where
the test piece was made (in a state before applying the tension for
pulling), the length when the test piece was allowed to stand was
measured by a ruler. Subsequently, in a tensile tester, the surplus
fabric parts of the test piece were sandwiched by upper and lower
chucks by 50 mm for each, and elongated at the tensile speed of 100
mm/min to the load of 15 N, thus obtaining the elongation of the
stretchable portion from Formula (II) below having the length at
the time as a second length (unit: cm) of the stretchable
portion.
Stretchable portion elongation (%)=(the second length/the first
length).times.100 (II)
(4) Viral Barrier Property
[0074] A successful test pressures by the method D defined by JIS
T8061 (2010) was classified based on bacteriophage permeability
resistances of JIS T8122 (2007). This class is equivalent to a
class classified by a successful test pressure by the method D of
Table 1 defined by ISO 16604 (2004) based on Table 1 of EN14126
(2003).
(5) Doffing Test
[0075] After monitoring persons wore the protective garment (L
size), the monitoring persons evaluated the ease of doffing
(easiness in doffing the shoulders) in doffing the garment. The
above-described doffing test was performed for the same protective
garment by three monitoring persons, an evaluation result most
frequent among the evaluations by the three monitoring persons was
employed as a final evaluation result. The shoulder widths of the
three monitoring persons participated in the doffing test were
approximately 38 cm for each of the three persons.
Doffing Method
[0076] The monitoring persons each doffed the protective garment in
the order of S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5 below.
S1: Open the open/close portion. S2: Doff the hood portion. S3:
Remove the shoulders from the opening portion of the protective
garment formed by opening the open/close portion while holding the
inner side of the proximity of the upper end of the open/close
portion of the protective garment and rolling the outer surface of
the protective garment inward. S4: Remove the arms to doff the
upper part of the garment. S5: Doff the lower part of the
garment.
Evaluation Criteria
[0077] The monitoring persons each evaluated the doffing capability
along the following criteria.
A: Excellent in doffing capability B: Good in doffing capability C:
Poor in doffing capability
Example 1
[0078] A polypropylene spunbonded nonwoven fabric (mass per unit
area 20 g/m.sup.2, thickness 0.2 mm) and a polypropylene meltblown
nonwoven fabric (mass per unit area 15 g/m.sup.2, thickness 0.15
mm) were used to prepare a long fabric in which the spunbonded
nonwoven fabric, the meltblown nonwoven fabric, and the spunbonded
nonwoven fabric were laminated in this order and the layers were
mutually bonded. For mutually bonding the layers, a hot melt
adhesive containing PE as a main component was prepared to be 1.5
g/m.sup.2 between respective layers, and subsequently, applied
between respective layers in a sprayed method.
[0079] The conditions of the prepared fabric were as follows.
[0080] Tensile elongation MD (tensile elongation in longitudinal
direction): 110%
[0081] Tensile elongation TD (tensile elongation in direction
perpendicular to longitudinal direction): 105%
[0082] Young's modulus MD (Young's modulus in longitudinal
direction): 5 N/mm.sup.2
[0083] Young's modulus TD (Young's modulus in direction
perpendicular to longitudinal direction): 2 N/mm.sup.2
[0084] Viral barrier property: class 1
[0085] Then, the plurality of parts corresponding to the plurality
of regions in the protective garment were cut out from the prepared
fabric. Subsequently, for forming in the protective garment, the
plurality of parts were joined in a form having continuous fusion
portions using an ultrasonic sound wave. At this time, an elastic
braid (super strong flat rubber of model number SAN-228 white
manufactured by SUNHIT Co., LTD., 6 call) of the width of 5 mm and
the length of 23 cm was attached to the boundary (length of
boundary: 38 cm) between the hood portion and the back body portion
to form the stretchable portion, thus obtaining the hooded coverall
type protective garment (L size). Since the length of the elastic
braid was 23 cm, in forming the stretchable portion, the elastic
braid was attached to the boundary having the length of 38 cm while
applying a tension to the elastic braid to stretch the elastic
braid to the length of 38 cm, and then, the tension was released,
thus forming the gather.
[0086] The three monitoring persons performed the doffing test
using the manufactured protective garment (single-use type). In S2
of the above-described doffing method of the protective garment, in
the measurement of the length of the stretchable portion in a state
where the monitoring persons each stretched the stretchable portion
(boundary) to remove the shoulders from the protective garment, the
stretchable portions were able to be stretched to 38 cm. The
evaluation results by the three monitoring persons were as
indicated in FIG. 9. As indicated in FIG. 9, the evaluations by all
the three monitoring persons were the evaluation A, and
consequently, the final evaluation result of Example 1 in the
doffing test was the evaluation A.
[0087] After the doffing test, the elongation of the stretchable
portion of the protective garment was obtained by the
above-described measurement method. Specifically, the test piece
was cut out from the protective garment and the elongation was
calculated. As a result, the elongation of the stretchable portion
of the protective garment in Example 1 was 165%.
Example 2
[0088] A nonwoven fabric (hereinafter referred to as a
"resin-coated spunbonded nonwoven fabric") in which a polypropylene
spunbonded nonwoven fabric (mass per unit area 20 g/m.sup.2,
thickness 0.2 mm) was coated (thickness 50 .mu.m) with a
polyethylene resin, a polypropylene meltblown nonwoven fabric (mass
per unit area 15 g/m.sup.2, thickness 0.15 mm), and a polypropylene
spunbonded nonwoven fabric (mass per unit area 20 g/m.sup.2,
thickness 0.2 mm) were used to prepare a long fabric in which the
resin-coated spunbonded nonwoven fabric, the meltblown nonwoven
fabric, and the spunbonded nonwoven fabric were laminated in this
order and the layers were mutually bonded. The method for mutually
bonding the layers was similar to that in the case of Example
1.
[0089] The conditions of the prepared fabric were as follows.
[0090] Tensile elongation MD: 30%
[0091] Tensile elongation TD: 10%
[0092] Young's modulus MD: 40 N/mm.sup.2
[0093] Young's modulus TD: 25 N/mm.sup.2
[0094] Viral barrier property: class 6
[0095] Then, the plurality of parts corresponding to the plurality
of regions in the protective garment were cut out from the prepared
fabric. Subsequently, for forming in the protective garment, the
plurality of parts were joined in a form having continuous fusion
portions using an ultrasonic sound wave. In forming in the
protective garment, the fabric was used such that the resin-coated
spunbonded nonwoven fabric in the prepared fabric becomes the
surface (outer layer) of the protective garment. In forming in the
protective garment, the elastic braid of the width of 5 mm and the
length of 23 cm was attached to the boundary (length of boundary:
38 cm) between the hood portion and the back body portion to form
the stretchable portion, thus obtaining the hooded coverall type
protective garment (L size). Since the length of the elastic braid
was 23 cm, in forming the stretchable portion, the elastic braid
was attached to the boundary having the length of 38 cm while
applying a tension to the elastic braid to stretch the elastic
braid to the length of 38 cm, and then, the tension was released,
thus forming the gather.
[0096] The three monitoring persons performed the doffing test
using the manufactured protective garment (single-use type). In S2
of the above-described doffing method of the protective garment, in
the measurement of the length of the stretchable portion in a state
where the monitoring persons each pulled the stretchable portion
(boundary) in removing the shoulders from the protective garment,
the stretchable portions were able to be stretched to 38 cm. The
evaluation results by the three monitoring persons were as
indicated in FIG. 9. As indicated in FIG. 9, the evaluations by all
the three monitoring persons were the evaluation A, and
consequently, the final evaluation result of Example 2 in the
doffing test was the evaluation A.
[0097] After the doffing test, the elongation of the stretchable
portion of the protective garment was obtained by the
above-described measurement method. Specifically, the test piece
was cut out from the protective garment and the elongation was
calculated. As a result, the elongation of the stretchable portion
of the protective garment in Example 2 was 165%.
Example 3
[0098] A polypropylene/polyethylene sheath-core spunbonded nonwoven
fabric (mass per unit area 30 g/m.sup.2, thickness 0.2 mm) and a
water vapor-permeable film (polyethylene microporous film
(thickness 12 .mu.m, mean flow pore diameter 33 nm)) were used to
prepare a long fabric in which the nonwoven fabric, the water
vapor-permeable film, the water vapor-permeable film, and the
nonwoven fabric were laminated in this order and the layers were
mutually bonded. For mutually bonding the layers, a synthetic
rubber based hot melt adhesive containing a styrene butadiene
rubber (SBR) as a main component was prepared to be 1.5 g/m.sup.2
between respective layers, and subsequently, applied between
respective layers in a sprayed method.
[0099] The conditions of the prepared fabric were as follows.
[0100] Tensile elongation MD: 20%
[0101] Tensile elongation TD: 15%
[0102] Young's modulus MD: 30 N/mm.sup.2
[0103] Young's modulus TD: 15 N/mm.sup.2
[0104] Viral barrier property: class 6
[0105] Then, the plurality of parts corresponding to the plurality
of regions in the protective garment were cut out from the prepared
fabric. Subsequently, for forming in the protective garment, the
plurality of parts were joined in a form having continuous fusion
portions using an ultrasonic sound wave. At this time, the elastic
braid of the width of 5 mm and the length of 23 cm was attached to
the boundary (length: 28 cm) between the hood portion and the back
body portion to form the stretchable portion, thus obtaining the
hooded coverall type protective garment (L size). Since the length
of the elastic braid was 23 cm, in forming the stretchable portion,
the elastic braid was attached to the boundary having the length of
28 cm while applying a tension to the elastic braid to stretch the
elastic braid to the length of 28 cm, and then, the tension was
released, thus forming the gather.
[0106] The three monitoring persons performed the doffing test
using the manufactured protective garment (single-use type). In S2
of the above-described doffing method of the protective garment, in
the measurement of the length of the stretchable portion in a state
where the monitoring persons each pulled the stretchable portion
(boundary) in removing the shoulders from the protective garment,
the stretchable portions were able to be stretched to 28 cm. The
evaluation results by the three monitoring persons were as
indicated in FIG. 9. As indicated in FIG. 9, two persons among the
three monitoring persons evaluated it as B, and one person
evaluated it as C. Consequently, the final evaluation result of
Example 3 in the doffing test was the evaluation B.
[0107] After the doffing test, the elongation of the stretchable
portion of the protective garment was obtained by the
above-described measurement method. Specifically, the test piece
was cut out from the protective garment and the elongation was
calculated. As a result, the elongation of the stretchable portion
of the protective garment in Example 3 was 122%.
Example 4
[0108] In Example 4, the fabric same as that of Example 3 was used.
From the fabric, the plurality of parts corresponding to the
plurality of regions in the protective garment were cut out.
Subsequently, for forming in the protective garment, the plurality
of parts were joined in a form having continuous fusion portions
using an ultrasonic sound wave. At this time, the elastic braid of
the width of 5 mm and the length of 23 cm was attached to the
boundary (length: 30 cm) between the hood portion and the back body
portion to form the stretchable portion, thus obtaining the hooded
coverall type protective garment (L size). Since the length of the
elastic braid was 23 cm, in forming the stretchable portion, the
elastic braid was attached to the boundary having the length of 30
cm while applying a tension to the elastic braid to stretch the
elastic braid to the length of 30 cm, and then, the tension was
released, thus forming the gather.
[0109] The three monitoring persons performed the doffing test
using the manufactured protective garment (single-use type). In S2
of the above-described doffing method of the protective garment, in
the measurement of the length of the stretchable portion in a state
where the monitoring persons each pulled the stretchable portion
(boundary) in removing the shoulders from the protective garment,
the stretchable portions were able to be stretched to 30 cm. The
evaluation results by the three monitoring persons were as
indicated in FIG. 9. As indicated in FIG. 9, the evaluations by all
the three monitoring persons were the evaluation B, and
consequently, the final evaluation result of Example 4 in the
doffing test was the evaluation B.
[0110] After the doffing test, the elongation of the stretchable
portion of the protective garment was obtained by the
above-described measurement method. Specifically, the test piece
was cut out from the protective garment and the elongation was
calculated. As a result, the elongation of the stretchable portion
of the protective garment in Example 4 was 130%.
Example 5
[0111] In Example 5, the fabric same as that of Example 3 was used.
From the fabric, the plurality of parts corresponding to the
plurality of regions in the protective garment were cut out.
Subsequently, for forming in the protective garment, the plurality
of parts were joined in a form having continuous fusion portions
using an ultrasonic sound wave. At this time, the elastic braid of
the width of 5 mm and the length of 23 cm was attached to the
boundary (length: 38 cm) between the hood portion and the back body
portion to form the stretchable portion, thus obtaining the hooded
coverall type protective garment (L size). Since the length of the
elastic braid was 23 cm, in forming the stretchable portion, the
elastic braid was attached to the boundary having the length of 38
cm while applying a tension to the elastic braid to stretch the
elastic braid to the length of 38 cm, and then, the tension was
released, thus forming the gather.
[0112] The three monitoring persons performed the doffing test
using the manufactured protective garment (single-use type). In S2
of the above-described doffing method of the protective garment, in
the measurement of the length of the stretchable portion in a state
where the monitoring persons each pulled the stretchable portion
(boundary) in removing the shoulders from the protective garment,
the stretchable portions were able to be stretched to 38 cm. The
evaluation results by the three monitoring persons were as
indicated in FIG. 9. As indicated in FIG. 9, the evaluations by all
the three monitoring persons were the evaluation A, and
consequently, the final evaluation result of Example 5 in the
doffing test was the evaluation A.
[0113] After the doffing test, the elongation of the stretchable
portion of the protective garment was obtained by the
above-described measurement method. Specifically, the test piece
was cut out from the protective garment and the elongation was
calculated. As a result, the elongation of the stretchable portion
of the protective garment in Example 5 was 165%.
Comparative Example 1
[0114] In Comparative Example 1, the fabric same as that of Example
3 was used. From the fabric, the plurality of parts corresponding
to the plurality of regions in the protective garment were cut out.
Subsequently, for forming in the protective garment, the plurality
of parts were joined in a form having continuous fusion portions
using an ultrasonic sound wave, thus obtaining the hooded coverall
type protective garment (L size). The length of the boundary
between the hood portion and the back body portion in the
protective garment was 23 cm.
[0115] The three monitoring persons performed the doffing test
using the manufactured protective garment (single-use type). In S2
of the above-described doffing method of the protective garment, in
the measurement of the length of the boundary when the monitoring
persons each removed the shoulders from the protective garment, the
length of the boundary was not increased and 23 cm. The evaluation
results by the three monitoring persons were as indicated in FIG.
9. As indicated in FIG. 9, the evaluations by all the three
monitoring persons were the evaluation C, and consequently, the
final evaluation result of Comparative Example 1 in the doffing
test was the evaluation C.
Comparative Example 2
[0116] In Comparative Example 2, the fabric same as that of Example
3 was used. The hooded coverall type protective garment (L size)
was obtained similarly to Comparative Example 1 except that the
elastic braid of the width of 5 mm and the length of 23 cm was
attached to a position at an upper portion by 10 cm (close to back
of head) from the boundary between the hood portion and the back
body portion.
[0117] The three monitoring persons performed the doffing test
using the manufactured protective garment (single-use type). In S2
of the above-described doffing method of the protective garment, in
the measurement of the length of the boundary when the monitoring
persons each removed the shoulders from the protective garment, the
length of the boundary was not increased and 23 cm. The evaluation
results by the three monitoring persons were as indicated in FIG.
9. As indicated in FIG. 9, the evaluations by all the three
monitoring persons were the evaluation C, and consequently, the
final evaluation result of Comparative Example 2 in the doffing
test was the evaluation C.
[0118] In Comparative Example 2, after the doffing test, the
elongation of the stretchable portion formed by the elastic braid
attached to the position at an upper portion by 10 cm (close to
back of head) from the boundary between the hood portion and the
back body portion was obtained by the above-described measurement
method. Specifically, the test piece was cut out from the
protective garment and the elongation was calculated. As a result,
the elongation of the stretchable portion of the protective garment
in Comparative Example 2 was 165%.
Comparative Example 3
[0119] In Comparative Example 3, the hooded coverall type
protective garment (L size) was obtained similarly to Comparative
Example 1 except that the fabric same as that in Example 1 was
used. The three monitoring persons performed the doffing test using
the manufactured protective garment (single-use type). In S2 of the
above-described doffing method of the protective garment, in the
measurement of the length of the boundary when the monitoring
persons each removed the shoulders from the protective garment, the
length of the boundary was not substantially increased and 23 cm.
The evaluation results by the three monitoring persons were as
indicated in FIG. 9. As indicated in FIG. 9, the evaluations by all
the three monitoring persons were the evaluation C, and
consequently, the final evaluation result of Comparative Example 3
in the doffing test was the evaluation C.
[0120] From the results of Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples
1 to 3, it is seen that the ease of doffing is improved, that is,
doffing the garment is more facilitated, by forming the stretchable
portion in the boundary between the hood portion and the back body
portion. This is considered because the arrangement of the
stretchable portion in the boundary allows the monitoring persons
to each pull the stretchable portion (boundary) to stretch the
stretchable portion in removing the shoulders from the protective
garment in S2 of the doffing method of the protective garment.
[0121] In Comparative Example 2, the stretchable portion having the
elongation of 165% was formed at the position at an upper portion
by 10 cm from the boundary between the hood portion and the back
body portion. However, the boundary could not be stretched in
doffing the garment, thus causing difficulty in doffing the
garment. Accordingly, from the comparison between Examples 1 to 5
and Comparative Example 2, it can be understood that it is
important to form the stretchable portion in the boundary between
the hood portion and the back body portion.
[0122] Further, it can be also understood that the doffing
capability is more improved by the elongation (%) of 120% or more
of the stretchable portion.
[0123] The various embodiments and examples of the present
invention have been described above. However, the present invention
is not limited to the exemplified various embodiments and examples
and intended to include all the changes made within a range of the
claims and made within a meaning and a range equivalent to the
claims.
[0124] For example, the protective garment is not limited to the
one to block the harmful substances including viruses, bacteria,
and the like, and may be a garment that blocks the radioactivity.
In this case, it is only necessary to use a fabric that can block
the radioactivity as the fabric of the protective garment. The
stretchable portion only needs to be configured to be
stretchable.
[0125] The protective garment of the present invention is
appropriately used as a protective garment from radioactive
materials, an agricultural protective garment used in spraying
chemicals, a sealed garment used in a chemical handling site, an
infection control garment protective from viruses and bacteria, a
surgical garment, and the like. Especially, the protective garment
is appropriately used as the infection control garment, the
surgical garment, and the like required to suppress the secondary
contamination. The protective garment of the present invention may
be protective garment of a single-use type or may be protective
garment of a reuse type. As described above, since the protective
garment of the present invention is used especially appropriately
for the infection control garment and the like required to suppress
the secondary contamination, the protective garment of the
single-use type is preferable.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
[0126] 10 Protective garment
[0127] 12 Upper part of the garment
[0128] 14 Lower part of the garment
[0129] 16 Body portion
[0130] 18a, 18b Sleeve portion (pair of sleeve portions)
[0131] 20 Hood portion
[0132] 22a, 22b Leg portion
[0133] 24 Open/close portion
[0134] 32 Gather portion (stretchable portion)
* * * * *