CH711348A2 - Dry suit. - Google Patents

Abstract

The drysuit is preferably as a one-piece Kombianzug of a three-layer, waterproof but air-permeable fabric laminate with max. 220 g / m 2 mass per area made, and he also includes the feet seamlessly. A waterproof zipper (4) extends from the crotch area up to the upper edge of the collar (5). The sleeves (8) are each a waterproof zipper (4), which extends from the front edge of the sleeve (13) along the forearm to the rear. These watertight zippers (4, 7) allow the collar and chest area to be opened and the cuffs (13) and front sleeves (8) to be opened slightly, thus providing an effective cooling function which allows this drysuit to be worn in non-critical mission phases makes it much more pleasant and less tiring. In addition, this drysuit weighs less than 1.5 kg and is therefore easy to wear on the body.

Description

This invention relates to a comfortable, lightweight and breathable drysuit for keeping people fallen in the water dry to delay their life-threatening hypothermia. In professional circles one speaks of Immersion Protection Suits (IPS).

An immersion suit or survival suit is a special type of waterproof drysuit. Due to a disaster in cold water fallen people he should protect against hypothermia, usually after the abandonment of a sinking or capsized ship, or in the military area even after a crash into the water or an emergency landing of an aircraft on a body of water. Such a drysuit is designed to maintain the body heat in the suit and keep the user dry until it is recovered from the cold water. These drysuits are tailored to fit the wearer's body and must be worn as a precaution by a crew if there is a risk of falling into the water during a mission. Accordingly, it is important that these suits are as light as possible, as well as being easy and quick to put on and comfortable to wear. It is known that a person's chance of survival when dropped into the water can be markedly increased, mainly by staying dry and by maintaining body temperature, because then hypothermia can be postponed.

Conventional drysuits are usually made of reinforced neoprene and have a face seal and flap, finger gloves, waterproof zippers, shackles, neoprene and reflective strips, and they should limit the freedom of movement of the wearer as little as possible. They must comply with the provisions of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) for hypothermia, and their use is primarily for personnel aboard military aircraft and ships or boats, ferries, offshore rigs, lifeboats, for men over-board boats and intended for general commercial use.

The challenges in designing a drysuit are the various conflicting goals. The suit should optimally protect against heat loss and moisture. But the better he fulfills these qualities, the more inconvenient he is to bear, as long as his actual function does not matter. Due to the watertightness, for example, when using Neoprene sweating or breathing of the body skin is excluded. Accordingly, the heat accumulates in the body, which is very unpleasant. The better the insulation works, the more uncomfortable the suit is to wear. Many dry suits with thick layers of thermal insulation materials are so stiff and awkward that they can hardly be worn by users alone. They need helpers to put on the suit. If a drysuit, such as in the case of aircraft crews, has to be carried during the preparation or briefing of a flight as well as during the debriefing, this is usually very uncomfortable for those affected. Sweat in the usual suits, although you can not effectively sweat for heat dissipation in principle. Once you have put on a conventional drysuit, you are waterproof at the neck and wrists included in this suit and any air exchange between inside and outside and thus with the body surface is prevented. This leads to the fact that one has very soon a damp or wet body surface and has to suffer from a heat accumulation. Therefore, wearing such a drysuit in the long term is very uncomfortable and significantly affects the well-being and performance, which any naval aviator will immediately confirm.

The object of this invention is therefore to provide a dry suit, which in addition to the function of keeping dry the carrier in the water and thermal insulation according to the existing regulations is now much easier, and much easier to wear and much more comfortable to wear. In addition, the drysuit should be able to be worn in combination with an acceleration suit such as that disclosed in WO 2012/066114 A1, and should in any case be self-tightened and removed by the user, and for non-functional use phases have passive or optionally active cooling functions.

This object is achieved by a dry suit for keeping dry fallen into the water people to delay their life-threatening hypothermia, which is characterized in that it has at least one waterproof zipper for on and off, with a waterproof zipper divides the collar to open and that at each sleeve a watertight zipper extends along the forearm to open the watertight cuffs so that the entire suit is open to collar and cuffs during non-critical mission phases and thus allows air exchange with the body surface, and out of that condition by closing all waterproof zippers quickly in the waterproof state can be brought.

In the figures, this suit is shown in two versions and described below and its function will be explained.

It shows: <Tb> FIG. 1: <SEP> The drysuit is designed as a one-piece combination suit, when put on, viewed from the front; <Tb> FIG. 2: <SEP> The drysuit is designed as a two-piece suit with jacket and trousers except for a textile material bridge, when tightened, viewed from the front.

As can be seen in Fig. 1, the suit is executed in this example as a combination suit 1, that is he forms a one-piece suit. As a special feature, this suit consists of a three-layer, flame-resistant, waterproof, breathable and inflatable fabric laminate, which has a basis weight of only 220 grams / m <2>. This fire retardant fabric laminate consists of a tear and flame resistant fabric, followed by a glue layer, then a membrane with a microporous structure, for example based on polytetrafluoroethylene, with over 10 million pores per mm 2, so that this membrane is waterproof but vapor permeable. This is followed by another layer of glue, followed by a fabric with aramid fibers (Kevlar®) which is particularly light, around 40 gsm <2> ± 10%, and serves as a protective layer for the inner membrane. Thus, the fabric laminate of a pressure column of up to 10 meters can withstand and is therefore highly waterproof or waterproof as well as anblassicher. Using this fabric laminate, a low total weight of the entire dry suit of less than 1.5 kg, which has hitherto hardly been considered possible, is realized. And that in turn significantly increases the wearing comfort of this dry suit. Experiments have shown that he applies so little to the body that he can even be worn under an ordinary street suit, without it being noticed by viewers. Therefore, the fabric of the drysuit must be blow-dry so that the drysuit can withstand very high blow-up speeds of up to 600 kn and 1111 km / h respectively, as they occur in the event of an ejection seat ejection and act on the pilot. This blowing strength is achieved by the mentioned high tear strength, which provides the flame-retardant thin outer fabric.

To put on the dry suit one slips with the legs and feet in the pants 2 and this part later packed the legs and feet of the wearer already waterproof, so that the wearer knee-deep to hip-deep in the water could stand, because the panties 2 of waterproof three-ply Tissues merge seamlessly with footprints 3. The suit is easy to put on, because a waterproof zipper 4 extends from the crotch area to the upper edge of the collar 5. To tighten the upper part 6 opens in addition to the front main zipper 4, the two zippers 7 on the cuffs 13 and front sleeves 8. Afterwards you can put the top 6 and thereby slip with the arms in the sleeve 8. The suit has at least one breast pocket 15, which can be closed with a watertight zipper 14, and another watertight zipper 18, which allows access under the suit in the chest area. This is especially necessary when the drysuit is worn over another suit, namely over an acceleration suit. It has been found that in this case the function of the acceleration protective suit is not impaired by this drysuit worn over it. In addition, the drysuit can optionally have a trouser pocket 10 which can also be closed with a watertight zipper 9.

During preparation and split times, when the suit does not have to be in standby mode, ie during non-critical mission phases, this drysuit can be left open at the top of the collar 5 and on the front sleeves 8 by not completely closing the zippers 7 there, but at will a piece wide open leaves, and also the main zipper 4 from the collar 5 of arbitrarily deep a bit wide open. Thus, an effective passive cooling function is realized, which is possible with no other previous dry suit and proves to be the most crucial advantage of this dry suit. Conventional drysuits, once they are tightened, namely the neck and wrists waterproof, so that no exchange of air with the body is possible, which proves to be extremely unpleasant, as long as no emergency occurs, which is true on the vast majority of time, in which such a drysuit is worn. The cooling function of the dry suit presented here by opening the collar 5 and the cuffs 13 and front sleeve 8 but offers the user in practice an enormous and highly welcome relief. The wearing of this drysuit proves to be much more comfortable than closed drysuit of conventional design because of its cooling function and its special lightness.

Only shortly before a standby phase of the main zipper 4 is closed to the upper collar edge. The collar 5 is provided at its upper edge termination with an elastic rubber lip 11 which applies completely watertight to the neck of the wearer when completely closing the main zipper 4. Likewise, the cuffs 13 are executed at the front end of the sleeve. They conclude with a circumferential to the zipper rubber lip 12. When the zippers 7 are closed at the front sleeves 8 all the way forward, so close these rubber lips 12 behind the wrist waterproof around the forearms.

As shown in FIG. 2, the drysuit can be made in a variant as quasi two-piece suit, with a jacket and a hanging over a fabric bridge 17 pants it. The pants and the jacket are watertight connectable with a waterproof zipper 16, which runs a bit overlapping around the waist. This design provides a further cooling function in the hip area, because when this zipper 16 is opened more or less, a very welcome cooling function is thus achieved in the abdominal, hip and cross area. Particularly in the area of the cross, it is particularly difficult to perspire. This suit is otherwise identical to that of FIG. 1, that is, he also has at least one waterproof breast pocket 15, lockable with a waterproof zipper 14, and a waterproof zipper 18 in the chest area, for reaching in from under the drysuit. Further, as shown, this suit has a waterproof trouser pocket 10, which can be closed with a waterproof zipper.

Thus, this drysuit as presented the only known cold and water protection suit for aircraft crews, which can be worn as part of the flight preparations and post-processing and debriefings with an open collar to the lower abdomen and open cuffs 13 and front sleeves and yet the wearer by rapid Closing the waterproof zips in case of emergency provides the required cold water protection.

Moreover, because this drysuit for the first time consists of a comparatively thin, three-ply fabric laminate, it weighs less than 1.5 kg and is therefore so light and low-wearing that it is portable over an acceleration-protective suit, and thereby the function of this G- Suit is not affected if it is constructed according to the design as disclosed in WO 2012/066 114. If he also combined with the features of a cooling suit, that is equipped on its inside with flat cooling channels, the starting from a waterproof, for example, in the hips area outside tube via a hose from a mittragbaren compressed gas cylinder with relaxed and thus cool gas, preferably with cool air can be supplied, in addition to the protection against cold and moisture, it also offers an active, highly efficient cooling system for the periods in which it is worn as a precautionary protective suit. The gas or air ducts are then led to all strongly perspiring body parts and have there outlet openings in order to remove heat from there. Specifically, these sites are located in the crura, hips, knee joints, neck and chest, armpits, arm joints, and front sleeves, which are opposite the insides of the wearer's forearms. The heat absorbed by this cooling gas or by the cooling air is then transported to the outside through the open cuffs 13 and the open collar 5, as long as the drysuit is not used as such. This will provide an even more convenient and less hotter system for intercontinental flights, as well as for operations in the tropics and polar areas.

The pilot or other crew members need no help and can put the suit on or off alone. The very light and at the same time extremely durable 3-layer fabric laminate was specially developed for this drysuit. This innovative fabric laminate results in weight reduction while maintaining high strength and durability. As a result, in addition to the waterproofness and a certain air permeability, a weight of less than 1.5 kg is achieved for the whole suit.

This drysuit includes synthetic waterproof zippers covered with fire-resistant fabric that allow the suit to be worn open at the neck and arms throughout the pre and post-flight phases to maximize comfort. The cuffs 13 openable on the neck and forearms provide a significant increase in comfort and allow longer term wear while maintaining wearer performance due to low stress and correspondingly low wearer fatigue. The watertight completion of the collar 5 consists of an elastic, laminated on flame-resistant fabric rubber lip 11 of neoprene, silicone or a material with comparable properties, which is divided by the main zipper 4, but with closed main zipper 4 seals the neck area. Like the collar 5, the cuffs 13 on the sleeve ends also consist of such a construction, ie a rubber lip 12 which can be divided by the zippers 7, laminated to flame-resistant fabric of the cuffs 13, wherein the rubber lip 12 is made of neoprene, silicone or a material having comparable properties Properties is made.

In combination with the aforementioned cooling system with gas or air channels inside the suit 1 longer-lasting operations are possible even under extreme environmental conditions with high ambient temperature and also at high relative humidity without significant fatigue of the user. Nevertheless, the user is always waterproof in a matter of seconds and packaged in a heat-insulating manner, for which he only needs to completely close the watertight zippers 4, 7, 9 and 16.

As a target group for the use of such drysuits the following professional groups are mainly seen: Pilots / crew members jet-propelled combat aircraft Pilots / crew members and passengers of helicopters, transport and special aircraft Crews and passengers of maritime vehicles Water sports enthusiasts of all kinds (sailors, canoeists, kayakers, surfers, stand-up paddlers, etc.)

digits directory

[0020] <Tb> 1 <September> Combi suit <Tb> 2 <September> pants bumps <Tb> 3 <September> foot mounts <Tb> 4 <September> main zipper <Tb> 5 <September> collar <Tb> 6 <September> shell <tb> 7 <SEP> Zips 7 on the front sleeves <Tb> 8 <September> Sleeves <tb> 9 <SEP> Zipper for lockable trouser pocket <tb> 10 <SEP> Lockable trouser pocket <tb> 11 <SEP> Elastic rubber lip on collar 5 <tb> 12 <SEP> Elastic rubber lips on the cuffs <Tb> 13 <September> cuffs <tb> 14 <SEP> Waterproof zipped chest zipper <Tb> 15 <September> breast pocket <tb> 16 <SEP> Zipper between jacket and pants <tb> 17 <SEP> Fabric bridge between jacket and pants <tb> 18 <SEP> Waterproof chest zipper to grab under the suit

Claims (14)

A dry suit for keeping dry persons fallen into the water to delay their life-threatening hypothermia, characterized in that it comprises at least one waterproof zipper (4, 16) for dressing and undressing, wherein a waterproof zipper (4) the collar (5) for Open divides, and that at the sleeves (8) each a waterproof zipper (7) along the forearm to open the waterproof sleeve (13) extends so that the entire suit during non-critical mission phase on collar (5) and cuffs (13 ) is open wearable and thus allows an exchange of air with the body surface, and that it can be brought from this state by closing all watertight zippers (4, 7, 9, 16, 18) quickly in the waterproof state. Drysuit according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made of a fabric laminate, the same from the outside to the inside consisting of a tear and flame resistant fabric, followed by a glue layer, then a membrane with a microporous structure, so that this membrane is waterproof, but vapor-permeable, followed by another layer of glue, followed by a fabric with aramid fibers (Kevlar®) as a protective layer for the inner membrane. Drysuit according to claim 2, characterized in that the membrane is a microporous structure based on polytetrafluorethylene, with over 10 million pores per mm 2, and that the innermost fabric layer of the fabric laminate is 40 g / m 2 10% weighs. Drysuit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the three-day fabric laminate provides such good water resistance and impermeability that it can withstand a pressure column of up to 10 meters. 5. drysuit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it consists of a three-layer waterproof, tear-resistant, but permeable fabric laminate with max. 220 g / m <2> mass per surface, so the total drysuit weighs less than 1.5 kg. Drysuit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is designed as a one-piece combination suit (1), with a watertight zipper (4) which extends from the crotch area up to the upper edge of the collar (5). 7. drysuit according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it is designed as a two-piece suit of pants and jacket, except for a fabric bridge (17) between pants and jacket, and that pants and jacket in the hip area with a hip circulating watertight zipper (16) are connectable, with one side of the zipper at the bottom of the jacket and one side of the zipper (16) on the waistband extending, wherein the end portions of the zipper (16) overlap laterally offset, including the fabric bridge (17) between jacket and pants. 8. drysuit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the watertight seals on the neck and wrists are realized by rubber lips (11, 12), each of a waterproof zipper (4, 7) are divisible, the rubber lips (11, 12) are laminated on fire-resistant fabric and in closed zippers (4, 7) watertight at the neck or on the wrists are determined. 9. Drysuit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it can be worn over an acceleration protective suit according to the method according to WO 2012/066 114, without impairing the function of the acceleration protective suit. 10. Drysuit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has at least one recessed inside breast pocket (15) in the chest, which is closable with a waterproof zipper (14), and in the chest area a waterproof zipper (18) for reaching under the dressed drysuit when worn over another suit or acceleration suit. 11. drysuit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one trouser pocket (10) which is closable with a waterproof zipper (9). Drysuit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the three-ply fabric is made so as to resist fading, i. Air intakes of up to 600 kn without damage endures, by the outer fabric is woven from tear-resistant synthetic and aramid fibers. 13. Drysuit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that its inner side is additionally equipped with flat gas channels, which can be supplied from a water-tight outwardly opening hose sleeve via a hose from a mittragbaren compressed gas cylinder with it relaxed and thus cooled gas, the gas channels are guided on the inside of the dry suit to the strongly transpiring body parts and there have outlet openings in order to remove heat from there. 14. Drysuit according to claim 13, characterized in that the outlet openings of the gas channels in particular in the region of the cross, at the hips, in the knee cavities, in the neck and chest area, in the armpits, on the arm joints and on the front sleeves, which are opposite to the insides the wearer's forearms are located so that the heat absorbed by the cooling gas can be transported outwardly through the open cuffs (13) and collar (5) as long as the drysuit is used in non-critical mission phases.