DK2823859T3

DK2823859T3 - Protection cover

Info

Publication number: DK2823859T3
Application number: DK13175486.3T
Authority: DK
Inventors: Vincent Vanneste
Original assignee: Scaldis St-Martin
Priority date: 2013-07-08
Filing date: 2013-07-08
Publication date: 2016-09-19
Also published as: EP2823859A1; PT2823859T; US20160120240A1; TW201517955A; LT2823859T; ES2592310T3; SI2823859T1; EP2823859B1; SG11201600075QA; CY1117993T1; HRP20161143T1; PL2823859T3; CA2917360A1; CN105407977A; AU2014289543A1; WO2015003916A1; HUE030716T2

Description

Head protective hood

The present invention relates to a head protection hood having an outer face provided to be in contact with the surrounding environment, an inner face provided to be in contact with the head of the user, a head passage section and facial opening at the user's eyes that is closed by a visor detachably fastened to the hood, said hood comprising an outer lining having an inner face and being open-worked across from said facial opening, said lining forming, with the outer face of the hood, a pouch in which said visor is removably slid, said hood further comprising at least one bearing element inserted between said outer face of the hood and said lining, said bearing element running alongside at least part of said facial opening and said hood forming a textile element.

Such hoods are known from the state of the art (documents US 2,583,304 and US 2,759,187) and are particularly used in aseptic and sterile environments where the user must be isolated from the surrounding environment. This is particularly indicated in environments such as white rooms and laboratories where vaccines and medicaments are prepared. On the one hand, in this type of environment, the user should be optimally isolated so that he does not contaminate the environment in which he is working, and on the other hand, the user himself must often be isolated from hazardous and/or harmful substances.

When an operator is called upon to work in a sterile environment, he must in particular make sure not to contaminate the equipment that it contains. Thus, the operator must comply with strict dress procedures, which only have meaning if the protective equipment that they use is itself completely sterile. To that end, the uniforms and the hoods are generally provided after sterilization, in sealed packages whereof easy opening makes it possible to grasp sterile equipment. Furthermore, more particularly regarding hoods provided with a visor, the latter must not only be sterile, but also completely clean so as to ensure correct vision and working comfort for the user.

The use of such hoods provided with a visor is known from the state of the art (for example, the E5111101 protective hood marketed by Protextyl®).

The hoods currently used are provided with a fixed visor, attached to the hood, to ensure the isolation and protection of the user, but also to minimize the risks of contamination of the surrounding environment (vaccines, medicaments, etc.) and by the surrounding environment. After their use, these hoods provided with a fixed visor must be steered toward cleaning and sterilization facilities so that they can be reused. However, since these hoods are provided with a fixed visor, which is generally made from a transparent plastic material, they may not be subject to traditional sterilization, much less a series of sterilizations, where the conditions are not compatible with the material forming the visor. The latter would deform and could even lose its transparency, for example under the effect of the heat or under the effect of specific radiation used during the sterilization.

Furthermore, even if sterilization by applying specific rays could make it possible to sterilize the hoods provided with a visor, the fact nevertheless remains that the cleaning of the visor, and in particular the cleaning of the face of the visor situated inside the hood, would remain problematic. Indeed, in order to clean this face of the visor, it would be necessary to insert cleaning instruments inside the hood or to turn the latter inside out to expose the inner face of the visor to be cleaned. These operations would be restrictive and would require many manipulations, costly both in terms of handling and time.

Another approach known from the state of the art consists of using hoods combined with protective goggles of the "ski mask" type (for example, like those described in document EP 0,195,517). However, the use of protective goggles also constitutes a recurring issue within industries. Indeed, once used or after a handling error during their placement, the protective goggles, like the hoods, must be cleaned and sterilized. While the cleaning and sterilization of the clothing (uniform, hood, etc.) are often entrusted outside companies that then return the equipment (uniform, hood, etc.) in sterile packaging, the cleaning of the protective goggles is commonly handled by the industrialist, which must therefore have specific and costly equipment or use equipment that is part of the production chain, for example sterilizers, this option inevitably interfering with the performance of a production chain.

Furthermore, the protective goggles, for example of the ski mask type, do not cover the entire face and are generally provided with elastic bands necessary to fasten them over the hood. Such goggles are not necessarily provided to withstand drastic sterilization and cleaning conditions.

Furthermore, the protective goggles constituting additional personal equipment, the operator must handle them carefully so as not to drop them, in which case the protective goggles would need to be changed, since they would have been contaminated. This type of eye protection is therefore restrictive, slows down dress procedures and increases risks of contamination, on the one hand due to the risk of dropping the protective goggles, but on the other hand because they must also be manipulated, which increases the risk of transferring contaminants from the operator to the protective goggles and then into the surrounding environment.

There is therefore a real need to find an alternative to the use of the hoods currently provided with a fixed visor or the use of protective goggles (of the ski mask type) so that simpler, less expensive and faster cleaning and sterilization steps can be carried out, but also so that the coating steps for protective equipment are less restrictive, faster and safer in order to minimize any risk of contamination.

The invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the state of the art by providing a hood making it possible to simplify the cleaning and sterilization steps, but also to do away with the use of protective goggles, so as to make the cleaning and sterilization steps less restrictive, less expensive, and quicker and easier. Furthermore, the invention also aims to provide a hood associated with an eye protection device, which, during its placement, makes it possible to minimize the risks of contamination.

To resolve these problems, provided according to the invention is a hood as indicated at the beginning of this document, characterized in that said visor is inserted between said inner face of said lining and said bearing element.

Such a hood is particularly advantageous, since it has a visor that can be placed and removed easily. Unlike the current hoods provided with a fixed visor, the hood according to the present invention therefore makes it possible to have an easily removable and quickly replaceable visor, placement of the visor further ensuring the isolation and correct protection of the user relative to an environment. Furthermore, being able to use a detachable visor, i.e., removable, rather than protective goggles makes it possible to eliminate all of the manipulations relating to the placement of the protective goggles and minimizes the risks of contamination related to their use. A hood according to the invention further makes it possible, relative to the current hoods provided with a visor, to greatly simplify the cleaning and sterilization steps for the protective equipment. Indeed, being able to easily and quickly remove the removable visor from the hood ultimately makes it possible to have, on the one hand, a textile element formed by the hood, and on the other hand, an element made from a plastic material (or any other appropriate material) formed by the visor. As a result, it is possible to steer the hood without its visor toward a traditional treatment facility for cleaning and/or sterilization (decontamination), while the visor can be conveyed for reuse, toward an appropriate cleaning system that will not damage it. One alternative is simply to replace the used visor with a new, clean visor on the decontaminated hoods.

The head protection hood according to the invention comprises an open-worked outer lining across from said facial opening and forming, with the outer face of the hood, a pouch in which said visor is removably slid. The presence of such a pouch forming a "receiving zone" makes it possible to insert a visor therein such that the latter is an integral part of the protection hood according to the invention. Surprisingly, in the context of the present invention, it has been determined that, even if the visor is removable, it makes it possible to provide adequate isolation for the operator with respect to the sterile environment. Indeed, according to the invention, the lining makes it possible to form a space between its inner face and the outer face of the hood, this space being dimensioned such that it marries the edges of the visor so that the latter is "blocked" therein over its entire perimeter and does not move during the use of the hood, for example when the user tilts his head to the side.

The head protection hood according to the invention further comprises at least one bearing element inserted between said outer face of the hood and said lining, said bearing element running at least partially alongside said facial opening. The presence of such a bearing element makes it possible to keep the visor at a certain distance from the outer face of the hood by inserting the visor between the inner face of the lining and the bearing element. This is particularly advantageous because such a shift of the visor makes it possible for it not to touch the operator's face and not to bother the latter. This also allows users wearing corrective glasses to be able to use the hood according to the invention without being bothered by a visor that would press against the frame of the glasses. Furthermore, such a space, which is filled with air, makes it possible to minimize the formation of condensation on the visor.

Advantageously, according to the invention, said bearing element is an eyelet formed in the material (textile or other) making up the hood. This eyelet may include a filler material, for example a plastic foam. This bearing element, aside from forming a guide element during the insertion of the visor into the pouch formed by the lining, also forms a shock absorbing layer against which the operator's forehead presses, which provides the latter with a certain level of comfort during his work. Furthermore, it is provided, according to the invention, that if a bearing element is placed at the lower part of the facial opening, the filler material is in two parts so as to leave a central space free of filler material, which defines a free space in which the operator can place his nose, each of the parts of the filler material bearing on one of the surfaces of the operator's nose.

Preferably, according to the invention, said pouch formed between the outer face of the hood and said lining has at least one closing means. The presence of a closing means makes it possible, following the insertion of the visor in said pouch, to close that pouch so as to temporarily block the visor therein so that it stays in place during use of the hood. This closure for example prevents the visor from shifting or sliding toward the outside of the pouch, which would compromise the isolation of the user relative to the environment and the sterility of the latter. According to one embodiment, when the opening of the pouch is situated longitudinally at the operator's forehead, such a closing means is not essential (but could nevertheless be present) inasmuch as the visor is laterally blocked, but also blocked along its lower part.

Advantageously, according to the invention, said at least one closing means is chosen from the group made up of a pull-tab, a snap closure, a pushbutton closure or a self-adhesive means, for example of the Velcro® type. Of course, any other appropriate closing means can be used in the context of the present invention.

Preferably, according to the invention, said visor is made from a transparent plastic material or any other appropriate material, for example Plexiglas®. This material may for example be rigid or flexible, tinted or not, scratch-resistant or not, acid-resistant or not, depending on the fields of application. Of course, the visor according to the invention may have many other properties.

Preferably, said visor has, in its lower part, a cutout corresponding to the zone where the user's nose will be positioned in order to prevent a plastic edge from resting there, which would be particularly uncomfortable.

Advantageously, the head protection hood according to the invention comprises a selfadjustment system for the size of the hood placed behind the hood, for example pushbuttons making it possible to adjust the width of the hood and/or the height of the hood. By choosing to fix a pushbutton on one fastening point rather than another, it is possible to define the size of the hood appropriate for the user’s morphology such that the hood correctly marries the operator's head and is positioned so as not to bother the operator. Other self-adjustment systems, for example ties or straps, may also make it possible to adjust the hood to the operator's morphology. Consequently, a hood according to the invention may be appropriate for several users, who may adjust its size. It is to be understood that any other appropriate selfadjustment means may be used in the context of the present invention.

Preferably, the head protection hood according to the invention is an integral part of protective clothing for a white room and the like. Indeed, the hood according to the invention may also form a single piece or be an integral part of a piece of protective clothing, for example a full protective uniform. Of course, the hood may be connected by any appropriate fastening means to the protection clothing, for example by being sewn thereto or fastened thereto using a pull-tab, snaps or Velcro®.

Other embodiments of the hood according to the invention are indicated in the appended claims.

Other features, details and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description provided below, non-limitingly and in reference to the appended drawings.

Figure 1 is a front view of a head protection hood according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional detail view along axis II of a head protection hood according to the invention.

Figure 3 is another sectional detail view along axis III of a head protection hood according to the invention.

Figure 4 illustrates a hood according to the invention that is connected to and integral with protective clothing.

In the figures, identical or similar elements bear the same references.

Figure 1 illustrates a hood according to the invention that has an outer face 2 provided to be in contact with the surrounding environment, an inner face 3 provided to be in contact with the head of a user, a head passage section 4 and a facial opening 5 at the user's eyes. The facial opening 5 is closed by a visor 6 fastened detachably to the hood 1.

The hood 1 is provided with an open-worked outer lining 7 whereof the window 7' (opening) is situated across from the facial opening 5 at the user's eye level. This lining 7 forms, with the outer face 2 of the hood 1, a pouch 8 in which the visor 6 can be removably slid. The pouch 8 further has a lateral opening 9 provided with closing means 10, for example a closure in the form of a pull-tab. These closing means 10 make it possible to keep the visor 6 in the pouch 8 when the user is working and necessarily moves his head.

As illustrated, the pouch 8 frames the removable visor 6 over its entire perimeter, which makes it possible to block and maintain the latter in the space defined by the pouch 8. Such framing of the visor 6, over its entire perimeter, makes it possible to isolate the operator from the surrounding environment in order to avoid any contamination of the latter.

Optionally, the hood 1 may have one or several zones formed from a different material from that of the outer face of the hood 1, for example a permeable material. Such zones can be situated below and/or above the facial opening 5 so as to allow the operator to breathe easily, but also to aerate the inside of the hood 1.

Figure 2 is a sectional view along axis II and illustrates one embodiment according to the invention. Bearing elements 11 are present and are inserted between the outer face 2 of the hood 1 and the open-worked outer lining 7, the window 7' (opening) of which is situated across from the facial opening 5 at the user's eye level. These additional bearing elements 11 run alongside the facial opening 5 and are placed such that they are for example in contact with the operator's forehead and/or nose. Preferably, these bearing elements 11 are made from a soft material, for example plastic foam, to ensure user comfort.

According to one preferred embodiment, the bearing elements 11 are eyelets formed in the material making up the hood 1, said eyelets being filled with the soft material.

The visor 6 is slid between said bearing elements 11 and the inner wall of the lining 7, which makes it possible to maintain the visor 6 at a certain distance from the operator's face. This is particularly indicated when the user wears corrective glasses.

Figure 3 is a sectional view along axis III and illustrates the pouch 8, which is provided with a lateral opening 9 through which a visor 6 can be slid so that it is "blocked" in said pouch 8. The pouch 8, provided with a lateral opening 9, therefore allows the placement, then, after use of the hood, easy and quick removal of the visor 6. This ultimately makes it possible to have two separate elements, on the one hand the visor 6, and on the other hand the hood 1, which can then each be steered separately toward an appropriate cleaning and/or sterilization station.

Figure 4 illustrates a hood 1 that is connected to and an integral part of a piece of protective clothing 12, in the case at hand, for the example, a uniform for white rooms and the like. It is to be understood that the hood 1 can be connected by any appropriate fastening means to the protective clothing 12, for example by being sewn thereon or fastened thereto using a pull-tab, snaps or Velcro®. According to the invention, it is also provided that the head passage section 4 is at least partially covered by the protective clothing so as to be inserted at least partially into the protective clothing.

Of course, the present invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described above, and changes may be made thereto without going beyond the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

Protective cap (1) with an outer surface (2) intended to be in contact with a surrounding environment, an inner surface (3) intended to be in contact with a user's head, a main passage section (4) and a face opening (5) at the user's eye level, closed with a visor (6) which is removably attached to the cap (1), the cap (1) comprising an outer liner (7) having an inner side and pierced in front of the face opening (5), the liner (7) together with the outer surface (2) of the cap (1) forms a pocket (8) into which the visor (6) is inserted removably, the cap (1) further comprising at least one supporting element (11) inserted between the outer surface (2) of the cap (1) and the liner (7), the supporting element (11) extending at least partially along the face opening (5), which protective cap forms a textile element, characterized in that the visor (6) is inserted between the inside of the liner (7) and the support member (11).

Protective cap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the supporting element (11) is a nail comprising a filler material such as a plastic foam.

Protective cap (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the pocket (8) formed between the outside (2) of the cap (1) and the liner (7) has at least one closing device (10).

Protective cap (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the at least one closure device (10) is selected from the group consisting of a zipper, a press release closure, a push button, or a self-gripping mechanism.

Protective cap (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the visor (6) is made of a transparent plastic material.

Protective cap (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the visor (6) has a cut-out in its lower part corresponding to the area where the user's nose will be.

Protective cap (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises a self-adjusting system with respect to the size of the cap located at the back of the cap.

Protective cap (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it forms an integral part of a protective suit for a clean room and similar facilities.