FI101872B - Floatation suit - Google Patents

Description

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FLOATING-ASU

The present invention relates to a buoyancy suit or buoyancy aid as defined in the preamble of claim 1, such as a buoyancy jacket, buoyancy hook-5 Lari, buoyancy trousers or the like.

Floating clothing is used as a safety and rescue device in demanding conditions when working in waters or elsewhere where there is a risk of getting on the water. In general, the outfit is designed to be used for both 10 work and normal leisure wear. It is still desirable that the outfit does not deviate from normal wearability in terms of usability. The buoyancy properties of the outfit are provided by a special layered structure comprising a main fabric, an inner fabric and a snow cover arranged between the main fabric and the inner fabric. When using the outfit, the problem is that the material used to make the outfit effectively prevents the wearer's sweat from escaping into the surrounding air. In addition, the outfit can be heavy and 20 stiff. In this case, wearing the outfit is very uncomfortable and heavy. On the other hand, already warm enough air causes similar problems - with warm air, the sailor sweats easily, which makes it uncomfortable to wear a non-breathable outfit.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate the above problems. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new type of buoyancy garment in which the fabric material used is breathable and effectively transfers moisture from the inside of the garment. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a simple solution for treating a floating agent so that it permeates moisture in the desired manner.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a buoyancy garment in which the buoyancy material 101872 2 is modified so that the garment is more breathable and flexible, especially in the area of the joints of the body.

With respect to the characteristic features of the present invention, reference is made to the claims.

The buoyancy garment according to the invention is made of a layered material comprising a cover fabric, an inner fabric and a liquid and gas-tight buoyancy material of porous plastic arranged between the cover fabric and the inner fabric. Preferably, the main fabric 10 is a liquid-tight but gas-permeable fabric.

One example of such a fabric is GORE-TEX® fabric. The inner fabric, on the other hand, is typically a regular lining used in accessories. Further preferably, the buoyancy material is an AIREX brand material. According to the invention 15, a number of holes are provided in the buoyancy material to provide the material for breathability.

The perforation is preferably performed by piercing the material so that at the same time the component corresponding to the hole is removed, because otherwise the hole will not remain open due to the composition of the material. In a preferred embodiment, the holes are made by means of a high-pressure water jet.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the total cross-sectional area of the holes is preferably about 0.1% to 40%, and more preferably about 0.5% to 10%. Most preferably, the total cross-sectional area of the holes is about 1% to 2% of the total cross-sectional area of the float. The diameter of the hole in this application is about 1-3 mm. In this case, according to another study, on the one hand, the buoyancy and buoyancy properties of the buoyancy agent remain essentially unchanged and, on the other hand, the buoyancy is sufficiently breathable to solve the above-mentioned problems.

In a further application, the holes are arranged at regular intervals relative to each other. This has an advantage for the manufacture because it is simple to follow the number and distance of the holes. Further preferably, the holes are arranged over substantially the entire area of the buoyancy material. In this case, the properties of the buoyant, such as breathability, remain substantially uniform throughout the material.

On the other hand, in one application, it may be advantageous for the total cross-sectional area of the holes to vary regionally in different parts of the buoyancy material. It is advantageous to provide more holes for areas of heavily sweaty body parts to improve breathability relative to less sweaty areas. The change in the total cross-sectional area of the holes 10 can advantageously be realized either by changing the size or the number of holes regionally. The size of the holes preferably varies between 1-20 mm. It is further advantageous to provide 15 more holes, for example at the bends and grooves, because then the floating material is clearly more flexible and thus more comfortable to use.

An advantage of the present invention over the prior art is that the invention makes it possible to produce an even more comfortable floating garment.

In addition, the invention makes the use of a buoyancy suit, such as a swimsuit, buoyancy overall or buoyancy pants, even more comfortable because the manufacturing material is breathable and very flexible.

In the following, the invention is described in the accompanying; 25 by way of exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 shows a layered structure according to the invention; and Figures 2a to 2b show the perforation of the buoyant 30 according to the invention.

The layered structure 1 according to the invention shown in Figure 1 comprises a main fabric 2 made of a liquid-tight but gas-permeable GORE-TEX® fabric. The main fabric 2 effectively protects the wearer from liquids, for example rain. The next layer after the main fabric is an optional padding layer 6, which is intended to act as a thermal insulator in cold air 101872 4 and which can be omitted from clothing intended for summer use, for example. The structure further comprises a floating material 4, in which a number of holes 5 are pierced according to the invention and which has a pak-5 of, for example, 4 mm or 8 mm. The buoyant material in this example is a porous and flexible material similar to AIREX brand foam. The structure further comprises an inner fabric 3 shown at the bottom in the figure, which in the finished garment is against the wearer's skin and which 10 is a highly moisture-permeable lining fabric.

Figures 2a to 2d show alternative perforation patterns for the float 4. In Fig. 2a, the holes are arranged at regular intervals with respect to each other, and such perforation could be used in the less sweaty areas of the outfit, for example in the back or legs. In Figure 2b, the hole density on the left is higher than elsewhere. Such compaction could be used, for example, in the armpit area. On the other hand, the same effect is obtained by using larger holes as shown in Fig. 2c. Figure 2d shows an example using both denser perforation and holes of different sizes.

Finally, with reference to Figure 1, the manufacturing material 1 used in the floating garment according to the invention is compared with a conventional manufacturing material by describing the flow of moisture in the material. The moisture formed first transfers from the garment layer under the buoyancy aid to the inner fabric 3. Next, the moisture must pass through the buoyancy material 4 to the possible batt layer 30 and from there through the main fabric 2 to the surrounding air.

If the floating agent 4 is a conventional non-perforated substance, it forms a very effective moisture barrier and no moisture can escape from inside the outfit. Instead, in the structure according to the invention, moisture 35 efficiently enters through the holes 5 into the upper layers and further into the ambient air.

101872 5

The invention is not limited solely to the application examples presented above, but many modifications are possible while remaining within the scope of the inventive idea defined by the claims.

Claims (5)

101872 A buoyancy garment made of a layered material (1) comprising a cover fabric (2), an inner fabric (3) and a porous plastic liquid-5 and a gas-tight single-layer floatation material (4) arranged on the cover fabric and between the inner fabric, characterized in that the buoyancy material (4) has holes (5) in substantially the entire area of the buoyancy material for arranging the buoyancy garment for breathability. Flotation suit according to claim 1, characterized in that the total cross-sectional area of the holes (5) is preferably about 0.1% to 40%, more preferably about 0.5% to 10% and most preferably about 1% to 2% of the buoyancy material ( 4) the total cross-sectional area. Floating suit according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the holes (5) are arranged at regular intervals relative to one another. A buoyancy suit according to claim 3, characterized in that the size of the holes (5) varies regionally in different parts of the buoyancy material (4). Flotation suit according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the main fabric (2) comprises a liquid-tight and gas-permeable film, and that the material (1) comprises a wadding layer (6) arranged on the main fabric. (2) and the buoyancy aid (4). f 10 mi