GB2181358A

GB2181358A - Ventilated protective headgear

Info

Publication number: GB2181358A
Application number: GB08620120A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Norman Allan Street
Original assignee: WL Gore and Associates Inc
Current assignee: WL Gore and Associates Inc
Priority date: 1985-10-10
Filing date: 1986-08-19
Publication date: 1987-04-23
Also published as: DK390886A; GB8620120D0; IL79747A0; JPS6297904A; PT83503B; AU5892286A; DK390886D0; NO863530D0; PT83503A

Abstract

A light-weight comfortable, flexible fabric headgear is provided for wear in particle-free environments which is open at the eyes of the wearer and at least the portion (2) of the headgear circumscribing the eye/ear portion of the head fits snugly the wearer's head, and is preferably of elastic fabric, and an interior vacuum system draws air and particles shed by wearer into the headgear. The lower face portion is held fully extending by a ring (4) which optionally may also supply the vacuum. Preferred fabrics for the headgear comprise waterproof breathable polytetrafluoroethylene and elastomeric waterproof breathable polytetrafluoroethylene laminates with other textile fabrics. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Ventilated protective headgear This invention relates to a garment to be worn by personnel for maintenance of sterile or particle-free environments. In particular, the invention relates to headgear to be worn by personnel for the prevention or containment of particle fallout into the protected environment.

It is a continuing problem in areas requiring a sterile environment such as hospital operating rooms, certain pharmaceutical and food manufacturing areas, and other sterile areas to maintain sterile conditions and to prevent bacterial contamination of the environment from the exhaled air and particles released from the hair and skin of the heads of personnel present and moving about in those areas. It has also been found that those particulates, such as dust and epithelial flakes, are a source of contamination and consequent malfunctions in the manufacture of electronic microequipment, such as computer integrated circuits and semiconductor chips, which are manufactured in as near particle-free environments as possible.Personnel working in these environments have been recognized for some time as a primary source of particulate contamination, and various kinds of clothing, foot covering, helmets, and other head coverings have been devised with features directed at retaining all particles from the body an inner clothing of the wearer inside the garments and out of the protected environment. This invention particularly relates to the head covering portion of a particle-containing system.

According to the present invention there is provided a ventilated protective headgear adapted to cover and substantially enclose a wearer's head comprising a crown portion; a flexible upperface portion, open at the eyes, adapted to fit closely to the head around the eyes and ears to support said headgear in place and to maintain a close fit around the eyes; a flexible lower face portion adapted to cover the nose, mouth, jaw and neck of the wearer and to snugly fit the wearer at or below the neck thereof; a closed loop band adapted to circumscribe the wearer's head at or adjacent mouth level, said band adapted to hold the headgear extended at said level, and means for connecting said headgear to a source of vacuum for withdrawing air, particles, and exhalations of the wearer from the headgear.

In preferred forms of the invention, the headgear is designed to give long-term wearing comfort by minimizing the weight of its constituent component parts and maximizing the comfort of the head-fitting and placement-holding features of the headgear while maintaining its effectiveness for controlling particles emanating from the head of the wearer.

Soft material around the head which is extremely desirable for comfort reasons, is held comfortably clear of the wearer's face, thus preventing adverse reactions from the wearer.

The headgear is preferably made of soft, flexible fabric, film or membrane, which covers loosely the entire head, except for the area of the eyes, has an elastic portion circumscribing the upper face and ear portion of the head to hold the headgear in place on the head by a close, lightly stretching fit around that portion of the head, and has loose, sufficiently voluminous crown and lower face covering portions to completely and comfortably enclose relatively large amounts of hair on the crown and/or face of the wearer.

Inside the headgear is a light-weight substantially circular ring of plastic circumscribing the head of the wearer at about or just below mouth level, which holds the fabric of the headgear fully extended and away from the face of the wearer. This ring can be a perforated tube held in place at the back of the neck of the headgear, the ring including a T-shape tube junction from which an outlet tube extends outwardly through the headgear for connection to a vacuum pipeline.

Fasteners, for securing the ring tube to the headgear can comprise snap fittings or separable fasteners of the type in common usage with textile fabrics. Two parts of each pair of fasteners are placed in the lower cheek area of the headgear, spaced apart such that the pair may be snapped together around the plastic tube to hold it in place within the headgear. One of the two parts of a pair of snap fasteners can be affixed on a cloth tab attached to the fabric and the other to the fabric itself. Cloth loops may alternatively be used by forming closely spaced pairs of parallel slits in the liner or inside layer of fabric, and the cloth between the slits extended to form a loop through which the plastic tube may be threaded. A series of such loops formed around the circumference of the headgear at mouth level will support the ring of plastic tubing.

The perforations in the plastics ring tube are preferably in the area of the mouth and nose of the wearer, but may be elsewhere in the tube within the headgear, such that expired air may be removed by vacuum through the tube. Air for use ofthe wearer is also drawn or leaked into the headgear between the elastic textile surrounding the eye area and/or the ear area of the wearer and the skin of the wearer provided adequate vacuum is supplied in the plastic tube. This deliberate leaking of air at this opening tends to draw inside any particles which might be dislodged from the eye area of the wearer. This has been found to be sufficiently efficient that the weight, discomfort, and other problems associated with a mask or faceplate can be avoided.

The headgear is completed at the lower end by an elastic band or drawstring or other simple means of closure which will be effective, comfortable, and be compatable with the features of the remainder of the garments also worn by the wearer of the headgear and which may or may not permit the ingress of air.

By avoiding the use of a transparent faceplate, as is commonly used in similar garments, we have avoided the disadvantages of such faceplates. A faceplate is a hindrance to the wearer in two major ways. First, unless the faceplate is optically perfect and completely clean, it may result in faulty vision over a period of time. Secondly, the use of microscopes is extensive in the manufacture of electronic microequipment and a faceplate renders the use of a microscope difficult if not impossible.

An alternative means to keep the lower portion of the headgear fully extended over the mouth/nose area of the wearer is provided by a solid, stiff ellipsoidal hoop or strip of plastic or metal which circumscribes the headgear in this area and is secured in the headgear.

Means for withdrawing air from inside the headgear can comprise tubes passing through the sides of the headgear, one end of each tube being held near the mouth/nose area of the wearer of the headgear, the other end of each tube terminating in a Y-shape tube junction which connects to a source of vacuum in the same manner as the ring tube.

The invention will now be particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure lisa side view of the headgear on a wearer with the face lines and head-encircling vacuum tube shown in solid lines and the fabric portion of the headgear dotted in beneath the surface of the headgear; Figure 2 is a side view of the headgear worn by the wearer, the lower face of the wearer being dotted in beneath the surface of the headgear; Figure 3 is a plan view of the vacuum tube forming part of the headgear; Figure 4 is a side view of a modified headgear on the wearer, and Figure 5 is a plan view of parts of an alternative air removal system.

The headgear shown in Figures 1 and 2 in place on the head of the wearer, comprises a flexible crown portion which covers the hair of the wearer and may be voluminous enough to comfortably cover a large quantity of hair. The crown portion 1 may be optionally of an elastic or non-elastic textile fabric which is impenetrable to particles of, and larger than, the size which must be prevented from entering the protected space. An elastic textile fabric portion 2, disposed on the upper face area and circumscribing the head of the wearer, is lightly stretched to hold the headgear in place. The portion 2 has a single opening for the eyes and fits closely around them, but not so closely as to be uncomfortable to the wearer for extended periods of time, such as 4-10 hours continuously.Some air 6 can leak into the headgear around the eye opening, which tends to draw into the headgear any particles arising from the exposed surfaces of the eyes, skin or hair surrounding them. A flexible lower portion 3 of the headgear is attached to and forms a downward extension of the elastic portion 2. The .lower portion 3 is adapted to loosely cover the nose, mouth, jaw, and lower head of the wearer and is optionally made from elastic or non-elastic textile fabric. Lower portion 3 is ended at the bottom by a closure means 7, which can be, for example, an elastic band or drawstring for fitting the lower end of the headgear to the body of the wearer comfortably, yet closely. A low, but variable, amount of air leakage may occur.here also.

A loop 4 (Figures 1 and 3) of plastic or metal tubing which contains holes to gather air 6 bearing particles which might be exhaled by the wearer, or shed from wearer's body epidermis or hair, is fitted within the headgear at or adjacent the level of the wearer's mouth. The loop 4 is connected to a vacuum system externally of the headgear through aT-shape tube junction orfitting 5 located atthe back of the wearer's neck. The fitting 5, which is connected to the end of the loop 4, passes through a close-fitting hole in the headgear to a source of vacuum either carried on the body of the wearer or by a tethering tube to a vacuum source.

The loop 4 is held in place by at least one pair of snap-action fasteners 8 (see Figure 2), preferably two pairs, located in the headgear over the lower cheeks of the wearer. Alternatively, the loop 4 can be held in place by passing it through loops made by pairs of slits in the inner fabric layer, before closure of the loop 4 by the fitting 5. Loop 4 can be made of any of the plastics commonly used for the manufacture of non-collapsing tubing, such, for example, as polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, and polypropylene. The T-shape fitting 5 can be metal or plastic and can be integral with one end of the loop 4.

In the modified embodiment of Figure 4, the headgear is supported at or adjacent the level of the wearer's mouth buy a modified loop 13which is held in place on the inner fabric by, for example, insertion between two lines ofthread sewn into the fabric or by interweaving among parallel slits in the inner fabric around the circumference of the headgear. The two arms 12 of a Y-shape plastics tube assembly (Figure 5) pass through the fabric of the headgear at apertures 11 (only one shown). Each tubular arm 12 has its upper end near the mouth of wearer and, at its lower end, is fitted into a Y or Tshaped tubularjunction or fitting 5 so that air 6 and particles may be removed by vacuum through the tube assembly.

The arms 12 of the Y assembly are held in place by attachments 15 to band 13 within the headgear. Air 6 (and particles) passed in under vacuum through tubes 12 and T-junction 5 (of Figure 5), orY-junction 5 (of Figure 4), exit into a source of vacuum. A string or cord-like yoke 14 passes about the neck of the wearer and assists in holding tubes 12 in place.

Figure 4 also shows a cloth-only ear covering portion 10 in which the PTFE layer is not present, which may result in better hearing by the wearer such as for telephoning. Because of the vacuum system, any particles entering via this cloth portion, our which are generated from the ear arena of the wearer, will remain inside the headgear or be pulled out through the vacuum system. Portion 10 may consist of elastic or non-elastic fabric.

The textile fabric from which the headgear is manufactured may be any textile fabric whether or not it is impenetrable to aerosol particles, yet having an elastic upper face portion to fit and hold closely the headgear on the head of the wearer. Since longterm wearing comfort is a feature of the headgear, light weight, breathability, and other factors may have much importance. The preferred textile fabrics for making this headgear are a waterproof and breathable polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) laminate disclosed in U.S. Patent 4,194,041 and an elastomeric waterproof and breathable PTFE laminate (EPTFE) described in U.S. Patent 4,443,511.

The crown 1, upper face 1, and lower face portions 3 of the headgear may all be made of EPTFE laminate, with the upper face portion 2 sized for a comfortable stretch fit. In an alternative embodiment, face portion 2 is made from EPTFE with the crown portion 1 and the lower face portion 3 made from PTFE laminate. In all preferred embodiments the PTFE layer of the laminate is on the outside of the headgear so as to place its nonshedding and non particle-forming surface outwardly toward the clean room environment. The seams between portions 1,2 and 3 may be sewn, or bonded by an appropriate adhesive, or sealed by heat and pressure with a polymeric seam-sealing tape.

Claims

1. A ventilated protective headgear adapted to cover and substantially enclose a wearer's head comprising: (a) a crown portion; (b) a flexible upper face portion, open at the eyes, adapted to fit closely to the head around the eyes and ears to support said headgear in place and to maintain a close fit around the eyes; (c) a flexible lower face portion adapted to cover the nose, mouth, jaw and neck of the wearer and to snugly fit the wearer at or below the neck thereof; (d) a closed loop band adapted to circumscribe the wearer's head at or adjacent mouth level, said band adapted to hold the headgear extended at said level, and (e) means for connecting said headgearto a source of vacuum for withdrawing air, particles, and exhalations of the wearer from the headgear.

2. A headgear according to claim 1, wherein said band comprises tubing having spaced orifices for admission of air, particles, and exhalations of the wearer under vacuum.

3. A headgear according to claim 1 or claim 2 which has been manufactured from a laminate of a microporous polymer with one or more other layers of textile fabric.

4. A headgear according to claim 3 wherein the microporous polymer is expanded polyetetrafiuoroethylene.

5. A headgear according to claim 1 made of a textile fabric which has coated on it a porous polymer layer.

6. A headgear according to claim 5, wherein the polymer-coated textile fabric is laminated to one or more other textile fabrics.

7. A headgear according to claim 1, made of a textile fabric which is impervious to air.

8. A headgear according to claim 1 wherein the loop band and said connecting means are held in position by pairs of separable fasteners, loops, or bands formed by parallel slits in an inner fabric of the headgear, or by sewing.

9. A headgear according to any preceding claim wherein the crown, upper face, and lower face portions are constructed from elastic material.

10. A headgear according to any preceding claim wherein the sections of the upper face portion covering the ears of the wearer are manufactured from single layers of a textile fabric.

11. A headgear substantially as herein described with reference to Fig. 1, Fig. 2 or Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawing.