GB2483996A - Protective garments - Google Patents

Abstract

A protective garment 100 for the upper body comprises a front section (102, figure 1), a back section 104 and a shoulder-embracing yoke section 106 in a seam-free piece extending from the back section to the front section. The yoke section may comprise a load absorbing padding or may be in the form of a pocket for reception of an associated removable protective pad. Preferably, the yoke section extends further rearwardly than forwardly. The garment may incorporate a thermal insulation material for outdoor work and may be incorporated in a coverall workwear garment. The garment may be worn on a building site by a worker carrying a scaffolding bar on their shoulder.

Description

"A PROTECTIVE GARMENT"

INTRODUCTION

The present invention relates to a protective garment for the upper body. In particular, it relates to a protective garment for the upper body comprising a front section and a back section. Such garments are known for use in many areas including industry and leisure activities.

It is well known that almost building sites make use of scaffolding at some point, and often throughout the construction process. The scaffolding comprises many metal scaffolding bars which are connected together so as to form the scaffold structure.

During assembly of the scaffold structure, the scaffolding workers or scaffolders, as they are often referred to, must carry the metal scaffold bars from an initial storage location to the required location. Often the scaffolder will carry the scaffold bar on his shoulder. This can result in discomfort in or injury to the scaffolder's neck and shoulder area. The injury caused is usually a repetitive strain over a considerable period of time. It is indeed one of these invidious injuries that only become apparent after some considerable time has elapsed after the particular action first commenced.

The term "shoulder or shoulders," as appropriate, in this specification is used to refer to that area of the user's body between the neck of the user and the outer end of each shoulder as it slopes downwardly into an arm, essentially that portion of a shoulder that is contacted by scaffolding bars or other objects when carried by a worker. Accordingly any reference to a "shoulder-embracing" portion of a garment being "seam-free" does not include a reference to a seam adjacent to the neck portion or adjacent the outer end of the shoulder portion of the garment.

It is an object therefore of the present invention to provide a protective garment that overcomes at least some of the above-mentioned problems

STATEMENTS OF INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a protective garment for the upper body comprising a front section and a back section characterised in that it further comprises a shoulder-embracing yoke section in a seam-free piece, the shoulder-embracing yoke section extending from the back section to the front section.

In this way, the wearer is protected from any discomfort caused by an object, such as a metal scaffolding bar, is carried on the shoulder. In standard upper body garments and particularly workwear, the front section and back section are joined by a seam running along the shoulder area. If a wearer is carrying heavy objects on that shoulder, the seam may cause discomfort by pressed into the flesh by the pressure of the object on the shoulder. In some cases, the combination of shoulder seam and heavy object may result in injury to the wearer, for example as a result of friction between the seam and the wearer's skin. The presence of the seam tends to concentrate the weight of the object being carried on a small area. Such discomfort and injury may hinder a wearer's ability to carry out his or her job.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a protective garment in which the shoulder-embracing yoke section comprises padding. In this way, the protective garment provides added protection for the wearer's shoulder by automatically placing padding between the heavy object being carried and the wearer's body.

In another embodiment of the invention the shoulder embracing yoke section is in the form of a pocket for reception of an associated removable protective pad. The advantage of this is that under extreme load conditions additional protection may be provided than under normal working conditions. Further, the use of a removable pad ensures that after considerable use the garment may still be arranged to have sufficient protection for the scaffolder. Additionally it allows for the use of protective pads that should not necessarily be washed or laundered.

In another embodiment of the invention there is provided a protective garment in which the shoulder-embracing yoke section extends between 10 cm and 18 cm between the front section and back section. In this way, the protection provided by the shoulder-embracing yoke section of the protective garment will not be limited to a small area near the top of the shoulder. This facilitates ease of use and provides extra protection.

In a further embodiment of the invention there is provided a protective garment in which the shoulder-embracing yoke section extends between 12 cm and 16 cm between the front section and back section. Preferably, there is provided a protective garment in which the shoulder-embracing yoke section extends substantially 14 cm between the front section and back section. This is a particularly efficient arrangement for the shoulder-embracing yoke section of the protective garment.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a protective garment in which the shoulder-embracing yoke section extends further rearwardly than forwardly. This allows the garment to be particularly suited for use with scaffolding poles or the like, as the user will in generally carry such items such that they are in an inclined plane, higher at the front than at the back. Therefore, the pole will rest towards the rear of the user's shoulder; therefore extended padding at the rear is useful.

In another embodiment of the invention there is provided a protective garment further comprising thermal insulation. In this way, the garment is suitable for outdoor wear in colder climates, reducing the requirement for the wearer to place another garment over or under the protective garment, which extra garment may have a seam in the shoulder area and thus reduce or eliminate the advantages of the protective garment of the invention.

In a further embodiment of the invention there is provided a protective garment in which the protective garment is incorporated into a coverall garment. In this way, the wear may use the garment instead of requiring a separate garment for his lower body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be more clearly understood from the following description of an embodiment thereof given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-Fig. 1 is a front view of a garment according to the invention; and Fig. 2 is a rear view of the garment in Fig. 1.

S

Referring to the drawings, there is shown protective garment, indicated generally by the reference numeral 100, comprising a front section 102, a back section 104 and a shoulder-embracing yoke section 106 for the shoulder area. The shoulder-embracing yoke section 106 connects the front section 104 and back section 106 such that the shoulder-embracing yoke section 106 will rest on a wearer's shoulders and the front and back sections 102, 104 will depend therefrom. The shoulder-embracing yoke section 106 is affixed at its edges to the front and back section by seams, but is otherwise seam free.

Specifically, the shoulder-embracing yoke section 106 does not comprise seams other than at its edges.

The shoulder-embracing yoke section 106 additionally comprises padding (not shown), preferably in the form of wadding (not shown), so as to provide added protection to a wearer's shoulder for carrying heavy items.

The shoulder-embracing yoke section 106 extends further over the wearer's back than over the wearer's front. Preferably, the shoulder-embracing yoke section 106 is adapted to extend rearwardly by approximately 8 cm from a notional line running along the top of the wearer's shoulders, and forwardly by 6 cm. This allows long items, such as scaffolding poles, to rest on the wearer's shoulder at an incline such that the front end of the item is higher than the back end, wherein the item will rest further back on the wearer's shoulder.

The protective garment further comprises a pair of sleeves 108 which each adjoin the shoulder-embracing yoke section 106 and the front and back sections 102, 104.

The front section comprises a pair of upper front pockets 110 and the back section comprises a pair of lower back pockets 112.

The protective garment further comprises a collar 114, which is connected to the shoulder-embracing yoke section 104 and the front section.

The drawings illustrate a coverall embodiment of the invention, wherein the garment comprises a pair of trouser legs 116. It will be understood that in another embodiment of the invention, the protective garment of the invention may comprise an upper-body garment only, for example a shirt or jacket type garment. The front section 102 of the protective garment may comprise two separate portions closable, by zip of the like, to form a single front section. Alternatively, the front section may be unitarily formed.

Each of the sleeves 108, trouser legs 116, front section and back section is fifed with at least one reflective strip 118 to aid visibility.

While in the embodiment described above there are no seams in the shoulder embracing yoke section it would be possible to, for example, to have a vertical seam midway down the back and/or the front of the yoke section without departing from the spirit of the invention which is to ensure that there are no seams anywhere which would be likely to contact a scaffolding bar carried on a scaffolder's shoulder. However, it is suggested that any reasonable person would appreciate this and that reducing such a protective garment with such a scheme would not be deemed to be outside the scope of the claims.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention of the shoulder embracing yoke section is in the form of a pocket for reception of an associated removable protective pad. This ensures that the protection afforded can be altered depending on the circumstances of the use or more importantly can be replaced as the garment is worn over a period of time. Further, it allows the use of protective pads that would not necessarily be readily easily washed or laundered without damage.

It will be understood by the person skilled in the art that the term seam may be understood to refer to any sort of standard seam or non-standard seam, including an ultrasonic seam and other seam types when two or more pieces of fabric are joined together.

In this specification the words °comprise" and include' and any necessary grammatical variations thereof are used interchangeably in this specification and are to be afforded the widest possible interpretation.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment herein described, but may be varied in both construction and detail within the terms of the claims.

Claims (10)

1. CLAIMS1. A protective garment for the upper body comprising a front section and a back section further comprising: a shoulder-embracing yoke section in a seam-free piece, the shoulder-embracing yoke section extending from the back section to the front section.
2. 2. A protective garment as claimed in claim 1 in which the shoulder-embracing yoke section comprises a load absorbing padding.
3. 3. A protective garment as claimed in claim 1 in which the shoulder embracing yoke section is in the form of a pocket for reception of an associated removable protective pad.
4. 4. A protective garment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the shoulder-embracing yoke section extends between 10cm and 18cm between the front section and back section.
5. 5. A protective garment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the shoulder embracing yoke section extends between 12cm and 16cm between the front section and the back section.
6. 6. A protective garment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the shoulder-embracing yoke section extends substantially 14cm between the front section and back section.
7. 7. A protective garment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the shoulder embracing yoke section extends further rearwardly than forwardly.
8. 8. A protective garment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the garment incorporates a thermal insulation material for outdoor work.
9. 9. A protective garment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the protective garment is incorporated in a coverall workwear garment.
10. 10. A protective garment substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.