IES85771Y1 - A protective garment - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present invention relates to a protective garment (100) for the upper body comprising a front section (102), a back section (104) and a shoulder-embracing yoke section (106) in a seam-free piece, the shoulder-embracing yoke section (106) extending from the back section (104) to the front section (102). The absence of a seam reduces the discomfort of the wearer if carrying heavy items over his or her 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 all 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 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 scaffoIder’s neck and shoulder area.

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, the front section and back section be joined by a seam running along the shoulder area. If a wearer was 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. Such discomfort and injury may hinder a wearer's ability to carry out his job.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a protective gannent 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 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 reanrvardly than fonivardly. This allows the garment to be particularly suited for use with scaffolding poles or the iike, 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.

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 seems, 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 reanivardly by approximately 8 cm from a notional line running along the top of the wearer’s shoulders, and fonrvardly 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 wilt 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 fitted with at least one reflective strip 118 to aid visibility. 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 the specification the terms ‘comprise’, ‘comprises’, ‘comprised’ and ‘comprising’ or any variation thereof and the terms ‘include’, ‘includes’, ‘included’ or ‘including’ or any variation thereof are considered to be totally interchangeable and they shouid all be afforded the widest possibie 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 (5)

1. A protective garment (100) for the upper body comprising a front section (102) and a back section (104) characterised in that it further comprises a shoulder-embracing yoke section (106) in a seam-free piece. the shoulder-embracing yoke section (106) extending from the back section (104) to the front section (102).

2. A protective garment (100) as claimed in claim 1 in which the shoulder-embracing yoke section (106) comprises padding.

3. A protective garment (100) as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the shoulder- embracing yoke section (106) extends between 10 cm and 18 cm between the front section (102) and back section (104).

4. A protective garment (100) as claimed in any preceding claim in which the shoulder- embracing yoke section (106) extends substantially 14 cm between the front section (102) and back section (104).

5. A protection garment as ciaimed in any preceding claim wherein the protective garment (100) is incorporated into a coverall garment.