JP4115431B2 - Medical footwear - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to medical footwear. More particularly, the present invention relates to a medical footwear that has excellent breathability, has a comfortable and comfortable feeling, and can avoid contamination of the wearer.

  Conventionally, footwear worn by doctors and nurses in places where surgical operations are performed in medical institutions (for example, operating rooms, catheter rooms, radiography rooms) is essentially left to the judgment of doctors and nurses. It has been. Specifically, it is common to attach the foot cover only when treating patients with known infections such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and syphilis. In other words, when treating patients with infectious diseases other than those described above, no preventive measures are often taken. Actually, when the patient's blood or the like adheres to the feet of a doctor or the like, the current situation is that after the treatment, the feet are simply washed with running water.

  The current situation as described above may be attributed to the extremely poor comfort of footwear for medical use (for treatment involving open operation). More specifically, since the breathability of the footwear is very poor and stuffy, doctors and nurses often don't hate such stuffiness.

  A shoe using a specific upper material has been proposed as a footwear that has excellent breathability and is not stuffy (see Patent Document 1). However, this shoe merely uses a laminated knitted fabric having an air permeability and a specific gravity of a specific amount or less as an upper material. In other words, this shoe only uses a knitted fabric with a low weave density to prevent stuffiness, so that it can be used for medical purposes (specifically, the wearer should be protected from blood and virus contamination). Is extremely inappropriate. That is, blood or viruses can easily pass through the shoes, contaminating and / or infecting the wearer.

JP-A-10-103

  As described above, there is a strong demand for medical footwear that has excellent breathability, has a comfortable and comfortable feeling, and can prevent the wearer from being contaminated.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems. The object of the present invention is to have excellent breathability, comfortable wearing comfort, and contamination of the wearer. An object of the present invention is to provide medical footwear that can be avoided.

  The footwear for medical use of the present invention comprises an upper having a surface and a lining, and the lining has a laminated structure of a film having moisture permeability and waterproofness and a nonwoven fabric, and between the film and the nonwoven fabric of the lining, In addition, an air layer is formed between the backing film and the outer surface.

  In a preferred embodiment, the backing film is hydrophilic and substantially nonporous.

  In a preferred embodiment, the backing film contains a functional powder having a deodorizing effect.

  In a preferred embodiment, the backing film contains a functional powder having an antibacterial effect.

  In a preferred embodiment, the backing nonwoven comprises antibacterial fibers and / or deodorant fibers.

  In a preferred embodiment, the surface is water repellent.

  According to the present invention, the use of a film having moisture permeability and waterproofness at the same time for the upper lining, and the formation of an air layer between the film and the outer surface, prevents stuffiness very well. In addition, it is possible to substantially completely prevent blood and the like from entering the footwear. As a result, it is possible to provide a medical footwear that can be comfortably worn and can avoid contamination of the wearer.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

  The medical footwear of the present invention includes an upper having a front material and a lining material. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an upper in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that this drawing is described in a ratio different from the actual thickness ratio of each layer for easy understanding. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper 100 has an outer surface 10 and a lining 20. Any appropriate fabric can be adopted as the outer material 10. A typical example of a preferable fabric is a plain weave canvas. This is because the longitudinal and lateral elongation at the time of deformation is the same and the followability is excellent, which is preferable when forming footwear. In addition, since the fabric is strong, it has excellent motility when worn, and has sufficient durability according to the purpose of the present invention (can be used for about 5 operations). It is. A typical example of the canvas material is cotton. Preferably, the outer material 10 is water-repellent. Any appropriate processing method can be adopted as the water-repellent processing. For example, the water-repellent processing is performed by attaching a fluororesin, a silicone resin, or a wax resin to the fabric by a spray method, a printing method, a dipping method, or the like to reduce the surface tension. By applying the water-repellent treatment, it is possible to remarkably prevent blood and virus-containing liquid from entering the footwear, and to significantly reduce the probability of contamination and / or infection of the wearer.

  The lining 20 has a laminated structure of a film 21 and a nonwoven fabric 22. The film 21 has moisture permeability and waterproofness. It is one of the features of the present invention that a film having moisture permeability and waterproofness is used for the backing. Coexistence of moisture permeability and waterproofness is achieved by utilizing the phenomenon of moisture permeability of the hydrophilic nonporous film. A specific mechanism of moisture permeation is shown in a conceptual diagram in FIG. Since the film is hydrophilic, water vapor (for example, water vapor generated inside the footwear) is absorbed from the surface of the film 21 through the nonwoven fabric 22 and penetrates into the film. The water vapor diffuses inside the film 21 and is released to the outside of the film (the low humidity side) one after another. Therefore, a comfortable comfort without stuffiness can be realized. On the other hand, since the film 21 is nonporous, water droplets from the outside are blocked by the film 21 and cannot enter the inside. Needless to say, solids cannot penetrate through the film 21. Therefore, even if blood, a virus, or the like enters from the outer surface, entry into the film 21 can be substantially completely prevented.

  A typical example of the hydrophilic material constituting the film 21 is a thermoplastic elastomer. For example, a thermoplastic elastomer having a hard segment made of crystalline aromatic polyester (typically, polybutylene terephthalate: PBT) and a soft segment made of polyether can be used. Such an elastomer is commercially available from DuPont under the trade name Hytrel®. Also, for example, polyurethane elastomers can be used. The polyurethane elastomer is commercially available, for example, from Kurashiki Boseki Co., Ltd. under the trade name Clan Better (registered trademark).

Moisture permeability of the film 21, when conforming to JIS L 1099 A-1 method, preferably 1000~10000g ^/ m 2 · 24h, more preferably 3000~6000g ^/ m 2 · 24h. The air permeability is preferably 1.0 cc / cm ² / second or less in accordance with JIS L 1096. The air permeability of the entire upper material using the film is preferably 30 cc / cm ² / sec or less, more preferably 15 cc / cm ² / sec or less, and most preferably 1.0 cc / cm ² / sec or less. The waterproof property of the entire upper material using the film is preferably 100 to 40,000 mm in accordance with JIS L 1092 (water pressure resistance).

  The thickness of the film 21 is preferably 20 to 40 μm, more preferably 25 to 35 μm, and most preferably about 30 μm. If the film is too thick, the stuffiness may not be sufficiently eliminated. If the film is too thin, tearing or the like is likely to occur, so that there is a possibility that blood or the like may enter.

  Preferably, the film 21 contains a functional powder having a deodorizing effect. Representative examples of such functional powders include activated carbon, Bincho charcoal, and tourmaline. Such powder is contained in an amount of preferably 5 to 30 parts by weight, more preferably 10 to 20 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the resin (elastomer) constituting the film 21. By containing such a powder having a deodorizing function, a more comfortable comfort can be realized. Alternatively, the film 21 contains a functional powder having an antibacterial effect. A typical example of such a functional powder is a silver-based inorganic antibacterial agent. Such powder is contained in an amount of preferably 0.1 to 10 parts by weight, more preferably 0.5 to 5 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the resin (elastomer) constituting the film 21. By containing such a powder having an antibacterial function, the possibility of infection by bacteria or the like of the wearer can be further reduced. These powders can be used alone or in appropriate combination depending on the purpose. When these powders are used in combination, the total amount of the powder mixture is preferably 5 to 30 parts by weight, more preferably 10 to 20 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the resin (elastomer) constituting the film 21. Can be used in proportions. The ratio of each powder in the powder mixture can be appropriately adjusted according to the purpose. The average particle diameter of these powders is preferably a size that can pass through a 10 μm mesh, and more preferably a size that can pass through a 5 μm mesh. If the average particle size of the powder is too large, the molding of the film 21 may be hindered.

  The nonwoven fabric 22 is made of any appropriate material. Typical materials constituting the nonwoven fabric 22 include polyester (for example, polyethylene terephthalate: PET), mixed fiber of PET and rayon. Preferably, the nonwoven fabric 22 includes antibacterial fibers and / or deodorant fibers. Here, the antibacterial fiber refers to a fiber that can suppress the growth of bacteria on the fiber. Typically, the antibacterial fiber is obtained by treating any appropriate fiber with a drug (for example, organic silicon quaternary ammonium salt, alkylamine drug, inorganic drug). Deodorant fiber refers to a fiber that has been deodorized. Typical deodorization processing includes masking with various fragrances, adsorption with activated carbon, immersion in a deodorizing component extracted from a natural plant, a method using a complex, and a graft polymerization method. Preferably, the antibacterial fibers and / or deodorant fibers can be used in a proportion of 30 to 90%, more preferably 30 to 60% of the total weight of the nonwoven fabric.

  Preferably, the nonwoven fabric 22 is produced by a mechanical bonding method (typically, a needle punch method). The thickness of the nonwoven fabric 22 is preferably 1 to 5 mm, more preferably 1.5 to 3.0 mm. By having such a thickness, it is possible to obtain medical footwear that simultaneously satisfies moldability, mechanical strength, and durability according to the object of the present invention (that can be used for about five operations).

  In the upper 100 used for the medical footwear of the present invention, an air layer 31 is substantially formed between the film 21 and the non-woven fabric 22, and an air layer is formed between the film 21 and the surface material 10. 32 is substantially formed. By providing the substantial air layers 31 and 32, moisture vapor permeation of the water vapor described above can be promoted. At the same time, since the substantial air layer 32 acts as a buffer region between the surface material 10 and the film 21, even if blood or the like enters the surface material 10, it does not reach the film 21 at a stretch. Therefore, if the waterproof film 21 as described above is used, infiltration of blood or the like into the film 21 can be substantially completely prevented. As a result, a very comfortable comfort can be realized and the possibility of contamination / infection of the wearer can be further reduced significantly. The formation of such an air layer is one of the features of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substantial air layer 31 is formed by bonding a film 21 and a nonwoven fabric 22 via a hot melt adhesive applied in a dot shape. Similarly, the said substantial air layer 32 is formed by adhere | attaching the film 21 and the surface material 10 through the hot-melt-adhesive apply | coated to the dot form. The thickness of the air layers 31 and 32 can be controlled by adjusting the dot density and the dot height (dot adhesion amount) of the hot melt adhesive. Since most of the functions of the air layer (acceleration of moisture permeability and buffering action) are performed by the air layer 32, the air layer 32 is formed thicker than the air layer 31. Substantially, the thickness of the air layer 32 can be defined by the ratio of the non-adhesive area between the film 21 and the surface material 10 (the greater the ratio of the non-adhesive area, the greater the substantial thickness of the air layer). The proportion of the non-bonded area is preferably 50 to 90%, more preferably 60 to 70%. If the ratio of the non-adhesive area exceeds 90%, the adhesive strength between the outer material 10 and the lining 20 may be insufficient. If the ratio of the non-bonded area is less than 50%, the air layer may not function sufficiently. The dot density capable of forming such a thickness (ratio of non-adhesive area) is preferably 25 to 150 / cm ² , more preferably 60 to 80 / cm ² . The adhesion amount of dots is preferably 5 to 100 g / m ² , more preferably 8 to 30 g / m ² . The air layer 31 is substantially formed as a result of satisfactorily laminating the film 21 and the nonwoven fabric 22.

  The medical footwear of the present invention can be suitably used when performing treatment (eg, surgery, catheter treatment, radiographic treatment) involving an open operation in a medical institution or the like.

It is a schematic sectional drawing explaining the upper of the medical footwear by preferable embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the mechanism of moisture permeation about the film used for this invention.

Explanation of symbols

100 Upper 10 Outer fabric 20 Lining 21 Film 22 Non-woven fabric 31 Air layer 32 Air layer

Claims (5)

A medical footwear comprising an upper having a front and a lining,
The outer fabric is composed of plain weave canvas,
The lining has a laminated structure of a film having moisture permeability and waterproofness and a nonwoven fabric,
An air layer is formed between the backing film and the non-woven fabric, and between the backing film and the surface material, and the thickness of the air layer between the backing film and the surface material is determined by the thickness of the backing material. Greater than the thickness of the air layer between the film and the nonwoven fabric,
The backing film is hydrophilic and substantially nonporous;
A medical footwear in which the waterproofness of the entire upper is 100 to 40,000 mm in water pressure resistance and the air permeability is 30 cc / cm ² / sec or less . The medical footwear according to claim 1, wherein the lining film contains a functional powder having a deodorizing effect. The medical footwear according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the backing film contains a functional powder having an antibacterial effect. The medical footwear according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the nonwoven fabric of the backing contains antibacterial fibers and / or deodorant fibers. The medical footwear according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the outer surface is water-repellent.

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