US2328105A

US2328105A - X-ray shield

Info

Publication number: US2328105A
Application number: US372166A
Authority: US
Inventors: Louis J Strobino
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1940-12-28
Filing date: 1940-12-28
Publication date: 1943-08-31
Anticipated expiration: 1960-08-31

Description

Aug. 3l, 1943. l.. J. sTRoBlNo X-RAY SHIELD .Filed Deo. 28, 1940 INVENTOR Louis J. Sfrobino .ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 31,V 1943 UNITED, STATES mi'rrny'r oFFlcs Xg-RAY SHIELDy VLouis J. stmbino, Bethel, cem. applicaties December 2s, masemlne 372,160

comme. (ci. 25e-10a) This invention relates to improvements in `X- ray shields :and processes for making X-ray shields.

YParticularly it relates to `as are especially needed by operators whose hands are more or less in a field of X-rays repeatedly in the course of theirc work.

Deeiency of exihility, in a shielding glove, Ydrills the sensitivity .of the operators touch, aiieets his operative skill and slows his action. Also it interferes with his-continuity of procedure, in caseswhere he has to write notes of his observations, intermittently, ior which he must remove his hand from the glove because he cannot write while wearing the glove. -It would be very helpful to be able-to make such notes, as also toxbe Vble t0 hlndle instrumenfavwith more facility than is possible while wear-inge shielding yglove of any type hitherto available.

Efforts to make a shield which an operator's hand can wear with some degree of flexibility have previously been made byfiastening small plates ofsheet lead in overlapping relation Von a offrubbelf, vulcanized with sulfide. of lead; but

so far'as I amaware no adefmateV hand-shieldV hasy heretofore been.- -known which combines in .itself the requisite opacity, toX-rays and the dethe latter is held in vplace by an adhering iiexible film, such as is usedin other relations for carrying and h holding pigment, rendered flexible by admixed glycerine or other non-drying substance. Exteriorly a thin film of. lacquer, or other substance which when dry is flexible with a rm surface, will vprovide a smooth conning finish. Or, a superficial dispersion lof opaque materialmay be held tothejimpregnated tissue lby an adhesive coating such as latex, sprayed over the tissue, and having the opaque dispersion sprayed over ythe latex: but as` the latex dries to a somewhat stii form theproduct ultimately `is less flexible.

The extreme neness of the dividing of the lead accompanied by the holding of its fine particles in the microscopic pores throughout the vsheet holds together the opaque elements in a sheet form, and that sheet has a flexibility which vthe opaque element would not have if it were an glove: also by making theiglove of ethiek sheet 4 e dispersion; Thus opacity ointhe compositesheet .is attained.- During a flexing of the sheet they particles"move, relativeftoeach other, but the perfectionof covering continues-because some Aor may be of leather or of any woven or felted fabric, or of other porous material-and renderingthat Y tlexible sheet opaque by filling it with finely dlvided opaque material; also, if desired, coating it with such. It will be understood that the term opaqueas hereiny used refers onlyto opacity t0 X-rays, or to whatever other rays outside of the visible spectrum arevto be stoppedvbythe shield. Fromgthe opaque composite lsheet thus produced any desired axticles'can bel made; and it is found that gloves thus made can have the adequate flexibilityvand opacity aboveA indicated. I

d results A.According to the invention the des' are attained byV makingY a dispersion of avery nelydivided opaque material, Vof which metaliic lfead is an example, throughout lthe bodyofy a porous iiexible sheet. The'kind of materlalgof the sheet may be selected from amongftissues of ahy suitabiyfporous and strong sort, examples be ing leather, andwovenor felted fabrics. The iiexible sheet Itaining Lon such ra. dispersion becomes opacied without too great loss ofiiexibilv If the dispersion in the body ,of the sheet is to`be supplemented by a. supercial dispersion, 55'

other particles areVV always standingrover .each

minute space between-particles, in position torprevent .that space beingreached by any rectif linearlyapproaching X-ray. s v vThe tissue at present preferred forthus carrying .the'dispersion of opaquematter .is sheep-k akincr split pigskin. Skinsof'these varieties are receptive, having good tensiley strength to v1|?\11f'.t1le opaque lllngwhich can be containedv in a. single glove skin is not enough to protect ones hand completely from the penetration of an X- ray beam.'V The invention attains the desired protection by making gloves of several differentsizes, for example three or four, capable of being nested one Within another. The inmost of these gloves preferably has another glove tted `Within it,

made of silk, rayon, vor other slippery synthetic textile fabric.v Thus completed, the composite gloveslips easily on and-off a persons hand.

When the wearers hand or iingers are bent, as in writing, the several plies of impregnated matcrial slipover each other with ease and freedom.

The subdivision, of the total thickness necessary for they opacity, permits the internal compression and expansion, which occur when a thick vsheet bends,` to be accommodated byvmutual adjustment of the-several plies, relative to each other,A

y precipitate the opaque substance within the body so that in the whole there is flexibility in all 4di v rections, aswell asl directions. l For the opaque material, finely divided lead appears `to `be the substancemost inexpensively and abundantly available at `the present-time. 'I'his can be introduced in either of several ways indicated below, or in them cumulatively, by a Dri-)cg4` ess including a mechanical step which is econom ical of human labor.` Thus the cost of the prod uct falls at a level lowenough to permit ofthe flexible opaqueproduct being purchased and en'- joyed by those whose occupation gives rise tothe' need for X-ray protection. The 'inventionis not limitedv to using lead for the opaque substance, for any substance opaque to the rays which are to duced `in the tissue by chemical action of reagents introduced in solution. I1' f f .The sheet material thus produced, `herein dea high degree o f opacity in all Wise with the `other solution, causing reaction of the tissue. Illustratively, such two solutions4 may be aqueous solutions of lead acetate and sodium bromide, either solution `being'fintroduced by tumbling the tissue in it, then removing its excess above what isabsorbed; then doing likeresulting in precipitation of insoluble lead bromide in finely divided form. This process may be repeated several ytlmes,until the skin will absorb and hold no`r`no'r`e. Either of these lead-impregnating methods may be used alone, or both may v be used, cumulatively, the one being applied after the other, to add to the body of lead'which the v`:leather or other tissue can thus be made to carry.

Then washing, fat liquoring land drying may vfollow'in theusual manner of tanners, or vin any suitable way; andfa'fter the leather is iinished the vsurface coatings of opaque matter and their -be excluded can be used, if capable-'off being in'. troduced iniinely divided form,'or of being pro'- scribed as it can be utilized for'the making of exible gloves, is available for other purposes,

`whether or not a high degree of flexibility is desired. z Such uses `may be for protecting the sealing i'llms may be added. The iiexible opaque composite sheet materi'al'is theny 'ready'to be made intolany suitable article, or'toibe used in simple sheet form. n

Other salts which precipitate a deposit opaque f i to X-raysmay be usedja great number of sub'- stances which are opaque to X-'rays being known. Among such, in addition to l'ead,'are barium; vbismuth; tungsten; mercury; and many other ofthe regionsadjacent to one ,where'a person is .beingY treated with X-rays; or maybe used as aprons, enwrapments 4or shields of anysort for protecting a persomanimal orthing exposed to X-rays,

in any of the many hospital, laboratory vand industrial processesin which X-ray emanations are `11.58121.' 'l 1 f `A tissue fabricated ofwovenor'felted animal or` vegetable fibres, as Awool or cott0n,'will ordi;

narily absorb and carry more. of. the dispersion of opaque material than will pi'gskin, per unit-of thickness? and can be thicker; but such' ordi,-

" narily will-'netheid it as strongly' as leatherwill.

A good opaque flexible composite gloveis made by a. series nestingfof two or more vopa'ciiled skin gloves, one within the other, witl'lvonel orlmore j opacii'led gloves of woven'orfelte'dfabric inter'` vening in the series; andan lnmost glove of'thin slippery 'fabric which need not bel opacied.

Thewdispersingof the opaque material canfbe f done by tumbling the skins, fabrics or other pieces of tissue 'inaldruxn or: other containenrin "aliquid u Y whichv either carries'inso'luble opaque v`materialV y `into the body ofthe tissue, or isA a potentialEcol-i+-A tributor to the makingof a deposit'jof the'opaq'ue `material in thatfbody. lIn'aproce'ss whichI have ffoundgood the: tumbling canbe'. executed, ina.v f drum `such as ltanners'usaand thematerial tobe tumbled with the skin vis very iinelyldlvided lead.'

Lead., isA insoluble in Water. lSpecivc material found ,satisfactory `is metallic ness'it `appears to be almost ina-'colloidal state of Vfluidity. The test however is' that it lbe fine enough'so that it works its way intothelinterior of theskin wheny =thu`s tumbled;fWhen mixed with water 1n the tumbling drumflead of this iineness goes 'into flotatlonorsuspension, land sakslnto the tissuewith the water.` LAA 'material which can be in other" means. One" is` to impregnato the tissue Slfvcssively. with solulins which reacts ,as t0 ax t the mtemaruepesltig cafbe eirectedgby i heavy metals, which are all in some'degree opaque to X-rays; and some of. the non-"metalaamong which are the halides. v"The method for intro-r ducing .other substances may be similar to that herein illustratively described for lead.

The 'accompanying' drawing represents an em'- "bodiment of l.the invention in sheet material; vand an. embodiment of 'that -material in a glove;

but it'will be understood'that the invention is not` l limited,l to :the particular embodiments which are herein Shown for* illustration of the principles involved. f

It is intended r11-aune patent shan cover, by

suitable expressionin'the appended claims, whatv.ever features of pratentablenovelty v exist in the i Figure 2 is a sectioni'on the'line" -inventio'n disclosed except vthat 'the improve;V

mentsvinf processes herein disclosed 'aref claimed inmyfco-pendi'ng application Serial No.f'419,012,

filed November 13, 1941,v relating to Processes for making flexible protective shields.

`In theaccompanying?drawing:v v

embodying-'the invention;l r y v 2 2 ofrigure 1,.` ons a larger scale; dagrammaticallyk showv .leadiine enough yto go ythrough a 30G-mesh screen- In vthis fineing Ystructurev of a composite glove which has threeplies of opaque sheets; andI 4" f Figure' 3 is a-fragme'n'ton astill larger scale showing diagra'r'runaticallyf'the structure of one of the plies of Figure 2.

an--animalskin, but mayv belva cotton or woolen fabric orv other' flexible tissue sheet which is somewhatporous; and the small dots llvdis-A tributed all through this elementlndcate the presence of sn'iall particles of leadvor other subv persed throughout the whole of the element l0.

troduced similarly,'noturvluite so.'

Covering'veach' face oi vthe skin'is a layer f4 of adhesive, vlrhichv may rbe latex that has been 'sprayed upon it. Outside'of this, on each side, is

a layer i6 representing a material such as isrused for Acarrying pigment, vthroughoutY which are. dis:

tributedsrnall ydots 18 representing Xfray opaque material in'nely divided condition, whichmay be the-same as.I ordiiferent from thekind lof may vIn yFigure 3, the middle velement I3 represents represented by .the aus n.1 Ana asse c( this is a layer 2l which represents a thlncoatiagof lastimar or other flexible smooth finish ep- ,spraying or otherwise.

The element l! is inherently flexible and for example, be sheepskin or `split pigskin. The superficial film I4 should also beilexible. If a high degree af-flexibility is desired the latex mentiened as possibly constituting thiselement may be found tointroduce more stif'lxiess'than` is want ed, when it is dry. In that case this element should be omitted, and the opaque material, which it would be carrying if present, can, if needed. be added by other means, to that carried within the body of the sheepskin. The element i6 is a film of drying oil or the like, made flexible by the inclusion of glycerine or the like and carrying the finely divided opaque material dispersed throughout its body. This holds itself naturally to the latex, or to the element I0 if the latex element i4 should be absent. The inherently yflexible coating of lacquer 20, which adheres to its outer face, strengthens it against breakage by flexure.

In Figure 2, which shows a cross section through the wrist of a glove 30, the glove has a plurality of plies 22, each being such as the whole of the by one or more lines of stitching 26 at the` wristl edge of the glove.v The maker of the glove has considerable latitude in designing the details, contents and construction of each unit 22, as the tissue Il) of Figure 3 maybe either skin or manufactured fabric, and the layers I6 are merely for holding additional thickness of the opaque dispersion, while the layer 2D is for the physical retention and enclosure of the opaque material.

For easy flexibility the successive plies lie loosely over each other, so that each can slip somewhat relative to its neighbors, when fingers bend. I1' one or more units 22 have large-poredwoven or felted fabric, the setting of such betweenY units 22 having skin makes a total structure in which Y the loosening of the opaque powder from the fabric becomes harmless because theskins, having closer texture, prevent itsescape from the If necessary to prevent migration of.

The impregnatlng step is best executed-with penetrating fluids of'low visco'slty.f Mixing water with the described very fine metallic lead helps carry the lead intoitheporous sheet, with enfn tranceof water. If the ylead is introducedv in a form Awhich is not actually metallic, 'as lnlead f For the impregnating a strong or concentrated,

solution is advisable, one in the region of 50% saturation in water beingl useful at a temperature in the region of 1Z0-125 F.

If the penetration is eilected in a tannery, in drums suchV as are used there, the interior of the drum will have pegs 'several inches long distributed a foot or so apart; and skins of standard size will thus be carried up and dropped repeatedly flexing the skin until the fluid and whatever is `suspended in it has fully penetrated, which may be in a half hour, or less, as `the pounding loosens and moves about the fibres in the skin, somewhat, relative to each other, and thus makes spaces into which the solution goes more readily than if the leather were merely immersed. The precipitation occurs wherever the sodium bromide, or potassium iodide, if that be used, finds the acetate, within or on the surface of the skin. The excess of fluid, not'entering the skin, facilitates the tumbling and helps avoid injury of the skin. The precipitated lead salt coats the leather fibres and is adsorbed thereon rather strongly. Easier penetration of the preferred kind of skin, as pigskin or sheepskin, is had by rst -degraining the skin, as by splitting, shaving,

bucktailing, sueding or other method. The tansafeguard against abrasive loosening and escape of the opaque powder; and there may be a similar exterior -(not shown) glove ply, thin and closely woven, with like effect. Both of these prevent the glove from crocking when touched. without too seriously diminishing ts flexibility.

"In place of the latex or lacquer suggested for holding additional opaque powder on they surface of the leather o r other tissue, lany suitable synthetic resinous Vor rubber-like compound` which is flexible when drymay be used, illustrations of which are found among Vinyl resins and among syntheticA rubbers and rubber hydro'chloride compositions. f

nage may be by any method, but preferably is by one which makes a soft spongy leather, preferably chrome tanning. The presence of the introduced solid material makes it advisable to use unusually large amounts of fatliquor to keep the leather soft, because of the tendency of finely divided powders to absorb oils and fatliquors; andthis augmentation of fatliquor increases the strength of the product by counteracting the weakness which would otherwise be introduced by the abnormal separation of the leather fibres by inert particles.

vIclaim as my invention: l

1. A nexibie shield against X-rays-and other rays of the class described, comprising a sheet of material which inherently is porous, flexible, and penetrable by said rays, kcombined with a sub-' stance which is of a nature opaque to the said rays and is insoluble in water; said substance being in finely divided condition dispersed in pores of the said material.

2. A flexible shieldagainst X-rays and otherV rays Vof the class described, comprising a sheet of material which inherently is porous, flexible and penetrable by said rays, combined with metallic lead in finely divided condition dispersed in pores of the said material. y jy 3. A flexible ray-shield as in claim 1, further characterized in that .a woven textile sheet is secured over the surface of said porous sheet and its opaque contents. Y

4. A shieldagainst X-raysand other "rays of Y `the class.desctibedeoinprising the `combination 1 f of a dispersioneof a. nely vdivided substance, of anatureopaque to the said rays, land. 'a `flexible sheetv of solldfvmaterial, chemically distinct from `the saidsubstance, but having relatively large pores-holding that substance as a powder inythe midstof the sheet body; awearing'surfaceofv leathenhaving relatively lsmall pores, covering one yor Aboth surfaces-of the powder-,holding sheet 2,828,105 y n v ply 'glove Whose'l plies are flexible porous sheets, Y which overlie each' other loosely, with freedom to slip .relatively to each other, each being Aofmaterial inherently penetrable by the rays,- but havl' ing Within ltspores a substance which is opaque to thekind of rays against which the glove has `a shielding effect. .v 1 l 6. A flexible rayg-shieldingglove in Whih a priv mary vvmaterial of lthe glove is split `pgskin andconflning thepowder'against escape, and ad- 10 throughout Which'there is vmetallic leadvrin finely ditional opaque powder carried by the leather.-

5 A-flexible rayf-shieldingglove, being a-pluraldividedrform. v I ,y l, I LOUIS J. STROB1NO.