WO2005115550A1

WO2005115550A1 - A face seal for a protective suit

Info

Publication number: WO2005115550A1
Application number: PCT/GB2005/002004
Authority: WO
Inventors: Charles John Martin
Original assignee: Remploy Limited
Priority date: 2004-05-27
Filing date: 2005-05-23
Publication date: 2005-12-08
Also published as: GB0411920D0

Abstract

A face seal (10) to be stitched or otherwise bonded with a hood of a protective suit. The face seal is made from a resilient material such as chloro-butyl rubber, with an opening (11) therethrough to receive a respirator mask. An area, e.g. at the cheek (12) includes a contour portion to conform with the respirator mask. The contour portion preferably includes an inwardly projecting depression (13) spanned by ribs (14).

Description

A FACE SEAL FOR A PROTECTIVE SUIT

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a face seal as may be required in protective clothing, e.g. a CBRN (Chemical, Biological Radiological, Nuclear) protection suit.

BACKGROUND ART

The military and civil authorities have long used protective clothing for use in operations in dangerous areas. Such clothing must ideally be resilient to the effects of biological, chemical or radioactive environments and be convenient for personnel (e.g. soldiers, policemen, firemen, etc) to use quickly and easily.

The effectiveness of such clothing is not only limited by the nature of the material but also by how seams and joins, particularly at the feet, hands and face are constructed. For example, use of a CBRN suit will be in combination with a respirator unit that filters air for the user to breathe. Respirators and suits are usually designed separately and so it is common for an elasticised face opening to be provided on a hood. The hood then closes around the respirator, but with poor sealing qualities. In the case of a full face mask, ideally there should be no air gap around the seal that would allow contamination into the suit when the user enters a dangerous area. Any breach in the integrity of the suit could potentially cause damage to the health of the user.

A rubber-type face seal can be used in place of an elasticised opening on the hood; however, due to the contours of the respirator mask (that is usually a more rigid material than the hood seal stretched around it) it is not uncommon for a gap to be present in the cheek area of the user's face.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In one broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a face seal for use with a protective suit comprised of a resilient material, with an opening therethrough to, in use, receive at least part of a respirator mask, and including a contour portion to conform wi'th part of said respirator mask.

This invention provides the advantage of enabling better integration between a respirator and the hood of a protective suit, reducing the possibility for the ingress of toxic gas or liquid by pressing the seal into contours on the respirator where gaps had existed previously.

In a preferred form the material is chloro-butyl rubber or equivalent. Furthermore, the seal should be a one-piece annular or frusto-conical shape joined with a face portion of a hood of a protective suit.

In a preferred form the contour portion of the seal is moulded integrally and, to facilitate conformance with the respirator mask, includes a rib. Preferably there are two ribbed portions arranged symmetrically about the face seal. Furthermore, the rib preferably spans an inwardly projecting (convex) depression in the surface of the seal. In one form the depression corresponds to a cheek portion of the respirator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a front elevation view of a face seal according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective frontal side view, Figure 3 is a section view along the line B-B from Figure 1. Figure 4 is a rear perspective view, and Figure 5 is a pictorial view of a respirator in conjunction with a face seal. ODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Figure 1 shows a frontal view of a face seal 10 according to the present invention as would be sewn or otherwise bonded to a hood portion of a protective suit (an approximate location at an edge of the seal where a seam may be formed with a hood is denoted S) . The face seal is roughly a frusto-conical shape (as best seen by Figure 2) with an opening 11 through which a face/respirator would partially protrude when in use.

In the preferred embodiment, seal 10 is moulded from a single piece of chloro-butyl rubber such that it has adequate resilience (both in terms of an elastic nature and barrier to penetration of CBRN threats) .

Opening 11 is sized/shaped to best fit a respirator mask which will cause the seal to stretch thereabout. The face seal has two peeks 15 (at a "forehead" portion of the face seal) and 16

(at a "chin" portion of the face seal) to improve sealing. The area of concern for sealing against most respirators is a cheek portion 12 where a gap tends to form (see Figure 5) and, thus, this part includes modifications to improve sealing, integral with the seal moulding.

In the preferred form, cheek 12 includes a contour portion 13 that appears as a depression (best visible in Figure 3) , convexly facing into where the cheek section of a respirator would be situated. Across this convex or inward projection (the nature of which is best seen in Figure 1) spans one or more ribs 14. In the illustrated embodiment, ribs 14 are substantially parallel with the adjacent edges of the opening 11, which generally is narrower toward the "chin" portion 16 and wider at the "forehead" portion 15. However, alternative embodiments ^'could have a thickened portion at the cheek area to achieve the inward projection. Principally, ribs/thickness lend support and strength to the inward projection so it maintains a specific shape for integration with a mask by pressing the seal material against the mask where gaps had previously been found in the prior art.

As shown in the Figures 1 to 4, there are two ribs 14 per cheek portion 12 joined or merged at their respective ends and widest apart at a midpoint to have a "lip-like" appearance. Viewed longitudinally from the side (generally seen best in Figure 1) , each rib is thickest at the middle (line B-B) and tapered at each end to provide a contour.

Ribs 14 provide a structural rigidity to the depression. 13 that, in turn, keeps the shape of an inward projection that conforms to a cheek area of a respirator where a gap could otherwise form that may permit contaminated air/liquid into the suit .

Figure 5 is a general pictorial view of the type of respirator R to be used with the present invention. A preferred type is either an M98 (single visor type respirator supplied by Scott- Tyco Ltd) or FM12 (binocular lens type respirator supplied by Avon Rubber pic) . Accordingly, the dimensions of the depression 13 and rib construction may be varied if a significantly different mask were employed. Figure 5 does not illustrate the inclusion of ribs 14, but shows where a gap G could otherwise have formed. The hood H is also clearly seen.

Seal 10 is bonded with hood H at join J by suitable techniques and a high level of quality control. This includes a sewing step and then sealing over the stitching with a suitable sealing tape (e.g. as supplied by Ardmel Automation Ltd) .

By way of example, the face seal 10 illustrated is 0.65mm thick chloro-butyl over its substantive surface, the ribs 14 are each 4mm thick with a depth (and approximate convex projection depth as seen in Figure 1) of approximately 16mm. The longitudinal length of ribs 14 where they taper out is approximately 80mm.

It will be appreciated that some variation to the specification of the integral construction of the face seal will still fall within the scope of the present invention, particularly when adapting to alternative respirators. Modifications to the configurations of ribs and projections may also take place. For example, alternative respirators may require modifications to areas of the seal other than cheeks 12.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The one-piece seal may be formed by known rubber moulding techniques.

Claims

1. A face seal for use with a protective suit comprised of a resilient material, with an opening therethrough to, in use, receive at least part of a respirator mask, and including a contour portion to conform with part of said respirator mask.

2. The face seal according to Claim 1 wherein the material is chloro-butyl rubber.

3. The face seal according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein the contour portion is inwardly projecting or convex.

4. The face seal according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the contour portion is situated at a "cheek" area of the face seal .

5. The face seal according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the contour portion includes a rib or plurality of ribs .

6. The face seal according to claim 5 wherein the rib(s) is thickest at a middle point and tapered at each end.

7. The face seal according to any one of Claims 5 or 6 wherein the rib(s) span a depression projecting inwardly at the contour portion.

The face seal according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the face seal is a one-piece annular or frusto-conical shape.

9. The face seal according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein a peripheral edge is adapted to be stitched or otherwise adhered to a hood of a protective suit.

10. The face seal according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein two contour portions are arranged symmetrically on sides of the face seal.

11. The face seal according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein a peak is provided at a "forehead" area of the face seal.

12. The face seal according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein a peak is provided at a "chin" area of the face seal.