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  Apparel with telescoping sleevesUSPTO Application #: 20060107437Title: Apparel with telescoping sleeves Abstract: An extensible sleeve having a first sleeve portion and a second sleeve portion is provided. The extensible sleeve is adapted to be used in a protective garment. A plurality of creases are disposed along one of the sleeve portions forming pleats. The other sleeve portion is placed internal and coincident to the first and the pleats are affixed to an outer surface of this internal sleeve portion. Pulling upon the sleeve portion would cause a partial to a total unfolding of at least one pleat resulting in a lengthening of the sleeve. The pleats may also prove useful in retaining a glove upon the sleeve. (end of abstract) Agent: Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc. - Neenah, WI, US Inventor: Henry L. Griesbach USPTO Applicaton #: 20060107437 - Class: 002114000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Apparel, Body Garments, Vests, Bed Garments The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060107437. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to user adjustable protective apparel or garments. More specifically, an adjustable protective garment is disclosed capable of providing some protection for an individual in a hazardous environment while permitting easy size adjustability. Protective apparel or garments, such as coveralls and gowns, designed to provide barrier protection to a wearer are well known in the art. Such protective garments are used in situations where isolation of a wearer from a particular environment is desirable, or it is desirable to inhibit or retard the passage of hazardous liquids and biological contaminates through the garment to the wearer. [0002] For example, in the medical and health-care industry, particularly with surgical procedures, a primary concern is isolation of the medical practitioner from patient fluids such as blood, saliva, perspiration, etc. Protective garments rely on the barrier properties of the fabrics used in the garments, and on the construction and design of the garment. Openings or seams in the garments may be unsatisfactory, especially if the seams or openings are located in positions where they may be subjected to stress and/or direct contact with the hazardous substances. [0003] Originally, surgical gowns were made of linen, the gowns being sterilized prior to use in the operating room. Linen gowns were not capable of preventing "strikethrough" of various liquids encountered during surgical procedures. As a result, the wearer's clothes came into contact with blood and the like, and a path was established for the transmission of bacteria to and from the wearer of the gown. Additionally, linen gowns, due to their high cost, had to be used a number of times, thus necessitating laundering and sterilization between successive uses. [0004] In an attempt to reduce strike-through of liquids and to eliminate the need for repeated laundering and sterilization, disposable gowns were made from fluid repellent nonwoven fabrics. These gowns reduced liquid strike-through for a limited time. However, due to the generally inextensible nature of these nonwoven fabric constructions, they tend to have less ability to conform to the body than the previously used linens or knits. So, in order to accommodate a range of body shapes, the sleeves as well as the chest region of the nonwoven gown are typically designed to be loose fitting so as to minimize the undesirable possibility that the gown may be too tight in some area or areas. [0005] Conversely, a wearer having body dimensions smaller than the maximum size contemplated by the garment can encounter areas or regions of the gown or sleeve that hang or are caused to hang loosely. This phenomenon is known as "blousing". Unfortunately blousing often occurs in or at regions which may be undesirable for the intended use of the gown. Such areas often include the interface area between sleeves and gloves, another, at the chest area. While it is typically known in the art to incorporate pleats into a garment in order to reduce blousing, solutions that maintain pre-determined folds oriented in a flat relationship with respect to the body, particularly in the chest area and sleeve, are not known in the manner described herein. Such solutions involving folds would be conformable, allow adjustability of the gown in order to accommodate different wearer body shapes and sizes, and may be useful in providing additional benefits such as collection of fluids as specified in this disclosure. [0006] When blousing occurs at the interface between the sleeve and glove, the folds often involve longitudinal orientations with respect to the arm. This results in a problem known as "channeling". That is, the sleeve of the gown is bunched up under the glove as a result of pulling and rolling the glove up over the cuff and sleeve so that channels may develop along the wearer's wrist. These channels may become accessible to fluids. Such fluids may enter these channels and run along the channels between the outer surface of the gown and the inner surface of the surgical glove. The fluids may then contaminate the gown cuff, which lies directly against the wearer's wrist or forearm, particularly if the cuff is absorbent or fluid pervious, or the wearer's skin directly. [0007] Thus, a need exists for an improved device and method for enabling adjustability of a gown by the end user that assists in the minimization of fluid passage across the interface between a glove and sleeve of a protective garment. Such a device would be capable of being easily incorporated into the protective garment and would also be economically cost effective to implement and practice. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention. [0009] The present invention provides an adjustable protective garment adapted to provide barrier protection to an individual. Such a garment is capable of conforming to various body shapes and sizes by providing a specific, identifiable pleated region or regions that allow for the adjustability of the garment. Additionally, the garment may incorporate an effective and economical mechanism for minimizing channeling and for improving the interface area between the sleeves of the garment and a glove pulled over the sleeves. Such an improvement may be adapted to inhibit the cuff end of a glove from rolling or sliding back down the garment sleeves once the wearer has pulled the gloves on. In this way, the garment according to the invention addresses the disadvantages of conventional garments discussed above. [0010] It should be appreciated that, although the present invention has particular usefulness as a surgical gown, the invention is not limited in scope to surgical gowns or the medical industry. The protective garment according to the present invention has wide application and can be used in any instance wherein a protective coverall, gown, robe, etc., is used with gloves or without gloves. All such uses and garments are contemplated within the scope of the invention. [0011] In an embodiment of the invention, a protective garment is provided having a garment body. The garment may be, for example, a surgical gown, a protective coverall, etc. The garment body includes sleeves, each sleeve possessing a sleeve portion that may terminate in a cuff disposed at the distal end of the sleeve. The sleeve cuffs may be formed from or include an elastic material, and may be liquid retentive or liquid impervious. [0012] In a broad aspect of the invention, radial pleats are axially disposed upon the sleeve portion and maintained in a flat relationship relative to the sleeve's outer surface. That is, each pleat is uniformly folded around the central axis of the sleeve or sleeve portion, and the pleats are contiguously disposed upon the sleeve portion so that the folds of the pleats are parallel to each other and nonintersecting. The pleats themselves may be created by making successive folds in the axial direction in an outer layer of a sleeve in order to form an accordion-like arrangement. The pleat arrangement is maintained in a flat relationship with respect to the sleeve surface by appropriately attaching regions of the pleats to a second, inner layer of material having extensible properties. This other layer may be made of an extensible or a reversibly extensible material so that in a stretched or extended state, the pleats are at least partially unfolded, and in a relaxed state the pleats refold. [0013] To address the issue of channeling, the pleats may be situated on the garment sleeve so that the circumferential arrangement of each of the successive pleats along the sleeve may be used to form a barrier to the flow of liquid on the sleeve. Arranging the pleats such that each of the radial folds is directed toward the wearer's shoulder, that is, away from the wearer's hands, will have a tendency to cause liquids to be trapped in the folds of the pleats. Additionally, conventional surgical gloves and other types of stretchable protective gloves often have a thickened portion or "bead" at the glove cuff itself. The present invention takes advantage of this feature by providing the bead with a surface to catch upon or otherwise form a more secure seat. That surface is the pleat or the series of successive pleats on the gown sleeve. The pleats may act as a stop against which the bead of the glove contacts should it start to slide or roll down the garment sleeve, thus inhibiting further movement of the glove on the sleeve. [0014] Moreover, in one particular embodiment a radially telescoping sleeve section is provided. The sleeve section has a first and a second sleeve portion. The first sleeve portion has a length and a plurality of pleats radially oriented along the length with each pleat spaced apart a distance from the next along the length. Each pleat would also have a first and a second radial crease. The first radial crease is a reverse fold of the second radial crease. The second sleeve portion also has a length and is axially extensible along its length. The second sleeve portion is attached to the first sleeve portion at a plurality of the first radial creases such that the pleats are in a folded condition when the second sleeve portion is in a nonextended state. The pleats are in a partially to fully unfolded condition when the second sleeve portion is in an extended state. Additionally, the second sleeve portion may be made to be elastically extensible. [0015] In an additional embodiment, each pleat has a first side and a second side which are disposed upon opposite sides of each pleat's second radial crease. The sides terminate at adjacent first radial creases. One side of each pleat may be of greater length than the other side. Each pleat may be oriented such that the second radial diameter of each pleat is biased in a first direction. Each pleat may also have one of the first radial creases and one of the second radial creases configured such that a leading side is considered to lie between the first and second radial crease, and a trailing side is considered to lie between the second radial crease and the first radial crease of a successive pleat. In these embodiments, the leading side may be of greater length than the trailing side. The leading side may be oriented toward a distal end of the sleeve with respect to its corresponding trailing side. [0016] In a further embodiment, it may be desirable to incorporate the sleeve section into a garment sleeve. It may also be desirable incorporate the sleeve section into a surgical gown. Moreover, the pleats may be arranged such that liquid is captured within the creases forming the pleats. [0017] In another aspect, the invention provides an extensible sleeve made of a first material having a length. This material may be formed into a first generally cylindrical sleeve portion. A plurality of creases may be disposed incrementally one from the next perpendicularly spaced along the sleeve portion, these creases being a first set of radial folds and a second set of radial folds. The folds alternating between the first and second set and disposed along the material form a plurality of pleats in the first sleeve portion. A second material is also formed into a generally cylindrical sleeve portion. The second sleeve portion is placed coincident to the first sleeve portion. A portion of the first set of radial folds may be affixed to an outer surface of the second sleeve portion. In such a sleeve each first radial crease may be folded such that it is situated internally to the first sleeve portion and the application of a pulling force upon the second sleeve portion would cause a partial to a total unfolding of at least one pleat resulting in a lengthening of the sleeve. [0018] Additional features of the embodiments may include the second sleeve portion being elastically extensible; the addition of an absorbent material placed proximate to at least some of the first radial creases within the pleats; the sleeve being capable of retaining a glove thereon; and such a sleeve being incorporated into a surgical gown. [0019] Embodiments of the protective garment according to the invention are described below in greater detail with reference to the appended figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0020] FIG. 1 is a side cutaway view of an embodiment of a sleeve according to the present invention; [0021] FIG. 2 is a perspective view depicting the pleats of the FIG. 1 embodiment; Continue reading... Full patent description for Apparel with telescoping sleeves Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Apparel with telescoping sleeves patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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