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Two-piece protective suit for hazardous environmentsRelated Patent Categories: Apparel, Guard Or Protector, Body CoverTwo-piece protective suit for hazardous environments description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070017008, Two-piece protective suit for hazardous environments. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/600,833, filed Aug. 12, 2004. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to protective clothing for use in hazardous environments, and in particular to protective suits for use in environments which not only may contain smoke, soot and heat from a fire but also harmful chemical and/or biological agents. [0004] 2. The Prior Art [0005] Protective clothing for use by first responders (EMS, fire and rescue personnel, hazmat and public health personnel, etc.) is commonly available. In order to meet the requirements of various mandated standards, such clothing is commonly in the form of coordinated coats and trousers which include a layer of material resistant to flames and a layer of breathable moisture barrier material to help keep the wearer dry. They also may contain a liner of a thermal material to protect the wearer from the heat of a fire. Such suits are easy to put on as the wearer can don the trousers first (possibly by stepping into them as the wearer steps into boots) and then put on the accompanying coat. However, such known two-piece suits have not been tailored to prevent ingress of environmental air together with particles (smoke and soot) or vapors (carbon monoxide, etc.) which may be contained therein, because exposure of a wearer's skin to these materials has not been considered hazardous (the wearer will be breathing using a face mask of an SCBA air supply apparatus). Thus, for example, although the coat will overlap the top of the trousers, a gap will be present therebetween through which contaminated air can pass upwardly into the interior of the coat. [0006] One-piece protective suits for use by workers dealing with radioactive or hazardous chemical or biological materials are known, these suits being made of impermeable materials and designed to extend around the feet (and footwear), torso, arms and head of a wearer so as to completely insulate the wear from the surrounding environment. However, such suits, if used in a hot environment near a fire, will quickly become very hot inside, and they are exceeding cumbersome to put on. One-piece suits of this type are not considered acceptable for use by people such as first responders who typically must don protective clothing in great haste and who may need to function in high temperature environments, i.e., near fires. [0007] A need exists for a two-piece protective suit which can be donned in the same way that protective suits can be donned currently but which is constructed to protect the wearer from hazardous environmental materials such as airborne smoke, soot, hazardous chemical and biological agents, as well as hazardous liquids, for a period of time sufficient to complete desired activities such as fire fighting and/or rescue operations. We have invented such a protective suit. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] Accordingly to this invention, a two-piece protective suit includes a coat and trousers, each of which includes an outer garment provided by an outer shell of flame-resistant material and an inner barrier layer lacated therein, the inner barrier layer being made of a breathable material that resists passage of moisture, hazardous chemical and/or biological agents, and liquids. The coat includes a bottom closure mechanism which, after the coat has been donned, can be manually activated to tighten the coat bottom toward the torso of a wearer and against the waist collar of the trousers of the suit to thereby inhibit entry of hazardous environmental materials upwardly into the coat. [0009] The coat also includes a hood and throat tab which can be manually deployed over the head and neck of a wearer and around a face mask of an SCBA apparatus worn by the wearer to thereby inhibit hazardous environmental materials from contacting the head and neck of a wearer or from passing downwardly into the closed coat through its neck opening. [0010] The coat of the two-piece protective suit also includes cuff closure means at the ends of its sleeves which can be manually activated to tighten the cuffs around the wearer's arm and onto gloves worn by the wearer to thereby inhibit entry of hazardous environmental materials upwardly into the sleeves. [0011] The trousers of the two-piece protective suit includes cuff closure means at the bottoms of its legs which can be manually activated to tighten the leg bottoms towards the wearer's legs and against boots worn by the wearer to thereby inhibit hazardous environmental materials entering upwardly into the legs of the trousers. [0012] In a preferred embodiment, each of the coat and the trousers can include a removable inner liner of a thermal material within the outer garment thereof. In one embodiment the lower portions of the legs of the removable inner liner of the trousers can be made of the same material as that of the inner barrier layer of the outer garment, and can include boot straps for placement inside of boots to facilitate donning of the trousers. [0013] The invention will be better understood by reference to the attached drawings, taken in conjunction with the following discussion. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0014] FIG. 1 is a front view of a protective coat of a two-piece protective suit according to a preferred embodiment of this invention, the coat being shown in a partly opened state and its front pouches partially broken away to show elements of its bottom closure mechanism, [0015] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the front of the coat of FIG. 1 as seen along line 2-2 therein, [0016] FIG. 3 is a front view of the coat of FIG. 1 when in a fully opened state, portions of its collar and inner side flaps being broken away to illustrate underlying elements, [0017] FIG. 4 is a front view of the removable thermal liner when in a fully opened state, [0018] FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the collar of the removable thermal liner of FIG. 4 as seen along line 5-5 therein, [0019] FIG. 6 is a front view of the outer garment of the coat of FIG. 1 when in a fully opened state, a portion of its protective liner being broken away to illustrate underlying elements, [0020] FIGS. 6a, 6b, 6c and 6 show plan views of the back, front (right and left) and upper and lower sleeve, patterns for the outer shell of FIG. 1, Continue reading about Two-piece protective suit for hazardous environments... Full patent description for Two-piece protective suit for hazardous environments Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Two-piece protective suit for hazardous environments 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. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Two-piece protective suit for hazardous environments or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Device for covering the eyes Next Patent Application: Disposable urine bag Industry Class: Apparel ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Two-piece protective suit for hazardous environments patent info. 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