FIREFIGHTER PROTECTIVE GARMENT HAVING A THERMAL BARRIER WITH SPACERS TO INCREASE DISSIPATION OF METABOLIC HEAT

Abstract

A firefighter's protective garment including an outer shell, moisture barrier and thermal barrier in which the thermal barrier is constructed with spacers on its inner surface such that air can circulate between the garment and the firefighter wearing it. The garment redistributes metabolic heat over a larger surface area, and increases metabolic cooling and firefighter comfort. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the spacers are strategically attached to those areas of the thermal barrier which find themselves opposite those parts of the human body having the highest rates of perspiration and metabolic heat transfer.

Claims

1. A firefighter garment comprising: an outer shell; a moisture barrier; and a thermal barrier, wherein spacer elements are affixed to an innermost layer of the garment closest to a body of the firefighter.

2. The firefighter garment according to claim 1, wherein said spacer elements are placed in locations corresponding to bodily areas of high rates of perspiration and metabolic heat transfer.

3. The firefighter garment according to claim 1, wherein said spacer elements are made of perforated, closed-cell foam.

4. The firefighter garment according to claim 1, wherein said spacer elements are made of fire-resistant fabric or non-woven material.

5. The firefighter garment according to claim 1, wherein said spacer elements are permeable to air, water vapor and liquid water.

6. The firefighter garment according to claim 1, wherein said spacer elements are attached to at least one of either the innermost layer of the garment or pants' suspenders.

7. The firefighter garment according to claim 1, wherein said spacer elements are attached to at least one of either a facecloth of the innermost layer of the garment or pants' suspenders.

8. The firefighter garment according to claim 1, wherein said spacer elements are covered by a fire-resistant mesh fabric.

9. The firefighter garment according to claim 1, wherein said spacer elements are covered by a breathable, fire-resistant fabric.

10. The firefighter garment according to claim 1, wherein said spacer elements meet performance requirements of a NFPA 1971 standard.

11. A firefighter garment comprising: an inner portion facing and closest to a body of a firefighter; and a spacer assembly supporting a plurality of spaced-apart spacer elements wherein the spacer assembly is affixable to the inner portion to the garment.

12. The firefighter garment according to claim 11, wherein the garment comprises suspenders, and wherein the spacer assembly is integrated to the suspenders.

13. The firefighter garment according to claim 11, wherein the spacer assembly is removably affixable to the inner portion of the garment.

14. The firefighter garment according to claim 11, wherein the spacer assembly comprises a rigid frame assembly forming an empty shell.

15. A spacer assembly comprising: a support assembly; and a plurality of spacer elements affixed to the support assembly, wherein the support assembly is attachable to a firefighter garment.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a firefighter garment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a front schematic view of a liner of a prior art garment.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a front schematic view of a liner with spacer elements installed thereon according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a front schematic view of the liner of FIG. 3 with a mesh installed thereon.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a body illustrating body heat loss zones due to perspiration.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a body illustrating how a garment according to an embodiment of the present invention can increase heat loss in areas of the body.

[0030] FIG. 7 is a front schematic view of a configuration of spacer elements for a garment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a spacer element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the spacer element shown in FIG. 8 installed on a garment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] FIG. 10 is a detailed view of the spacer element shown in FIG. 9.

[0034] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a firefighter garment according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] FIGS. 12a and 12b are side and perspective views respectively of a firefighter garment according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] FIG. 13 is a front view of a spacer assembly in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] In the following description, the same numerical references refer to similar elements. Furthermore, for the sake of simplicity and clarity, namely so as to not unduly burden the figures with several references numbers, not all figures contain references to all the components and features, and references to some components and features may be found in only one figure, and components and features of the present invention illustrated in other figures can be easily inferred therefrom. The embodiments, geometrical configurations, materials mentioned and/or dimensions shown in the figures are optional, and are given for exemplification purposes only.

[0038] Furthermore, although the present invention may be used with various objects, such as firefighter garments, for example, it is understood that it may be used with other types of garments or articles of clothing. For this reason, expressions such as garments, etc. as used herein should not be taken as to limit the scope of the present invention to these garments in particular. These expressions encompass all other kinds of materials, objects and/or purposes with which the present invention could be used and may be useful, as can be easily understood.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 1, there is provided a firefighter garment 10 including an outer shell 12, a moisture barrier 14, and a thermal barrier 16. Spacer elements 18 are affixed to an innermost layer of the garment, such as a side of the thermal barrier 16, closest to a body of the firefighter. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a ventilated back of a garment, where a plurality of spacer elements 18, made of closed cell foam attached to a thermal barrier 16 or liner, are covered with a mesh 22. The spacer elements are positioned and shaped to create a series of channels where air and evaporated perspiration can flow.

[0040] FIG. 3 illustrates a regular garment thermal barrier 16 or liner. FIG. 4 shows an example where spacer elements 18 are installed on the liner.

[0041] In some implementations, as better shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the spacer elements 18 are placed in locations corresponding to areas of the body 20 of high rates of perspiration and metabolic heat transfer. FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a body illustrating body heat loss zones due to perspiration. FIG. 6 thus illustrates how the garment according to the present invention, can form air channels and therefore increase the flow of heat loss from the body.

[0042] In some implementations, the spacer elements 18 are sized and positioned to form channels 26 that can protect a user's spine from the pressure of SBCA frame supports. Moreover, extra padding can be provided by positioning padding spacer elements 28 at the level of the SBCA support belt.

[0043] In some implementations, as better shown in FIG. 8, the spacer elements 18 are made of perforated, closed-cell foam. In some implementations, the perforations 30 are in size and help provide breathability and comfort to the user.

[0044] In some implementations, the spacer elements 18 are made of fire-resistant fabric or non-woven material.

[0045] In some implementations, the spacer elements 18 are permeable to air, water vapor and liquid water.

[0046] In some implementations, as better shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the spacer elements 18 are sewn to the thermal barrier 16, preferably to the facecloth of the thermal barrier 16.

[0047] In some implementations, the spacer elements 18 are covered by a fire-resistant mesh fabric 22.

[0048] In some implementations, the spacer elements 18 are covered by a thin, breathable, fire-resistant fabric.

[0049] In some implementations, the spacer elements 18 meet all thermal performance requirements of a NFPA 1971 standard.

[0050] In some implementations, the spacer elements 18 are shaped and positioned such that results of THL testing as performed according to a NFPA 1971 test method are unaffected.

[0051] According to the present invention, as better shown in FIG. 11, there is also provided a firefighter garment 50 including an inner portion 52 facing and closest to a body of a firefighter, and a spacer assembly 54 supporting a plurality of spaced-apart spacer elements 56. The spacer assembly 54 is affixable to the inner portion 52 to the garment 50. Once again, the spacer elements 56 can be positioned to form air channels and therefore increase the flow of heat loss from the body.

[0052] In some implementations, as shown in FIG. 11, the garment 50 comprises suspenders.

[0053] In some implementations, the spacer assembly 54 is removably affixable to the inner layer of the garment, in order to facilitate replacement or cleaning thereof.

[0054] In other implementations, the spacer assembly 54 is integrated to the suspenders.

[0055] In some implementations, as better shown in FIGS. 12a and 12b, the spacer assembly 54 comprises a rigid frame assembly 58 forming an empty shell. Therefore, in addition to forming air channels through the spacer elements 56, the spacer assembly, through the rigid frame, creates a zone of dead air that improves thermal protection. The rigid frame can further be formed as netting.

[0056] According to the present invention, as better seen in FIG. 13, there is also provided a spacer assembly 60 comprising a support assembly 62 and a plurality of spacer elements 64 affixed to the support assembly 62. The support assembly 62 is attachable to a firefighter garment. This spacer assembly 60 can thus be provided as a kit to be retrofitted, integrated or attached to a firefighter garment to provide the above-described advantages. The spacer assembly can include the above-described features of the spacer elements, and can be covered with a mesh. For example, the spacer assembly 60 as a kit can be affixed to the inner layer of a garment or to suspenders.

[0057] Of course, numerous modifications could be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.