Two-piece protective suit for hazardous environments

Abstract

A two-piece protective suit for use in hazardous environments includes a coat and trousers each of which includes an outer garment and a removable liner, the outer garment including an outer shell made of a flame protective material and an inner layer of a material which is moisture resistant and resistant to the passage of hazardous chemical and/or biological agents and liquids, the coat including a bottom closure mechanism to tighten the bottom of the coat towards the waist of a wearer and inhibit hazardous material entry in the coat from below, left and right cuff closure mechanisms to tighten the left and right cuffs towards the left and right arms of a wearer and inhibit hazardous material entry into the left and right sleeves, and a hood and neck tab which are deployable over the head and neck of a wearer and over a face mask worn by the wearer to protect the head and neck of a wear from the hazardous materials and inhibit entry into the coat through its neck opening.

Description

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 w...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[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

Problems solved by technology

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 t

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