Chemical protective clothing

Abstract

To provide protective clothing that combines high shielding capabilities with good workability. [Solution] The protective suit 1 of the present invention comprises a main body 10 made of nonwoven fabric, an expandable and retractable part 20 provided on the waist of the back 12 of the main body 10 that can stretch along the waist, and a folded-over part 30 provided on the back 12 of the main body 10 above the expandable and retractable part 20, wherein the folded-over part 30 consists of a folded surface 31 formed by folding the lower part of the upper back of the main body 10 inward, an opposing surface 32 facing the folded-over surface 31, and two fixed edges 33 formed by overlapping and joining the side edges of the folded-over surface 31 and the side edges of the opposing surface 32.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to protective clothing, and particularly to protective clothing having high shielding properties and good workability.

Background Art

[0002] Protective clothing is used to shield workers from the external environment in environments where gaseous, liquid, or particulate harmful substances are handled, or in clean rooms for semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, etc. Among them, coverall-type protective clothing has high shielding properties because it covers the entire body and is adopted by many companies and research facilities. Among protective clothing, chemical protective clothing that protects workers from chemical substances is standardized by Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS). JIS T8115:2015 defines the classification of chemical protective clothing (Type 1: airtight suit, Type 2: positive pressure suit, Type 3: liquid-proof sealed suit, Type 4: spray-proof sealed suit, Type 5: sealed suit for protecting against floating solid dust, Type 6: sealed suit for protecting against mist), labeling, and performance requirements. Therefore, in workplaces where chemical substances are handled, it is required to use products certified by JIS standards or compliant products. Patent Document 1 discloses a chemical protective clothing including a main body, arm sleeves, and leggings, with the arm sleeves and leggings configured to be detachable from the main body. Patent Document 2 discloses a chemical protective clothing in which reinforcing materials are sewn at positions corresponding to the elbows, knees, and hips of the wearer, and the sewing locations of the reinforcing materials are sealed with a sealing material.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

[0004] Conventional protective clothing has a flat back surface, which can cause the fabric to become taut when the wearer leans forward or bends during work. Chemical protective clothing, in particular, often uses nonwoven fabrics that combine breathability and shielding properties, and because of the structure of the fabric, there are limits to its elasticity, making it prone to becoming taut. Therefore, freedom of movement is restricted, which may negatively impact work efficiency and safety. Furthermore, during prolonged work or complex movements, this stiffness can become a significant burden on the wearer, contributing to fatigue and stress. On the other hand, wearing a size that is too large for the wearer's body can reduce tightness, but the fabric will become loose and hinder movement, potentially causing accidents due to snagging during work, and there is a risk of chemicals accumulating in the folds and spreading.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide protective clothing that solves the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The protective suit of the present invention comprises a main body made of nonwoven fabric, an expandable portion provided on the lower back of the main body that can stretch along the waist, and a folded portion provided on the back of the main body above the expandable portion, wherein the folded portion consists of a folded surface formed by folding the lower part of the upper back of the main body inward, an opposing surface facing the folded surface, and two fixed edges formed by overlapping and joining the side edges of the folded surface and the side edges of the opposing surface.

[0007] The protective suit of the present invention has a three-layer structure in which the main body consists of a barrier layer made of nonwoven fabric and two reinforcing layers made of nonwoven fabric sandwiching both sides of the barrier layer, and the average pore diameter of the barrier layer may be smaller than the average pore diameter of the reinforcing layers.

[0008] The protective suit of the present invention may have the stretchable portion provided only on the back side of the main body.

[0009] The protective clothing of the present invention may have a folded-over surface height within the range of 50 mm to 100 mm. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] The protective suit of this invention ensures a comfortable fit to the body through the elastic waistband, while the folded-over section at the back expands vertically when the body bends forward, preventing the back from becoming too tight. This results in high workability and prevents damage caused by tension on the back fabric. As a result, it is possible to achieve both high shielding and good workability. Furthermore, the folded-over section opens and closes when bending forward, circulating the air inside the protective suit, refreshing the air and enhancing comfort. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] Diagram illustrating protective clothing according to the present invention [Figure 2A] Diagram explaining the folded-over section (1) [Figure 2B] Diagram explaining the folded-over section (2) [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] The protective clothing of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. [Examples]

[0013] <1> Protective clothing (Figure 1) Protective suit 1 is a coverall-type protective suit that covers the wearer from head to toe. In this example, protective suit 1 is described as a chemical protective suit as defined in JIS T8115:2015. However, the use of protective suit 1 is not limited to chemical protective suits; it may also be various types of work protective suits. The protective suit 1 comprises at least a main body 10, an elastic section 20, and a folded-over section 30. More specifically, the elastic section 20 is provided at the waist on the back 12 of the main body 10, and the folded-over section 30 is provided above the elastic section 20.

[0014] <2> Main body The main body part 10 is the main body structure of the protective clothing 1. The main body part 10 is made of non-woven fabric as a whole. In this example, the main body part 10 adopts a front-fastener structure including a hood, a front fastener, a fastener cover, a hood rubber, a cuff rubber, etc. However, the structure of the main body part 10 is not limited to the front-fastener structure, and an appropriate structure can be adopted according to the use of the protective clothing 1. In this example, as the fabric of the main body part 10, the polypropylene long fiber non-woven fabric "Split Top (registered trademark)" manufactured by Maeda Kogyo Co., Ltd. is adopted. The polypropylene long fiber non-woven fabric has excellent properties such as air permeability, water repellency, and chemical resistance, and functions such as antibacterial property, flame retardancy, and hydrophilicity can be added, so it is suitable as the material of the main body part. However, the main body part 10 is not limited to being made of polypropylene, and for example, polyolefins such as polyethylene, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid, polycarbonate, urethane, fluorine-based resins, and mixtures thereof can be adopted.

[0015] <2.1>Three-layer structure In this example, the main body part 10 is composed of a three-layer structure of a barrier layer 10a and two reinforcing layers 10b. The barrier layer 10a is a layer for shielding dust and mist. The reinforcing layer 10b is a layer for protecting the barrier layer 10a. The average pore diameter of the barrier layer 10a is smaller than that of the reinforcing layer 10b. In this example, by combining the barrier layer 10a with both air permeability and shielding property and the highly durable reinforcing layer 10b, the comfort of the wearer can be ensured, exposure to dust and mist can be prevented, and damage to the fabric due to abrasion and tension can be reduced. The three-layer main body 10 can be manufactured, for example, by the SMS manufacturing method in which the barrier layer 10a is formed by the melt blown method with a low density and flexibility, the reinforcing layer 10b is formed by the spunbond method with a high density and high durability against friction, and both sides of the barrier layer 10a are sandwiched between the reinforcing layers 10b and integrated by heating and pressing. In addition, it may be manufactured by manufacturing methods such as dry lamination, thermal lamination, extrusion lamination, needle punch manufacturing method, etc.

[0016] <3> Stretchable part The stretchable part 20 is a structure for ensuring the adhesion around the body of the main body 10. The stretchable part 20 is provided along the body circumference at the waist of the back surface 12 of the main body 10. In this example, as the stretchable part 20, a rubber shirring structure formed by sewing rubber into the fabric of the main body 10 is adopted. However, the stretchable part 20 is not limited to the rubber shirring structure, and may be a structure with a built-in rubber band, a gather structure, a stretch panel structure, etc. In the stretchable part 20, by supporting the fabric of the back surface 12 at the waist position, it is possible to prevent the folded part 30 from spreading downward due to the weight of the fabric and the back surface 12 from hanging downward.

[0017] <3.1> Arrangement of the stretchable part In this example, the stretchable part 20 is provided only on the back surface 12 of the main body 10. A protective clothing 1 has many operations of bending the body forward and few operations of arching the body backward due to its use. Therefore, there is little need to continue the stretchable part 20 to the front surface 11 side. On the other hand, if the stretchable part 20 is provided on the entire circumference of the body, not only will it be difficult to put on and take off the protective clothing 1, but there is also a possibility that the stretchable part 20 will get caught during work or chemical substances will accumulate in the unevenness of the stretchable part 20. For this reason, it is desirable that the stretchable part 20 is provided only on the back surface 12 of the protective clothing 1 and the front surface 11 side is kept flat.

[0018] <4> Folded part (Figs. 2A, 2B) The folded part 30 is a structure for ensuring the stretchability of the main body 10 in the height direction. The folded portion 30 is provided on the back surface 12 of the main body portion 10, above the extendable portion 20. The folded portion 30 comprises at least a folded surface 31, an opposing surface 32, and two fixed edges 33. The folded surface 31 is the surface facing the front 11 direction of the main body 10. The opposing surface 32 faces the back surface 12 of the main body 10 and is the surface that faces the folded surface 31. The fixed edge 33 is an edge portion that fixes both sides of the folded surface 31 and the opposing surface 32. The folded portion 30 can be formed, for example, by folding the lower part of the upper back panel of the main body 10 in an S-shape toward the front 11 to form a folded surface 31 and an opposing surface 32, and then overlapping and joining the side edges of the folded surface 31 and the side edges of the opposing surface 32. With this structure, the opening direction of the folded portion 30 is downward, thus eliminating the risk of liquid or solid chemical substances accumulating inside the folded portion 30. The size of the folded portion 30 can be set appropriately depending on the size and use of the protective suit 1, but from the standpoint of workability, the height of the folded surface 31 is preferably in the range of 30 mm to 120 mm, and even more preferably in the range of 50 mm to 100 mm.

[0019] <4.1> Function of the folded-over section When the wearer of the protective suit 1 is standing upright, the folded portion 30 has the folded surface 31 and the opposing surface 32 close together, maintaining a flat back surface 12. When the wearer of protective suit 1 bends forward, the back panel 12 is pulled vertically, and the folded-over panel 31 autonomously unfolds relative to the opposing panel 32. This prevents the back panel 12 from becoming stretched or torn. Furthermore, because protective clothing 1 covers the wearer's entire body, the humidity inside tends to rise and it can become stuffy. However, by opening and closing the folded-over surface 31, the air inside protective clothing 1 can be circulated, which is expected to refresh the internal environment. This allows for a comfortable wearing experience even during long hours of work. [Explanation of symbols]

[0020] 1 Protective clothing 10 Main body 10a Barrier layer 10b Reinforcement layer 11 Front 12 Back 20 Telescopic part 30 Folded section 31 Folded surface 32 Opposing surfaces 33 Fixed edge

Claims

1. A protective suit that can cover the wearer from head to toe, The main body is made of nonwoven fabric, The main body has an expandable section provided on the lower back that can stretch along the waist, The main body portion includes a folded portion provided above the telescopic portion on the back of the main body portion, The folded portion is characterized by comprising: a folded surface formed by folding the lower part of the upper back panel of the main body inward; an opposing surface facing the folded surface; and two fixed edges formed by overlapping and joining the side edges of the folded surface and the side edges of the opposing surface. Protective clothing.

2. The main body consists of a three-layer structure comprising a barrier layer made of nonwoven fabric and two reinforcing layers made of nonwoven fabric sandwiching both sides of the barrier layer. The barrier layer has an average pore diameter smaller than the reinforcing layer, characterized by: The protective suit according to claim 1.

3. The expandable portion is provided only on the rear side of the main body, The protective suit according to claim 1.

4. The height of the folded surface is characterized in to be within the range of 50 mm to 100 mm. The protective suit according to claim 1.

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