Disposable Protective Suit with Pre-Adhesive Sealing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional personal protective suits for containment zones face issues such as improper use, poor airtightness, discomfort, restricted vision, and difficulty in single-user implementation, along with challenges in sealing and post-use treatment.

Innovation Solution

A single-use protective suit with a jacket, hood, and pants, featuring an adhesive tape with a removable non-stick strip for easy sealing around sleeves, legs, and hood openings, and a polyolefin-based adhesive tape for secure attachment to additional equipment, ensuring easy donning and comfortable wear while maintaining watertightness.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If adhesive tape is used to seal the joint between coverall and additional equipment, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but the amount of adhesive tape required increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesealing effectivenessVSAvoidamount of adhesive tape
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The adhesive tape is pre-applied to the suit in strategic locations (sleeve cuffs, trouser leg cuffs, and hood opening) during manufacturing, with protective strips covering the adhesive surfaces. This preliminary action eliminates the need for extensive tape application during use, reducing both the quantity of tape needed and the complexity of the sealing process while maintaining reliable seals at critical junctions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If adhesive tape is applied to ensure good seal, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but user freedom of movement is restricted due to discomfort

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesealing effectivenessVSAvoiduser freedom of movement
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Adhesive tape is applied only at specific critical locations where seals are necessary (sleeve cuffs, trouser leg cuffs, and hood opening) rather than covering the entire suit. This localized application maintains sealing effectiveness at junction points while leaving the rest of the suit flexible and comfortable, preserving user freedom of movement.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The suit is designed as a single-use disposable item with pre-applied adhesive tapes. After use, the entire suit including the adhesive tapes is discarded at waste treatment centers. This eliminates the need for repeated tape applications and adjustments, ensuring optimal sealing performance without compromising comfort during the limited service life of the suit.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Reliability

If a second person is used to assist donning and sealing, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but operational complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesealing effectivenessVSAvoidoperational complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The suit is designed with self-sealing capabilities through pre-applied adhesive tapes with protective strips that users can easily remove and apply themselves. The tapes are positioned and sized to be manageable by a single user, eliminating the need for a second person to assist with donning and sealing operations while maintaining reliable seals.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

4Reliability

If adhesive tape is used for sealing, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but ease of disposal is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesealing effectivenessVSAvoidease of disposal
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The suit is designed as a complete disposable unit with pre-applied adhesive tapes integrated during manufacturing. After single use in containment zones, the entire suit including all adhesive tapes is discarded as one unit at waste treatment centers. This approach maintains excellent sealing performance during use while simplifying disposal procedures, as no separate tape removal or cleaning steps are required.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The solution allows for easy, single-user implementation of the suit, providing comfort and effective sealing without restricting movement, while being designed for efficient disposal after use.

Implementation Method 1

the adhesive tape is, after removal of the anti-adhesive strip, affixed to the additional equipment worn by the user to ensure a seal between the latter and the suit

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectAdhesive: Adhesive

Implementation Method 2

a removable anti-adhesive strip covering said adhesive tape along its entire length and part of its width

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectAnti-adhesive coating: Adhesive

Data Source

PatentEP3923758B1Single-use personal protection suit
Publication Date: 2023.09.20 MONASSON ALAIN
  • EP3923758B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3923758B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3923758B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

The present invention relates to a single-use personal protection suit (1) comprising at least one jacket (2) provided with two sleeves (3) and a hood (4), trousers (5) comprising two legs (6) and being permanently attached to said jacket (2), and opening means (7), characterised in that the protection suit comprises sealing means (10) comprising an adhesive tape (11) and a removable non-stick strip (12) covering said adhesive tape (11) over the entire length thereof and over part of the width thereof, the part (13) not covered by said non-stick strip (12) enabling the sealing means (10) to be secured around each of the free ends (31, 61) of said sleeves (3) and legs (6), on the hood (4) along the opening (41) thereof and on the suit (1) along the opening means (7), and in that after removing the non-stick strip (12), the adhesive tape (11) is attached to the additional equipment worn by the user.