DE29505761U1 - Low temperature protective clothing - Google Patents

Description

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K41 253/5

Low temperature protective clothing

The invention relates to low-temperature protective clothing in the form of body, head or hand clothing.

Protective clothing worn in low temperature environments must provide sufficient warmth to the body or the part of the body covered by the protective clothing of the person wearing such protective clothing. Winter coats, winter jackets, ski and mountain clothing, winter shoes, mountain boots, gloves, winter headgear, etc. are therefore usually lined with a warm lining.

Such protective clothing is usually also supposed to be waterproof. For this purpose, waterproof outer material can be used for such protective clothing in the usual way, which is provided with a rubber or plastic layer, for example, but which is not permeable to water vapor and thus not breathable. The lining with which the inside of the outer material of this protective clothing is lined has a heat-insulating effect due to its ability to store air. Sweat moisture can condense into condensation on the inside of the outer material, particularly at very low ambient temperatures, due to the high temperature gradient that occurs between the outside of the lining and the inside of the lining. The lining can then absorb condensation and become wet. The condensation can therefore get back to the body, which greatly reduces the comfort of the protective clothing. This is particularly the case in areas of the protective clothing that can be pressed when worn, such as the elbow area, shoulder area, and knee area. This type of pressure can lead to the lining being soaked with condensation being squeezed out like a sponge, and can therefore lead to particularly heavy wetting of the body at such pressure points.

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Protective clothing is also known that is waterproof without preventing the breathability of such protective clothing, i.e. without preventing the removal of sweat moisture from the body or body part covered by the protective clothing. For this purpose, such protective clothing uses an air-permeable outer material that is also water-permeable, and on the inside of the outer material not only an air-retaining and thus heat-insulating lining is arranged, but also a waterproof, water-vapor-permeable functional layer. If the functional layer is on the inside of the lining on the body side, the lining can absorb water when water penetrates through the outer material, which displaces the air stored in the lining and impairs the thermal insulation capacity of the lining. If the functional layer is on the outside of the lining on the outer material side, no water that has penetrated through the outer material can reach the lining. Particularly at very low ambient temperatures and the resulting high temperature gradient between the outside and inside of the lining, sweat can condense on the inside of the functional layer to form condensate. The lining can then soak up condensate again. This condensate can get back into the body, which in turn greatly reduces the comfort of the protective clothing. And because of the sponge effect mentioned above, this has a particularly strong effect on parts of the protective clothing that are exposed to increased pressure.

The invention provides protective clothing that overcomes such problems.

Low-temperature protective clothing according to the invention is at least partially lined with a thermal insulation lining which is constructed with an open-pored air storage material which is provided with a waterproof, water vapor-permeable functional layer on its inside facing the body.

Regardless of whether it is non-breathable protective clothing with a water vapor-impermeable outer material or breathable protective clothing with a water vapor-permeable outer material, the functional layer on the inside of the lining prevents condensation absorbed by the air storage material of the lining from reaching the body.

If the protective clothing has an air- and water-permeable outer material, the invention provides that a waterproof, water vapor-permeable functional layer is provided on both sides of the air storage material.

In this case, the outer functional layer prevents water that has penetrated the outer material from the outside from penetrating the lining, while the inner functional layer prevents condensation, which has soaked up the air storage material of the lining, from flowing back to the body.

In particularly preferred embodiments of the invention, the air storage material is constructed with open-pored plastic foam or with felt, in particular a felt in the form of a polyester nonwoven fabric. A compression-resistant air storage material is particularly advantageous, as it retains its air storage volume and thus its thermal insulation capacity essentially unchanged even when pressure is exerted on the protective clothing or areas thereof.

Materials suitable for the functional layer include microporous expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as described in U.S. Patents 3,953,566 and 4,187,390; expanded PTFE provided with hydrophilic impregnating agents and/or layers as described in U.S. Patent 4,194,041; breathable polyurethane layers; or elastomers such as copolyetheresters and their laminates as described in U.S. Patents 4,725,481 and 4,493,870.

-A-

The air storage material and the functional layer can be part of an insulating laminate that has the waterproof, water vapor permeable functional layer on the inside facing the body, an air storage material layer on the outside of the functional layer facing away from the body, and a textile lining material layer on the outside of the air storage material layer facing away from the functional layer.

For protective clothing with a waterproof outer material, the use of one layer of this laminate is sufficient. Breathable protective clothing with a water-permeable outer material can either be equipped with a double layer of such a laminate in order to provide both an outer functional layer, formed by the functional layer of the outer laminate layer, and an inner functional layer, formed by the functional layer of the inner laminate layer. For breathable protective clothing, however, one layer of a laminate with an outer functional layer on the outside of the air storage material layer and an inner functional layer on the inside of the same air storage material layer can also be used.

The protective clothing according to the invention can be a
jacket, coat, trousers or overalls, footwear or gloves. The term protective clothing should therefore include all of these items of clothing, including gloves and footwear.

Further embodiments of the protective clothing according to the invention are apparent from the appended claims.

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The invention will now be explained in more detail using embodiments. The drawings show:

Figure 1 is a schematic, not to scale sectional view

a partial part of a protective clothing constructed according to the invention with a double layer of a laminate of a first laminate embodiment; and

Figure 2 is a schematic, not to scale, sectional view

a partial part of a protective clothing constructed according to the invention with a single layer of a laminate of a second laminate embodiment.

Figure 1 shows a partial sectional view of a protective garment, which is constructed with an outer material 19 and a lining material 21 lining the outer material 19. According to the invention, the lining material is constructed with an open-pored air storage material, which is provided with a waterproof, water vapor-permeable functional layer at least on its inner side facing the body.

The lining material 21 is formed by two layers of a laminate 23, which, viewed from the outside of the protective clothing item towards the inside of the protective clothing item, i.e. from left to right in Figure 1, has the following laminate layers:

a lining material layer 25, preferably in the form of a textile lining knit;

an air storage layer 27, which is preferably formed by a compression-resistant felt material;

a waterproof, water vapor permeable functional layer 29; and

a protective layer 31, preferably in the form of warp knit fabric, to protect the functional layer 29 on its side remote from the air storage layer 27.

The orientation of the two laminate layers 23 could also be opposite. In this case, the protective layer 31 of each laminate layer 23 would point towards the upper material 19 and the lining material layer 25 would point away from the upper material 19.

For both orientation variants of the laminate double layer 23,23, one of the two air storage layers 27 has a functional layer arranged on each side of it. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, this is the air storage layer 27 of the laminate layer 23 facing away from the upper material 19. If water gets through the upper material layer 19 to the laminate double layer from the outside, it can penetrate into the air storage layer 27 of the outer laminate layer 23 facing the upper material 19, but is prevented from penetrating the air storage layer 27 of the inner laminate layer (23) by the functional layer 29 of the outer laminate layer 23. If sweat from the body condenses on the inside of the functional layer 29 of the outer laminate layer 23, the resulting sweat is kept away from the body by the functional layer 29 of the inner laminate layer 23.

For the inner laminate layer 23, the orientation shown in Fig. 1 is preferred. With the opposite orientation, the lining material layer 25 and the air storage layer 27 of the inner laminate layer would face the body, i.e. layers that could absorb condensation if condensation moisture condenses on the functional layer 29, which then faces the outside of the inner laminate layer 23.

A combination in which the inner laminate layer 23 has the orientation shown in Fig. 1, while the outer laminate layer 23 has an orientation opposite to that shown in Fig. 1 is also advantageous. In this case, the air storage layers 27 of both laminate layers 23 are protected from air penetrating through the upper material 19.

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Water is protected, but the body is completely protected from contact with an air storage layer 27 filled with condensation.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the outer material 19 of the protective clothing item is lined with a single laminate 33 which has the same layers 25, 27, 29 and 31 in the same order and orientation as are present in the laminate layers 23 in Figure 1, but in which a second functional layer 35 is additionally arranged between the lining material layer 25 and the air storage layer 27. The outer functional layer 35 protects the air storage layer 27 from water penetrating through the outer material 19, while the inner functional layer 29 protects the body from condensation on the outer functional layer 35 and penetrating the air storage layer 27.

The protective clothing according to the invention can therefore be breathable and nevertheless protect against water penetrating from the outside as well as against condensed sweat, which is particularly important for clothing, shoes etc. that are worn at quite low ambient temperatures, because at such low ambient temperatures the tendency of the sweat moisture to condense is particularly high due to the then high temperature gradient from the inside of the air storage layer 27 to its outside.

In the following, preferred materials for individual components of the insulating materials for the protective clothing according to the invention are specified.

1) Air storage material 27:
compression-resistant felt: polyester nonwoven fabric;

or: porous sintered polyethylene ("Poroplast") instead of

or in addition to the compression-resistant felt;
or: open- or closed-pore plastic foam.

2) Lining material layer 25:

Knitted fabric with a content of 72 percent polyamide and 28 percent polyester.

3) Functional layer 29 and 33:

microporous polytetrafluoroethylene ("GORETEX").

4) Protective layer 31:

Polyamide knitted fabric.

The materials listed above represent only a preferred selection of possible materials.

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Claims (15)

EXPECTATIONS 1. Low-temperature protective clothing which is at least partially lined with a thermal insulation lining (21) which is constructed with an open-pored air storage material (27) which is covered on its inner side facing the body with a waterproof, water vapor permeable functional layer (29). can be seen. 2. Protective clothing according to claim 1, with an air and water permeable outer material, characterized, that the air storage material (27) is also provided with a waterproof, water vapor permeable functional layer (33) on its outer side facing away from the body. 3. Protective clothing according to claim 1 or 2, characterized, that the air storage material (27) is constructed with open-pored plastic foam. 4. Protective clothing according to claim 1 or 2, characterized , that the air storage material (27) is constructed with felt. 5. Protective clothing according to claim 4,
characterized, that the felt is made of a polyester nonwoven fabric. 6. Protective clothing according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the functional layer (29, 33) is made of microporous polytetra fluoroethylene. .*· &idgr; it &Ggr;*: · 7. Protective clothing according to one of claims 1 or 3 to 6,
characterized, that the air storage material (27) and the functional layer (29) are part of an insulating laminate (23) which has the waterproof, water vapor permeable functional layer (29) on the inside facing the body, an air storage material layer (27) on the outside of the functional layer (29) facing away from the body, and a textile lining material layer (25). 8. Protective clothing according to one of claims 2 to 7,
characterized, that they are at least partially covered with a double layer of insulating laminates (23) which has a waterproof, water vapor permeable functional layer (29) on the inside facing the body, an air storage material layer (27) on the outside of the functional layer (29) facing away from the body and on the outside of the functional layer (29) the air storage material layer (27) facing away from the material has a textile lining material layer (25). 9. Protective clothing according to one of claims 2 to 6,
characterized, that the air storage material and the functional layers are part of an insulating laminate (33) which has a waterproof, water vapor-permeable outer functional layer (35) on the outside facing away from the body, and an air storage material on the inside of the outer functional layer (35) facing the body layer (27), on the side of the air storage material layer (27) facing away from the outer functional layer (35) there is an inner functional layer (29) and on the outside of the outer functional layer (35) there is a textile lining layer (25). 10. Protective clothing according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the functional layer (29) or at least the inner functional layer (29) of the insulating laminate (33) has a textile protective layer (31) on the surface facing the body. 11. Protective clothing according to one of claims 7 to 10,
characterized, that the textile lining material layer (25) consists of a knitted fabric made of polyamide and polyester. 12. Protective clothing according to one of claims 1 to 11,
characterized, that the air storage material (27) is compression-resistant, such that at compression pressures such as those occurring at normal use of protective clothing, its air storage volume is essentially maintained. 13. Protective clothing according to one of claims 1 to 12 in the form of a jacket, coat, trouser or overall-like garment. 14. Protective clothing according to one of claims 1 to 12 in the form of headwear. 15. Protective clothing according to one of claims 1 to 12 in the form of gloves.