GB1579728A

GB1579728A - Protective clothing

Info

Publication number: GB1579728A
Application number: GB39231/76A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: N Greening Ltd
Current assignee: N Greening Ltd
Priority date: 1977-05-27
Filing date: 1977-05-27
Publication date: 1980-11-26

Description

(54) PROTECTIVE CLOTHING (71) We, N. GREENING LIMITED, a British Company of Brittania Works, Bewsey Road, Warrington, Cheshire WA5 5JX, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The invention relates to protective clothing, particularly clothing for the protection of animal trainers, dog handlers and the like.

According to the present invention there is provided protective clothing for the protection of animal trainers, dog handlers, and the like comprising, for use with a close-texture cloth outer cover, a resilient lining formed of knitted mesh corrugated, crimped or otherwise deformed to increase its thickness.

The lining may be formed as a separate garment and preferably is knitted from metal wire such as stainless steel wire, the corrugations or other preformations being sufficient to permit flexing and stretching to accommodate shape variations and/or movements of the wearer.

In preferred embodiments the lining comprises several layers of corrugated or crimped mesh, the corrugations of adjacent layers being angled relative to each other, to maximise the effective thickness of the lining.

The outer cover may take the form of a boiler suit and be made from heavy duty, closely woven or knitted cloth. Ballistic nylon fabric is a suitable cloth. Strips of lightly coloured material may be attached to arms and/or legs of the cover to hang loosely therefrom and encourage the animal to bite the strip of material rather than the actual cover.

For a particular animal handler the outer cover will be oversized, the resilience and form of the lining serving to support, the outer cover, in use, away from the body or limbs of the handler.

Different parts of the lining may be formed with different thicknesses or forms of knitted mesh to provide greater or lesser protection for more or less vulnerable areas and/or greater or lesser flexibility as required to suit the mobility of the wearer.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a close texture cloth outer cover.

Figure 2 shows a resilient knitted mesh lining.

Figure 3 illustrates in detail a portion of knitted mesh.

Figure 4 illustrates in detail adjacent layers of crimped or corrugated mesh arranged so as to maximise their effective thickness.

The close-texture cloth outer cover 10 in Figure 1 is a unitary garment having arms and legs and a zip fastener 11 extending from the crotch to the neck. Such a garment is usually referred to as a boiler suit. The fabric of the garment is ballistic nylon but similar closely woven, knitted or otherwise formed heavy duty material would suffice.

Strips 12 of brightly coloured material attached to the arms and legs of the fabric garment to hang loosely therefrom serve to divert the animal from biting the garment itself with a consequent increase in life of the garment. The strips may also divert the animal's attention away from the handler's attempts to secure it e.g. by noose.

Figure 2 shows a resilient knitted mesh lining garment 13 of similar shape to, and of such size that it can be worn inside, the outer cover 10. The mesh garment 13 comprises four distinct parts namely two arms 14 and two parts 15, each comprising a longitudinal half of the body and one leg. The thickness of each part is made up of four layers of loosely knitted stainless steel wire mesh, a single layer of which is illustrated in Figure 3.

The knitted mesh of the body parts 15 may be of a coarser knit than that of the arms 14.

The mesh garment is conveniently made up utilizing conventional tailoring techniques as will be appreciated from the following description of the method of its construction.

Each arm is made from two equal lengths of flattened knitted hose or tube preformed after flattening by being crimped to provide corrugations obliquely to its longitudinal axis. The pieces are laid one upon the other with the corrugations of each piece at an angle to the corrugations of the other as illustrated in Figure 4, so maximising the effective thickness of the garment. The rectangular four layers of mesh are then folded and the edges 18 sewn together. As shown, the edges 18 are joined by blanket stitching with heavy duty thread such as nylon.

Each body and leg portion 15 of the mesh garment is made from knitted wire hose having a larger diameter than that of the arms.

Each longitudinal half of the garment comprises a rectangular piece of crimped or corrugated mesh four layers thick and formed from flattened hose.

The pieces are joined together at their edges along approximately half their length, the joint being the back seam 19 of the garment. The outer edges of the pieces are then folded inwards and joined by a zip fastener 20 of similar length to the back seam 19. Each piece has its remaining lower edges blanket stitched together to form legs, and the crotch and shoulder seams 21 and 22 respectively taped and through stitched.

The back seam 19, shoulder seams 22 and 23 joining each arm to the body are taped inside and outside and through stitched for increased strength and comfort. The cuffs and trouser leg bottoms may also be taped and through stitched.

The mesh lining can be worn over everyday clothing but a lightweight boiler suit is recommended for wear immediately beneath the mesh to protect the everyday clothing or skin against harm under the pressure of a bit and/ or against irritations during wear. The outer fabric garment is donned over the knitted mesh lining garment. Reinforced boots, steelstaple-reinforced gauntlets, a heavy duty fabric caped helmet and a plastic visor or face guard are worn to complete the protection, the cape of the helmet being tucked inside the collar of the outer garment.

Embodiments of the invention are advantageously worn when handling infected animals such as rabid dogs since the combination of resilient mesh lining garment and close-texture cloth outer cover serve to reduce the possibility of penetration of the protective clothing by the teeth or claws of the animal. Generally an animal which has teeth sharp enough to penetrate the outer cover will have a small jaw. The effective thickness and resilience of the lining will hold the outer cover away from the flesh of the wearer or handler so that the animal's teeth will close on an empty fold of the outer cover and lining.

An animal which has a jaw large enough to grip at least some flesh in the bite will generally have relatively blunt teeth which do not penetrate the outer cover. In this case the lining serves to distribute the biting force to reduce the possibility of injury.

A further advantage of preferred embodiments is that the two separate unitary garments may be donned very quickly in emergencies, but it is not essential that the fabric cover or the lining be unitary, boiler suit-like garments. Either could comprise, for example, tunic and trousers.

The lining need not be a separate garment but could be attached as a lining within the outer cover.

The loose knit and crimping of the knitted mesh lining endow it with sufficient resilience and flexibility to accommodate the shape and movements of the handler without discomfort due to rumpling and yet maintaining adequate overall thickness e.g. 3/8 ins. to hold the outer cover away from the flesh of the wearer.

Whilst stainless steel is the preferred material for the mesh, other metals or possibly synthetic plastics materials could be used, with suitable adjustment of mesh size, filament gauge and formation to provide the required protection.

The described embodiments provide adequate protection and mobility for at least dog handlers, but it is envisaged that the clothing might be modified for use with more exotic animals particularly to give different degrees of protection at different parts of the body and to increase flexibility at parts corresponding to body joints to improve mobility of the wearer.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. Protective clothing for the protection of animal trainers, dog handlers, and the like comprising, for use with a close-texture cloth outer cover, a resilient lining formed of knitted mesh corrugated, crimped or otherwise deformed to increase its thickness.

2. Protective clothing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lining is a one piece garment with arms and legs.

3. Protective clothing as claimed in claim I or 2, wherein the lining comprises at least one layer of knitted wire mesh.

4. Protective clothing as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the lining comprises a plurality of layers of said knitted mesh and the corrugations or other preformations of adjacent layers co-operate to maximise the effective thickness of the knitted mesh lining.

5. Protective clothing as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein different parts of the lining are formed with different thicknesses and/or forms of resilient knitted mesh.

6. Protective clothing comprising a resilient knitted mesh lining substantially as described herein with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

7. A method of making protective clothing substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. Protective clothing as claimed in any of claims I to 6 comprising a close-texture cloth outer cover in combination with the lining.

9. Protective clothing as claimed in claim 8, wherein the outer cover and the lining are formed as separate garments.

10. Protective clothing as claimed in claim

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. effective thickness of the garment. The rectangular four layers of mesh are then folded and the edges 18 sewn together. As shown, the edges 18 are joined by blanket stitching with heavy duty thread such as nylon. Each body and leg portion 15 of the mesh garment is made from knitted wire hose having a larger diameter than that of the arms. Each longitudinal half of the garment comprises a rectangular piece of crimped or corrugated mesh four layers thick and formed from flattened hose. The pieces are joined together at their edges along approximately half their length, the joint being the back seam 19 of the garment. The outer edges of the pieces are then folded inwards and joined by a zip fastener 20 of similar length to the back seam 19. Each piece has its remaining lower edges blanket stitched together to form legs, and the crotch and shoulder seams 21 and 22 respectively taped and through stitched. The back seam 19, shoulder seams 22 and 23 joining each arm to the body are taped inside and outside and through stitched for increased strength and comfort. The cuffs and trouser leg bottoms may also be taped and through stitched. The mesh lining can be worn over everyday clothing but a lightweight boiler suit is recommended for wear immediately beneath the mesh to protect the everyday clothing or skin against harm under the pressure of a bit and/ or against irritations during wear. The outer fabric garment is donned over the knitted mesh lining garment. Reinforced boots, steelstaple-reinforced gauntlets, a heavy duty fabric caped helmet and a plastic visor or face guard are worn to complete the protection, the cape of the helmet being tucked inside the collar of the outer garment. Embodiments of the invention are advantageously worn when handling infected animals such as rabid dogs since the combination of resilient mesh lining garment and close-texture cloth outer cover serve to reduce the possibility of penetration of the protective clothing by the teeth or claws of the animal. Generally an animal which has teeth sharp enough to penetrate the outer cover will have a small jaw. The effective thickness and resilience of the lining will hold the outer cover away from the flesh of the wearer or handler so that the animal's teeth will close on an empty fold of the outer cover and lining. An animal which has a jaw large enough to grip at least some flesh in the bite will generally have relatively blunt teeth which do not penetrate the outer cover. In this case the lining serves to distribute the biting force to reduce the possibility of injury. A further advantage of preferred embodiments is that the two separate unitary garments may be donned very quickly in emergencies, but it is not essential that the fabric cover or the lining be unitary, boiler suit-like garments. Either could comprise, for example, tunic and trousers. The lining need not be a separate garment but could be attached as a lining within the outer cover. The loose knit and crimping of the knitted mesh lining endow it with sufficient resilience and flexibility to accommodate the shape and movements of the handler without discomfort due to rumpling and yet maintaining adequate overall thickness e.g. 3/8 ins. to hold the outer cover away from the flesh of the wearer. Whilst stainless steel is the preferred material for the mesh, other metals or possibly synthetic plastics materials could be used, with suitable adjustment of mesh size, filament gauge and formation to provide the required protection. The described embodiments provide adequate protection and mobility for at least dog handlers, but it is envisaged that the clothing might be modified for use with more exotic animals particularly to give different degrees of protection at different parts of the body and to increase flexibility at parts corresponding to body joints to improve mobility of the wearer. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. Protective clothing for the protection of animal trainers, dog handlers, and the like comprising, for use with a close-texture cloth outer cover, a resilient lining formed of knitted mesh corrugated, crimped or otherwise deformed to increase its thickness.

10. Protective clothing as claimed in claim

8 or 9, wherein the outer cover has strips of material attached to the arms and/or legs to hang loosely therefrom.

11. Protective clothing as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising an outer cover substantially as described herein with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.