Protective garment having retaining bag

A resuable protective garment for covering at least an upper torso of the user. The garment is formed from fluid repellent material and is provided with a retaining bag fixedly secured to the interior surface of the front panel for receiving a folded contaminated garment and enclosing the garment therein. The non-detachable retaining bag is made from a contrasting color from the remainder of the garment to allow easy identification of contamination. The garment can be used as a teaching tool for explaining universal precautions observed when using protective clothing in a hazardous environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to articles of clothing, and more particularly to 
protective clothing adapted to be worn in places wherein the user needs 
protection against occupational hazards such as exposure to blood and 
other potentially infectious agents which might splash on user's clothes 
and/or be absorbed by his skin. Even more particularly, the present 
invention relates to the protective garments which can find broad 
application in health care industry and in work environments where the 
employee may come into contact with materials which are biohazardous. 
Protective garments have long been in use in health care facilities, 
funeral homes, chemical industry facilities and other work stations. The 
main purpose of the garments is to protect the skin and clothing of the 
user from the harmful effects of occupational exposure to blood, other 
infectious agents and bio hazardous materials. Paper disposable coats and 
cloth lab coats utilized in health care facilities, chemical laboratories 
and the like suffer from the same major disadvantage: they are expensive, 
increase environmental hazardous waste and in the case of cloth lab coats 
absorb rather than repel harmful fluids. The present invention has been 
specifically designed for but not limited to the specified use of a 
protective garment as outlined in OSHA's Title 29 Code of Federal 
Regulations 1910.1030 (effective date for compliance of Personal 
Protective Equipment--Jul. 6, 1992), which states "Personal protective 
equipment must not allow blood or other potentially infectious material to 
pass through to worker's clothing, skin, or mucous membrane." 
Additional problems often encountered with the use of disposable garments 
is a sheer bulk of disposable waste which must be treated in accordance 
with rigid safety regulations. As a result, there exists a need for a 
protective garment which would provide a true fluid barrier to harmful 
substances and which can be cleaned for subsequent reusal instead of 
disposal after the original contamination. 
The present invention, therefore, contemplates provision of a protective 
garment which can provide a barrier to harmful fluids and which can be 
cleaned a number of times. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a protective garment 
which insures a fluid barrier against harmful substances that might 
penetrate to the clothing or skin of the user. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a protective 
garment which can be cleaned and reused a number of times instead of being 
disposed of immediately after initial contamination. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a protective 
garment which has safety means for containing a soiled garment prior to 
cleaning. 
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a 
protective garment which is comfortable to the user in a variety of 
environments. 
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a 
protective garment which is easy to don and is inexpensive to manufacture. 
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a 
protective garment that can be used as an educational tool to teach 
workers the methods of using universal safety precautions. 
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved through a 
provision of a protective garment which comprises a fluid repellent front 
panel which is sized and shaped to cover at least an upper torso of the 
user. A pair of fluid repellent back panels is fixedly attached along side 
seams to the front panel and can be secured together in the back through 
the use of one or more sets of fasteners having hook and loop material 
attached thereto. One of the embodiments contemplates provision of a 
protective garment having a completely closed back and overlapping back 
panels, while another embodiment provides for non-engaging back panels 
which form a discreet gap between the free edges of the back panels. A 
pair of ventilating inserts are fitted between the side seams of the 
panels and the sleeve portions, the ventilated panels being made from an 
open mesh material. 
The free ends of the sleeves are provided with stretchable woven cuffs 
which tightly enclose the wrists of the user, eliminating the danger of 
scratching the user's skin and ensuring that no contamination penetrates 
the arms of the user. Universal safety precautions demand that gloves also 
be worn for protection covering the ribbed cuff, although such gloves form 
no part of the present invention. A similar tightly fitting stretchable 
woven collar is attached to the front panel and the back panels around the 
neck opening. 
One of the most important features of the present invention is a 
non-detachable retaining bag fixedly attached to an interior surface of 
the front panel, the bag having an opening allowing the contaminated 
garment to be folded and inverted into the retaining bag. A flap is 
provided for closing the bag alerting other personnel that the garment is 
contaminated and not usable. The retaining bag, similarly to the remainder 
of the garment, is formed from a fluid repellent material but has a 
contrasting color, so that service personnel can easily identify a soiled 
garment folded into the bag. It also allows for an accurate accountability 
of the soiled garments before sending to the laundry. The garment can be 
washed and reused a number of times without losing its repellent 
properties.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Turning now to the drawings in more detail, numeral 10 designates the 
protective garment in accordance with the present invention. The 
protective garment 10 comprises a front panel 12 and a pair of back panels 
14 and 16. The front panel 12 covers at least an upper torso of the user 
and extends from the neck area to a level below the waist of the user. 
Depending on safety requirements, the gown can extend to the hips of the 
user or even below the knees. 
Securely attached to the front panel 12 are a pair of pockets 20 and 22. 
The pocket 20 is the work side adapted to retain pens, small lights and 
other articles often required on the job. This pocket may become 
contaminated as the articles are used in procedures. Pocket 22 is adapted 
to retain additional work gloves. Flap 24, provided on the pocket 22, and 
an exterior surface 30 of the pocket 22 are provided with matching strips 
of hook and loop fasteners (only strip 26 is shown in FIG. 1 ). When the 
flap 24 is in its folded position, with the fasteners 26 and 28 engaging 
each other, no fluid contamination can drop or splash into the interior of 
the pocket 22, thereby protecting the clean gloves from contamination. The 
pocket 22 is known as the "clean side". The pockets 20 and 22 allow easy 
access to the required articles without the need for the user to reach 
under the protective garment 10 to inner pockets, thereby eliminating the 
danger of contamination of the user's regular work clothes. 
If desired, the pocket 20 can be divided into a number of compartments 32 
and 34, so as to conveniently accommodate various size articles in their 
individual compartments. The top of the garment 10 is provided with a 
stretchable woven collar 40 which can be made from, for example cotton 
lycra. This material is soft, does not irritate the neck of the user 
during long term wearing, while stretching to the desired width depending 
on the size of the user's neck and retaining its shape after continuous 
washings. 
A pair of sleeve portions 42 and 44 are attached to the front panel 12 and 
back panels 14 and 16. The sleeves 42 and 44 are secured along the 
shoulder lines to the panels 12, 14 and 16 with flat felled seams, and are 
fitted with mesh inserts 46 and 48 to facilitate ventilation of the user. 
The inserts 46 and 48 are made from a material having large openings and 
strong enough to withstand repeated use of the garment 10, and washing and 
cleaning of the garment. The sleeve portions 42 and 44 are provided with 
stretchable woven cuffs 50 and 52, respectively, which are formed from the 
same material as the collar 40. 
Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 3, alternative embodiments of the back panels 
are illustrated. The embodiment of FIG. 2 shows an open back style, 
wherein a gap 60 is formed between the innermost edges 62 and 64 of the 
panels 16 and 14, respectively. The open back embodiment can be used in 
the environments, wherein no danger exists that the back of the user will 
be contaminated. The gap 60 further facilitates ventilation and makes the 
garment more comfortable for the user. 
To secure the back panels 14 and 16 in a relatively closed position, a pair 
of elongated fasteners 66 and 68 are attached where the edges of the 
collar 40 meet in an overlapping fashion. Fasteners 66 and 68, being 
conveniently provided with hook and loop material, make it easier for the 
user to fasten the garment and provide for quick disrobing when 
contamination occurs. In contrast, conventionally used garments contain 
ties which bind, knot and are restrictive. 
Another pair of securing strips 70 and 72 is attached to the back panels 14 
and 16 at a hip level of the garment. The securing strips 70 and 72 can 
also be provided with strips of hook and loop fastening material which 
makes closing of these fasteners easier, as well. Provision of the hook 
and loop fasteners shortens the time necessary to secure the garment on 
the user and can be done by the user himself. In comparison with 
conventional garments wherein string fasteners have to be tied in the 
back, the fasteners of the present invention save time in the donning of 
the garment. 
The embodiment of FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment with a closed back 
having a pair of back flaps 74 and 76 which are designed to completely 
enclose the back of the user. This type of garment can be useful in the 
environment, wherein the back of the user must be protected, as well. For 
example, in funeral homes the embalmer often works in a room, wherein 
several embalming tables are located, and wherein work is being performed 
at the same time on more than one body. In such a case, there is always a 
danger of accidental contamination of the back of the operator and it is 
preferred that the protective garment enclose the torso of the user in its 
entirety. 
Similarly to the embodiment of FIG. 2, a number of fasteners are provided 
on the back panels 74 and 76, the fasteners being concealed by the edge 78 
which overlaps the panel 76. The fasteners are positioned on the inner 
surface of the panel 74 perpendicular to the edge 78 and on the matching 
exterior surface of the panel 76. One or more fastener sets can be 
provided for closing the garment shown in FIG. 3 another such set is 
provided on the collar 41, the set comprising a long strip 75 of the hook 
and loop material having an extra length as at 77, which allows self 
mating during agitation in laundering. 
Secured to the lower portion of the garment 10, on the inner surface 80 of 
the front panel 12, is a retaining pocket, or bag 82 which comprises a 
reversible elongated bag panel 84 and a flap 86. It is preferred that the 
retaining bag 82 be formed from a material having a contrasting color to 
that of the remainder of the garment 10 for the reasons which will become 
apparent hereinafter. 
When the garment 10 becomes soiled or contaminated, it is necessary to fold 
it in some manner for transportation to a cleaning facility or to a 
laundry. The user then takes off the garment, while observing universal 
precautions of turning the sleeves inside out and reversing the exterior 
surface of the garment to the inside. In this manner, the retaining bag 82 
will appear on the outside of the garment 10, thus keeping all 
contaminates on the inside. The user then rolls the garment starting from 
the neck portion, moving downwardly through the panels 12, 14 and 16, 
until the entire length of the garment is rolled up into a roll 88, as 
shown in FIG. 4. Additionally, the wearer helps others, such as laundry 
workers who will handle the contaminated garment. Through the rolling 
process the wearer can feel for any sharp objects such as needles which 
may have been left in the pockets. This is a big source of accidents 
within facilities when garments are merely taken off and tossed 
haphazardly into a large laundry container. The process of rolling the 
garment makes the wearer more alert for items left in the pockets, thus 
reducing a major area of risk for laundry personnel who are often 
accidentally punctured when sorting and handling contaminated laundry. 
This process of rolling the garment makes the wearer responsible for 
removing equipment left in the garment before it reaches the laundry 
personnel. The flap 86 is lifted and the roll 88 is fitted within the bag 
82. Once the roll 88 is inside, the flap 86 is reversed to close the 
opening through which the roll 88 was fitted into the bag 82. The folded 
soiled garment is then completely enclosed within the bag 82. The garment 
is not taken out of the bag 82 until it reaches the laundry facility. At 
that time the laundry personnel clothed in protective equipment as well, 
pop it out of the pouch before washing. The bag is designed to open the 
garment upside down, so that any equipment overlooked by the wearer can 
fall out further decreasing risk to laundry personnel. 
Since the bag 82 is attached to the interior surface 80 of the panel 12, no 
contamination has penetrated inside the bag 82, and it is safer to handle 
the bag 82 in its folded condition with the garment 10 completely encased 
as opposed to a loose, non-contained, contaminated garment. Individual 
bags 82 can then be placed into a storage container for subsequent 
transportation to a laundry or other cleaning facility. They are easy to 
count and the service personnel can always make sure that the number of 
gowns which have been dispensed to the laundry matches the number of gowns 
returned to the user's department. If desired, a name tag tab 90 can be 
easily attached to the exterior surface of the garment 10, and the garment 
be assigned to a particular user. Various size garments can be 
manufactured to accommodate different size people who will need the 
garment. All soiled or contaminated garments are self contained in their 
own color-coded bags. This feature helps to decrease risk of exposure 
among workers. 
The garment 10 can be manufactured from a number of fluid repellent type 
materials. One such example is a material sold under trade-name "Ripstop 
Nylon", manufactured by Radice Automatica S.P.A. of Italy. Tests conducted 
by a company which engages in the testing of textiles demonstrated that 
the garment 10 manufactured from "Ripstop Nylon" material maintains 90% of 
its repellant qualities after 50 commercial washings. At the same time, 
small spots or spills can be wiped with alcohol, until the garment must be 
cleaned in its entirety. To prevent contamination through the seams, the 
present invention utilizes a flat felled seam design where the front panel 
12 and back panels 14 and 16 are joined by the sleeve 42 and 44. This is 
the high risk area for possible contamination. The seam design is shown in 
a schematic diagram of FIG. 6. 
The location of the pockets 20 and 22 can be changed, moving the pockets 
higher or lower on the front panel depending on the particular 
requirements of the industry, where the garment 10 is to be used. If 
desired, a fabric loop can be attached to the upper portion of the garment 
to allow hanging of the garment when not in use. It is preferred that the 
fasteners 66 and 71 which are made of the hook component of the closure 
also have attached to one end of a tab made of the loop component 
material. This tab is anchored to either the proximal or the distal end of 
the hook fastener. The opposite end of the loop tab is left free. The 
purpose of the free loop tab is to allow self-mating of the free end of 
the tab to the hook component of the fastener. This feature prevents the 
hook component of the fastener to attach itself to other areas of the 
garment, lint or other items during laundering of the garment, thus 
prolonging the life of the garment. 
Many other changes and modifications can be made within the design of the 
present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. We, 
therefore, pray that our rights to the present invention be limited only 
by the scope of the appended claims.