LOW ENERGY RADIATION SHIELD

Abstract: A light weight radiation shield (7) in the form of apparel for protecting against extremely low frequency, low power radiation such as that from a television, video display, microwave oven leakage, and laser show, etc., having a grounding connector (20, 24).

Description: LOW ENERGY RADIATION SHIELD Background and Field of Invention This invention prelates to a light weight radiation shield in the form of apparel to be worn over the human body for protection from low frequency, lower power electronmagnetic radiation such as low powered lasers, video display terminals, television sets, and microwave ovens. Radiation shields for high energy X-irradiation or ionizing radiation are generally known. Some typical shields of this type are shown in United States Patents 2,642,542, 4,196,355, 3,996,620, 2,404,225, 3,093,829, and 4,386,277. However, these shields are comprised of heavy metal protective layers made of lead, nickel, cobalt, bismuth, and copper, or compounds of cal¬ cium phosphate, aluminum and magnesium. The choice of protective material is often determined by the kind and nature of particular irradiation to be shielded against. Certain shields are effec¬ tive for certain types of irradiation. None of the prior art shields addresses the problem of ex¬ tremely low energy irradiation such as those generated by laser shows, microwaves, display tubes, and television sets. As a result, all shields of the prior art are too heavy and cumbersome to be worn comfortably for appreciable periods of time. For shielding radiation from display units, a secretary or computer programmer may need to wear such a shield for up to eight or ten hours each day. For shielding radiation from micro¬ wave ovens, if any leaks radiation, one who cooks would desire a shield which can be quickly put on and taken off. For shielding against television irradiation, a viewer needs to be comfortable when wearing the shield in order to relax and to enjoy program- ming. The heavy shields of the prior art can not provide for these needs. If electrical charges were to develop on this low frequency shield, and is not -removed, it could cause the shield to become a resonating structure, in the court of electromagnetic inter¬ action. This is a phenomenon commonly occurring in radiation shields protecting radio tubes. Often, a shield in the radio would fail and the radio would begin to buzz. Most of the time this failure is caused by a loss of grounding to the shield because of chemical oxidation occurring at the grounding plug or of a loose grounding connection. In this manner, the shield has lost its "ground-sink" capability to discharge its electromag¬ netic and/or electrical load. It may thus become a resonator of electromagnetic frequency, in which case its effectiveness as a radiation shield will be diminished. Objects of the Invention It is an objective of , the instant invention to provide a light weight, easily manipulatable shield for low frequency, low energy irradiation, to be worn on the human body. It is an objective of the instant invention to provide a radiation shield which can be comfortably worn for appreciably long durations. It is also an objective of the instant invention to provide a radiation shield from which any build up of electrical charges thereon can be channeled to an electrical ground. It is also an objective of the instant invention to effect any combination of the foregoing objectives. Summary An extremely low frequency radiation shield in the form of apparel for protecting the human body. It is of light weight constitution and is easily manipulatable for fast put-on and removal. A ground•sink connection is also made available for dissipating any chaςge built-up on the shield resulting from exposure to radiation. The shield includes a first flexible backing layer of fabric, cloth, or plastic, over which a thin etalic layer of even lesser gross weight is superimposed for absorbing radiation. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows a top elevational vie of a first embodiment of the instant invention. Figure 2 shows the shield of Figure 1 being worn by a user, in operation. Figure 3 shows a frontal view of a second embodiment of the instant invention. Figure 4 shows a cross section of the apparel portion of the shields in Figures 1, 2 , and 3. Figure 5 shows a radiation shield according to the instant invention without a grounding device. Detailed Description Figure 1 illustrates an elevational flattened view of a radiation apparel shield in accordance to. one embodiment of the instant invention. It comprises the apparel portion 7 and the grounding connector 20. Numeral 3 designates a bore for the head of a wearer; references 2, 4, 6, and 8 show respective mating fastener pairs for enclosing the apparel around the human body; fastener 2 mates with fastener 4 and fastener 6 mates with fastener 8. The portion labeled 10 is an apron type section for covering up below the waist. Section 12 covers up the wearer's chest and abdomen portion while section 14 covers the wearer's back. Reference 20.identifies a grounding connector from the apparel portion 7 to an electrical ground (not shown) . Figure 2 illustrates a radiation apparel shield of Figure 1 being worn by a user. The grounding connection is coupled to the ground socket of an electrical outlet 21. Pre- ferrably, the cord 24 of the grounding connector 20 can be made sufficiently long to provide-for the user convenient mobility. Fasteners 2, 4, 6, and 8 may be of any common type such as buttons, clips, etc. Figure 3 illustrates a second embodiment of the instant invention. The apparel portion is generally symmetrical and includes velcrow type connectors 30 for enclosure. The leng-th of apparel may be arbitrary, and a grounding connector 20 is shown ' with a head clip 32 for coupling to the apparel portion 7 and a plug 34 for coupling to an electrical ground. The radiation apparel shield 1 includes the apparel-portion 7 and grounding connector 20. It should be noted that the grounding connector may be coupled to the apparel portion and to the electrical ground via any one of many common ways. The particular clip 32 and plug 34 are by no means exclusive. Figure 4 illustrates a cross section of the apparel portion of the shield in figures 1, 2, and 3. A layer 50 of thin and light weighted material such as mylar (about 1/1000 of an inch thick) is coated on one surface with a thin layer 52 of light metal such as aluminum. The aluminum layer absorbs low frequency radiation from various sources such as television, display tube, microwave ovens, laser show sources, etc. and dissipates charge generated thereby via the grounding connector shown in figures 1- 3. The shield of the instant invention is of extremely light weight and is foldable, and portable for easy and expedient handling and manipulation. It represents a significant advantage over the various radiation shields of the prior art which are more directed to protection against high energy, high frequency irradiation. In a particular embodiment, the thin metallic layer of the instant invention is even of lighter gross weight than is the underlying supporting backing layer. This characteristic serves as an important distinction from the shields of prior art. The metallic layer may be added to the backing layer via any one of many ways including spraying. While the instant invention is described above only in the cont-fxt of preferred embodiments, many different embodiments are evident to one with ordinary skill in the art in implementing the inventive concept of theinstant invention in light of the disclo¬ sure. For instance, the invention need not be limited to mylar and aluminum layers as particular materials, and the shape and configuration of the shield may be varied at will. Other materials of similar characteristics to mylar and aluminum in the context of the instant invention may be equally suitable. In another embodiment of the instant invention, the metalic layer is made to be of even lesser thickness than the underlying supporting backing layer. Generally, the metallic layer is essentially distributed in uniform over one surface of the backing layer. Figure 5 shows a radiation shield according to one embodi¬ ment of the instant invention, without a grounding device. This shield would be identical to that shown in figure 1 without the grounding connector 20. Although such a shield does not have the advantages of a grounding connection to drain off any electrical charges that may be developed, it is much more convenient and less clumsy for use.

Claims: - 1 - What I Claim : 1. A light weight,, low frequency, low energy radiation shield in apparel form for protecting a human body from irradiating devices such as television, video displays, and low-powered laser and microwave sources, comprising: a garment for covering chest and/or abdomen- area of a human body including a first flexible backing layer, and a metallic layer of lighter gross weight than said backing layer superimposed in an essentially uniform manner over a surface of said first flexible backing layer. 2. The shield of claim 1, wherein said backing layer is made of plastic. 3. The shield of claim 1, wherein said metalic layer is made of aluminum. 4. The shield of claim 1, wherein said backing layer is made of mylar and is approximately 1/1000 of an inch thick. 5. The shield of claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 further comprising: a grounding connector coupled to said metallic layer, for connecting to an electrical ground to dissipate any accumu¬ lation of charge built up on said metallic layer as a result of exposure to low frequency, low energy radiation. 6. The shield of claim 5 wherein said grounding connector in¬ cludes: a cord having -a first and second end, said first end being coupled to said metallic layer of said garment; and a plug mounted on said second end of said cord, for coupling to an electrical ground receptacle. 7. A light weight, low frequency, low energy radiation shield in apparel form for protecting a human body from irradiating devices such as television, video displays, and low-powered laser and microwave sources, comprising: a garment for covering chest and/or abdomen area of a human body including a first flexible backing layer, and * a metalic layer of lesser thickness than said backing layer superimposed in an essentially uniform manner over a surface of said first flexible backing layer. 8. The shield of claim 7, wherein said backing layer is made of plastic. 9. The shield of claim 7, wherein said metalic layer is made o-f aluminum. 10. The shield of claim 4, wherein said backing layer is made of mylar and is approximately 1/1000 of an inch thick. 11. The shield of claim 7, 8, 9 or 10 further comprising: a grounding connector coupled to said metalic layer, for lation of charge built up on said metalic layer as a result of exposure to low frequency, low energy radiation. 12. The shield of claim 11, wherein said grounding connector includes: a cord having a first and second end, said first end being coupled to said metalic layer of said garment; and a plug mounted on said second end of said cord, for coupling to an electrical ground receptacle.

Inventors: GORDON GLEN, GORDON, GLEN
Applicants: GORDON GLEN, GORDON, GLEN
Application year: 1986
Main classification: G21F3
IPC codes: G21F3