Abstract:
The left and right front panels of the outer shell of a rescue coat each include material strips that provide vertical flaps that extend over an inside surface of respective liner zippers used to mount a removable jacket liner in the outer shell. The vertical flaps protect the wearer from contact with or heat from the liner zippers.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to rescue coats worn by persons involved in urban search and rescue operations, and in particular to such rescue coats which include removable liners.  
         [0003]     2. The Prior Art  
         [0004]     Rescue coats for use by personnel conducting urban searches and rescues, e.g., in buildings which may be burning or in other hazardous environments, are commonly available. Such coats generally include an outer shell and a removable liner and are less bulky and lighter in weight than conventional fire fighting coats. The outer shells of such coats are formed with left and right front panels that mount respective left and right vertical zipper halves along their confronting sides which are interengagable by a conventional slider. These zipper halves with slider provide a closure zipper for the coat. The left and right front panels also respectively mount vertical zipper halves inside of their confronting sides which are interengagable with zipper halves on the confronting sides of the left and right front panels of the removable liner. These zipper halves with respective sliders provide left and right liner zippers for mounting the removable liner in the outer shell. However, if these liner zippers become hot due to use near a fire or in an otherwise heated environment, the liner zippers can cause discomfort to the wearer, or even be hazardous.  
         [0005]     It is an object of the present invention to provide a rescue coat which is constructed such that the liner zippers are covered by a protective material to thereby protect the wearer from any discomfort or hazard associated therewith.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     According to this invention a rescue coat for use in urban search and rescue situations includes an outer shell and a removable liner, the outer shell being formed by an outer layer of a fire-resistant material and an inner layer of a moisture barrier material, and the removable liner being formed of a thermal insulating material. The outer shell includes left and right front panels that mount respective left and right vertical zipper halves that can be interengaged to close the coat, as well as separate left and right vertical zipper halves that can be interengaged with zipper halves on the liner to mount the liner within the outer shell (left and right liner zippers). The left and right panels also include vertical strips of material which provide vertical flaps that respectively cover the inner surfaces of the left and right liner zippers. By covering the inside surfaces of the left and right liner zippers, the vertical flaps protect the wearer from any discomfort, inconvenience or danger posed by the liner zippers.  
         [0007]     The invention will be better understood by reference to the attached drawings taken in conjunction with the following discussion 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]     In the figures,  
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a front view, i.e., as seen from the outside, of a portion of a rescue coat constructed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention and showing its left and right front panels connected together by a closure zipper, as well as outer covering flaps partially interconnected upwardly from their lower ends by hook and loop strips thereon,  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a rear view, i.e., as seen from the inside, of the same portion of the rescue coat of  FIG. 1  and showing a jacket liner completely connected by a left liner zipper to the left front panel and partially connected by a right liner zipper to the right front panel, with inner covering flaps of the right and left front panels covering the left and right liner zippers,  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view through the rescue coat of  FIG. 1  as seen along line  3 - 3 , and  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view through the rescue coat of  FIG. 1  as seen along line  4 - 4 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0013]      FIGS. 1-4  depict a front portion of a rescue coat  10  with covered liner zippers according to the invention. In the following discussion the terms “outside” and “outer” will refer to positioning external to the coat when closed and the terms “inside” and “inner” will refer to positioning internal to the coat when closed.  
         [0014]     The rescue coat  10  includes an outer shell S that includes a left front panel  20  and a right front panel  30 . The coat also includes a removable jacket liner  40  which is preferably made fleece (the jacket liner is preferably constructed such that it can be worn independently of the outer shell). The right and left front panels can include a conventional reflective band  50  which extends completely around the outside of the shell (not shown) for identification purposes.  
         [0015]     As best seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the left front panel  20  includes an outer layer  21  and an inner layer  22 , and the right front panel  30  includes an outer layer  31  and an inner layer  32 . The outer layers  21  and  31  are made of the same conventional fire-resistant material (two possible materials are Nomex® IIIA aramid duck-weave fabric that has a water-repellant finish or MILLENIA SR 40% ZYLON®/60% KEVLAR® blend in rip-stop weave that has a water-repellant finish), while the inner layers  22  and  32  are made of the same conventional moisture barrier (a useful material is Crosstech S/R® two-layer laminated polytetrafluoroethylene material). On side edges located closest to one another when the coat  10  is closed, the outer layer  21  provides a folded-over side edge  21   a  and the outer layer  31  provides a folded-over side edge  31   a . Likewise, the inner layer  22  provides a folded-over side edge  22   a  and the inner layer  32  provides a folded-over side edge  32   a . The side edges  21   a  and  22   a  are connected along their vertical lengths by stitching  23  and the side edges  31   a  and  32   a  are connected along their vertical lengths by stitching  33 .  
         [0016]     A material strip  24  having a vertical sequence of zipper teeth providing a zipper half  25  is connected by the stitching  23  to the inside surface of the side edge  21   a  so that the teeth extend towards the right front panel  30  when the coat is closed. Similarly, a material strip  34  having a vertical sequence of zipper teeth providing a zipper half  35  is connected by the stitching  33  to the inside surface of the side edge  31   a  so that the teeth extend towards the left front panel  20 . A slider  60  (see  FIG. 1 ) can be moved along the zipper halves  25  and  35  to engage or disengage the teeth thereof in a conventional manner. The zipper halves  25  and  35 , together with the slider  60 , provide a closure zipper  11  for the coat  10 .  
         [0017]     A material strip  26  having a vertical sequence of zipper teeth providing a zipper half  27  is connected by the stitching  23  to the inside surface of the side edge  22   a  so that the teeth extend opposite to the right front panel  30 , and a material strip  36  having a vertical sequence of zipper teeth providing a zipper half  37  is connected by the stitching  33  to the inside surface of the side edge  32   a  so that the teeth extend opposite to the left front panel  20 . The teeth of these zipper halves  27  and  37  can be interengaged with vertical sequences of zipper teeth providing zipper halves  41  and  42  along opposite side edges of the jacket liner  40  by sliders (see slider  70  in  FIG. 2  which interengages or disengages the teeth  37  and  42  as it is moved upwardly or downwardly). The zipper halves  27  and  41  with associated slider form a left jacket liner zipper  12  and the zipper halves  37  and  42  with associated slider form a right jacket liner zipper  13 .  
         [0018]     A double layered material strip  28  is connected along one side  28   a  by the stitching  23  between the material strip  24  and the side edge  22   a , and it is bent in a general U-shape to provide a doubled-over center portion  28   b  which extends over the inside surface of the closure zipper  11  and then back to form a vertical flap portion  28   c  which extends over the inside surface of the left liner zipper  11 ). The strip  28  is connected to the material strip  26  at a location between the center portion  28   b  and the vertical flap portion  28   c  by stitching  23  (see  FIG. 4 ). The material strip  28  is made of the same fire-resistant material as the outer layer  21 .  
         [0019]     A double layered material strip  38  is connected along one side  38   a  by the stitching  33  between the material strip  34  and the side edge  32   a , and it is bent in a general U-shape and connected by the stitching  33  to the inside of material strip  36  so as to provide a vertical flap portion  38   b  that extends over the inside surfaces of the right liner zipper  12  (see  FIG. 4 ). The material strip  38  is made of the same fire-resistant material as the outer payer  31 .  
         [0020]     The vertical flap portion  28   c  of strip  28  constitutes a covering for the liner zipper  11 , and the vertical flap portion  38   b  of strip  38  constitutes a covering for the liner zipper  12 .  
         [0021]     A weather flap  29  with a hook and loop (e.g., Velcro®) strip  29   a  is attached to the outer side of the outer layer  21  of the shell and an outer flap  39  with a hook and loop (e.g., Velcro®) strip  39   a  is attached to the outer side of the outer layer  31 , the outer flap  29  being positionable over the closure zipper  11 , and the outer flap  39  being positionable over the flap  29  so that the Velcro® strips  29 ′ and  39 ′ will engage and thereby help close the coat and simultaneously provide a weather shield for the closure zipper  11 .  
         [0022]     Although a preferred embodiment of the rescue coat with covered liner zippers has been shown and described, modifications therein can be made and still fall within the scope of the appended claims.