Patent Publication Number: US-7707660-B2

Title: Protective garment and drag harness with flap

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention pertains to a protective garment such as for a firefighter or emergency worker, and in more particular applications, to a protective garment having including a drag harness. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Commonly, a firefighter or an emergency worker wears a protective garment, such as a protective coat. Furthermore, firefighters or emergency workers also wear additional safety equipment, such as drag harnesses, such that the wearer can be dragged and/or carried by a rescuer should the wearer become incapacitated. These drag harnesses can be worn within or on the exterior of the of the protective garment. 
   Protective garments and drag harnesses have generally been configured to have a pull strap located behind the head of the wearer. In this form, the pull strap can be extended from the protective garment to drag the wearer should the wearer become injured or incapacitated. However, the drag harness is susceptible to catching on or becoming abraded by external surfaces. Therefore, drag harnesses may be located completely within the protective garment and/or covered by pockets or flaps. However, the drag harness must still be capable of being grasped quickly in an emergency situation. Furthermore, the rescuer is generally wearing bulky gloves which provide diminished tactile feedback. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In one form, a protective garment for a firefighter or emergency worker is provided. The protective garment includes an outer shell and a drag harness. The drag harness is located at least substantially within the outer shell and includes a wearer portion, a gripping portion and a flap operably coupled to the gripping portion. The flap is releasably secured to the outer shell in a stored state. The flap and gripping portion remain operably coupled to one another and extend away from the outer shell in an deployed state to drag a wearer. 
   According to one form, a protective garment for a firefighter or emergency worker is provided. The protective garment includes an outer shell and a drag harness. The outer shell has at least one aperture. The drag harness is located at least substantially within the outer shell. The drag harness includes a wearer portion, a gripping portion and a flap operably coupled to the gripping portion. The flap releasably is secured to and substantially covers the at least one aperture in a stored state. The flap is graspable by a rescuer to pull the flap away from the outer shell and the gripping portion through the aperture in a deployed state to drag a wearer. 
   In one form, wherein the outer shell includes two apertures. 
   According to one form, at least a part of the gripping portion is permanently affixed to the flap. 
   In one form, the flap comprises an outer surface and an interior space such that a part of the gripping portion passes through the interior space and the flap is movable along the gripping portion. 
   According to one form, the flap is a gripping handle whereby a rescuer may drag the wearer. 
   In one form, the protective garment further includes at least one releasable fastener selected from the group comprising hook and loop fasteners, snap fasteners and button fasteners to releasably secure the flap to the outer shell in the stored state. 
   According to one form, the outer shell is made from a fire resistant material and the flap is made from the same fire resistant material. 
   In one form, substantially all of the outer shell has an outer appearance of a first visible color and the flap has an outer appearance of a second visible color which contrasts the first color. 
   Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a review of the entire specification, including the appended claims and drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a protective garment including a drag harness and a flap; 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  2 - 2  of the drag harness and flap of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a fragmentary perspective view of a protective garment, drag harness and flap as worn by a wearer; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a protective garment including a drag harness and a flap; 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  of the drag harness and flap of  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a fragmentary view of one form of a releasable fastener; and 
       FIG. 7  is a fragmentary view of another form of a releasable fastener. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT 
   As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a protective garment  20  is shown. The protective garment may take a variety of forms such as a protective coat  22  or protective pants (not shown). The protective garment  20  may be similar to many conventional types of protective garments known to those skilled in the art and therefore those common features will not be discussed in detail herein. For example, the protective garment may include a protective outer shell and one or more thermal and/or water resistant liners. As described herein the protective garment  20  includes additional features which will be detailed below. Furthermore, it should be understood that these additional features may be added to many forms of existing protective garments such that the garment may be retro-fit to accommodate the additional features. 
   The protective garment  20  includes an outer shell  24  having at least one aperture  26 . However, it should be understood that the garment  20  may include multiple apertures  26 , such as seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The aperture(s)  26  can be used to provide an opening to gain access to various components or objects located within the outer shell  24 . 
   For example, a drag harness  30  may be located at least substantially within the outer shell  24 . Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , in one form the drag harness  30  includes a wearer portion  32  and a gripping portion  34 . The wearer portion  32  extends at least partially around a portion of the wearer. For example, in the form shown in  FIG. 3 , the wearer portion  32  extends at least partially around the torso  40  of the wearer. In other forms, the wearer portion may extend at least partially around a limb of the wearer, such as an arm or leg. Furthermore, the drag harness  30  may include multiple wearer portions  32 . The gripping portion  34  may be a separate component affixed to the wearer portion  32 , or may be an integrated as part of the wearer portion  32  to form a single loop, as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
   Generally, the gripping portion  34  can be used by a rescuer to grip the drag harness  30  to drag the wearer. In this manner, when the gripping portion  34  is pulled by the rescuer, the wearer portion  32  will tighten against at least a portion of the wearer so that the wearer can be dragged and/or carried. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , one form of a flap  50  is shown. In this form, the flap  50  includes an outer surface  52  and at least one releasable fastener  54 . As seen in  FIG. 1 , the releasable fastener  54  includes hook  56  and loop  58  portions to releasably secure the flap to the protective garment  20 . However, it should be understood that other types of fasteners may be used such as a snap  60  as found in  FIG. 6 , a button  62  as found in  FIG. 7  and other forms of releasable fasteners as understood by those skilled in the art. 
   Furthermore, referring again to  FIG. 1 , the releasable fastener  54  is shown surrounding the aperture  26 . It should be understood that this form may be used with multiple apertures  26 , such as shown in  FIG. 3 . In another form, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the releasable fastener  54  does not surround the apertures  26 , but instead is located adjacent a portion of the apertures  26 . It should be understood that this form may also be used with a single aperture  26 . Furthermore, it should be understood that the releasable fastener  54  may be located adjacent other portions of the aperture  26  and/or may be located remotely from the apertures  26 . 
   In one preferred form, the flap  50  is sized such that it substantially covers the one or more apertures  26 . In this regard, the flap  50  can prevent moisture and debris from entering the aperture  26 . Furthermore, the size and orientation of the flap  50  can prevent the drag harness  30  from being snagged and/or abraded on external surfaces. 
   The flap  50  may be operably coupled to the drag harness  30  in a variety of manners. For example, referring to  FIG. 1 , the flap  50  is operably coupled to the gripping portion  34  of the drag harness  30  such as by sewing the flap  50  to the gripping portion  34 . In this form, the flap  50  can help prevent the drag harness  30  from shifting significantly as it is worn by a wearer. In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the gripping portion  34  is a continuous length of material. It should be understood that this form may also be implemented wherein the gripping portion  34  includes two ends which are each sewn to the flap  50 . Furthermore, it should be understood that other methods may be utilized to connect the flap  50  to the gripping portion  34 , such as rivets, adhesive and other forms understood by those skilled in the art. 
   Referring to  FIG. 4 , the flap  50  is operably coupled to the gripping portion  34  in another manner. In this form, the flap  50  includes an interior space  70  whereby the gripping portion  34  is permitted to pass through. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the interior space  70  is accessible via apertures  72  in the outer surface  52 . However, it should be understood that the apertures  72  may also be located at other locations on the flap  50 , such as at ends  74 . As the gripping portion  34  extends through the interior space  70  and is not secured thereto, the flap  50  is permitted to move along the length of the gripping portion  34 , such as when a rescuer is dragging the wearer. However, it should be understood that the gripping portion  34  may be secured to the flap if desired. 
   It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the forms illustrated in the figures may be intermixed to produce a desired combination of elements. For example, the number of apertures  26 , the number and orientation of the releasable fasteners  54 , the method of coupling the flap  50  to the gripping portion  34 , as well as the type of flap  50  may be intermixed to produce a desired combination of elements. 
   It should also be understood that the drag harness  30  may also be utilized in other protective garments, such as protective pants. In this form, the protective garment would include the outer shell  24  and the drag harness  30  would still include the wearer portion  32 , the gripping portion  34  and the flap  50 . Again, any combination of elements may be chosen to produce a desired combination of elements. 
   It should be understood that the drag harness  30  may be sewn into a layer of the protective garment  20 . In another form, the drag harness  30  may also be releasably secured within the protective garment  20  by a variety of fastening means known by those skilled in the art, such as snaps, hook and loop fasteners and the like. The protective garment  20 , drag harness  30  and flap  50  may be made from a variety of materials. Furthermore the protective garment  20 , drag harness  30  and flap  50  may be made of the same or different materials. In one form, the drag harness  30  and the flap  50  are made of fire resistant material, such as Nomex® or Kevlar®. However, it should be understood that a variety of other materials may be used. Furthermore, the drag harness  30  may be made of a rope-type material, a web-type material and other forms understood by those skilled in the art. The drag harness  30  may be made of different materials based upon the location of the drag harness  30  on the wearer&#39;s body. For example, the gripping portion  34  may be made of different materials than the wearer portion  32 . 
   The flap  50  can be used as a gripping handle for grasping the gripping portion  34  of the drag harness  30 . In this regard, the flap  50  can include reinforcing structure to make the flap more rigid and potentially easier to grasp. Furthermore, the flap  50  can be made from a material having a specific color. For example, the outer shell  24  may be a dark color while the flap  50  can be a lighter color and/or made from a reflective material to increase the visibility of the flap  50 . 
   The flap  50  and the gripping portion  34  can be used by a rescuer to drag and/or carry the wearer. The flap  50  is releasably secured to the outer shell  24  in a stored state, but may be removed to extend away from the outer shell  24  in a deployed state to drag the wearer. A rescuer can pull on the flap  50 , which is completely separable from the outer shell  24  and can grasp the flap  50  and/or gripping portion  34 . 
   It should be appreciated that for all of the disclosed embodiments there are many possible modifications. Additionally, it should be understood that the embodiments described herein may be utilized in conjunction with one another or separately.