Abstract:
A protective garment consisting of boots and pants which can be quickly attached and detached. The boots contain an attachment ring which sealingly mates with a respective attachment ring on the pant leg by a bayonet attachment. There is also provided a kit for retrofitting existing boots and protective garments.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to the combination of safety boots and pants which are used by sportsmen, military, firemen, and the like that provide protection from the environment. More particularly, there is provided a quick release of protection boots from a protective garment, especially pants. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Protective pants and boots are used by fishermen who wade into water in order to fish. Generally, the boot portion of the protective garment is an integral part of the pants portion. In order to remove the boots, the whole garment must be removed. 
   The military in a dangerous environment such as hazardous gas generally don a protective garment to cover the boots and the person. This creates a problem that the foot portion of the garment would be abraded so as to provide a leak into the garment. It would be preferable to have protective boots which can be quickly attached and detached from a protective garment since the hazardous environment usually occurs unexpectedly. 
   Firemen generally wear protective boots and wear protective garments in an atmosphere which is generally expected because of a previous warning. In such cases it is preferred to be able to quickly attach a protective garment to protective boots and to easily detach them for easy and quick removal so as to decontaminate the items if required. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a means for modifying existing boots and protective garments to provide the combination of protective boots which can be quickly attached to or released from a protective garment. More particularly, there is provided an attachment for a protective boots and an attachment to the pants or pants portion of a protective garment which creates a seal against liquids and gases. Accordingly, there is provided an attachment to the pants by a ring which bayonets into a sealed position with a mating ring attached on the top of the boot. 
   The kind of attachment of the rings to the pants and the boots can be made depending on the activity of the user. 
   Advantageously, a locking mechanism is utilized to prevent any accidental detachment of the units. 
   It is therefore a general object of the invention to provide a means for connection and disconnection of protective boots from a protective garment. 
   It is another object of the invention to provide a means for modifying existing boots and protective pants so as to provide a quick release mechanism. 
   It is a further object of the invention to provide an attachment and detachment means for boots and protective garments which will survive rough and strenuous activity without forming a leak. 
   These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent from a reading of the preferred embodiments and from the drawings. 
   The term “bayonet” as used herein refers to an attachment between two parts in which one part has tabs and the other part has an L-shaped slot which mates the parts together. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing the attachment of a pant leg to a boot according to one embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a sectional view taken along line  2 — 2  of  FIG. 1  showing another embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a cuff and boot assembly according to a further embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 4  is an exploded view showing the sealing arrangement of the sealing rings of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   As shown in  FIG. 1  a pant cuff and boot assembly  10  is shown in its simplest form. A sealing ring  16  is attached to the cuff of the pant leg  12  of a protective garment. A mating sealing ring  18  is attached outside and at the top of a protective boot  14 . One of the rings  16 ,  18  is provided with a bayonet slot (not shown) so that a twist of a ring seals the parts  16 ,  18  together. A locking means  32  is provided which prevents unsealing of the rings  16 ,  18 . The locking means can comprise a screw that locks into a mating portion of a ring in a way which can prevent entry of any liquids or gas. Alternatively, the locking means  32  can be in the form of a sealed plug. 
   The groove in one of the rings preferably contains an O-ring to provide an effective seal against gas. The rings  16 ,  18  can be attached to their respective parts by means depending upon whether they comprise metal or synthetic materials. The simplest form is to adhere the rings  16 ,  18  to their respective parts with an adhesive. Preferable the adhesive is a high strength epoxy adhesive or the parts are sonic bonded. 
   The simplest arrangement is most suitable for low risk use such as for waders for fishermen or for rainwear where the strenuous activity is minimal. This type of arrangement is suitable for installation at the time of manufacture. 
     FIGS. 2 and 3  illustrate a further embodiment of the invention wherein rings  16  and  18  are part of an assembly to retrofit an existing pant leg  12  of a protective garment to a boot  14  for use in a hazardous environment. The boot ring  18  is adhered at the top and outside of boot  14  by adhesive. A metal retaining ring  30  can be placed within the inside of boot  14  to hold the boot within groove  18   c  using  18 . Ring  18  is provided with tabs  18   d  for mating with the bayonet lock slots  16   b  of the upper ring  14 . Ring  18  contains grooves  18   a  on the top and mates with ring  16  which contains an O-ring  22  as a static seal. At the top of ring  18  is stop  18   d  which aids in correctly aligning rings  16  and  18 . Stop  18   d  also aligns locking tab  18   d  of the bayonet tab  18   d.    
   Ring  16  which holds pant leg  12  by a cuff  12   a  which is retained in place by clamp  24 . Ring  16  contains bayonet locking slots  16   b  which mates and cooperates with bayonet tabs  18 ′ d  of ring  18  and is locked in place by locking screw  32 . Ring  16  has a groove  16   a  with an O-ring  20  to provide a seal with the clamp ring  24 . A rubber or plastic band  26  may be optionally placed under clamp ring  24  to prevent accidental tearing of the cuff. Clamp ring  24  has a mechanical locking mechanism which optionally may be covered by a protective band such as tape  28 . 
   It should be understood that the optional materials are used as added precautions and depend on the type of clamp and locking mechanisms utilized. The principal features comprise the ring  14  which retains the pant leg and provides a locking fit by a bayonet arrangement with the boot ring  18 . 
     FIG. 4  illustrates in greater detail the sealing and locking arrangement of the present invention. Ring  18  seals against ledge or face  16   e  of ring  16  by way of face or edge  18   b  O-ring  22  creates the seal on ledge  16   e .  16   c  is the locking groove for the boot ring  18 . The two grooves hold locking screw  32  locking slots.  16   b  of the ring  16  and tabs  18   d  of ring  18  provide the bayonet arrangements provide the twist locking and stopping for the proper alignment of the rings  16 ,  18  so that they can be locking in place with locking screw  32 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 4  the locking arrangement between the pant legs and the boots can simply be made by attachment to the boot and cuffs by use of adhesives and compression fitting. However, when extreme concern is involved because of a hazardous environment then the additional precautions are required to prevent any leakage of hazardous fluids or gases. In which case, additional seals can be provided. 
   To attach ring  16  to the pant leg  12 , a cuff  12   a  is prepared and placed over the outside of ring  16 . An O-ring  20  is then placed over the cuff  12   a  and presses into groove  16   a . Adhesive can also be used to adhere the cuff  12   a  to the ring  16 . A clamp  24  is then tightened over the cuff  12   a  and ring  16  to hold the pant leg securely to the ring  16 . Between the clamp  24  and the cuff  12   a  a protective covering can be used such as a rubber or elastic band  26  to prevent the clamp  24  from inadvertently tearing the pant leg  12 . A tape  28  may be used to cover the clamp  24 . 
   The rings  16 ,  18  may be provided with one or more tabs and one or more L-shaped slots which received the tabs to connect the two rings, preferably at least two tabs and cooperating slots are used to form a seal which can be locked in place. 
   The term “protective garment” includes pants, coveralls, and the like which are conventional plastic materials used by the military and firemen in hazardous atmospheres. 
   It is understood that the rings and accessories can be provided in a kit so that individuals can retrofit existing protective garments and boots. 
   While particular embodiments of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended to cover the appended claims all such modifications that are within the scope of this invention.