....CHDE..ESFR..GR..LI..........................................................R0750855EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATIONA119970102EP96830331.319960606itenenGE950066 19950609IT19970102199701199701021997016 6A 41D 13/04 AdeSchutznetzanzug für gefährliche ArbeitenenProtective net suit for dangerous worksfrCombinaison de protection pour travaux dangereux réalisée à partir d'un treillis1Muratorio, Alberto02163160RM/X88565/EP-SBVia Giaiette 2218013 Diano Marina (IM)ITMuratorio, AlbertoVia Giaiette 2218013 Diano Marina (IM)ITBazzichelli, Alfredoet al00040161c/o Società Italiana Brevetti S.p.A. Piazza di Pietra, 3900186 RomaITCHDEESFRGRLI

A protective net garment for dangerous jobs that is made either entirely or in part of netting, preferably of the non-run type (11), with a perforated panel (12, 13) or with links (14), of a strength such as to resist damage by elements or parts falling or thrown during the job and to allow body transpiration. Said protective garment has fixing tapes (2, 5) and, on the inner surface, spacers (4) suitable to hold the protective garment away from the body so as to absorb the shock of waste materials, and particularly of use when the operator is working in conditions of high environmental heat and in danger of being sprayed with poisonous liquids. This protective garment can take the shape of an apron (1), a shirt (1a, 1b) if necessary provided with leggings (1b') and sleeves (6, 6'), or an overall with body (7), trousers (8) and sleeves (9), in which the above elements can be separated and joined together by means of connection devices (10), preferably of a pleated type.

The present invention relates to a protective garment for dangerous jobs, made with a net or links of shock-proof material, such as for example metal net or links and/or net or links of plastic polymers or the like. This is particularly useful, for example, to protect the body of operators during use of agricultural machinery (such as bush-cutters) and machine tools (such as circular saws).

Protective garments according to the state of the art involve a first problem, in that they have a continuous, compact surface and for this reason do not allow the skin of the person wearing them to transpire, thus creating particularly uncomfortable working conditions. Furthermore, the protective garments commercially available today do not cover the body of the operator completely, leaving many parts uncovered and thus more frequently subjected to accidents during work.

The material forming the protective garment in reference may conveniently be made in various manners, for example woven wires of whatever diameter, a printed panel or chain links, the latter having the advantage of being more flexible and thus of following the movements of the operator more easily.

The garment can be shaped in various manners, for example it can take the form of an apron, that of a coverall or that of an overall, and said garment can also include parts protecting the legs and arms, either in one piece with the garment itself or to be added as required and optionally connected to the garment by means of suitable connection strips.

Furthermore, according to the invention, a number of spacers of whatever convenient form are provided inside the garment, for example circular, elongated, etc., capable of holding the garment away from the body in such a way as to allow free transpiration of the skin and to protect the body from waste materials and from spraying by poisonous liquids or juices, in whatever manner the latter are released, in particular during agricultural work.

Object of the present invention is to create a garment capable of protecting in a complete and safe manner the body of the operator in the agricultural and industrial sector, without impeding skin transpiration.

This is possible by foreseeing a protective garment made of netting or chains of material that is resistant to impact, such as for preference metal netting or chain links and/or plastic polymer or glass fibre netting or chain links. It is also advantageously possible to use netting or chain links of any type, coated with plastic materials. Said netting or chain links for preference comprise holes or openings of small dimensions, such as to allow the heat of the operator's body to pass out while at the same time protecting him from waste products, however these may be detached and thrown during his work.

The above invention is illustrated by way of an example in the enclosed drawings, in which:

figure 1 shows an internal front view of a protective net apron;
figure 2 shows a side view of the protective apron of figure 1;
figures 3, 4 and 5 show examples of the type of netting or chain links that can be used to make the protective garment;
figure 6 shows a front view of the protective garment in the form of a coverall;
figure 7 shows a front view of the coverall garment with leggings;
figure 8 shows a perspective view of a protective sleeve of the open kind;
figure 9 shows a perspective view of a protective sleeve of the closed kind; and
figure 10 shows a front view of a protective overall with sleeves and trousers, fitted with connection elements.

With reference to the above figures, the protective garment can take the form of an apron 1 in chain links as illustrated in figures 1 and 2. This apron 1 has a belt 3 and relative ties 2 to fix it at the waist. Inside said apron 1 are various spacers 4 capable of spacing the apron from the normal clothing in order to give better skin transpiration. It is obvious that these spacers 4 are particularly useful during the summer season, when the operator is wearing light or no clothing, and when there is also a possibility of spraying by poisonous juices or liquids.

Said spacers 4 are distributed as required over the whole or part of the surface of the protective garment and can be of any convenient shape, such as circular button shaped or elongated.

The apron according to figure 1 can have sleeves fixed to the front part of the armholes.

Figure 6 shows the protective garment in the form of a coverall 1a, again in resistant net or chain links and normally provided with fastening ties 2. This coverall garment obviously protects the rear part of the body as well.

Figure 7 shows a coverall garment 1b, similar to the preceding one, but equipped with leggings 1b' for protection of the front portion of the legs, with relative ties 5.

Figure 8 shows an open sleeve protecting the arms of the operator, equipped with ties 5, while figure 9 shows a closed sleeve 6'.

Figure 10 shows the protective garment in the form of an overall, comprising a body 7, trousers 8 and sleeves 9, in which optionally for ease of dressing the body 7, trousers 8 and sleeves 9 are separate and joined together by means of connection means 10, preferably of a pleated type.

The protective garment as described in its various forms can be completed by headgear and a mask to protect the head and face, made of strong net and/or chain links.

The material used to make the protective garment described can be woven net 11 as illustrated in figure 3, or a panel 12 printed with holes 13 of whatever form, for example square, rectangular or circular. It is also advantageously possible to use chain links of the sinusoidal type as shown in figure 5, which has an excellent level of flexibility.

Said net or chain links can be in metal wire of whatever diameter, optionally coated with plastic, or it can be a thread of resistant plastic polymer. Non-run nets that can be advantageously used for the purposes of the present invention are commercially available.

For greater protection of the operator according to whether the invention is being used in the agricultural or industrial sector, the garment can be either partially or wholly made of a double layer of net. Furthermore, to increase its strength and/or level of protection according to whether the invention is to be used in the agricultural or industrial sector, certain parts of the net can be covered or replaced by other non-net materials, such as the edges, sleeve or pocket seams, thickening and reinforcing bands, very bottom part of the apron. The sleeves can also be fitted with cuffs.

The spacers 4 inside the garment, as shown in figures 1 and 2, can also be provided in the other solutions shown in figures 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, and are placed in the most suitable positions for aeration, body transpiration and increased protection from waste materials. These spacers 4, of whatever convenient shape, are preferably of a soft material such as soft plastic or rubber, and are fixed using suitable means meshing with the net, with the chain links or with the panel forming the garment.

According to a version particularly of use for bush-cutters, the inside front portion of the apron is equipped with a rather rigid pipe positioned horizontally at the level of the belt, so as to hold the apron open for better protection of the legs. This pipe is narrower than the width of the apron, leaving the outer edges of the latter free to allow connection of the bush-cutter to the operator's neck-strap.

This protective garment can be made of a combination of elements in net, panel or chain links, according to requirements.

Obviously the solutions illustrated as non-limiting examples can be combined together in a variety of ways to satisfy the various possible needs of operators in the agricultural and industrial field.

A protective garment for dangerous jobs, especially useful for operators in the agricultural and industrial fields, characterised in that said garment, or part thereof (1, 1a, 1b, 1b', 6, 6', 7) is made using net (11), perforated panel (12, 13) or chain links (14) of a strength sufficient to support the impact of elements or parts that are broken off or thrown during the work, and at the same time to allow body transpiration, in which said garment or parts thereof comprises fixing ties (2, 5) and spacers (4) on its internal surface, said spacers (4) being suitable to separate the garment from the body, for greater protection from waste materials, particularly useful when the operator is working in conditions of extreme environmental heat and with the danger of spraying by poisonous juices.

A protective garment according to claim 1, characterised in that it is made using a net (11) of woven threads, preferably of the non-run type.

A protective garment according to claim 1, characterised in that it is made using a panel (12) with holes of small size and whatever shape.

A protective garment according to claim 1, characterised in that it is made using sinusoidal chain links (14).

A protective garment according to claims 2 and 4, characterised in that the threads forming the protective garment are threads of a suitable diameter and strength, of metal material, of plastic polymer material or of metal material coated with plastic.

A protective garment according to claim 1, characterised in that it has the shape of an apron (1), optionally provided with sleeves.

A protective garment according to claim 1, characterised in that it has the shape of a coverall (1a, 1b), optionally provided with leggings (1b').

A protective garment according to claim 1, characterised in that it has sleeves (6, 6') of an open or closed type protecting the arms.

A protective garment according to claim 1, characterised in that it has the shape of an overall with a body (7), trousers (8) and sleeves (9), in which sale separate elements are connected together by connection means (10), preferably of a pleated type.

A protective garment according to claims 1 and following, characterised in that it can take the shape of a mixture of apron, coverall and overall.

A protective garment according to claims 1 and following, characterised in that it can be wholly or partially made of a double layer of net (11, 12, 14) of any type, that is to say cross-woven net (11), panel (12) or chain links (14).

A protective garment according to claim 1 and following, characterised in that certain parts of the net can be covered or replaced by other non-net materials.