(19)
(11) EP 1 472 941 A1

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(43) Date of publication:
03.11.2004 Bulletin 2004/45

(21) Application number: 04076219.7

(22) Date of filing: 22.04.2004
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC)7A41D 31/00
(84) Designated Contracting States:
AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HU IE IT LI LU MC NL PL PT RO SE SI SK TR
Designated Extension States:
AL HR LT LV MK

(30) Priority: 28.04.2003 NL 1023291

(71) Applicant: Ten Cate Protect B.V.
7443 PV Nijverdal (NL)

(72) Inventors:
  • Vliegen, Guido J. M.
    7471 BC Goor (NL)
  • Brinks, Robertus J. A.
    7468 DA Enter (NL)

(74) Representative: 't Jong, Bastiaan Jacob et al
Arnold & Siedsma, Sweelinckplein 1
2517 GK The Hague
2517 GK The Hague (NL)

   


(54) Aluminium protective clothing


(57) The invention relates to protective clothing for protection against liquid aluminium, which protective clothing comprises a carrier layer (1) and pile threads (2) arranged on the carrier layer (1), wherein the pile threads (2) are of a material which repels liquid aluminium, such as wool, a fibre material of artificially manufactured protein or creatine or of polyvinyl alcohol, and at least the carrier layer is of an (industrially) washable material.
The invention further relates to the use of a carrier layer (1) and pile threads (2) arranged on the carrier layer (1) for protective clothing for protection against liquid aluminium, wherein the pile threads (2) are of a material which repels liquid aluminium, such as wool, a fibre material of artificially manufactured protein or creatine, or of polyvinyl alcohol, and at least the carrier layer (1) is of an (industrially) washable material.




Description


[0001] The invention relates to protective clothing for protection against liquid aluminium.

[0002] There are considerable safety risks involved in production processes wherein liquid aluminium is used. Liquid aluminium per se resembles other liquid metals, wherein the temperature of liquid aluminium is much lower than that of other metals. A characteristic temperature range lies between 700 and 1000°C.

[0003] Splashes of liquid aluminium are however much more dangerous than for instance splashes of the much hotter liquid iron. This is because the liquid aluminium does not run off the usual heat and flame-resistant protective clothing. Liquid aluminium does in fact adhere to such clothing, whereby the material of the protective clothing degrades owing to the heat and can thus burn through the clothing and cause burns. Used in the primary aluminium production process is cryolite (Na3AlF6) which is even more aggressive than liquid aluminium, as it is about 1200°C in the liquid state and then adheres better to the usual protective clothing.

[0004] It is known that liquid aluminium and cryolite do not adhere to wool. Wool moreover has natural flame-resistant properties. However, when used in protective clothing in an industrial environment wool has the drawback that it is difficult to clean and not very strong compared to other materials. When wool is washed, it will shrink and become matted. These effects are even more pronounced in an industrial washing process. This results in shrinkage and the protective clothing becoming unsightly, whereby the clothing no longer fits, no longer provides sufficient protection or is no longer accepted by the user.

[0005] It is now an object of the invention to obviate the above stated drawback.

[0006] This object is achieved with protective clothing according to the invention, which protective clothing comprises a carrier layer and pile threads arranged on the carrier layer, wherein the pile threads are of a material which repels liquid aluminium, such as wool, a fibre material of artificially manufactured protein or creatine or of polyvinyl alcohol, and at least the carrier layer is of an (industrially) washable material.

[0007] The carrier layer ensures that the protective clothing is wash-resistant whereby the protective clothing retains its shape and can thus be cleaned industrially. The pile threads arranged on the carrier layer ensure a woollen surface, with the properties of wool, so that splashes of aluminium or cryolite will nevertheless drip off this protective clothing according to the invention. Even if the woollen pile threads shrink due to the industrial washing process, the form of the protective clothing will still not be affected. Only the length of the pile threads will be reduced, usually by up to about 10%, but, despite the short length of the woollen pile threads, this does not represent a problem and the woollen surface of the protective clothing will be retained. In addition, matting of the pile threads will not occur, or hardly so, since due to the relatively short length of the pile threads these pile threads will not be readily able to come into contact with each other and the matting process will not therefore be set in motion.

[0008] Instead of wool, a pile thread of any other material which repels liquid aluminium can of course be chosen, such as artificially manufactured protein or creatine or polyvinyl alcohol.

[0009] In an embodiment of the invention, the carrier layer complies with the requirements of EN340 and/or ISO13688 (Protective Clothing - general requirements). The protective clothing meets the particular requirement for dimensional stability after cleaning. The requirement is a maximum of ± 3% shrinkage in length and width after five washing and drying cycles in accordance with ISO6330 or ISO15797. ISO6330 describes standardized washing methods to imitate domestic washing processes. IS015797 describes standardised washing methods to imitate industrial washing processes.

[0010] The construction of the carrier layer can be a woven material, chain knit, knit with weft, circular knit, non-woven or stitch-bonded (non-woven which is stabilised by sewing thread). A knit is preferably used as carrier because of the higher dimensional stability (shrinkage or expansion).

[0011] The pile threads can further be loop-shaped.

[0012] The length of the pile threads preferably lies in the range of 1 mm to 5 mm, more preferably between 2 mm and 6 mm. The desired level of protection can be chosen by varying the length of the pile threads. The pile height is preferably not made any greater than is required to provide the desired protection, so that the clothing does not become too warm and too heavy.

[0013] As material for the carrier layer a choice can for instance be made from cell fibre materials (optionally flame-retardant), polyester, polyamide, aromatic polyamide (para-aramids and meta-aramids), (modified) acrylic, melamines and mixtures thereof. Self-extinguishing properties (for instance in accordance with EN531 or EN533) are usually desired on the front side of the material. In that case a mixture of polyester and cotton fibres is recommended for the wearer because of the good wash-resistance and the lower price. If such requirements are also made of the backing side of the material, a choice is then rather made for suitable flame-resistant fibre materials, preferably meta-aramids, flame-resistant viscose or other cell fibres, flame-resistant moda-acrylic or mixtures thereof.

[0014] The pile position on the carrier material can be lying as well as standing. A mixed form can also be envisaged. A standing pile is recommended to prevent optical differences between the pile directions of the clothing panels in ready-to-wear clothing.

[0015] The pile threads can be arranged in many ways, for instance by means of knots, loops and V or W shape. The woollen pile threads are preferably arranged such that no wool is present on the backing side of the cloth. This so as not to adversely affect the comfort on the skin of the relatively rough wool. This also prevents the pile threads coming loose on the backing side due to wear of the woollen threads.

[0016] The invention further relates to the use of a carrier layer and pile threads arranged on the carrier layer for protective clothing for protection against liquid aluminium, wherein the pile threads are of a material which repels liquid aluminium, such as wool, a fibre material of artificially manufactured protein or creatine, or of polyvinyl alcohol, and at least the carrier layer is of an (industrially) washable material.

[0017] Finally, the invention relates to the use of a carrier layer and pile threads arranged on the carrier layer for manufacturing protective clothing for protection against liquid aluminium, wherein the pile threads are of a material which repels liquid aluminium, such as wool, a fibre material of artificially manufactured protein or creatine, or of polyvinyl alcohol, and at least the carrier layer is of an (industrially) washable material.

[0018] The invention will be further elucidated with reference to the annexed figures.

[0019] Figure 1 shows in cross-sectional view an embodiment of a carrier layer and pile threads according to the invention arranged on the carrier layer.

[0020] Figures 2a and 2b show in detail a pile thread as according to figure 1 before and after a number of industrial washes.

[0021] Figure 1 shows a carrier layer 1 with a number of pile threads thereon. These pile threads 2 are of wool, while carrier layer 1 is of an industrially washable material.

[0022] Shown in figure 2a is a detail of pile thread 2. When carrier layer 1 and pile thread 2 are manufactured, pile thread 2 has a length L1. Since pile thread 2 is of wool, it will shrink as a result of an (industrial) washing process to a length L2 (see figure 2b). This difference in length will usually amount to more than 3%. As is apparent from figures 2a and 2b, the structure of carrier layer 1 and pile threads 2 changes little through shrinkage, whereby the advantageous properties of the whole according to the invention are retained.

[0023] Protective clothing according to the invention preferably complies with the relevant requirements of EN340 and/or ISO13688. The tensile strength of a woven carrier material is herein preferably more than 300 N for the warp and weft (measured in accordance with ISO13934/1 or ISO1421). The tear strength of the carrier material is preferably more than 15 N (measured in accordance with ISO4674-1 method 2A) in the case the carrier material is woven. Desirable in other cases is a rupture strength of more than 200 kPa, measured in accordance with ISO13938-1.


Claims

1. Protective clothing for protection against liquid aluminium, which protective clothing comprises a carrier layer and pile threads arranged on the carrier layer, wherein the pile threads are of a material which repels liquid aluminium, such as wool, a fibre material of artificially manufactured protein or creatine or of polyvinyl alcohol, and at least the carrier layer is of an (industrially) washable material.
 
2. Protective clothing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the carrier layer complies with the requirements for dimensional stability in accordance with EN340 or ISO13688, also after five washing cycles in accordance with ISO6330 or ISO15797.
 
3. Protective clothing as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the pile threads are loop-shaped.
 
4. Protective clothing as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the pile threads have a length in the range of 1 mm to 15 mm, in particular in the range of 2 mm - 6 mm.
 
5. Use of a carrier layer and pile threads arranged on the carrier layer for protective clothing for protection against liquid aluminium, wherein the pile threads are of a material which repels liquid aluminium, such as wool, a fibre material of artificially manufactured protein or creatine, or of polyvinyl alcohol, and at least the carrier layer is of an (industrially) washable material.
 
6. Use as claimed in claim 5, wherein the carrier layer complies with the requirements for dimensional stability in accordance with EN340 or ISO13688, also after five washing cycles in accordance with ISO6330 or ISO15797.
 
7. Use as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the pile threads are loop-shaped.
 
8. Use as claimed in any of the foregoing claims 5-7, wherein the pile threads have a length in the range of 1 mm - 15 mm, in particular in the range of 2 mm - 6 mm.
 
9. Use of a carrier layer and pile threads arranged on the carrier layer for manufacturing protective clothing for protection against liquid aluminium, wherein the pile threads are of a material which repels liquid aluminium, such as wool, a fibre material of artificially manufactured protein or creatine, or of polyvinyl alcohol, and at least the carrier layer is of an (industrially) washable material.
 




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