Moisture wicking aluminized safety gear
AssigneeTex Tech Industries, Inc.
InventorsDavid A. BRAHMS, Vincent GALLACHER
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A safety garment material is designed to be used in high temperature environments where aluminized personal protection equipment is required gear to protect workers from high radiant heat as well as accidental molten metal splashing or spills. The material includes a plurality of layers of nonwoven fire-resistant oxidized polyacrylonitrile (OPAN) arranged in a wicking configuration to wick moisture away from the wearer's body and layer of perforated aluminized film to allow escape of moisture from the wearer's body.
Claims19
A safety garment material, comprising:
- an outer side and an inner, body-facing side;
- a first nonwoven fabric hydrophobic layer on the inner, body-facing side consisting essentially of hydrophobic oxidized polyacrylonitrile fibers and having areal density of 2 to 8 ounces per square yard;
- a second nonwoven fabric hydrophilic layer outward of the first nonwoven fabric layer, consisting essentially of hydrophilic oxidized polyacrylonitrile fibers, mechanically entangled with the first nonwoven fabric layer and having areal density of 2 to 8 ounces per square yard;
- a perforated, radiant heat resistant outer layer comprising aluminum and having 50 to 2000 perforations per square inch.
A method for making safety garment material, comprising:
- laying up 2 to 8 ounces per square yard of hydrophilic staple oxidized polyacrylonitrile (OPAN) fibers and 2 to 8 ounces per square yard of hydrophobic staple oxidized OPAN fibers in a needlepunching apparatus with a supporting outer scrim consisting essentially of para-aramid fibers, meta-aramid fibers, or a combination thereof having a weight of 2-5 ounces;
- performing a needlepunching operation to consolidate the layers, forming a consolidated fabric having a body-facing layer of predominantly hydrophobic fibers, a layer outward of the hydrophobic layer of predominantly hydrophilic fibers, and an outer scrim;
- wherein
- tufts of the hydrophilic fibers reach the body-facing side of the predominantly hydrophobic layer, forming moisture-conducting channels through the hydrophobic body-facing layer;
- adhering an aluminized film to the outer scrim;
- and
- performing a needlepunching operation to form perforations in the aluminized film to form a wicking, layered fire-protecting garment material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.