US 12,433,357 B1
Reusable, rear-opening protective garment with fastening elements configured to facilitate doffing-type removal
Jessica Lauren Lape Clagett, Cincinnati, OH (US); Richard Holbert, Jr., Loveland, OH (US); Rajib Mondal, Gulf Breeze, FL (US); Sara Arvidson Broadaway, Woodruff, SC (US); Warren William Gerhardt, Spartanburg, SC (US); Amy M. Luttrell, Cincinnati, OH (US); and Veronica L. Eastman, Cincinnati, OH (US)
Assigned to Standard Textile Co., Inc., Cincinnati, OH (US)
Filed by Standard Textile Co., Inc., Cincinnati, OH (US)
Filed on Jul. 3, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/763,712.
Int. Cl. A41D 13/12 (2006.01)
CPC A41D 13/1209 (2013.01) [A41D 13/129 (2013.01)] 30 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A rear-opening protective gown defining a personal protective equipment garment configured for removal by pull-forward doffing action, the protective gown comprising:
a central gown body sized to wrap around at least a torso area of a wearer, the central gown body including a front panel and a back panel, with the back panel being separated into a right portion and a left portion such that the protective gown opens at the back panel, wherein one of the right portion and left portion includes an overlapping section and the other of the right portion and left portion includes a corresponding overlapped section, the overlapping section and overlapped section being configured to lay over one another when the protective gown is donned by the wearer and closed;
a pair of opposing left and right sleeves that cooperate with and extend away from the central gown body for receiving arms of the wearer;
a neck opening defined by the central gown body adjacent a shoulder region of the central gown body located proximate a junction of the left and right sleeves with the central gown body; and
a plurality of fastening elements positioned on or proximate to the back panel, each fastening element including a first fastener mounted on the overlapping section of the back panel and a second fastener mounted on the overlapped section of the back panel of the central gown body, the first and second fasteners configured to engage with one another to define a connection having a shear strength greater than a peel strength thereof, with at least one of the fastening elements being located at the shoulder region,
wherein for each of the fastening elements that is located at the shoulder region, one of the first and second fasteners is mounted on a folded tab connected to a corresponding portion of the back panel, the folded tab being pivotable relative to the corresponding portion of the back panel such that when a doffing force is applied to the protective gown, the folded tab rotates to transfer a shearing force to the first and second fasteners, which is generated by transmission of the doffing force through the central gown body, into a peeling force that peels the first fastener apart from the second fastener, thereby facilitating ease of doffing the protective gown by application of the doffing force on the front panel without causing damage to the protective gown, thereby allowing for reuse of the protective gown.