SAFETY VEST

Abstract

A high visibility safety vest has a front and back panel connected together by separable and elasticized side panels, the arrangement being such that the garment may be easily separated from the wearer's body. One or more fasteners can located on each of the side panels, and the front and back panels may be joined at the shoulder of the vest by separable fasteners.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to safety garments and more particularly to high visibility, detachable safety garments.

2. Description of the Related Art

High visibility articles of clothing typically incorporate combinations of luminescent and retro-reflective surfaces. It is necessary to minimize the likelihood that a wearer may become caught up or injured when clothing such as a safety vest is caught accidentally or grasped deliberately. Such garments are designed for use in situations such as terrorism and crowd control and may be used by persons such as police, fire, security, safety, hospital and other public services.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a high visibility safety garment, which is designed to prevent entanglement.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a safety garment which comprises front and back panels connected together by separable and elasticized side panels, the arrangement being such that the garment may be easily separated from the wearer's body if part of the garment is caught accidentally or grasped deliberately.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, references will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the safety garment according to one embodiment of the present invention, and

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the safety garment shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, a safety vest 10 according to one embodiment of the invention includes a front panel 12 and a back panel 14 that extend from the wearer's shoulders to the hips. The sides of the front panel 12 and the back panel 14 are joined by two elasticized side panels 16a and 16b. One or more fastening means 18a and 18b are provided along the left and right elasticized side panels 16a and 16b. The tops of the front panel 12 and back panel 14 are also joined by separable fastening means 18c and 18d so that the garment can be easily freed from the wearer's body.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fastening means 18a and 18b run from under each arm opening to the waist on both the left and right side of the vest. Each fastening means comprises first and second mating strips, with one strip of each fastening means being on the front panel 12 and the other strip being located on the respective side panels.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fastening means are hook and loop fasteners such as those sold under the trade mark VELCRO™ or touch tape, so that when the vest is grabbed and pulled, the fastening means can be separated, allowing the front panel 12 and back panel 14 to be disconnected and pulled off the wearer.

Preferably, the elasticized side panels 16a, 16b extend from the opening under the arm to the waist of the vest, allowing a certain amount of pull when the vest gets caught or deliberately pulled whilst worn.

A pattern of reflective, fluorescent or photoluminescent material may be applied to the vest. Each portion of the pattern may be formed from strips of retro-reflective material. Upper and lower reflective strips may span the front and back panel. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the retro-reflective strips 20 run horizontally across the front and back panels of the vest, and retro-reflective strips 21 run vertically from the first horizontal strip over the shoulders of the vest.

Preferably, the body of the vest includes four encircling or circumferential retro-reflective strips, and a pair of longitudinal retro-reflective strips, each of which extend from the uppermost circumferential strip of the front panel 12 over the shoulder to the uppermost circumferential strip on the back panel 14.

A zipper 22 is provided which extends from the neck to the waistband 24 of the safety garment so that the garment may be easily put on or removed.

The safety vest may also include an elasticized waistband 24.

The high visibility safety vest is intended to be worn over clothing.

It is preferred that all fabric components used in the manufacture of the above mentioned garments shall conform to the Australian Standard for High Visibility Safety Garments (AS/NZS 4602:1999) or the European Standard for High Visibility, EN471.

The safety vest may be used during the day or at night and preferably incorporates fluorescent orange and lime yellow colors for enhanced daytime visibility. Preferably the vests are made from retro-reflective fabrics and films that exceed the highest brightness category level of AS/NZS 1906.4:1997. In a preferred embodiment, 3M™ Scotchlite™ Retroreflective films and fabrics are used to ensure visibility at night or in conditions of poor light. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that other suitable fabrics and films are within the scope of the invention.

Various other modifications may be made in details of the shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation of the reflective material, and in the construction of the safety garments without departing from the scope or ambit of the invention.

Claims

1. A high visibility safety vest comprising a front and back panel connected together by separable and elasticized side panels, the arrangement being such that the garment may be easily separated from the wearer's body.

2. The high visibility safety vest of claim 1 further comprising one or more fastening means provided on each of the side panels.

3. The high visibility safety vest of claim 1 wherein the front and back panels are joined at the shoulder of the vest by separable fastening means.

4. The high visibility vest of claim 2 wherein the fastening means extend along the length of the panels.

5. The high visibility vest of claim 3 wherein the fastening means extend along the length of the panels.

6. The high visibility vest of claim 2 wherein the fastening means comprises a first and second mating strip, each strip located on opposing panels.

7. The high visibility vest of claim 3 wherein the fastening means comprises a first and second mating strip, each strip located on opposing panels.

8. The high visibility vest of claim 2 wherein the fastening means comprises hook and loop fasteners.

9. The high visibility vest of claim 3 wherein the fastening means comprises hook and loop fasteners.

10. The high visibility vest of claim 1 wherein the vest is made of retro-reflective material.

11. The high visibility vest of claim 1 further comprising an opening for the neck and a waist band.

12. The high visibility vest of claim 1 further comprising a zipper that extends from the neck opening to the waistband.

13. The high visibility vest of claim 11 wherein the waistband is elasticized.

14. The high visibility vest of claim 1 further comprising a pattern of retro-reflective material.

15. The high visibility vest of claim 14 wherein the pattern of retro-reflective material includes circumferential strips on the front and back panels.

16. The high visibility vest of claim 14 wherein the pattern of retro-reflective material includes longitudinal strips which extend over the shoulder portion of the vest.

17. The high visibility vest of claim 14 wherein the pattern of retro-reflective material includes longitudinal strips which extend from the uppermost circumferential strip on the front panel over the shoulder portion to the uppermost circumferential strips on the back panel.