JP7514011B2 - Work hood - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a work hood suitable for wearing at work sites where a large amount of dust is generated, such as during blasting work.

When working with dust, such as sandblasting, and dust may fly toward the face, workers may ensure safety by wearing a work hood that can cover the entire head, including the face, or the upper body, including the head. In addition, to further improve safety, a work hood may be worn together with a dust mask.

For example, the dust mask described in Patent Document 1 includes a hood that covers the head, face, and neck of the worker, and a dust mask worn over the hood. The dust mask has an air inlet that can be connected to the hood to allow outside air to be filtered and taken in. The hood also has a tightening cord for closing the opening located at the wearer's neck when the hood is put on over the head.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-166859

In the conventional dust masks, the dust mask and the hood are integrated together even though they are detachable, so the types of dust masks that can be used with the hood are limited. In addition, when putting on or taking off the hood, the dust mask is integrated with the hood, which can make the actions of putting on or taking off the hood cumbersome. Furthermore, when the wearer moves his or her head from side to side, the hood, which is integrated with the dust mask, also moves from side to side, which is a burden for the wearer. In addition, the tightening string to prevent dust from entering the hood from below goes around the neck of the dust mask wearer, and tightening this string means that the hood is fixed to the neck, which further increases the burden when trying to move the head freely from side to side.

In addition, if a worker puts on a work hood over a dust mask without giving it special consideration, it is difficult to prevent the hood from blocking the air intake of the dust mask.

The present invention aims to provide a work hood that is easy to put on, does not require a specific type of mask to be used, and reduces the strain on the head when worn, even when a dust mask such as a half-face mask is used together with the work hood. Another objective is to solve the problem of the work hood blocking the air intake of a dust mask that is already being worn.

In order to solve the above problems, the subject of the present invention is a work hood worn by a worker, which is made of fabric that covers the head and neck including the face of the worker's body and a part of the lower part of the body connected to the neck, the part covering the face is formed with a see-through window using a glass pane, the inside of the part covering the head can be fed with intake air from an airline hose, and has front-to-back directions, left-to-right directions, and up-to-down directions that correspond to the front-to-back directions, left-to-right directions, and up-to-down directions of the body, respectively.

The features of the present invention regarding such a work hood are as follows. That is, the hood has a pair of tucks that extend in the vertical direction and are located below the viewing window in the area that covers the front part of the body, and each of the tucks has a mountain fold that extends in the vertical direction and is convex toward the outside in the horizontal direction, and a valley fold that is connected to the mountain fold and is convex toward the inside in the horizontal direction, and at least one of the mountain fold and the valley fold can be expanded toward the front of the work hood.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the fabric has a portion folded at the mountain fold to face each other and a portion folded at the valley fold to face each other, and at least one of these portions is joined to the fabric via fastening means in either a separable or inseparable manner.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, in the work hood in which the fabrics are joined in the separable manner, any of fastening means including buttons, snaps, and mechanical fasteners is used, and a plurality of the fastening means are used side-by-side in the left-right direction, and the position of at least one of the mountain folds and the valley folds can be changed by selecting the fastening means from among the plurality of fastening means.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the work hood has a pair of left and right belts that enable the portion of the work hood located behind the tuck to fit the body of the worker over the work clothes worn by the worker.

According to the work hood of the present invention, the dust mask such as a half-face mask used by the worker wearing the work hood does not need to be connected to the work hood, so there is no need to specify the type of dust mask to be used, and the work hood can be easily put on and taken off. The work hood has a pair of symmetrical tacks extending vertically below the viewing window, and the tacks can be expanded toward the front of the work hood. Therefore, even if the dust mask used by the worker has a filter material attached so that it protrudes forward, the tip of the filter material can be easily stored between the pair of tacks by expanding the tacks, and the worker can easily move his or her head inside the work hood. Also, when the dust mask is not used, the work hood can be made compact by closing the tacks, making it easier for the worker to work while wearing the work hood.

The drawings show specific embodiments of the invention according to the present disclosure, including essential features of the invention as well as alternative and preferred embodiments.
FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the work hood in a worn state. FIG. 4 is a rear view of the work hood when worn. 4A to 4D are diagrams illustrating examples of how the fastener can be used.

The details of the work hood according to the present invention are as follows, with reference to the attached drawings:

1 is a perspective view of a work hood 10 in a worn state, showing the front side of the work hood 10. The work hood 10 is made of a fabric having a required strength, such as canvas or rubberized cloth, and has a top part 11 that can cover the head including the face 2 of the wearer, a middle part 12 that can cover the neck part (not shown) of the worker 1, and a lower part 13 that can cover at least a part of the shoulders, chest, and back of the worker 1. The worker 1 is wearing work clothes 3, and the work hood 10 is worn over the work clothes 3. Such a work hood 10 has an up-down direction A, a left-right direction B, and a front-back direction C that correspond to the up-down direction, left-right direction, and front-back direction for the worker 1. The left and right used in this invention mean the left and right for the worker 1. In the illustrated work hood 10, which is a preferred example of the work hood 10, each part, except for the headband 19 and neckband 21 described below, is made symmetrical with respect to a bisector M that bisects the viewing window 15 described below in the left-right direction B and extends in the up-down direction A.

In the work hood 10, an airline hose 14 for feeding fresh air into the inside of the work hood 10 is detachably connected to the top 11. A see-through window 15 is formed in the front part of the top 11, through which the outside of the work hood 10 can be seen from the inside through a transparent eye glass 16. In the see-through window 15, the eye glass 16 is fitted into a metal frame 17. The frame 17 is attached to the work hood 10 by a number of screws 17a. A see-through net 18 for protecting the eye glass 16, which is the see-through glass, is attached to the see-through window 15 so as to be freely opened and closed. In FIG. 1, the net 18 is in an open state. The top 11 is also attached with an adjustable headband 19 (see FIG. 6) that allows the rear part of the top 11 to be fitted appropriately to the head (not shown) of the worker 1.

The work hood 10 also has a length-adjustable neckband 21 attached to the middle section 12. The neckband 21 has fixed ends 22 on both the left and right sides of the middle section 12, and extends toward the rear of the work hood 10 so as to make approximately half a circle around the neck of the worker 1, so that the middle section 12 of the work hood 10 can be fitted to the neck or the area near the neck of the worker 1 after wearing (see FIG. 6). In the work hood 10, the neckband 21 may be positioned above or below the neck of the worker 1 depending on the body size of the worker 1. However, in either case, the neckband 21 can keep the slack of the work hood 10 at or near the neck of the worker 1 small behind the neck so that the slack does not interfere with the movement of the neck. By reducing the internal volume of the work hood 1 in this way, it becomes easier to increase the positive pressure inside the hood by supplying air from the airline hose 14. In addition, the neckband 21 only extends toward the rear of the work hood 10, and does not extend to the front of the work hood 10 where the tucks 30L, 30R described below are formed. This means that the free movement of the tucks 30L, 30R formed in the front of the work hood 10 is not restricted by the neckband 21, and the work hood 10 does not block the air intake of the dust mask.

The lower part 13 of the work hood 10 has a front body part 25 that extends in the left-right direction B so as to cover the chest or a part of the chest and abdomen of the worker 1, a rear body part 26 (see FIG. 6) that extends in the left-right direction B so as to cover the back, and a shoulder part 27 that can cover at least a part of the shoulder. The front body part 25 and the rear body part 26 can be separably connected to each other by extending to the armpits of the worker 1. The front body part 25 has a tuck structure part 30 below the viewing window 15, which is composed of a pair of left tucks 30L and right tucks 30R. The left tucks 30L and right tucks 30R are symmetrical and include mountain folds 31L, 31R, and preferably also include valley folds 32L, 32R. The preferred tuck structure 30 extends to the lower end 31 of the front body portion 25, and at least upper fasteners 33L, 33R are used to maintain the shape of each tuck 30L, 30R, and preferably lower fasteners 34L, 34R are also used (see Figures 2 and 4).

Figure 2 is a view taken along line II-II in Figure 1, and shows the upper fasteners 33L, 33R and the left tuck 30L and right tuck 30R around them. The left tuck 30L is formed by folding the fabric 36 forming the front body portion 25 of the work hood 10 so as to form a mountain fold 31L extending in the up-down direction A (see Figure 1), i.e., by folding the fabric 36 so that portions 41L and 42L of the fabric 36 face each other, and by joining and integrating the facing portions using fasteners, at least the upper fastener 33L, either inseparably or separably.

The right tuck 30R, like the left tuck 30L, is formed by folding the fabric 36 to join the opposing sections 41R and 42R together using an upper fastener 33R in either an inseparable or separable manner.

In FIG. 2, the portion 43 extending substantially horizontally between the upper fasteners 33L and 33R is the center portion in the left-right direction B of the front body portion 25 of the work hood 10 (see FIG. 1). In addition, in FIG. 2, the portions 44L and 44R extending downward or rearward from the valley folds 32L and 32R, respectively, are portions where the fabric 36 is bent to form the valley folds 32L and 32R in the vicinity of the upper fasteners 33L and 33R, respectively, and extends toward the rear body portion 26 of the work hood 10. Between these portions 44L and 44R, a space 45 capable of accommodating the tip portion 62 (see FIG. 5) of the filter material 61 described below is formed.

Figure 3 is a view taken along the line III-III in Figure 1, showing the state of the left tuck 30L, right tuck 30R, and portion 43 below the upper fasteners 33L, 33R in Figure 1. In the fabric 36, portions 41L and 42L forming the mountain fold 31L in the left tuck 30L, and portions 41R and 42R forming the mountain fold 31R in the right tuck 30R are less restricted in movement in the left-right direction B and the front-back direction C, and form a space 45 that is farther apart than in the case of Figure 2. In the fabric 36, portions 44L and 44R connected to the valley folds 32L, 32R, respectively, extend toward the rear body portion 26 of the work hood 10, as in the case of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view taken along line IV-IV in Figure 1, where line IV-IV extends to connect lower fasteners 34L and 34R in Figure 1. Lower fastener 34L is used to create a Z-fold by folding parts 41L and 42L that are folded over at mountain fold 31L so that tuck 30L in Figure 2 can be taken, as well as part 44L that extends toward rear body part 26 while working with part 42L to create valley fold 32L. Lower fastener 34R is also used to create a Z-fold by folding parts 41R and 42R as well as part 44R. Thus, at the lower end 31 of work hood 10, left tuck 30L and right tuck 30R are closed in an unopenable state. However, in a preferred work hood 10, openable and closable lower fasteners 34L and 34R are used. In the front body portion 25 of the work hood 10 in the state shown in Figure 4, the space 45 that appeared in Figures 2 and 3 has almost disappeared, and the portion 43 between the left tuck 30L and the right tuck 30R is in contact with or easily in contact with the work clothes 3 (see Figure 1). As a result, the space 45 inside the work hood 10 can be in a state where its lower portion is close to being closed, and when this state is reached, the fresh air supplied to the inside of the work hood 10 from the airline hose 14 does not easily flow out from the lower end 31 of the work hood 10.

The fastening means exemplified as the upper fasteners 33L, 33R and the lower fasteners 34L, 34R may be any conventional fastening means such as a pair of male and female buttons or a mechanical fastener, in addition to the fastening means shown in the figures. There are fastening means that can be opened and closed, and those that cannot be opened and closed, but either can be used in the present invention.

5 and 6 are a partially cutaway side view and a rear view of the work hood 10 worn by the worker 1. In the work hood 10, the headband 19 that goes almost halfway around the top 11 and the neckband 21 that goes almost halfway around the neck 12 are divided into two parts with adjustable lengths via the respective connectors 19a and 21a. By manipulating the connectors 19a and 21a, the top 11 and the neck 12 fit the head and neck of the worker 1 (both not shown) well, allowing the head of the worker 1 to move freely even when wearing the work hood 10. The connectors 19a and 21a can be conventional buttons, buckles, or a pair of male and female mechanical fasteners. As is clear from FIG. 5, in the front body portion 25 of the work hood 10, the tacks 30L and 30R that extend in the vertical direction A below the viewing window 15 form the space 45 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In FIG. 5, the worker 1 is using a dust-proof half mask 60 that can cover the nostrils and mouth. The half mask 60 is fitted with a filter material 61 that protrudes forward of the worker 1 at the center in the width direction. At least the front end portion 62 of the filter material 61 is housed in a space 45 formed in the front body portion 25 of the work hood 10. A number of intake holes (not shown) are formed in the front end portion 62. The space 45 is a wide space extending in the vertical direction A as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. In addition, the front body portion 25 has tucks 30L and 30R, so that the front portion 25 does not move unnecessarily to interfere with the movement of the worker 1, but can be deformed according to the shape and size of the half mask 60. For example, when the filter material 61 protrudes forward, the tucks 30L and 30R expand forward so as to increase their inner angle, and can extend forward in FIG. 5 with almost no resistance from the work hood 10. In addition, with the filter material 61, not only is the intake hole not blocked by the work hood 10, but the fresh air sent to the work hood 10 via the airline 14 can be spread throughout the wide space formed around the filter material 61, allowing the air to be inhaled. Furthermore, the movement of the head (not shown) of the worker 1 and the filter material 61 is not restricted by the work hood 10 as in the prior art, so the head can move easily. As can be seen from the illustrated example, there are no particular restrictions on the dust mask used with the work hood 10, but considering the size of the work hood 10 that is normally used, it is preferable that the dust mask be a half-face mask.

Figures 7(a) to (d) are partial enlarged views of Figure 2 illustrating the manner in which fasteners 33L, 33R, 34L, and 34R, which are fastening means, are used. However, to simplify the explanation, only fastener 33R is illustrated diagrammatically.

In FIG. 7(a), a pair of male and female snap fasteners 330a, 330b that can be detachably fitted to each other is used instead of the fastener 33R in FIG. 2. The snap fasteners 330a and 330b are attached to the opposing surfaces of the portion 41R and the portion 42R that are folded over to form the mountain fold 31R in the fabric 36. When putting on or taking off the work hood 10, the snap fasteners 330a and 330b are separated, and when the work hood 10 is being worn, the snap fasteners 330a and 330b are connected to each other, making it easier to put on and take off the work hood 10.

In FIG. 7B, one of the snap fasteners 330a and 330b, for example, multiple snap fasteners 330b, are attached to the portion 42R so that they are aligned side by side in the left-right direction B. By using multiple snap fasteners 330b in different ways, it is possible to change the position of the mountain fold 31R and adjust the dimensions of the space 45 and the lower portion 13 of the work hood 10 in the left-right direction B.

In FIG. 7(c), one or two snap fasteners 330a and 330b are attached to the opposing portions 42R and 44R by forming a valley fold 32R in the fabric 36. One or two of these snap fasteners 330a and 330b are attached. These snap fasteners 330a and 330b function in the same way as those in FIG. 7(a) and (b), but because they are exposed, they can be easily operated to engage with each other.

Figure 7(d) is a view similar to Figure 7(c), but in Figure 7(d), two snap fasteners 330a and 330b are used and are engaged with each other. With the work hood 10 in this state, it is easy to maintain the shape of the tacks 30L and 30R even during work.

1. Worker (wearer)
2 Face 3 Work clothes 10 Work hood 11 Top 12 Middle 13 Lower 16 Eye glass 17 Eye frame 25 Front part 30 Tuck structure 30L Tuck 30R Tuck 33L Upper fastener 33R Upper fastener 34L Lower fastener 34R Lower fastener

Claims (4)

A work hood worn by a worker, said work hood being made of a fabric that covers the head and neck including the face of the worker's body and a part of the lower part of the body connected to the neck, said part covering the face having a see-through window using an eye glass, said part covering the head being capable of sending intake air from an airline hose to the inside of said part covering the head, said work hood having front-rear directions, left-right directions and up-down directions corresponding to the front-rear directions, left-right directions and up-down directions of said body,
The hood has a pair of tucks formed in the left-right direction, the tucks extending in the up-down direction and positioned below the viewing window in a portion covering a front portion of the body, each of the tucks having a mountain fold portion extending in the up-down direction and convex outward in the left-right direction, and a valley fold portion connected to the mountain fold portion and convex inward in the left-right direction, and at least one of the mountain fold portion and the valley fold portion is expandable toward the front of the work hood. The work hood according to claim 1, wherein the fabric has portions folded at the mountain folds so as to face each other, and portions folded at the valley folds so as to face each other, and at least one of these portions is joined to the fabric in a manner that is either separable or inseparable via fastening means. 3. The work hood according to claim 2, wherein the fabrics are joined in the separable manner, and a fastening means including a button, a snap, or a mechanical fastener is used, a plurality of the fastening means are used so as to be aligned side by side in the left- right direction, and the position of at least one of the mountain folds and the valley folds can be changed by selecting the fastening means from among the plurality of fastening means. The work hood according to claim 1 or 2, which has a pair of left and right belts that enable the portion of the work hood located behind the tuck to fit the body of the worker over the work clothes worn by the worker.

Images