Verification of garment properties using multiple test coupons

Inventors

Coats, James

Assignees

Tactical Medical Solutions Inc

Abstract

Multiple test coupons are incorporated in the construction of a personal garment for the purpose of determining the presence of foreign substances acquired during garment use or a change in properties or other change in characteristics over time. Each of the test coupons is retained with the garment during the useful life of the garment until the coupon is individually removed for test purposes. Each test coupon has a construction identical to the garment construction and is easily removable and configured to allow for destructive testing. Sufficient multiple coupons are provided with each garment over its life to allow for periodic testing.

Core Innovation

The invention provides a garment system that retains multiple removably secured test coupons having the same construction as the garment. During the garment’s useful life, the test coupons are periodically removed for destructive testing to determine changes over time. The destructive testing is used to evaluate foreign/toxic chemical contamination and performance verification.

The disclosure describes problems in determining changes over a useful life, particularly deleterious foreign substances and toxic chemicals that can include cancer-causing chemicals. Representative contaminants include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, asbestos, and formaldehyde, and the approach is associated with garment environments such as firefighter turnout gear and protective gear performance.

To make coupon exposure representative of the garment environment, the disclosure describes garment architectures where coupons are retained in shield assemblies and where coupon placement on turnout jacket outer fabric is exposed to the breathable environment. Removably securing is described using structures such as pockets, sealable overlapping opening slit arrangements, and hook-and-loop fastening to allow periodic removal while maintaining coupon construction matching the garment material construction.

Claims Coverage

The independent claim covers a method enabling destructive testing of a garment across a defined useful garment life by using removably secured test coupons that share the garment material construction, with destructive testing performed periodically on each coupon.

Overall, the claim coverage centers on defining a useful garment life, providing a garment with a garment material construction, removably securing test coupons that use the same construction, and removing and destructively testing each coupon during the useful life with repeating across all coupons.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications