High visibility fabric and safety vest

Abstract

The invention is a high visibility safety garment comprising a spunbonded nonwoven fabric colored with a fluorescent dye or pigment. The spunbonded nonwoven fabric in some embodiments may comprise continuous filaments of polyester that are thermally bonded together. Safety garments prepared in accordance with the invention are lightweight, flexible, and meet the requirements of ANSI 107-1999 for luminance, chromaticity, colorfastness, and durability. The safety garment in some embodiments may be in the form of a vest having multiple stripes of retroreflective material.

1 . A high visibility safety garment comprising a flexible high visibility fabric having portions configured for covering the back and chest of a wearer, a neck opening and arm openings, said flexible high visibility fabric comprising a spunbond nonwoven fabric formed of substantially continuous filaments, said filaments being dyed or pigmented by a high visibility fluorescent pigment, and wherein the fabric meets the ANSI 107-1999 standard for chromaticity, luminance, opacity and durability.  
     
     
         2 . The garment of  claim 1 , additionally including stripes of retroreflective material on said back and chest-covering portions of the fabric.  
     
     
         3 . The garment of  claim 2 , wherein the stripes of retroreflective material extend horizontally around the garment across said chest-covering portions and said back-covering portion.  
     
     
         4 . The garment of  claim 3 , additionally including stripes of retroreflective material extending vertically from the chest-covering portion to the back-covering portion.  
     
     
         5 . The garment of  claim 1 , including a hem extending around peripheral edges of the fabric, said hem being formed by heat-sealing.  
     
     
         6 . The garment of  claim 1 , wherein the spunbond nonwoven fabric has a basis weight of from 50 to 150 grams per square meter.  
     
     
         7 . The garment of  claim 1 , wherein the spunbonded nonwoven fabric comprises polyester filaments.  
     
     
         8 . The garment of  claim 1 , wherein the spunbond nonwoven fabric includes matrix filaments formed of polyethylene terephthalate homopolymer and binder filaments of a polyethylene isophthalate copolymer.  
     
     
         9 . The garment of  claim 8 , wherein the spunbond nonwoven fabric formed of substantially continuous filaments is area bonded at points of filament intersection.  
     
     
         10 . The garment of  claim 1 , wherein the fluorescent dye or pigment comprises fluorescent red, fluorescent yellow, or fluorescent red-orange.  
     
     
         11 . The garment of  claim 1 , wherein fabric is dyed with a fluorescent dye using a jet dye process.  
     
     
         12 . A high visibility safety vest comprising a flexible high visibility fabric having portions configured for covering the back and chest of a wearer, the chest covering potion comprising left and right front panels that are each separately attached to the back portion and define a chest opening and a neck opening, said flexible high visibility fabric comprising a spunbond nonwoven fabric formed of substantially continuous polyester filaments, said filaments being dyed or pigmented by a high visibility fluorescent pigment, and wherein the fabric meets the ANSI 107-1999 standard for chromaticity, luminance, opacity and durability.  
     
     
         13 . The safety vest according to  claim 12 , wherein the vest further comprises arm openings.  
     
     
         14 . The safety vest according to  claim 12 , additionally including stripes of retroreflective material on said back and chest covering portions of the fabric.  
     
     
         15 . The safety vest of  claim 14 , wherein the stripes of retroreflective material extend horizontally around the garment across said chest-covering portions and said back-covering portion.  
     
     
         16 . The safety vest of  claim 15 , additionally including stripes of retroreflective material extending vertically from the chest-covering portion to the back-covering portion.  
     
     
         17 . The safety vest according to  claim 12 , wherein the spunbond nonwoven fabric includes matrix filaments formed of polyethylene terephthalate homopolymer and binder filaments of a polyethylene isophthalate copolymer.  
     
     
         18 . The safety vest according to  claim 12 , wherein the polyester filaments are thermally bonded.  
     
     
         19 . The safety vest according to  claim 12 , wherein the spunbond nonwoven fabric has a basis weight of from 50 to 150 grams per square meter.  
     
     
         20 . The safety vest according to  claim 12 , wherein the left and right front panels are attached to the back covering portion at the shoulders with a heat seal.  
     
     
         21 . The safety vest according to  claim 12 , further comprising fasteners for releasably attaching the left and right front panels together, said fasteners comprising Velcro, buttons, zipper, ties, or straps.  
     
     
         22 . The safety vest according to  claim 12 , wherein the vest is a Class II garment under ANSI 107-1999 standards.