Entrance and egress system for protective shelters and garments

Claim 2

Apparatus for attaching and detaching and providing passage between a pair of panels such as wall members of protective enclosures at least one of which is portable, and which may afford a protective environment to persons or items therewithin, said enclosures each comprising an enveloping structure having at least one panel (10A, 10B, or 112, 114), said enclosures being adapted to be brought in position such that said panels abut, means defining a first opening in one of said panels and a second opening in the other panel, said openings being dimensioned and arranged to be co-extensive when said panels are in abutting position, fastener means (12A & 12B, or 115) attached to each of said openings and adapted for repeated opening and closing thereof and including fastener flaps (14A & 14B) on the exterior of each of said panels surrounding and totally covering said fastener means, said flaps and fastener means being cooperative when opened to interengage and to fasten said panels together with said first and second openings aligned and thus forming a passage between the interiors of said enclosures.

Claim 3

A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the portable enclosure is a garment (20A) to be worn by a person.

Claim 4

A system as defined in claim 2, wherein the opening (22) in the garment extends across the front thereof and is of a size sufficient to accommodate passage of the person.

Claim 5

4 . A system as defined in claim 20r 3, wherein the other enclosure is also a garment into which the person can transfer.

Claim 6

5 . A system as defined in claim 2 or 3, wherein the other enclosure is a compartment (30) into which the person can transfer.

Claim 7

A system as defined in claim 5, said compartment having a plurality of openings (22A) each adapted for connection to a protective garment.

Claim 9

Apparatus as defined in any preceding claim, for attaching and detaching two flexible panels, the sides of said openings including mating parts of a continuous flexible fastener strip, and an elongated slide member (120) having four generally elongated passages (121, 122, 123, 124) including merging parts of said passages at one end of said slide member adapted to receive said parts of said fastner strips, said passages separating in the central part of said slide member and having parts merging different ones of said passages at the other end of said slide member to bring said fastener strips (115) into contiguous relation with the mating parts arranged such that one part of each fastener strip is mated with an opposite part of the other fastener strip by moving said slide member along said strips simultaneously and progressively separating the mating parts of the fastener strips and joining the parts with opposite parts of the other fastener strip, whereby joining and/or separating the edges of the two openings is accomplished to form and/or close a distendable passage through the panels, said passage being defined by the parts of the two joined fastener strips.

Claim 10

Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said slide member includes a separable secondary slide (140) cooperable with one of said fastener strips and capable of joining with the main slide member (145) to assist in transfer of the fastener parts, and of operating on the parts of one fastener strip independently of the main slide member.

Claim 11

Apparatus for providing safe passage between a pair of protective enclosures (20A & 30) as defined in claim 1, said enclosures each comprising a totally enveloping structure having at least one flexible panel, said enclosures being adapted to be brought in position such that said panels abut, a first fastener means (12A) attached to said first opening and adapted for repeated opening and closing thereof. second fastener means (14A) on the exterior of said one panel surrounding and totally covering sai,d first fastener means, a third fastener means (12B) attached to said second opening and adapted for repeated opening and closing thereof, a fourth fastener means (14B) on the exterior of said other panel totally covering said second opening and cooperative with said second fastener means to fasten said panels together with said first and second openings aligned to permit controlled opening of said first and third fastener means and thus forming a passage between the interiors of said enclosures.

Claim 12

ll. A fastener system for connecting and disconnecting a pair of panels as set forth in claim 1, comprising: first (111), second (112), third (113), and fourth (114) tape members wherein said first and second tape members can interlock to form one fastener pair (111, 112) adapted to be attached to one of said panels and said third and fourth tape members can interlock to form a second fastener pair (113, 114) adapted to be attached to the other of said panels, interlocking parts (115) associated with each pair of tape members such that one tape member of each pair is compatible for connection with any opposite tape member of the other pair, an elongated slide member (120) having opposed ends and also having first (121), second (122), third (123), and fourth (124) channels extending therethrough from one end to the other to receive and guide said tape members and their associated interlocking parts through joining and separating movements, said first and second channels (121, 122) having merging portions at one end of said slide member wherein said interlocking parts of the first and second tape members (111, 112) are disengaged upon entry into that end of the slide member to separate said first and second tape members, or wherein said interlocking parts are engaged upon exiting said one end of the slide member to join said first and second tape members, said third and fourth channels (123, 124) having merging portions at said one end of said slide member wherein said interlocking parts of the third and fourth tape members (113, 114) are disengaged upon entry into that end of the slide member to separate said third and fourth tape members, or wherein said interlocking parts are engaged upon exiting said one end of the slide member to join said third and fourth tape members, said four channels having separated central portions in said slide member for guiding all four of said tape members in spaced relation, said first and third L21, 123 channels having merging portions at the other end of said slide member wherein said interlocking parts of said first and third tape members 111, 113 are disengaged upon entry into the other end of the slide member to separate said first and third tape members, or wherein said interlocking parts are engaged upon exiting the other end of,the slide member to join said first and third tape members, said second and fourth channels (122, 124) having merging portions.at the other end of said slide member wherein said interlocking parts of said second and fourth tape members (112, 114) are disengaged upon entry into the other end of the slide member to separate said secqnd and fourth tape members, or wherein said interlocking parts are engaged upon exiting the other end of the slide member to join said second and fourth tape members.

Claim 13

A fastener system as defined in claim 11, wherein said slide member comprises.a main slide (145) and a secondary slide (140) detachable from said main slide, said secondary slide having first and second merging channels (123', 124') capable of mating with said main slide along the central portions of its first and second channels and merging at one end of said secondary slide for joining and separating said first and second tape members. first and second male terminals (155, 156) attached to an end of said third and fourth tape members, and first and second female terminals (150, 151) attached to an end of said first and second tape members and of small enough diameter to pass through said first and second channels of said main slide and engage with said first and second female terminals respectively.

Claim 14

13, A method of providing safe passage between a pair of protective enclosures, at least one of which may be portable, and which afford a protective environment to persons or items therewithin, said enclosures each comprising an enveloping structure having at least one panel with an opening therein, said openings being dimensioned and arranged to be corextensive when said panels are in abutting position and being pontrolled by fastener means attached to each of said openings and adapted for repeated opening and closing hereof, said fastener means including flaps on the exterior of each of said panels surrounding and covering said fastener means; the steps comprising bringing the flaps on one of the panels into abutting relation with the flaps on the other panel and interlocking the two fastener means to provide a connection between the panels surrounding the fastener means while opening the fastener means to form a passageway between the enclosures which is surrounded and sealed by the interengaged fastener means.

Claim 15

13, A method of providing safe passage between a pair of protective enclosures, at least one of which may be portable, and which afford a protective environment to persons or items therewithin, said enclosures each comprising an enveloping structure having at least one panel with an opening therein, said openings being dimensioned and arranged to be corextensive when said panels are in abutting position and being pontrolled by fastener means attached to each of said openings and adapted for repeated opening and closing hereof, said fastener means including flaps on the exterior of each of said panels surrounding and covering said fastener means; the steps comprising bringing the flaps on one of the panels into abutting relation with the flaps on the other panel and interlocking the two fastener means to provide a connection between the panels surrounding the fastener means while opening the fastener means to form a passageway between the enclosures which is surrounded and sealed by the interengaged fastener means.

Claim 18

The method of claim 14, wherein the mating parts of the fastener strips are twisted through approximately 90° in the step of , separating them and joining them to a part of the other strip.