EP0458853B1

EP0458853B1 - Clothing for contact sports

Info

Publication number: EP0458853B1
Application number: EP90903395A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Richard Charles John Foley; Kenneth Rowland Smith
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1989-02-16
Filing date: 1990-02-15
Publication date: 1994-04-20
Anticipated expiration: 2010-02-15
Also published as: GB8903591D0; WO1990009218A1; GB9117412D0; AU5105190A; EP0458853A1; ES2055903T3; GB2246078A; GB2246078B; JPH04504965A; KR920700724A; DE69008345D1; DE69008345T2

Abstract

An item of clothing (10, 20) for use in contact sports, characterised in that it comprises a foundation garment (10, 20) onto which is attached one or more pressure sensitive devices (11, 21) that output a signal when they are hit by a blow delivered with a force that is at least equal to a threshold force.

Description

The present invention relates to clothing for contact sports and in particular to clothing that aids scoring during training and competitions.
In contact sports such as boxing, Thai boxing and Karate to score a point in competion it is necessary to deliver a blow with sufficient force to a specified region of the opponent's body. Both criteria are judged visually by judges who decide whether a particular blow is worthy of a score. This process is subject to a degree of human error. The present invention seeks to produce an accurate, automatic method of scoring for such contact sports.
A possible solution to this is shown in patent specification FR-A-2612411. This uses individual sensors scattered over a carrier body worn by the sportsmen. However, the sensors being discrete may not be struck by certain blows and are relatively hard so that they form lumps on the body.
According to the invention there is provided an item of clothing 10,20 for use in contact sports, which comprises a foundation garment 10,20 onto which is attached one or more pressure sensitive devices 11,21 that output a signal when they are hit by a blow delivered with a force that is at least equal to a threshold force, characterised in that the pressure sensitive device(s) 11,21 comprises two initially separated flexible membranes having electrical conduction means formed thereon, the membranes contacting one another when a force at least equal to the threshold force is applied to one of the membranes, thereby forming an electrical circuit between the membranes and outputting said signal.
In a preferred embodiment all of the pressure sensitive devices output in response to the same common threshold force.
In an alternative preferred embodiment there are a plurality of pressure sensitive devices, one or more of which outputs in response to a first common threshold force and one or more of which outputs in response to a second common threshold force.
In order that the invention and its various other features may be understood more easily, an embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the drawings, wherein:-

Fig. 1. shows the scoring areas for a contact sport such as boxing;
Fig. 2. shows the invention incorporated into a vest and a helmet;
Fig. 3. shows the transmission and/or counting means associated with the helmet in Fig. 2.
Fig. 4. shows the transmission and/or counting means associated with the vest in Fig. 2.

The invention comprises an item of clothing 10,20 incorporating pressure sensitive pads 11,21 which send a signal or signals to a counter system 30,31. Fig. 1. shows the scoring areas for boxing, which are the face 12 and the torso 13. Blows to these areas are measured by pressure pads 11,21 mounted on a vest 20 or on a helmet 10.
In a first embodiment of the invention the pressure pads comprise one or more identical pressure sensors which send a signal to the counter system only when they are hit by a blow delivered with a force equal to or in excess of a chosen threshold force so that only hard scoring blows are counted.
A preferred sensor is of the type of membrane switch used in certain types of electronic keyboard. Two flexible membranes are separated by a thin perforated insulated separator. The inner surfaces of the membranes are coated with conductive strips so that when a force at least as great as the threshold force is applied to the membranes they will touch through the perforations in the area where the force is applied. This forms a circuit and sends a signal to the counter system 30,31.
The counter system 30,31 may be worn adjacent to the garment. For boxing each of the pugilists has a counter on his helmet 30 and on his waist 31 (Fig. 3 & Fig.4). After a bout the cumulative total of scoring blows landed by each competitor is read from the counters.
A second embodiment of the invention is similar to that already described but uses pressure sensors that send a signal to the counter system only when a blow is delivered with a force that is between a maximum and minimum threshold force. This embodiment may be used to prevent competitors scoring with excessively hard, dangerous blows. Additionally, an alarm may warn the referee when a blow is delivered with a force in excess of the upper threshold force. Any of the pressure sensors already described may be used but analogue sensors require a more sophisticated conditioner discriminator that sends a signal only when the measured pressure is between the corresponding threshold force limits.
A preferred type of sensor is a variation of the membrane switch already described in which the perforations in the separator are of two different sizes. The membrane in the area above the larger perforations will be more flexible than that above the smaller perforations, so that at the larger perforations contact will be made at the lower threshold force and at the smaller perforations only at the higher threshold force. The arrangement of the conductive strips on the membranes is such that the two signals are kept separate and the counter system is designed to count a blow on receipt of the lower threshold force signal except if it simultaneously receives the higher threshold force signal.
Both embodiments of the invention provide accurate and reliable means of judging for contact sports; the scoring garments are light and unobtrusive and the second embodiment makes contact sports less dangerous by detecting and penalising excessively heavy blows.
An alternative to the counter system described 30,40 is a remote counter system. In place of the described counters worn on the pugilists' waists 31 and helmets 30 transmitter units are used that send radio, microwave, ultra sonic or infra red signals to one or more receivers located around the combat area that are in turn connected to a counter unit.
The device can be used for teaching unarmed combat to police or military personnel.
The device can also be used for other sports where an exact knowledge of physical contacts is desirable such as in the training of cricket bowlers and in indoor soccer training.
The device can in addition be used in medical research to evaluate the effect of blows of known force on the body.

Claims

An item of clothing (10,20) for use in contact sports, which comprises a foundation garment (10,20) onto which is attached one or more pressure sensitive devices (11,21) that output a signal when they are hit by a blow delivered with a force that is at least equal to a threshold force, characterised in that the pressure sensitive device(s) (11,21) comprises two initially separated flexible membranes having electrical conduction means formed thereon, the membranes contacting one another when a force at least equal to the threshold force is applied to one of the membranes, thereby forming an electrical circuit between the membranes and outputting said signal.
An item of clothing (10,20) according to claim 1, wherein the foundation garment is either a vest (20) or a helmet (10).
An item of clothing (10,20) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein all of the pressure sensitive devices (11,21) output in response to the same common threshold force.
An item of clothing (10,20) according to any of claims 1 or 2 comprising a plurality of pressure sensitive devices (11,21), one or more of which outputs in response to a first common threshold force, and one or more of which outputs in response to a second common threshold force.
A scoring system for contact sports, comprising an item of clothing (10,20) according to claim 3, and counting means (30,31) connected to the pressure sensitive device(s) (11,21) for recording the number of blows delivered to the pressure sensitive device(s) with a force at least equal to the threshold force.
A scoring system for contact sports, comprising an item of clothing (10,20) according to claim 4, and counting means (30,31) connected to the pressure sensitive device(s) (11,21) for recording the number of blows delivered to the pressure sensitive devices with a force equal to or in excess of the first common threshold force, but not in excess of the second common threshold force.
A scoring system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the counting means (30,31) further comprises alarm means which are activated when a blow is delivered to a pressure sensitive device (11,21) with a force in excess of the second common threshold force.
A scoring system according to any of claims 5 to 7, wherein the counting means (30,31) are mounted on the foundation garment (10,20).