EP3064888B1 - Bulletproof item, in particular a garment for protection against bullets - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an article resistant to bullets and / or knives, particularly needle-type, including a protective clothing against bullets, for example a bulletproof vest. Such an article is known from the document GB 2,258,389 A .

It is already known in the prior art, for example from the European patent 1,729,084 in the name of the applicant, a bulletproof vest comprising a stack of panels, namely at least a first nonwoven panel, preferably disposed in the stack on the outer side or opposite to the body of the wearer of the article resistant to bales, the or each first non-woven panel consisting of at least one ply of textile fibers, preferably unidirectional, consolidated into a thermoplastic film, and, on the body side, at least one second woven panel, the or each second panel comprising a fabric, especially a woven material, in particular aramid.

We also know US 2007/0173150 , a vest comprising a stack of panels, consisting of a so-called ballistic packet and a so-called stab package, put together in a pocket so that the so-called stab package is on the outside, it is to say on the opposite side to the body. The so-called knife-resistant package comprises a knife-resistant panel or layer formed in succession from a rubber layer, an EVA glue film, a woven fabric, an EVA glue film and a a layer of rubber.

Although the bullet-proof vests described in these documents of the prior art have the advantage of being light and allow, however, to properly stop the bullets by limiting as much as possible the deformation of the part against the body to avoid any trauma to it, we still want to improve things by aiming for a product still light, but which allows even better stop the bullets and limit the trauma resulting from the impact of the bullet on the vest vis-à-vis the body of the wearer.

• au moins un premier panneau non-tissé, notamment du côté extérieur, de préférence une pluralité de premiers panneaux non-tissés, et
• au moins un deuxième panneau tissé, notamment plus proche du corps que le ou chaque premier panneau non-tissé,

le ou chaque premier panneau non-tissé comportant au moins un pli de fibres, notamment unidirectionnelles, consolidé, et le au moins un deuxième panneau tissé comportant un tissu de fibres, notamment un tissé de fibres, notamment d'aramide, l'article comprenant une nappe en matière thermoplastique, notamment vinylique, fixée sur une face, notamment la face du côté du ou des premiers panneaux, du tissu de fibres du deuxième panneau ou d'au moins l'un des deuxièmes panneaux ; et
la nappe en matière thermoplastique n'est pas un film, en ayant notamment une épaisseur supérieure à 0,1mm, de préférence supérieure à 0,2mm, notamment supérieure à 0,3 mm, encore plus préférablement supérieure à 0,4 mm, par exemple comprise entre 0,5 mm et 5mm, la fixation de la nappe en matière thermoplastique au tissu de fibres étant telle que la nappe et le tissu forment un panneau dans son ensemble.According to independent claim 1, a bullet-resistant article, in particular a garment, for example a bulletproof vest, comprising a stack of panels comprising fibers, comprising:

• at least one first nonwoven panel, in particular on the outer side, preferably a plurality of first nonwoven panels, and
• at least one second woven panel, in particular closer to the body than the or each first nonwoven panel,

the or each first nonwoven panel comprising at least one fold of fibers, in particular unidirectional fibers, consolidated, and the at least one second woven panel comprising a fiber fabric, in particular a woven fabric of fibers, in particular of aramid, the article comprising a sheet of thermoplastic material, in particular vinylic material, fixed on one face, in particular the face on the side of the first panel or panels, the fiber fabric of the second panel or at least one of the second panels; and
the sheet of thermoplastic material is not a film, in particular having a thickness greater than 0.1 mm, of preferably greater than 0.2 mm, especially greater than 0.3 mm, even more preferably greater than 0.4 mm, for example between 0.5 mm and 5 mm, the fixing of the sheet of thermoplastic material to the fiber fabric being such that the tablecloth and the fabric form a panel as a whole.

Preferably, the web has a thickness greater than the thickness of the one-faced fiber fabric of which it is attached.

The thickness is measured perpendicular to the main faces of the fabric, ie in the stacking direction of the panels.

Preferably, the thermoplastic web is the outermost element of the or each second panel of which it is part.

Preferably, there is provided in the stack, on the side opposite the first (s) panel (s) nonwoven (s), at least a third nonwoven panel, the or each third nonwoven panel having at least one consolidated fold of fibers, the panel or panels of the at least one third nonwoven panel being identical to the first panel (s).

This provides a particularly effective article against both bullets and knives and / or needles while maintaining excellent ergonomics in terms of weight and / or flexibility and / or thickness.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the number of first nonwoven panels is greater than the number of third nonwoven panels, in particular there is provided from 5 to 25 first nonwoven panels, preferably from 10 to 20 first non-woven panels, by Example 15 first non-woven panels, and provided from 1 to 5 third nonwoven panels, preferably from 2 to 4 third nonwoven panels, for example 3 third panels.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, at least two second woven panels are provided and it is interposed between two second successive woven panels of the fourth nonwoven panels, which may in particular be identical to the first and / or third panels, each fourth panel consisting of at least one consolidated fold of fibers.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, there is provided a plurality of second panels, and the respective thickness of the thermoplastic webs attached to the fabrics of the second woven panels is increasing from the second woven panel closest to the first one or the first panels to a second panel woven further from the first panel or panels, particularly to the second panel farthest from the first panel or panels.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, there are provided 2 second panels, between 5 and 25 first panels, between 1 and 4 third panels and between 1 and 4 fourth panels interposed between the two second panels.

Preferably, the first (s), third (s) and fourth (s) panels are identical to each other.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first (s) and / or second (s) and / or third (s) panels comprise at least 2 consolidated folds of monodirectional fibers, extending 90 ° from each other.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the first (s) and / or third (s) and / or fourth (s) panels comprise 4 consolidated folds of crossed polyethylene fibers 2 to 2, for example by a matrix in a polymeric material, in particular thermoplastic material.

In the present invention, a matrix is understood to mean a material which, in particular, binds the fibers, for example aramid or polyethylene fibers, of each of the aramid fiber plies, in particular aligned in one-way directions, and thus stabilizes the fibers inside them. of each or each of the folds of fibers and, after possible interleaving of the folds of fibers, binds them to one another.

In the present invention, cross or crisscross folds are understood to mean an arrangement of at least two monodirectional aligned fiber plies, wherein the at least two one-way aligned fiber plies are bonded to one another so that the fibers aligned of the two folds make an angle, preferably 90 °.

In the present invention, consolidated fold (s) is understood to mean that the fibers of the fold or folds, in particular monodirectional aligned, are held together, in particular bonded to each other by addition of a matrix material, by covering them with two films, or by a combination of the two techniques.

According to the present invention, the term "fibers" means an oblong body whose length dimension is much greater than a transverse dimension in width and width. thickness. Accordingly, fibers include fibers or monofilaments, multifilament fibers, ribbons, tapes, staple fibers, and yarns made from one or more of the foregoing examples, for example, multifilament yarns or yarns. short fiber base. Particularly preferably, fibers mean multifilament yarns. The cross sections of the fibers to be used in the present invention can vary to a very large extent. They can be circular, flat, oblong in cross section. They may also be of regular or irregular shape, have a plurality of regular or irregular lobes protruding from the longitudinal axis, for example a filament. Preferably, the fibers have a substantially circular cross section.

According to the present invention, aramid fibers are understood to mean fibers produced from an aromatic polyamide as the polymer forming the fiber. In the polymer forming the fiber, at least 85% of the amide bonds (-CO-NH-) are directly linked to two aromatic rings. Especially preferred are aromatic polyamides P-aramid. Of the β-aramids, poly (p-phenyleneterephthalamide) is the most preferred. Poly (p-phenyleneterephthalamide) results from the mole to mole polarization of p-phenylenediamine and terephthalic acid dichloride. Fibers, consisting for example of multifilament yarns made from poly (p-phenyleneterephthalamide), can be obtained under the trademark TWARON.

Other aramid fibers useful for forming fabrics or folds of fibers in the panels of articles Bullet resistant according to the present invention are those formed from the aromatic copolymer as the polymer forming the fiber. In the aromatic copolymer in question, a p-phenylene diamine and / or a terephthalic acid dichloride are partially or completely substituted by other aromatic diamines and / or dicarboxylic acid chlorides.

Each first panel comprising the stack of first panels preferably contains at least two consolidated folds of unidirectional aligned fibers, the fibers, in particular of polyethylene or aramid, being provided with a matrix material, the number of aligned fiber layers. monodirectional being limited for practical reasons, mainly by the practical requirement that the consolidated panel should preferably be able to be wound.

In a preferred embodiment of the article according to the invention, each first panel comprises from 2 to 10 consolidated folds of monodirectional aligned fibers.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment, according to the present invention, each first consolidated panel consists of 2 to 6 folds of aligned monodirectional aligned fibers, in particular very high density polyethylene said UHMWPE. Each first panel contains at least two crossed folds of fibers, in particular polyethylene, in particular UHMWPE, monodirectional aligned, the fibers being provided with a first matrix material, the first matrix material comprising a first polymer, preferably a first organic polymer . The first, preferably organic, polymer is present on the monodirectional fibers in a percentage of weight sufficient to bind the at least two folds of monodirectional aligned fibers to one another. Therefore, it is not necessary that any space between the monodirectional aligned fibers be filled with the first polymer. It is sufficient that the applied amount of the first polymer allows sufficient bonding of the at least two monodirectional aligned fiber layers to one another. For example, the first polymer can be distributed along points on the fibers and between the fibers.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the weight of each first panel of polyethylene fibers, especially UHMWPE, in particular monodirectional aligned, is between 75 and 260 g / m ² .

According to a particularly preferred example, the first polymer is a random copolymer of styrene-butadiene, that is to say a copolymer in which the copolymerization parameters of styrene and butadiene determine a random frequency of styrene and butadiene in the copolymer chain.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the weight of each second woven panel of aramid fibers may be between 400 and 1000 g / m ² , especially between 440 and 840 g / m ² .

Preferably, a woven fabric of the second panel is made from aramid yarns 930 dTex having 1000 filaments. The woven fabric preferably has a weft / column ratio of 2040. The pitch of the wefts and the mesh columns is 85 / 10cm and the mass is between 300 and 500 g / m ² .

Preferably, the fabric may comprise aromatic polyamide fibers and / or polyethylene fibers. In particular, ultra-high molecular molecular polyethylene.

According to the present invention, resin is understood to mean synthetic resins, mainly obtained by the addition of polymerization and polycondensation, which are intermediates in the synthesis of high molecular plastics. More particularly, phenolic resins are polycondensation products of phenols and aldehydes, in particular phenol and formaldehyde.

As a matrix material, it is also possible to target polyurethanes, ethylene acrylic acids and polyvinyl butyral.

Each first panel and / or second panel may comprise films on its outer surfaces, films which are adhered to the two surfaces of each layer, such as polyolefin films, linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) films and ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) films, as well as polyester films, nylon films, polycarbonate films and the like. These films can have any desired thickness, typically between 2 and 20 microns.

The panels are preferably arranged one above the other to form the first and second cells without being bonded together. However, they can also be tied together, especially by sewing.

Preferably, the weight of the roll of resin laminated on the fabric corresponds to more than 50%, in particular more than 60%, in particular more than 70%, of the weight of the second panel.

According to the invention, the or each web is attached to a respective woven fabric so as to form a respective unit panel forming a respective second panel.

la figure 1

est une vue en perspective d'un gilet pare balle comportant une poche avant dans laquelle est reçu l'empilement de premiers, deuxièmes, troisièmes et quatrièmes panneaux suivant un mode de réalisation de l'invention ;

la figure 2

représente, vue en coupe transversale l'empilement des panneaux de la figure 1.

By way of example, a preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which:

Figure 1

is a perspective view of a bullet vest comprising a front pocket in which is received the stack of first, second, third and fourth panels according to one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2

represents, in cross-sectional view, the stacking of the panels of the figure 1 .

As represented in figure 1 , the bulletproof vest comprises a stack of panels, including first 15 panels 1, 2 second panels 2, 3 third panels 3 and 3 fourth panels 4. Preferably, the first panels are on the outside and the fourth panels are located on the opposite side, that is to say on the side of the body. Preferably, but it would also be possible to use fibers and / or different arrangements, in particular in terms of number of plies, materials, resins of consolidation matrices, consolidation films, respective arrangements of the plies, etc., the first, third and fourth panels are identical.

In the embodiment shown, each first panel 1 consists of 4 consolidated folds of aligned monodirectional fibers of high density polyethylene, intersecting two by two at 90 °. A resin matrix ensures the consolidation of the four plies and the assembly is sandwiched between two thermoplastic films.

For consolidation, it is here described to use both a resin matrix and two thermoplastic films. We could be content with one or the other.

The second panels 2 and 2 ', shown in section at the figure 2 each comprise a layer consisting of a 6.6 'weave of aramid fibers. It can in particular be the TWARON 2040, 930 dTex f1000, having a density of 13.9 and a weight of 480 g / m ² .

On one face of each woven fabric 6, 6 ', in particular the outward facing face, a web 7, 7' of thermoplastic material, in particular vinyl, for example polyvinyl butyral, is fixed, in particular by calendering, thermofusion, welding ultrasound, interposition of an adhesive, for example an EVA polymer film or the like, on the woven to form with it the second panel 2,2 'as a whole.

Another favorable material for the webs 7, 7 'is polypropylene.

The thickness of the ply 7.7 'is greater than that of the respective woven 6.6' to which it is attached.

The thickness of the ply 7 made of thermoplastic material of the second panel 2 closest to the first panels 1 is greater than 0.1 mm and may especially be between 0.5 and 5 mm, especially between 1 and 4 mm.

The ratio of the thicknesses of the two plies 7 and 7 'can for example be between 1.5 and 5, preferably between 2 and 3.

Both woven 6, 6 'have the same thickness. This thickness may be between 0.1 and 5 mm, in particular between 0.2 and 1 mm, for example equal to 0.25 mm.

The total thickness of the second thinnest panel 2 may for example be between 0.4 and 0.6 mm. The total thickness of the second thickest panel 2 'may for example be between 0.65 and 0.85 mm, these values also apply to embodiments comprising more than two second panels.

The third panels 3, which are closest to the body, are for example 3 and are identical to the first panels. However, it could be made of another material, for example, rather than polyethylene, could be used aramid. It could also provide a number of different folds.

The second proximal panel 2 'is disposed closer to the body than the second distal panel 2. The second proximal panel 2 'comprises a ply 7' of thermoplastic material thicker than the ply 7 of thermoplastic material of the second distal panel 2, the tissues 6 and 6 'distal and proximal being preferably identical.

It could be more than 2 second panels, for example from 3 to 5 second panels. We could also, preferably, causing the thicknesses of the second panels to increase as one moves towards the wearer's body.

Between two second successive panels, particularly in the embodiment shown in the figures, between the two second panels 2 and 2 'are inserted a plurality of fourth panels 4, in particular three panels 4, similar in terms of weight, flexibility and composition, to the first and / or third panels, in particular identical to the first and third panels.

For the first, third and fourth panels, each panel may have a basis weight of between 75 and 260 g / m ² . It can be made of polyethylene, especially at high density, but can also be made of aramid or other similar material.

According to the invention the thermoplastic material is preferably little or not elastic. In particular, an elastomer, for example a rubber, is not a thermoplastic material within the meaning of the invention.

By elastic material is meant a material such that a film or a sheet, consisting solely of this material, is elastic. Elasticity is the physical property of a body to resume its original form after suppression of the solicitation.

The term "elastic film or sheet" according to the invention is understood to mean a film or sheet which, according to the elasticity test below, has a remanence or SET less than 20%, preferably less than 15%, more preferably less than 10%, still more preferably less than 5% for a stretch of 100% of its initial width.

Elasticity test

For example, the elasticity of a film or a web can be determined by determining the remanence as follows:
The sample is conditioned in a normal atmosphere, as defined in ASTDM 5170, temperature of 23 ° C ± 2 ° C and relative humidity of 50% ± 5%.

A dynamometer according to EN 10002, in particular Synergy 200, 1 column available from MTS Systems Corp., U.S.A., together with TESTWORKS 4.04 B operating software, is used as apparatus.

The sample is prepared by cutting with the cutter or scissors the product (for example the web of the invention or the film) in a sample of 45mm in width and 60 mm in length (in which direction the elasticity is measured).

Reinforcements (anti-slip) are positioned, for example a non-woven layer, to prevent slipping and the beginning of breakage of the sample between the jaws by fixing them with double-sided sides of the zone. elastic to test and on each side;

• Distance inter mâchoires : 20mm
• Vitesse machine : 254 mm/mn
• Nombre de cycles : 2
• Allongement du produit : 100% à vitesse constante

The settings are selected as follows:

• Inter jaw distance: 20mm
• Machine speed: 254 mm / min
• Number of cycles: 2
• Product elongation: 100% at constant speed

Avec :

• L0 : Point d'intersection avec l'axe des X (Allongement en %) lors du démarrage du test, soit le début du premier cycle.
• L1 : Point d'intersection avec l'axe des X (Allongement en %) lors du démarrage du deuxième cycle après le retour à la position d'origine et l'attente de 60 secondes.

The product is stretched 100% by vertical displacement of the upper jaw, the lower jaw is fixed, then held in the position for 30 seconds, then returned to the initial position at a constant speed where it is left for 60 seconds (end first cycle), then stretched again to 100%, held for 30 seconds and returned to the initial position (end of the second cycle). The curve giving the stretching force is then obtained as a function of the elongation in%, the latter having a hysteresis which makes it possible to determine the Set by the following calculation formula: $$\mathrm{SET}=\mathrm{The}1-\mathrm{The}0$$

With:

• L0: Point of intersection with the X axis (elongation in%) at the beginning of the test, ie the beginning of the first cycle.
• L1: Point of intersection with the X axis (% elongation) when starting the second cycle after returning to the original position and waiting for 60 seconds.

Claims (14)

1. An article resistant to bullets and/or bladed weapons, specifically a garment, for example a bullet-proof vest, comprising a stack of fibre-based panels, comprising at least one non-woven first panel (1), preferably multiple non-woven first panels, and at least one woven second panel (2; 2'), the or each non-woven first panel comprising at least one consolidated, specifically unidirectional layer of fibres, and the at least one woven second panel comprising a fabric of fibres, specifically a woven fabric (6; 6'), particularly of aramid, the article also comprising a sheet (7; 7') of a thermoplastic material, attached to one face of the fibre fabric of the second panel or at least one of the second panels, specifically having a thickness greater than 0.1 mm, preferably greater than 0.2 mm, particularly greater than 0.3 mm, still more preferably greater than 0.4 mm, for example between 0.5 mm and 5 mm, the attachment of the thermoplastic sheet (7; 7') to the fibre fabric (6; 6') being such that the sheet and the fabric form a panel as a whole.
2. An article according to claim 1, characterised in that the sheet has a thickness greater than the thickness of the corresponding fabric to a face of which it is attached.
3. An article according to claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the thermoplastic sheet is the most external element of the, or each second panel of which it forms part.
4. An article according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the sheet (7; 7') is attached to the face of the fabric (6; 6') on the side of the first panel(s).
5. An article according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the second panel or the panel of the multiple second panels that is the closest to the body is not the panel from the stack of panels that is the closest to the body.
6. An article according to claim 5, characterised in that provision is made in the stack, on the side of the second panel or of the multiple second panels opposite the non-woven first panel(s) for at least one non-woven third panel (3), the or each non-woven third panel comprising at least one consolidated layer of fibres, the panel(s) of the at least one non-woven third panel possibly being identical to the first panel(s).
7. An article according to claim 6, characterised in that the number of non-woven first panels is greater than the number of non-woven third panels, specifically provision is made for 5 to 25 non-woven first panels, preferably 10 to 20 non-woven first panels, for example 15 non-woven first panels, and provision is made for 1 to 5 non-woven third panels, preferably 2 to 4 non-woven third panels, for example 3 third panels.
8. An article according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that provision is made for at least two woven second panels (2, 2') and that intercalated between two successive woven second panels are non-woven fourth panels (4), which may specifically be identical to the first and/or third panels, each fourth panel being constituted of at least one consolidated layer of fibres.
9. An article according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that provision is made for multiple second panels (2, 2'), and the respective thickness of the thermoplastic sheets (7, 7') attached to the fabric of the woven second panels increases from the woven second panel closest to the first panel(s) to a woven second panel further from the first panel(s), specifically to the second panel that is the furthest from the first panel(s).
10. An article according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that provision is made for 2 second panels, between 5 and 25 first panels and, if provision is made for third panels, between 1 and 4 third panels and if, intercalated between two successive woven second panels, there are non-woven fourth panels (4), which may specifically be identical to the first and/or third panels, each fourth panel being constituted of at least one consolidated layer of fibres, between 1 and 4 fourth panels interposed between the two second panels.
11. An article according to one of claims 6 to 10, characterised in that the first and third panel(s) are identical to one another.
12. An article according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterised in that the first and/or second and/or third panels comprise at least 2 cross-banded layers of unidirectional fibres, extending from one another at 90° and consolidated.
13. An article according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the fabric(s), specifically the woven fabrics of the second panels comprise aramid fibres and the first panel(s) comprise polyethylene, specifically UHMWPE fibres.
14. An article according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterised in that it comprises a pocket into which the stack of panels is inserted.

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