EP3772290A1

EP3772290A1 - Body protection device

Info

Publication number: EP3772290A1
Application number: EP20189818.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Daniel Giorgia
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2019-08-08
Filing date: 2020-08-06
Publication date: 2021-02-10
Also published as: IT201900014466A1

Abstract

Protection for part of the human body is described comprising: a plurality of plates (10) which are articulated together to make the protection as a whole flexible and have a certain thickness, wherein each plate of the plurality is articulated to an adjacent plate through a bridge element (30) which connects two adjacent plates by joining a perimeter edge of each of the adjacent plates,
extends in an empty space present between the two said perimeter edges to keep the two adjacent plates separate, and
has a smaller thickness than the thickness of the two adjacent plates.

Description

The invention refers to an improved protective accessory for a part of the human body.
Protections are known to be used during sport activities such as motorcycling, see EP2854580 . The protections are composed of various hinged plates to ensure maximum impact resistance, but this penalizes the comfort of wearing them.
The main object of the invention is to propose a protection of the abovementioned type that is impact resistant while ensuring a comfortable fit and freedom of movement.
A protection is proposed for part of the human body comprising:

a plurality of plates which are articulated with each other to make the protection overall flexible and have a certain thickness,
wherein perimeter edges of two adjacent plates are connected by a bridge element that
- extends into an empty space present between the two perimeter edges to keep the two plates separate and
- has a smaller thickness than the thickness of the two plates.

In other words, the plurality of plates are articulated with each other to make the protection flexible as a whole and have a certain thickness, and each plate of the plurality is articulated to an adjacent plate by means of a bridge element that

connects two adjacent plates by joining a perimeter edge of each of the adjacent plates,
extends in the space between the two said perimeter edges to keep the two adjacent plates separate and
has a smaller thickness than the thickness of the two adjacent plates.

The advantages of this construction are many.
The bridge element keeps the two plates at a certain separation distance (a furrow), therefore the plates can oscillate with respect to the bridge element by a relative displacement angle, as if they were virtually hinged. This makes the protection flexible and improves its adaptability to the shape of the human body.
The protection is surprisingly strong despite an apparent weakening of the structure at the points where the plates are joined together only by the bridge element. Actually, at those points only a collision with a wedge-shaped (or slashing) object is relevant, otherwise the impact would be discharged onto the plates. But a wedge-shaped object that tries to penetrate the furrow between two plates must initially overcome their resistance to divarication. If then the wedge-shaped object manages to reach the bridge element, a pressure on the latter pushes the plates to close against the wedge-shaped object, so that the narrowing of the plates stops the wedge-shaped object reducing its dangerousness.
The behavior of the protection can also be twofold.
In a case the wedge-shaped object may cause the plates to close progressively against it, slowing down the advance of the wedge-shaped object and actually dampening impact energy.
In a second case, if the wedge-shaped object hits a furrow where the plates form a convexity, the wedge-shaped object may be able to penetrate between two plates and divaricate the space between them, but, given the geometry of the perimeter edges and the bridge element, the plates will progressively rotate with respect to the bridge element towards a coplanarity position of theirs, actually dispersing the energy of the impact.
Another advantage is that the protection is lightweight, because the bridge element is structurally simple to produce and requires little material.
Preferably the protection is a tessellation of plates, where the internal plates have a substantially polygonal plan (e.g. square or rectangular) and have all sides (e.g. four) connected to adjacent plates by bridge elements,
while the perimeter plates have sides (e.g. two or three) connected to internal plates by bridge elements and at least one free side (not connected to plates).
In this way the protection can have wide total surface with smaller plates, for the benefit of comfort.
In a preferred variant, the bridge element is flat, e.g. a strip of material, to ensure flexibility and symmetry of oscillation to the plates. For example, the thickness of the bridge element is approximately 1/5 to 1/10 of the thickness of a or each plate.
In a preferred variant the bridge element is made of flexible material to increase the flexibility of the protection.
In a preferred variant, the bridge element is at most as wide as the thickness of the plates it joins, i.e. it is configured to keep the two plates apart by a gap at most as long as the thickness of the plates it joins. This design resulted as a good compromise between flexibility and resistance to a wedge-shaped object.
In a preferred variant the bridge element lies on the imaginary plane that divides in half the thickness of the two plates joined by the element. Thus the plates can oscillate with symmetrical excursion. Or, the bridge element is attached to the two plates that it joins at the central part of the plates' thickness. Or the bridge element is mounted to extend between the central part of the thickness of the plates it joins.
In a preferred variant the plates all have substantially the same thickness, but not necessarily, to make the protection of uniform thickness and more comfortable to wear.
The plates can have any shape, such as circular, oval, or polygonal.
The advantages of the invention will be clearer from the following description of a preferred embodiment of protection, referring to the attached drawing in which

• Fig. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of a back protector;
• Fig. 2 shows a side view of the protection,
• Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the protection,
• Fig. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the protection in different configuration.

In the following figures, equal numbers indicate equal parts, and numbers for equal parts are not repeated so as not to crowd the figures.
A back protector MC comprises a plurality of plates 10 that are placed next to each other and articulated together. The plates 10 have approximately the same thickness S, as can be seen in Fig. 2.
The perimeter edges of two adjacent plates 10 are connected to each other by a bridge element 30. In the illustrated example the bridge element 30 has an H-shaped cross-section, comprising two heads 32 and a thinner central part or neck 34.
The two heads 32 are optional, while the central part 34 is essential, which alone could constitute the element 30.
The part 34 is a flat strip that extends into the space between two edges of two plates 10 to keep them separate. The strip has a smaller thickness than the thickness of the two plates 10 it joins and lies substantially in a median plane P with respect to two opposite surfaces S1, S2 of the plates 10. Thus, the part 34 and the edges of the plates 10 define a furrow 60 that runs on the two opposite surfaces S1, S2 of the plates 10.
If a wedge-shaped object 50 hits the protection MC, there are several possibilities.
Either the wedge-shaped object 50 hits the protection MC on a plate 10, which absorbs the impact, or the wedge-shaped object 50 hits the protection MC at a furrow 60.
In the second case (fig. 3) the wedge-shaped object 50 would force the divarication of the furrow 60, which does not happen if the wedge-shaped object 50 is stopped. In particular, it should be noted that a wedge-shaped object 50 colliding with the furrow 60 would plunge into the furrow 60, whose walls though would close to brake the object 50.
If (fig. 4) the wedge-shaped object 50 collides with the furrow 60 when the protection MC is bent, the object 50 may impact on the furrow 60 when it is either split divaricated or closed (i.e. if - respectively - the plates involved form a convexity or concavity with respect to the object 50).
Only in the first case there is intrusion into the structure, but the edges of the furrow 60 can at most divaricate by an amount allowed by the contact of the opposite edges. That is to say that the furrow 60 can widen its opening on one side only until at the opposite side it is completely closed: at this point the edges of the furrow 60 are blocked and resist the penetration of the object 50. Besides, if and when the tip of the object 60 reaches and pushes the part 34, a force is created that tends to close the walls of the furrow 60 against the object 50 thereby braking it.
In the second case of fig. 4, with the object 50 impacting on a convexity of the protection, another protective effect appears that derives from the interference between the plates 10 moved by the object 50 (indicated with P1 in fig. 4) and the plates (indicated with P2 in fig. 4) connected to the former. As a result of the divarication or greater divarication between the plates P1 caused by the object 50, the plates P1 also move relative to the plates P2. Not only does the flexure of the part 34 between the plates P1 and P2 dissipate energy of the impact, but if the impact is sufficiently violent the plates P1 tilt so much with respect to the plates P2 that the furrow 60 between the plates P1 and P2 vanishes. Then the heads 32 of the element 30 arranged between the plates P1 and P2 touch each other and lock the relative position of the plates P1 and P2, which considerably stiffens the structure of the protection MC.
The resting position of the protection MC depends on the shape of the underlying body to be protected. Therefore, the protection MC can be at rest with all or almost all the plates 10 coplanar (as in fig. 3) or with the plates 10 following a concave or convex curved surface (as in fig. 4).
The element 30 may be in one-piece with the plates or a separate body and then attached to them.
The element 30 may also comprise only the central part 34 (without the heads 32) or an equivalent flat and flexible element.

Claims

Protection (MC) for part of the human body comprising:
a plurality of plates (10) which are articulated together to make the protection as a whole flexible and have a certain thickness,

wherein each plate (10) of the plurality is articulated to an adjacent plate (10) through a bridge element (30) which
connects two adjacent plates (10) by joining a perimeter edge of each of the adjacent plates,

extends in an empty space present between the two said perimeter edges to keep the two adjacent plates separate, and

has a smaller thickness than the thickness of the two adjacent plates.
Protection (MC) according to claim 1, which is a tessellation of plates, wherein the internal plates have a substantially polygonal plan and have the sides connected to adjacent plates by bridge elements as defined above,
while the perimeter plates have sides connected to internal plates by bridge elements as defined above and at least one free unconnected side.
Protection (MC) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bridge element (30) is flat.
Protection (MC) according to any previous claim, wherein the bridge element (30) is as wide as the thickness of the plates it joins.
Protection (MC) according to any previous claim, wherein the bridge element (30) lies on an imaginary plane (P) which divides in half the thickness of the two plates joined together by the bridge element (30).
Protection (MC) according to any previous claim, wherein the bridge element (30) is attached to the two plates it joins at the central part of the plates' thickness.
Protection (MC) according to any previous claim, wherein the bridge element (30) is mounted to extend between the central part of the thickness of the two plates it joins.
Protection (MC) according to any previous claim, wherein the plates all have substantially the same thickness.
Protection (MC) according to any previous claim, wherein the bridge element (30) is a connecting strip between two plates.