EP3791744B1

EP3791744B1 - Protection accessory

Info

Publication number: EP3791744B1
Application number: EP20196184.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Daniel Giorgia
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2019-09-16
Filing date: 2020-09-15
Publication date: 2023-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 2040-09-15
Also published as: EP3791744A1; IT201900016361A1

Description

The invention refers to an improved protective accessory for a part of the human body, or a protective device for the human body (e.g. a body armor) and/or the head (e.g. a helmet).
Protections such as in US1862303A or US5594954A are known to protect parts of the body such as knees, elbows and head. The protections are generally composed of a protective shell that must resist impacts as much as possible and transmit as little energy as possible to the body.
US 2014/007322 discloses a shock absorber layer for a helmet comprising a base plate and a plurality of deformable concentric rings protruding there from.
The main object of the invention is to propose a protection that meets the above requirement, in particular that is shock resistant and absorbs a lot of impact energy. This is achieved by
a protection for part of the human body comprising:

a flexible surface (to be placed on the part to be protected) and
a plurality of flexible elements protruding from the surface along a same direction substantially orthogonal to the surface,
one or each protruding element comprising, or consisting of, two concentric flexible (preferably substantially equal) rings, one external and the other internal relatively, and
wherein the external ring
- surrounds the internal ring
- extends from the surface orthogonally thereto, and
- at the edge opposite the surface is attached to - and integral with - the internal ring along a common edge, and
the internal ring
- extends towards the surface orthogonally thereto and has
- an edge attached to and integral with the external ring along said common edge.

A protruding element structured this way can assume two configurations: one at rest and one under load. In the resting configuration, the two rings are permanently erect with respect to the surface. In the loaded configuration, when the protection undergoes an impact against an external object, the two rings deform. The common edge of the two rings, which is their most distant part from the surface and the part that is hit first by the external object, is pressed by the object toward the surface. Then the common edge gets closer to the surface and the rings spread apart (they spread and collapse also in a disordered way, sagging); the angle formed by the rings having vertex at the common edge increases. This deformation dampens the impact and dissipates its energy.
The plan of each ring may vary, e.g. it may be circular, a polygon of N sides, N >= 3, an ellipse, or any closed curved line. Consequently the three-dimensional shape of each ring may vary, e.g. it may be a cylindrical shell, a hollow right-prism shell, a hollow right-prismoid shell, or a right-parallelepiped shell.
Each different shape gives a different response to impact. For example, with plans having edges it is possible to control the deformation trajectory of the ring.
The two rings are preferably of substantially the same shape, but not necessarily, and with slightly scaled dimensions to be concentric.
In a variant, the internal ring's edge opposite to the common edge is free. Or the edge opposite to the common edge is linked by a plane that closes on one side the internal cavity of the internal ring (the internal ring then has a glass shape).
The two rings preferably have the same height (i.e. same distance between the two respective edges). Variations are also possible wherein the two rings do not have the same height, e.g. the internal ring has a smaller height. Then when after impact the foreign object pushes the edge of the internal ring toward the surface, such edge of the internal ring will reach the surface with a delay (because it is shorter than in the previous case). This delay allows modulating the protection's response to impact.
Preferably all the protection, or just the two rings, is made of plastic material, e.g. rubber.
The rings may be two separate parts integral with each other along the common edge, or a single piece, e.g. extruded from the flexible base surface but carved inside.
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 in plan view a protection;
• Fig. 2 shows a side view of the protection,
• Fig. 3 shows the protection before an impact,
• Fig. 4 shows the protection after an impact,

In the following figures, equal numbers indicate equal parts, and no numbers are repeated for equal parts so as not to crowd the figures.
A protection MC is used to protect a body part 80, e.g. an elbow or knee or the skull, from a blunt object 90.and looks like a cushion. The protection MC comprises a flexible surface 10 (to be laid on the part to be protected) and a plurality of flexible elements 20 protruding from the surface 10 along a same direction X substantially orthogonal to the surface 10.
Each protruding element 20 comprises two flexible and concentric rings 30, 40. The ring 30 is the external ring and the ring 40 is the internal ring. The ring 30 surrounds the internal ring 40 and the two rings 30, 40 are attached to - and integral with - each other at a common edge 50. The internal ring 40 extends from the common edge 50 orthogonally to and toward the surface 10. In the example the rings 30, 40 are cylindrical shells.
Fig. 3 shows the protection MC in a configuration at rest. Fig. 4 shows the protection MC in a configuration during an impact, when an object 90 has hit one or more edges 50 of the protection MC and is pushing them against the part 80 (or the surface 10).
The stress of the object 90 causes the two rings 30, 40 to deform. As the common edge 50 approaches the surface 10 the angle β, formed by the rings 30, 40 with vertex at the common edge 50, tends to increase. This deformation dampens the impact and dissipates its energy, because rings 30, 40 oppose the variation of the angle β, and if the angle β varies, this happens at the expense of the impact energy, which also dissipates due to the sliding of the rings 30, 40 on the part 80.
The stress of the object 90 can cause the two rings 30, 40 to deform even by means of their sagging, which can also occur randomly. Even the sagging of the rings is used to disperse the energy of the impact.

Claims

Protection (MC) for part of the human body comprising:
a flexible surface (10) to be laid on the part to be protected, and

a plurality of flexible elements (20) projecting from the surface along a same direction (X) substantially orthogonal to the surface,

one or each protruding element comprising, or being constituted of, two flexible concentric rings (30, 40), one external and the other internal relatively,

wherein the external ring (30):
surrounds the internal ring (40),

extends from the surface orthogonally thereto, and

at the edge opposite the surface is attached to and integral with the internal ring along a common edge (50), and

the internal ring (40):
extends towards the surface orthogonally thereto and has an edge attached to and integral with the external ring along said common edge (50),

characterized in that

said rings (30, 40)
- have a common edge (50), being their most distant part from the surface and the part that is hit first by an external object, forming an angle (β), and

- are configured so that
a stress of the object (90) causes the two rings (30, 40) to deform and,

as the common edge (50) approaches the surface (10), the angle (β) formed by the rings (30, 40) with vertex at the common edge (50), tends to increase.
Protection (MC) according to claim 1, wherein the plan of one or each ring is circular, or a polygon of N sides, N > = 3, or an ellipse.
Protection (MC) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the three-dimensional shape of one or each ring is a cylindrical shell, or a shell of a hollow right prism, or a shell of a hollow right prismoid, or a shell of a right parallelepiped.
Protection (MC) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the two rings have substantially the same shape.
Protection (MC) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the internal ring has an edge opposite to the common edge, and said opposite edge is free.
Protection (MC) according to any claim from 1 to 4, wherein for the internal ring the edge opposite to the common edge is connected by a plane that closes on one side an internal cavity delimited by the internal ring.
Protection (MC) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the two rings have the same height.
Protection (MC) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the two rings are made of plastic material.
Protection (MC) according to claim 8, wherein the two rings are made of rubber.
Protection (MC) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the whole protection is made of plastic material.
Protection (MC) according to claim 10, wherein the whole protection is made of rubber.
Protection (MC) according to any of the previous claims, characterized by being a helmet.