FR3005393A1 - PROTECTIVE HULL ELEMENT OF A HUMAN BODY REGION AND CLOTHES PROVIDED THEREWITH - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a protective element of a region of the human body, which comprises a first said inner shell intended to be positioned against said region of the human body, which is rigid, curved and shaped to cover said region. This element is remarkable in that it comprises a second outer shell, also rigid and curved, superimposed on the first, which extends to its immediate vicinity and spaced from it, and is elastically movable relative to that- this.

Description

The present invention relates generally to protective equipment of the human body. Protective equipment for use by law enforcement agencies conventionally includes a number of arrangements such as padding or the like intended to protect the wearer against knocks, shocks or projectiles. For example, there is known a protective equipment consisting of a leg to be reported to a pants, using straps in particular. This leg comprises a rigid shell made of a plastic material such as polyamide, of curved shape and adapted to cover the region of the corresponding body, namely the region of the tibia. In order to further protect the wearer of this leggings against jets of hard objects or against blows carried with blunt objects (throwing stones or metal objects, beatings of baseball bats, etc.), it has been proposed to fix this high-strength hull on a canvas or leather structure of great thickness. The difficulty today is to find a good compromise between the protection against contending shocks, which requires a protection capable of absorbing and dissipating the energy received during the shock, and that against sharp or piercing objects, which requires on the contrary, a rigid protection. It is also sought to reduce the size of the protective element and its weight, so as to interfere as little as possible the wearer in his movements. The present invention aims to solve this type of problem by proposing a protection element of a region of the human body which offers both a high resistance to blows, in particular blunt, and sharp objects and / or piercing, such as a knife, an ax or a machete, while being of a reduced weight and easy wearing. For this purpose, the present invention proposes a protection element 30 which comprises, in a manner known per se, a first so-called inner shell intended to be positioned against a corresponding region of the human body, this shell being rigid and curved and of a shape adapted to cover said region. According to the invention, this protection element comprises a second so-called outer shell, also rigid and curved, superimposed on the first, which extends to its immediate vicinity being spaced from it and is elastically movable relative to that- this. By the term "immediate vicinity" it is meant that the two shells are not in contact yet are close to one another. Thanks to this structure with two rigid shells, we offer a better resistance to blows. In addition, a large part of the energy caused by the shocks and received by the outer shell is dissipated in its movement towards the inner shell. The inner shell 15 is therefore little stressed, so that the wearer of such a protective element feels strongly attenuated shocks. Moreover, according to other advantageous and non-limiting characteristics of this protective element, the inner shell is smaller in the transverse direction than the outer shell. * The outer shell is made of a material less rigid than the material of the inner shell. * Said shells have different thicknesses, the inner shell having a thickness less than that of the outer shell. The inner and outer shells are connected to each other by a set of rivets associated with elastic means arranged in the space between the shells and which tend to maintain said shells spaced apart from each other. Each rivet is associated with elastic means made of a deformable material, preferably with high strength. the deformable material is chosen from a group comprising foams, natural or synthetic rubbers, deformable agglomerates and springs. the elastic means comprise at least one ring. the elastic means comprise two rings separated by a washer. said element made of deformable material has the shape of a band enclosed between the inner shell and the outer shell, and houses the rods of the rivets. * There is a gap between the rivets and the outer shell and / or the inner shell. * said inner shell is provided with fastening means to a garment. * The element includes a shin guard, an ankle protector, a chest protector, a knee protector, an arm protector or a shoulder protector. Another aspect of the invention relates to a combination of at least two elements according to one of the characteristics listed above, fixed on one another, of different shapes and intended to cover adjacent regions of the body human. Finally, the present invention also relates to a protective clothing on which is fixed at least one element according to one of the preceding characteristics or at least one association such as that mentioned above. Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment. This description will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure la is a perspective view of two shells forming part of a protective element according to the invention; - Figure lb is a view of the inner face of the outer shell of Figure la; FIG. 2 is a simplified sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. - Figure 3 is a detailed view of a possible method of assembling said shells; and - Figure 4 is a perspective view of a protection element according to the invention, in place on the leg of a user, and associated with two other elements of different shapes.

An exemplary protection element will now be described in relation to the appended figures. In what follows, the invention will more particularly be described in connection with a shin guard. This is however not limitative, insofar as the protection element may as well be configured to protect all or part of a lower limb, for example the leg of the wearer (including the tibia, the knee and where appropriate the malleolus, as shown in Figure 4), the knee alone, but also the thigh, the top of the foot, or all or part of an upper limb, for example the forearm and / or the elbow, or the torso of the wearer (plastron), without departing from the scope of the invention. The two shells shown in Figure la are intended to be an integral part of a protective element which consists, in this embodiment, in a shin guard.

It is therefore intended to be put in place at the front of the lower part of the leg, below the knee. Again with reference to Figure 1a, we are dealing with two similar shells, namely an inner shell 1, intended to be positioned against the leg of its carrier and a second shell, said outer, referenced 1 '.

In the case of similar hulls, the same numerical references will be used to designate characteristics that are common to them, those relating to the outer hull simply being accompanied by the "prime" index.

The shells 1 and 1 'are both made by molding a plastic material such as polyamide, for example of a uniform thickness of the order of 2 mm. The inner shell 1 may possibly have a thickness less than that of the outer shell. Alternatively, the shells may be of varying thickness and have local extra thicknesses. They both have a curved shape and adapted to cover the region of the corresponding body of its wearer. Referring here to covering the region of the tibia, the shells are similar to gutters, approximately in the form of truncated cone portions, of longitudinal axis X-X '. In the figure, the upper and lower transverse edges of the shells are referenced 10 and 10 'on the one hand and 11 and 11' on the other hand. As for the longitudinal edges, they refer to 12 and 12 'on the one hand and 13 and 13' on the other hand. These longitudinal edges converge towards one another towards the lower transverse edge 11, 11 '. Their large convex faces 15 and 15 'are called internal, while their large opposite 16 and 16', of concave shape, are said to be external. As shown in Figure 1b, the outer shell 1 'has a central region 14' which is raised relative to its peripheral region. This central region 14 'is formed of a longitudinal element 140' with a contour of generally rectangular shape with rounded corners. The elevation of this longitudinal element is substantially constant over its entire extent. The longitudinal element is further bordered laterally, on each side, by one or more elevated appendages 141 ', which have a transition without a break in slope on the one hand with the central element 140' and on the other hand with the peripheral region of the outer shell 1 '. This raised central region 14 'has the function of deflecting blows and thus limit the risk of penetration of a piercing or cutting object, as well as reduce the shock to be absorbed by the protective element. Indeed, when the outer face 15 'of the outer shell 1' is smooth, the shock absorption is less effective insofar as the protective element provides a stable surface stroke. The inner shell 1 on the other hand can be smooth, insofar as it is not directly impacted by the object striking a blow to the protection element. This also makes it possible to reduce its bulk, so that at equal thickness of the protection element, the distance between the inner shell 1 and the outer shell 1 'is greater than in the case where the inner shell 1 also presents an elevated central region.

Along the longitudinal edges 12, 12 ', 13, 13' of the two shells are drilled a series of through holes 17, respectively 17 ', these holes being facing two by two when the shells 1 and 1' are superimposed. Other not shown holes may be provided, for example in the vicinity of the transverse edges.

According to the invention, the protective element consists of the superposition of the two shells 1 and 1 ', these extending in the vicinity of one another. FIG. 2 is a simplified representation of such a configuration. For the sole purpose of clarity of the figure, the hulls were considered to be cylinder-shaped portions and devoid of a raised central region. In this figure are visible connecting means of the shells 1 and 1 '. These are rivets 2 associated with elastic means 23, 23 ', 23 ", visible only in FIGS 3 to 5b, For example, the shells 1 and 1' can be fastened together along their longitudinal sides. 12, 12 ', 13, 13' by two sets of five rivets 2.

When the inner shell 1 is smaller than the outer shell 1 ', the rivets 2 are fixed adjacent to the longitudinal edges 12, 13 of the inner shell 1, and in the portion of the outer shell 1 which is opposite.

According to one embodiment, only the fixed parts of the shells, that is to say the parts adjacent to their longitudinal sides, comprise rivets 2, their central part having to remain movable relative to each other in order to Absorb shocks These elastic means 23, 23 ', 23 "are arranged in such a way that, in the absence of stress, an interval e is maintained between the two shells, for example between 2 and 7 mm, preferably between 3 and 5 mm. This gap e is the gap between the outer face 15 of the inner shell 1 of the inner face 16 'of the outer shell 1. Preferably, the outer shell 1' is semi-rigid and serves to receive and For example, the outer shell 1 'may be made of polyamide, while the inner shell 1 may be made of a more rigid material lined with a shockproof material, in order to block the element. For example, the rigid material of the inner shell 1 may be polycarbonate, more specifically, the inner face 16 of the inner shell 1, which is intended to come closest to the wearer's leg, has long strips 3a, 3b, foam or rubber, designed to form protective elements, which extend parallel to the longitudinal edges of the inner shell 1. Thus, during an external shock, the outer shell 1 'dampens the shock and is close to the inner shell 1, which then distributes the rest of the energy over the entire surface to be protected via the longitudinal strips 3a, 3b.

According to one embodiment, the inner shell 1 comprises two external longitudinal strips 3a, each disposed near a longitudinal edge 12 ', 13'. Alternatively, the inner shell 1 further comprises a central longitudinal strip 3b, extending centrally between the outer longitudinal strips 3a. In Figure 3 is shown a first example of assembly of shells 1 and 1 '. It is in this case a rivet assembly 2, which is placed in place in each pair of holes 17 and 17 ', arranged opposite one another. The diameter of these holes is provided so that the rod 20 of the rivet 2 can be engaged without difficulty, its head 21 extending against the outer face 15 'of the outer shell 1', and its base extending against the inner face 16 of the inner shell 1, possibly via a safety washer 22 '. The purpose of the safety washer 22 'is here to locally compensate for the curvature of the inner shell 1 and to allow a good positioning of the generally flat base of the rivet 2. It also makes it possible to overcome any possible defects in the construction of the holes 17 and 17 '. There may be a clearance between the rod 20 of the rivet 2 and the outer shell 1 'and / or the inner shell 1, in order to reduce the transmission of forces between the two shells 1, 1', and therefore the energy received in the end by the leg. The rod 20 of the rivet 2 is furthermore surrounded by resilient means 23 adapted to absorb the shocks received by the protection element and to keep the shells 1, 1 'at a distance from one another. In Figure 3, there is shown for example two rings 23a separated by a washer 23b. The rings may in particular be of the "silent block" type, and made of foam rubber or deformable agglomerated material, preferably with high strength.

Alternatively, the resilient means 23 may have the form of a strip 23 'foam, rubber or deformable chipboard, preferably high strength, which is attached to the periphery of the outer shell 1' and / or inner 1 at rivets 2 (see FIGS. 5a and 5b). The foam strip 23 'is then pierced at the holes 17 and 17' so as to receive the rod of the rivets 2. In this way, not only the energy received by the outer shell 1 'is damped by said strips 23' , but in addition it is distributed along these strips of foam 23 '. According to one embodiment, the strip 23 'extends along the longitudinal edges 12', 13 'and transverse 10', 11 'of the shells 1' and 1 ', passing at each hole 17, 17'. In a variant, the shells 1 and 1 'enclose two parallel strips 23' extending along the longitudinal edges 12 'and 13' of the shell 1 '. The representation of FIG. 3 corresponds to a situation in which the protection element is not subject to any stress, in particular to any impact. Preferably, the inner shell 1 is smaller than the outer shell 1 'in the transverse direction, that is to say between the two longitudinal edges. For example, the longitudinal edges 12, 13 of the inner shell 1 are at a distance of at least about one centimeter from the corresponding longitudinal edges 12 ', 13' of the outer shell 1 ', preferably about two centimeters. In this way, when a shock is applied to the outer shell 1 ', it remains at a distance from the inner shell 1 without coming into contact with it, which on the one hand improves the absorption of the outer shell 1'. impact by the protective element and on the other hand to reduce or eliminate the risk of a piercing object to pass through the inner shell 1. The overall weight of the protective element is further reduced. When this shock occurs, symbolized by the arrow F, there is a displacement of the shell 1 'towards the shell 1, the foam 23 and the shells 1, 1' then returning to their initial position.

These two successive movements are symbolized by the arrows f and g. With this construction, it is understood that the shocks are substantially concealed by the outer shell 1 'and very little transmitted to the inner shell 1. The shocks are indeed absorbed by the outer shell 1' semi-rigid and by the elastic means before being transmitted to the inner shell 1 which is in contact with the carrier via the longitudinal strips 3a, 3b. The presence of the raised central portion 14 'on the outer face of the outer shell 1' also contributes to the attenuation of the shocks. Furthermore, in the case where a cutting object and / or piercing through the outer shell 1, the inner shell 1 'blocks the passage to the object that comes to end against it, thus avoiding the wearer is touched . Such a structure is believed to effectively combine resistance with blunt blows and sharp and / or piercing objects. According to yet another variant, a spiral spring 23 "is inserted on the rivet rod 20, the opposite ends of which bear against the facing faces 16 'and 15 of the two shells, and it is also possible to provide the inner shell 1 with small ones. 20 projecting rods 20 from molding and forming bodies of rivets, which extend perpendicularly to the corresponding region of the shell.On these rods are positioned helical springs 23, or any other elastic means 23, 23 'described above. The outer end 1 'is then positioned so that the free end of the rods passes through the holes 17', said free end is then deformed to form a rivet head 21. As in the previous embodiment, the ring 23 takes bearing on the opposite faces of the two shells, and there is a clearance between the rod 20 and the shell 1 ', in FIG. 4, 5, 6, namely a knee protector 5, a shin guard 4 and a protective element 6 of the foot.

The shin guard is formed of two shells such as those shown in the previous figures. Here, only the outer shell 1 'is visible, the inner shell 1, the inner shell 1 being smaller in a transverse direction than the outer shell 1'.

Along its two longitudinal edges 12 and 13, the inner shell 1 (and this applies only to this shell 1) may have two projecting elements 130 in the form of ears, in which are drilled a pair of orifices 131. These ears 130 are intended for fixing straps S for the establishment of the protective element around the wearer's leg.

The straps S can be fixed by rivets engaged in the orifices 131 (see Figure la). Alternatively, the lugs 130 may be loops, as shown in FIG. 4. In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, the outer shells of the knee protector are integrally formed with the shin guard. The knee protector thus also has a structure according to the invention. Alternatively, the knee protector 5 could be fixed in the upper part of this element 4, for example by means of rotating rivets, and have a structure according to the invention. The protective element 5 therefore extends in front of the wearer's knee. In the lower part, the element 4 comprises the additional protective element 6, of similar structure, which is intended to protect the toe.

Finally, in an embodiment not shown, at least one protective element according to the invention is fixed permanently on a protective garment, for example using rivets. From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the element according to the invention has a simple, lightweight, pleasing structure, and the manufacture of which requires little equipment.

Claims (15)

REVENDICATIONS1. Protective element (4, 5, 6) of a region of the human body, which comprises a so-called inner first shell (1) intended to be positioned against said region of the human body, which is rigid, curved and shaped to cover said region, characterized in that it comprises a second shell (1 ') said outer, also rigid and curved, superimposed on the first, which extends to its immediate vicinity being spaced from it and is elastically movable relative to this one. 2. Element according to claim 1, wherein the inner shell (1) is smaller in a transverse direction than the outer shell (1 '). 3. Element according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the outer shell (1) is made of a material less rigid than the material of the inner shell (1 '). 4. Element according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said shells (1, 1 ') have different thicknesses, the inner shell (1) 20 having a thickness less than that of the outer shell. 5. Element according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the inner and outer shells (1, 1 ') are connected to one another by a set of rivets (2) associated with elastic means (23). , 23a, 23b, 23 ', 23 ") arranged in the space between the shells (1, 1') and which tend to keep said shells (1, 1 ') spaced from each other. 6. Element according to claim 5, wherein each rivet (2) is associated with elastic means made of a deformable material (23, 23 ', 23 "), preferably with high strength. The element of claim 6, wherein the deformable material is selected from a group consisting of foams, natural or synthetic rubbers, deformable agglomerates and springs. 8. Element according to one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the elastic means comprise at least one ring (23a, 23b). 10 9. Element according to claim 8, wherein the elastic means comprise two rings (23a) separated by a washer (23b). 10. Element according to one of claims 5 to 7, wherein said deformable material element (23 ') has the shape of a band enclosed between the inner shell (1) and the outer shell (1'), and houses the rods (20) of the rivets (2). 11. Element according to one of claims 5 to 10, wherein there is a clearance between the rivets and the outer shell (1 ') and / or the inner shell (1). 12. Element according to one of claims 1 to 11, wherein said inner shell (1) is provided with attachment means (130) to a garment. 25 13. Element according to one of claims 1 to 12, comprising a shin guard, an antiloulous protector, a breastplate, a knee protector, an armguard or a shoulder protector. 14. Association of at least two elements (4; 5; 6) according to one of the claims 1 to 13, fixed on one another, of different shapes and intended to cover neighboring regions of the human body. 15. Protective clothing to which is fixed at least one element (4; 5; 6) according to one of claims 1 to 13, or at least one combination of elements according to claim 14.5.