FR3037216A1 - SHOCK PROTECTIVE DEVICE AND SPORTS EQUIPMENT THEREFOR - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a shock protection device (10) for the protection of a part of a limb of a human body, said part, such as a tibia, being located between two joints of said body, said device (10) comprising a shell (30) defining an area to be protected (21), a part of the shell (30), said first part (32), having a bending so as to be in contact with said area to be protected ( 21), said shell (30) covering the entire area to be protected (21) while having a raised shape (33) having a concavity with respect to the first portion (32) so as to be at a distance from the area to be protected (21). The invention also relates to sports equipment comprising such a protection device (10), said equipment being intended for the protection of a tibia.

Description

The invention relates to an impact protection device intended for the protection of a part of a limb of a human body, said part, such as a tibia, being located between two joints of said body. The invention also relates to associated sports equipment. It is known to provide protection devices closer to the areas to be protected, especially in sports where contacts can cause injuries due to shocks on a bone. They must be light and flexible enough to be comfortable to wear, especially not to annoy users. It is generally recognized that for the limb areas between the joints, the protective devices must be fully pressed against the area to be protected. However, the known protection devices do not distribute the energy received locally by a shock; in other words, a shock received locally is fully felt by the user, although amortized by the protective device it carries. An object of the invention is to provide a protection device which makes it possible to diffuse the damping of a shock that it receives.

Thus, the invention relates to a shock protection device intended for the protection of a part of a limb of a human body, said part, such as a tibia, being located between two joints of said body, said device comprising a shell defining an area to be protected, a part of the hull, said first portion, having a bending so as to be in contact with said area to be protected.

According to the invention said shell covers the entire area to be protected while having a raised shape having a concavity relative to the first part so as to be at a distance from the area to be protected.

The raised form of the device according to the invention makes it possible to postpone the feeling of a shock by forming a mechanical ribbing effect. Thus, the device of the invention makes it possible to diffuse the damping of a shock that it receives, in particular when this shock is received on said raised shape.

As the shell is in only partial contact with the zone to be protected, the device of the invention also has the advantage of limiting the points of contact between said protection device and the zone to be protected. Thus, said shell makes it possible to lighten the structure of such a protective device, at least to lighten the feeling of a user.

According to various embodiments of the invention, which may be taken together or separately: the device of the invention comprises a plurality of layers of materials, a first layer being made of a flexible material and a second layer being produced; in a rigid material, - said layers form said shell, - said first layer is designed to come into contact with the area to be protected at said first part, - said first and second layers are integral with each other, Said first and second layers are pressed together, so that the shape of said first and second layers are substantially the same, said raised shape is a boss formed outwardly relative to the zone to be protected, 25 - said raised shape is a shoulder, formed outwards with respect to the zone to be protected, said raised shape occupies at least a quarter of the face of said shell, said raised shape is located in a median area of the surface of said shell, said first portion occupies at least a quarter of the surface of said shell, said second layer comprises a main portion realized in the form of a mechanical beam which has a principal longitudinal extension direction, said principal direction, - said second layer further comprises two lateral parts 5 arranged on either side of said main part, - said two lateral parts each have a degree of freedom with respect to said main part, said first layer is designed to allow the degree of freedom of said two lateral parts with respect to said main part, said first layer serves as a hinge between said two side parts and said main part, - said first layer is a foam, - said second layer is obtained naked by plastic injection.

The invention also relates to sports equipment comprising a protection device as described above, said sports equipment being intended for the protection of a tibia.

According to various embodiments of the invention, which may be taken together or separately: said equipment has two opposite ends along a principal longitudinal extension direction of said equipment, a first end intended to be placed at the proximal to the knee, said proximal end, and a second end to be placed near the ankle, said distal end, - said shell is configured to be held in place on a user by the simple pressure exerted by a sock.

The invention will be better understood, and other objects, details, features and advantages thereof will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed explanatory description of at least one embodiment of the invention 3037216 4 given by way of purely illustrative and non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings. In these drawings: FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an exemplary embodiment of a protection device according to the invention, said device being shown in section, on the leg of a user, FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken at the level of the line of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 1, a diagrammatic representation in front view and freehand view of the protection device represented in FIG. The invention relates to an impact protection device 10 for the protection of a part of a limb of a human body, said part, such as a tibia, being located between two joints of said body. "Shock" is understood to mean any external attack coming from time to time in contact with a part of the human body. For example, a kick, punch, coming into contact with said device 10. In other words, said device aims to attenuate the mechanical energy of a shock received on said device 10 to limit the effects of this shock on the device. protected human body part. The protected human body part is a part of a member of said body, located between two joints, in particular a portion of the tibia or forearm type, without these examples being limiting. Said parts have in common 25 to comprise one or more bones extending longitudinally between two joints and an outer envelope provided with a shape that can locally approach a portion of the casing of a cylinder, possibly slightly curved . Figure 1 shows the device of the invention on a human body leg. This example is not limiting. Said device 10 comprises a shell 30 defining an area to be protected 21. The term "shell" means a substantially rigid assembly; in other words, the shell 30 is here an assembly which does not deform plastically on receiving a shock. More specifically, the hull 30 is here an assembly that does not deform plastically, until breaking, except exceptional case of particularly violent shock - ie releasing a kinetic energy measured at impact which is particularly unusual for a shock between two human bodies, or even between two human bodies equipped with similar protections. A slight elastic deformation of the hull 30 is however possible. The area to be protected 21 is a defined, limited area of the human body. Here, the boundary of this area to be protected 21 is drawn by the contours 31 of said shell 30 (see FIG. 2). In Figure 1, the area to be protected 21 is a front portion of the leg 20, specifically a portion of the tibia of a user. This area to be protected 21 is circumscribed to the area covered by said protection device 10.

A portion of the shell 30, said first portion 32, has a bend (more particularly visible in Figure 3) so as to be in contact with said area to be protected 21 given its form mentioned above. In other words, said first part 32 is intended to be placed in position on the zone to be protected 21. More specifically, said first part 32 is the part of the protection device of the invention which comes into contact with a part of the zone. 21. Here, the bending given to said shell 30 is a technical form intended to match the surface of the leg 20 of the user, more specifically, the tibia of a user. It is similar in kind to a part of cylinder casing, slightly flared.

According to the invention, said shell 30 covers the entire area to be protected 21 while having a raised shape 33 having a concavity with respect to the first part 32 so as to be at a distance from the area to be protected. The term "to be at a distance", not to be in contact with the zone 30 to be protected 21, to be deported from said zone to be protected 21. In other words, the shell 30, at the level of the raised form 33, does not not to protect the area to be protected 21. In other words, the shell 30, at the level of the raised form 33, does not touch the area to be protected 21 although said shell 30 covers, wraps, or covers said area to be protected 21 in its entirety.

This means that the raised shape creates a vacuum 34 at the area to be protected 21, said void 34 being a space defined between the area to be protected 21 and said shell 30. This void 34 is a free housing, which allows the shell to deform without breaking when it receives a shock from the outside. By this is meant that the shell 30 acts as a mechanical spring when it receives a shock, so as to absorb the mechanical energy of said shock, and this thanks to the vacant space formed between said shell 30 and said zone. 21, at the level of the relief form 33. Said vacuum 34, or vacant space, or free space, is formed by said concavity. Said vacuum 34 may also be considered as an air pocket 34.

By "raised form" is meant an outgrow formed outwardly with respect to the area to be protected 21, more specifically a hollow protrusion. In other words, the term "raised form", a hollow form. Said raised form 33 is formed in the form, for example, of a boss, formed outwardly with respect to the zone to be protected 21. Thus, in FIG. 1, the raised form 33 is a boss, boss being formed outwardly relative to the surface to be protected 21 defined by the shell 30 when in position on the shin. In a variant not shown here, said raised form 33 may be a shoulder, formed outwards with respect to the zone to be protected 21. In other words, the shell 30 will be made in two sets: a first set corresponding to a said first part 32 in contact with the zone to be protected 21, when said protection device 10 is in position on a said part of the human body, and a second assembly which is not in contact with the zone to be protected 21 but which continues to cover said area to be protected 21, said shoulder being between these two sets. More specifically, said shoulder forms a step, or a hitch, between these two sets. In other words, said boss or said shoulder form mechanical ribs deporting the second set so that it does not rest on the area to be protected 21. In other words, only said first part 32 is in contact, or The zone to be protected is still touched 21. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, said raised shape 33 occupies at least a quarter of the surface of said shell 30. In other words, said first portion 3037216 7 32 bears on the zone to be protected 21, and by which said device 10 of the invention is in contact on the zone to be protected 21, remains limited. Said first portion 32 is in contact with the zone to be protected 21, or in other words, embraces the outer shape, only on a portion limited to three quarters, or even half, or even a quarter of the area to be protected. However, advantageously, said first portion 32 occupies at least a quarter of the area to be protected 21.

Preferably, said raised shape will be located in a median zone 35 of the surface of said shell 30, in particular for capturing the highest possible number of said impact potentials (see FIG. 2). In other words, said raised form 33 will be located in the central zone 35 to dampen the most possible shocks, so that the user perceives a limited number of vibrations from said shocks.

It should be noted that conventional flat shells may be rigid but have no intrinsic shock absorbing capability. The hull 30 according to the invention, provided with said raised form 33, has this intrinsic damping capacity, by its ribbing effect.

On the other hand, the device 10 of the invention will advantageously comprise a plurality of layers of materials, a first layer 36 being made of a flexible material and a second layer 37 being made of a rigid material. Said layers of materials 36, 37 form said shell 30.

"Rigid material" means a material which does not deform or even bend under the local pressure of a user's hand; unlike the "soft material" that can be deformed locally or compressed at the touch of a finger of a user.

It should be noted that said first layer 36 is designed to come into contact with the area to be protected 21 at said first portion 32. In other words, said first layer 36 is an inner layer of said shell 30. When the protection 10 is positioned at the part of the human body to be protected, so when said device 10 covers the area to be protected 21, said first layer 30 36 is facing the human body, for example of the leg 20, more precisely the tibia. Said second layer 37 is then an outer layer of said shell 30, facing the outside, ready to receive on its surface potential aggressions 5 in the form of shocks to be damped. Said outer layer 37 may be provided in a rigid material of the plastic type, reinforced plastic, composite fortified with impact-resistant fibers, carbon, carbon composite carbon matrix, or any other sufficiently rigid material. Wood, especially treated wood, is not excluded from said rigid materials. Said first 36 and second 37 layers are advantageously secured to one another. They will be glued together, for example. Specifically, said first 36 and second 37 layers will be laminated to one another so that the shape of said first and second layers are substantially the same, ie that of the shell 30. In other words, said first layer 36 - inner layer of said shell 30, and said second layer 37 - outer layer of said shell 30, will follow the general shape of said shell 30, or even give body to said shell 30.

Any other mechanical process than gluing, in particular for plating said two inner and outer layers 36 and 37, will be adapted to produce a shell 30 according to the invention. As can be seen in FIG. 2, said second layer 37 will advantageously comprise a main portion 41 made in the form of a mechanical beam which has a principal longitudinal extension direction, referred to as the main direction, and marked X in FIG. 2 "Mechanical beam" means a mechanical element that is longer than it is wide. In other words, said main portion 41 is a strip of material, here a strip of rigid material, which extends along said main direction X. Said second layer will comprise, in addition, two lateral portions 42, 43 arranged from and other said main part 41, they also made in the form of mechanical beams in the sense defined above. These lateral parts 42, 3037216 9 43 have the function of providing complete coverage of the zone to be protected 21, already mainly covered by said main part 41. In other words, said lateral portions cover the lateral zones of said zone to be protected 21. On the other hand, said two lateral portions 42, 43 each have a degree of freedom with respect to said main portion 41 so as to provide flexibility and flexibility to the shell 30 of the invention. Said two layers 36, 37 being integral, it is here said first layer 36, or inner layer, which is designed to allow the degree of freedom of said two lateral portions 42, 43 with respect to said main portion 41.

In other words, said first layer 36, or inner layer, serves as a hinge between said main portion 41 and said two lateral portions 42, 43. In other words, said first layer 36 is strong enough to serve as a hinge for said side portions 42 , 43 of said outer layer 37, said main and lateral portions 41, 42 being in particular glued on said first layer 36. This means that there is a non-opening day 44, 45, or a space 44, 45, between said main and lateral portions 42, 43 of said outer layer 37, so that said portions 41, 42, 43 are not rigidly connected to each other. It also means that said first layer 36, or inner layer, which is certainly made of a flexible material, is strong enough not to tear when it serves as a hinge. Thus, it should be noted that said lateral portions 42, 43 of said outer layer 37 are articulated with respect to said main portion 41 via an area having a single thickness of material, that of said first layer 36.

It should be noted, also, that said portions 41, 42, 43 of the outer layer 36 thus designed allow adaptation to the user's anatomy of said protection device 10 according to the invention, in addition to the bending of the device 10.

It should be noted, again, that said portions 41, 42, 43 of the outer layer 36 each comprise a portion of the relief form 33. Said first layer 36, or inner layer, will advantageously be a foam.

Said second layer 37, or outer layer, will be advantageously obtained by plastic injection. The invention also relates to sports equipment comprising a protection device 10 as described above, said sports equipment being intended for the protection of a tibia. More specifically, said equipment has two ends 51, 52, opposite along a main longitudinal extension direction of said equipment. Said direction of extension is confused with the main direction X 10 introduced above. A first end is intended to be placed at the end of the knee 22; it is said proximal end 51. A second end is intended to be placed at the end of the ankle 23; it is called distal end 52.

Advantageously, said raised form 33 will be located substantially midway between said ends 51, 52. Advantageously, again, said first portion 32 will be located only in the vicinity of said ends 51, 52. In other words, said first layer 36, or inner layer, will be in contact with the area to be protected 21 only in the vicinity of said ends 51, 52 (embodiment shown in Figure 1). Thus, the boss 33 and its air gap 34, decreases the surface in direct contact with the skin of a user at the area to be protected 21 and gives the impression to said user not to wear protection. Alternatively, said first portion 32 will be located only in the vicinity of said distal end 52. In other words, said first layer 36, or inner layer, will be in contact with the area to be protected 21 only in the vicinity of said distal end 52 (example embodiment not shown here). Thus, the surface in direct contact with the skin of the user at the area to be protected 21 is further reduced and also gives the impression to said user not to wear protection. It should be noted that said shell 30, and therefore said equipment, is advantageously configured to be held in place on a user, in particular on his tibia, by the simple pressure exerted by a sock (not shown here). In an exemplary alternative embodiment, not shown here, said equipment comprises a retaining means for holding said equipment in position, in particular on said tibia. Said retaining means will advantageously be located at said distal end 52. Said retaining means will be provided in the form of a solid elastic and / or comprising a removable scratch closure, for example.

It should also be noted that said second layer 37 may advantageously carry a decoration. It should also be noted that variant embodiments are of course possible.

In particular, it is also conceivable, in an embodiment not shown here, that several relief shapes 33 are distributed over the surface of said shell 30, this notwithstanding the presence of hinges separating several parts of the shell 30. The objective is then to further limit the surface in direct contact with the skin of a user and thus ensure a better distribution of shock absorption 20 received on said shell 30, and thus a better comfort felt by the user. The contour of the raised form 33 illustrated here gives the latter a substantially rectangular shape transverse to the X direction. Any other shape and / or orientation are possible.

The sports equipment described above will find a particularly advantageous application in the prevention of tibial shin splints.

Claims (15)

REVENDICATIONS1. A shock protection device (10) for protecting a portion of a limb of a human body, said portion, such as a tibia, being located between two joints of said body, said device (10) comprising a shell (30) defining an area to be protected (21), a part of the shell (30), said first portion (32), having a bend so as to be in contact with said area to be protected (21), said hull (30) covering the entire area to be protected (21) while having a raised shape (33) having a concavity with respect to the first portion (32) so as to be at a distance from the area to be protected ( 21). 2. Protection device (10) according to the preceding claim, comprising a plurality of layers of materials, a first layer (36) being made of a flexible material and a second layer (37) being made of a rigid material, said layers ( 36, 37) forming said shell (30). 3. Protection device (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein said first layer (36) is adapted to come into contact with the area to be protected (21) at said first portion (32). 4. Protection device (10) according to any one of claims 2 or 3, wherein said first (36) and second layers (37) are integral with each other. The protective device (10) according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein said first (36) and second layers (37) are pressed one over the other, so that the shape of said first (36) and second (37) layers are 36) and second layers (37) are substantially the same. 3037216 13 6. Protection device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said raised shape (33) is a boss, formed outwardly relative to the area to be protected (21). 5 The protective device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said raised shape (33) is a shoulder formed outwardly with respect to the area to be protected (21). The protection device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said raised shape (33) occupies at least a quarter of the surface of said shell (30). The protection device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said first portion (32) occupies at least a quarter of the surface of said shell (30). The protective device (10) according to any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein said second layer (37) comprises a main portion (41) formed as a mechanical beam which has a direction of principal longitudinal extension, called principal direction (X). 11.Dispositif protection (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein said second layer (37) further comprises two side portions (42, 43) arranged on either side of said main portion (41), said two side portions (42, 43) each having a degree of freedom with respect to said main portion (41). 12.The protective device (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein said first layer (36) is designed to allow the degree of freedom of said two side portions (42, 43) with respect to said main portion (41) . 3037216 14 13. Sports equipment comprising a protection device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, said equipment being intended for the protection of a tibia. 5 14. Sports equipment according to the preceding claim, said equipment having two ends (51, 52), opposite along a main longitudinal extension direction (X) of said equipment, a first end (51) intended to be placed at the near the knee (22), said proximal end (51), and a second end (52) intended to be placed near the ankle (23), said distal end (52). Sports equipment according to any one of claims 13 or 14, wherein said shell (30) is configured to be held in place on a user by the simple pressure exerted by a sock. 15