WO2012006747A1

WO2012006747A1 - Item of protective clothing with flexible safety insert

Info

Publication number: WO2012006747A1
Application number: PCT/CH2011/000110
Authority: WO
Inventors: Roland Lottenbach; Hans-Jürgen HÜBNER
Original assignee: Schoeller Textil Ag
Priority date: 2010-07-15
Filing date: 2011-05-11
Publication date: 2012-01-19
Also published as: CH703499A2

Abstract

The invention proposes a novel item of protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert, in particular puncture-resistant soles for footwear and insoles for footwear. It provides a high level of protection, in particular a high level of puncture resistance, and at the same time a high level of comfort. The flexible safety inserts comprise at least one panel of inherently rigid metal or plastics material of high strength, which are provided with a desired level of flexibility by means of specifically arranged slots.

Description

PROTECTIVE CLOTHING WITH FLEXIBLE SAFETY INSERT

TECHNICAL GEBI ET

The present invention relates to the field of protective clothing, in particular anti-puncture shoes and shoe soles. It relates to protective clothing with one or more flexible safety inserts, in particular for the penetration protection of shoes and shoe soles and a method for producing safety clothing with such flexible safety inserts.

STATE OF THE ART

From the prior art it is known for decades to incorporate thin steel plates in Schuhsoh ^¬ len in order to avoid the risk of injury by an occurrence of a sharp object. Work shoes in particular are still equipped with such penetration-resistant soles with metal plates.

One problem that arises with such metal reinforced soles is that the metal plate used should be as thick as possible to increase protection, but the shoe sole becomes increasingly inflexible with increasing thickness. This problem has long been known and various solutions have already been proposed.

For example, in US Pat. No. 5,001,848, an insole is provided which comprises a metal core composed of a plurality of metal foils. The individual film layers form a sandwich construction and are arranged movable against each other in the sole, so that the sole still has a certain flexibility despite a sufficient protective effect. It has been shown that with such soles the shark turing the individual metal foils is expensive. If the foils are simply connected to one another in edge regions, the advantageous effect of the mobility of the foils among each other is largely lost. Other types of attachment of the foils in the sole, as proposed in US 5001 848, are much more expensive to produce.

In order to achieve a sufficient puncture protection and still not let the soles of the shoes become too stiff, it is proposed in various documents to use multilayer soles of fiber material with very high tensile strength. In US 61 67639, for example, several layers of the puncture-resistant soles are made of tightly woven Kevlar or polyaramid fibers. In order to provide adequate security against the penetration of nails, splinters or other pointed or sharp objects, several layers or layers of fabric must be stacked in such a sole. This leads on the one hand to a stiffening and on the other hand it makes the sole relatively thick.

From US 5996257 a lighter insert for a safety shoe is known. The A ^¬ set to protect the foot not only in the sole area, but also the sides and especially in the toe and heel. The proposed insert, which essentially corresponds to an inner boot, is produced by injection molding from an impact-resistant plastic material, with which individual metal plates are overmolded. The individual Metallplat ^¬ th in the sole are spaced from each other in the plastic material around the insert not to stiffen completely. The security inserts according to US 5996257 have at least two disadvantages. On the one hand, the gaps between the individual metal plates offer less protection against the penetration of sharp or pointed objects, on the other hand, the production is relatively complicated because a plurality of metal parts in the same shape / cavity has to be overmoulded with plastic. PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide protective clothing with flexible safety insert, in particular puncture resistant shoe soles and shoes, which do not have the disadvantages of the known products, but have a high protective effect, in particular a high penetration resistance and at the same time high wearing comfort.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for the simple and efficient manufacture of protective clothing, in particular of puncture resistant shoe soles and shoes.

These objects are achieved by the entirety of the features of claim 1 and method claim 10.

An embodiment of the protective clothing according to the invention is characterized in that the flexible safety inserts comprise a sheet of per se stiff metal or plastic material with high strength, which is given flexibility by means of selectively arranged slots, openings or weakenings.

In the case of safety inserts in the form of shoe soles and shoes, the invention is characterized in that the penetration resistance is ensured by means of a plate made of metal or plastic material, which preferably covers the entire sole region. The desired flexibility - at least in roll-off direction - is achieved by a targeted weakening of the plate. According to preferred embodiments, the plate is made flexible by the attachment of slots which penetrate the plate over the entire thickness. The slots in the at least one plate, with a width of 0.05 to a maximum of 4.0 mm, preferably less than 2 mm, particularly preferably between 0.2 and 1 mm, evenly or irregularly distributed to the surface and in straight, curved or other of the Straight lines of deviating geometry and design can be arranged. The almost arbitrary selectability of the slot arrangement is limited only by the achievement of the desired flexibility in the direction of the main bending stress and on the strength stress, and the fracture resistance. In order to achieve good flexibility and sufficient stability at a high bending stress, the distances between the slots are preferably chosen such that the transverse and longitudinal webs remaining between adjacent slots, respectively between slots and the edge of the panel, have a sufficient width. When used in the area of penetration protection, the width of the slots between the individual webs is preferably less than 4 mm at all points of the slots, since the penetration of nails with a diameter of 4 mm or more is to be prevented according to the usual criteria of various safety standards.

In the context of the present invention, a transverse web is understood to mean a web which is arranged transversely to the direction of the main bending stress. In a safety insert for a safety shoe, this would in the area of the shoe sole a web, which is arranged transversely to the longitudinal direction of the shoe sole. Accordingly, a longitudinal web is a web, which is arranged in the longitudinal direction - ie transverse to the transverse web.

As a slot, not only the slots are to be understood, which enforce the plate material in the entire thickness, but also such depressions or recesses in the material, which represent a significant weakening of the material, but this does not fully enforce. The width and shape of the webs inevitably results from the position and course of the slots. Manufacturing technology is preferred as small as possible number of slots, since they mean the lowest production cost. To achieve the desired flexibility, however, a certain number of webs is necessary. Ridge widths between 2.5 and 40 mm have proved to be advantageous. The width and shape of the webs can vary depending on the application. For penetration protection in shoes or shoe soles, web widths of 3 to 20 mm have been proven. When penetration protection for sports or casual shoes in which rather soft flexible soles are desired, the width of the webs in the lower range, preferably 4 to 6 mm, more preferably 5 mm. In the professional field, ie, for example, for work shoes for industry or rescue services, less flexible shoe soles are accepted by the customer, so that the width of the webs can well be in the range of 1 0 mm and far above.

If the security inserts are used, for example, in the area of the chest or the back of a protective clothing, the flexibility can be quite lower depending on the area of use and the web widths can be selected larger. If no narrow bend radius is required, then the width of the transverse webs can be selected correspondingly greater - up to a multiple - than the above mentioned for use in the shoe area 40 mm.

In order to make different areas of security operations different flexibility, the web width can be selected in different areas of a security use different widths. In the case of a safety sole, for example, narrow webs may be arranged in the area of the football, in which high flexibility is desired for the rolling movement, and in the area of the heel which does not expect high flexibility, the webs may be much wider.

A similar effect can also be achieved by concentrating the slots on one or several areas of the plate. The slots can be on certain Celenk areas concentrated with high bending stress, while in the remaining area the plate is completely or approximately free of slits. For example, in the case of a shoe sole, the slots may be concentrated on an area in front of and behind the football zone to achieve the flexibility required for unrolling.

Preferably, the slots are arranged linearly and parallel to each other in the security insert. However, according to other embodiments of the present invention, the slots deviate from the linear shape and are curved, for example. Such a design offers in addition to the puncture protection or penetration protection additionally also a very effective cut protection, since no linear cuts can easily penetrate the safety insert in the slot area.

The inventive production methods allow any variations in the shape of the slots without problems. Limiting factor in the spatial course of the slots and the corresponding shape of the webs are again the requirements for the flexibility of the security use.

The requirements for the strength of the plate material used determine which material is chosen and what thickness the material must have. It can easily be seen that the material thickness and the slot width also have an influence on the flexibility of the slotted plates.

As suitable and preferred plates materi alien have various metal sheets of aluminum, aluminum alloys, copper, steel, titanium, lead or cast iron and plastics with sufficient strength, such as fiber-reinforced plastics or resins have proven. The choice of material influences to some extent the preferred manufacturing process. While the slots can be cut into virtually all of the selected materials by laser or water jet, or sawed by known wire or wire sawing techniques, punching techniques have proven particularly useful on metal panels.

For plate materials that allow hot or cold forming, the slots can be made in a first process step with a greater width than intended for the final product. In a subsequent method step, the width of the slots can then be reduced, for example by rolling to the desired size. In this way, even narrow slits can be produced very easily and inexpensively. While preferably linear slots are produced during sawing, the cutting and punching methods give great freedom with regard to the course of the slots produced.

For the flexibility of the security operations has the width of the parallel to the bending or rolling movement from ^¬ extending longitudinal ridges, respectively, the number of which in the respective region, found to be important variable. The longer a slot compared to the total width of a Si ^¬ cherheitsei nsatzes, the narrower is the remaining longitudinal web, and the higher is the flexibility of the insert in the region of the slot. The slot could be continuous or it can be divided into several sub-slots. In the case of several sub-slots who ^{¬ produced} the corresponding more longitudinal webs.

Of course, the properties of the further layers of the security inserts also play an important role for the flexibility and the stability of the security inserts according to the invention. In the simplest case of a safety insert in the form of an insole or a plug-in element in a pocket provided for an outer garment, for example a breast pocket of a vest, the security element comprises only the slotted plate. However, most of the plate is covered at least with an upper and a lower layer, for example, increase the comfort of an insole and / or give additional stability. The different layers of multi-layer security elements can be glued together. The slotted plate can also be easily integrated into a layer of open or closed-cell foam plastic.

If the safety inserts are integrated in shoe soles, they in turn comprise at least one layer which is formed from a slotted plate. It can also integrate two or three slotted plates in a shoe sole to form a security element. These need not be forced to be arranged in a common position of the sole, but they cover in plan view but preferably the entire sole and overlap in their edge regions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will be explained in more detail below in connection with the drawing with reference to embodiments. Show it

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a slotted plate according to a first embodiment;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a slotted plate according to another embodiment;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a slotted plate according to another embodiment;

4 is a plan view of a slotted plate according to another embodiment;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a slotted plate according to another embodiment; a plan view of a slotted plate according to another embodiment; a plan view of a slotted plate according to another embodiment; a detail of a longitudinal section through a security element according to a first embodiment; a detail of a longitudinal section through a security element according to a further embodiment; a detail of a longitudinal section through a security element according to a further embodiment; and a top view of a slotted plate according to a further form of execution ^¬ for a shoe sole with two slotted Celenkbereichen.

WAYS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a multi-slotted plate 1 0 a security element with a rectangular plan. The plate 10 is alternately cut by both side edges 11, 12. The slots 1 3, 1 4 enforce the plate in its entire thickness and parallel to each other and transverse to the plate longitudinal axis. The slots 1 3, 1 4 each end shortly before the opposite side edge 1 2, 1 1, so that longitudinal webs 1 6, 1 5 remain between the slot end and side edge. Between the slots, which are equally spaced apart from each cut into the plate, a plurality of transverse webs 1 7 are formed.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, as well as in the further exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 2 to 7, the slotted plates are each shown with a rectangular ground plan for the sake of simplicity. However, the shape of the slotted plates is in no way limited to the illustrated rectangular shape. The plate-shaped elements can be practically take any basic shape, for example the outline of a sole for the production of safety inserts for shoes.

The plate-shaped elements do not have to be flat or even, but they may well be bent in all three dimensions. For example, if the knee or elbow region of a person is to be protected, the plate-like elements are preferably bent into a corresponding known cup shape for knee or elbow pads. If desired, the plate-shaped insole elements can be bent to form an anatomically correct footbed,

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a plate-shaped element 20 according to a further embodiment of the present invention. The longitudinal and transverse webs are formed in this embodiment of two different types of slots. The plate 20 is cut in each case from both side edges 21, 22, the slots thus formed pass through the plate again in its entire thickness and extend on a straight line transverse to the plate longitudinal axis towards each other. The two slots 23, 24 but not meet each other but end spaced from each other in the central region of the plate 20, so that a longitudinal web 25 stops. Between each two slots 23, 24 a longer slot 26 is arranged, which passes through the plate in the central region, but at a distance from the two side edges 21, 22 ends. In this way, two lateral longitudinal webs remain 27,28 stand. All slots are again equidistant, parallel to each other and arranged transversely to the longitudinal plate axis, so that the transverse webs 29, 29 'formed all have the same width.

If it is assumed that the plate-shaped elements shown in FIG. 1 and those shown in FIG. 2 differ only in the way in which they are slotted, it can be determined from the slit pattern that the plate 20 has less flexibility in the case of FIG Bending along its longitudinal axis than the slotted plate 10. this can be done with it reasons that in each area of the plate 20 longitudinal webs 25, 27, 28 are arranged alone or together are approximately twice as wide as the corresponding longitudinal webs 1 5, 1 6 of the plate 1 0. This clearly shows the flexibility of the inventive security elements not can be influenced only by the choice of material and the thickness of the plate-shaped elements, but also in the processing by the arrangement and the length of the attached slots.

In Figures 3, 4 and 5 three plate-shaped elements 30, 40 and 50 are shown with simpler sectional patterns in plan views. In the plate-shaped element 30 according to FIG. 3, all slots are cut in from the left plate edge 31. The slots 33 pass through the plate all in their entire thickness and parallel to each other and transverse to the plate longitudinal axis. The slots 31 each terminate short of the opposite side edge 32, so that a longitudinal web 35 between the slot ends and the side edge 32 stops. The comb-like slit shown in Figure 3 with a plurality of transverse webs 34 can be produced extremely simple and inexpensive in terms of manufacturing technology in plate-shaped elements. A plurality of plates can be assembled into a package and all slots can be applied simultaneously from one side, for example by means of a wire-sawing process.

4 shows a further embodiment of a plate-shaped element 40 is shown in which the comb-like slit of both side edges 41, 42 is mounted ago, so that in the middle of the plate, a central longitudinal web 43 stops. This longitudinal web 43 carries on both sides of a plurality of transverse webs 45, 46th

In the plate-shaped element 50 according to FIG. 5, a multiplicity of slots 53 arranged parallel to one another and transversely to the longitudinal axis of the plate penetrate in their entire thickness without the plate edges 51, 52. The slots 53 each end shortly before the side edges 51, 52, so that longitudinal webs 55, 56 between the slot ends and the side edges edges 51, 52 stop. The slotted plate 50, as the only one of the previously described embodiments, has a complex closed edge region. A plate of this type is most easily made by laser or water jet cutting or it is punched. In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 6, a plate-shaped element 60 is shown, in which the width of the longitudinal webs and the transverse webs varies over the length of the plate. The type of slotting corresponds essentially to that of plate 10 of FIG. 1. The slots are in turn alternately incised from both sides of the plate. In a rear region 62, however, the slots 63, 64 are shorter and wider apart from one another than in the front region 61 of the plate 60. Correspondingly, in the rear region 62 the longitudinal webs 66 and the transverse webs 65 are wider than the longitudinal webs 68 and the transverse webs 67 in the front area 61. The plate 60 is therefore more flexible in the front area than in the rear area. Such an embodiment has proved to be advantageous, for example, in the production of safety elements for shoes, as it allows greater flexibility in the field of football, and thus facilitates the rolling end movement while walking, while the rear heel area has a higher stability without the thickness or the composition of the plate must be changed in any way.

The exemplary embodiment with the plate 70 according to FIG. 7 is intended to show that a plurality of slots and webs can be arranged in each section of the plate. In particular, in the production by means of laser cutting or water jet cutting a large number of slots can be arranged in linear or of the straight in different forms without major losses in the production speed.

In the figures 8 to 10 sections of longitudinal sections through three different embodiments of inventive security elements 1, 2 and 3 are shown. In the security element 1 according to the figure 8, a slotted plate-shaped element is shown, the uniformly spaced transverse webs 2 are embedded in a matrix of Schamkunststoff 3. The foam plastic material penetrates into the slots 4 between the adjacent webs 2 and forms at the top and the bottom of the security element 1 a closed material layer, so that the plate, which is made of metal in the example shown, is completely surrounded by the show mkunststoff.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 9, the same slotted plate-shaped element, of which in turn the uniformly spaced transverse webs 2 are shown in section, is bonded in a sandwich construction with an upper cover layer 5 and a lower cover layer 7. The slots 4 between the transverse webs 2 can be previously filled for bonding with a suitable elastic plastic material or remain free.

In the third exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 10, a further multilayer sandwich construction is shown in which a slotted plate, again embedded in an elastic plastic layer, is provided with a plurality of transverse webs 2 with an upper 8 and a lower cover layer 9.

If the safety inserts according to the invention are used, for example, as insoles for shoes, then the additional cover layers can serve to increase the wearing comfort. They can, for example, serve for temperature insulation or be equipped with phase change materials for temperature regulation. If cove layers of high tensile strength fibers are used, then the penetration resistance can be additionally increased.

According to a preferred embodiment of FIG. 10, the slotted plate in the longitudinally cut insole 9 is made of a titanium alloy and has a thickness D of approximately 0.8 mm. The transverse webs 2 have a width of 5 mm and are through the slots 2 separated by a slot width S of 0.2 mm. The upper and lower cover layers 7, 8 each having a thickness of 0.5 mm each consist of an elastic knitted fabric or an elastic fabric, wherein the upper can be preferably equipped antibacterial.

According to further advantageous embodiments, the flexible security elements are characterized in that the slots pass through the plate with respect to a top side and / or a bottom side of the plate deviating from the vertical. In such a slotted plate, the upper and lower openings of the slot in the plates top and bottom are not congruent one above the other. Basically there is the danger that very narrow pointed objects, for example nails, splinters or blades which are narrower than the slot width can penetrate vertically into a slot and can even penetrate it completely. By deviating from the vertical, for example by 30 to 60 degrees, preferably inclined by 45 degrees extending direction of the slot in the plate, this is prevented. An approximately perpendicularly penetrating object would still have to bend at the appropriate angle of inclination in order to be able to penetrate such an inclined slot.

In the plate 80 in the form of a shoe sole, as shown in FIG. 11, the slots are concentrated on two areas of the plate. The slots define two Gelenkberei ^¬ surface 81, 82 with high flexibility, while no slots are mounted in the other areas of the plate. In the shoe sole plate 80 shown, the slots are concentrated on a region 82 in the region of the disk tip in front of and in a region 81 behind the football zone. The two flexible hinge zones 81, 82 allow for easy bending of the panel in these two areas, giving the panel the flexibility it needs for easy unrolling. LIST OF SIGNATURE SIGNS

1 security operation

2 crossbar

3 pubic plastic

4 slot

5, 7 upper cover layer

6, 8 lower cover layer

9 safety operation

1 0 plate-shaped element, plate

1 1 margin

1 2 margin

1 3, 14 slots

1 5, 1 6 longitudinal webs

1 7 crossbar

20 plate-shaped element, plate

21, 22 margins

23, 24 slots

25 longitudinal bar

26 slot

27, 28 lateral longitudinal webs

29, 29 'transverse webs

30 plate-shaped element, plate

31, 32 plate edge

33 slot

34 crossbar

35 lateral longitudinal bar 40 plate-shaped element, plate

41, 42 plate edge

43 central longitudinal bar

45, 46 crossbars

50 plate-shaped element, plate

51, 52 side edge

53 slot

55, 56 lateral longitudinal webs

60 plate-shaped element, plate

61 front plate area

62 rear plate area

63, 64 slots

65 wide crossbar

66 wide longitudinal ridge

67 narrow crossbar

68 narrow longitudinal bar

70 plate-shaped element, plate

80 plate-shaped element, plate

81, 82 joint area

B bridge width

D web thickness

S slot width

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS E

1 . Protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert (1, 9), characterized in that the at least one safety insert (1, 9) comprises a plate (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80) of stable material, whose flexibility is increased by targeted weakening, preferably in the form of at least one opening or slot (4, 1 3, 1 4, 23, 24, 26, 33, 53, 63, 64).

2. Protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert (1, 9) according to claim 1, characterized in that in the plate (1 0, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80) a plurality of slots (4, 1 3 , 14, 23, 24, 26, 33, 53, 63, 64), which completely penetrated the plate in their thickness, are arranged such that a plurality of transverse webs (2, 1, 7, 29, 29 ', 34, 45 , 46, 65, 66, 67, 68) and longitudinal webs (1 5, 1 6, 25, 27, 28, 35, 43, 55, 56, 66, 68) connected thereto.

3. Protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert (1, 9) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the width of the slots (4, 1 3, 1 4, 23, 24, 26, 33, 53, 63, 64) 0.05 to a maximum of 4.0 mm, preferably less than 2 mm, more preferably between 0.2 and 1 mm.

4. Protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert (1, 9) according to claim 2, characterized in that the width of the transverse webs (2, 1 7, 29, 29 ', 34, 45, 46, 65, 66, 67, 68). 3 to a maximum of 1 20 mm, preferably between 4 to 6 mm.

5. protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert (1, 9) according to claim one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a plate (1 0, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80) of stable material, made of metal or plastic material, preferably fiber-reinforced plastic material.

6. protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert (1, 9) according to claim ^¬ 5, characterized in that the slots (4, 1 3, 1 4, 23, 24, 26, 33, 53, 63, 64) in the Plate (1 0, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80) cut by laser or water jet or cut or punched by wire or wire sawing method.

7. Protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert (1, 9) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slots pass through the plate with respect to a top plate and / or a plate underside deviating from the vertical.

8. Protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slots are concentrated on at least one region (81, 82) of the plate.

9. Protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert (1, 9) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the safety insert is part of an impervious shoe sole or a penetration-resistant insole (9).

1 0. Protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert (1, 9) according to claim ^¬ 9, characterized in that the slotted plate in the penetration-resistant shoe sole or the penetration-resistant insole covers substantially the entire sole region.

1 1. Protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert (1, 9) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the safety insert a sandwich construction of the slotted plate (1 0, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70) and further cover layers (5, 6, 7, 8).

Method for producing protective clothing with at least one flexible safety insert (1, 9) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in a stable plate-shaped material (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70) in one or more steps Slits (4, 1 3, 14, 23, 24, 26, 33, 53, 63, 64) cut by laser or water jet cutting or sawed or punched by wire or wire saws.