Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
  • A41D13/015—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches with shock-absorbing means
  • A41D13/0155—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches with shock-absorbing means having inflatable structure, e.g. non automatic
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
  • A41D13/015—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches with shock-absorbing means
  • A41D13/018—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches with shock-absorbing means inflatable automatically
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
  • A41D13/05—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches protecting only a particular body part
  • A41D13/0506—Hip

Definitions

• the present disclosure refers to a protection device for a personal protection, including an inflatable element adapted to protect from impacts and/or falls a passenger, a motor vehicle driver or an alike user, during a sporting and/or working activity.
• the offer of protection devices allowing effective and concomitantly practical protection of the upper portion of the body of a user, by use of an inflatable element, has increased.
• the inflatable bag is put in fluid communication with a source of fluid, such a compressed gas canister or a fluid generator.
• the inflatable element creates an air cushion about the upper portion of the body of the user, allowing to protect the body of the user from impacts.
• a personal protection device is made available, whose main features are respectively specified in the first claim, in a garment according to claim 13, and in a method to protect a user according to claim 14.
• an inflatable element at a region of the pelvis of the user (in practice, embracing the pelvis), in which a first side protection portion of said inflatable element is arranged so as to protect at least one hip region, and a second side protection portion is arranged so as to protect at least the other region of the hip of the user.
• the protection device provides connecting in fluid communication the first side protection portion to the second side protection portion via a connecting portion which protects a bottom zone of the back of a user.
• the protection device it is possible to safeguard one of the parts of the body of a user, i.e. the region of the pelvis, and more particularly of the hips, which proved to be among the ones more concerned and exposed to an impact in case of fall during a dynamic activity, for example a fall from a motorcycle, or a fall from a horse or a fall during skiing.
• the connecting portion is provided with an appendage to protect a coccyx and/or sacrum region of a user.
• the first side protection portion and the second side protection portion are substantially "C"-shaped, i.e., with a curved profile or with a curved region defining a cavity or a concavity.
• a protruding hip bone that is, the iliac crest bone
• Such a "C"-like form and shape of the side protection portions of the inflatable element is therefore shaped to the anatomy of the hip region, and further allows the inflatable element to remain stationary in position during inflation and offer a high protection of the hip.
• the protection device comprises a second inflatable element, located at a zone of the shoulders and of the neck.
• the second inflatable element is connected in fluid communication with the abovementioned inflatable element via one or more cannulas.
• the presence of the second inflatable element allows to obtain a protection as complete as possible for the more exposed parts of the body of a user, i.e., the zone of the shoulders and of the neck and the zone of the pelvis.
• the second inflatable element may be provided with a source of gas under pressure. In this embodiment, with a single source of gas under pressure associated with the second inflatable element, it is possible to inflate, via the one or more cannulas, also the inflatable element of the pelvis.
• the protection device is included in a garment, such as for example a motorcyclist suit or a jacket, and is easily wearable by a user.
• a garment such as for example a motorcyclist suit or a jacket
• the garment comprises a pocket intended to house the protection device.
• Figure 1 shows a view, from above, of a protection device according to the present disclosure, resting on a plane;
• Figure 2 shows a perspective view from a rear side of the protection device of Figure 1 in a worn-on condition
• Figure 3 shows a side perspective view of the protection device of Figure 1 in a worn-on condition
• Figure 4 shows a top perspective view of a protection device according to the present disclosure, resting on a plane, in accordance with an alternative embodiment
• Figure 5 shows a perspective view from a rear side of the protection device of Figure 4 in a worn-on condition
• Figure 6 shows a side perspective view of the protection device of Figure 4 in a worn-on condition
• FIG. 7 shows a perspective view from a rear side of a garment including a protection device according to the present disclosure in a deflated condition
• Figure 8 shows a perspective view from a rear side of a garment including a protection device according to the present disclosure in an inflated condition.
• a personal protection device according to the present disclosure in accordance to one embodiment, is denoted by the reference number 10.
• the personal protection device 10 comprises an inflatable element 12 which is adapted to assume substantially a first rest condition or deflated condition, and a second active condition or inflated condition.
• the modes of inflating the inflatable element 12 will be described in the description below.
• the inflatable element which may be manufactured according to the technology described in the Patent application PCT/IB2009/055512 and in the Patent application PCT/IT2009/000547, incorporated herein by reference in their entirety in the present disclosure, is intended to create a protection for the hips and for the pelvis of a user.
• the inflatable element 12 includes a first side protection portion 13 intended to protect at least one hip region, in the example of the figures, the right- side hip, and a second side protection portion 14 intended to protect at least the other region of the hip, i.e. the left-side hip region, and a connecting portion 16 defining a zone of connection between the first side protection portion 13 and the second side protection portion 14, and defining a fluid communication between said first side protection portion 13 and the second side protection portion 14.
• the personal protection device 10 includes a first side protection portion 13 and a second side protection portion 14 fluidically connected to each other and intended to create an air cushion which embraces the hips, and therefore at least partially the pelvis.
• the portions 13, 14 and 16 define a single bag.
• first side protection portion 13 and the second side protection portion 14 are substantially "C"-shaped, i.e., with a curved profile or with a curved region defining a cavity or a concavity.
• the first side protection portion 13 and the second side protection portion 14 are connected to each other at the curved region such that the cavities or concavities of each first side protection portion 13 and second side protection portion 14 are pointing on the side opposite to the connecting portion 16.
• the connecting portion 16 is shaped as an elongated band and acts both as a fluid connection between the first side protection portion 13 and the second side protection portion 14 and as a protection element for a corresponding rear region of the user, at the bottom of the back.
• the protection device 10 comprises an appendage 20 protruding from an edge of the connecting portion 16 and intended to protect the coccyx and/or the sacrum of a user.
• the first side protection portion 13 and the second side protection portion 14 surround, via the respective "C"-shaped portion, the protruding hip bone, in particular the iliac crest bone.
• the iliac crest bone is thereby surrounded by an air cushion which envelops it from above and from below.
• the connecting portion 16 protects a bottom zone of the back.
• a source of gas under pressure external to the inflatable element 12 may be convenient to avail oneself of a source of gas under pressure external to the inflatable element 12, so as not to disturb the seating of a user, for example while driving a motor vehicle or riding a horse.
• the source of gas under pressure for example a canister 21 of cold gas, may be connected from the outside with the inflatable element 12 by a cannula 22.
• the protection device 10 includes a second inflatable element 112 located at the shoulders and the neck and, in particular, including a first part denoted by the reference number 101 and disposed in a region of the neck 41 of the user and a second part denoted by the reference numbers 102, 104 having an elongated shape and disposed in a region which extends from an articulation region of a shoulder 40 to the articulation region of the other shoulder 40, passing through a region of the back 45.
• the second inflatable element 1 12 further includes a portion 103 for the spine protruding relative to the second part 102, 104 from a side opposite to the first part 101.
• the portion 103 is adapted to protect the region of the spine of the user.
• the second inflatable element 1 12 may be manufactured according to the technologies of the abovementioned Patent applications PCT/IB2009/055512 and PCT/IT2009/000547.
• the inflatable element 1 12 is an inflatable element structurally independent from said inflatable element 12, and is connected with the inflatable element 2 by one or more cannulas 25, in the example two cannulas 25.
• connection by cannulas 25 allows to set the two inflatable elements 2, 1 12 in mutual fluid communication.
• the canister 21 of gas under pressure may be located in the second inflatable element 1 12, and allow the inflation of both of the inflatable elements 12, 1 12.
• the protection device 10 is adapted to cooperate with specific activation means (not illustrated) operatively connected to the canister 21 of compressed cold gas, like e.g. Helium.
• the canister 21 may be provided with a respective on-off valve (not shown).
• the position of the canister 21 in the upper inflatable element 1 12, and even more particularly in the portion 103 for the spine is a position substantially central between the two inflatable elements 12, 1 12.
• an inflation fluid runs through a short path to inflate both of the inflatable elements 12, 1 12.
• two cannulas 25 may be provided, located on the respective sides of the portion 103 for the spine of the second inflatable element 1 12.
• both inflatable elements 12, 1 12 allows to obtain a protection as complete as possible of a user at the zones more exposed to impacts in case of fall, as are the shoulders and neck, and the pelvis.
• the source of inflation fluid can comprise gas generators of pyrotechnical or hybrid type or other typologies known to the state of the art.
• the opening of the on-off valve of each inflation canister 21 is preferably controlled by a control unit based upon the detection of the state of the vehicle/driver system; for example said control unit may implement a system for predicting the fall allowing a timely identification of the fall event and a reliable prediction thereof by means of acce I ero metric sensors fixed to the vehicle (or to the driver) and a processing unit of the signals produced by the sensors themselves.
• the device according to the present disclosure finds also application by using an activation wire connected to a vehicle driven by a user, wire which controls the inflation of the inflatable element after moving away of the user from the vehicle, for example after a fall or an unforeseen impact.
• the abovementioned activation and inflation means can be integrated in the protection device according to the present invention or placed outside the same.
• a garment 50 is illustrated, said garment 50 including a protection device 10.
• the protection device 10 is included in a garment, such as a motorcyclist suit, or a jacket (not illustrated).
• the garment 50 of Figure 7 is a motorcyclist suit and the protection device 10 is located under or inside the garment, for example in an internal pocket or case (not visible) of the garment.
• the garment 50 has the specific advantage of guaranteeing an optimal aerodynamic property under conditions of a driver's driving when the inflatable element 12 is deflated, thanks to the fact that the inflatable element 12 is collapsed with minimum encumbrance under the garment 50.
• An elastic insert 51 may be provided in the garment 50 at the inflatable element 12, to adapt the garment 50 to the inflating of the inflatable element 12.
• An alike positioning in the garment 50 can be provided also in the abovedescribed embodiment including the second inflatable element 1 12. Also at the zone of the shoulders, an elastic insert may also be provided.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Professional, Industrial, Or Sporting Protective Garments (AREA)
• Emergency Lowering Means (AREA)
• Outer Garments And Coats (AREA)
• Details Of Garments (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=45814635

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Families Citing this family (11)

Citations (6)

Family Cites Families (13)

• 2012
  • 2012-01-11 IT IT000005A patent/ITVR20120005A1/it unknown
• 2013
  • 2013-01-10 WO PCT/IB2013/050231 patent/WO2013105050A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2013-01-10 JP JP2014551712A patent/JP2015505267A/ja active Pending
  • 2013-01-10 EP EP13705573.7A patent/EP2802228B1/en active Active
  • 2013-01-10 US US14/368,755 patent/US20140352042A1/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (6)

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