Patent Application
20250194714
The present invention relates to a compression garment that reduces the incidence of concussions and/or traumatic brain injuries for athletes, adventurists (i.e., competitive athletes and recreational athletes), military members, law enforcement officers, and professionals working in dangerous environments. The garment mitigates concussions/traumatic brain injuries by reducing both the linear and rotational accelerations and velocities of the head (principally the rotational accelerations and velocities). By reducing these accelerations and velocities, principally the rotational accelerations and velocities, the present invention aims to lessen the pressure and shear stress (linear and rotational movements, respectively) on the brain.
The garment uses advanced fabrics (smart fabrics, advanced materials, or smart materials) that respond to mechanical stimuli (specifically an applied mechanical stress) to reduce the aforementioned head movements. The advanced fabric permits nearly complete freedom of movement during normal activity accelerations and velocities; however, above a critical threshold of head acceleration and/or velocities, the fabric changes to reduce head movement. The advanced fabric both bolsters and supplements the muscles of the neck that are engaged to stabilize the head during high movement events. The fabric reduces the head movement by either absorbing/dissipating energy within the fabric system and/or transferring energy to another part of the body.
In order to absorb energy within the fabric system, Scarfe Technologies uses a base fabric (e.g. nylon, spandex, polyester blends, high-performance polymer fabrics) impregnated with a shear thickening fluid (STF). The current STF used is a stable colloidal silica mixture (silica nanoparticles suspended in a polyethylene glycol fluid). STFs are non-Newtonian fluids whose viscosity increases when a specific shear stress level is applied to the fluid.
Upon an impact event, the movement of the head (as caused by, but not limited to, direct impact to the head or differential movement of the head and body as caused by inertia from indirect impact) imposes a force on the hooded garment. The force causes tensile or compressive stresses (this is dependent on location within the hood with respect to the movement of the head) in the impregnated fabric. The tensile stress is caused primarily by the normal contact, and secondarily by tangential frictional contact, forces imparted on the fabric by the moving head. The protective fabric system is engaged once the head rotates at a rapid rate in any one of the three anatomical planes of motion [sagittal, frontal (coronal), or transverse (axial)]. The stresses are imparted rapidly thereby leading to high strain rates on both the fabric threads and the shear thickening fluid. Strain rates above a critical level will result in increased viscosity or “shear thickening” of the non-Newtonian fluid.
On Feb. 18, 2001, Dale Earnhardt, an American stock car racing legend who had won 76 NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC) races, died suddenly in an automobile crash while racing in the Daytona 500 race. Mr. Earnhardt had suffered a basilar skull ring fracture in an accident that did not seem to be terribly serious. Adam Petty Kenny Irwin, and Tony Roper, who were other NASCAR drivers, had died in similar accidents with similar injuries. Other racing drivers in other classes of cars such as Roland Ratzenberger in F1 racing, Blaine Johnson in NHRA drag racing, Blaise Alexander in ARCA stock cars, and Gonzalo Rodriguez in Indy Car racing had also died of similar injuries caused by crashes that did not seem to be too serious. In each of these cases, the injuries that led to deaths have been attributed to the rapid movement of the head, in which the neck muscles and the spine were unable to control the head's motion, which can be in any of a plurality of directions such as in the sagittal (front to back direction), the frontal (side to side direction), or transverse (axial) (rotational direction) directions.
Similarly, in American football and in other athletic endeavors, athletes deal with collisions that lead to rapid head movement that often result in serious injury, such as paralysis, traumatic brain injuries, concussions, other injuries, or death.
Concussions and/or traumatic brain injuries in athletic endeavors are generally caused by the head rapidly moving in a direction and the brain in the skull of the athlete not moving in concert with the skull so that the brain bumps up against the skull. Often times a concussion/traumatic brain injury may be caused by whiplash. Concussions/traumatic brain injuries affect the memory, judgment, reflexes, speech, balance and muscle coordination of the person who undergoes the concussive event. Repetitive concussive events lead to more serious long-term problems such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and may ultimately lead to dementia or other brain related disorders.
The various sports have attempted to ameliorate these injuries by attempting to make better equipment such as better helmets (e.g., in football, lacrosse, bike racing, horse racing, polo, skiing, car racing, ATV racing, and other sports), better seat belts (e.g., in car racing), better body stabilizing equipment (in car racing) and other equipment, but concussions and other traumatic brain injuries that are caused by rapid head movement have only been somewhat reduced by this improved equipment (and by regulations such as requiring pro cyclists to wear helmets during races), they have not been eliminated. For example, ski reports from 52 western Canadian ski resorts suggest that, in a 10-year period, helmet usage increased by approximately 38% while concussion rates decreased by only ˜6%.1 1 Dickson, T. J. and Terwiel, F. A. “Head injury and helmet usage trends for alpine skiers and snowboarders in western Canada during the decade 2008-9 to 2017-18”. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 24 (2021), 1004-1009.
Concussive events and other injuries (or death) that are caused by rapid head movements are not limited to athletic endeavors but also can readily occur in occupational endeavors (such as in the construction field) or in recreational settings (such as boating).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,162 B1 relates to a safety protection garment which enables a user to comfortably wear it during travel, and in which the garment can be rapidly prepared for an emergency for resisting impact forces or for providing buoyancy to keep the user afloat in water. The garment has an inner lining and outer shell which are joined together to form a chamber which contains a compressible layer. The compressible layer is formed of an elastic material which resiliently expands and contracts between memory and compressed shapes. A valve device enables the user to open and close air flow into the chamber. For normal wearing, the layer is in its compressed state with air substantially evacuated from the chamber and the valve closed. To prepare for an emergency, the valve is opened so that air enters the chamber sufficient to equalize the chamber pressure with atmospheric pressure. The layer then expands to its memory shape where it resiliently resists impact forces and also provide buoyancy to keep the user afloat in water.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,608,314 B2 relates to a flexible energy absorbing sheet material in which a dilatant material (6) is impregnated into or supported by a resilient carrier (1). The dilatant material remains soft until it is subjected to an impact when its characteristics change rendering it temporarily rigid, the material returning to its normal flexible state after the impact. The carrier can be a spacer fabric, a foam layer or modules or threads of dilatant material contained between a pair of spaced layers. Methods of manufacturing the energy absorbing sheet are also disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,441,870 B2 relates to wearable articles and methods for the manufacture and use thereof. The wearable articles can comprise compression elements, gripping elements, and support elements containing rate-sensitive materials which can operate to prevent injury.
US2013/0298317 A1 relates to protective padding comprising: a spacer fabric comprising a first fabric layer, a second fabric layer, and a plurality of interconnecting filaments extending between said first fabric layer and said second fabric layer; wherein at least one of said first fabric layer, said second fabric layer and said plurality of interconnecting filaments comprise a shape memory material.
US2011/0283433 A1 relates to an athletic tape or protective athletic sleeve is formed from an impregnated fabric substrate that is sealed on both sides. The impregnated fabric includes a shear thickening fluid that is made up of a suspension solution and solid particles. The shear thickening fluid is sealed within the fabric through use of sealing layers on both sides of the fabric.
US2016/0021947 A1 relates to a protective garment for individuals which includes a hoodie with a hood and a pair of sleeves, a head protective element and elbow, shoulder, wrist, back and torso protective pads. The head protective element is coupled to the hood of the hoodie by a fastening system. Each of the elbow protective pads is coupled to the hoodie by a fastening system. Protective elements are spacer fabrics filled with a shear thickening (also known as dilatant) gel having flexibility and drape-ability so as not to degrade the natural “cool” look of a standard garment. The shear thickening gel is not a part of the fabric but is a part of the protective elements.
US2021/0315306 A1 relates to a wearable impact protection system is provided that includes an inner layer of a first shear thickening material that faces a wearer in use, an outer layer of a second shear thickening material and an intermediate deformable layer. In one example the impact protection system is provided in the form of a helmet.
US2020/0221804 A1 relates to an article of headwear that includes at least a first bladder member that defines a bladder interior that includes a non-Newtonian fluid disposed therein, and a fabric member that surrounds the first bladder member. The fabric member includes an outer layer and an inner layer. The inner layer is configured to be positioned adjacent a wearer's head when the article of headwear is worn.
WO Patent Application Publication No. WO2017/079827 relates to a spinal support device comprising a biomechanically stiff trapezius grapnel adapted to extend over and engage human trapezius muscles from a dorsal position toward a ventral position, a harness coupled to the trapezius grapnel and adapted to snugly anchor onto a human torso to maintain engagement of the trapezius grapnel with the human trapezius muscles, and a penannular cervical spine support portion coupled to and supported by the trapezius grapnel. The cervical spine support portion comprises a series of biomechanically stiff vertebra supports and a series of symphyseal resistive dampers. The vertebra supports are spaced from one another by symphyseal resistive joints formed by the symphyseal resistive dampers so that the vertebra supports alternate with the symphyseal resistive joints. The vertebra supports and the symphyseal resistive joints are positioned for dorsal alignment with respective alternating human vertebrae.
Canadian Patent No. 3062347 relates to wearable articles and methods for the manufacture and use thereof. The wearable articles can comprise compression elements, gripping elements, and support elements containing a rate-sensitive materials which can operate to prevent injury.
It would be desirable to further reduce or eliminate the injuries (or death) that results from rapid head movement. The present invention was designed and attempts to solve some of the injuries (and/or death) that may occur from rapid head movement.
In an embodiment, the present invention relates to a hooded compression garment that reduces the incidence of concussions and/or traumatic brain injuries for athletes, adventurists (i.e., competitive athletes and recreational athletes), military members, law enforcement officers, and others that may have rapid head movement involved with the activities that they perform. In an embodiment, the garment mitigates concussions/traumatic brain injuries by reducing both the linear and rotational accelerations and velocities of the head. In an embodiment, the principal focus is on lessening the consequences from rotational velocity/acceleration of the head. By reducing these accelerations and velocities, the present invention aims to lessen the pressure and shear stress on the brain. The present invention does this by limiting and/or eliminating linear and/or rotational movements of the head, thereby reducing the consequential effects on the brain.
In an embodiment, the garment uses advanced fabrics such as smart fabrics, advanced materials, or smart materials that respond to mechanical stimuli to reduce the aforementioned head movements. In one embodiment, and without being bound by theory, the advanced materials are used to apply mechanical stress to the head to reduce the aforementioned head movements. In an embodiment, the advanced fabric permits nearly complete freedom of movement during normal activity accelerations and velocities. However, when the movement exceeds a critical threshold of head acceleration or velocities, the fabric undergoes a change, with the consequence of reducing head movement.
In an embodiment, the fabric reduces the head movement by either absorbing energy and/or dissipating energy within the fabric system or transferring energy and/or further dampening energy to another part of the body. In an embodiment, the advanced fabric's material properties must be able to transition between stretchable (elastic and flexible) at normal rates of movement and stiff and/or further dampened when a tensile force is applied at a strain-rate that exceeds a critical threshold. Additionally, the advanced fabric must be thin enough such that it is not cumbersome for users and can be worn under other protective equipment (e.g., from American football helmets to ski helmets).
In an embodiment, to absorb energy within the fabric system, the present invention uses a base fabric (e.g. nylon, spandex, polyester blends, high-performance polymer fabrics) impregnated with a shear thickening fluid (STF). The current STF used is sourced from the inventor's inventory and is a stable colloidal silica mixture. In one variation, the stable colloidal silica mixture comprises silica nanoparticles suspended in a polyethylene glycol fluid. In an embodiment, STFs are non-Newtonian fluids whose viscosity increases instantaneously when a specific shear stress level is applied to the fluid.
In an embodiment, when an impact event occurs, the movement of the head (as caused by direct impact to the head or differential movement of the head and body as caused by inertia from indirect impact) imposes a force on the hooded garment. The force in the garment causes tensile or compressive stresses. The location of the stress is to some degree dependent on the movement of the head in the impregnated fabric. The stresses are imparted rapidly on to the garment thereby leading to high strain rates on both the fabric threads and the shear thickening fluid. If the strain rate exceeds a critical level, the viscosity in the STF increases thereby resulting in “shear thickening” of the non-Newtonian fluid. The viscosity increase is able to mitigate and/or effectively decelerate the movement of the head thereby reducing the consequences of rapid head movement.
The present invention relates to a compression garment that in one embodiment is hooded, that reduces the incidence of concussions and/or traumatic brain injuries for athletes, adventurists (i.e., competitive athletes and recreational athletes), military members, law enforcement officers, professionals working in dangerous environments, and others that may have rapid head movement involved with the activities that they perform. The present invention should not only be useful for athletes but should also be useful for those that have dangerous occupations wherein rapid head movement may occur. In an embodiment, the garment mitigates concussions/traumatic brain injuries by reducing both the linear and rotational accelerations and velocities of the head. In an embodiment, the principal focus is on lessening the consequences from rotational velocity/acceleration of the head. By reducing these accelerations and velocities, the present invention aims to and accomplishes the goal of lessening the pressure and shear stress on the brain but limiting and/or eliminating linear and/or rotational movements of the head, thereby reducing the consequential effects on the brain.
In an embodiment, the garment uses advanced fabrics (smart fabrics, advanced materials, or smart materials) that respond to mechanical stimuli to reduce the aforementioned head movements. In a variation, the advanced fabrics reduce an applied mechanical stress so as to reduce the head movements. In an embodiment, the advanced fabric permits nearly complete freedom of movement during normal activity accelerations and velocities. However, when a critical threshold of head acceleration or velocity is exceeded, the fabric changes to reduce head movement. In an embodiment, the fabric reduces the head movement by either absorbing and/or dissipating energy within the fabric system or transferring energy to another part of the body. This absorption or dissipation of energy allows the head to be effectively decelerated so as to reduce and/or eliminate any negative consequential movement of the brain.
In an embodiment, to absorb energy within the fabric system, the present invention uses a base fabric impregnated with a shear thickening fluid (STF). The base fabric includes but is not limited to any of nylon, spandex, cotton, wool, hemp, bamboo, silk, Kevlar (a synthetic heat resistant para-amid fiber with a plurality of inter-chain bonds), polyester, polyester blends, other natural or synthetic fabrics, high-performance polymer fabrics, or combinations thereof. In an embodiment, the STF used is a stable colloidal silica mixture. In an embodiment, the STF comprises silica nanoparticles suspended in a polyethylene glycol fluid. In a variation, the STFs of the present invention are non-Newtonian fluids whose viscosity increases when a specific shear stress level is applied to the fluid. The increased viscosity then has the effect of allowing the proper amount of deceleration or reduction of velocity of the head, thereby mitigating and/or reducing the consequential movement effects on the brain. If the shear stress level is less than the threshold, the viscosity does not change.
Accordingly, upon an impact event or an event that causes a high specific shear stress level, the movement of the head (as caused by direct impact to the head or differential movement of the head and body as caused by inertia from indirect impact) imposes a force (or impulse) on the hooded garment. The resultant force causes tensile or compressive stresses in the impregnated fabric. In an embodiment, the tensile or compressive stress may be dependent on the location within the hood where the movement of the head occurs. The stresses are imparted rapidly thereby leading to high strain rates on both the fabric threads and the shear thickening fluid. Strain rates above a critical level will result in increased viscosity or “shear thickening” of the non-Newtonian fluid. The increased viscosity then has the effect of allowing the proper amount of deceleration or reduction of the velocity of the head, thereby mitigating and/or reducing the consequential movement effects on the brain.
In an embodiment, the impregnated fabric lines the garment in locations such that it acts to both bolster and supplement the function of the neck muscles engaged during a potential injury-causing event. The product design relies on a viscoelastic fabric concept wherein the fabric stiffens in response to a tensile force applied at strain-rates exceeding a specified critical threshold. The tensile force is caused primarily by the normal contact, and secondarily by tangential frictional contact, of the fabric with the moving head. The protective fabric system is engaged once the head rotates at a rapid rate in any one of the three anatomical planes of motion [sagittal, frontal (coronal), or transverse (axial)].
The viscosity change of the STF occurs kinetically at a rate that allows the brain movement (relative to the movement of the skull) to be minimized. If the viscosity change is too slow or too fast, the garment will not be able to effectively minimize the movement of the brain and a concussive event or brain injury may result. However, with the correct viscosity kinetics, the brain and the skull will move in concert, thereby reducing and/or mitigating any injury that may happen to the brain.
Because the STF is associated directly with the fabric, the present invention does not suffer from problems that were present in some of the garments of the prior art including a bulkiness that can be attributed to added padding. In an embodiment, the garment of the present invention is able to fit under a uniform or a helmet (or under padding such as shoulder padding) for sporting or recreational events preventing the uniform and/or helmet from having to be larger than it should be. In an embodiment, the STF is not associated with any padding that may be a part of the garment. In a variation, the STF is part of the garment.
Moreover, in an embodiment, the invention differs from existing solutions for protecting against TBI in multiple ways. In an embodiment, it primarily addresses a different problem than many current technologies. Traumatic brain injury can occur from impact to the head, the linear acceleration of the head, and/or the rotation of the head. The invention protects against the head's rotation in all three planes of movement whereas most current protective technologies (e.g., helmets) primarily address impact and linear accelerations. The invention differs from products on the market and the prior art because it has the capability of providing protection in six degrees of freedom. It is able to support the head so that linear and rotational accelerations and velocities are minimized. The invention acts as an adjunctive product that focuses on mitigating shear stresses on the brain. In an embodiment, it can sit under helmets enhancing the baseline protection. This level of added protection is provided by limiting cervical flexion, cervical extension, cervical rotation, and cervical side-bending with a hooded garment constructed from the advanced fabrics enumerated herein. Accordingly, in an embodiment, the present invention can be used across various sports such as football, hockey, lacrosse, skiing, snowboarding, and biking. In an embodiment, it can mitigate or prevent injury due to movements caused by both direct and indirect contact to the head.
The invention is further differentiated from the prior art because the present invention contemplates using advanced fabrics such as smart fabrics, advanced materials, or smart materials that more readily respond to mechanical stimuli. Smart textiles or fabrics are also known as electronic textiles (e-textiles) or may alternatively be called piezoelectric fabrics. They are textiles or fabrics that contain electronic components that are able to enhance the features of wearables, and/or other products. They are either made into a textile-based product or created with the intention of being integrated into a textile. In an embodiment, the smart fabrics of the present invention may comprise one or more of a battery, a lead, an electronic chip, and/or a sensor. In an embodiment, the electronics may be incorporated into the fabric through various methods, such as by using conductive fibres or multilayer 3D printing.
In an embodiment, the smart fabrics of the present invention respond to an applied mechanical stress in both tension and compression. In an embodiment, viscosities of most solvents or liquid molecules are known to increase as the temperature decreases. Thus, if the smart fabric detects shear stress or some other threshold of mechanical motion, it can transfer that detection to chemicals that can undergo an endothermic chemical reaction, causing the STF to cool to an extent that the viscosity of the STF is able to rapidly decrease. The rapid decrease in temperature increases the viscosity of the STF, thereby mitigating the rapid movement of the head and the brain (or at least causing the two to move in concert with each other). This concerted movement will reduce brain injuries.
In an embodiment, the smart fabrics of the present invention respond to an applied mechanical stress in both tension and compression. In an embodiment, if the smart fabric detects shear stress or some other threshold of mechanical motion, it can transfer that energy to an electrical signal that can pass through the conductive fibres of the smart fabric (i.e., the smart fabric can be a piezoelectric fabric). The electrical signal leads to a change that increases the fabric stiffness or enhances the fabric's dampening thereby mitigating the rapid movement of the head and the brain (or at least causing the two to move in concert with each other). Again, this concerted movement will reduce brain injuries.
In an embodiment, other mechanisms of action include a shear thickening behavior, which promotes a discontinuous viscosity above a critical shear rate (or strain rate), which may be a result of an order-disorder transition, a hydro-cluster mechanism, and contact forces mechanism. The fast transition from a liquid state to semi-solid or solid state may be due to the appearance of aggregates or hydro-clusters which drastically and significantly increase the viscosity of the fluid. Shear thickening behavior can occur in any of a plurality of suspensions including starch dispersions, silica slurries, silica-ethylene glycol mixes, CeO2-silica suspensions, silica microsphere and ionic liquids, multi-walled carbon nanotubes-polypropylene glycol mixes, silica-carbon nanotube, and silica-polypropylene glycol.
Thus, in an embodiment, the smart fabric and STF of the present invention is able to reduce the aforementioned head movements. In an embodiment, the advanced fabric permits nearly complete freedom of movement during normal activity accelerations and velocities. However, above a critical threshold of head acceleration or velocities, the fabric changes to reduce head movement. In an embodiment, the fabric change is triggered by an internal force that is applied by a strain-rate that exceeds a critical strain rate threshold. The fabric reduces the head movement by either absorbing and/or dissipating energy within the fabric system or transferring the energy to another part of the body. Thus, in an embodiment, the garment of the present invention is movement-initiated, impact-initiated or more technically accurate, impulse-initiated protection.
Movement of the head in the sagittal plane engages the smart fabric in the front of the hood below the chin and in the rear of the hood running in parallel with the direction of the spine. The smart material supplements the response of the anterior and posterior neck muscles. The movement of the head triggers a material response based on either compressive or tensile forces in the garment. The smart material on the side of the neck that corresponds to the direction of the head movement will be engaged through compressive forces. The smart material on side of the garment opposite to the head movement will be engaged via tensile forces.
Movement of the head in the frontal (coronal) plane engages the smart fabric that runs vertically on either side of the head (along the temples) and that which extends along the neck. The smart material response for head movement in the frontal (coronal) plane supplements the response of the lateral neck muscles. The smart material on the side of the neck that corresponds to the direction of the head movement will be engaged through compressive forces. The smart material on side of the garment opposite to the head movement will be engaged via tensile forces.
Finally, movement of the head in the transverse (axial) plane engages the smart fabric that runs from the chin, along the jawline on either side of the head, and down the back of the garment along the neck. The smart material response in the transverse (axial) plane, or rotational movement of the head around the neck, supplements the response of the longus capitis and longus coli muscles. The smart material on the side of the jaw that corresponds to the direction of the movement of the chin will be engaged through compressive forces. The smart material on side of the jaw opposite to the movement of the jaw will be engaged via tensile forces.
In another embodiment, the garment 10/40/50 of the present invention has additional portions of advanced fabric to bolster and supplement the function of muscles in and around the neck that are activated to reduce rotational head movement in six degrees of freedom. The details of this embodiment are shown in 600/70/80 (
In the current embodiment, the top of the hood comprises three main strips of advanced fabric (
At the bottom of the head (
At the front of the body (
As shown in
The advanced fabric located in the hood behind the ear 608 anchors to 603, passes vertically to the jaw line connecting to 605, and then wraps forward around the neck (
Finally, the advanced fabric located at the back of the hood 71 exists symmetrically on either side of the centerline (
As shown in
A typical hooded garment, as shown in
In this work, impregnation refers to the soaking and insertion of the shear thickening fluid into the regular compression fabric to create a smart fabric. The impregnation process occurs in a series of steps. In an example embodiment, the STF SG product is first diluted with 100% ethanol (1:1 ratio of STF SG:ethanol) and mixed using a magnetic stirrer creating a homogeneous mixture, or a solution. The solution is then poured into large polycarbonate trays. A yard of compression-style fabric is laid flat in the tray (without folding) and submersed for five (5) minutes. The fabric is then flipped over and immersed for an additional five (5) minutes. Following the soaking process, the fabric is removed from the polycarbonate plates and then placed between two identical steel plates. The fabric is compressed with a uniform load of 5 kgf/cm2 for one (1) minute. The fabric is then removed from the steel plates and placed in an oven to dry for 30 minutes at 65° C.
A White Heavy Compression Double Knit with Max-Dri Wicking and Micro Air Tech fabric was constructed using the following composition:
The fabric was processed with two controls and two examples with different Shear Thickening Fluid (STF)-fabric compositions:
Repeat the same test procedure for each of the fabric strips. Test in the following order:
In an embodiment, the present invention relates to a hooded garment that comprises a compression fabric and a smart fabric which may incorporate a shear thickening fluid. In a variation, the garment (which may or may not be hooded) is made of a compression fabric and a “smart fabric”. In an embodiment, the “smart fabric” is made from a regular fabric impregnated with shear thickening fluid. In a variation, the regular fabric in the smart fabric comprises nylon, spandex, cotton, wool, hemp, bamboo, silk, Kevlar, polyester, polyester blends, high-performance polymer fabrics, other natural or synthetic fabrics, or combinations thereof. In a variation, the shear thickening fluid comprises a colloidal silica mixture. In a variation, the colloidal silica mixture comprises silica nanoparticles suspended in a polyethylene glycol fluid. In a variation, the smart fabric comprises nylon, spandex, or polyester blends.
In an embodiment, the smart fabric further comprises one or more electrical components selected from the group consisting of a battery, a led, an electronic chip, and a sensor. In a variation, the hooded garment comprises the shear thickening fluid in only a part of the garment. In a variation, the part of the garment comprises one or more of a hood, a shoulder, an inner arm or a neck.
In a variation, the shear thickening fluid comprises one or more of starch dispersions, silica slurries, silica-ethylene glycol mixes, CeO2-silica suspensions, silica microsphere and ionic liquids, multi-walled carbon nanotubes-polypropylene glycol mixes, silica-carbon nanotube, silica-polypropylene glycol, or combinations thereof. In a variation, the shear thickening fluid is not in padding. In a variation, the shear thickening fluid is a silica nanoparticles suspended in a polyethylene glycol fluid and the smart fabric comprises nylon, spandex, or polyester blends.
In an embodiment, the hooded garment comprises the shear thickening fluid present only in one or more of the hood, the neck, and the shoulder. In a variation, the shear thickening fluid is not present in the torso of the hooded garment.
In an embodiment, the present invention relates to methods. In an embodiment, the present invention relates to a method of reducing mechanical shear stress in a person that undergoes an impact event, the method comprising the person wearing a hooded garment, the hooded garment comprising a smart fabric and a shear thickening fluid. In a variation, the mechanical shear stress is a shear stress on the head.
In an embodiment, the present invention relates to a method of reducing or mitigating the severity of a concussion or traumatic brain injury in a human, the method comprising the human wearing a hooded garment, the hooded garment comprising a smart fabric and a shear thickening fluid.
In a variation of the method, the reducing or mitigating the severity of the concussion/traumatic brain injury is a result of reducing one or more of sagittal movement, frontal (coronal) movement, or transverse (axial) movement. In a variation, the shear thickening fluid comprise silica nanoparticles suspended in a polyethylene glycol fluid. In a variation, the smart fabric comprises nylon, spandex, or polyester blends. In a variation, the hooded garment comprises the shear thickening fluid in only a part of the garment.
All references cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes. It should be understood and it is contemplated and within the scope of the present invention that any feature that is enumerated above can be combined with any other feature that is enumerated above as long as those features are not incompatible. Whenever ranges are mentioned, any real number that fits within the range of that range is contemplated as an endpoint to generate subranges. In any event, the invention is defined by the below claims.
The present application claims priority under 35 USC 119 (e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/611,215 filed Dec. 18, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63611215 | Dec 2023 | US |
