Patent Grant
9451795
The present invention generally relates to devices for absorbing shock. More particularly, the present invention relates to impact reduction devices for use in contact sports, gravity game sports, marksmanship, military or security activities, or other activities where protection from impact or projectiles is desired. Impact reduction devices may be directly placed against a part of the human body, they may be incorporated into an article of clothing, they may be part of a helmet, or they may be part of a device external to the user's body that serves to help reduce impact and/or prevent the penetration of projectiles.
Protective pads are used in a variety of applications to protect the body from injury-causing physical impact. For example, athletes often wear protective pads while playing sports, such as American football, hockey, soccer, gravity game sports, and baseball, among others. In addition, many marksmen wear protective pads while shooting firearms to increase their accuracy and protect their bodies from forces associated with firearm recoil.
In the case of marksmanship, not only will the recoil of a gun cause potential injury, but it may also affect the accuracy of the marksman. For example, if the marksman anticipates a recoil, he may flinch upon firing the gun. This flinching may disturb the alignment of the gun as it is fired leading to missed shots and inaccuracies. Use of a device to absorb the shock of the recoil may help to avoid flinching because the impact of the recoil against the marksman's body may be softened.
In the athletic industry, many pads are constructed of high-density molded plastic material combined with open or closed cell foam padding. This padding is stiff and absorbs the energy of an impact force, dissipating that energy over an expanded area. Thus, any one point of the body is spared the full force of the impact, thereby reducing the chance of injury.
Another type of pad often used in the athletic industry utilizes a honeycomb structure designed to be rigid in the direction of the impact, but flexible in a direction perpendicular to the impact. Upon application of an impact force, the honeycomb structure is deformed or crumpled in order to absorb as much of the potentially damaging impact as possible. In this way, less of the total kinetic energy of the impact is transferred to the body, while the impact reduction remains in the plane of the impact.
Similarly, in the firearm industry, a marksman may use a recoil buffer or arrestor to cushion the impact of a firearm as it recoils. Many recoil buffers are pads formed of a resilient material, such as leather, gel, foam, or rubber. Pads may be worn on the marksman's body or they may be formed as an integral part of a firearm, such as a rubber butt pad on a shotgun. The purpose of recoil buffers is similar to that of the athletic pads discussed above. That is, to absorb and disperse the energy of a recoil impact to protect the body of the marksman.
There are shortcomings with pads currently available for use in athletic and marksmanship applications. For example, athletes must often be quick and have freedom of movement. Existing athletic padding is generally heavy and bulky. In the case of padding having a honeycomb structure, the padding is rigid. Thus, use of existing pads decreases the ability of an athlete to move quickly and limits the athlete's freedom of movement. Many football players, for example, avoid the use of hip or thigh pads because of their weight, bulkiness, and the limiting effect that such pads have on mobility.
In the case of firearms, existing recoil buffers too often fail to disperse the kinetic energy of a recoil in a broad way. The result is that the full impact force of the recoil is concentrated in a localized area, resulting in flinching and possible injury.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an impact reduction pad that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art and can have uses in many applications. The ideal impact material or padding should absorb, distribute and/or dissipate the force of impact superior to what is currently available. The goal of impact materials used for body protection is to be protective, lightweight, thin and flexible, thus not interfering with body movements or speed. In some situations, it is desired to have an impact material or pad that incorporates embedded smart or active physiologic sensing materials or devices, such as sensors that provide biofeedback to modify the characteristics of the padding material to prevent tissue or bone injury or its consequences and/or could inform the wearer or others of the wearer's physiologic status. Smart impact pads and materials could have integrated sensor systems, which can monitor the biomechanical and physiological responses to detect injury and quantify the impacts. These integrated sensors in the padding can measure and integrate the directional and rotational impact force into real-time data that can be interpreted and organized. The sensor system can allow the padding to be tuned. These smart pads could also have biosensors capable of monitoring physiologic and/or biochemical parameters and could detect abnormal values, such as values that might adversely affect human performance. Data from the sensors could be transmitted to inform other devices or people.
One aspect of the present invention provides pads and systems incorporating pads that have improved impact reduction resulting from the geometries, configuration, and/or materials chosen. Another aspect of the present invention provides pads and systems incorporating pads that have increased intelligence in the form of sensors and information processing.
The present invention will be better understood on reading the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments thereof, and on examining the accompanying drawings, in which:
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.
The ensuing description provides preferred exemplary embodiment(s) only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the disclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the preferred exemplary embodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing a preferred exemplary embodiment. It should be understood that various changes could be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope as set forth in the appended claims.
Specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.
This disclosure describes protective padding. The protective padding described could conform to any requirement or be manufactured to any shape or thickness, depending on where it is placed on the body and what type of impact it is likely to incur to be used for the purpose to mitigate and dissipate excessive forces transmitted to the human body or skull. This padding is different as it can actively respond to impacts and is not only passive to impacts or concussions. It can be self-adjusting and tunable, such as making changes to stiffness or damping. These changes in stiffness and damping can be in response to signals received from a sensor or sensors and/or a controller. Impact data could be transmitted to remote sources. The materials used can include lightweight, thin, flexible materials or polymers, and other innovative fabric materials that are comfortable and can adapt to sudden impacts.
Active and passive sensors could be embedded in the impact material. The sensors embedded in the padding can be responsive to acceleration, orientation, position, velocity, and have the ability to sense the presence of another object or device in the vicinity. These integrated sensors in the padding can measure and integrate the directional and rotational impact force into real-time data that can be interpreted and organized. These sensors could sense an impending impact with another moving object or stationary object or stable platform. The active sensors could then alter the padding material prior to the impact in a manner to be more protective, than in the “inactive” or pre-impact state. The sensors could detect the velocity of the oncoming object or person. The sensors could also detect the degree of impact and instantly alter the impact material or padding to adapt to a more protective state. Sensors related to an inflatable air system or fluid system, could internally adjust the amount of air in the sealed system, or be tuned, to adapt to impacts or impending impacts to the body. Sensors could also initiate the inflation of an external air bag. Damping characteristics of any impact material/padding could be correlated in real-time with the weight, speed and impact history of the user or athlete. The sensors, embedded in the impact material, in another embodiment could have GPS (Global Positioning System) capability, providing location and active tracking capabilities.
Embedded sensors in the pads could be self-adjusting, dependent on air pressure (external or atmospheric and internal) and temperature (external or atmospheric and internal) and to what has been pre-determined to be normal pressure in the padding for specific activities or impacts. These sensors could have impact threshold settings and remotely the settings can be established and maintained.
The pads can comprise physiologic biosensors that could provide real time and continued bioparametric information to remote locations. In embodiments of the present invention, the data received from the physiologic biosensors described in this disclosure and/or stored by the system could be used to detect abnormal values and initiate actions to inform the wearer and/or remote observers. The term physiologic biosensors as used in this disclosure means any transducer that converts a biological parameter (i.e. bioparameter) to a signal that can be measured by the impact pad system.
Skin sensors can be used in embodiments of the present invention to detect physiologic bioparameters of the wearer, such as of vital signs and blood chemistry values. Additionally these physiologic biosensors could detect not only normal values but abnormal values, which would affect the human performance. The skin sensors could require skin contact and embodiments of the present invention can use nanoscale physiologic biosensors.
For example, embodiments of the present invention could detect respiratory acidosis. Respiratory acidosis is a condition in which a build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood produces a shift in the body's pH balance and causes the body's system to become more acidic. This condition is brought about by a problem either involving the lungs and respiratory system or signals from the brain that control breathing. Respiratory acidosis may be suspected based on symptoms. A blood sample to test for pH and arterial blood gases can be used to confirm the diagnosis. In this type of acidosis, the pH will be below 7.35. The pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood will be high, usually over 45 mmHg. Physiologic biosensors on the skin can detect the pH, oxygen saturation or percent (%) of oxygenation in the body. Abnormal levels will affect the human performance. Measuring and monitoring of vital signs and blood chemistry values could be logged over time these embedded physiologic biosensors.
Embodiments of the present invention could detect blood pressure. The term hypertensive emergency is primarily used as a specific term for a hypertensive crisis with a diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 120 mmHg and/or systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 180 mmHg. Hypertensive emergency differs from hypertensive crisis in that, in the former, there is evidence of acute organ damage. In physiology and medicine, hypotension is low blood pressure, especially in the arteries of the systemic circulation. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps out blood. Hypotension is generally considered to be systolic blood pressure less than 90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or diastolic less than 60 mm Hg.
Embodiments of the present invention could detect heart function, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and rhythm disturbances of the heart. A normal heart beats in a steady, even rhythm, about 60 to 100 times each minute (that's about 100,000 times each day). Bradycardia is the resting heart rate of under 60 beats per minute (BPM), although it is seldom symptomatic until the rate drops below 50 BPM. It sometimes results in fatigue, weakness, dizziness and at very low rates fainting. Bradycardia during sleep is considered normal and rates around 40-50 BPM are usual. A diagnosis of bradycardia in adults is based on a heart rate less than 60 BPM. This is determined usually either via palpation or an EKG. Tachycardia is a heart rate that exceeds the normal range. A resting heart rate over 100 beats per minute is generally accepted as tachycardia. Tachycardia can be caused by various factors that often are benign. However, tachycardia can be dangerous depending on the speed and type of rhythm. Note that if it is pathological, a tachycardia is more correctly defined as a tachyarrhythmia. The upper threshold of a normal human resting heart rate is based upon activity, exercise with exertion and age. Tachycardia for different age groups is as listed below.
8-11 years: >130 BPM
12-15 years: >119 BPM
>15 years-adult: >100 BPM
When the heart beats excessively or rapidly, the heart pumps less efficiently and provides less blood flow to the rest of the body, including the heart itself. The increased heart rate also leads to increased work and oxygen demand by the heart, which can lead to rate related ischemia. Cardiac arrhythmias are disturbances in the normal rhythm of the heartbeat. An occasional palpitation or fluttering is usually not serious, but a persistent arrhythmia may be life threatening. There are many different types of cardiac arrhythmias. The heart may beat too rapidly, known as atrial tachycardia, or too slowly, known as bradycardia, or it may beat irregularly. Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter are common cardiac arrhythmias, which lead to an irregular and sometimes rapid heart rate. These atrial arrhythmias may interfere with the heart's ability to pump blood properly from its upper chambers (atria). In ventricular fibrillation, the lower chambers of the heart (ventricles) quiver feebly instead of contracting powerfully. This is the most severe type of arrhythmia, causing death in minutes unless medical assistance is obtained immediately. These arrhythmias can be caused by several factors and one of which is dehydration or depletion of potassium or other electrolytes. Dehydration results in decreased blood volume returning to the heart and can also cause electrolyte imbalances in your blood (such as low levels of sodium or potassium). Low or high levels of electrolytes can affect the electrical impulses of the heart.
Embodiments of the present invention could use physiologic biometric sensors to detect real-time dehydration and/or electrolyte abnormalities with the wearer of the material or padding. The level of hydration in the human body is carefully adjusted to control the electrolyte balance that governs the biochemical processes that sustain life. An electrolyte deficiency caused by dehydration or over-hydration will not only limit human performance, but can also lead to serious health problems and death if left untreated. It can be also used for alcohol monitoring.
Medical infrared thermography (MIT) can provide a non-invasive and non-radiating analysis tool for analyzing physiological functions related to the control of skin-temperature. This rapidly developing technology can be used to detect and locate thermal abnormalities characterized by an increase or decrease found at the skin surface. The technique involves the detection of infrared radiation that can be directly correlated with the temperature distribution of a defined body region. Infrared thermal imaging technique is an effective technique for detecting small temperature changes in the human body due to vascular disorders. There is a definite correlation between body temperature and diseases. An injury is often related with variations in blood flow and these in turn can affect the skin temperature. Inflammation leads to hyperthermia, whereas degeneration, reduced muscular activity and poor perfusion may cause a hypothermic pattern. Infrared sensor technology can provide information for the functional management of injuries in human athletes.
Embodiments of the present invention could include physiologic biosensors that measure neural activity such as brain activity, when placed in contact with the skin on the head. Electroencephalography (EEG) is one of the methods used to record the electrical potential along the scalp produced by the neurons within the brain. Some waveforms in the EEG signal are highly correlated with the individual's sleepiness level. Electrical activity emanating from the brain is displayed in the form of brainwaves. There are four categories of these brainwaves, ranging from the most activity to the least activity: beta; alpha, theta and delta.
When the brain is aroused and actively engaged in mental activities, it generates beta waves. These beta waves are of relatively low amplitude, and are the fastest of the four different brainwaves. The frequency of beta waves ranges from 15 to 40 cycles a second. Beta waves are characteristics of a strongly engaged mind. A person in active conversation would be in beta. A debater would be in high beta. A person making a speech, or a teacher, or a talk show host would all be in beta when they are engaged in their work.
The next brainwave category in order of frequency is alpha. Where beta represented arousal, alpha represents non-arousal. Alpha brainwaves are slower and higher in amplitude. Their frequency ranges from 9 to 14 cycles per second. A person who has completed a task and sits down to rest is often in an alpha state. A person who takes time out to reflect or meditate is usually in an alpha state. A person who takes a break from a conference and walks in the garden is often in an alpha state.
The next state, theta brainwaves, are typically of even greater amplitude and slower frequency. This frequency range is normally between 5 and 8 cycles a second. A person who has taken time off from a task and begins to daydream is often in a theta brainwave state.
The final brainwave state is delta. Here the brainwaves are of the greatest amplitude and slowest frequency. They typically center on a range of 1.5 to 4 cycles per second. They never go down to zero because that would mean that you were brain dead. But, deep dreamless sleep would take you down to the lowest frequency—typically 2 to 3 cycles a second.
When we go to bed and read for a few minutes before attempting sleep, we are likely to be in low beta. When we put the book down, turn off the lights and close our eyes, our brainwaves will descend from beta, to alpha, to theta and finally, when we fall asleep, to delta. It is a known fact that humans dream in 90-minute cycles. When the delta brainwave frequencies increase into the frequency of theta brainwaves, active dreaming takes place and often becomes more experiential to the person.
When an individual awakes from a deep sleep in preparation for getting up, their brainwave frequencies will increase through the different specific stages of brainwave activity. That is, they will increase from delta to theta and then to alpha and finally, when the alarm goes off, into beta. If that individual hits the snooze alarm button they will drop in frequency to a non-aroused state, or even into theta, or sometimes fall back to sleep in delta. During this awakening cycle it is possible for individuals to stay in the theta state for an extended period of say, five to 15 minutes—which would allow them to have a free flow of ideas about yesterday's events or to contemplate the activities of the forthcoming day. This time can be an extremely productive and can be a period of very meaningful and creative mental activity.
In summary, there are four brainwave states that range from the high amplitude, low frequency delta to the low amplitude, high frequency beta. These brainwave states range from deep dreamless sleep to high arousal. The same four brainwave states are common to the human species. Men, women and children of all ages experience the same characteristic brainwaves. They are consistent across cultures and country boundaries. These brainwave patterns can have value in specific occupations, activities or after suffering an impact injury, whether it is a penetrating injury or blunt trauma. Any trauma to the brain, or any physiologic condition affecting the blood chemistries of the body or heart function can result in changes in the brainwave states. This information can be transmitted to a remote source to monitor the health, and performance, of the wearer or user.
Research has shown that although one brainwave state may predominate at any given time, depending on the activity level of the individual, the remaining three brain states are present in the mix of brainwaves at all times. In other words, while somebody is an aroused state and exhibiting a beta brainwave pattern, there also exists in that person's brain a component of alpha, theta and delta, even though these may be present only at the trace level. Embodiments of the present invention could also include physiologic biosensors that measure more distal neural activity such as peripheral neural activity, when placed in contact with the skin on the extremities.
Abnormal physical, mechanical and thermal conditions are introduced in individuals using a prosthesis, such as where the socket contacts the skin. Excessive tension, pressure, friction or heat can traumatize skin and underlying soft tissue. Prostheses have a snug-fitting socket in which air cannot circulate easily and which may trap perspiration. The socket has to provide for weight bearing or tension activities and any uneven loading or pressure, due to a poor fitting prosthesis, may cause stress, chafing or breakdown on localized areas of the stump skin. Prosthetic socks are an important part of the prosthesis fit, but socks are not always the best solution. Embodiments of the invention can include active sensors elements on the prosthetic to improve the fitting of the prosthesis by self-altering or tuning the padding to allow the interface between the prosthesis and stump of the limb.
Embodiments of the invention can include elements that produce auditory signals or alarms, when the physiologic biosensors detect an abnormality. The signal can be conveyed to the wearer of the pad and/or to a remote observer. Embodiments can also include other abnormal physiology based biometric or physiology-based sensors and algorithms not mentioned in this disclosure that are capable of being understood by anyone skilled in the art. The alarms can be triggered as a result of abnormal values detected by a physiological biosensor. These abnormal values can also be sent via a wired or wireless protocol (such as WiFi, a cellphone signal, or by Blue Tooth technology), in real time, to the wearer or to a remote source to notify the remote location of the status of the person wearing the padding with sensor in contact with the body. Additionally, the wearer and/or remote source could receive an alarm, or signal which can be in the group of auditory, visual or tactile signals or alarms. Haptic physiologic biosensors can trigger the signal to the wearer of the padding when there are abnormal values that can affect physiologic or cognitive performance.
The sensors can be made of a variety of materials including nanotubes of pure carbon, graphene made of pure carbon, single electron transistors (SETs), organic molecular materials, magnetoelectronic materials (spintronics), organic or plastic electronics, or any other material capable of being understood by someone skilled in the art. Motion type of sensors can include GPS (global positioning system), accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, acoustic sensors, and infrared sensors.
Embodiments of the present invention could use a variety of types of impact reduction mechanisms to reduce impact and dissipate the impact force. Examples include springs, pistons, gases, fluids and polymers. Various configurations and combinations of the padding and impact materials can be included in the embodiments.
Springs are elastic objects used to store mechanical energy. They can return to their original shape when the force is released. In other words it is also termed as a resilient member. Springs can be made from spring steel. Some non-ferrous metals are also used including phosphor bronze and titanium for parts requiring corrosion resistance and beryllium copper. Springs can also be manufactured from elastic materials other than metals. Springs used for reduction of impacts can be classified depending on how the load force is applied to them or classified based on their shape:
A spring can be linear or non-linear. Linear springs are springs where the force that stretches or compresses the spring is in direct proportion to the amount of stretch. That is, the force vs. extension graph forms a straight, positively sloped line that passes through the origin. For example, when you compress the spring, work is done on the spring, and that work is stored as energy in the spring. It is shaped like a triangle; so, its area is one half times its height times its base. Some linear springs store energy through compression, rather than extension. The formula for the amount of energy stored in a linear spring due to compression is the same as the one for extension. As long as they are not stretched or compressed beyond their elastic limit, most springs obey Hooke's law, which states that the force with which the spring pushes back is linearly proportional to the distance from its equilibrium length. Nonlinear springs have a nonlinear relationship between force and displacement. A graph showing force vs. displacement for a nonlinear spring will be more complicated than a straight line, with a changing slope. The kinetic energy at impact, which is equal to the potential energy of the moving object, is a major factor to consider when choosing the best impact absorbing material for an application. Cushioning efficiency is dependent on not only the energy density of the impact, but also the speed of that impact.
A material whose impact reduction efficiency alters as a result of a change in impact speed exhibits strain-rate dependence. A strain-hardening material, as the name suggests, hardens when compressed at a high strain rate. Some materials exhibit some level of strain-hardening, and different formulations of the same material exhibit this behavior to a larger degree than others.
A shock absorber mechanism can also dampen impact. The basic function of the shock absorber is to absorb and dissipate the impact kinetic energy to the extent that accelerations are reduced to a tolerable level. The amount of damping produced is proportional to velocity. This means the damper works like a dynamic spring; it produces force only when it is moving. The single-acting cylinder is pressurized at one end only, with the opposite end vented to atmosphere or vented to a reservoir. A tandem cylinder consists of two cylinders mounted in line with the pistons, connected by a common piston rod. The main advantage of this cylinder is the multiplication of force, during the entire stroke. The linear piston creates a force curve that features an increase in force directly related to an increase in speed—the quicker the shock moves, the stiffer it becomes.
Although the compression orifice could be merely a hole in the orifice plate, an embodiment of this invention can enable a sensor to measure the velocity of the impact and can regulate or dictate the amount of air released from the cylinder mechanism. Specifically the active sensor can detect the force of the impact and therefore can adjust the valve mechanism (e.g. greater force, the smaller the valve or hole opening). The compressed air escaping the piston mechanism is released into the sealed pad and expands the piston rod back to its position or this can also be done by using spring within the piston shaft—as the piston is compressed (absorption of impact) the air is displaced to the surrounding air around the pistons (resulting in more broad displacement of impact). The compressed air in the sealed pad with the compressed spring would re-expand the piston mechanism.
In order to achieve linear motion from compressed air, a system of pistons can be used. The compressed air can be fed into the chamber that houses the shaft of the piston. Also inside this chamber a spring is coiled around the shaft of the piston in order to hold the chamber completely open when air is not being pumped into the chamber. As air is fed into the chamber the force on the piston shaft begins to overcome the force being exerted on the spring. As more air is fed into the chamber, the pressure increases and the piston begins to move down the chamber. When it reaches its maximum length the air pressure is released from the chamber and the spring completes the cycle by closing off the chamber to return to its original position.
In an embodiment of this invention, the padding itself can act as a piston mechanism and when the padding is compressed the internal air is compressed and forces air into the chamber around the shaft of the piston.
In another embodiment porous materials can be used to reduce weight and absorb energy. Metal foams are a class of cellular materials and have many interesting properties such as high stiffness in conjunction with low specific weight combined with good energy absorption characteristics. These unique characteristics make them useful for applications range from automobile bumpers to aircraft crash recorders. Outer shell in motorcycle helmets can be one such application for metal foams. In a helmet, besides the energy absorbed by the polymer foam, metal foams can also absorb energy because of their porous nature and can prevent the penetration of sharp objects. Metal foams based on aluminum or nickel are the most commonly used at present in various applications. The metal foam is deformed at the impact region and shape of the geometry is changed i.e. becomes flat locally after impact. The permanent deformation of the metal foam with one impact is its draw back. It can therefore be used only for one impact. In one embodiment of the present invention, the impact pad can be comprised of metal foam or another similar single use impact-absorbing material. One of the benefits of a metal foam can be that it resists with a constant force as a function of displacement, a characteristic that will be discussed further in a later section of this disclosure with reference to
The ideal material would be a thin, lightweight and flexible material having a linear force displacement curve. Depending on the portion of the body requiring impact protection, the padding cannot always be thin.
For example, studies of head impacts in football show that concussions occur when a person receives one or more hits that induce linear head accelerations of greater than about 80 g or rotational head accelerations of greater than about 5000 rad/sec2. An analysis of the speed at impact shows that a world-class sprinter can run about 10 m/sec (23 miles/hour). A 4-minute mile is equivalent to 6.7 m/sec, which is about ⅔ of the speed of a world-class sprinter. Football helmet test standards use 12 mile/hour impacts, which equals approximately 5 m/sec or half of the speed of a world-class sprinter. The padding on a typical football helmet is less than 1 inch thick. From physics:
x=(0.5)at2
v=at (if acceleration is constant)
where: x is displacement, v=velocity, a=acceleration, and t=time
If one solves the above equations for constant deceleration from 5 m/sec to 0 m/sec in 1 inch ( 1/40th of a meter or 25 millimeters), the result is 500 m/sec2 or approximately 50 g (the acceleration of gravity is approximately 10 m/sec2). This means that padding that perfectly decelerates from 5 m/sec to 0 in 25 mm (1 inch) could theoretically provide a constant deceleration rate of 50 g. However, the padding on a helmet is far from this optimum in that (a) it doesn't provide a full inch of travel in actual use and (b) it doesn't provide the constant resistive force needed for perfect linear deceleration. Furthermore athletes may sprint at speeds that create an impact having an initial velocity of greater than 12 miles per hour. A calculation of rotational accelerations based on typical current football helmet configurations shows that a one inch of rotation of the outer shell of a 12 inch helmet to stop an initial radial velocity of 12 miles/hour (5 msec) at a radius of 6 inches generates an angular acceleration of about 5000 rad/sec2 which is the concussion threshold as the threshold for linear acceleration (or deceleration) of the head.
Referring now to the drawings,
The shape of the pad 16 will be predetermined by the intended placement of the pad on the human body. For example, in the case of a pad to protect against recoil of a rifle, the pad may likely be placed over the shoulder of a user, as shown in
Again referring to
Preferably, the layers 20 and 22 may be joined at their peripheries, thereby enclosing the above-discussed void between the layers. Such an enjoinment of the layers at their peripheries may be accomplished by mechanical, thermal, or chemical means. Alternatively, the multi-layered pad 16 may be formed by a molding or other process. The edges of the molds may be heat sealed, so there is no shifting of the layers relative to each other after they are joined.
Further the layers 20 and 22 of pad 16 may be composed of low-density polyethylene materials or nanotubes. This low-density polyethylene material may have a thickness of 0.01 to 0.04 inch. Polyethylene is a desirable material for use in the present technology because upon receiving an impact force, polyethylene has the ability to compress and break down in order to absorb shock and dissipate energy. Moreover, after the impact force passes, polyethylene has the ability to return to its pre-impact state. This resilience, or memory, enables a pad made from polyethylene to be reused multiple times without losing its effectiveness as an impact reduction pad. Alternative materials, such as coiled carbon nanotubes or composite carbon nanotubes possessing similar impact reduction qualities may also be used.
In addition to the above, the dimples 28 dissipate the energy of an associated impact force by collapsing. That is, at some point during application of impact force F, the magnitude of the force, and the amount of kinetic energy imposed upon the pad thereby, may be large enough to collapse or partially collapse the dimples as shown in
As discussed above, and shown in
Bladder 24 may be inflated or deflated by a detachable pump 14, shown in
One aspect of the present technology includes the method of using the pads 16 to protect the human body from potentially injury-causing impact. In the case of marksmanship, the pads 16 of the shock-absorbing device 10 may cover the front of the shoulder of a marksman as shown in
Referring to
Although use of the shock-absorbing device of the present technology has been discussed with regard to use in the specific application of marksmanship, another aspect of the technology provides shock-absorbing devices for use in other applications, such as contact sports, gravity game sports, and other impact sports. For example, there is shown in
The pad of the present embodiment is well suited for use as an athletic pad because of its thin profile. For example, in the embodiment shown in
Similarly, as shown in
As shown in
Referring to
silicone carbide;
boron carbide;
amorphous boron;
hafnium carbine;
tantalum carbide;
tungsten carbide;
magnesium diboride;
glassy carbon;
diamond-like carbon;
single-crystal tungsten;
boron nitride;
titanium diboride;
hafnium diboride;
lanthanum hexaboride;
cerium hexaboride;
molybdenum carbide;
tungsten disulfide;
polyurethane;
polyvinyl;
nylon;
an aramid material such as kevlar;
or any organic or inorganic material.
Referring to
Further referring to
The physiologic biosensors 314 can be used to detect a variety of parameters related to the physiological or biological characteristics of the person wearing the pad, examples physiologic bioparameters can include:
Embodiments of the present invention can also use environmental sensors that measure parameters such as air pressure, temperature, wind velocity, etc. The sensors used in embodiments of the present invention can be internally embedded (to monitor internal pressure within the padding or impacts) as well as externally embedded, and adjacent to the skin (to measure the impact received closest to the body). Sensors can be of the physiologic type or motion type and data measured can be logged and transmitted wirelessly to the wearer or remotely with auditory signals, visual signals and haptic signals. The sensors can be responsive to thresholds or presets. The sensors can be configured to allow active tracking in real time and can be used to record data for later retrieval and analysis.
The sensors shown in
The sensors 312 and 314 shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Further referring to
as a function of direction;
as a function of speed;
as a function of position;
as a function of location; and/or
as a function of rotation versus translation.
Referring to
v=(½)jt2 (if jerk is constant)
x=(⅙)jt3 (if jerk is constant)
a=jt (if jerk is constant)
where: x is displacement, v=velocity, a=acceleration, j=jerk, and t=time
Another embodiment can have an exterior surface with a combination of flexible and rigid elements to provide flexibility and protection. Combinations of different impact reducing mechanisms can be used within the same pad, such as using a spring with internal piston mechanism, either together, in series, or in parallel. A simple pad could include a configuration in which the outer padding acts as a resilient piston mechanism, collapsing on its own, with a small orifice, that allows the escape and intake of air. The air-retaining region of the pad could be filled with a foam material. The region that includes the dimples could be sealed and have an active orifice to allow air to escape from the sealed dimpled area, into the remaining pad with compression or impact of the exterior surface of the padding. Interior elements of the pad can be comprised of elastic spring mechanisms, or piston mechanisms, or a combination of these types of elastic and resilient mechanisms. These described elements can be configured in parallel or in series within the impact padding. The interior elements can be comprised of single-acting cylinders, pressurized at one end only, with the opposite end vented to atmosphere or vented to the remaining interior reservoir. The interior elements can be configured as a series of tandem cylinders comprising two cylinders mounted in line with the pistons, connected by a common piston rod, or other embodiments not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments discussed. Orifices (passive and active) can be in the piston mechanisms or in the exterior padding to provide a superior force displacement type of impact padding.
In another embodiment haptically based sensors can inform the wearer of any abnormal data acquired. The data can be logged. The wearer can be informed using an audio alarm, a visual alarm, or a tactile alarm.
In another embodiment the surface of the impact pad that is most distant from the surface of the skin, can also be comprised of an impenetrable material. In another embodiment, the surface of the impact pad can be changed in density and hardness or can exhibit a characteristic of automatic strain hardening prior to the impact with the aid of sensors that detect an impending impact. The embodiments described can further comprise an integrated remote and wireless system to check the function of the sensors (e.g. detect the sensor failure or if it is properly functioning).
Further improvements that can be made to any of the embodiments described can include:
Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. For example, the present invention may be used to protect workers in an industrial setting, at a construction site, etc. In order to accomplish this, the device of the present invention may, for example, be included in construction helmets, knee pads, or standing pads. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
A number of variations and modifications of the disclosed embodiments can also be used. The principles described here can also be used for in applications other than sports. While the principles of the disclosure have been described above in connection with specific apparatuses and methods, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as limitation on the scope of the disclosure.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/674,755 filed Nov. 12, 2012, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/728,073 filed Mar. 19, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,347,421, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/828,326, filed Jul. 25, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,917,972, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13674755 | Nov 2012 | US |
| Child | 14198423 | US | |
| Parent | 12728073 | Mar 2010 | US |
| Child | 13674755 | US | |
| Parent | 11828326 | Jul 2007 | US |
| Child | 12728073 | US |
