PROTECTIVE HEADWEAR AND BODYWEAR
In one aspect the invention is directed to a protective member (eg. a headwear or bodywear member) including a plurality of substantially rigid protective panels connected to each other by flexible panel connectors to form a selected shape for wearing by a wearer. In one embodiment, the protective member is in the form of a cap-shaped member and may be an insert that fits in a cap. In another embodiment, the protective member is in the form of a protective vest.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/384,439 filed Sep. 20, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to protective headwear and bodywear.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONProtective headwear and bodywear protect the heads and bodies of many people including, for example, police officers and soldiers. Typically, the headwear is in the form of a helmet that includes a hard shell member and one or more inner members, such as pads or the like, that assist in fitting the shell to the head of the wearer. Such helmets are helpful in that they offer good protection of the wearer's head, however they suffer many drawbacks. One drawback is that they are typically relatively bulky and so they can be relatively uncomfortable to wear. Another drawback is that they are relatively unfashionable, due in part to their bulkiness. These drawbacks alone inhibit the use of protective headwear in many situations in which it would be advantageous to be worn, such as, for example, during a round of golf so that the wearer's head could be protected from a stray ball. Another drawback is that helmets are often not particularly stable on the wearer's head unless they are stabilized via neck and/or chin straps, which add to their level of discomfort during wearing.
With respect to bodywear, a typical protective garment (eg. a vest) includes panels made from protective material, which are separated from each other by regions of flexible material (eg. cloth) to provide a measure of flexibility to the garment. Such bodywear can have relatively low-breathability particularly in the regions with the protective panels, which adds to their discomfort during wearing, particularly during warmer weather. Furthermore, such bodywear may not necessarily conform well to wearers of different shapes and sizes, as the protective panels are relatively fixed in shape. Furthermore, the regions between the protective panels render the wearer vulnerable to attack.
It would be advantageous to provide protective headwear and bodywear that at least partially address one or more of the above-described problems that exist with prior art protective headwear and bodywear.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn one aspect, the invention is directed to a protective headwear member including a plurality of substantially rigid protective panels connected to each other by flexible panel connectors to form a cap-shaped member configured to fit on the head of a wearer.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a protective member for wearing by a wearer, including a plurality of substantially rigid protective panels connected to each other by flexible connectors to form a selected shape. The panels are separated from each other by a gap having a shape that is sufficiently non-linear to prevent the presence of a linear path between an exterior face of the protective member and an interior face of the protective member.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a protective member for wearing by a wearer, including an exterior first protective layer comprising a plurality of substantially rigid protective first panels connected to each other by flexible first panel connectors to form a selected shape and a second protective layer that is substantially immediately subjacent the first layer comprising a plurality of substantially rigid protective second panels. The first panels and the second panels are positioned to prevent the formation of a linear path between an exterior face of the first layer and an interior face of the second layer.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a protective member for wearing by a wearer, including a plurality of substantially rigid protective panels connected to each other by flexible panel connectors, wherein each substantially rigid protective member is formed from at least first and second substantially rigid plates and an energy absorbing elastically resilient member sandwiched between the first and second substantially rigid plates.
The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the attached drawings in which:
Reference is made to
The panels 14 may have any suitable shape, and need not all have the same shape or similar shapes to each other. The panels 14 may be made from any suitable material. The shape and size of the panels 14 may be selected depending on the particular application. In general, a larger panel 14 provides greater protection against an impact than a smaller panel 14. This is because a larger panel 14 will spread the impact force from a projectile over a larger area of the wearer's head than a smaller panel. Conversely, smaller panels provide a greater degree of accommodation to heads of different shapes, and could be found to be relatively more comfortable for the wearer. Depending on the intended use for the protective member 10, the sizes of the panels 14 may be selected to be larger or smaller. For example, in embodiments wherein the protective member 10 is to be used by golf players to protect their heads from an impact from a stray golf ball, the protective member 10 may be made from relatively smaller panels 14. In embodiments wherein the protective member 10 is to be used by someone to protect their head from an impact from a bullet or the like, the protective member 10 may be made with larger panels 14.
The material of construction of the panels 14 may be selected to suit the intended use for the panels 14. In some embodiments, the panels 14 may be made from polycarbonate for example. In other embodiments the panels may be made from a composition including polycarbonate and nylon. In yet other embodiments, the panels 14 may be made from a carbon composite. In yet other embodiments, the panels 14 may be made from a metal, such as titanium.
The thickness of the panels 14 may be selected in conjunction with the size and the material of construction for the panels 14. In some exemplary embodiments, wherein the panels 14 are made from polycarbonate and are intended to protect the user from certain types of impact, the panels 14 may be, for example, approximately 1.5 mm thick. In some other embodiments, the panels 14 may be approximately 3 mm thick.
The panel connectors 16 hingeably connect the panels 14 to each other. The panel connectors 16 may be formed in any suitable way. For example, the panel connectors 16 may be made up from a contiguous cap-shaped sheet 18 of flexible material, such as a thin polymeric material, to which all of the panels 14 are joined, thereby forming living hinges between all of the panels 14. The cap-shaped sheet 18, a magnified portion of which is in
In another embodiment, the sheet 18 may be a sheet of fabric material which may include pockets configured for receiving one or more of the panels 14. The fabric material may be any suitable material, such as a linked aromatic polyamide long fibre material.
It will be understood that individual connectors 16 could alternatively be provided between the panels 14. It will also be understood that, while a sheet or other unitary structure with living hinges is contemplated to be relatively inexpensive, it is alternatively possible to provide connectors 16 that incorporate mechanical joints (eg. hinge joints).
Air passages 23 may be provided in the protective member 10 between its exterior surface shown at 24 and its interior surface shown at 25 to permit air flow to the wearer and to facilitate the escape of heat and moisture from the head of the wearer. The air passages 23 may be provided in the gaps shown at 21 between adjacent panels 14. Alternatively, or additionally, it is possible to provide the air passages 23 through the panels 14, also shown in
At a point along the edge of the protective member 10, shown at 26 in
Referring to
In
As shown in
It is possible, however, to provide a protective member in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, configured for other uses. For example, the protective member may be in the form of a protective vest shown at 60 in
In some situations, it may be desired to protect the wearer against a projectile such as a bullet. In such a situation, there are two optional paths that a bullet may take when fired towards a target. As shown in
Reference is made to
In
Referring to
It will be noted that the gaps between any of the panels 14, 66, 74 and 76 are preferably selected to be sufficiently small that the projectile against which the protective member 10 or 60 is designed to protect cannot pass into the gap without encountering at least one of the panels that define the gap. In general, the smaller the gap, the greater the amount of panel material is engaged with the projectile to dissipate the energy of the projectile. However, the gap is also preferably wide enough to provide a selected amount of flexibility to the protective member 10 or 60. The particular size that is selected for the gap will depend on various parameters, including, for example, the particular projectile or range of projectiles that the protective member is designed to protect against, and the expected speed and direction of travel of the projectile (or projectiles) when hitting the wearer.
Air passages shown at 80 may be provided through the sheet 79 at the gaps between adjacent panels 66, 74 or 76. To assist air flow through the air passages 80, channels may be provided in the sides of the panels 66, 74 or 76 so that the air passage 80 is not occluded even if there is some contact between the sides of adjacent panels 66, 74 or 76.
Reference is made to
The air passages 86 are defined in part by a plurality of first air passages 87 in the first layer and plurality of second air passages 88 in the second layer 84. In some embodiments the air passages 87 and 88 may be offset with each other.
The panels 83 and 85 may be any of the panels described above (eg. panels 14, 66, 74 or 76) depending on the particular application the protective member 81 is being configured for. Panels 14 are shown in
The first layer panels 83 and the second layer panels 85 are preferably positioned to prevent the formation of a linear path (along the gaps between the panels of each layer) between an exterior face 89 of the first layer 82 and an interior face 90 of the second layer.
The first layer panels 83 are made of a first layer material, and the second layer panels 85 are made up of a second layer material. The first and second layer materials may be the same material (eg. polycarbonate), or they may be different materials (eg. polycarbonate for the first layer, and titanium for the second layer).
In embodiments where a plurality of layers are used, the panels of each layer may be positioned substantially immediately adjacent the panels of the adjacent layer. To assist in maintaining each layer in close proximity to the adjacent layers, the layers may be joined to each other at selected points or substantially over their entire mutually facing areas. For example, a layer of padding may be provided between adjacent layers, such as is shown at 91 in
Padding (not shown) may be provided on the inside face of the panels 85 of the inner layer 84, to analogous effect to the padding 58 described above. The padding that is provided on the panels (eg. panels 85 or the panels 14 shown in
While the protective member 81 is shown in
It will be noted that the protective headwear member 10 may be manufactured and/or adjustable in such a way as to permit its use in other types of hats, such as, for example, tuques.
Similarly,
It should also be appreciated from
While the panels shown in the figures are largely quadrilateral shapes that are substantially planar, they may have any suitable peripheral shape and may have any suitable curvature, depending on the size, type and velocity of the projectiles to be protected against, and depending on the anatomical part of the wearer being protected.
For greater clarity, the sizes of individual panels in a protective member may vary depending on the location on the body in which the panels are positioned. Thus, a particular protective member may have large panels and small panels. Additionally, the panels that make up a particular layer in a protective member (even in a one-layer protective member) may be made from different materials. For example, some panels in a layer may be made from polycarbonate and some panels in that layer may be made from titanium.
While the above description constitutes a plurality of embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that the present invention is susceptible to further modification and change without departing from the fair meaning of the accompanying claims.
Claims
1. A protective headwear member, comprising:
- a plurality of substantially rigid protective panels connected to each other by flexible panel connectors to form a cap-shaped member configured to fit on the head of a wearer.
2. A protective headwear member as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cap-shaped member is adjustable in size.
3. A protective headwear member as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cap-shaped member has a peripheral edge and has a separation extending upwardly from the peripheral edge, wherein the separation permits the cap-shaped member to accommodate heads of different sizes.
4. A protective headwear member as claimed in claim 3, wherein the protective headwear member has a first edge portion and a second edge portion, wherein the first and second edge portions define the separation, and the first and second edge portions are overlappable with each other by a selectable amount over a range of adjustability and are connectable to each other over the range of adjustability.
5. A protective headwear member as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first and second edge portions are overlappable with each other by a selectable amount and are adjustably connectable to each other by a size adjustment connector that includes a hook and look fastener.
6. A protective headwear member as claimed in claim 1, wherein the panels are made from one of titanium, polycarbonate or polycarbonate and nylon.
7. A protective headwear member as claimed in claim 1, wherein the panel connectors are made from a flexible material that is a living hinge between adjacent panels.
8. A protective headwear member as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one cap connector positioned on at least one of the panels and is connectable to a cap made from flexible material.
9. A protective headwear member as claimed in claim 1, wherein each cap connector includes a first cap connector portion mounted to the cap-shaped member and a second cap connector portion mountable to an interior surface of the cap, wherein the first and second cap connector members are removably connectable to each other.
10. A protective headwear member as claimed in claim 1, wherein each substantially rigid protective panel is formed from at least first and second substantially rigid plates and an energy absorbing elastically resilient member sandwiched between the first and second substantially rigid plates.
11. A protective member for wearing by a wearer, comprising:
- a plurality of substantially rigid protective panels connected to each other by flexible connectors to form a selected shape, wherein the panels are separated from each other by a gap, wherein the gap has a shape that is sufficiently non-linear to prevent the presence of a linear path between an exterior face of the protective member and an interior face of the protective member.
12. A protective member as claimed in claim 11, wherein for at least some of the panels, each protective panel has at least one air-passage therethrough to permit air flow between an exterior surface of the panel to an interior surface of the panel.
13. A protective member as claimed in claim 11, wherein the gap includes at least two bends.
14. A protective member as claimed in claim 11, wherein the protective member is in the form of a cap-shaped member.
15. A protective member as claimed in claim 11, wherein the protective member is in the form of a protective vest.
16. A protective member as claimed in claim 11, wherein each substantially rigid protective panel is formed from at least first and second substantially rigid plates and an energy absorbing elastically resilient member sandwiched between the first and second substantially rigid plates.
17. A flexible protective member for wearing by a wearer, comprising:
- an exterior first protective layer comprising a plurality of substantially rigid protective first panels; and
- a second protective layer that is substantially immediately subjacent the first layer comprising a plurality of substantially rigid protective second panels,
- a plurality of flexible panel connectors connecting the panels of the first and second layers together flexibly so as to form a selected shape,
- wherein the first panels and the second panels are positioned to prevent the formation of a linear path between an exterior face of the first layer and an interior face of the second layer.
18. A protective member as claimed in claim 17, wherein the second layer is connected to the first layer so as to sufficiently maintain the positions of the first panels and the second panels relative to each other to prevent the formation of a linear path between an exterior face of the first layer and an interior face of the second layer.
19. A protective member as claimed in claim 17, wherein a plurality of air passages extend between the exterior face of the first layer and the interior face of the second layer and wherein the air passages are sufficiently non-linear to prevent the presence of a linear path between an exterior face of the protective member and an interior face of the protective member.
20. A protective member as claimed in claim 17, including a an energy absorbing elastically resilient member sandwiched between the first and second substantially rigid panels.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 20, 2011
Publication Date: Mar 22, 2012
Inventor: Bernard Fresco (Toronto)
Application Number: 13/237,813
International Classification: A41D 13/00 (20060101); A42B 3/12 (20060101); A41D 13/015 (20060101); A42B 3/00 (20060101);