NECK BRACE
A neck brace comprising an impact surface which that can limit movement of a helmet by contacting an underside of the helmet. The neck brace further comprises at least one bearing surface configured for bearing on the body of a wearer, and a structure extending between the impact surface and the bearing surfaces configured to transfer impact loads of the helmet on the impact surface to the wearer's body. A part of the impact surface is displaceable towards the wearer's body and the structure is configured to permit the displacement at rates slower than a predetermined rate, as well as to resist displacement if the rate exceeds the predetermined rate.
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This application is a national stage application under 35 USC §371 (c) of International Application No. PCT/IB2008/052880, entitled “NECK BRACE,” filed on Jul. 17, 2008, which claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No. 11/778,840, entitled “NECK BRACE,” filed on Jul. 17, 2007. The entire disclosure and contents of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to protective equipment for inhibiting neck injuries while wearing a helmet, and more particularly, to a neck brace.
2. Related Art
A device in the form of a neck brace is disclosed in International Patent Application No. PCT/ZA04/00148, which is intended to be worn around the neck and to receive impact loads from the bottom edge of a full face helmet and to transfer these loads to the wearer's body along a load path. The main purpose of this earlier neck brace is to inhibit excessive movement of the helmet and thus of the wearer's head during impact, e.g. during a collision in motor sport. The disclosure and contents of International Patent Application No. PCT/ZA04/00148 is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
The neck brace described in PCT/ZA04/00148 was designed to inhibit head and neck movement as little as possible during normal operation and it has largely achieved that purpose. However, in some exceptional cases, notably in high speed road motorcycling, the wearer needs to tilt his head more severely during normal operation than what is allowed by this earlier neck brace, typically to achieve higher aerodynamics.
SUMMARYIn one aspect of the present invention, a neck brace is provided. The neck brace comprises at least one impact surface which, when the brace is used with a helmet, limits movement of the helmet by contacting an underside of the helmet; at least one bearing surface shaped and configured for bearing on the body of a wearer of the brace; and a structure that extends between the impact surface and the bearing surface, the structure being sufficiently resilient to transfer impact loads of the helmet on the impact surface to the wearer's body, wherein at least part of the impact surface is displaceable towards an adjacent part of the bearing surface, and wherein the structure comprises at least one selective brake configured to permit the displacement and to selectively resist the displacement.
Illustrative embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to a neck brace for use with a helmet, such as a full face helmet. The neck brace comprises at least one impact surface which, when the brace is used with a helmet, which limits movement of the helmet by contacting an underside of the helmet, at least one bearing surface configured for bearing on the body of a wearer of the brace; and a structure that extends between the impact surface and the bearing surface. The structure is sufficiently resilient to transfer impact loads of the helmet on the impact surface to the wearer's body, and comprises part thereof that is displaceable towards an adjacent part of the bearing surface. The structure further comprises at least one brake configured to permit the displacement and to selectively resist the displacement.
In embodiments of the present invention, the structure may be configured to permit displacement at rates slower than a predetermined rate of displacement and to resist displacement if the rate of displacement exceeds the predetermined rate. Furthermore, the structure may be configured to resist said displacement in the event of an impact. In this context, “impact” refers to a situation when the neck brace, the wearer, the helmet and/or equipment such as a vehicle used by the wearer experiences rapid acceleration or deceleration. The term “impact” in this context does thus not necessarily refer to something making contact with the neck brace.
In certain embodiments of the present invention, the impact brake element comprises a first component which defines a first brake surface, and a second component which defines a second brake surface. The second brake surface is displaceable relative to said first component when said displaceable part is displaced relative to the remainder of said neck brace, said first and second braking surfaces extending at an acute angle relative to each other. In such embodiments, the neck brace may further comprise at least one lock element disposed between said first and second brake surfaces. The lock element is configured to allow movement between said first and second components at rates lower than a predetermined rate and to engage said first and second brake surfaces in a taper lock, when displacement between said two components occurs at a rate exceeding said predetermined rate.
Referring to
The neck brace 10 includes a front section 12 and a rear section 14 which may be secured together at lateral hinge connectors 16 to form a ring that can extend around the neck of a wearer. The front section 12 is U-shaped in plan view and includes a top flange 20 defining part of a generally upwardly facing impact surface 30 that can receive impact loads from the bottom of a full face helmet worn by the wearer, a bottom flange 22 defining a cushioned chest bearing surface 44 that is configured to bear on the wearer's chest, and a structure in the form of a wall 24 that extends between the top and bottom flanges to transfer the impact loads from the helmet to the wearer's body.
The rear section 14 is also U-shaped in plan view and includes a top flange 52 that is generally a continuation of the top flange 20 of the front section, with an upwardly facing impact surface 30, and bottom flange 54 that is generally a continuation of the bottom flange 22 and that defines padded shoulder bearing surfaces 88 where it is configured to bear on the shoulders of the wearer. A structure in the form of a wall 66 extends between the top flange 52 and the bottom flange 54. The rear section further includes two bars 68 that each extends from the rear of the bottom flange 54 along the upper back of the wearer with a padded back bearing surface 72 for bearing on the back of the wearer.
The purpose of the top flanges 20 and 52 is to limit movement of the wearer's helmet during impact, e.g. during high speed motor sport accidents, by contacting the underside of the helmet with the impact surface 30 and transferring the impact load to the wearer's body via the chest, shoulder and back bearing surfaces 44,88,72 to reduce the risk of injury to the neck and upper spine of the wearer.
Apart from the provision of two bars 68 instead of one, the features of the neck brace 10 that have been described thus far, are substantially similar to the corresponding features of the earlier neck brace described in International Patent Application No. PCT/ZA04/000148, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Similar reference numerals have also been used in the present description, for ease of reference to said earlier international patent application.
Referring further to
Similarly, a front part of the top flange 20 is pivotally connected to the remainder of the front section 12 at pivotal joints 96, so that it forms a front displaceable part 98 that can pivot downwards towards the chest of the wearer, i.e. towards the chest bearing surface 44. In addition, the pivotal joints 96 are configured to allow the rear ends of the displaceable part 98 to slide rearwards relative to the remainder of the front section 12 to allow the displaceable part to slide rearwards and/or pivot downwards. Two impact brake elements 100 extend between the displaceable part 98 and lateral locations on the bottom flange 22 to permit at least some pivotal and/or sliding movement in the joints 96, as well as to inhibit undesirable pivotal and/or sliding movement, as described in more detail below.
As noted, in certain embodiments of the present invention, the impact brake element comprises a first component which defines a first brake surface, and a second component which defines a second brake surface. Referring to
The inner circumference of the annular recess (i.e. the tapered brake surface 12) is tapered at a relatively small angle with the result that the recess is not strictly “annular” in shape, but for the purposes of this description, the term “annular” is to be interpreted to include an annulus with a slightly tapered inner wall.
A number of lock elements in the form of balls 114 are held captive inside the annular recess 110 by the wall of the sleeve 102, i.e. between the cylindrical and tapered brake surfaces 104,112. The brake element 94,100 is shaped and dimensioned such that the balls 14 fit inside the recess 110 with a slight clearance at the wider, lower end of the recess, such that the balls fit inside the recess with an interference fit higher in the recess.
The impact brake element 94,100 is shown in
Each of the impact brake elements 94,100 is normally in this extended condition and is held in this condition by its coil spring 118, but as the relevant displaceable part 92, 98 is displaced relative to the remainder of the brace 10, it presses the probe 106 towards the sleeve 102, to slide further inside the sleeve against the bias of the spring.
Referring to
However, referring to
The dimensions and particularly the tolerances and clearances of the balls 114 and brake surfaces 104,112 can be dimensioned to allow downward movement of the probe 106 relative to the sleeve 102 without interference if the rate of relative movement between the probe and the sleeve is below a predetermined rate and to activate the taper lock as described herein above, when the rate of relative movement of the probe into the sleeve exceeds the predetermined rate.
It is to be understood that in the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, the balls 114 are biased downwardly towards the wider end of the annular recess 110 by gravity. It is possible to enhance this bias or to replace it by using another biasing element such as a flexible element in the annular recess 110 that presses against the balls 114.
Referring to
However, in the event that the rider's head is tilted backwards rapidly, e.g. during a rear impact collision, whether the impact brake elements 94 are fully extended or only partly extended, the downward impact of the bottom of the helmet on the rear displaceable part 92 will cause the rapid downward movement of the displaceable part and of the probes 106, at a rate that is higher than the predetermined rate. The downward movement of the probes relative to the sleeves 102 will be stopped by the taper lock as described above, with reference to
The same applies to the front displaceable part 98 that can be pivoted downwardly and slid rearwards at rates lower than a predetermined rate by a pressing the bottom edge of the helmet against the front displaceable part. In the event of an impact, e.g. a front impact collision that tends to cause the rider's head to rotate forward, the front displaceable part 98 will be pressed towards the wearer's chest at a rate exceeding the predetermined rate. The front impact brake elements 100 will be locked by their taper lock and will transfer the impact load along a load path from the helmet and displaceable part 98 to the chest bearing surface 44 and to the chest of the rider, to inhibit excessive head movement and to reduce the risk of injury to the rider's neck and upper spine.
The neck brace 10 has the further advantage that the provision of two bars 68 spaced from the center of the wearer's back allows the brace to be worn comfortably with clothing such as motorcycling apparel that includes an aerodynamic protuberance or “hump” on the wearer's back, for preventing a vacuum behind the wearer's helmet at high speed. Further, the front bottom flange 22 defines a recess 116 which allows the wearer easy access to zippers or the like, that is often positioned centrally on the front of garments such as motorcycling apparel and/or to prevent discomfort by pressing on such zippers or the like.
Referring to
The impact brake element 94,100 of
The impact brake element 94,100 of
The impact brake element 94,100 of
The impact brake element 94,100 of
The impact brake element 94,100 of
The impact brake element 94,100 of
Referring to
The neck brace 10.2 is identical to the neck brace 10 shown in
Referring to
The impact brake elements 94.2 of
The impact brake element 94.2 of
The impact brake elements of
The impact brake elements of
The invention described and claimed herein is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments herein disclosed, since these embodiments are intended as illustrations, and not limitations, of several aspects of the invention. Any equivalent embodiments are intended to be within the scope of this invention. Indeed, various modifications of the invention in addition to those shown and described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.
For example, referring to
Claims
1. A neck brace comprising:
- at least one impact surface which, when said brace is used with a helmet, limits movement of said helmet by contacting an underside of said helmet;
- at least one bearing surface shaped and configured for bearing on the body of a wearer of said brace; and
- a structure that extends between said impact surface and said bearing surface, said structure being sufficiently resilient to transfer impact loads of said helmet on said impact surface to said wearer's body,
- wherein at least part of said impact surface is displaceable towards an adjacent part of said bearing surface, and wherein said structure comprises at least one brake configured to permit said displacement and to selectively resist said displacement.
2. The neck brace of claim 1, wherein said brake is configured to permit said displacement at rates slower than a predetermined rate of displacement and to resist said displacement at rates that exceed said predetermined rate.
3. The neck brace of claim 1, wherein said brake is configured to resist said displacement in the event of an impact.
4. The neck brace of claim 1, further comprising:
- at least one pivotal joint disposed between said displaceable part and the non-displaceable part of said neck brace.
5. The neck brace of claim 4, wherein said pivotal joint is configured to permit pivotal, as well as sliding displacement of said displaceable part relative to the non-displaceable part of said neck brace.
6. The neck brace of claim 1, wherein said displaceable part comprises: a rear displaceable part at said rear of said neck brace which is downwardly pivotable towards the upper back of said wearer.
7. The neck brace of claim 1, wherein said displaceable part comprises: a front displaceable part at said front of said neck brace which is downwardly pivotable towards the chest of said wearer.
8. The neck brace of claim 7, wherein said front displaceable part is configured to slide rearwards towards said wearer's chest during said pivotal movement.
9. (canceled)
10. The neck brace of claim 1, wherein said brake comprises:
- a first component defining a first brake surface;
- a second component defining a second brake surface and which is displaceable relative to said first component when said displaceable part is displaced relative to the non-displaceable part of said neck brace, said first and second braking surfaces extending at an acute angle relative to each other; and
- at least one lock element disposed between said first and second brake surfaces;
- wherein said lock element is configured to allow movement between said first and second components at rates lower than a predetermined rate and to engage said first and second brake surfaces in a taper lock, when displacement between said two components occurs at a rate exceeding said predetermined rate.
11. The neck brace of claim 10, wherein said first brake surface is a cylindrical surface and said second brake surface is a frusto-conical surface.
12. The neck brace of claim 11, wherein said first component is an outer cylindrical sleeve and said second component is elongate in shape and is longitudinally displaceable with at least part of said second component inside said sleeve, said second component including a protuberance that is configured to protrube outside said sleeve.
13. The neck brace of claim 10, further comprising: an annular recess around the second component and wherein said second brake surface is defined on the inner circumference of said annular recess and wherein at least one lock element is held captive inside said annular recess.
14. The neck brace of claim 1, wherein said selective brake further comprises: a catch connected to a first component of said impact brake element and a recess defined on a second component of said brake element, said catch being receivable in said recess to lock said first and second components against movement relative to each other.
15. The neck brace of claim 14, further comprising: a plurality of said recesses formed in said second component.
16. The neck brace of claim 1, wherein said selective brake further comprises: a first component and a second component received inside said first component and a fluid disposed in the brake between said first and second components, to dampen movement between said components.
17. The neck brace of claim 16, wherein said fluid has a viscosity that can be varied by applying an electrical charge to said fluid.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 17, 2008
Publication Date: Oct 7, 2010
Applicant: LEATT CORPORATION (Las Vegas, NV)
Inventors: Christopher James Leatt (Constantia), Mark Eric Hopkins (Durbanville), Grant Leigh Nelson (Claremont), Andre Pieter Keevy (Durbanville)
Application Number: 12/669,792