Bullet-Proof Clothing and Buffering Cushion Thereof

Abstract

A bullet-proof clothing includes a clothing body, and an inflatable buffering cushion disposed on an inner side of the clothing body and including a first cushion layer having a first surface connected to the clothing body and a second surface opposite to the first surface, a second cushion layer having a surface facing the second surface of the first cushion layer, a plurality of spaced-apart connecting members interconnecting the second surface of the first cushion layer and the surface of the second cushion layer, and at least one air valve disposed on one of the first and second cushion layers. The first and second cushion layers and the connecting members cooperatively define a buffering space for receiving high-pressure air.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Taiwanese Patent Application No. 103146572 filed on Dec. 31, 2014, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a clothing, more particularly to a bullet-proof clothing and a buffering cushion thereof.

BACKGROUND

When a law enforcement performs his duty or when a person is threatened with his life, he usually wears a bullet-proof clothing to prevent penetration of a bullet into his body when shot, thereby protecting himself from injury or life-threatening situation. However, when a bullet is fired toward the user, because the bullet's impact strength is quite strong, the existing bullet-proof clothing cannot fully absorb the impact of the bullet, so that the residual impact of the bullet will continue to strike the user's body through the bullet-proof clothing. This often results in the user's body having bruises and/or swelling. Hence, there is still room for improvement for the existing bullet-proof clothing.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a bullet-proof clothing that has an improved and reliable structure.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a bullet-proof clothing for preventing penetration of a bullet into the body of a user comprises a clothing body configured to be worn on the body of the user, and an inflatable buffering cushion disposed on an inner side of the clothing body. The inflatable buffering cushion includes a first cushion layer having a first surface connected to the clothing body and a second surface opposite to the first surface, a second cushion layer having a first surface facing the second surface of the first cushion layer and a second surface opposite to the first surface of the second cushion layer and configured to face the body of the user, a plurality of spaced-apart connecting members disposed between and interconnecting the second surface of the first cushion layer and the first surface of the second cushion layer, and at least one air valve disposed on one of the first and second cushion layers. The first and second cushion layers have peripheral edges sealed to each other. The first cushion layer, the second cushion layer and the connecting members cooperatively define a buffering space for receiving high-pressure air. When the inflatable buffering cushion is inflated with the high-pressure air, and the clothing body receives an impact of the bullet, the buffering space is compressed to buffer the impact of the bullet so as to prevent the user's body from being hurt due to the impact, and a part of the high-pressure air in the buffering space is simultaneously released through the at least one air valve.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, an inflatable buffering cushion comprises a first cushion layer having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, a second cushion layer having a first surface facing the second surface of the first cushion layer and a second surface opposite to the first surface of the second cushion layer, a plurality of spaced-apart connecting members disposed between and interconnecting the second surface of the first cushion layer and the first surface of the second cushion layer, and at least one air valve disposed on one of the first and second cushion layers. The first and second cushion layers have peripheral edges sealed to each other. The first cushion layer, the second cushion layer and the connecting members cooperatively define a buffering space for receiving high-pressure air. When the inflatable buffering cushion is inflated with the high-pressure air and receives an impact of the bullet, the buffering space is compressed to buffer the impact of the bullet so as to prevent the user's body from being hurt due to the impact, and a part of the high-pressure air in the buffering space is simultaneously released through the at least one air valve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bullet-proof clothing according to the first embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top sectional view of the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of a bullet-proof clothing according to the second embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top sectional view of the second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present disclosure is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying embodiments, it should be noted herein that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a bullet-proof clothing according to the first embodiment of the disclosure is shown to comprise a clothing body 1, an inflatable buffering cushion 2 and a fastening unit 3. The clothing body 1 may be made of a bullet-proof material having high tensile strength, for example, aromatic polyamide fibers, such as Kevlar which has a bullet-proof function. The clothing body 1 may be in the form of a bullet-proof vest, a bullet-proof jacket, etc., to be worn outside of a user's body (not shown) for preventing penetration of a bullet into the user's body. Since the structure and form of the clothing body 1 are not important aspects of the present disclosure, a detailed description thereof is omitted herein for the sake of brevity.

The inflatable buffering cushion 2 is disposed on an inner side of the clothing body 1, and includes a first cushion layer 21 having a first surface 211 facing the inner side of the clothing body 1 and a second surface 212 opposite to the first surface 211, a second cushion layer 22 having a first surface 221 facing the second surface 212 of the first cushion layer 21 and a second surface 222 opposite to the first surface 221 and configured to face the body of the user, and a plurality of spaced-apart connecting members 23 disposed between and interconnecting the second surface 212 of the first cushion layer 21 and the first surface 221 of the second cushion layer 22. The first and second cushion layers 21, 22 have peripheral edges sealed to each other in a conventional manner. In this embodiment, each connecting member 23 is a solid column. In practice, the number, the disposition, the length and the thickness of the connecting members 23 may be adjusted according to the actual need.

The first cushion layer 21, the second cushion layer 22 and the connecting members 23 cooperatively define a buffering space 24 for receiving high-pressure air.

In this embodiment, the pressure of the high-pressure air inside the buffering space 24 ranges from 1.1 to 5 atmospheres. If the air pressure is smaller than 1.1 atmospheres, the buffering effect is poor; on the other hand, if the air pressure is greater than 5 atmospheres, it is difficult to inflate the high-pressure air into the buffering space 24, and the first and second cushion layers 21, 22 are easy to explode. The material of each of the first cushion layer 21, the second cushion layer 22 and the connecting members 23 is selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which has resiliency, elasticity and air impermeability. In practice, the first and second cushion layers 21, 22 and the connecting members 23 may be manufactured using, for example, 3D printing or other conventional plastic molding methods.

The inflatable buffering cushion 2 further includes a plurality of spaced-apart air valves 25 disposed on one of the first and second cushion layers 21, 22 adjacent to a junction thereof. The air valves 25 may be mounted on the collar, cuffs, hem or lapels of the clothing body 1. Moreover, the number of the air valve 25 may be increased or decreased depending on the requirement. For example, the buffering cushion 2 may include just one air valve 25. The air valves 25 fluidly communicate with the buffering space 24 for introducing or releasing high-pressure air into or out of the buffering space 24. Since the air valves 25 are generally known in the art, the commercially available air valves 25 maybe used, so that a detailed description thereof is omitted herein. In use, with the air valves 25 regulating the air pressure in the buffering space 24, the buffering capacity of the buffering cushion 2 can be relatively adjusted according to the different requirements.

The fastening unit 3 of this embodiment fixedly fastens the buffering cushion 2 to the inner side of the clothing body 1. The fastening unit 3 includes a double-sided adhesive tape 31 adhered between the inner side of the clothing body 1 and the first surface 211 of the first cushion layer 21. In practice, the fastening unit 3 may include a plurality of double-sided adhesive tapes 31, or may be replaced by glue or other structures. For instance, the fastening unit 3 may include at least one sewing thread (not shown) for sewing the buffering cushion 2 to the clothing body 1, or a liner (not shown) sewn to the clothing body 1 with the buffering cushion 2 sandwiched between the liner and the clothing body 1. Hence, the structure of the fastening unit 3 is not limited to what is disclosed in the first embodiment.

In use, the buffering cushion 2 is inflated with high-pressure air. That is, the high-pressure air is introduced and filled into the buffering space 24 through the air valves 25 so as to expand and separate the first and second cushion layers 21, 22. Concurrent with this expanding action, the connecting members 23 disposed between the first and second cushion layers 21, 22 generate elastic tightening reaction forces. That is, the connecting members 23 apply pulling forces on the first and second cushion layers 21, 22 so that every portion of the first and second cushion layers 21, 22 can maintain an appropriate distance. As viewed from the appearance of the buffering cushion 2 shown in FIG. 3, the portion of the second cushion layer 22 located on each connecting member 23 is concave inwardly, while the portion between each two adjacent connecting members 23 is convex outwardly. Hence, the second cushion layer 22 is formed with a plurality of depressions at positions corresponding to the connecting members 23 to facilitate ventilation and heat dissipation, thereby providing comfort to the user during use of the bullet-proof clothing of the disclosure.

When the clothing body 1 receives a strong impact of the bullet and transmits the impact force to the first cushion layer 21, the buffering space 24 is compressed to buffer the impact force. Because the high-pressure air is uniformly distributed in the buffering space 24, it can absorb and disperse the impact force uniformly so as to reduce or even eliminate the continuing effect of the impact force on the second cushion layer 22, thereby preventing the user's body from being hurt due to the impact. Thus, the buffering cushion 2 can provide a comprehensive security protection to the user's body. Of course, when the high-pressure air in the buffering space 24 is compressed by the strong impact force, a part of the high-pressure air is simultaneously released through the air valves 25, so that not only the buffering effect can be enhanced, the buffering cushion 2 can be prevented from explosion and damage as well. Therefore, the bullet-proof clothing of the disclosure is safe to use.

When not in use, the buffering cushion 2 is squeezed to force the high-pressure air out of the buffering space 24 through the air valves 25, thereby restoring the buffering cushion 2 to a flat state that does not occupy a substantial space. Hence, the bullet-proof clothing of the disclosure can be rolled or folded to facilitate its storage and transport.

It should be noted herein that the buffering cushion 2 of this embodiment can be sold together with the clothing body 1 or sold alone. In practice, the first cushion layer 21 of the buffering cushion 2 may be provided with the fastening unit 3 to facilitate the user to fasten it to the inner side of the clothing body 1 by himself or herself.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the second embodiment of the bullet-proof clothing according to this disclosure is shown to be generally identical to the first embodiment, and only differs in that the fastening unit 3 of the second embodiment removably fastens the buffering cushion 2 to the inner side of the clothing body 1. The fastening unit 3 includes a first fastener 32 having a plurality of loops 321 disposed on the inner side of the clothing body 1, and a second fastener 33 having a plurality of hooks 331 disposed on the first surface 211 of the first cushion layer 21 of the buffering cushion 2 and removably engaging the loops 321 of the first fastener 32. Through such a configuration, the buffering cushion 2 can be easily attached to and detached from the clothing body 1. Hence, the bullet-proof clothing of this embodiment is convenient to use. In practice, the structure of the fastening unit 3 may be changed. For instance, the fastening unit 3 may include a zipper (not shown) removably disposed between the clothing body 1 and the buffering cushion 2, or a pocket (not shown) disposed on the inner side of the clothing body 1 for removably accommodating the buffering cushion 2. Thus, the structure of the fastening unit 3 is not limited to what is disclosed in the second embodiment.

In sum, by providing the inner side of the clothing body 1 with the buffering cushion 2, by interconnecting the second surface 212 of the first cushion layer 21 and the first surface 221 of the second cushion layer 22 through the connecting members 23 that serve as tensile supports, and by mounting the air valves 25 on one of the first and second cushion layers 21, 22 adjacent to the junction thereof, when the bullet-proof clothing of the disclosure is used by the user, the buffering cushion 2 is first inflated with the high-pressure air. When the clothing body 1 suffers an impact of the bullet, the buffering surface 24 is compressed to buffer the impact of the bullet, thereby preventing the user's body from being hurt due to the impact. Hence, the bullet-proof clothing of this disclosure has a good security protection function. Further, a part of the high-pressure air can be released from the air valves 25 during the impact, so that the buffering cushion 2 can be prevented from explosion. Therefore, the bullet-proof clothing of the disclosure is safe to use. Therefore, the objects of this disclosure can be realized.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A bullet-proof clothing for preventing penetration of a bullet into the body of a user, comprising:

a clothing body configured to be worn on the body of the user; and

an inflatable buffering cushion disposed on an inner side of said clothing body, and including a first cushion layer having a first surface connected to said clothing body and a second surface opposite to said first surface, a second cushion layer having a first surface facing said second surface of said first cushion layer and a second surface opposite to said first surface of said second cushion layer and configured to face the body of the user, a plurality of spaced-apart connecting members disposed between and interconnecting said second surface of said first cushion layer and said first surface of said second cushion layer, and at least one air valve disposed on one of said first and second cushion layers, said first and second cushion layers having peripheral edges sealed to each other;

wherein said first cushion layer, said second cushion layer and said connecting members cooperatively define a buffering space for receiving high-pressure air;

wherein, when said inflatable buffering cushion is inflated with the high-pressure air, and said clothing body receives an impact of the bullet, said buffering space is compressed to buffer the impact of the bullet so as to prevent the user's body from being hurt due to the impact, and a part of the high-pressure air in said buffering space is simultaneously released through said at least one air valve.

2. The bullet-proof clothing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a fastening unit for fixing said inflatable buffering cushion on said inner side of said clothing body.

3. The bullet-proof clothing as claimed in claim 2, wherein said fastening unit includes at least one double-sided adhesive tape adhered between said inner side of said clothing body and said first surface of said first cushion layer.

4. The bullet-proof clothing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a fastening unit removably fastening said inflatable buffering cushion to said inner side of said clothing body.

5. The bullet-proof clothing as claimed in claim 4, wherein said fastening unit includes a first fastener disposed on said inner side of said clothing body, and a second fastener disposed on said first cushion layer and removably engaging said first fastener.

6. The bullet-proof clothing as claimed in claim 1, wherein said inflatable buffering cushion is made of a material selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic polyurethane, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, and polyethylene terephthalate.

7. The bullet-proof clothing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressure inside said buffering space ranges from 1.1 to 5 atmospheres.

8. An inflatable buffering cushion comprising:

a first cushion layer having a first surface and a second surface opposite to said first surface;

a second cushion layer having a first surface facing said second surface of said first cushion layer and a second surface opposite to said first surface of said second cushion layer;

said first and second cushion layers having peripheral edges sealed to each other;

a plurality of spaced-apart connecting members disposed between and interconnecting said second surface of said first cushion layer and said first surface of said second cushion layer; and

at least one air valve disposed on one of said first and second cushion layers;

wherein said first cushion layer, said second cushion layer and said connecting members cooperatively define a buffering space for receiving high-pressure air;

wherein, when said inflatable buffering cushion is inflated with the high-pressure air and receives an impact of the bullet, said buffering space is compressed to buffer the impact of the bullet so as to prevent the user's body from being hurt due to the impact, and a part of the high-pressure air in said buffering space is simultaneously released through said at least one air valve.

9. The inflatable buffering cushion as claimed in claim 8, wherein said first cushion layer is provided with a fastening unit.

10. The inflatable buffering cushion as claimed in claim 8, wherein the pressure inside said buffering space ranges from 1.1 to 5 atmospheres.