Compressible Liner for Impact Protection

Abstract

A compressible liner for impact protection, which may be installed in a helmet worn by a person. The compressible liner may also be applied to other impact protection situations, for example to baby capsules and child safety seats, as well as offering customised zones of impact protection. The compressible liner may have a relatively low density foam inner layer fused to a relatively high density foam outer layer. The inner layer may have many cone shaped protuberances which project into matching recesses of the outer layer. The compressible liner provides an initial low resistance to the impact for a desired part of the human body. As the impact progresses the level of resistance provided by the compressible liner increases in a controlled manner so that controlled deceleration of the part of the body is occurring throughout the impact for a desired impact protection zone of the compressible liner.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for improved impact protection using a compressible liner.[0003]2. Description of the Art[0004]Applicant was co-author of a study titled “Improved Shock Absorbing Liner for Helmets”, Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), www.atsb.gov.au, published in July, 2001. In that publication, a combination of low density foam embedded into high density foam was disclosed as one subject of the study. However, the study did not contemplate or discuss the combination of structural elements or method disclosed herein.[0005]Past research has shown that common single density foam liners used in current helmets are too hard and too stiff to effectively absorb an impact force. A single density foam liner is also limited in its ability to accommodate the variation in strength about the human skull. In addition liners in bicycle helmets for children use liners designed for adu...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for improved impact protection using a compressible liner. The invention aims to provide different levels of impact protection for different parts of the body, such as the head, and to provide a more satisfactory impact protection with a compressible liner. The current helmets and other protective devices for the body have limitations in providing appropriate impact protection, especially for children. The invention also addresses the issue of providing impact protection for the brain in the event of a head-on collision. The technical effects of the invention include improved impact protection and increased flexibility to accommodate the variation in strength of the human skull and brain stem."

Problems solved by technology

However, the study did not contemplate or discuss the combination of structural elements or method disclosed herein.

Past research has shown that common single density foam liners used in current helmets are too hard and too stiff to effectively absorb an impact force.

A single density foam liner is also limited in its ability to accommodate the variation in strength about the human skull.

In addition liners in bicycle helmets for children use liners designed for adult skulls, they do not account for a child's more deformable skull in comparison to an adult.

In addition the brain is also susceptible to impact injury against the inside of the skull.

The impact of the brain against the skull may cause contusions and / or haemorrhaging to the brain.

Consequently the temporal portion of the skull is more vulnerable to impact injury compared with other portions of the skull.

However, current helmets are not manufactured with a compressible liner to provide different zones of impact protection about the skull.

Similarly for other application areas for impact protection such as baby capsules and child safety seats for passenger vehicles, vehicle cabin liners and body armour there are profound deficits in the provision of different zones of impact protection about the human body.

Baby capsules and child safety seats typically do not differentiate between the head and the torso of the baby or child in terms of the level of impact protection required.

A rear facing baby capsule for a car may be lined with a single density foam liner sufficient to provide impact protection to the baby externally as a whole, but may be insufficient to prevent contusions and / or haemorrhaging to the back of the baby's brain in the event of a head on collision by the car.

Such low compressibility (high stiffness) polystyrene foams do not provide adequate impact protection for children since they are too hard.

None of the prior art provides and entirely satisfactory solution to the problem of providing different levels of appropriate impact protection for the head or to other parts of the body, nor to the ease of manufacture to obtain a more satisfactory impact protection with a compressible liner.

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