MXPA99008260A - Protective device for motorcyclists - Google Patents

Abstract

The protective device (10) is specifically suited for motorcyclists. It is of the type comprising at least one inflatable element arranged substantially along the spinal column of the user and provided with fastening straps intended to cooperate with the user's body. It comprises also automatically triggered inflating means. The device is formed of at least two tubular elements (11, 12) arranged adjacent to the spinal column of the user, in opposite positions, and extending for almost all the length thereof.

Description

PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR MOTORCYCLISTS TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to protection devices for use by motorcyclists and, more particularly, a device capable of minimizing the risk of injuries to the spine and, but above all, to the lumbar region of the motorcyclist's body in the event of a fall.

BACKGROUND ART There are many examples in the art of devices capable of protecting a motorcyclist when he is thrown off the motorcycle in an accident. Apart from conventional headgear or crash helmets, protective garments are known which are provided with padding and reinforcements placed in the joints of the motorcyclist's body or have elements or compartments that inflate automatically in case of an emergency and cover or they wrap almost the entire body of the motorcyclist and are designed to reduce the intensity of an impact on the ground or an obstacle.

Referring in particular to the latter, the solutions to the problem that have been developed so far are susceptible to significant improvements because the number of accidents that cause severe injuries such as paralysis or death is unfortunately high even in the case where the motorcyclist is using This type of garment.

The ineffectiveness of the aforementioned garments is partly due to the fact that, in the event of an accident, when the garments are in an inflated condition the motorcyclist who uses them is virtually wrapped by these garments and consequently can easily bounce or roll on them. the soil and consequently incurring more severe injuries.

In addition to their inefficiency, these garments have the disadvantage of being very uncomfortable under ordinary conditions of use. To overcome these disadvantages, protective devices or garments have been designed with pieces or compartments which automatically inflate in the event of an accident and, instead of covering or wrapping almost the entire body of the motorcyclist, only protect those parts of the body that in In case of an accident they can suffer harmful or lethal injuries to the user, for example the spine and the organs contained in the abdominal region, particularly in the back.

European Patent 043 990 provides an example of such protection devices. Specifically, the Patent discloses a protection device for motorcyclists which comprises an element designed to protect the spine and provided with a protective element for the neck of the motorcyclist at its upper end, and with a belt at its lower end. The device is substantially formed by a hermetic envelope and is provided with automatically operated inflation means. The protection device is used as a harness by means of tapes or it can be incorporated in a garment.

Although until now this device has proven to be the most effective in reducing the risk of severe injuries to the spine, neck and back in the case of an accident, it is affected by at least three disadvantages.

First, the protection given by an inflatable element placed along but directly on the spinal column determines a concentration of the sliding force and the bending moment. As it is known, the first one can cause deviations of the vertebrae, while the last one can cause discopathies of vertebral fractures. In both cases, the detrimental effect to the spinal cord may be unrecoverable.

Secondly, when hitting the ground or an obstacle the inflatable element can move to the left or right with respect to the spine and therefore no longer ensure protection.

Third, inflation of the element provided to protect the nape can dangerously stretch the cervical portion of the spine because the vertical component of the inflation pressure exerts a violent traction on the cervix and, in the case of the shock helmet is incorrectly subject, such inflation pressure could still cause its detachment.

Description of the invention The main object of the present invention is therefore to provide a protective device capable of reducing the intensity of the sliding force and the bending moment acting on the spine of the motorcyclist's body during an impact on the ground, and to distribute both As possible these actions on the muscular and skeletal portions that are adjacent to the spinal column along this.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a protection device capable of decreasing the violent lateral and backward movements of the motorcyclist's head caused by impacts during an accident.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a protection device that is ergonomic and mountable to the motorcyclist's body in a firm manner.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a protection device that will be used with a harness or incorporated in a garment such as a vest, jacket and that is particularly lightweight, comfortable to wear and also inexpensive.

These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by the provision of a protection device, specifically suitable for motorcyclists, of the type comprising at least one inflatable element placed substantially along the user's spine, securing straps secured to such at least one inflatable element and intended to cooperate with the body of the user and inflation means automatically actuated to inflate this at least one inflatable element, characterized in that this at least one inflatable element comprises at least two tubular elements , each of which is positioned adjacent to the user's backbone in an opposite position and extends almost the entire length thereof.

According to a feature of the invention also the fastening tapes are provided with inflatable elements designed to protect the head against violent lateral movements caused by impacts during an accident.

According to yet another feature of the invention, the at least two tubular inflatable elements are positioned to be in a pneumatic communication.

According to yet another feature of the invention, the walls of the two tubular elements are formed by two or more layers having different physical properties.

The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a plan view of the front side of the device according to the invention in the deflated condition and with a portion cut away to show the inside; Figure 2 is a plan view of the back side of the device according to the invention; Figures 3a, 3b are sectional views of the device according to the invention taken along the line III-III of Figure 2 with the device under deflated and inflated conditions respectively; Figures 4A, 4B show schematically a front and rear view of a motorcyclist using the device of the present invention, respectively.

Figures 5A, 5B show the diagram of the sliding force acting on the spinal column during a test simulating a fall of a motorcyclist; Figures 6A, 6B show the diagram of the bending moment acting on the spine during a test simulating a fall of a motorcyclist.

The device according to the present invention is the result of meticulous studies and investigations carried out for the purpose of determining the best position with respect to the spine to place the inflatable protection elements. In fact, it resulted from such studies and investigations that the tubular element causes a concentration of the sliding force and the bending moment in the spinal column and therefore does not allow such forces to be evenly distributed over the adjacent muscular and skeletal portions. to the spine if it is placed directly on the spine and along it. Conversely, it turned out that the sliding force and the bending moment can be reduced and distributed better if the inflatable elements are placed adjacent to the spinal column each on one side of it.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a protection device according to the invention is shown, generally indicated by the reference numeral 10, which comprises as a characteristic two tubular inflatable elements 11 and 12, designed so as not to be placed on the spinal column. but adjacent and opposite on opposite sides of it, and extending substantially along almost the entire length thereof. The spine is schematically indicated by a dashed line V.

The tubular elements 11 and 12 of the protection device 10 are obtained by joining two laminated stripes substantially similar to strips A and P to incorporate two air chambers 13 and 14, respectively, which are in pneumatic communication through the passages 15. Binding points of the two laminated strips A and P are indicated by S. The joint is perfectly airtight and is made by known techniques such as high frequency welding.

In Figures 3a and 3b a section of the protection device 10 of the invention is shown under the inflated and deflated conditions respectively. As can be seen, each laminated strip A and P is preferably formed by at least two layers, namely an inner layer 16 of impermeable material and an outer layer 17 also made of plastic material but reinforced to withstand abrasion, cuts or heat. Of course, several materials can be used and also the number of layers of synthetic fabric can be more than two according to the requirements and the expected and desired results.

Figures 4a and 4b illustratively show the application of the device to the body of the user, in this case a motorcyclist. As can be seen, the protection device 10 is secured to a cover garment 18 made of a waterproof and resistant material by means of a seam or a weld along the dashed line C and is worn on the shoulders of the user and maintained firmly in position by means of adjustable straps 19 and a belt 20.

The protection device 10 of the invention is provided with external fastening means (not shown) which allows it to be attached to a harness or applied to a garment worn by the user.

Alternatively, the protection device 10 can be fastened directly to a cover garment by means of a weld or seam.

At least one of the tubular elements is in pneumatic communication through a check valve in a known manner with a supply of compressed gas, for example with a cylinder containing C02 or any other convenient gas, which shall be carried by the user and connected to automatic driving means designed to be activated in the event of an accident when the motorcyclist is thrown from the motorcycle. These automatic driving means, known per se, are preferably formed by a lever with a piercing needle driven by a short rope or a similar one connected to a selected part of the motorcycle. When the motorcyclist is thrown from the motorcycle, the piercing needle driven by the short rope pierces the compressed gas cylinder and, consequently, causes inflation of the protection device 10. The short rope has a predetermined breaking load to break after the piercing needle is actuated and allows the motorcyclist to separate from the motorcycle. The inflation is almost instantaneous since it occurs in a few tenths of a second. Alternatively, a pyrotechnic drive device with a small charge actuated by a signal on an optical fiber which is interrupted when the motorcyclist is thrown from the motorcycle can be used. In this case, the inflation time will be less than one tenth of a second.

It should be noted that the protection device 10 can be deflated by actuating the check valve to allow the device to be used again.

Provisions can be made for the slow automatic deflation of the protection device 10 by means of the valve through which it is in communication with the supply of compressed gas. For this purpose, a valve with controlled filtration can be used. To accelerate deflation, the user would only have to unscrew the gas cylinder.

Advantageously, the inflatable elements of the device can extend to the upper portion of the tapes 19 wrapped around the wearer's shoulders and, in the inflated condition, be placed on the sides of the user's head, but spaced apart from it to cushion the lateral movements.

In addition, the at least two tubular inflatable elements of the device in an inflated condition could also extend to the nape area while being spaced from it to cushion the violent backward movements of the user's head caused by a fall.

To evaluate its effectiveness, the protection device of the invention was subjected to tests in the Department of Aerospace Engineering of the Polytechnic Institute of Milan. For the conduction of such tests which were inspired by favorable results of previous numerical simulations made in a computer using a calculation code specifically designed to study the biomechanics of the impacts, a HYBRID III anthropometric mannequin weighing 75 kg was used. and provided with a helmet for collisions. The protection device of the invention was applied to the back of the manikin by means of a harness. The tests were designed to reproduce a simple but significant impact condition, that is, a backward fall on a corner step from a predetermined height and without a horizontal speed component. The criterion adopted to measure the effectiveness of the protection device was to evaluate the reduction in intensity of the sliding effort and the flexion moment in the lumbar portion of the spine with respect to the case of an unprotected fall. To measure these physical quantities a tension measuring device was placed in the lumbar region of the manikin. The inflation of the protection device was filmed with a NAC E-10 high speed electronic camera to determine the inflation time. The results of the tests are summarized in Table 1 and illustrated in the diagrams of Figures 5A, 5B and 6A, 6B where the time in seconds can be read on the abscissa axis and the axis of the ordinates can be read. read the sliding force T in kilograms and the bending moment M in kilograms, respectively. The diagrams of figure 5A and 6A refer to the fall of the manikin without the protection device 10, while those shown in figures 5B and 6B refer to the fall of the manikin with the device 10.

Table 1 Step height 150 mm Height from the ground 1000 mm Inclination .r.t. floor 0 degrees Maximum sliding force - without the device 690 kg. - with the device in inflated condition 420 kg. Moment of maximum flexion - without the device 32.7 kg. - with the device in inflated condition 28.8 kg. Gas pressure 0.4-0.5 bar Inflation time 0.75 s From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the protection device according to the present invention represents a significant improvement over the solutions proposed so far because it has the following advantages: the protection device can protect the spine by providing the lumbar region of this a reduction of the sliding force and the bending moment approximately 40% and 12%, respectively, the protection device can be used with a harness or incorporated in a waistcoat or a jacket, The protection device can be reset to be used again if it is not damaged after the fall.

Even though the protection device has been described and illustrated with reference to its application to the field of motorcycles, it is apparent that it can also be used in other fields, for example, bicycle riding and riding and horse racing, where protective devices which offer effective protection in case of falls are specifically required.

Claims (5)

1. Protection device, specifically suitable for motorcyclists, of the type comprising: - at least one inflatable element placed substantially along the user's spine, - fastening tapes secured to the at least one inflatable element and intended to cooperate with the body of the user, and - inflation means automatically actuated to inflate the at least one inflatable element, characterized in that the at least one inflatable element comprises at least two tubular elements, each of which is positioned adjacent to the spine of the user in opposite positions and extends almost the entire length of the column.

2. Protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that also the fastening tapes are provided with inflatable elements intended to pyrotect the head of the user against violent lateral movements caused by impacts during an accident.

3. Protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least two tubular inflatable elements extend to the area of the neck while being separated from it to cushion the violent backward movements of the head of the user caused for a fall.

4. Protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least two tubular inflatable elements are arranged to be in pneumatic communication with each other.

5. Protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the walls of these at least two tubular elements are formed of two or more layers having different physical properties.