HK1001363A - Impact-resistant protective garment - Google Patents

Description

Impact-resistant protective garment

The invention relates to an impact-resistant protective garment comprising a plurality of closed rings connected together to form a protective layer on the inside of the garment against impacts. Such protective means are well known and mention is made in particular of european patent application No. 119406, which shows a typical protective layer consisting of a plurality of rings. Such devices are used, for example, in aprons for meat store bosses to prevent sharp objects from penetrating the garment, and because many closed rings attached to one another prevent such objects from passing through, the portion of the garment through which the object penetrates would be a long cutting edge.

However, the above-mentioned devices are incomplete if the passage of an object with a sharp tip as part of the penetrating garment is to be prevented. The point of a spike may penetrate a ring, depending on the sharpness of the point, and the depth of penetration into a single ring may be considerable and cause damage to the wearer of the protective garment. The rings are connected together in the protective layer in such a way that the rings are nested, i.e. they are connected together in a chain-like manner to form a two-dimensional protective layer. One possible solution to this problem might be to use a ring of sufficiently small size, but the manufacturing costs are high due to the need for special manufacturing processes, and it is possible to confirm that it is even impossible to construct the device as tightly as desired in terms of manufacturing processes. The material (wire) of the ring must have a certain thickness to give the protective layer sufficient tensile strength, but on the other hand, it may be difficult to make a ring having a sufficiently small diameter from a thick material in terms of the manufacturing process. The ratio inner diameter/material thickness must have a certain minimum value.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide a protective garment which effectively prevents sharp pointed objects from penetrating the garment and is therefore particularly suitable for persons who may be subjected to an attack by a sharp spike-like object in their duty, such as police officers and prison guards. To this end, the protective garment according to the invention is primarily characterized in that the elongated filling elements with a defined flexibility are threaded through the ring. Viewed in the direction of the impact force, a filling element can thus reduce the free area of the surrounding ring and, although a gap still remains between a respective ring and the filling element passing through it, it is so small that the widened portion, which is finally behind the pointed end of the nail-shaped article, will become stuck in this gap. The individual filling elements have sufficient strength and a defined flexibility, which means that they are so stiff that they maintain their position without forming a bend next to the object when the object passes through the ring.

Secondly, the invention has some preferred embodiments as set forth in the appended independent claims 2 to 10 and in the following description. Preferably, metal or alloy is used as the material of the filling element, so that at least the outer layer thereof is metallic, for example twisted wire braided onto a lighter core of another material.

The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates in a front view the construction and attachment of the armor layers of an armor in accordance with the present invention;

fig. 2 shows in perspective a filling element for use in the invention, and

figure 3 shows in vertical section the upper part of a protective garment according to the invention.

Fig. 1 shows an impact-resistant protective layer 1 viewed from the front, i.e. in the direction of the impact force. The basic construction of the protective layer comprises a number of rings 2 connected together by nesting each other in a chain-like manner. The rings are nested one within the other in a two-dimensional layer as shown in the front view. The layer cannot unravel because it comprises a number of closed rings permanently connected to each other. Ring network structures of this type have previously been known and are made by welding short lengths of wire, such as steel wire, end-to-end to form a plurality of rings and connecting them to one another. Methods of fabrication and various devices used therein are also previously known.

In practice, the looped network structure extending along a plane is realized in such a way that it has parallel rows of loops 1 a. In one row the rings are inclined mainly parallel to each other at an acute angle to the main plane, while in an adjacent row the rings are inclined at an angle of substantially the same magnitude but in the opposite direction with respect to the main plane of the layer 1. Each two adjacent rows 1a are connected in such a way that two successive rings 2 of a row 1a are crossed by a common ring 2 of an adjacent row 1a, the rings 2 thus being inclined with respect to the main plane of the layer at an acute angle equal in magnitude and directed counter to the angle of inclination of the two rings. In this way, adjacent columns 1a form a layer in which the rings 2 of every other column are substantially parallel. The most common material for the ring is steel, but titanium is also useful as long as it can be completely welded.

The rows 1a of rings form straight passages in the direction of the main plane of the layer 1, through which elongated filling elements 3 pass. A filling element 3 thus passes through successive rings 2 of the same ring row 1a in order to fill the gaps that would otherwise occur inside the rings. Each filling element 3 has a defined flexibility, the degree of bending in the longitudinal direction of each filling element 3 being such that the layer has the flexibility required for garment applications. The protective layer 1 is relatively flexible in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the filling elements, since adjacent rows 1a can be rotated relative to each other without being hindered by the filling elements. Thus, the most advantageous orientation of the filling element 3 in the garment is vertical, and the garment will fit well around a vertical body part, such as the chest, abdomen and back. In this case, the rows of rings extending from top to bottom are attached at their upper ends to the upper ends of the respective filling elements 3 by means of suitable solutions, for example as shown in the example of fig. 1, by means of an ear ring 6 which is fixed to the upper end of the filling element 3 and is connected to the uppermost ring 2 by means of a mounting collar 7. In this way, the elongated elements 3 simultaneously keep the layer sufficiently stretched in the vertical direction and prevent it from slipping downwards. It is sufficient to have such attaching members only at some thin packing members 3 at regular intervals. Thus, the lower end of each elongated padding element may be provided with a similar attachment element to prevent the layer 1 from slipping in the opposite direction towards the middle, for example in case the garment is temporarily placed head down during storage.

Figure 1 also shows how layer 1 can be attached to the backing material, for example by means of a string 8 which passes through the loops 2 at regular intervals along the width at the upper end of the rows 1a, and in the same way layer 1 can be attached to the backing material along its side and lower edges.

Fig. 2 shows the structure of the filling element 3 in more detail. Elongate member 3 has a sufficient width in the direction of the plane of layer 1 so as to completely fill the internal void of ring 2. The ratio of this width to the inner diameter of the ring is preferably such that (D-D)/2 is not more than 3 mm, preferably not more than 2.5 mm and most preferably not more than 2 mm, D representing in the formula the inner diameter of the ring in the width direction of the elongate element 3 and D the width of the elongate element 3. The limits above are thus the width of the space left on either side of the element when the filler element passes substantially through the centre of the ring. As is apparent from fig. 1, these interior void portions of the rings are also partially occupied by the material of the rings in adjacent ring columns.

In order to provide the filling element 3 with sufficient width and strength without the need to make it too heavy, it is advantageous to make a composite cord having a metal sheath 3b resistant to impact forces and a core 3a made of a material lighter than the sheath. The core may for example be made of a synthetic polymer fibre, a natural fibre, a ceramic fibre or a metal fibre, which is lighter than the sheath. A plurality of thin metal wires are formed into a plurality of strands, doubled or braided around the core to form the outer layer 3b, and finally a metal wire rope which is light enough but strong and rigid is obtained. This metal may for example consist of steel, titanium or lead wire, including alloys and combinations of different metal wires.

Furthermore, a metal cord core and a plastic coating, such as wire or glass, carbon or metal fibers or some combination thereof, may be used as the core cord in the composite cord, and a plastic coating made by spraying may also be used on the outside of the core cord. It is also a combination in which the metal cord core is surrounded by a surface layer of natural fibres.

Obviously, the filling element may be made entirely of the same fibre material, while due to the rigidity of the wires, steel, titanium, aluminium or some alloy thereof is most suitable. The filaments are formed into multiple strands, doubled or braided to form a rope.

The upper part of fig. 2 shows a filling element 3 with a good cross section. The cross-section of the filling element has a dimension in the direction of the plane of the layer 1 which is greater than the dimension in the direction perpendicular to this plane. A filling element of this shape, which is wider in the planar direction, can fill the interior of the ring well, since the ring is oval when viewed in the planar direction. Such "flat" cord structures may be made, for example, by a weaving process.

Whatever the structure or shape of the filling elements 3, they should be sufficiently flexible to maintain their position against sharp objects and thus prevent penetration. It is considered that the modulus of elasticity is closely related to those properties relating to toughness, and the modulus of elasticity is not less than 40 kilonewtons/mm²(40KN/mm²) The filling member of (2) is preferable.

Figure 3 shows an example of a protective garment according to the invention in longitudinal section taken in the vertical direction, i.e. parallel to the filling elements 3. The protective layer 1 is located inside the garment, on the outside of which a layer 4 made of ballistic fibers for protection against bullets is arranged. A textile fabric is preferably used in this location, because when a person is hit by a spike-like object on the side of the layer 4, some of the fabric will fall off the fabric and, as they travel with the object, they fill more of the space between the rings 2 and the filling elements 3 in the protective layer 1. The layer 4 can be made of any known ballistic resistant fibrous material having properties capable of absorbing bullet energy, such as aramid fibers, VECTRAN fibers (wholly aromatic polyamide polyester, HBA-HNA copolymer) or PE fibers (UHMPE, ultra-large molecular polyethylene). On the inner side of the protective layer 1, i.e. the side facing the body, there is a relatively thick porous insulating layer 5, which may be a foam, for example. The purpose of this layer is to increase the distance of the front surface of the impact-receiving layer 1 from the body and also to increase the comfort of the wearer. The insulating layer 5 also serves as a backing material and the protective layer 1 can be secured in the manner described above by densely laying the rope. A protective garment equipped with an impact-resistant fabric and an impact-protecting layer 1, which works well as a protective garment that withstands both "fast" impacts (bullets) and "slow" impacts (edged weapons). An impact fabric may also be provided on the inner side of layer 1 to provide more effective protection against bullets.

The protective layer 1 is located close to the outside and spaced from the median plane throughout the thickness of the garment, i.e. is pushed towards the place where the impulse that is trying to terminate is generated. The thick insulation layer 5 on the inner side can contract and will dampen the impact energy. The protective garment may also be coated on its inner and outer surfaces with a suitable surface layer 9 which forms a kind of shell around the protective layer 1 and protects the layers 4, 5 left inside from wear.

A protective garment according to the invention is for example a protective vest 10 which protects the chest or chest and back of the body and has such a structure as is known. However, the solution of the invention can also be applied to outerwear and other garments. It is also possible that the protective layer 1 is only located on certain parts of the garment, for example to protect the most important parts of the body.

In a practical embodiment the protective layer 1 is made of a metal loop net comprising metal wires of a thickness of about 0.8 mm. The metal wires are welded end to form a ring with an inner diameter of about 5.5 mm, straight steel wire ropes with a thickness of about 2 mm are threaded in ring rows formed by a plurality of rings, and the rope core is a cotton rope. In the state of compliance with european standard EN 412: in an impact test conducted in 1993 (width of spike 3 mm, weight of the fall together with the blade 1035 g), it has been found that this layer effectively prevents a sharp spike from penetrating to a depth which could be dangerous to the wearer of the protective garment. When an impact fabric made of aramid fiber is used in front of layer 1, the protective capacity can be achieved against a 9 mm pistol shot of nickel-shelled bullets at a distance of 4 m.

The invention is not limited to the structures shown in the figures above only, but can be modified within the inventive idea presented in the claims. The filling member 3 may also incorporate a plurality of rings having another configuration to fill the voids inside the rings to serve the purpose of the present invention. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the various materials of construction described above, but may be used with materials that provide good protective properties that are not mentioned or are not known.

Claims (10)

1. Ballistic resistant protective garment comprising a number of closed rings (2) joined together to form a layer (1) on the inside of the garment to provide protection against impact forces, characterized in that a number of elongated padding elements (3) having a defined flexibility are threaded through the rings (2) to prevent penetration of spike-like objects through the rings (2).

2. A protective garment according to claim 1, characterized in that the elements (3) are threaded parallel to each other through parallel rows (1 a).

3. A protective garment according to claim 2, characterized in that the rows (1a) are formed by successive rings (2) whose planes are parallel to each other, and wherein each two successive rings are connected to each other by means of a ring (2) passing through an adjacent row of said rings (2), the plane of said ring being at an angle to the planes of said rings.

4. A protective garment according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the fillings (3) are arranged so that they extend from above downwards into the position of use of the garment.

5. A protective garment according to claim 4, characterised in that rings (2) are attached to the upper ends of the padding elements (3) to prevent the layer (1) from collapsing.

6. A protective garment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least the outer layer (3b) of the filling elements (3) is made of metal or alloy.

7. A protective garment according to claim 6, characterised in that each filler (3) comprises a core (3a) which is lighter than the outer layer (3 b).

8. Protective clothing according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the cross-section of the filling element (3) has a dimension in the direction of the plane of the layer (1) which is greater than the dimension perpendicular to this plane.

9. A protective garment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that on the outside of the impact-protecting layer (1) there is a layer (4) made of an impact-resistant fabric.

10. A protective garment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it is a protective vest (10).