EP1219188A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Safety helmets with cellular textile composite structure as energy absorber
Assignee: Lucky Bell Plastic Factory Ltd
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Filing: 2001-12-04
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2021-12-04
Abstract
Abstract This invention provides a safety helmet in the form of a cycling helmet or similar. The helmet has an outer shell and an energy-absorbing liner within the outer shell. The energy-absorbing liner is provided by a cellular textile material combined with a matrix material to form a composite. The composite material retains some porosity from the original textile material to both improve breathing of the liner and also its capability for large deformations to improve energy absorption. The liner may also be provided with a linkage structure to link adjacent cells to improve the absorption of impact loads over a number of adjacent cells in the composite material.
Inventors
- 👤 Tao Xiaoming
- 👤 Xue Pu
- 👤 Yu Tongxi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 22:48
CPC Classifications
A; A42; A42B; A42B3/00; A42B3/04; A42B3/10; A42B3/12; A42B3/121; A42B3/122; A42C; A42C2/00; B; B29; B29C; B29C70/00; B29C70/04; B29C70/06; B29C70/08; B29C70/086; B29C70/10; B29C70/16; B29C70/22; B29L; B29L2031/00; B29L2031/48; B29L2031/4807; B29L2031/4814; B29L2031/4821
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
54 words
A safety helmet comprising: an outer shell; an energy-absorbing liner within said outer shell; and wherein said energy-absorbing liner includes a cellular textile
composite material in which at least a portion is a porous textile
material supported in a matrix material wherein a plurality of pores are
retained in said portion of the composite.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
36 words
A safety helmet as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cellular textile composite
includes a textile fabric and a matrix material saturating strands of said textile
material and retaining pores between strands of said textile material.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
A safety helmet as claimed in claim 2 wherein said textile fabric includes a
fabric manufactured from yarns or fibres of high-density polymeric materials.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
A safety helmet as claimed in claim 2 wherein said matrix material comprises
a polymer resin.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
26 words
A safety helmet as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cellular textile composite
provides a plurality of cells in the form of flat-top conical cell structures.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
A safety helmet as claimed in claim 1 wherein a linkage structure is provided
to link adjacent cells such that impact energy may be dissapated by a plurality
of adjacent cells.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
24 words
A safety helmet as claimed in claim 6 wherein an interlocking linkage is
provided in the form of a reversibly facing nested textile composite.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
A safety helmet as claimed in claim 6 wherein a linkage is provided in the
form of a thin layer of material surrounding and interconnecting individual
cells with adjacent cells.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
A safety helmet as claimed in claim 6 wherein a linkage is provided in the
form of a foam material surrounding individual cells and interconnecting
adjacent cells.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
104 words
A method of manufacturing a liner for a safety helmet comprising the steps of: providing a sheet of textile fabric; forming said textile fabric at controlled temperatures to provide a
plurality of projecting cells; forming said fabric with said cells into a generally hemispherical shape
for use as a helmet liner; forming linkages of adjacent cells; applying resin as a matrix material at one or more stages throughout the
method to form a textile fabric composite structure retaining a plurality
of pores of the fabric in at least a portion of the resulting composite;
and curing said composite for use as a helmet liner.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
42 words
A method of manufacturing a helmet liner as claimed in claim 10 wherein a
flat textile fabric sheet is formed into a substantially planar preform with
projecting cells prior to formation into a generally hemispherical three-dimensional
shape for use as a liner.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
43 words
A method of manufacturing a liner as claimed in claim 10 wherein a
substantially flat textile fabric is applied directly to a three-dimensional
generally hemispherical mold for simultaneous formation into the generally
hemispherical shape for a liner and formation of the projecting cells.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
44 words
A method of manufacturing a liner as claimed in claim 10 wherein said
controlled temperatures comprises controlling the temperature during
formation of the cells to a temperature below the melting point of the fibres in
the textile fabric but above the glass transition temperature.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method of manufacturing a liner as claimed in claim 10 wherein said step of
applying resin as a matrix material is performed at more than one stage
throughout the method.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
93 words
An apparatus for the manufacture of a textile composite structure for use in a
liner of a safety helmet comprising: at least a first temperature controlled mould having co-operating
moulding services to form a plurality of projecting cells into a
substantially planar sheet of textile fabric; a generally hemispherical head-shaped base shell having a plurality of
projecting mandrels to receive said textile fabric wherein said mandrels
support some or all of said projecting cells; and means to apply resin at one or more stages throughout the process to
form a textile composite structure.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
44 words
An apparatus for the manufacture of a textile composite structure as claimed in
claim 15 wherein said generally hemispherical head-shaped base shell is
provided as an inflatable or compressible base shell that may be collapsed after
formation of the textile composite structure for removal.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
55 words
An apparatus for manufacture of a textile composite structure as claimed in
claim 15 wherein said generally hemispherical head-shaped base shell is
provided as a substantially solid hemispherical base shell carrying a plurality
of mandrels, at least some of said mandrels being removable to assist in
release of the composite structure from said base shell.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
77 words
An apparatus for the manufacture of a textile composite structure for use as a
liner in a safety helmet comprising: at least one temperature controlled mould having two co-operating
moulding surfaces having a generally hemispherical head-shaped
configuration and carrying a plurality of mandrels to form a textile
fabric into a generally hemispherical head-shaped structure and
simultaneously form a plurality of projecting cells in said fabric; and means to apply resin before, during or after said moulding process.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
45 words
An apparatus for the manufacture of a textile composite structure as claimed in
claim 18 wherein one or both of the co-operating moulds are provided in
connectable portions to form the generally hemispherical head-shaped surface
such that, upon disconnection, said moulding surface can be removed.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
50 words
An apparatus for the manufacture of a textile composite structure as claimed in
claim 18 or 19 wherein at least a portion of a surface of one of said moulding
surfaces is provided with a biased portion to assist in the release of the
composite structure from said moulding surface.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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