Shock attenuation structure
First Claim
1. A shock attenuation structure having a breadth greater than its thickness and a breadthwise cross section comprising a series of layers arranged side-by-side, said series comprising a first plurality of layers of shock-absorbing material having a relatively high resistance to compression and a second plurality of layers of shock-absorbing material having a lower resistance to compression, the layers of said first and second pluralities being disposed in contiguous side-by-side relation across substantially the entire breadth of the structure to form a substantially unitary structure, the layers of said second plurality alternating with the layers of said first plurality across the breadth of the structure and providing lateral support to the layers of said first plurality, said structure being adapted to be mounted with its breadth generally perpendicular to the direction of impact force for broadside loading of the structure during an impact, said layers of said first and second pluralities in the area of impact being adapted to deform for attenuating the shock resulting from said impact, with said layers of said second plurality providing lateral support to the layers of said first plurality during said impact.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A shock attenuation structure having a breadth greater than its thickness and a breadthwise cross section comprising a series of layers arranged side-by-side. The series of layers comprises a first plurality of layers of shock-absorbing material having a relatively high resistance to compression and a second plurality of layers of shock-absorbing material having a lower resistance to compression, the layers of the second plurality alternating with the layers of the first plurality across the breadth of the structure and providing lateral support to the layers of the first plurality. The structure is adapted to be mounted with its breadth generally perpendicular to the direction of impact force for broadside loading of the structure during an impact, the layers in the area of impact being adapted to deform for attenuating the shock resulting from the impact.
129 Citations
23 Claims
- 1. A shock attenuation structure having a breadth greater than its thickness and a breadthwise cross section comprising a series of layers arranged side-by-side, said series comprising a first plurality of layers of shock-absorbing material having a relatively high resistance to compression and a second plurality of layers of shock-absorbing material having a lower resistance to compression, the layers of said first and second pluralities being disposed in contiguous side-by-side relation across substantially the entire breadth of the structure to form a substantially unitary structure, the layers of said second plurality alternating with the layers of said first plurality across the breadth of the structure and providing lateral support to the layers of said first plurality, said structure being adapted to be mounted with its breadth generally perpendicular to the direction of impact force for broadside loading of the structure during an impact, said layers of said first and second pluralities in the area of impact being adapted to deform for attenuating the shock resulting from said impact, with said layers of said second plurality providing lateral support to the layers of said first plurality during said impact.
- 12. Protective apparatus for the head comprising a shell of substantially rigid material adapted to fit on the head and a plurality of separate shock attenuating modules disposed around the inside of the shell for protecting the head, at least one of said modules comprising a shock attenuating structure having a breadth greater than its thickness and a breadthwise cross section comprising a series of layers arranged side-by-side, said series comprising a first plurality of layers of shock-absorbing material having a relatively high resistance to compression and a second plurality of layers of shock-absorbing material having a lower resistance to compression, the layers of said first and second pluralities being disposed in contiguous side-by-side relation across substantially the entire breadth of the structure to form a substantially unitary structure, the layers of said second plurality alternating with the layers of said first plurality across the breadth of the structure and providing lateral support to the layers of the first plurality, said structure being mounted on the inside of the shell with its breadth generally perpendicular to the direction of impact force for broadside loading of the structure during an impact, said layers in the area of impact being adapted resiliently to deform for attenuating the shock resulting from said impact, with said layers of said second plurality providing lateral support to the layers of said first plurality during said impact.
Specification