Air Venting, Impact-Absorbing Compressible Members

Abstract

An impact-absorbing compressible member includes a thin-walled enclosure defining an inner chamber containing a volume of fluid such as air. The enclosure includes one or more orifices which as sized and positioned to allow air to vent from the inner chamber in response to an impact on the member and to refill the inner chamber in response to an impact on the member and to refill the inner chamber after the impact is released. The enclosure is formed of a blow-molded thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material which is economical to make and durable in use. The compressible members can be used as building blocks for impact-absorbing shell structures for a wide variety of application such helmets, protective pads for body parts, sports arena wall padding, vehicular bumpers, dashboards and the like. The compressible member has impact-absorbing advantages over conventional foams currently used in those applications.

1 . An impact-absorbing, compressible member comprising:
 an enclosure having a thin wall and an uncompressed configuration which defines a hollow inner chamber;   a volume of fluid at least partially filling said inner chamber;   at least one orifice in the enclosure wall which communicates with said inner chamber;   said enclosure being sized and adapted to collapse at a first rate when the member is subjected to a relative high energy impact and to collapse at a lesser rate when the member is subjected to a lesser energy impact.   
     
     
         2 . The compressible member of  claim 1  in which said thin enclosure is formed of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material. 
     
     
         3 . The compressible member of  claim 2  in which said enclosure is formed by blow-molding the TPE material into the uncompressed configuration of said enclosure. 
     
     
         4 . The compressible member of  claim 2  in which said fluid is air. 
     
     
         5 . The compressible member of  claim 1  including at least first and second separate orifices through the wall of said enclosure, the first orifice permitting fluid to exhaust from the inner chamber at a first rate in response to the impact on said member, and the second orifice permitting fluid to flow into the inner chamber at a second rate different from the first rate following the impact. 
     
     
         6 . The compressible member of  claim 5  in which the first orifice comprises a plurality of spaced, relatively small openings in the wall of said enclosure. 
     
     
         7 . The compressible member of  claim 5  in which the second orifice includes a one-way valve permitting fluid to flow into the inner chamber and resisting fluid flow out of the inner chamber. 
     
     
         8 . The compressible member of  claim 5  in which the second orifice is sized to adjust the rate at which the fluid flows into the inner chamber relative to the rate at which the fluid flows out of the inner chamber through the first orifice. 
     
     
         9 . The compressible member of  claim 1  in which said enclosure has a bellows-like wall construction to facilitate collapse of said enclosure in response to the impact. 
     
     
         10 . The compressible member of  claim 1  in which the at least one orifice is sized such that, when the impact is of relatively high energy, said enclosure collapses with sufficiently high resistance to convert energy of the impact to heat in said enclosure. 
     
     
         11 . The compressible member of  claim 1  in which said wall is elastic and the at least one orifice is in the form of a slit or slits in the wall of said enclosure, which due to the elasticity of the enclosure wall elastically varies or vary in size or shape in response to the impact. 
     
     
         12 . An energy-absorbing shell structure comprising a plurality of energy-absorbing compressible members as defined in any of  claims 1  through  11  arranged in a layer, and at least one additional layer secured to corresponding parts of said compressible members. 
     
     
         13 . The structure of  claim 12  wherein said plurality of compressible members are disposed between said at least one additional layer and a second layer. 
     
     
         14 . The structure of  claim 12  or  13  configured as a protective helmet for a wearer's head. 
     
     
         15 . The structure of  claim 12  or  13  configured as a protective pad for a wearer's body part. 
     
     
         16 . The structure of  claim 12  or  13  configured as a protective pad for a sports arena barrier. 
     
     
         17 . The structure of  claims 12  or  13  configured as a bumper on a vehicle. 
     
     
         18 . The structure of  claim 12  or  13  configured as a protective covering on a vehicle dashboard.