Intelligent protective gear bracing mechanism

Abstract

Protective gear such as a helmet includes an intelligent bracing mechanism such as an intelligent neck bracing mechanism. The intelligent bracing mechanism detects imminent mechanical forces such as impact, shear, and rotational forces and stiffens the bracing mechanism so that forces imparted onto the protective gear can be distributed to one or more other locations. In one example, a sensor detects an imminent mechanical force impact on an outer shell of a helmet and stiffens a neck brace connected to the helmet to distribute some of the energy from the impact onto the shoulders.

1 . A neck bracing mechanism, comprising:
 a neck bracing outer surface;   a bracing mechanism connected to a helmet and the neck bracing outer surface, wherein the bracing mechanism is configured to detect an imminent, mechanical force impact on the helmet and alter the stiffness of the bracing mechanism upon detection of the imminent, mechanical force impact to distribute energy from the mechanical force impact onto shoulders supporting the neck bracing mechanism.   
     
     
         2 . The neck bracing mechanism of  claim 1 , wherein the bracing mechanism comprises a magneto-rheological element, wherein the viscosity of the magneto-rheological element increases upon detection of the imminent, mechanical force. 
     
     
         3 . The neck bracing mechanism of  claim 1 , wherein the bracing mechanism comprises an electro-rheological element, wherein the viscosity of the magneto-rheological element increases upon detection of the imminent, mechanical force. 
     
     
         4 . The neck bracing mechanism of  claim 1 , wherein the bracing mechanism detects the imminent, mechanical force using a sensor associated with the helmet. 
     
     
         5 . The neck bracing mechanism of  claim 4 , wherein the sensor is an accelerometer. 
     
     
         6 . The neck bracing mechanism of  claim 4 , wherein the sensor is a deformation detector configured to detect a deformation of an outer shell of the helmet. 
     
     
         7 . The neck bracing mechanism of  claim 4 , wherein the sensor is a camera. 
     
     
         8 . The neck bracing mechanism of  claim 1 , wherein the bracing mechanism detects the imminent, mechanical force using a sensor associated with the neck bracing mechanism. 
     
     
         9 . The neck bracing mechanism of  claim 1 , wherein the bracing mechanism is connected to the helmet and to shoulder pads. 
     
     
         10 . The neck bracing mechanism of  claim 9 , wherein the bracing mechanism allows flexible movement of the helmet relative to the shoulder pads when no imminent, mechanical force is detected. 
     
     
         11 . The neck bracing mechanism of  claim 9 , wherein the bracing mechanism allows limited movement of the helmet relative to the shoulder pads when the imminent, mechanical force is detected. 
     
     
         12 . The neck bracing mechanism of  claim 1 , wherein the helmet comprises an outer shell layer, and energy and impact transformer layer, and an inner shell layer. 
     
     
         13 . The neck bracing mechanism of  claim 12 , wherein the energy and impact transformer layer allows the outer shell layer to rotate relative to the inner shell layer. 
     
     
         14 . A protective gear bracing mechanism, comprising:
 a protective gear bracing outer surface;   a bracing mechanism connected to protective gear and the protective gear bracing outer surface, wherein the bracing mechanism is configured to detect an imminent, mechanical force impact on the protective gear and alter the stiffness of the bracing mechanism upon detection of the imminent, mechanical force impact to distribute energy from the mechanical force impact onto another surface supporting the protective gear bracing mechanism.   
     
     
         15 . The protective gear bracing mechanism of  claim 14 , wherein the bracing mechanism comprises a magneto-rheological element, wherein the viscosity of the magneto-rheological element increases upon detection of the imminent, mechanical force. 
     
     
         16 . The protective gear bracing mechanism of  claim 14 , wherein the bracing mechanism comprises an electro-rheological element, wherein the viscosity of the magneto-rheological element increases upon detection of the imminent, mechanical force. 
     
     
         17 . The protective gear bracing mechanism of  claim 14 , wherein the bracing mechanism detects the imminent, mechanical force using a sensor associated with the protective gear. 
     
     
         18 . The protective gear bracing mechanism of  claim 17 , wherein the sensor is an accelerometer. 
     
     
         19 . The protective gear bracing mechanism of  claim 17 , wherein the sensor is a deformation detector configured to detect a deformation of an outer shell of the protective gear. 
     
     
         20 . The protective gear bracing mechanism of  claim 17 , wherein the sensor is a camera.