Protective garment

Abstract

A garment includes a wearer protection assembly for a driver of an open vehicle, such as a motorcycle. The wearer protection assembly is operative to automatically detect for the driver wearing the garment, the driver's departure, for example, as a consequence of a highway accident, from the vehicle. In response to such detection, the wearer protection assembly deploys a normally (prior to departure from the motor vehicle) deflated bladder-like gas reservoir to be explosively inflated with a previously-stored compressed gas. The inflated bladder-like gas reservoir provides a gas-filled volume between an outer surface of the garment and body parts of the thrown person. That gas-filled volume is compressible and the gas within absorbs some of the energy encountered by the thrown person in response to external forces resulting from the accident or other separation-causing event.

1 . A garment comprising:
 an outer shell having an inward facing surface, wherein the outer shell is adapted to be positioned about at least a portion of a body of a wearer of the garment, including:   A. at least one wearer protection structure adapted for detachable coupling to a vehicle, and to be affixed to and underlie at least a portion of the inward facing surface of the outer shell, and defining an interior gas containment reservoir, wherein the interior gas containment reservoir includes at least one inflatable tubular region, and a gas fill port adapted to establish a gas containment reservoir input flow path from points exterior to the gas containment reservoir to the interior gas containment region,   B. at least one elongated tubular volume control sleeve disposed along a sleeve axis and about at least a portion of the tubular region of the interior gas containment reservoir,   C. a cartridge housing structure affixed to the outer shell for receiving at least one gas cartridge defining an interior cartridge reservoir region adapted to store a compressed gas therein, and including a cartridge gas release port adapted to selectively couple the interior cartridge reservoir region along a cartridge exit flow path to points external to the interior cartridge reservoir region,   D. a cartridge gas release controller and an associated trigger assembly, coupled to the cartridge gas release port of a cartridge received in the cartridge housing structure, wherein the controller and the trigger assembly are selectively operable to:
 i. with the at least one wearer protection structure coupled to the vehicle, in a closed state, establish the interior cartridge reservoir region to be fully enclosed, whereby the compressed gas in the interior cartridge reservoir region remains in the interior cartridge reservoir region, 
 ii. upon separation of the at least one wearer protection structure from the vehicle, in an open state, establish a cartridge outlet flow path exiting the interior cartridge reservoir region by way of the gas release port, and entering the tubular region of the interior gas containment reservoir by way of the gas fill port of the at least one wearer protection structure, whereby at least a portion of the compressed gas in the interior cartridge reservoir region passes to the tubular region and inflating the tubular region of the interior gas containment reservoir of the at least one wearer protection structure. 
   
     
     
         2 . A garment according to  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve includes two opposing sleeve portions disposed along the sleeve axis and joined at lateral edges thereof to for a tubular structure, wherein a first sleeve portion is relatively stretchable between a rest state and a circumferentially stretched state, and a second sleeve portion is relatively non-stretchable. 
     
     
         3 . A garment according to  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve includes a tubular sleeve portion disposed along the sleeve axis, wherein a sleeve portion is relatively stretchable between a rest state and a circumferentially stretched state, and further including a first joinder region along the sleeve axis which is adapted for joinder to a second joinder region on an outer surface of the wearer protection structure. 
     
     
         4 . A garment according to  claim 3 , wherein the joinder is permanent. 
     
     
         5 . A garment according to  claim 4 , wherein the permanent joinder is effected by an adhesive. 
     
     
         6 . A garment system according to  claim 3 , wherein the joinder is reversible. 
     
     
         7 . A garment according to  claim 6 , wherein the reversible joinder is effected by a zipper assembly having a first zipper element attached to the first joinder region and a second zipper element attached to the second joinder region. 
     
     
         8 . A garment according to  claim 7 , wherein the zipper assembly is coil zipper. 
     
     
         9 . A garment according to  claim 1 , when the cartridge gas release controller and an associated trigger assembly are in the open state, compressed gas from the interior gas containment reservoir is disposed both in the interior cartridge reservoir and the interior gas containment region, and the interior gas containment region within the sleeve is stretched from its rest state toward its circumferentially stretched state. 
     
     
         10 . A garment according to  claim 1 , wherein the tubular region of the interior gas containment reservoir is expandable. 
     
     
         11 . A garment according to  claim 1 , wherein the compressed gas is carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). 
     
     
         12 . A garment according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one wearer protection structure is adapted for fitment about at least a portion of the upper torso of a wearer. 
     
     
         13 . A garment according to  claim 12 , wherein the second sleeve portion is affixed to the inward facing surface of the outer shell. 
     
     
         14 . A garment according to  claim 13 , wherein the garment is a jacket. 
     
     
         15 . A garment according to  claim 11 , wherein the at least one wearer protection structure includes a liner underlying at least a portion of the outer shell. 
     
     
         16 . A garment according to  claim 15 , wherein the second sleeve portion is disposed between the shell and the second sleeve portion is affixed to the liner. 
     
     
         17 . A garment according to  claim 13 , wherein the garment is a jacket. 
     
     
         18 . A garment according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 A. the cartridge gas release port includes:
 i. a rigid closed frame having a pierceable membrane spanning the frame transverse to the cartridge exit flow path, and 
   B. the trigger assembly includes
 i. an elongated pointed-end lance element movable along a lance axis transverse to the cartridge exit flow path, wherein the lance element is spring-loaded toward the pierceable membrane, and wherein the pointed tip is displaced from the membrane in the closed state in response to an applied restraining force, and extends through the membrane in the open state following release of the restraining force, and 
 ii. an activation element for selectively releasing the restraining force applied to maintain the lance element in the closed state. 
   
     
     
         19 . A garment according to  claim 1 , wherein the garment is a jacket wherein the outer shell includes:
 i. a back panel adapted to be positioned adjacent to the back of the wearer of the jacket, and a portion of the back panel is air permeable within a vent boundary,   ii. a scoop element affixed to the back panel adjacent to the vent boundary, wherein the scoop element includes an upward-facing inlet aperture and an inward-facing outlet aperture spanning the air permeable portion of the back panel, thereby defining an air flow path from regions outside the shell, through the air permeable portion of the back panel and out through the inward-facing aperture,   wherein the scoop element includes at least one void region therein adapted to receive the at least one gas cartridge, and wherein the at least one gas cartridge-to-gas containment reservoir coupler is elongated to establish the gas flow path coupling the cartridge outlet flow path to the reservoir inlet flow path by way of the interior gas confinement region.   
     
     
         20 . A garment according to  claim 16 , wherein a portion of the outer shell opposite the second sleeve portion attached to the liner, is stretchably corrugated, wherein the corrugated portion is attached to a stretchable intermediate layer. 
     
     
         21 . A garment according to  claim 1 , wherein the outer shell is stretchably corrugated in at least one region adjacent to the at least one inflatable tubular regions of the interior gas containment reservoir. 
     
     
         22 . A garment comprising:
 A. an outer shell having an inward facing surface, wherein the outer shell is adapted to be positioned about at least a portion of a body of a wearer of the garment,   B. an inner protective structure adapted for detachable coupling to a vehicle, and disposed within the outer shell, including:
 i. at least one wearer protection structure adapted to be affixed to and underlie at least a portion of the inward facing surface of the outer shell, and defining an interior gas containment reservoir, wherein the interior gas containment reservoir includes at least one inflatable tubular region, and a gas fill port adapted to establish a gas containment reservoir input flow path from points exterior to the interior gas containment reservoir to the at least one inflatable tubular region, 
 ii. at least one elongated tubular volume control sleeve disposed along a sleeve axis and about at least a portion of the tubular region of the interior gas containment reservoir, wherein the sleeve includes two opposing sleeve portions disposed along the sleeve axis, wherein a first sleeve portion is relatively stretchable between a rest state and a circumferentially stretched state, and a second sleeve portion is relatively non-stretchable, 
 iii. a cartridge housing structure affixed to the outer shell for receiving at least one gas cartridge defining an interior cartridge reservoir region adapted to store a compressed gas therein, and including a cartridge gas release port adapted to selectively couple the interior cartridge reservoir region along a cartridge exit flow path to points external to the interior cartridge reservoir region, 
 iv. a cartridge gas release controller and an associated trigger assembly, coupled to the cartridge gas release port of a cartridge received in the cartridge housing structure, wherein the controller and the trigger assembly are selectively operable to:
 a. with the inner protective structure coupled to the vehicle, in a closed state, establish the interior cartridge reservoir region to be fully enclosed, whereby the compressed gas in the interior cartridge reservoir region remains in the interior cartridge reservoir region, and 
 b. upon separation of the inner protective structure from the vehicle, in an open state, establish a cartridge outlet flow path exiting the interior cartridge reservoir region by way of the gas release port, and entering the tubular region of the interior gas containment reservoir by way of the gas fill port of the at least one wearer protection structure, whereby at least a portion of the compressed gas in the interior cartridge reservoir region passes to the tubular region and inflating the tubular region of the interior gas containment reservoir of the at least one wearer protection structure. 
 
   
     
     
         23 . A garment according to  claim 22 , when the cartridge gas release controller and an associated trigger assembly are in the open state, compressed gas from the interior gas containment reservoir is disposed both in the interior cartridge reservoir and the interior gas containment region, and the interior gas containment region within the sleeve is filled whereby the first portion of the sleeve is stretched from its rest state toward its circumferentially stretched state. 
     
     
         24 . A garment according to  claim 22 , wherein the tubular region of the interior gas containment reservoir is expandable.