Flexible material

Abstract

A flexible material includes a plurality of separate resilient elements joined to a flexible, resiliently stretchable substrate. Such a material is suitable for providing protective war for human and animal bodies. Preferably, the elements includes a foam material such as a closed cell polyethylene foam and the substrate includes a knitted fabric. In an advantageous embodiment, a second flexible substrate is bonded over the elements to sandwich them between the two layers of substrate.

1. A method of manufacturing a flexible material comprising the steps of
 providing a sheet of a resilient material;   cutting the sheet into a plurality of spaced separate elements using a cutter which is pressed into the sheet to cut therethrough;   making one side of the plurality of spaced separate elements to stand proud of a surface of a jig provided to hold the elements in place; and   bonding a flexible resiliently stretchable substrate to one side of the separate elements by heating the substrate either to activate an adhesive applied between said one side of the separate elements and the substrate or to weld the separate elements to the substrate.   
     
     
       2. The method as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the sheet is cut into a plurality of separate elements using a cutter which acts as the jig after cutting through the resilient material to hold the elements in place while the substrate is applied thereto. 
     
     
       3. The method as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the cutter is adapted so that said one side of each of the cut elements is made to stand proud of a surface of the cutter after cutting through said sheet of resilient material. 
     
     
       4. The method as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein any excess resilient material located between the plurality of spaced separate elements is retained in the cutter. 
     
     
       5. The method as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein any excess resilient material is removed from between the plurality of spaced separate elements prior to the elements being bonded to the substrate. 
     
     
       6. The method as claimed in any of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of spaced separate elements comprise a foam material. 
     
     
       7. The method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 bonding a second flexible substrate to an opposite side of the plurality of spaced separate elements to said one side.   
     
     
       8. The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein at least said one side of the sheet is coated with a hot-melt adhesive prior to being cut into the plurality of spaced separate elements. 
     
     
       9. The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the side of the substrate adjacent said one side of the plurality of spaced separate elements is coated with a hot-melt adhesive. 
     
     
       10. The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein a sheet of hot-melt film is interposed between said one side of the plurality of spaced separate elements and the substrate so as to provide said adhesive. 
     
     
       11. The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the sheet of resilient material is cut into strips in a first direction using a plurality of rolling cutters and then cut in a second direction at an angle to the first direction to form the plurality of spaced separate elements. 
     
     
       12. The method as claimed in  claim 11  wherein the rolling cutters are moved sideways after each cut to cut narrow strips of material in both directions to space the elements apart, the narrow strips of material being removed to leave the plurality of spaced separate elements spaced from one another. 
     
     
       13. The method as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the substrate is heated by a heated platen which either activates the adhesive or melts the surface and thereby bonds the substrate and the plurality of spaced separate elements together. 
     
     
       14. The method as claimed  claim 10 , wherein the substrate is heated by passing the substrate and the adjacent plurality of spaced separate elements between heated nip rollers. 
     
     
       15. An article of protective apparel comprising:
 a plurality of separate resiliently compressible foam elements, the compressible elements having a first surface to provide a plurality of top surfaces configured to face outwardly from a wearer of the apparel, and a second surface to provide a plurality of bottom surfaces configured to face towards the wearer of the apparel, the elements in an adjacent relation with spacing of about 2 mm between the elements;   a first resiliently stretchable fabric portion overlying and bonded to the top surfaces; and   a second resiliently stretchable fabric portion overlying and bonded to the bottom surfaces, the bonded surfaces holding the elements in spaced apart relation, the bonding selected from the group consisting of adhesively bonding and welding, the first and second fabric portions not bonded to each other between the elements, the top surfaces effective for receiving impacts and the elements effective for absorbing impacts, providing resiliently compressible apparel and protecting the wearer of the apparel from the impacts and wherein there are from about 250 to about 8000 elements/m 2  between the fabric portions.   
     
     
       16. The article of apparel according to claim 15 wherein the top and bottom surfaces are polygonal in shape. 
     
     
       17. The article of protective apparel according to claim 15 wherein the foam elements are comprised of layers of different densities. 
     
     
       18. The article of protective apparel according to claim 17 wherein the foam elements have closed cell foam and are polygonal in cross section. 
     
     
       19. The article of protective apparel according to claim 17 wherein the foam elements have closed cell foam and are of substantially hexagonal cross section. 
     
     
       20. The article of protective apparel according to claim 15 wherein the top and bottom surfaces are hexagonal in shape. 
     
     
       21. The article of apparel according to claim 15 wherein the top and bottom surfaces are flat. 
     
     
       22. An article of protective resiliently compressible material comprising:
 a first resiliently stretchable fabric substrate;   a plurality of separate resiliently compressible elements having top surfaces and bottom surfaces, the first resiliently stretchable fabric overlying and adhesively bonded to the top surfaces; and   a second resiliently stretchable fabric substrate overlying and adhesively bonded to the bottom surfaces, the resiliently compressible elements between the first and second fabric substrates providing a resiliently compressible protective material, the surfaces of the elements adhesively bonded to the substrates holding the elements adjacently spaced apart with a spacing of about 2 mm without the substrates being bonded to each other in the spacing, the elements arrayed in a density of from about 4000 to about 6000 elements/m 2 .   
     
     
       23. The article of protective material according to claim 22 wherein the top and bottom surfaces of the resiliently compressible elements have a polygonal shape. 
     
     
       24. The article of protective material according to claim 22 wherein the resiliently compressible elements are comprised of foam material. 
     
     
       25. The article of protective material according to claim 24 wherein the foam material comprises layers of foam of different densities. 
     
     
       26. The article of protective material according to claim 24 wherein the foam material comprises layers of closed cell foam, the layers having different densities. 
     
     
       27. An article of protective resiliently compressible material comprising:
 a first resiliently stretchable fabric substrate;   a plurality of separate resiliently compressible elements having a top surface and a bottom surface, the top and bottom surfaces of the plurality of separate resiliently compressible elements in a top and bottom array in which adjacent elements are spaced apart about 2 mm, the top array adhesively bonded to the first resiliently stretchable fabric substrate; and   a second resiliently stretchable fabric substrate adhesively bonded to the bottom array of bottom surfaces, the fabric substrates overlying the top and bottom arrays in an adhesively affixed and abutting relation with the arrays, adjacent resiliently compressible elements in the arrays spaced apart from each other with the fabric substrates not bonded to each other in spaces between the elements, the resiliently compressible elements having a size and being spaced from each other to provide an element density of from 250 to 8000 elements/m 2  to provide a resiliently compressible protective material.   
     
     
       28. The article of protective resiliently compressible material according to claim 27 wherein the resiliently compressible elements comprise closed cell foam. 
     
     
       29. The article of protective resiliently compressible material according to claim 27 wherein the elements have a size and are spaced on the substrate to provide an element density of from about 4000 to about 6000 elements/m 2 . 
     
     
       30. The article of protective resiliently compressible material according to claim 27 wherein the top and bottom surfaces are flat. 
     
     
       31. The article of protective resiliently compressible material according to claim 27 wherein the resiliently compressible elements are comprised of foam having layers of foam having different densities. 
     
     
       32. A garment which includes protective resiliently compressible material, the protective resiliently compressible material comprising:
 a first resiliently stretchable knitted fabric substrate;   a plurality of separate resiliently compressible foam elements having a top surface and a bottom surface, the top and bottom surfaces of the plurality of separate resiliently compressible foam elements in a top and bottom array in which the adjacent elements are spaced apart about 2 mm, the top array adhesively bonded to the first resiliently stretchable knitted fabric substrate, the spaced apart elements provided by cutting a sheet of foam completely through; and   a second resiliently stretchable knitted fabric substrate adhesively bonded to the bottom array of bottom surfaces, the fabric substrates overlying the top and bottom arrays in an adhesively affixed and abutting relation, adjacent resiliently compressible foam elements in the arrays spaced apart from each other with the fabric substrates not bonded to each other in spaces between the elements, the resiliently compressible foam elements having a size and being spaced from each other to provide an element density of from 250 to 8000 elements/m 2  to provide the protective resiliently compressible material and garment, one of the knitted fabric substrates adapted to be adjacent the surface of a person wearing the garment and the garment which includes the protective resiliently compressible material effective for providing protection to a person wearing the garment from knocks and injury.   
     
     
       33. The garment according to claim 32 wherein the top and bottom surfaces are flat. 
     
     
       34. The garment according to claim 32 wherein the top and bottom surfaces are polygonal in shape. 
     
     
       35. The garment according to claim 32 wherein the foam elements are comprised of layers of foam having different densities. 
     
     
       36. The garment according to claim 35 wherein the foam elements are polygonal in cross section. 
     
     
       37. The garment according to claim 35 wherein the foam elements are of substantially hexagonal cross section. 
     
     
       38. A resiliently compressible material which includes:
 a first resiliently stretchable knitted fabric substrate;   a plurality of separate resiliently compressible foam elements having a top surface and a bottom surface, the top and bottom surfaces of the plurality of separate resiliently compressible foam elements in a top and bottom array in which the adjacent elements are spaced apart about 2 mm, the top array adhesively bonded to the first resiliently stretchable knitted fabric substrate, the spaced apart elements provided by cutting a sheet of foam completely through; and   a second resiliently stretchable knitted fabric substrate adhesively bonded to the bottom array of bottom surfaces, the fabric substrates overlying the top and bottom arrays in an adhesively affixed and abutting relation, adjacent resiliently compressible foam elements in the arrays spaced apart from each other with the fabric substrates not bonded to each other in spaces between the elements, the resiliently compressible foam elements having a size and being spaced from each other to provide an element density of from 250 to 8000 elements/m 2  to provide a resiliently compressible material, one of the substrates adapted to be adjacent the surface of a person wearing the resiliently compressible material and the resiliently compressible material effective for providing protection to the person wearing it from knocks and injury.   
     
     
       39. The resiliently compressible material according to claim 38 wherein the top and bottom surfaces are flat. 
     
     
       40. The resiliently compressible material according to claim 39 wherein the foam elements are polygonal in cross section. 
     
     
       41. The resiliently compressible material according to claim 40 wherein the foam elements are of substantially hexagonal cross section. 
     
     
       42. The resiliently compressible material according to claim 38 wherein top and bottom surfaces are polygonal in shape. 
     
     
       43. The resiliently compressible material according to claim 38 wherein the foam elements are comprised of layers of foam having different densities.