Supple penetration resistant fabric and method of making

Abstract

A puncture, pierce, and cut resistant fabric comprised of a plurality of sheets of plates arranged in a repeating pattern. A material interconnects the plates. The fabric is twistable, bendable, and flexible. It is constructed of substances that will withstand cutting, puncture, and piercing forces encountered in medical or other environments.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is a continuation of and claims priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 610,748, filed Jul. 6, 2000, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The fabric of this invention is primarily useful to afford excellent defense and protection against penetration forces including cutting, shearing, and slashing forces, even by jagged or serrated instruments applied at excessive force and impacts of extended duration. The inventive fabric also provides an excellent level of penetration resistance to sharp puncturing and piercing forces. [0003] The fabric is comprised of layers, in which at least one of the layers has an array of plates. The plates in an array maintain a spaced relationship with each other by means of a material substrate. [0004] The penetration resistant inventive fabric is suitable for fabrication of garments and protective coverings tha...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0020] The inventive fabric can be fabricated to be worn on the body. Or, the fabric may be used to cover and protect an article or substrate such as cutting, shearing, or slashing instruments from sustaining damage to their sharp-edged surfaces or from causing damage to persons or their surrounding environment.

[0021] The inventive fabric may incorporate differing materials as may be necessary to meet the design, strength, dimensional, and other specifications for various applications. A particular feature of the inventive fabric is that while the plates themselves may be hard the connecting material may be high

Problems solved by technology

Knit or woven construction provides minimal protection against blade cutting, such as knives.

It provides even less protection against abrasive or serrated instruments, such as serrated knives, saw blades, jagged metal, or glass.

And, it provides virtually no protection against puncture or pierc

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