Horse-rider protection system comprising an airbag waistcoat connected to a sensor that senses falling of the horse

Abstract

The invention relates to a protection system (100) for a rider (200) riding a horse (300), comprising an airbag waistcoat (20) intended to be worn by the rider and comprising at least one inflatable bag, a gas generator (21), a gas cartridge (22) and an electronic unit (23) connected to the gas generator and able to trigger the inflating of the bag, the system further comprising a motion sensor (30) intended to be installed on the horse, for example on the saddle, and configured to detect falling of the horse, the motion sensor being connected to the electronic unit so as to trigger the inflating of the bag if it is detected that the horse has fallen, so as to mitigate potential crushing of the rider by the horse.

Description

[0001]Rider protection system comprising an airbag vest connected to a horse fall sensor TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention belongs to the field of personal protective equipment for athletes and other users, in particular airbag vests for riders, and relates more particularly to a rider protection system comprising an airbag vest connected to a horse fall sensor. The present invention finds a direct, but not exclusive, application in horse riding and more particularly in show jumping. STATE OF THE ART Traumatic injuries and deaths related to sports remain frequent despite a significant improvement in safety measures and the development of increasingly effective protective equipment. Equestrian sport, in these different disciplines, is a particularly high-risk practice.Indeed, both the speed and weight of the horse and the perilous maneuvers performed by the rider are factors that can cause accidents with varying degrees of severity. In some disciplines more than others, riders risk serious falls, sometimes with fatal outcomes. The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) has published statistics on falls and injuries during international eventing competitions for the period 2008 to 2019. These statistics reveal, among other things, that many riders suffered very serious, sometimes fatal, injuries by falling violently from their horse and / or being crushed or trampled by the horse once on the ground. Situations in which the horse lands on the rider happen very quickly and hardly leave the rider time to get out of the way to avoid being crushed by the horse, especially when the rider remains in the saddle despite the fall.This type of fall, called "panache" in specialist jargon when it occurs during show jumping, is the most dangerous because the horse is likely to crush the rider with its full weight against the ground. These falls are all the more dangerous because traditional protective equipment such as airbag vests are triggered by a cable that connects the vest to the saddle and therefore the rider to the horse, so that if the rider remains in the saddle the airbag is not triggered and the effects of being crushed by the horse are not mitigated. Indeed, it is when the rider is ejected from the saddle that the cable triggers the inflation of the airbag via a mechanical gas generator that strikes the gas cartridge to inflate the sheath integrated into the vest. This cable system therefore does not detect the fall of a horse that lands back on its rider if the rider is not ejected from the saddle.Furthermore, when the horse finds itself in an extreme posture likely to cause it to fall, it is almost impossible for it to get back into a balanced position, and the fall becomes inevitable. This is due to the horse's locomotor system, which certainly makes it very efficient in speed, jumping and endurance, but which does not allow it to regain its balance if it takes a significant lateral angle of inclination because it cannot spread its limbs sufficiently to "catch itself", nor if it exceeds a significant longitudinal angle of inclination because its forelimbs have a limited longitudinal step and therefore do not open enough to make it tip in the opposite direction (unlike other more agile animals whose limbs have a large opening amplitude to avoid this type of fall).Known protective equipment does not overcome this limitation, despite numerous improvements to better protect all the rider's sensitive areas. For example, document US6032299A describes a vest designed to mitigate cerebrospinal injuries associated with a rider falling. This vest is activated when a particular phenomenon, such as the rider falling from the horse during a race, is detected. A gas generator injects gas into a series of air ducts that inflate a series of pockets, mini-cushions, and a volume for protecting the cervical region, through a series of concentric circular cylinders expanding to provide resistance to transverse displacements relative to their concentric axis. A series of plugs installed in cascade inside the air ducts are displaced by the effect of the injected gas.These plugs constitute a column which, with the other columns and with a support element housed inside the collar of the vest, form an external frame around the rider's cervical region. In addition, this vest has micro-electric equipment ensuring its activation. However, this vest, with reinforced protection, is only activated in the event of the rider falling from the saddle, and does not detect a fall of the horse to protect the rider in the event of being crushed by the horse. Furthermore, the use of a cable to activate an airbag vest has many disadvantages, in particular by hindering the rider at least visually (impression of being tied up and not being free in his movement), and by placing additional constraints on him when he has to lock the cable by means of mechanisms which are sometimes difficult to handle and unreliable.Document US2014 / 125450 relates to a personal protection device, which comprises at least one main control unit connected to one or more main sensors and to transceivers for transmitting and receiving, on radio channels, control and / or activation signals. This device is intended to be connected to a motorcyclist's clothing for use on a motorcycle or the like, and it is not configured to detect a fall from a horse. There are other personal protection solutions for motorcycles and the like, such as those described in documents US2009 / 127835 and US2009 / 055053. These solutions do not correspond to rider protection systems and cannot be easily adapted to them due to the completely different kinematics between a horse and a motorcycle.Indeed, personal protection systems for motorcycles have existed for a long time and no successful adaptation for riders has been made to the applicant's knowledge. PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art set out above and proposes an innovative and particularly effective solution for improving the safety of a rider in the event of a fall from his horse, especially in situations where the horse risks falling back on him and crushing him with all its weight.To this end, the present invention relates to a protection system for a rider on a horse likely to fall on him, in particular during show jumping, comprising an airbag vest intended to be worn by the rider, said vest comprising at least one inflatable sheath, a gas generator with pyrotechnic triggering for example, a gas cartridge and an electronic unit connected to the gas generator and making it possible to trigger the inflation of the sheath. This system is remarkable in that it comprises a motion sensor intended to be installed on the horse and configured to detect a fall of the latter, and in that said motion sensor is connected to the electronic unit of the airbag vest so as to trigger the inflation of the sheath in the event of detection of a fall of the horse.Therefore, when the rider is not ejected from the horse in the event of a fall, the motion sensor directly installed therein allows the airbag to be triggered to mitigate any crushing of the rider by the horse falling back on him. Particularly advantageously, the motion sensor is configured to detect a fall of the horse by measuring an angular position of said horse along at least one axis, preferably along two perpendicular axes. Indeed, the angular position of the horse is a reliable indicator of the occurrence of a fall because beyond a certain angle, the usual moving parts (horse, motorcycle, etc.) become unhooked and the fall (or crash) becomes inevitable. More particularly, the motion sensor is configured to detect a fall of the horse when the value of a lateral or longitudinal inclination angle is greater than or equal to a predetermined limit value.This limit value corresponds to a threshold beyond which the motion sensor signals the fall to the electronic unit so that it triggers the airbag. According to one embodiment, the motion sensor comprises a gyrometer and an accelerometer. The presence of this type of sensor allows, by successive integrations of the linear and angular accelerations, to calculate both the position and the orientation of the horse. Advantageously, the motion sensor is connected to the electronic unit by a wireless radiofrequency link, preferably of short range, to reduce the energy consumption of the system. According to one embodiment, the airbag vest further comprises a cable to be connected to the horse in a detachable manner, said cable triggering the inflation of the sheath when it detaches from the vest. Thus, the airbag can also be triggered by the cable as is customary in existing airbag vests.This therefore makes it possible to trigger the airbag both in the event of ejection of the rider and in the event of non-ejection of the rider. In order to reduce the energy consumption of the motion sensor, it can remain inactive when the vest is connected to the horse by the cable. Advantageously, the protection system further comprises automatic activation means configured to activate the motion sensor only when the latter is installed on the horse. Such means can be integrated into the motion sensor or the electronic unit. According to another embodiment, the protection system further comprises a motion sensor installed on the airbag vest while being connected to the electronic unit and configured to detect a fall of the rider.Thus, this additional sensor can know the movement of the rider wearing the vest and be precisely configured to detect the rider's fall, either from its own measurements or from a correlation analysis between its own measurements and the measurements of the motion sensor installed on the horse. The configuration of the different motion sensors can in particular be based on machine learning by collecting fall detection data from different users. According to a variant of this latter embodiment, the airbag vest does not include a cable to be connected to the horse and to trigger the inflation of the sheath. This makes it possible to overcome the constraints linked to the use of an airbag trigger cable.In the case of application to equestrian sports, the protection system according to the invention may advantageously comprise a saddle on which the movement sensor is installed, for example at the rear of the saddle at the level of the cantle. The fundamental concepts of the invention having just been set out above in their most basic form, other details and characteristics will emerge more clearly on reading the description which follows and with reference to the appended drawings, giving by way of non-limiting example an embodiment of a protection system for a rider comprising an airbag vest connected to a horse fall sensor, in accordance with the principles of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The figures are given purely for illustrative purposes for a better understanding of the invention without limiting its scope. The various elements are represented schematically and are not necessarily on the same scale.In all the figures, identical or equivalent elements bear the same numerical reference. It is thus illustrated in: − Figure 1: a protection system for a rider according to the invention; − Figure 2: an airbag vest according to the invention; − Figure 3: the protection system in which the airbag vest is triggered by detachment of the cable; − Figure 4: the protection system in which the airbag vest is triggered by the detection of a fall of the horse. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS It should be noted that certain technical elements well known to those skilled in the art are recalled here to avoid any insufficiency or ambiguity in the understanding of the present description. In the embodiment described below, reference is made to a protection system comprising an airbag vest connected to a fall sensor, intended mainly for equestrian sports to protect riders in the event of a fall.This non-limiting example is given for a better understanding of the invention and does not exclude the use of the protection system by any other sportsperson or occasional user using any mobile (horse, motorcycle, snowmobile, etc.) since the mobile risks falling back on the user in the event of an accident. In the present description, the expression "airbag vest" designates a garment cut as a vest, for the protection of a user, in particular a rider, comprising one or more inflatable sheaths that can be activated by a pyrotechnic trigger for example; an object is said to be "connected" when it is equipped with means capable of communicating, autonomously, with other objects connected by a wired link and / or on a wireless network.Figure 1 represents a protection system 100 equipping a rider 200 and his horse 300, and comprising an airbag vest 20 intended to be worn by the rider and a motion sensor 30 fixed on a saddle 40 and connected by a wireless link to the airbag vest 20 to control its triggering. Indeed, the airbag vest 20 is equipped with an internal inflatable sheath which inflates when the motion sensor 30 detects an inevitable fall of the horse 300 corresponding to an extreme angular position that the horse cannot return to normal, to restore its balance, due to its anatomy and more particularly its locomotor system. Thus, when the rider 200 remains attached to the horse 300 which is falling back on its back for example, the airbag vest 20 is triggered to constitute a protection which will absorb the shock and limit its effects on the rider.Of course, when the rider 200 is ejected from the horse 300 in his fall, the airbag vest 20 is triggered, in a conventional manner, by means of a cable 24 connecting said vest to the saddle 40. This situation is shown in Figure 3 in which a distance D is indicated and corresponds to an activation, or triggering, distance of the gas generator and therefore of the airbag. As long as the distance between the attachment points of the cable 24 on the airbag vest 20 and on the saddle 40 remains less than the activation distance D, the cable does not detach from the vest and the airbag is not triggered. The activation distance D must be sufficient so as not to restrict the normal movements of the rider 200 on his horse 300 when practicing his discipline. Figure 2 shows, according to an exemplary embodiment, the airbag vest 20 which can be worn alone or with a jacket over it such as a riding competition jacket.The airbag vest 20 can also be integrated into a jacket in a removable or permanent manner. The airbag vest 20 mainly comprises an inflatable sheath, not visible in the figure but which is located in a suitable pocket sewn into the vest, a pyrotechnically triggered gas generator 21, a gas cartridge 22 connected to the gas generator, an electronic card 23 and the cable 24 connecting said card to the saddle 40. Thus, when a rider 200 wearing the airbag vest 20, with the cable 24 attached, is ejected far enough from the saddle 40 for the cable 24 to be detached, this detachment triggers the inflation of the sheath integrated into the vest via the gas generator 21 which strikes the gas cartridge 22 to release the gas and inflate said sheath. Of course, the inflation of the sheath can be chemically triggered, for example from a propellant as in automobile airbags.In a complementary manner, when the horse 300 falls and the rider remains on the saddle 40, thus preventing the cable 24 from detaching from the vest 20, the motion sensor 30 triggers the inflation of the sheath by detecting an exceeding of the limit angle which corresponds to an abnormal orientation of the horse and the initiation of an inevitable fall. Figure 4 represents such a fall. Indeed, the motion sensor 30 makes it possible to measure the movement of the saddle 40 on which it is fixed, and this along several axes, so as to allow detection of abnormal angular positions of the horse before its fall. The motion sensor 30 can be a miniature IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit in English).Such a unit generally consists of a combination of sensors, called proprioceptive sensors, directly measuring the movements of the mobile on which said unit is fixed, here the saddle 40 and therefore the horse 300 assuming that the relative movement of the saddle with respect to the horse remains negligible. Such sensors are accelerometers and gyrometers. For reasons of miniaturization, these sensors are for example designed according to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Preferably, the motion sensor 30 comprises a gyrometer, an accelerometer and, incidentally, a magnetometer. The motion sensor 30 may be provided with an integrated computer in the form of a microcontroller, operating successive integrations of the measured angular accelerations to obtain the components of the angular velocity vector as well as the angular position.Thus, the analysis of the angular position along two measurement axes makes it possible to deduce the orientation of the saddle 40 and therefore that of the horse 300 on which said saddle is installed, and to detect exceeding angles using appropriately calibrated specific algorithms. In addition, to reduce its energy consumption, the motion sensor 30 remains on standby as long as the cable 24 has not been locked between the vest 20 and the saddle 40. For example, the motion sensor 30 is an accelerometer and gyrometer module, called 6 axes, with a wide programmable operating range. The motion sensor 30 is connected to the electronic card 23 which has a wireless communication module, for example radiofrequency, coupled with a transmission / reception antenna.Preferably, the wireless communication module transmits on an ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) frequency band, in particular on LoRa or Sigfox networks which are particularly suitable for short ranges and low-power connected objects. The antenna can thus be of the printed circuit (PCB) type and directly integrated into the electronic card 23. The electronic card 23 and the motion sensor 30 comprise suitable power supply devices, which may comprise an energy recovery system (solar, mechanical, etc.) and / or a battery such as a lithium-ion battery. The motion sensor 30 is configured to detect a fall and signal it to the electronic unit 23 if a longitudinal or lateral tilt angle of the horse exceeds a predetermined limit value.For example, the limit value of the longitudinal inclination angle, which corresponds to the inclination of the horse relative to the vertical, is at least equal to 90° in absolute value. For example, the limit value of the lateral inclination angle, which corresponds to the inclination of the horse relative to a horizontal plane, is at least equal to 70° in absolute value. According to an alternative embodiment not shown, the protection system does not include a trigger cable connecting the airbag vest to the saddle, and includes an additional motion sensor installed directly on the airbag vest and connected to the electronic card of the latter to detect the fall of the rider.The additional motion sensor thus makes it possible to analyze the rider's kinematics and detect the latter's fall, either by comparing an instantaneous acceleration of the rider with an instantaneous acceleration of the horse (measured by the motion sensor attached to the saddle), along the same axis and at the same time, or by relying on a machine learning model calibrated on data obtained by other riders during their falls. In other words, to detect a fall of the rider, the additional motion sensor can operate alone or in combination with the horse's motion sensor. In the latter case, the horse's motion sensor serves as a reference. Indeed, during a fall by ejection, the difference in acceleration, in algebraic value, between the rider and the horse is necessarily significant.The rider's movement sensor may, for example, be integrated into the airbag vest in an electronic box comprising the electronic card. It is apparent from this description that certain elements of the protection system may be replaced by equivalent elements without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the protection system may comprise several movement sensors installed at different locations on the saddle, or even directly on the horse, in which case they would be produced in the form of patches. Also, the protection system may comprise height sensors fixed to the horse's front hooves to detect a limit height necessarily causing the horse to fall onto its back.

Claims

CLAIMS _______________________ 1. A protection system (100) for a rider (200) on a horse (300) that could fall on top of the rider, comprising an airbag vest (20) intended to be worn by the rider, said vest having at least one inflatable sleeve, a gas generator (21), a gas cartridge (22), and an electronic unit (23) connected to the gas generator and enabling the inflation of the sleeve, characterized in that it comprises a motion sensor (30) intended to be installed on the horse and configured to detect a fall by the horse by detecting an exceedance of a limit angle corresponding to an abnormal orientation of the horse, and in that said motion sensor is connected to the electronic unit (23) so as to trigger the inflation of the sleeve in the event of detection of a fall by the horse. 2.A protection system according to claim 1, wherein the motion sensor (30) is configured to detect a fall of the horse (300) by measuring the angular position of said horse about at least one axis.

3. A protection system according to claim 2, wherein the motion sensor (30) is configured to detect a fall of the horse (300) when the value of a lateral or longitudinal tilt angle exceeds a predetermined limit value.

4. A protection system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the motion sensor (30) comprises a gyroscope and an accelerometer.

5. A protection system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the motion sensor (30) is connected to the electronic unit (23) by a radio frequency wireless link.

6. A protection system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the airbag vest (20) further comprises a cable (24) for being detachably connected to the horse (300), said cable triggering the inflation of the sheath when it detaches from the vest.

7. A protection system according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising automatic activation means configured to activate the motion sensor (30) only when the latter is installed on the horse (300).

8. A protection system according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a motion sensor installed on the airbag vest (20) and connected to the electronic unit (23) and configured to detect a fall by the rider.

9. A protection system according to claim 8, wherein the airbag vest (20) does not comprise a cable for being connected to the horse (300) and for triggering the inflation of the sheath. 10.A protection system according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a saddle (40) on which the motion sensor (30) is installed.

11. A protection system according to claim 10, wherein the motion sensor (30) is fixed to the rear of the saddle (40), in particular at the cantle of said saddle.

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