Punching glove comprising a pressure sensor

Abstract

The invention relates to a punching glove (1) comprising a damping body (8), a fluid-filled body (2) and a pressure sensor (3) for measuring the pressure in the fluid-filled body (2), wherein at least a part of the damping body (8) is provided between an impact surface (9) of the punching glove (1) and the fluid-filled body (2), wherein the punching glove (1) furthermore has a computing unit (3') which is designed to assign force values to the pressure measurement values measured by the pressure sensor (3), wherein the punching glove (1) is designed such that the two sides of the fluid-filled body (2) which are opposite one another in the direction of impact are not in contact when the impact surface (9) of the punching glove (1) hits a lateral face of a substantially non-deformable cylinder (104) having a diameter of 7 cm at a force of 2.5 kN.

Description

[0001] Punching glove with pressure sensor

[0002] The invention relates to a striking glove with a damping body, a fluid-filled body and a preferably hydrostatic pressure sensor for measuring the pressure in the fluid-filled body, wherein the damping body is present between an impact surface of the striking glove and the fluid-filled body, wherein the striking glove further comprises a computing unit or is connectable to a computing unit which is designed to assign force values ​​to the pressure measured values ​​measured by the pressure sensor.

[0003] Martial arts typically involve two or more athletes competing in a ring, attempting to strike each other with punches, kicks, or other physical contact. Examples of such martial arts covered by this description include boxing, karate, kickboxing, taekwondo, kung fu, etc.

[0004] For competition purposes, but also for training and other tests, it is desirable to classify a punch or kick, e.g., by assigning a punch frequency, acceleration, force, a value derived from the acceleration or force, or a combined variable such as the punching technique. Various methods are known for measuring acceleration, e.g., by video analysis of the athlete's movement or by an inertial measurement unit (IMU) built into a punching glove. Examples of these include US 2017 / 134712, US 2018 / 001141, US 2012 / 144414, and WO 2019 / 106672.However, it has been shown that the measured kinematic acceleration is insufficient to detect a hit to the opponent's body, as the striking athlete may, for example, intentionally decelerate their hand before impact, resulting in little or no force being transferred. Direct force measurement would therefore be advantageous.

[0005] For example, in the study "Walilko, TJ, Viano, DC, & Bir, CA (2005). Biomechanics of the head for Olympic boxer punches to the face. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 39(10), 710-719," forces from punches to the head of a dummy were measured. It would be advantageous to obtain measurements that occur in practice to determine correlations with injuries or athlete performance.

[0006] However, direct force measurement is hardly possible, as no methods are known for this. However, WO 2020 / 041806 describes punching gloves with built-in fluid bodies. When these punching gloves land a hit on an opponent, the fluid body is compressed or pressurized. According to Boyle's law, when an air-filled body is compressed, the internal pressure increases inversely proportional to the volume. According to the information in WO 2020 / 041806, the corresponding force for the respective impact area can be calculated for each measured pressure value.

[0007] The method described in Austrian patent application A 50128 / 2023 can be used to calibrate such a punching glove. The punching glove is accelerated onto a force plate, and the pressure readings of the punching glove and the force readings recorded by the force plate are correlated. This allows a correlation function to be created between the measured pressure and the punching force.

[0008] The described punching gloves with a fluid-filled body and pressure sensor work very well to a certain extent, especially in training situations with punching bags. However, in actual use—that is, when an athlete equipped with the boxing gloves trains or fights with another athlete—some extremely implausible readings occasionally occur, which have so far been unexplained.

[0009] Also known from the prior art is US 2011159939A1, which discloses acceleration sensors with a measuring range of up to 8 g. The measured values ​​of the acceleration sensor are evaluated to calculate an impact force.

[0010] The invention therefore has the task of creating a punching glove with a pressure sensor that provides reliable measured values.

[0011] This object is achieved by a striking glove with a damping body, a fluid-filled body and a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure in the fluid-filled body, wherein the damping body is present between an impact surface of the striking glove and the fluid-filled body, wherein the striking glove further comprises a computing unit or is connectable to a computing unit which is designed to assign force values ​​to the pressure measured values ​​​​measured by the pressure sensor, wherein the striking glove is designed such that the two sides of the fluid-filled body opposite one another in the direction of impact are contact-free when the striking glove impacts with the impact surface with a predetermined force which is at least 2.5 kN onto a substantially non-deformable cylinder with a diameter of 7 cm (which represents an average forearm or the guard of an athlete).

[0012] It has surprisingly been found that when the punching glove impacts certain objects, such as the forearm of another athlete, a force is transferred "through" the fluid-filled body within the punching glove. It is a finding of the invention that prior art punching gloves perform excellently when impacting a flat surface or a cylinder with a large diameter, such as a punching bag. The reason for this is that there is an essentially "flat" and even force distribution across the punching glove, so that the force is evenly transferred across the entire fluid-filled body. The fluid-filled body is essentially evenly compressed, meaning that the two opposite sides in the direction of impact never touch.Accordingly, the pressure in the fluid-filled body will also increase as expected, so that the measured pressure is representative of the impact force.

[0013] However, if the punching glove hits an uneven object, the uneven distribution of force can cause the object to "penetrate" further into the punching glove. If the force is sufficiently great, the fluid-filled body is compressed to such an extent that the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body touch. However, this also causes a large portion of the force to be dissipated through the fluid-filled body, meaning the pressure in the fluid-filled body is no longer representative of the punching force.

[0014] It should be noted that the aforementioned phenomenon of the fluid-filled body being compressed to such an extent is not visible to the naked eye, because, firstly, all mechanical processes take place inside the batting glove, and secondly, because the two opposite sides only touch for a fraction of a second. For this reason, it has not been understood until now why the pressure sensor of existing batting gloves sometimes produced implausible results.

[0015] Once the inventor had gained this insight, it was possible to establish the boundary conditions for creating a more reliable striking glove with a pressure sensor. On the one hand, it has been shown that it is still impossible or very difficult to prevent the fluid-filled body from being crushed until the opposite sides touch, in extreme cases such as strikes on the tip of a cone. On the other hand, a compromise was found to avoid the most common sources of error that occur in actual martial arts. This is to say, by designing the striking glove in such a way that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact are free of contact when the striking glove impacts the outer surface of an essentially non-deformable cylinder with a diameter of 7 cm with a predetermined force.Based on this inventive condition, a more reliable batting glove can be provided.

[0016] The cylinder with a diameter of 7 cm simulates, for example, a forearm or another body part of the other athlete. With the proposed solution, implausible measured values ​​from the pressure sensor hardly ever occurred. It should be noted that with the proposed solution, contact between the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact is naturally prevented with the aforementioned impact force if a cylinder diameter of more than 7 cm, for example 10 cm, is used. With a cylinder diameter of less than 7 cm, for example 5 cm, contact cannot necessarily be ruled out, but this is accepted because such thin elements are rarely used in martial arts.In principle, by adapting the materials or other properties, the striking glove could be made even more resistant to complete contraction in the longitudinal direction of the fluid-filled body, so that contact is prevented even with a cylinder diameter of, say, 5 cm. This can be achieved, for example, by further increasing the damping coefficient, reducing the residual volume, or increasing the internal pressure of the fluid-filled body (although this is difficult to implement permanently).

[0017] For the inventive solution, a striking force of 2.5 kN was chosen because, with currently known striking gloves with pressure sensors, contact occurs at this force when striking a cylinder as specified above. At the same time, however, this force is frequently achieved in martial arts, particularly boxing. Given the inventive problem and the associated solution, it was therefore necessary to design the striking glove such that the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact do not touch when striking the cylinder with a strike of 2.5 kN, in order to deliver good measurement results even when strikes are blocked by the forearm. However, the predetermined force is particularly preferred at 5 kN, as this is the highest striking force used in heavyweight boxing, see the study by Walilko.Although the striking glove according to the invention does not always prevent contact between the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact when impacting the cylinder, if the impact force is, for example, 10 kN, this appears to be insignificant for the present field of application.

[0018] To prevent over-dimensioning, it can also be provided that the striking glove is designed in such a way that the two sides of the fluid-filled body opposite each other in the direction of impact touch when the striking glove impacts the outer surface of the cylinder with the impact surface with a second predetermined force that is greater than the first predetermined force and is, for example, at least 6 kN. In other words, there is a threshold value at which the sides opposite each other in the direction of impact touch. The threshold value is generally outside the forces prevailing in the respective area of ​​application. For example, the second predetermined force in heavyweight boxing is, for example, 5.5 kN, 6 kN or more. In other weight classes such as middleweight boxing, the second predetermined force could also be, for example, 4 kN or 5 kN.

[0019] Once the skilled person is equipped with the teaching that the striking glove should be designed such that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact should be non-contact during a strike meeting the specified specification, they can take appropriate measures to implement this condition. It is understood that there are many measures available to prevent the aforementioned contact between the opposite sides in the direction of impact during a strike meeting the specified specification, so an exhaustive list of measures cannot be provided here.

[0020] In particular, however, the person skilled in the art can select the geometry and arrangement of the fluid-filled body, the volume ratio of the fluid-filled body to the remaining volume of the striking glove, the damping coefficient for a force acting on the fluid-filled body, the expansion coefficient of the fluid-filled body when a force is applied and / or the internal pressure of the fluid-filled body so that the striking glove has the property explained at the outset.

[0021] Particularly preferably, the damping coefficient of the striking glove is at least 20%, preferably at least 30%, when a force corresponding to the predetermined force is applied to the impact surface. To achieve a high damping coefficient, the striking glove can comprise an additional support structure (e.g., an open-pore foam) in the fluid-filled body, for example, while still allowing air to flow unhindered toward the pressure sensor.

[0022] Further preferably, the expansion coefficient of the fluid-filled body is up to 5%, preferably up to 3% or particularly preferably up to 1%. These values ​​have proven suitable for bringing about the property specified above. However, the stated values ​​are not mandatory, e.g. if the stated property is brought about by a choice of shape or arrangement of the fluid-filled body. Furthermore, the internal pressure of the fluid-filled body could be increased to above 1 bar, e.g. to at least 1.5 bar, at least 2 bar or at least 4 bar. However, since this is difficult to implement permanently, the aforementioned measures are preferably chosen. Furthermore, the fluid-filled body could also be filled with a different medium instead of air, in particular with a fluid with a greater density than air. As a result, the pressure ratio in the fluid-filled body would behave differently upon compression, which would also change the formulas below.

[0023] It should be mentioned at this point that, according to previous understanding, it was advantageous to keep the damping coefficient particularly low, since it is expected that a low damping coefficient would result in a more direct pressure transfer to the fluid-filled body. However, according to the invention, it was found that a high damping coefficient, as described above, is advantageous for other reasons.

[0024] It is particularly preferred if the striking glove is designed such that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact are spaced apart by at least 1 mm or at least 3 mm when the striking glove impacts the cylinder with the predetermined force. This allows even greater forces to be absorbed without the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body touching, i.e., a striking glove that is even more resistant to failure is created. To determine this distance, for example, a computer simulation of the striking glove can be performed or the formulas cited in the description of the figures can be used.

[0025] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the batting glove comprises a high-acceleration sensor with which kinetic acceleration measurements of at least 64 g (where 1 g = 9.81 m / s 2is) are measurable in all 3 orthogonal spatial directions (6 directions). It has been found that measuring striking gloves according to the current state of the art contain acceleration sensors, which may be part of IMUs and can only measure up to a maximum of 8 g (e.g. US2011159939A1) or 16 g. This often leads to overloading in the sense of exceeding the measuring range of several axes, especially during braking acceleration during impact with the target. In this case, the conventional acceleration sensor outputs the final value of the measuring range, but not the current actual acceleration measurement value. Without this braking acceleration, there is a considerable additional inaccuracy because either the "forward movement" before the start of the striking event (due to a change in this speed) is not known (which means that no force transfer to the target can be calculated).Furthermore, with continuous measurement, the aforementioned measurement error accumulates over time, leading to a significant degree of inaccuracy. The measured values ​​from the high-acceleration sensor can thus be used, among other things, for significantly more accurate impact tracking.

[0026] A further advantage of the high-acceleration sensor is that the aforementioned computing unit or another computing unit (which may also be located in the glove or external to it, e.g., in the cloud) can be configured to determine a reference value for the impact force from measured values ​​of the high-acceleration sensor during an impact, together with an estimated effective mass. The aforementioned computing unit or another computing unit can then be configured, for example, to output the force value determined via the pressure sensor as the impact force if the reference value determined via the high-acceleration sensor lies within a tolerance of 10%, 20%, or 30% of the force value determined via the pressure sensor, and to output the reference value as the impact force if the reference value lies outside the aforementioned tolerance.Alternatively or additionally, the reference value can also be used to validate the striking glove, see below. Validation is understood here as determining whether the striking glove has the properties according to the invention, i.e. whether the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact are contact-free when the striking glove impacts with the impact surface onto a jacket surface of a substantially non-deformable cylinder having a diameter of 7 cm with a predetermined force of at least 2.5 kN. It is further particularly preferred if the striking glove comprises an inertial measuring unit with an acceleration sensor, wherein the inertial measuring unit orThe (normal) acceleration sensor is preferably separate from the high-acceleration sensor, and wherein the aforementioned computing unit or a further computing unit is preferably configured to utilize the measured values ​​of the inertial measurement unit. The high-acceleration sensor can be used, in particular, to measure the acceleration peak during an impact, from which an impact force can be estimated. An impact force determined in this way can be compared with an impact force determined by the computing unit based on the pressure data, see below. If the high-acceleration sensor is separate from the IMU, this has the advantage that it only needs to be switched on during an impact, which can reduce the energy requirement.

[0027] In a further aspect, the invention provides a method for validating a striking glove with a damping body, a fluid-filled body and a pressure sensor for measuring the hydrostatic pressure in the fluid-filled body (preferably for validating a striking glove according to one of claims 1 to 4), comprising the steps of: numerically or empirically determining an expected pressure that is expected in the fluid-filled body when the striking glove impacts said cylinder with said predetermined force, striking the striking glove with said predetermined force on said cylinder and measuring the pressure in the fluid-filled body, and comparing whether the measured pressure substantially corresponds to the expected pressure.

[0028] If it is determined in the comparison step that the measured pressure substantially corresponds to the expected pressure, it can be concluded that the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact have not touched, ie it is a striking glove according to the invention as specified above.

[0029] In a first preferred variant, the step of numerically determining the expected pressure comprises the following steps:

[0030] Estimating a damping coefficient of the striking glove, the expected impact area of ​​the cylinder on the fluid-filled body, and optionally also an expansion coefficient of the fluid-filled body; - Determining the expected pressure using the formula p = F(l-c+ß) / A, where F is the predetermined force, c is the damping coefficient, ß is the expansion coefficient, and A is the expected impact area of ​​the cylinder on the fluid-filled body. It is understood that, depending on the material, the damping coefficient and the expansion coefficient can be a function of the tensile or compressive force.

[0031] This has the advantage that no reference impacts (i.e., empirical determination) are necessary, allowing for faster validation. Estimating the stated values ​​based on the expert's experience is sufficient for validation, since a measured pressure value will be far less accurate if the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body touch during the impact.

[0032] In a second preferred variant, the step of empirically determining the expected pressure comprises the following steps:

[0033] Hitting the striking glove with the specified force on a flat surface and measuring the pressure in the fluid-filled body to obtain the expected pressure.

[0034] This has the advantage that a clear reference value can be obtained from which it can be assumed with an extremely high probability that the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body do not touch each other during the strike, since this will be the case for the flat planes even with state-of-the-art striking gloves.

[0035] In a third preferred variant, the step of empirically determining the expected pressure comprises the following steps:

[0036] striking the striking glove with a test force on said cylinder, wherein the test force is less than the predetermined force, preferably less than 4 kN, less than 3 kN, less than 2 kN or less than 1 kN, and measuring the pressure in the fluid-filled body to obtain a test pressure measurement value,

[0037] - Determine the expected pressure based on the test pressure measurement.

[0038] This has the advantage that the same striking surface can be used for the reference strike and the actual test strike, and there is no need to change the striking surface. A small force is assumed, with the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body not touching during the strike. The relationship between the test pressure measurement and the expected pressure can be determined in advance through tests with a previously validated striking glove. In the simplest case, a linear relationship can be assumed (if the predetermined force is twice the test force, the expected pressure should be twice the test pressure measurement). However, this method is by no means limited to this, and other relationships can also be used.

[0039] In a fourth preferred variant of the empirical determination, the striking glove can comprise a high-acceleration sensor with which acceleration values ​​of at least 64 g can be measured, wherein a reference value is determined from measured values ​​of the high-acceleration sensor during an impact, i.e. during deceleration, together with an estimated effective mass, and wherein the step of empirically determining the expected pressure comprises determining the reference value during the step of striking the said cylinder with the said force of, for example, 2.5 kN or 5 kN. The reference value is a force value and can be converted into the expected pressure using an estimated or calculated impact area. This has the advantage that empirical determination can also take place during the same strike.

[0040] Advantageous and non-limiting embodiments of the invention set out in the claims are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0041] Figure 1 shows a punching glove for force measurement in a schematic view with the components located inside the punching glove.

[0042] Figure 2 shows a batting glove during a strike on a flat surface before the moment of impact.

[0043] Figure 3 shows a batting glove during a strike on a flat surface at the time of impact.

[0044] Figure 4 shows a prior art striking glove during a strike on a cylinder with a diameter of 7 cm with an impact force of 5 kN at the time of impact.

[0045] Figure 5 shows a striking glove according to the invention during a strike on a cylinder with a diameter of 7 cm with an impact force of 5 kN at the time of impact.

[0046] Figure 6 shows a test bench for validating a punching glove for force measurement. Figures 7, 8, and 9 show the acceleration curves occurring during an impact for a punching glove along an x-axis (Figure 7), a y-axis (Figure 8), and a z-axis (Figure 9). In these diagrams, the measured value is entered in g, not m / s. 2 , where 1 g = 9.81 m / s 2 is accepted.

[0047] Figure 10 shows a batting glove whose fluid-filled body includes a support structure.

[0048] Figure 1 shows a punching glove 1 comprising a fluid-filled body 2 (also called a "pad"). The fluid-filled body 2 consists of a deformable shell filled with a fluid, in particular a gas such as air or a liquid. Also located inside the fluid-filled body 2 is a pressure sensor 3, which measures the hydrostatic pressure within the fluid-filled body and transmits it, for example, to a computing unit 3', which can be located inside or outside the punching glove 1. The computing unit 3' can convert pressure values ​​measured by the pressure sensor 3 into force values, so that the punching force of the punching glove 1 can be determined. The computing unit 3' can be located inside or outside the body of the punching glove 1.

[0049] In one variant, to implement the aforementioned structure, an electronic circuit board 5 can be provided inside the fluid-filled body 2, on which, in addition to the aforementioned pressure sensor 3, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 4, a high-acceleration sensor 4' (see Figures 7 to 9 below) for special evaluations, and a computing unit with an internal or external transmission unit 6 (e.g., for communication with the computing unit 3') can be located. The electronic circuit board 5 is generally located partially or completely inside the fluid-filled body and can be connected via a cable to a battery 7 located outside the fluid-filled body 2. It is understood that further variants are also possible. For example, the battery could also be located in the fluid-filled body 2, and the electronic circuit board 5 could be molded in. Furthermore, the device does not have to be wireless, for example, ifHardware interfaces are present. Furthermore, the high-acceleration sensor 4' could be part of the IMU, and there is no additional high-acceleration sensor 4'.

[0050] Furthermore, the punching glove 1 comprises a damping body 8, which is located between an impact surface 9 of the punching glove 1 and the fluid-filled body 2. The damping body 8 is typically composed of an outer shell 10 and a foam body 11. The outer shell 10 is usually a layer of leather or synthetic leather, i.e., a plastic layer. One side of the outer shell 10 forms the impact surface 9, and the foam body 11 is located on the other side of the outer shell 10. The foam body 11 spaced the fluid-filled body 2 from the outer shell 10.

[0051] The impact surface 9 is essentially the frontal surface (convex side in front of the palm extension) of the punching glove 1, which is usually used for striking with a fist, as shown in Figure 1. However, the impact surface 9 could also be located on the back of the hand or at another location on the punching glove 1, with the fluid-filled body 2 being designed accordingly.

[0052] The damping body 8 has the effect of reducing an incoming impact force Fs (or the force exerted by the hitting glove 1) by a certain factor, and the fluid-filled body 2 consequently experiences a lower effective force Fe. This is referred to as the damping coefficient c of the hitting glove 1. This is illustrated in Figure 1, in which an impact force Fs exerted by the athlete's hand is present on the inside of the hitting glove 1, and the opposite force Fs is present on the outer impact surface 9. However, due to the damping of the damping body 8, the fluid-filled body 2 only experiences the effective force Fe, which is lower than the impact force Fs (in Figure 1, the effective force Fe is shown offset for clarity).

[0053] The damping coefficient c generally depends on the material properties and thicknesses of the materials used in the striking glove 1. It is generally not linear, but can vary depending on the impact force Fs. For example, the damping coefficient for the same striking glove 1 can be 15% for an impact force of 1 kN and 18% for an impact force of 2 kN (values ​​assumed arbitrarily). The damping coefficient c should therefore be specified for a specific impact force Fs.

[0054] In the simplest case, the damping coefficient c can be determined by computer simulation if the material properties of the components of the striking glove 1 and its internal structure are known. However, essentially the same result is obtained if the damping coefficient c is determined empirically, e.g., using a test bench 101 as shown in Figure 6. The test bench 101 optionally comprises a substantially horizontally arranged force plate 102 which measures and outputs force values ​​(or simply a rigid plate 103 as shown in Figures 2 and 3 without any further functions), and at least two holding positions x1, x2. The optional force plate 102 can have a sensor range of, e.g., 5 kN, since this is the largest expected force value. A predetermined mass of, e.g., 3 kg is usually arranged in the striking glove 1.In the example shown, the holding positions xl, x2 are located at different distances vertically above the force plate 102. If the punching glove 1 is now brought to one of the holding positions xl, x2 and dropped, it is accelerated by gravity in the direction of the force plate 102. Due to the different distances of the holding positions xl, x2 from the force plate 102, the punching glove 1 will impact the force plate 102 at a different speed, so that dropping it from the two holding positions xl, x2 will lead to different impact forces Fs. The test bench 101 could of course also be designed differently, e.g. by means of a predetermined acceleration of the punching glove 1 in a horizontal direction, e.g. if the punching glove 1 is accelerated by a spring or a motor.

[0055] The test bench 101 allows a predetermined impact force Fs to be applied to the striking glove 1, which can be determined by the mass and height of the holding positions x1, x2 or measured via the force plate 102. At the same time, the pressure in the striking glove 1 can be measured by the pressure sensor 3. The effective force Fe can then be determined from the measured values ​​of the pressure sensor 3 using the formula Fe = p*A. Subsequently, the damping coefficient c can also be determined using the formula Fe = (lc)*Fs.

[0056] The above explanations (both regarding the numerical determination and the empirical determinations) are sufficient as a first approximation, but an expansion coefficient ß of the fluid-filled body 2 can also be taken into account. The expansion coefficient ß describes the expansion of the fluid-filled body 2 when a force is applied, so that the surface of the fluid-filled body 2 can change. Taking the expansion coefficient ß into account, the effective force Fe can be determined using the formula Fe = (l-c+ß)*Fs. However, since the expansion coefficient ß is usually lower than the damping coefficient c, the expansion coefficient ß can also be neglected in first approximations or assumed to be ß = 0.

[0057] Figures 2 and 3 show typical deformations of the striking glove 1 upon impact on a flat surface 103 (such as the force plate 102 or a rigid plate of the described test bench 101). The flat surface 103 could also be formed by a punching bag, which forms a substantially flat surface due to its large diameter. The deformations shown occur both in striking gloves 1 with a fluid-filled body 2 constructed according to the prior art and in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 shows the fluid-filled body 2 during acceleration, i.e. before impact on the flat surface 103, i.e. essentially without external force, at which a rest pressure pO (e.g. 1 bar) exists in the fluid-filled body. The fluid-filled body 2 can be described as essentially undeformed.

[0058] Figure 3 shows the striking glove 1 of Figure 2 striking the flat surface 103, i.e., while the striking force Fs of, for example, 5 kN is applied to the impact surface 9. The force is transferred evenly to the fluid-filled body 2 through the flat surface 103, so that the latter is essentially crushed evenly. This is an ideal case that occurs in training situations and during tests using a test bench 101. However, this situation is also regularly encountered in real combat situations, for example, when a body hit occurs, with the body forming the flat surface 103.

[0059] It should be apparent that in such a crush between two substantially flat surfaces, the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body 2 in the direction of impact will never touch. However, it is a finding of the invention that this situation is different for a prior art punching glove when the punching glove encounters an uneven surface such as a forearm or a cylinder 104 with a diameter of 7 cm (approximating the shape of a forearm). This situation is shown in Figure 4.

[0060] Figure 4 shows that with a randomly manufactured striking glove 200, the incoming force cannot be distributed over the entire surface of the fluid-filled body 2, but only over a partial area. As a result, the fluid-filled body 2 is only locally crushed until the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body 2 in the direction of impact touch each other. As a result, however, there is no longer any pressure in the fluid-filled body 2 that is representative of the incoming striking force Fs. This problem, or rather its cause, went unrecognized for a long time and is not corrected in the prior art striking gloves, since the phenomenon of the fluid-filled body 2 being completely crushed is not visible to the naked eye.

[0061] Figure 5 shows that the striking glove 1 produced according to the invention is designed in such a way that there is no contact between the two sides of the fluid-filled body 2 that are opposite in the direction of impact, even if the striking glove 1 strikes a lateral surface of a substantially non-deformable cylinder with a diameter of 7 cm with a force of 5 kN.

[0062] It should be noted here that the force of 5 kN in this example is considered a so-called predetermined force, meaning that the punching glove 1 should be designed to deliver reliable measurement results at 5 kN. The predetermined force could also be lower, e.g., 4 kN, 3 kN, or 2.5 kN, or higher, e.g., 6 kN. In the following examples, the predetermined force is chosen to be 5 kN, but could also be more generally assumed to be at least 2.5 kN.

[0063] Under the conditions set forth above, it is easy for a person skilled in the art to construct the striking glove 1 according to the invention, e.g., by using a higher damping coefficient c and / or a lower expansion coefficient ß than in the prior art. In particular, the damping coefficient c of the striking glove 1 can be at least 20%, preferably at least 30%, for a force of 5 kN acting on the impact surface, and / or the expansion coefficient ß of the fluid-filled body can be up to 5%, preferably up to 3%, or particularly preferably up to 1%.

[0064] In order to achieve a high damping coefficient c, the person skilled in the art can, for example, use a different, better damping material for the foam body 11, introduce an additional material such as a separating layer into the foam body 11 and / or increase the distance between the impact surface 9 and the fluid-filled body 2 - in particular, choose a higher distance than is apparent in Figure 1.

[0065] In order to achieve a low expansion coefficient ß, the fluid-filled body can, for example, be made of a less extensible material.

[0066] Further considerations may be taken into account to ensure that, under the specified conditions, contact does not occur between the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body 2 in the direction of impact. For example, the distance between the impact surface 9 and the fluid-filled body 2 can be made larger than is the case with prior art striking gloves, firstly because, as explained above, this increases the damping coefficient c, and secondly to reduce the penetration volume of the cylinder 104 into the fluid-filled body 2. The maximum permissible penetration volume Vx of the cylinder 104 into the fluid-filled body 2 can be calculated as Vx = Vz / 2+dz*hz*(hpad-dz / 2-hrest). Where:

[0067] Vz is the cylinder volume with a cylinder height hz assumed at the impact surface, dz is the cylinder diameter, hz is the cylinder height hz assumed at the impact surface normal to the impact direction and to the cylinder diameter, hpad is the thickness of the fluid-filled body before a force is applied (e.g. the distance from the bottom and top of the fluid-filled body in the impact direction), and hrest is the residual thickness of the fluid-filled body 2 when a force is applied in the impact direction.

[0068] According to Boyle-Mariotte's law, the equation VO / Vy = ppad / pO can now be formulated. Here:

[0069] Vx is the penetration volume,

[0070] Vy is the residual volume, where Vy = VO-Vx, where VO is the volume of the fluid-filled body 2 before a force is applied, ppad is the maximum pressure in the fluid-filled body 2 during contact with the target, and pO is the said resting pressure, usually 1 bar.

[0071] The pressure ppad in the fluid-filled body 2 during the impact can again be calculated from ppad = Fe / Az. Where:

[0072] Fe is the effective force acting on the fluid-filled body 2 and is calculated as explained above as Fe = (l-c+ß)*Fs, and

[0073] Az is the imaginary contact area of ​​the cylinder 104 on the fluid-filled body 2 during the impact, e.g. approximately Az = dz*hz.

[0074] It is understood that the above formulas can be further refined, for example, if the geometry of the fluid-filled body 2 is described more precisely. Furthermore, it is understood that the formula can be modified so that not the entire half of the cylinder penetrates, but only a corresponding circular segment of the base area would be included in the calculation.

[0075] The above formulas encompass the inventive condition that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body 2 in the direction of impact are non-contacting when the striking glove 1 impacts the aforementioned cylinder 104 with the impact surface 9 with a force of 5 kN, i.e., the residual thickness hrest of the fluid-filled body 2 upon application of force is greater than zero. It is advantageous if the striking glove 1 is dimensioned such that the residual thickness hrest of the fluid-filled body 2 upon application of a force of 5 kN is at least 1 mm or at least 3 mm.

[0076] In an example, the geometric dimensions VO, hz, Vz, dz, hpad, Az can be considered given. Furthermore, the exemplary values ​​pO = 1 bar, Fs = 4.7 kN can be assumed. If the boundary condition is now set that the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body 2 should only approach each other to within hrest = 0.1 cm, an indentation volume Vx can be calculated. To satisfy the equation VO / Vy = ppad / pO, the damping coefficient c and the expansion coefficient ß must be selected accordingly, e.g., with c = 50% and ß = 5%.

[0077] In particular, it is evident from the above formulas that the conditions according to the invention are achieved when the effective force is particularly small, which can be achieved by choosing a particularly large damping coefficient c and a particularly small expansion coefficient ß. Furthermore, the ratio VO / Vy can be adjusted by shaping and arranging the fluid-filled body 2 within the batting glove 1.

[0078] It is clear that the skilled person is free to adapt a variety of parameters to meet the inventive condition. In practice, it is advisable for the skilled person to produce a striking glove 1 according to the outlines of the above teaching and then test (validate) whether it has the property that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body 2 in the direction of impact are non-contacting when the striking glove 1 impacts with the impact surface against a lateral surface of a substantially non-deformable cylinder 104 with a diameter of 7 cm with a force of 5 kN.

[0079] In order to validate a striking glove 1, i.e. to test that the opposite sides in the direction of impact are actually non-contact when a 5 kN impact is applied to the said cylinder 104, the following procedure can be used.

[0080] First, a pressure is determined that is expected in the fluid-filled body when the striking glove 1 impacts the cylinder 104 with the stated force of 5 kN. This determination of the expected pressure can be done in several ways. For example, the pressure can be determined numerically by a person skilled in the art estimating the damping coefficient c of the striking glove, the expected impact area A of the cylinder 104 on the fluid-filled body 2, and optionally also the expansion coefficient ß. The expected pressure can then be estimated as p = F(l-c+ß) / A, where F = 5 kN.

[0081] However, the expected pressure can also be determined empirically, e.g., if the striking glove 1 is first struck with 5 kN against a flat surface 103 and the pressure is measured (it should be expected that, regardless of the shape of the object, the same striking force will result in at least similar pressure measurements). Alternatively, the expected pressure can be determined by first applying a reference strike to the aforementioned cylinder 104 with a force less than 5 kN, the lower force being chosen such that the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact do not touch, e.g., at essentially 3 kN. Since the expected impact area A of the cylinder 104 on the fluid-filled body 2 will not change or will change only insignificantly, a determinable relationship between pressure and force is expected, whereby the measured pressure value for the lower force can be extrapolated to the force of 5 kN.

[0082] After or before the expected pressure has been determined, the step of striking the striking glove 1 with the said force of 5 kN on the said cylinder 104 and measuring the pressure in the fluid-filled body 2 takes place. This (and also the strikes for empirically determining the expected pressure) can be done by means of the said test bench 101.

[0083] Once the expected pressure of 5 kN upon impact on the cylinder 104 and the measured pressure of 5 kN upon impact on the cylinder 104 are available, the striking glove 1 can be validated, i.e. the two values ​​are compared with one another, e.g. by means of an evaluation unit 105, which receives the measured values ​​of the pressure sensor 2 and can also be connected to the force plate 102 in order to confirm the measured impact force Fs. If the expected pressure essentially corresponds to the measured pressure, it can be concluded that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact did not touch when the cylinder 104 was struck with 5 kN. This therefore results in a striking glove 1 with the properties according to the invention.However, if the expected pressure and the measured pressure are far apart, it can be concluded that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact touched each other when the cylinder 104 was struck with 5 kN. Therefore, the present glove is not a striking glove with the properties according to the invention, but rather a striking glove 200 as shown in Figure 4. Since in practice the pressure measured values ​​in the fluid-filled body 2 will de facto hardly correlate with the impact force when the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body 2 touch each other, the criterion that the expected pressure should essentially correspond to the measured pressure can be interpreted broadly, e.g., as + / - 10% or even as + / - 20%. Therefore, the estimation of the aforementioned values ​​for numerical determination can also be extremely rough.

[0084] Figures 7 to 9 show the acceleration values ​​ax, ay, az occurring during a strike with the striking glove 1, where the striking force Fs = 5 kN. On the vertical axis, the acceleration is entered in units of g, where g = 9.81 m / s 2 A time curve is plotted on the horizontal axis, with the impact of the blow beginning at approximately 0.72 seconds. During the blow for which the acceleration values ​​are shown, the punching glove 1 struck a flat surface 103, whereby the same or at least similar acceleration values ​​are expected for a blow against a cylinder 104 with the aforementioned properties. The acceleration value ay was measured along the direction of impact, and the acceleration values ​​ax, az in orthogonal directions normal to the direction of impact; see also the coordinate system in Figure 1.

[0085] At this point, it should be noted that this acceleration curve, which occurs after the striking glove 1 hits a target, is not measured in the prior art striking gloves 200. Although the striking glove of WO 2020 / 041806, for example, also includes an acceleration sensor, this is used to track the movement of the hand during a strike ("during the execution of the strike"). However, the acceleration sensor described there is only a conventional acceleration sensor, and it is particularly noted that the acceleration sensor shown there is not suitable for deriving a force from the acceleration during impact.

[0086] A particular problem with the acceleration sensors installed in state-of-the-art punching gloves is that they are usually part of conventional IMUs and can usually only record negative accelerations of a maximum of 16 g (per direction). IMUs are relevant because, in addition to linear acceleration, they also record angular rates, which is necessary for tracking the hand during punch execution. However, the curves in Figures 7 to 9 show that such acceleration sensors are not sufficient to adequately determine the peak accelerations, as these are in a range from 50 g to 64 g or even slightly higher across all axes, e.g. 71 g. Such precise determination is also not necessary in the state of the art, since when tracking the hand, a measurement of the acceleration in the range of up to 16 g is sufficient.

[0087] In a further aspect of the invention, however, a high-acceleration sensor 4' is used, which can measure accelerations of at least 64 g per direction. This can be part of an IMU, but particularly preferably, the high-acceleration sensor 4' is provided in addition to an IMU that has a conventional acceleration sensor that can measure, for example, accelerations of up to 16 g.

[0088] If the high-acceleration sensor 4' is implemented separately from the IMU, this also has the particular advantage that the IMU's yaw rate sensor can be used to adequately calculate gravity from the acceleration data of the high-acceleration sensor 4'. In other words, the measurement data of the high-acceleration sensor 4' and the IMU's yaw rate sensor can be linked to determine the acceleration values ​​of the batting glove 1, which can be done, for example, via a computing unit 3'.

[0089] The acceleration values ​​determined by the high-acceleration sensor 4' can be used to determine an impact force alternatively or in addition to the fluid-filled body 2 with the pressure sensor 3. It should be noted that an impact force Fs determined by the high-acceleration sensor 4' is meaningful, but is generally less accurate than an impact force Fs determined by the pressure sensor 3.

[0090] To determine the impact force Fs via the high-acceleration sensor 4', an effective mass can be estimated and multiplied by the acceleration measurements of the high-acceleration sensor 4' to determine the impact force Fs. The effective mass can also be measured empirically and then used by statistical methods (e.g., machine learning) to approximate the force. The impact force determined in this way via the high-acceleration sensor 4' can be regarded as a reference value, e.g., to verify a compressive force measured by the pressure sensor 3. If the reference value lies, e.g., within a tolerance of 10%, 20%, or 30% of the impact force Fs determined by the pressure sensor 3, it can be concluded that the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body 2 in the direction of impact did not touch.However, if the reference value lies outside the specified tolerance, it can be concluded that the measured values ​​of the pressure sensor 3 are not meaningful, e.g., because the opposite sides of the fluid-filled body 2 in the direction of impact touched each other or because another type of impact occurred for which the fluid-filled body 2 is not designed, e.g., a lateral blow with the punching glove 1 or a back-of-the-hand strike. In summary, the impact force is preferably determined based on the data provided by the pressure sensor 3 if the reference value lies within the specified tolerance; otherwise, the reference value itself can be used as the impact force.

[0091] Furthermore, the data provided by the high-acceleration sensor 4' can be used for more precise impact detection (for example, via machine learning or decision tree statistics), since the high-acceleration sensor 4' can also determine an exact direction of impact (in a classic IMU, several axes are usually overloaded or have plateau formations, so that they experience a measurement range overshoot, which leads to a serious measurement error).

[0092] Figure 10 shows a particularly preferred embodiment in which a support structure 20 is present inside the fluid-filled body 2. The support structure 20 exerts a resistance when the fluid-filled body 2 is compressed, so that the support structure 20 increases the damping coefficient c of the batting glove 1. The support structure 20 is designed such that the fluid in the fluid-filled body 2 can continue to spread undisturbed therein and the pressure measurement is thus not influenced. For this purpose, the support structure 20 is designed, for example, to be open-pored. In the embodiment shown in Figure 10, the fluid-filled body 2 is shown with a honeycomb-shaped support structure 20, which has proven particularly useful in practice. In this embodiment, the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body indirectly touch each other when the support structure 20 is compressed to a maximum. i.e.It could also be defined that the striking glove 1 is designed in such a way that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact are contact-free and without a maximally compressed support structure 20 (if present) and / or at a minimum distance of, for example, 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm or more (at this minimum distance, the support structure 20 will in any case not yet be maximally compressed) when the striking glove impacts with the impact surface with a predetermined force, which is, for example, at least 2.5 kN or at least 5 kN, onto a lateral surface of a substantially non-deformable cylinder with a diameter of 7 cm.If there is no support structure 20 between the opposite sides in the direction of impact, it can be defined that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact are in any case contact-free if the striking glove impacts with the impact surface onto a lateral surface of a substantially non-deformable cylinder having a diameter of 7 cm with a predetermined force of at least 2.5 kN. Regardless of whether a support structure 20 is present, it could also be defined that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body in the direction of impact are at a minimum distance of, for example, 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm or more if the striking glove impacts with the impact surface onto a lateral surface of a substantially non-deformable cylinder having a diameter of 7 cm with a predetermined force of at least 2.5 kN.

Claims

Claims:

1. A striking glove (1) comprising a damping body (8), a fluid-filled body (2), and a pressure sensor (3) for measuring the hydrostatic pressure in the fluid-filled body (2), wherein at least a portion of the damping body (8) is located between an impact surface (9) of the striking glove (1) and the fluid-filled body (2), wherein the striking glove (1) further comprises a computing unit (3') or is connectable to a computing unit (3') designed to assign force values ​​to the pressure measurements measured by the pressure sensor (3), characterized in that the striking glove (1) is designed such that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body (2) in the direction of impact are contact-free when the striking glove (1) impacts with the impact surface (9) with a predetermined force amounting to at least 2.5 kN onto a lateral surface of a substantially non-deformable cylinder (104) having a diameter of 7 cm.

2. The striking glove (1) according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined force is substantially 2.5 kN, substantially 3 kN, substantially 4 kN or substantially 5 kN.

3. A striking glove (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the striking glove (1) is designed such that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body (2) in the direction of impact touch each other when the striking glove (1) impacts the outer surface of said cylinder (104) with the impact surface (9) with a further predetermined force which is greater than the first-mentioned predetermined force and is, for example, at least 6 kN.

4. A striking glove (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a support structure (20) is present within the fluid-filled body (2).

5. A striking glove (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the damping coefficient of the striking glove (1) is at least 20%, preferably at least 30%, when a force corresponding to the predetermined force is applied to the impact surface (9).

6. A striking glove (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the expansion coefficient of the fluid-filled body is up to 5%, preferably up to 3% or particularly preferably up to 1%.

7. The striking glove (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the striking glove (1) is designed such that the two opposite sides of the fluid-filled body (2) in the direction of impact are at a distance of at least 1 mm or at least 3 mm when the striking glove (1) impacts the said cylinder (104) with the impact surface (9) with the predetermined force.

8. Batting glove (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the batting glove (1) comprises a high-acceleration sensor (4') with which acceleration values ​​of at least 64 g can be measured.

9. Striking glove (1) according to claim 8, wherein said computing unit (3') or a further computing unit is designed to determine a reference value from measured values ​​of the high-acceleration sensor (4') during an impact together with an estimated effective mass, and wherein said computing unit (3') or the further computing unit is preferably further designed to output the force value determined via the pressure sensor (3) as the impact force (Fs) if the reference value determined via the high-acceleration sensor (4') lies within a tolerance of 10%, 20% or 30% of the force value determined via the pressure sensor (3), and to output the reference value as the impact force (Fs) if the reference value lies outside the said tolerance.

10. A method for validating the striking glove (1) with a damping body (8), a fluid-filled body (2) and a pressure sensor (3) for measuring the pressure in the fluid-filled body (2), comprising the steps of: numerically or empirically determining an expected pressure that is expected in the fluid-filled body (2) when the striking glove (1) impacts a lateral surface of a substantially non-deformable cylinder (104) with a diameter of 7 cm with a predetermined force of at least 2.5 kN, striking the striking glove (1) with the said force on the said cylinder (104) and measuring the pressure in the fluid-filled body (2) by means of the pressure sensor (3), and Compare whether the measured pressure is essentially the same as the expected pressure.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of numerically determining the expected pressure comprises the following steps: Estimating a damping coefficient (c) of the striking glove (1), the expected impact area of ​​the cylinder (104) on the fluid-filled body (102) and optionally also an expansion coefficient (ß) of the fluid-filled body (2), - Determining the expected pressure, preferably using the formula p = F(l-c+ß) / A, where F is the predetermined force, c is the damping coefficient, ß is the expansion coefficient and A is the expected impact area of ​​the cylinder (104) on the fluid-filled body (2).

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of empirically determining the expected pressure comprises the following steps: Hitting the striking glove (1) with the said force on a flat surface (103) and measuring the pressure in the fluid-filled body (2) to obtain the expected pressure.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of empirically determining the expected pressure comprises the following steps: striking the striking glove (1) with a test force on said cylinder (104), wherein the test force is less than the predetermined force, preferably less than 4 kN or less than 3 kN, and measuring the pressure in the fluid-filled body (2) to obtain a test pressure measurement value, - Determine the expected pressure based on the test pressure measurement.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the striking glove (1) comprises a high-acceleration sensor (4') with which acceleration measurement values ​​of at least 64 g can be measured per axis, and a reference value is determined from measurement values ​​of the high-acceleration sensor (4') during an impact together with an estimated effective mass, wherein the step of empirical Determining the expected pressure comprises determining the reference value during the step of striking said cylinder (104) with said force.

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