Body Pad with Curved Protective Layer for Impact Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional personal protective equipment, such as soft pads, often fail to adequately protect the chest area and can be overly stiff, causing discomfort and compromising athletic performance.
Innovation Solution
A body pad with a protective layer mounted on a compressible substrate, designed to absorb energy from impacts, featuring a curved and corrugated structure to enhance rigidity and comfort, while meeting industry-accepted testing standards like NOCSAE Doc (ND) 200-17a M18 for chest protectors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional soft pads are used for body protection, then the equipment is flexible and comfortable, but the protective capability against impacts is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining a rigid protective layer (made from materials like polyethylene or polypropylene) with a compliant foam substrate. This composite structure enables the protective equipment to simultaneously provide high impact protection through the rigid layer while maintaining comfort and flexibility through the foam substrate, directly resolving the contradiction between protective capability and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective equipment is segmented into distinct functional layers: a rigid protective layer for impact resistance and a compliant foam substrate for comfort. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function optimally, with the rigid layer providing structural protection and the foam providing flexibility and comfort, thereby resolving the contradiction between protection and comfort.
2Reliability
If rigid protective equipment is used to enhance protection, then the protective capability is improved, but the equipment becomes overly stiff causing discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing rigid protection only where impact protection is most needed (through the rigid protective layer), while the surrounding and interior portions use compliant foam material for comfort. This localized application of rigidity versus compliance allows the equipment to provide high protective capability where necessary while maintaining overall comfort and flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite structure of rigid protective layer over compliant foam substrate creates a material system that exhibits both rigidity and compliance. The rigid layer provides structural integrity and impact resistance, while the foam substrate provides flexibility and comfort, resolving the contradiction between protective capability and comfort.
3Reliability
If protective equipment is made thicker to improve protection, then the protective capability is enhanced, but the weight and bulk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The composite structure allows for thin rigid protective layers to provide high protective capability due to the high strength-to-weight ratio of materials like polyethylene and polypropylene. The rigid layer requires minimal thickness to provide effective protection, and when combined with the lightweight foam substrate, the overall weight remains low while maintaining high protective capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes materials with high specific strength (strength-to-weight ratio) such as polyethylene and polypropylene for the rigid protective layer. By changing the material parameters to high-strength, low-density materials, the protective capability is enhanced without proportionally increasing the weight, as the rigid layer can be made very thin while still providing effective protection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides effective impact protection for the chest area, reducing the risk of injuries like commotio cordis while ensuring comfort and flexibility, as demonstrated by compliance with NOCSAE chest protector standards and impact testing results.
Implementation Method 1
a compressible substrate, for absorbing energy from impacts
Implementation Method 2
absorbing energy from impacts to the body of a user wearing the body pad
Implementation Method 3
The protective layer portion may define at least one of protrusions or corrugation to increase rigidity of the protective layer portion
Implementation Method 4
Along the y-direction, the protective layer portion and the substrate portion may be curved outwardly in a z-direction perpendicular to the x-y plane
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments provide a body pad having a protective layer mounted on a compressible substrate, for absorbing energy from impacts to the body of a user wearing the body pad. Embodiments may provide a chest protector including a chest pad having a protective layer mounted on a compressible substrate, for absorbing energy from impacts to a chest of a user wearing the chest protector.