PROTECTION DEVICE FOR THE HEAD OF THE HUMAN

Abstract

A protection device for the head of a human comprising an airbag having an outer skin enclosing a gas space. The inflated airbag of this protection device covers at least a part of the face of said human.

Claims

1. A protection device for the head of a human comprising an airbag having an outer skin enclosing a gas space, wherein the inflated airbag covers at least a part of the face of said human.

2. The protection device of claim 1, wherein the inflated airbag covers substantially the whole face of the human.

3. The protection device of claim 1, wherein the inflated airbag does substantially not cover any other part of the human's head.

4. The protection device of claim 1, wherein the inflated airbag additionally covers at least a part of the temples of the human.

5. The protection device of claim 1, wherein the airbag comprises a see-through area being positioned in front of the human's eyes when the airbag is deployed.

6. The protection device of claim 5, wherein the airbag comprises at least one layer of a transparent material in the see-through area.

7. The protection device of claim 6, wherein the outer skin of the airbag comprises at least two transparent layers in the see-through area such that the gas space enclosed by the outer skin extends over the see-trough-area.

8. The protection device of claim 1, wherein the airbag does not extend to a position in front of the human's eyes when the airbag is deployed.

9. The protection device of claim 1, wherein a protection surface of the outer skin which faces the face of the human when the airbag is deployed is essentially flat, or has the shape of a concave fillet, or is essentially dish-shaped.

10. The protection device of claim 1, wherein the airbag comprises inner tethers and/or in that the gas-space is divided into a plurality of sub-spaces.

11. The protection device of claim 1, wherein the inflatable airbag is at least partially made in a one-piece-woven-process.

12. The protection device of claim 1, further comprising an inflator and preferably a triggering means for triggering the inflator.

13. The protection device of claim 12, further comprising an attachment means for attaching the protection device to the human body, a piece of clothing, a backpack, or a helmet.

14. The protection device of claim 13, further comprising at least one outer tether element connecting the inflatable airbag with the attachment means or an element to which the attachment means is attached.

15. The protection device of claim 13, wherein the protection device is designed for being attached to a helmet such that the un-deployed airbag is substantially located in front of the forehead of the user and the airbag deploys in the direction towards the chin.

16. A protection arrangement comprising: a protection device for the head of a human comprising an airbag having an outer skin enclosing a gas space, said airbag covering at least a part of the face of said human when in its inflated state, and a helmet to which said protection device is connected.

17. An airbag comprising: an airbag main element comprising a first layer and a second layer being connected to one another by means of a border, such that the two layers and the border enclose a gas-space, wherein the airbag main element comprises: a filling section extending in a first direction from an inflator-side end to an inflator-remote end, and in a second direction from a first lateral end to a second lateral end, said filling section comprising a filling chamber of the gas-space; and a first set of lateral sections extending from the first lateral end of the filling section, said first set of lateral sections comprising at least two lateral sections of the first set of lateral sections, each comprising a lateral chamber of the gas space, wherein neighboured lateral chambers of the first set of lateral sections are spaced by a non-inflatable gap, and wherein the airbag further comprises at least one connection connecting two neighboured lateral sections of the first set of lateral sections.

18. The airbag of claim 17, wherein the first set of lateral sections comprises at least three lateral sections, each comprising a lateral chamber of the gas space.

19. The airbag of claim 17, wherein the airbag main element further comprises a second set of lateral sections extending from the second lateral end of the filling section, said second set of lateral sections comprising at least two lateral sections of the second set of lateral sections, each comprising a lateral chamber of the gas-space, wherein neighboured lateral chambers of the second set of lateral sections are spaced by a non-inflatable gap, and wherein the airbag further comprises at least one connection connecting two neighboured lateral sections of the second set of lateral sections.

20. The airbag of claim 19, the airbag main element and the airbag are mirror-symmetrical.

21. The airbag of claim 17, wherein the border of the airbag main element is at least in sections in form of a border strip and the connections connect sections of this border strip.

22. The airbag of claim 17, wherein at least some of the gaps widen towards the outside.

23. The airbag of claim 17, wherein at least some of the gaps have an enlarged inner end area.

24. The airbag of claim 17, wherein at least some of the gaps of the airbag main element are free of material.

25. A method for manufacturing an airbag which comprises: an airbag main element comprising a first layer and a second layer being connected to one another by means of a border, such that the two layers and the border enclose a gas-space, wherein the airbag main element comprises: a filling section extending in a first direction from an inflator-side end to an inflator-remote end, and in a second direction from a first lateral end to a second lateral end, said filling section comprising a filling chamber of the gas-space; and a first set of lateral sections extending from the first lateral end of the filling section, said first set of lateral sections comprising at least two lateral sections of the first set of lateral sections, each comprising a lateral chamber of the gas space, wherein neighboured lateral chambers of the first set of lateral sections are spaced by a non-inflatable gap, and wherein the airbag further comprises at least one connection connecting two neighboured lateral sections of the first set of lateral sections, said method comprising the following steps: providing the airbag main element, folding or bending the airbag main element such that the at least one gap is at least partially closed, and applying at least one connection such that the gap remains at least partially closed.

26. An airbag comprising: an airbag main element comprising a first layer and a second layer being connected to one another by means of a border, such that the two layers and the border enclose a gas-space, said airbag main element further comprising, at least one first inner connection connecting at least two locations of the first layer, and/or at least one second inner connection connecting at least two locations of the second layer.

27. The airbag according to claim 26, the at least one inner connections forms a straight line.

28. The airbag of claim 27, wherein a first group of inner connections is orientated in a first orientation.

29. The airbag of claim 28, wherein a second group of inner connections is orientated in a second orientation extending substantially in an 45 to the first orientation, and a third group of inner connections is orientated in a third orientation extending substantially in a 45 angle to the second orientation.

30. The airbag of claim 29, wherein the inner connections form an arrow.

31. The Airbag of claim 26, wherein the airbag main element is made at least in sections in a one-piece-woven-process and at least one of the inner connections is formed by an additional tether yarn being woven into the weave of the fabric of its layer.

32. An airbag comprising: an airbag main element comprising a first layer and a second layer being connected to one another by means of a border, such that the two layers and the border enclose a gas-space, wherein the airbag main element comprises: a filling section extending in a first direction from an inflator-side end to an inflator-remote end, and in a second direction from a first lateral end to a second lateral end, said filling section comprising a filling chamber of the gas-space; and a first set of lateral sections extending from the first lateral end of the filling section, said first set of lateral sections comprising at least two lateral sections of the first set of lateral sections, each comprising a lateral chamber of the gas space, at least one first inner connection connecting at least two locations of the first layer and/or at least one second inner connection connecting at least two locations of the second layer, wherein neighboured lateral chambers of the first set of lateral sections are spaced by a non-inflatable gap, and the airbag further comprises at least one connection connecting two neighboured lateral sections of the first set of lateral sections.

Description

[0024] The invention will now be described by means of preferred embodiments in view of the figures. The figures show:

[0025] FIG. 1 an illustration of a bicycle accident and the working principle of a first embodiment of the invention,

[0026] FIG. 2 substantially what is shown in FIG. 1 but in an enlarged representation,

[0027] FIG. 3 a second embodiment of the protection device in a state in which the airbag is fully inflated,

[0028] FIG. 4 a third embodiment of the invention in a representation according to FIG. 3,

[0029] FIG. 5 a fourth embodiment of the invention in a representation according to FIGS. 3 and 4,

[0030] FIG. 6 a sectional view of the airbag of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,

[0031] FIG. 7 a variation to what is shown in FIG. 6,

[0032] FIG. 8 a further variation to what is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7,

[0033] FIG. 9 a fifth embodiment of the invention in a representation according to FIGS. 3 to 5,

[0034] FIG. 10 a sixth embodiment of the invention in a representation according to FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 9,

[0035] FIG. 11 a protection device intended for being attached to a helmet (and thus similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4),

[0036] FIG. 12 the protection device of FIG. 11 in a state in which the airbag is inflated,

[0037] FIG. 13 an airbag comprising inner connections,

[0038] FIG. 13a a schematic representation of an inner connection,

[0039] FIG. 14 a airbag main element for an airbag adapted for being used as a face-protecting airbag,

[0040] FIG. 14a a sectional view along plane A-A in FIG. 14,

[0041] FIG. 15 the airbag main element of FIG. 14 after a folding or bending step,

[0042] FIG. 16 the airbag element of FIG. 15 after connection seams have been applied, thus the complete airbag, and

[0043] FIG. 17 the airbag of FIG. 16 in its deployed state.

[0044] The embodiments are described in view of a male bicycle rider, because the Figures show a male person, but of course all the described applies in the same way to a female bicycle rider or a child.

[0045] FIG. 1 shows schematically a bicycle accident in which the bicycle rider B substantially falls over the handlebar of the bicycle meaning that his head moves forward and downward. The bicycle rider wears a helmet 50 but one can see that at the beginning of the accident his face is not protected.

[0046] The bicycle rider B additionally wears a protection device 10 which is comprised of an attachment means which is here in form of a collar 40, an airbag 12, an inflator (not shown in FIG. 1) and a triggering means for triggering the inflator (also not shown in the figures). Such a triggering means usually comprises an acceleration/deceleration sensor.

[0047] As one can clearly see from FIGS. 1 and 2, the airbag 12 deploys, starting from the collar 40, substantially upwards such that it covers the throat and the lower part of the face of the bicycle rider, but not his eyes, such that his sight is not blocked. As every airbag, this airbag 12 comprises an outer skin enclosing a gas space. As one can see, the gas space can be sub-divided in a plurality of subspaces or chambers, for example by providing additional seams, tethers or the like, whichaccording to the definitions chosen in this applicationalso belong to the airbag but not to its outer skin.

[0048] Together with the helmet 50, the deployed airbag 12 protects the face of the bicycle rider to a very high degree: The lower part of the face is covered by the airbag 12 itself, the forehead is protected by the helmet, and both, the airbag 12 and the front edge of the helmet protrude from the region around the eyes such that it is very unlikely that this region of the face hits an obstacle before the airbag 12 and/or the front edge of the helmet hit this obstacle.

[0049] FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment in which a larger surface of the face is protected by the airbag 12, because the airbag 12 extends up to the forehead of the bicycle rider. In order to preserve the rider's sight, the airbag 12 comprises a see-through area 20 in form of a hole 22 which is located in front of the eyes when the airbag is fully deployed.

[0050] The first two embodiments which have just been described have the advantage that the protection device gives some protection even if the bicycle rider does not wear a helmet (for example because it is too uncomfortable during a warm day). The drawback is that to get optimum protection, the bicycle rider needs to wear the inventive protection device and a helmet. In order to overcome this drawback, it is also possible to attach the protection device to a helmet. This can be done in such a way that the protection device is a separate part which can be attached to a given helmet as an add-on feature (FIG. 4) or to integrate it into a helmet (FIG. 5). A combination of a helmet and the inventive protection device is preferred to as a protection arrangement.

[0051] In the case that the protection device 10 is an add-on for a helmet, it is especially preferred that it comprises an attachment means 45 being designed for an attachment to an upper front part of the helmet as it is indicated in FIG. 4. In this case, the airbag 12 deploys from a forehead area downwards such that it needs to pass the area in front of the eyes. In this case a see-through area 20, for example in form of a hole 22 in the airbag 12 is also often preferred. The same applies to the case in which the protection device 10 is integrated into the helmet, because also here it is preferred that the airbag 12 deploys downwards from an upper forward edge of the helmet 50. In both cases, usually a fill tube 25 is provided which connects the inflator with the airbag 12. This fill tube 25 can be in form of a flexible hose made from airbag material.

[0052] As can also be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5, it is preferred that also in case that the airbag 12 deploys downwardsmeaning from the forehead to the chinthe airbag 12 covers the throat of the bicycle rider at least partially.

[0053] As has been mentioned, it is strongly preferred that the deployed airbag does not block the sight of the user, such that in the case that the deployed airbag covers substantially all of the face of the user (including at least a part of the forehead), a see-trough part 20 needs to be provided. As is shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 and schematically in FIG. 6, which is a sectional view through the deployed airbag of FIGS. 4 and 5, this see-through area can simply be a hole 22 in the airbag that extends through the gas-space 26.

[0054] Another thing that can be seen from FIG. 6 is that the protection surface 17a of the rear wall 17 (this is the wall facing the user's face) can be concave; preferably the protection surface 17a is concave in both directions such that it covers the face essentially like a baseball glove.

[0055] In order to further enhance the protection, a transparent layer 23 (for example in form of a transparent foil or a transparent fabric) can be provided in the hole such that the eyes are protected from lose particles. This transparent layer is connected to the outer skin. In the embodiment shown, the transparent layer is connected to the tunnel extending through the gas apace, but it would of course also be possible to attach it to the front wall or to the rear wall.

[0056] FIG. 8 shows an embodiment without a hole extending through the gas space. Here, the see-through area comprises two transparent areas 23a, 23b of the front wall and the rear wall respectively. These can especially be made of transparent fabric. As an alternative, the complete outer skin could be made of such a transparent fabric.

[0057] In the case that the protection device 10 is an add-on for a helmet, it is especially preferred that it comprises an attachment means 45 that is designed for being attached to an upper front part of the helmet as it is indicated in FIG. 4. In this case, the airbag 12 deploys from a forehead area downwards such that it needs to pass the area in front of the eyes. In this case a see-through area 20, for example in form of a hole 22 in the airbag 12 is nearly mandatory. The same applies to the case in which the protection device 10 is integrated into the helmet, because also here it is preferred that the airbag 12 deploys downwards from an upper forward edge of the helmet 50. In both cases, usually a fill-tube 25 is provided which connects the inflator with the airbag 12. This fill-tube 25 can be in form of a flexible hose made from airbag material.

[0058] As can also be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5 it is preferred that in the case that the airbag 12 deploys downwards, meaning from the forehead to the chin, the airbag 12 also covers the throat of the bicycle rider at least partially.

[0059] FIG. 9 shows an embodiment in which the airbag 12 (namely its outer skin) additionally comprises substantially tube-shaped temple parts 18 covering the temples of the user and give thus additional protection. In this case one could say that the airbag comprises a main part 15 covering the face and temple parts 18 covering the temples.

[0060] FIG. 10 shows an embodiment with a protection device being integrated into a helmet 50 (similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5). The difference to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is that the inflator is located at a rear part of the helmet 50 and that a rather long fill tube 25 extends from this inflator 30 to the main part of the airbag. This fill tube 25 (like the fill tube shown in FIG. 5) can be a part of the airbag meaning that it is made of a flexible material.

[0061] FIGS. 11 and 12 show a protection device 10 intended for being attached to a helmet in a little more detail. One can see the attachment means 45 which is designed for being attached to the front part of the helmet, for example by means of a (not shown) snap-in connector. In this example the airbag (which only comprises a main part) is relatively simply contoured, namely by providing direct connections between the front wall and the rear wall, for example in a form of seams, or providing inner tethers, such that the outer skin comprises a plurality of tube-shaped sections (and of course the gas-space 26 is divided accordingly). In order to not block the users sight, it could be possible to produce the whole outer skin (meaning the front wall and the rear wall) of a transparent fabric or another transparent material.

[0062] Usually, a simple 2D-design of the airbag is preferred, in which the airbag has two layers, namely a first layer (for example forming the front wall) and a second layer (for example forming the rear wall facing the rider's face). In order to shape the airbag, at least one first inner connection can be provided which connects at least two locations of the first layer. Alternatively or (preferably) additionally at least one second inner connection can be provided which connects at least two locations of the second layer, such that the first and/or the second layer are bent by means of the inner connection(s). These inner connections can be formed by a one-piece-woven process.

[0063] FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of such an airbag 12 with first inner connections 131a, 131b, 131c and second inner connections 132a, 132b, 132c, each of those having the shape of a straight line. The representation is very schematic since inner connection can of course not directly be seen from outside, except that the layers are made from a see-through material (which would be possible). The first inner connections 131a, 131b, 131c connect parts of the first layer (outer layer, facing away from the rider's face) and second inner connections 132a, 132b, 132c connect parts of the second layer (inner layer, facing towards the rider's face). In an upper area of the of the airbag 12, the inner connections form a first group (with the inner connections 131a and 132a) having a first orientation substantially extending parallel to the symmetry-axis of the rider's face and in a lower area of the airbag, the inner connections form a second group (with the inner connections 131b and 132b) having a second orientation and a third group (with the inner connections 131c, 132c) having a third orientation. each substantially in a 45 orientation to the first orientation, such that the assembly of the inner connections form a downward pointing arrow (downward when the airbag is in front of a rider's face when the rider is in a standard standing or seating position).

[0064] The inner connections can especially be in form of additional tether yarns Y or sections of such tether yarns that are woven into the weave of the fabric, as illustrated schematically in FIG. 13a with the example of the second inner connection 132a which extends between two endpoints P1, P2 in the second layer 62. The other inner connections can be made in the same way. The section of the additional tether yarn Y forming the shown second inner connection 132a is woven so as to extend substantially parallel with the weft yarns WE of the fabric (and thus substantially perpendicular to the warp yarns WA), and pass over and under successive warp yarns WA between the two endpoints P1, P2. From the endpoints P1, P2, the additional tether yarn Y may extend towards a neighbouring of the second layer, or towards the first layer (not shown in FIG. 13a).

[0065] In order to generate the pattern shown in FIG. 13 with the differently angled inner connections, it may be necessary to assemble the airbag from several cuttings such that the additional tether yarns can follow the orientation of the weft yarns.

[0066] In view of FIGS. 14 to 17 another preferred embodiment of an airbag adapted for being used in a protection device as described above is now described. This airbag comprises an airbag main element and a plurality of connections, which are here in form of connection seams, but could also be in form of weldings, bondings, or the like. The airbag of this embodiment is easy to manufacture and despite that, the deployed airbag has a shape which substantially conforms to the shape of the face of the human. This means that the surface of the airbag pointing towards the face (the protection surface) is concave in two directions, such that the airbag can be described as having substantially the shape of a baseball-glove.

[0067] FIG. 14 shows the airbag main element of the described embodiment. This airbag main element forms the outer skin of the airbag and has two layers 61, 62 as is typical for an airbag. This airbag main element 60 can be made in a one-piece woven process (which is often preferred), but could also be made from two layers, which are connected along their outer edges by a separate sewing-, welding- or gluing-step. The two layers 61, 62 are of course connected to each other along their border, which is here in form of a border strip 100. This border strip 100 has a substantially constant width in this embodiment, but this is not a mandatory feature.

[0068] The shape of the airbag main element 60 could be described as palm-shaped or oak-leaf-shaped. It has a filling section 70 extending in a first direction from an inflator-side end 71 to an inflator-remote end 72 and in a second direction from a first lateral end 73 to a second lateral end 74. From the first lateral end 73 of the filling section, three lateral sections 80, 81, 82 of a first set of lateral sections extend and from the second lateral end 74 of the filling section 70 three lateral sections 90, 91, 92 of a second set of lateral sections extend. Thus, the filing section 70 forms a central section. As one can easily see from FIG. 13, the airbag main element 60 of this embodiment is mirror symmetrical along the center line of the filling section 70. Each of the just mentioned lateral sections encloses a chamber 80a, 81a, 82a, 90a, 91a and 92a forming a part of the gas-space.

[0069] As one can directly see from FIG. 14, neighbored sections of a set of sections are separated by a gap 121 to 124. The shape of those gaps is now described in more detail in view of the gap 121 separating the sections 80, 81 and the gap 122 separating the sections 81, 82. Because of the symmetry of the airbag main element 60, this description also applies to the sections of the second set of lateral sections 90 to 91 and the gaps 123 to 124.

[0070] The gap 122 between the lateral section 81 and the lateral section 82 widens constantly from its inner end to its outer end, such that it is substantially triangle-shaped. The gap 121 between the lateral section 80 and the lateral section 81 has a widened section 121a at its inner end and from there, the gap 101 widens towards the outside as the gap 121. The gap 122 is bounded by the sections 103 and 104 of the border strip 100 and the part of the gap 101 which extends from the widened section 121a is bounded by the sections 101 and 102 of the border strip. the All gaps 121 to 124 are completely material free, which is preferred but not strictly necessary for all conceivable embodiments. It would also be possible that some of the gaps or a part of the gaps are formed by a none-inflatable part of the airbag main element 60.

[0071] As can be seen from FIG. 15, the airbag main element 60 is folded or bent in a next production step. The folding or bending is performed such that the sections 101 and 102 of the border strip overlap, the section 103 and 104 of the border strip overlap, the section 105 and 106 of the border strip overlap and the section 107 and 108 of the border strip overlap. The outcome of this is shown in FIG. 14. In a next step, the overlapping sections of the border strip are connected to each other by connections (here connection seams) 111 to 114 (see FIG. 15). Those connections could also be referred to as outer connections. Of course, it is not necessary to first perform all foldings/bendings and then apply all seams; it would also be possible to perform one folding, then apply one seam, then perform the next folding and apply the next seam and so on.

[0072] One can see in FIG. 16 that the inner end section 121a of the gap 121 remains open. The same of course applies to the inner end section 123a of the gap 123. These inner end sections thus forms see-through areas.

[0073] FIG. 17 shows the airbag of FIG. 16 in a completely deployed state. One can see the above mentioned baseball glove shape which results from the geometry of the airbag main element 60 and the connections. Despite the fact that this airbag is relatively easy to manufacture, one can get an airbag which conforms to the face of a human and additionally gives the possibility for see-through areas.

[0074] Although not shown in the Figures, the shaping principles of the inner connections as described in view of FIG. 13 and the shaping principle shown in view of FIGS. 14 to 17 could be combined, such that the airbag comprises both: inner connections and outer connections (seams). In terms of the embodiment of FIGS. 14 to 17, the airbag of the embodiment 13 consists only of the airbag main element, which comprises the two layers as well as the inner connections.

TABLE-US-00001 List of reference numbers 10 protection device 12 airbag 15 main part 16 front wall/first layer 17 rear wall/second layer 17a protection surface 18 temple part 20 see-through area 22 hole 23, 23a, 23b transparent layer 25 fill tube 26 gas-space 30 inflator 40 attachment means in form of a collar 45 attachment means for attaching or being attached 50 helmet 60 airbag main element 61 first layer 62 second layer 70 filling section 70a filling chamber 71 inflator-side end 72 inflator-remote end 73 first lateral end 74 second lateral end 75 filling chamber 80, 81, 82 lateral sections of first set of lateral sections 80a, 81a, 82a lateral chambers of first set of lateral sections 90, 91, 92 lateral sections of first set of lateral sections 90a, 91a, 92a lateral chambers of first set of lateral sections 100 boarder strip 101-108 section of border strip 111-114 connection seam 121-124 gap 131a first inner connection with first orientation 131b first inner connection with second orientation 131c third inner connection with third orientation 132a second inner connection with first orientation 132b second inner connection with second orientation 133c second inner connection with third orientation B bicycle rider P1, P2 end points WA warp yarn WE weft yarn Y additional tether yarn