ITVI20100210A1 - MULTILAYER SECURITY DEVICE - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

Field of application

The present invention is applicable to the technical sector of devices for the safety and health of the human body and particularly relates to a multilayer safety device for objects having a surface intended to come into contact with a part of the human body.

The invention is advantageously applicable for the production of handles and knobs of sports equipment and / or work tools, seats and seating in general, elements of protection for the human body, such as shoe insoles and gloves and clothing accessories in gender.

State of the art

The application of shock absorbing elements on surfaces subject to shocks and vibrations is known, in particular work tools, sports equipment, such as bicycle handlebars, racket or golf club handles, pneumatic hammers, chainsaws, drills, gardening, in order to make the user's grip safer and more comfortable.

It is also known the application of shock-absorbing devices on surfaces intended to come into contact with a part of the human body, in particular seats, saddles or seats in general of vehicles, gloves and shoe soles, through which the frame of the vehicle transmits a solicitation to the user.

In the case of handles, the need is particularly felt to make the grip more comfortable as these parts are particularly rigid since the force is transmitted between the user and the tool through them.

Consequently, the handles are subject to strong stresses and vibrations during their use, becoming uncomfortable to use due to the rigidity of the material that transfers the entire impulsive stress to the hand and causes the onset of various pathologies, in particular inflammatory type such as carpal tunnel.

For these applications we typically use shock-absorbing and / or anti-vibration devices shaped like a tape and wrapped in a helix around the handle, also improving grip thanks to a gripping surface with an increased friction coefficient compared to that of the handle.

From W02006 / 032996 a handle tape is known made with a base layer of shock-absorbing polymeric material, in particular a polyurethane gel, having an upper surface partially covered with a non-adhesive layer of varnish, so that the tape is only adhesive on its lower surface.

A disadvantage of this known solution is represented by the fact that, during prolonged use of this type of tape, there is wear of the paint deposited on the upper surface in such a way as to bring the hands into contact with the polymeric material. highly adhesive and thus making a functional grip by the user impossible.

Furthermore, this known type of tape, like others, bases its damping function exclusively on the chemical-physical characteristics of the polymeric material, which can however degrade during use.

Last but not least, even at its peak performance this well-known shock absorber tape has not proved satisfactory in terms of vibration absorption.

From US 3,457,919 a shock-absorbing tape is also known which comprises a pressure-sensitive microporous adhesive deposited on a thermoplastic resin support with portions in relief.

This solution is not immune to drawbacks since the combined use of the adhesive with the raised portions is not sufficient to guarantee the absorption of high vibrations such as those that develop during sports or work activities.

US 6,511,732, on the other hand, describes a shock-absorbing tape for handles comprising a lower layer for application to the handle and an external coating layer between which a shock-absorbing layer of polyurethane of uniform thickness is interposed.

However, even this solution has not proved satisfactory as regards the absorption of the shocks that develop during use.

In the case of large support surfaces for the human body, such as vehicle seats, bicycle saddles and the like, a multilayer coating is used which incorporates a shock-absorbing layer in a material of adequate resilience, such as gel. or polyurethane foams.

However, even in this case the results in terms of vibration absorption were not satisfactory, as well as significantly variable over time.

Presentation of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks encountered above, realizing a multilayer safety device for the human body which has characteristics of high efficiency and relative cheapness.

A particular purpose is to realize a multilayer safety device which has high shock absorption properties and vibrations transmitted by the handle during use.

A further particular purpose is to provide a multilayer safety device that easily and firmly adheres to the surface to be covered, for example that of a seat or backrest, a handle of a knob, shoe insoles, insoles, gloves. and similar, guaranteeing at the same time a stable positioning of the user or a firm and lasting grip for the user's hand, always guaranteeing maximum comfort.

A further object is to provide a multilayer safety device which allows a comfortable grip for the user, without presenting external protrusions.

These purposes, as well as others that will appear more clearly in the following, are achieved by a multilayer safety device for objects subject to shocks and / or vibrations such as tools, sports equipment, work tools, supports and clothing for the human body, comprising a shock-absorbing substrate capable of absorbing shocks and vibrations with an upper surface and a lower surface, the latter being intended to face the surface of an object to be covered, a coating layer superimposed on said shock-absorbing substrate and having an upper surface destined to come into contact with the human body.

According to a peculiar characteristic of the invention, the substrate has on at least one of said lower and upper surfaces a series of irregularities suitable for absorbing the vibrations produced by the object in use.

Thanks to this particular configuration, the shock-absorbing substrate will allow to absorb and disperse the vibrations transmitted by the object during use, protecting the health of the user and allowing stable positioning on the support surface or ensuring a better and more comfortable grip of the tool or tool.

In fact, it has been experimentally observed that the irregularities created in the upper surface of the shock-absorbing substrate prevent the production of resonance effects on the substrate itself, which are thus transmitted to the object and therefore to the user's body.

Advantageous embodiments of the device according to the invention are obtained in accordance with the dependent claims.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more evident in the light of the detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a device according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example with the aid of the accompanying drawing tables in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view from above of a portion of a multilayer safety device according to the invention shaped like a tape;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded bottom perspective view of the device portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded front view of the device portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a detail of Fig. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view according to the plane Vi-VI of the portion of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a bottom front view of the portion of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a partially exploded side view of the portion of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a view of 12 possible further embodiments of a substrate belonging to the device according to the invention;

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment With particular reference to the illustrated figures, the multilayer safety device according to the invention, generally indicated with 1, can be applied to any object intended to come into contact with a part of the human body.

The object may be any sports tool or work tool or, again, any object having a support surface designed to support at least part of the weight of a user.

Purely by way of non-limiting example of the present invention, the device 1 can be associated, in a stable and / or removable manner, with the handle of a bicycle handlebar, a tennis racket or similar, a golf club, or to a handle or gripping part of any tool or electric tool for work or for hobby uses for which a firm grip is required by the operator.

The device 1 can also be integrated into knobs to be associated with the handles of sports equipment or work tools, or to define the entire knob.

According to further applications, the device 1 may at least partially cover a backrest or seat, for example a chair, a saddle or a seat of vehicles such as motorcycles, bicycles or the like.

The device 1 can also be applied or integrated into garments or clothing accessories, such as, by way of example and without limitation, gloves, shoe insoles and insoles.

In the attached figures, the device 1 is shaped in the form of a ribbon to be wound in a helix, according to known methods, around the handle or gripping organ of the object.

However, different dispositions of the tape device, ie the application of several tapes to the same handle, cannot be excluded.

Furthermore, the device 1 according to the present invention can have any shape according to the specific shape of the portion of the object to be coated.

As more clearly visible from Fig. 1, the safety device 1 essentially comprises a shock-absorbing substrate 2 having a lower surface 3 intended to face the external surface of the portion of the object to be coated or covered, not shown in the present figures, and a upper surface 4 associated with a coating layer 5 superimposed on the damping substrate 2.

The covering layer 5 has a substantially regular lower internal surface 6 placed in contact, preferably adhering in a stable manner, with the shock-absorbing substrate 2 and an upper external surface 7 intended to come into contact with the user's body.

The upper surface 7 of the coating layer 5 can be suitably configured to increase the friction and thus improve the grip of the user, for example the grip of the handle if the device 1 is configured to tape.

For example, the external surface 7 may have a plurality of holes or micro-holes, not shown, uniformly distributed on it, or it may have an accentuated roughness.

Preferably, a lower anchoring layer 8 will also be provided, suitable for adhering to the surface of the object to be covered.

The damping substrate 2 will thus be interposed between the lower anchoring layer 8 and the upper covering layer 5 with its upper surface 4 facing and in contact with the internal surface 6 of the covering layer 5 and its lower surface 3 facing and in at least partial contact with the internal surface 9 of the anchoring layer 8.

According to a peculiarity of the invention, the shock-absorbing substrate 2 will have on one of its surfaces 3, 4, preferably on its upper surface 4, a plurality of irregularities 10, 11 suitable for absorbing the vibrations produced in use by the tool, tool or object in general.

Conveniently, the damping substrate 2 will extend with a predetermined length, possibly adjustable, in a predetermined main development plane -ir.

The irregularities of the damping substrate 2 can be defined by a plurality of protrusions 10 alternating with respective recesses 11 with respect to this development plane Ï €.

In this text, with â € œprogenciesâ € and â € œrientrancesâ € we refer to portions of the material of the damping substrate 2 respectively protruding with respect to the development plane Ï € taken as a reference and placed below the same plane Ï €.

Advantageously, the projections 10 and the recesses 11 will be arranged along one or more strips which extend parallel to the same main direction of development X.

The strips may have respective lengths 1, measured along the main direction of development X, differentiated from each other.

Furthermore, the strips may have respective widths w, measured along a transverse direction Y orthogonal to the main direction of development X, preferably constant throughout their longitudinal development but not necessarily equal between strip and strip.

In this way a substrate 2 will be defined having a first dimension of along the main direction of development X corresponding to the length l of the strips, and a second dimension d2, measured along the transverse direction Y, given by the sum of the widths w of all the strips .

In the illustrated configuration, the device 1, shaped like a ribbon, is formed by a single strip having length l prevailing with respect to width w. The length 1 and the width w respectively define the first di and the second dimension d2 of substrate 2.

The latter will have longitudinal edges 12, 13 substantially parallel and an irregular cross section throughout its longitudinal development.

In this preferred but not exclusive configuration of the invention, the three aforesaid layers 2, 5, 8 will be substantially coextensive along the main direction of development X, while they will not necessarily have the same transversal width.

Naturally, the first dimension of of the device 1, and therefore of the layers 2, 5, 8, may vary considerably from device to device according to its specific applications and the device 1 may also be of the type that can be cut or shaped to measure from user.

For example, if the device 1 is intended to be associated with a surface of the object intended to support at least part of the weight of the user's body, for example a seat or a saddle, the first of and the second dimension d2 of the substrate 2 may be of the same order of magnitude or in any case comparable to each other.

Regardless of the particular configuration chosen for the device 1, the surface irregularities 10, 11 of the substrate 2 may be undulations extending along inclined directions with respect to the main direction of development X with equal and opposite angles Î ±, β with respect to the line of center line of the respective strip, corresponding in this configuration to the main direction of development X.

In particular, as visible in FIG. 4, the projections 10 and the recesses 11 will define in plan respective substantially sinusoidal curves with amplitude a and transverse pitch p, measured respectively along the main direction X and the transverse direction Y, substantially constant.

Preferably, the irregularities 10, 11 will develop substantially continuously from one of the longitudinal edges 12 to the other edge 13 of the respective strip.

However, further configurations will be possible for the projections 10 and the recesses 11, without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

In FIG. 8 shows twelve further possible configurations for the substrate 2. From these configurations it is possible to observe that the projections 10 and the recesses 11 may have a wavy shape, not necessarily sinusoidal and / or symmetrical with respect to the center line, with transversely variable pitches and amplitudes and eventually defining one or more points of the cusp.

Furthermore, the cross section of the damping substrate 2, and consequently the projections 10 and the recesses 11, may be substantially symmetrical with respect to a plane of symmetry TTâ € ™ passing through the centerline X and substantially orthogonal to the development plane TT, as illustrated in FIG. 5, in order to have uniform behavior.

However, asymmetrical configurations for substrate 2 may also be provided.

The damping substrate 2 will preferably be made of a first elastically yielding polymeric base material, such as for example polyethylene or the like.

The surface irregularities 10, 11 can be obtained by any mechanical processing operation, for example engraving or molding of the first polymeric material.

The anchoring layer 8 will preferably be made of a second polymeric material having differentiated density with respect to the first polymeric material.

Furthermore, regardless of the choice of the respective base materials, the coupling between the anchoring layer 8 and the damping substrate 2 can be obtained either by chemical bonding or by hot co-molding of the respective materials.

The shaping of the shock-absorbing substrate 2, necessary to realize the surface irregularities 10, 11, can be obtained both before the coupling with the anchoring layer 8 and after this phase, or carried out directly on its base material.

The covering layer 5 can be in any material, whether natural, for example fabric or leather, or synthetic, for example in polymeric material or imitation leather. Its coupling to the shock-absorbing substrate 2 can take place by gluing, by hot coupling or according to any method known to the person skilled in the art.

The covering layer 5 and the anchoring layer 8 will have respective thicknesses sâ € ™, sâ € substantially constant and preferably close to 1mm.

The damping substrate 2 will have a maximum thickness s preferably comprised between 0.7mm and 2mm and preferably close to 1.2mm.

Furthermore, the shock-absorbing substrate 2 may have lateral portions 2â € ™, 2â € tapered towards the respective longitudinal edges 12, 13 so that, when the device 1 is wound in a helix on the portion to be coated, for example a handle, the portions side 2â € ™, 2â € will be superimposed without creating inappropriate localized thickening of the device 1 shaped like a tape.

The lower anchoring layer 8 can be sized so as not to cover the side portions 2â € ™, 2â € of the shock-absorbing layer 2.

Furthermore, an adhesive layer, not visible in the figures, can be distributed on the external surface 14 of the anchoring layer 8, which can be suitably covered by a further protective layer 15 configured to be removed immediately before the application of the device 1.

In a further configuration of the device 1 according to the invention, the damping substrate 2 and the covering layer 5, as well as all the other possible layers, such as the anchoring layer 8 and the adhesive layer 15, as well as other interposable layers between those mentioned and not illustrated or described, they can be suitably shaped to assume a substantially cylindrical tubular shape.

In this way, the device 1, which will consequently assume a cylindrical tubular shape, can be applied directly to a handle or counter-shaped gripping member of the object.

From what has been described above, it is evident that the anti-vibration multilayer device according to the invention achieves the intended purposes and in particular that of absorbing the vibrations transmitted by the handle of the tool or tool to which it is applied.

The device according to the invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept expressed in the attached claims. All the details can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements, and the materials can be different according to the requirements, without departing from the scope of the invention.

Even if the device has been described with particular reference to the attached figures, the reference numbers used in the description and in the claims are used to improve the intelligence of the invention and do not constitute any limitation to the claimed scope of protection.

Claims (12)

R I V E N D I C AZ I O N I 1. A multilayer safety device, applicable to surfaces of objects subject to shocks and / or vibrations such as tools, sports equipment, work tools, supports and clothing for the human body, comprising: - a shock-absorbing substrate (2) capable of absorbing shocks and vibrations with an upper surface (4) and a lower surface (3), the latter being designed to face the surface of an object to be covered; - a coating layer (5) superimposed on said shock-absorbing substrate (2) and having an upper surface (7) intended to come into contact with the human body; characterized in that said substrate (2) has on at least one of said lower (3) and upper (4) surfaces a series of irregularities (10, 11) suitable for absorbing the vibrations produced by the object in use. 2. Multilayer device according to claim 1, characterized in that said substrate (2) extends along a main development plane (ir), called irregularities (10, 11) comprising a plurality of protrusions (10) and / or recesses ( 11) with respect to said main development plan (TT). 3. Multilayer device according to claim 2, characterized in that said protrusions (10) and / or recesses (11) are arranged along one or more strips which extend along a longitudinal direction (X) and have substantially constant width (w) . 4. Multilayer device according to claim 3, characterized in that said irregularities (10, 11) are undulations extending along inclined directions (Y) with respect to said longitudinal direction (X), with amplitude (a) and pitch (p) substantially constant along said main direction (X) and said inclined directions (Y) respectively. 5. Multilayer device according to claim 4, characterized in that each of said strips defines a center line (M), said protrusions (10) and said undulated recesses (11) being arranged in mutually alternating positions along said main direction (M ) with inclination angles (Î ±, β) opposite and alternating with respect to the respective centerline (M). 6. Multilayer device according to claim 5, characterized in that said substrate defines a plane of symmetry (Ï „Tâ € ™) passing through said centerline (M) and orthogonal to said development plane (Ï €), said protrusions (10) and said recesses (11) being approximately symmetrical with respect to a plane of symmetry (Ï „Tâ € ™). 7. Multilayer device according to one or more of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that said substrate (2) has dimensions (d-i, d2) parallel to said longitudinal direction (X) and to said transverse direction (Y), said dimensions ( di, d2) being of the same order of magnitude to define a substrate (2) applicable to a surface capable of at least partially supporting the user's body. 8. Multilayer device according to one or more of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that said substrate (2) has dimensions (d-ι, d2) parallel to said longitudinal direction (X) and to said transverse direction (Y), a of said dimensions (d-ι) being prevalent with respect to the other (d2) to define a ribbon substrate (2) configured to be applied to a substantially cylindrical grip or gripping portion of the object to be coated. 9. Multilayer device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said substrate (2) is made of a first elastically yielding polymeric base material, said irregularities (10, 11) being obtained by etching or molding said first polymeric material . 10. Multilayer device according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises an anchoring layer (8) placed in contact with the lower surface (3) of said substrate (8) and adapted to adhere to the external surface of the object, said anchoring layer (8) being made of a second polymeric material having different densities with respect to said first polymeric material and co-molded with the latter. 11. Multilayer device according to claim 10, characterized in that a layer of adhesive is distributed on the external surface (14) of said anchoring layer (8), a further removable protective layer (15) suitable for covering said layer of adhesive and intended to be removed before application of the device. 12. Multilayer device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the assembly comprising said coating layer (5) and said shock-absorbing substrate (2) is shaped to assume a configuration suitable for being applied to a part of the human body, such as a glove or shoe insole, or to a handle or gripping member of an object.