Description

The invention relates to a protection device according to the preamble of claim 1 , to a protection arrangement comprising such a protection device and a helmet according to claim 16, to an airbag suitable for being used as a part of such a protection device- or arrangement according to claim 17, to a method for the manufacture of such an airbag according to claim 25, to an airbag according to claim 26, and to an airbag according to claim 32.

The invention relates especially to a protection device intended for being used by a bicycle rider, but can also be applied to the riders of other kinds of vehicles especially other vehicles without a car body, meaning that the head of the rider/ driver is not surrounded by a part of the vehicle. For linguistic simplicity, reference is mainly made to the case of a bicycle rider.

It is a known fact that the head of the bicycle rider is the most vulnerable part of the body in case of an accident. The most common means for protecting the head of a bicycle rider is a helmet which covers mainly the upper and rear part of the head and protects mainly the complete head accept the face. Such a helmet gives a good protection but has the drawback that - especially at higher temperatures - many bicycle riders feel uncomfortable when wearing such a helmet.

From generic WO 2007/050024 A1 a protection device in form of an “inflatable helmet” is known. Using the terms of this patent application, this protection device for the head of a human is comprises an airbag which has (as every airbag) an outer skin enclosing a gas space. Additionally this protection device comprises - also as a common airbag device - an inflator and a triggering means for triggering this inflator, such that the inflator inflates the airbag when an accident is detected (usually by detecting an unusual high acceleration/ deceleration). The inflated airbag has essentially the shape of a helmet which covers most of the head of the rider, but not the face. Starting from this prior art this invention sets itself the task to provide a protection device which gives a new kind of protection for the rider.

This task is solved by a protection device having the features of claim 1 . A protection arrangement comprising such a protection device and a helmet is defined in claim 16, an airbag suitable for being used in such a protection device or arrangement is defined in claims 17, 26, and 32, and to a method for the production of an airbag is defined in claim 25.

Although a traditional bicycle helmet gives a good protection for the rider’s head in the majority of accidents, it has been found out that in a not negligible number of accidents the bicycle rider hits an obstacle (which can for example be the roof rail of a car) directly with the face such that a traditional helmet or the protection device described in generic WO 2007/050024 A1 give no or almost no protection. A direct hitting of an obstacle with the face has (of course) a very negative impact to the bicycle rider: it can lead to severe injuries like diffuse brain injuries, basilar skull fracture as well as facial fractures.

So, according to the invention, the inflated airbag covers at least a part of the face of said human. This gives a direct protection for the face by re-distributing and redirecting the impact force and energy.

In order to provide a maximum of protection, it can be preferred that the inflated airbag covers substantially the whole face of the human.

In order to not interfere with a helmet, it is usually preferred that the inflated airbag does substantially not cover any other parts of the human’s head, or that it does not cover any other parts of the human’s head except the temples.

Since it could be quite disturbing for the bicycle rider if the deployed airbag blocks his/her sight, it is often preferred if the airbag comprises a see-through area being positioned in front of the human’s eyes when the airbag is deployed. As an alternative it is possible that the airbag does not extend to a position in front of the human’s eyes when the airbag is deployed.

The protection surface of the outer skin which faces the face of the human when the airbag is deployed is preferably either essentially flat, or is concave in at least one direction such that it encompasses the face.

In order to contour the airbag, it can comprise inner tethers and/ or the gas-space is divided into a plurality of sub-spaces.

The inflatable airbag can be made in a one-piece-woven-process.

Of course, the protection device usually comprises an inflator and a triggering means for triggering the inflator.

Further, the protection device usually comprises an attachment means for attaching the protection device to the human body, a piece of clothing, a backpack, or a helmet.

In order to provide a better positioning, it can in some cases be preferred that the protection device further comprises at least one outer tether element connecting the inflatable airbag with the attachment means or an element to which the attachment means is attached.

In order to provide a single protection arrangement that protects both, the face and the remaining parts of the head, the protection device can be attached to a helmet, especially in such a way 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.

As mentioned, it will often be preferred that the outer skin of the airbag has a protection surface (the surface which faces the face of the human when the airbag is deployed) that is essentially flat, or has the shape of a concave fillet, or is essentially dish-shaped. The dish-shape is especially preferred since it often gives the best protection. In this case, the deployed airbag covers the face (or a part of it) substantially “baseball-glove-like”.

One possibility to generate a concave shape in front of the rider’s face by simple means is to provide at least one inner connection in the airbag connecting at least two locations of a first layer on the inside of the first layer and/ or to provide at least one second inner connection connecting at least two locations of a second layer on the inside of the second layer.

Another possibility to generate such a shape, especially a “baseball-glove shape” by simple means, is to make the airbag from a flat airbag main element to which at least one outer connection is applied. 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. This filling section comprises a filling chamber forming a part of the gasspace. A first set of lateral sections extend from the first lateral end of the filling section. This first set of lateral sections comprises at least two lateral sections, each comprising a lateral chamber of the gas space. Neighboured lateral chambers are spaced by a non-inflatable gap. At least one of those gaps - preferably all gaps - are at least partially closed by means of a connection after a folding or bending step, such that the deployed airbag has the desired shape, despite the fact that the airbag main element is flat. Preferably, the airbag main element is symmetrical such that the filling section forms a central section and the airbag main element is “palm” or “oak leaf” shaped.

It is possible to combine inner and outer connections.

The invention will now be described by means of preferred embodiments in view of the figures. The figures show: Figure 1 an illustration of a bicycle accident and the working principle of a first embodiment of the invention,

Figure 2 substantially what is shown in Figure 1 but in an enlarged representation,

Figure 3 a second embodiment of the protection device in a state in which the airbag is fully inflated,

Figure 4 a third embodiment of the invention in a representation according to

Figure 3,

Figure 5 a fourth embodiment of the invention in a representation according to Figures 3 and 4,

Figure 6 a sectional view of the airbag of the embodiment shown in Figures 4 and 5,

Figure 7 a variation to what is shown in Figure 6,

Figure 8 a further variation to what is shown in Figures 6 and 7,

Figure 9 a fifth embodiment of the invention in a representation according to

Figures 3 to 5,

Figure 10 a sixth embodiment of the invention in a representation according to Figures 3, 4, 5, and 9,

Figure 11 a protection device intended for being attached to a helmet (and thus similar to the embodiment shown in Figure 4),

Figure 12 the protection device of Figure 11 in a state in which the airbag is inflated, Figure 13 an airbag comprising inner connections,

Figure 13a a schematic representation of an inner connection,

Figure 14 a airbag main element for an airbag adapted for being used as a face-protecting airbag,

Figure 14a a sectional view along plane A-A in Figure 14,

Figure 15 the airbag main element of Figure 14 after a folding or bending step,

Figure 16 the airbag element of Figure 15 after connection seams have been applied, thus the complete airbag, and

Figure 17 the airbag of Figure 16 in its deployed state.

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.

Figure 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.

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 in- flator (not shown in Figure 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. As one can clearly see from Figures 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, which - according to the definitions chosen in this application - also belong to the airbag but not to its outer skin.

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.

Figure 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.

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 (Figure 4) or to integrate it into a helmet (Figure 5). A combination of a helmet and the inventive protection device is preferred to as a protection arrangement. 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 Figure 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.

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

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 Figures 3, 4 and 5 and schematically in Figure 6, which is a sectional view through the deployed airbag of Figures 4 and 5, this see-through area can simply be a hole 22 in the airbag that extends through the gas-space 26.

Another thing that can be seen from Figure 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.

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.

Figure 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.

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 Figure 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.

As can also be seen from Figures 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.

Figure 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.

Figure 10 shows an embodiment with a protection device being integrated into a helmet 50 (similar to the embodiment shown in Figure 5). The difference to the embodiment shown in Figure 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 Figure 5) can be a part of the airbag meaning that it is made of a flexible material.

Figures 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 tubeshaped 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.

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.

Figure 13 shows an embodiment of such an airbag 12 with first inner connections 131a, 131 b, 131 c 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 131 a, 131 b, 131 c 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 131 a 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 131 b and 132b) having a second orientation and a third group (with the inner connections 131 c, 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).

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 Figure 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 Figure 13a).

In order to generate the pattern shown in Figure 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.

In view of Figures 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 de- spite 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.

Figure 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.

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 Figure 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, 81 a, 82a, 90a, 91a and 92a forming a part of the gas-space.

As one can directly see from Figure 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. 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 triangleshaped. The gap 121 between the lateral section 80 and the lateral section 81 has a widened section 121 a 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 121 a 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.

As can be seen from Figure 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 Figure 14. In a next step, the overlapping sections of the border strip are connected to each other by connections (here connection seams) 1 11 to 114 (see Figure 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.

One can see in Figure 16 that the inner end section 121 a 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.

Figure 17 shows the airbag of Figure 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 air- bag 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.

Although not shown in the Figures, the shaping principles of the inner connections as described in view of Figure 13 and the shaping principle shown in view of Figures 14 to 17 could be combined, such that the airbag comprises both: inner connections and outer connections (seams). In terms of the embodiment of Figures 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.

List of reference numbers

10 protection device

12 airbag

15 main part

16 front wall I first layer

17 rear wall I 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 to a helmet

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, 81 a, 82a lateral chambers of first set of lateral sections

90, 91 , 92 lateral sections of first set of lateral sections

90a, 91 a, 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 131 b first inner connection with second orientation

131 c 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