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The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.

The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.

Patent No.:

US 9683622 B1

PDFFull Text
Date of Patent:
Jun. 20, 2017

Filed:

Jun. 04, 2014

Air venting, impact-absorbing compressible members

Applicant:

Xenith, Llc, Lowell, MA (US);

Inventor:

Vincent R. Ferrara, Wellesley, MA (US);

Assignee:

XENITH, LLC, Lowell, MA (US);

Attorney:

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Primary Examiner:

Shaun R Hurley

Assistant Examiner:

Andrew W Sutton

Int. Cl.
CPC ...
A41D 13/01 (2006.01); F16F 7/12 (2006.01); A41D 13/015 (2006.01); A41D 31/00 (2006.01); A42B 3/06 (2006.01); A42B 3/12 (2006.01); A63B 71/00 (2006.01); A63B 71/08 (2006.01); A63B 71/10 (2006.01); B60R 19/20 (2006.01); B60R 21/045 (2006.01); F16F 9/04 (2006.01); F16F 13/08 (2006.01); B60R 19/18 (2006.01); B60R 21/04 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
F16F 7/12 (2013.01); A41D 13/0155 (2013.01); A41D 31/005 (2013.01); A42B 3/065 (2013.01); A42B 3/121 (2013.01); A63B 71/0054 (2013.01); A63B 71/081 (2013.01); A63B 71/10 (2013.01); B60R 19/20 (2013.01); B60R 21/045 (2013.01); F16F 7/128 (2013.01); F16F 9/0481 (2013.01); F16F 13/08 (2013.01); A63B 2071/0063 (2013.01); B60R 2019/1893 (2013.01); B60R 2021/0407 (2013.01);
Abstract

An impact-absorbing compressible member includes a thin-walled enclosure defining an inner chamber containing a volume of fluid such as air. The enclosure includes one or more orifices which as sized and positioned to allow air to vent from the inner chamber in response to an impact on the member and to refill the inner chamber in response to an impact on the member and to refill the inner chamber after the impact is released. The enclosure is formed of a blow-molded thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material which is economical to make and durable in use. The compressible members can be used as building blocks for impact-absorbing shell structures for a wide variety of applications such as helmets, protective pads for body parts, sports arena wall padding, vehicular bumpers, dashboards and the like. The compressible member has impact-absorbing advantages over conventional foams currently used in those applications.

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