Inflatable device for the protection of objects or persons

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (1) for protecting an object or a person, comprising a sealed elastic membrane (2) intended for receiving a gas and a fibrous envelope (3) containing said membrane (2): in the rest state, the membrane (2) has a size different to that of the envelope (3) and the envelope (3) containing the membrane (2) can be folded; in the active state, the membrane (2) has a size that corresponds in shape to that of the envelope (3), the membrane (2) then occupying a first volume corresponding to the maximum volume of the envelope (3), the envelope (3) being intended to restrain an expansion of the volume of the membrane (2) beyond the maximum volume of the envelope (3), referred to as a second volume, said envelope (3) being designed to take a shape that fits the object or person to be protected, in the unstressed state, the membrane (2) can occupy a third volume greater than the maximum volume of the envelope (3).

1 . Device ( 1 ) for protecting an object or a person, the protection device ( 1 ) comprising a sealed elastic membrane ( 2 ) intended for receiving a gas and a fibrous envelope ( 3 ) containing said membrane ( 2 ):
 in the rest state of the protection device ( 1 ), the membrane ( 2 ) is of a size different to that of the envelope ( 3 ) and the envelope ( 3 ) containing the membrane ( 2 ) can be folded,   in the active state of the protection device ( 1 ), the membrane ( 2 ) is of a size that corresponds in shape to that of the envelope ( 3 ), the membrane ( 2 ) then occupying a first volume corresponding to the maximum volume of the envelope ( 3 ), referred to as a second volume, the envelope ( 3 ) being intended to restrain an expansion of the volume of the membrane ( 2 ) beyond the maximum volume of the envelope ( 3 ), said envelope ( 3 ) being designed to take a shape that fits the object or person to be protected,   and in that, in the unstressed state, the inflated membrane ( 2 ) can occupy a third volume greater than the maximum volume of the envelope ( 3 ).   
     
     
         2 . Protection device ( 1 ) according to  claim 1 , characterized in that, in the rest state of the protection device ( 1 ), the membrane ( 2 ) has a shape that is distinct from the envelope ( 3 ). 
     
     
         3 . Protection device ( 1 ) according to  claim 2 , characterized in that it comprises at least one valve ( 20 ). 
     
     
         4 . Protection device ( 1 ) according to  claim 3 , characterized in that the envelope ( 3 ) and/or the membrane ( 2 ) comprises a marker ( 25 ,  30 ) which corresponds, in the rest state of the protection device ( 1 ), to an indicator of a deflated state of the membrane ( 2 ) and, in the active state of the protection device ( 1 ), to an indicator of an inflated state of the membrane ( 2 ) in order to occupy said first volume. 
     
     
         5 . device ( 1 ) according to  claim 4 , characterized in that the pressure of the membrane ( 2 ) is between 1 bar and 30 bars, and the pressure is preferably between 2 bars and 6 bars. 
     
     
         6 . Protection device ( 1 ) according to,  claim 5  characterized in that the envelope ( 3 ) has folds allowing folding and unfolding which can be repeated each time the protection device ( 1 ) is used. 
     
     
         7 . Protection device ( 1 ) according to,  claim 6  characterized in that the membrane comprises at least one tensioner ( 22 ,  23 ,  24 ) which makes it possible to control the expansion of the membrane in order to obtain the desired shape. 
     
     
         8 . Protective helmet for a person, characterized in that it is formed by a protection device ( 1 ) according to  claim 7 , and in that the fibrous envelope ( 3 ) is suitable for taking the form of a protective helmet when the protection device ( 1 ) changes from its rest state to its active state. 
     
     
         9 . Protective helmet according to  claim 8 , characterized in that the protective helmet comprises an adjustment system which makes it possible to adapt the protective helmet to the person wearing it. 
     
     
         10 . Method for assembling a protection device ( 1 ) for an object or a person according to  claim 9 , characterized in that it comprises the following steps:
 a patterning step in which a material forming the fibrous envelope or the sealed membrane is positioned on an object or the part of the body to be protected in order to determine the protection areas, and then these protection areas are projected onto the material to create a two-dimensional plane of the fibrous envelope or the sealed membrane;   a step of joining this membrane ( 2 ) by welding;   a step of including a valve of the membrane ( 2 );   a verification step which consists of measuring an expansion of the volume of the membrane ( 2 ) beyond the maximum volume of the envelope ( 3 ).