Body protection gear protects individuals from impact forces by transferring axial forces into tangential forces directed away from the individual. The protective apparatus includes a first plate assembly including a first end and a second end; a second plate assembly including a first end and a second end; a load-bearing hinge connecting the first end of the first plate assembly to the first end of the second plate assembly; a first toothed plate attached to the second end of the first plate assembly; and a second toothed plate attached to the second end of the second plate assembly. The load-bearing hinge and the toothed plates tangentially distribute impact forces between the plate assemblies and around, rather than axially toward, the body or object being protected. The apparatus may further include sensors and electronics for detecting a physical property of the protective apparatus and transmitting signals to a remote server.
The patent addresses a unique system for monitoring and measuring impact forces imparted to an individual using force sensors, electronics for real-time transmission of sensed data to a remote server, software algorithms to calculate effects of the sensed forces and to determine whether to send an alert notification to at least one remote recipient. Body protection is offered by a multi-layer composite material that is sized and shaped to an individual and incorporates at least one force sensor and electronics for real-time transmission of sensed data to the cloud or receiver for analyses. If the force is predicted to potentially cause bodily harm or TBI, then an alert notification to sent to authorized experts for further analyses and corrective action.
