# US 10,499,693 B2 · Selectively stiffenable assemblies, protective garments for protecting an individual, and systems and methods of using the same > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,499,693 B2 - Document ID: US10499693B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/184,094 - Filed: 2016-06-16 - Published: 2017-12-21 - Granted: 2019-12-10 - Earliest claimed: 2016-06-16 - Assignees: Elwha LLC - Applicants: Elwha LLC - Inventors: Hon Wah Chin; Elizabeth A. Sweeney; Alistair K. Chan; Jordin T. Kare - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10499693B2 ## CPC - A41D 13/015: with shock-absorbing means (A41D13/05 takes precedence) - A41D 1/002: {adapted to accommodate electronic equipment (patients' garments for medical monitoring A41D13/1281; luminous ornaments A41D27/085)} - A41D 13/0518: {Chest} - A41D 31/285: {using layered materials} - F41H 1/02: Armoured or projectile- or missile-resistant garments; Composite protection fabrics {(F41H5/04 takes precedence)} - F41H 5/007: Reactive armour; Dynamic armour - F41H 5/0492: {Layered armour containing hard elements, e.g. plates, spheres, rods, separated from each other, the elements being connected to a further flexible layer or being embedded in a plastics or an elastomer matrix} - A41D: OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES - F41H: ARMOUR; ARMOURED TURRETS; ARMOURED OR ARMED VEHICLES; MEANS OF ATTACK OR DEFENCE, e.g. CAMOUFLAGE, IN GENERAL ## Abstract Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to selectively stiffenable assemblies, protective garments and systems that include such selectively stiffenable assemblies for protecting one or more body portions of an individual wearing the protective garment, and methods of protecting a subject from an impact with a protective garment worn by the subject. A protective may include a plurality of first shield segments forming a first arrangement, a plurality of second shield segments laterally offset from the plurality of first shield segments and forming a second arrangement, and a compression mechanism operably coupled to the plurality of first shield segments and to the plurality of second shield segments and configured to compress together at least one of the plurality of first shield segments and at least one of the plurality of second shield segments. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A protective garment, comprising: a plurality of first shield segments forming a first arrangement conformable to one or more contours of an individual wearing the protective garment when the protective garment is in an undeployed configuration; a plurality of second shield segments laterally offset from the plurality of first shield segments and forming a second arrangement conformable to the one or more contours of the individual wearing the garment when the protective garment is in the undeployed configuration, at least one of the plurality of second shield segments positioned adjacent to at least one of the plurality of first shield segments and two or more shield segments of the plurality of first shield segments overlapping the at least one of the plurality of second shield segments, the plurality of first shield segments being positioned between the one or more contours and the plurality of second shield segments; and a compression mechanism operably coupled to the plurality of first shield segments and to the plurality of second shield segments and configured to compress together at least one of the plurality of first shield segments and at least one of the plurality of second shield segments with the at least one of the plurality of first shield segments being positioned between the individual and the at least one of the plurality of second shield segments when the protective garment is in a deployed configuration, thereby stiffening the protective garment. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The protective garment of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of first shield segments or at least one of the plurality of second shield segments have a lateral dimension that is greater than a thickness dimension. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The protective garment of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of first shield segments or the plurality of second shield segments include a resilient material. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The protective garment of claim 1, further including a first layer material, and the plurality of first shield segments are coupled to the first layer material. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The protective garment of claim 2, further including a second layer material, and the plurality of second shield segments are coupled to the second layer material. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The protective garment of claim 1, wherein the compression mechanism includes one or more actuators positioned and configured to generate an energy field that compresses together at least one of the plurality of first shield segments and at least one of the plurality of second shield segments. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The protective garment of claim 6, wherein the one or more actuators include at least one of: one or more magnetic or one or more electromagnetic elements. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The protective garment of claim 6, wherein the one or more actuators are configured to generate the energy field responsive to receiving one or more control signals. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The protective garment of claim 8, further including one or more sensors positioned and configured to detect at least one of an impending impact or an actual impact. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The protective garment of claim 9, wherein the one or more sensors are operably coupled to control electrical circuitry of a controller. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The protective garment of claim 10, wherein the control electrical circuitry is configured to send the one or more control signals to the one or more actuators responsive to the one or more sensors detecting the at least one of the impending impact or the actual impact. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) The protective garment of claim 7, wherein at least one of the plurality of first shield segments or the plurality of second shield segments are ferromagnetic and configured to interact with the one or more magnetic elements. ### Claim 13 (depends on 7) The protective garment of claim 7, wherein at least one of the plurality of first shield segments or the plurality of second shield segments include ferromagnetic elements that are configured to interact with the one or more magnetic elements. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The protective garment of claim 1, wherein at least some of the plurality of first shield segments or at least some of the plurality of second shield segments are coupled together. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The protective garment of claim 1, wherein the compression mechanism includes at least one first compression element positioned adjacent to the two or more shield segments of the plurality of first shield segments. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The protective garment of claim 15, wherein the compression mechanism includes at least one second compression element positioned adjacent to the at least one of the plurality of second shield segments and operably coupled to the at least one first compression element. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The protective garment of claim 16, wherein the compression mechanism includes: a spindle; and a cable that couples the at least first compression element and the at least second compression element, the cable being operably coupled to the spindle; wherein the spindle is configured to reduce a free length of the cable to thereby compress together the at least first compression element and the at least second compression element. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The protective garment of claim 17, wherein: the cable is coupled to the spindle; and the spindle includes a fluid-expandable bellows that is configured to reduce the free length of the cable responsive to expansion thereof. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The protective garment of claim 18, wherein the compression mechanism includes one or more fluid-carrying tubes operably coupled to the fluid-expandable bellow and configured to supply fluid thereto. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The protective garment of claim 19, wherein at least one of the one or more fluid-carrying tubes is positioned between the at least first compression element and the plurality of first shield segments. ### Claim 21 (depends on 16) The protective garment of claim 16, wherein the compression mechanism includes an expandable element positioned and configured to compress together the two or more shield segments of the plurality of first shield segments and the at least one of the plurality of second shield segments. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The protective garment of claim 21, wherein the expandable element includes a fluid-inflatable bag. ### Claim 23 (depends on 21) The protective garment of claim 21, wherein: the at least first compression element and the at least second compression element are operably coupled together; and the expandable element is positioned between the at least first compression element and the plurality of first shield segments. ### Claim 24 (depends on 21) The protective garment of claim 21, wherein: the at least first compression element and the at least second compression element are operably coupled together; and the expandable element is positioned near an outer surface of the at least first compression element. ### Claim 25 (depends on 15) The protective garment of claim 15, wherein the at least one first compression element includes a plurality of shield segments forming a third arrangement that is different from the first arrangement. ### Claim 26 (depends on 15) The protective garment of claim 15, wherein the at least one first compression element includes at least one continuous sheet. ### Claim 27 (depends on 16) The protective garment of claim 16, wherein the at least one second compression element includes a plurality of shield segments forming a fourth arrangement that is different from the second arrangement. ### Claim 28 (depends on 16) The protective garment of claim 16, wherein the at least one first compression element includes at least one continuous sheet. ### Claim 29 (depends on 1) The protective garment of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one first compression element or the at least one second compression element includes a plurality of first compression segments spaced from one another. ### Claim 30 (depends on 1) The protective garment of claim 1, further including a plurality of third shield segments forming a third arrangement and positioned adjacent to the plurality of second shield segments. ### Claim 31 (depends on 30) The protective garment of claim 30, wherein the third arrangement is not operably coupled to the compression mechanism. ### Claim 32 (depends on 31) The protective garment of claim 31, further including a plurality of fourth shield segments forming a fourth arrangement and positioned adjacent to the plurality of third shield segments. ### Claim 33 (depends on 32) The protective garment of claim 32, wherein the fourth arrangement is not operably coupled to the compression mechanism. ### Claim 34 (depends on 1) The protective garment of claim 1, further including one or more sensors positioned and configured to detect at least one of an impending impact or an actual impact. ### Claim 35 (depends on 34) The protective garment of claim 34, wherein the one or more sensors are operably coupled to control electrical circuitry of a controller. ### Claim 36 (depends on 35) The protective garment of claim 35, wherein the control electrical circuitry is configured to send the one or more control signals to the compression mechanism and to direct the compression mechanism to compress together at least one of the plurality of first shield segments and at least one of the plurality of second shield segments. ### Claim 37 (depends on 36) The protective garment of claim 36, wherein the control electrical circuitry is configured to send one or more additional control signals to the compression mechanism and to direct the compression mechanism to release the at least one of the plurality of first shield segments and at least one of the plurality of second shield segments from compression. ### Claim 38 (depends on 35) The protective garment of claim 35, wherein the controller includes an interface configured to communicate with one or more of a user, a computer, a tablet, a cellular device, or a remote control. ### Claim 39 (depends on 38) The protective garment of claim 38, wherein the interface includes a user interface configured to inform at least one of a user or a subject of one or more of previous impacts against the subject, deployment history of the plurality of protective garment, sensed motion characteristics, readiness status of one or more portions of the protective garment system, program instructions, or threshold levels of force applied to the subject. ### Claim 40 A protective garment system, comprising: a plurality of first shield segments forming a first arrangement conformable to one or more contours of an individual wearing the protective garment when the protective garment is in an undeployed configuration; a plurality of second shield segments forming a second arrangement conformable to the one or more contours of the individual wearing the garment when the protective garment is in the undeployed configuration, at least one of the plurality of second shield segments positioned adjacent to at least one of the plurality of first shield segments and two or more shield segments of the plurality of first shield segments overlapping the at least one of the plurality of second shield segments, the plurality of first shield segments being positioned between the one or more contours and the plurality of second shield segments; a compression mechanism operably coupled to or integrated with at least one of the plurality of first shield segments or the plurality of second shield segments and configured to change sliding resistance therebetween from a first state to a second state; the sliding resistance between the plurality of first shield segments and the plurality of second shield segments being greater in the second state; wherein each shield segment of the plurality of first shield segments has a generally circular first perimeter and a first lateral surface bounded by the generally circular first perimeter; each shield segment of the plurality of second shield segments having a generally circular second perimeter and a second lateral surface bounded by the generally circular second perimeter; and the compression mechanism is configured to change sliding resistance between the first lateral surface of one or more of the plurality of first shield segments and the second lateral surface of one or more of the plurality of second shield segments from a first state to a second state such that both the first lateral surface and the second lateral surface are changed to the second state, the sliding resistance between the one or more of the plurality of first shield segments and the one or more of the plurality of second shield segments being greater in the second state. ### Claim 41 (depends on 40) The protective garment system of claim 40, further including a first layer material, the plurality of first shield segments coupled to the first layer material. ### Claim 42 (depends on 41) The protective garment system of claim 41, further including a second layer material, the plurality of second shield segments coupled to the second layer material. ### Claim 43 (depends on 40) The protective garment system of claim 40, wherein the compression mechanism is configured to compress together at least one of the plurality of first shield segments and at least one of the plurality of second shield segments. ### Claim 44 (depends on 40) The protective garment system of claim 40, wherein the compression mechanism includes at least one first compression element positioned over the two or more shield segments of the plurality of first shield segments. ### Claim 45 (depends on 44) The protective garment system of claim 44, further including a controller having control electrical circuitry. ### Claim 46 (depends on 45) The protective garment system of claim 45, further including one or more sensors operably coupled to the control electrical circuitry of the controller and positioned and configured to detect at least one of an impending impact or an actual impact. ### Claim 47 (depends on 46) The protective garment of claim 46, wherein the compression mechanism includes at least one second compression element positioned over the plurality of second shield segments and the compression mechanism compresses together the at least one first compression element and the at least one second compression element responsive to the one or more control signals generated by the controller. ### Claim 48 (depends on 47) The protective garment of claim 47, wherein the compression mechanism includes: a spindle; and a cable that couples the at least first compression element and at least a second compression element, the cable being operably coupled to the spindle; wherein the spindle is configured to reduce a free length of the cable to thereby compress together the at least first compression element and the at least second compression element. ### Claim 49 (depends on 1) The protective garment of claim 1, wherein the compression mechanism is configured to compress the at least one of the plurality of first shield segments directly against the at least one of the plurality of second shield segments when the protective garment is in the deployed configuration. ### Claim 50 (depends on 49) The protective garment of claim 49, wherein: each shield segment of the plurality of first shield segments has a generally circular first perimeter and a first lateral surface bounded by the generally circular first perimeter; each shield segment of the plurality of second shield segments has a generally circular second perimeter and a second lateral surface bounded by the generally seconded perimeter; and the compression mechanism is configured to increase a sliding resistance of the first lateral surface of the at least one of the plurality of first shield segments directly against the second lateral surface of the at least one of the plurality of second shield segments when the protective garment is in the deployed configuration relative to the sliding resistance of the first lateral surface of the at least one of the plurality of first shield segments directly against the second lateral surface of the at least one of the plurality of second shield segments when the protective garment is in the undeployed configuration.