Protective structure and method of making same

A protective structure for protecting a body from impact comprising

• an inner layer of relatively flexible material, said inner layer having a plurality of spaced-apart openings extending between opposite faces thereof;
• a corresponding plurality of protective units, each protective unit including a collapsible, fluid-tight enclosure, a volume of fluid filling the enclosure and at least one orifice in a wall of the enclosure that resistively vents fluid from the enclosure at a selected rate in response to an impact on the structure, said plurality of protective units being received in the plurality of openings so that corresponding first segments of the enclosures projecting from one face of the inner layer together form a middle layer, each said first enclosure segment comprising a pair of substantially frustoconical side walls connected back to back so as to define an obtuse angle between them, said side walls extending from the cooperating surface of that protective unit to an end wall of the corresponding first enclosure segment, and
• cooperating surfaces on the inner layer and each protective unit for retaining each protective unit in the corresponding opening in the inner layer.