Jacqueline Chen
Industrial design 6
DNH603_19se2
Evaluation of Ability of Two Different Pneumatic Boxing Gloves to Reduce Delivered Impact Forces and Improve Safety
Abstract
• Two prototype pneumatic boxing gloves of different design were compared against conventional 10 oz (Std 10 oz) and 16 oz (Std 16 oz) gloves in terms of ability to reduce impact forces delivered to a target.
- One of the pneumatic gloves (SBLI) contained a sealed air bladder inflated to a pressure of 2 kPa
- The other (ARLI) incorporated a bladder that allowed release of air to the external environment upon contact with a target, followed by rapid air reuptake
• The protective effect of the ARLI glove was associated with an increase in impact compliance and prolongation of contact time between glove and target
• a pneumatic boxing glove that provides for air exchange with the external environment can greatly reduce impact magnitudes across the whole range of pre-impact glove velocities likely to be encountered in boxing, thereby mitigating risks associated with the sport
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Introduction
• safety is a central concern
- head impacts and the occurrence of chronic traumatic brain injury
- serious functional disorders
+ dementia
+ Parkinson’s disease
+ compromised cognition
+ slurred speech
+ unsteady gait
+ depression
+ irrational anger
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Method
• SBLI (Sealed Bladder Low-Impact)
• ARLI (Air-Release Low-Impact)
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Construction of SBLI Glove
Figure 1. Basic elements of SBLI glove.
(a) = Small soccer ball bladder with red line indicating where the bladder was cut,
(b) = Truck tyre patch used to seal the bladder after cutting to create hemispherical shape,
(c) = longitudinal view of glove showing position of bladder within glove casing and fist compartment behind bladder,
(d) = Intact gloves with leather casing in place and blue outline illustrating location of bladder. Note that upper portion of white region of gloves includes openings allowing inflation and deflation of the sealed bladder by use of a bicycle pump and needle valve.
Construction of ARLI Glove
Figure 2. Bladder for ARLI glove with capability for air release.
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The bladder in (panel a) was cut at the point indicated by the black line.
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The foam skeleton was then inserted and the unit was sealed with a truck tyre patch (panel b).
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A port to allow air egress and ingress (panel b) was then added.
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Figure 3. A prototype low-impact glove allowing air release and return. The port can be seen on the front surface of the glove toward the top.
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Mechanical Fist
Figure 4. The mechanical fist used in the experiment.
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Panel (a) is a side view with the fist open and shows the three hinged metal sections of the device.
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Panel (b) is a view from underneath and shows the mechanism used to draw the fist closed.
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Panel (c) shows the fist locked in the closed position.
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Panel (d) shows the fist inside a glove and highlights the accuracy with which normal glove positioning on a fist was simulated.