Patent ID: 8399085
Filing Date: 2013-03-19
Classification: F16C,Y10T

Abstract:
1. An energy-absorbing pad structure comprising an energy-absorbing viscoelastic foam pad, and a polymeric film encapsulating said foam pad, said polymeric film containing perforations that inhibit or prevent liquid water from passing through said polymeric film into said foam pad in the absence of a pressure gradient across the film, but which permit air to pass through said polymeric film out of said foam pad when the pad structure is subjected to a compression event and to pass through said polymeric film into said foam pad following said compression event, said foam pad having a pre-compression shape before the compression event, whereby the foam pad can recover to the pre-compression shape following the compression event, said polymeric film being made from a waterproof elastic polymer, wherein the polymer's elasticity contracts the perforations in the polymeric film to resist water penetration through said film.