BACKGROUND

A barrier is an object that prohibits or impedes the progress of another object. Acoustic barriers prevent sound from traveling through them. A flood barrier stops water from flowing past it. A radiation barrier, such as a lead blanket used at the dentist's office, prevents harmful x-rays from damaging your body.

One common problem with barriers is that they are often large and hard to transport. As such, there is a need for barriers that can be stored small and quickly expanded (e.g., deployed) to cover a large area. Current solutions to this problem include folding barriers, barriers that roll up, and modular panel barriers. While these barriers solve the problem of size, they also introduce other challenges, such as increased degrees of freedom, slow expansion, manual assembly, and possible cuts, holes, and gaps in the barrier.

Despite the availability of a number of different barriers, manufacturers and users of barriers continue to seek new and improved barriers.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a barrier is disclosed. The barrier includes a sheet, a plurality of rigid sections attached to or incorporated into the sheet, and a plurality of hinges between the plurality of rigid sections. The plurality of hinges are formed from portions of the sheet. The plurality of hinges intersect with each other at at least one vertex. At least some of the hinges that intersection at the at least one vertex are non-collinear. The barrier is configured to be switchable between an at least partially collapsed state and an at least partially expanded state.

In an embodiment, a method to make a barrier is disclosed. The method includes providing a sheet, defining a plurality of rigid sections on the sheet, and forming a plurality of hinges from portions of the sheet that are disposed between the plurality of rigid sections. The plurality of hinges intersect with each other at at least one vertex. At least some of the plurality of hinges that intersect at the at least one vertex are non-collinear. The plurality of rigid sections are attached to or incorporated into the sheet. The barrier is configured to be switchable between an at least partially collapsed state and an at least partially expanded state.

In an embodiment, a method to deploy a barrier is disclosed. The method includes providing a barrier that is in an at least partially collapsed state. The barrier includes a continuous sheet, a plurality of rigid sections attached to or incorporated into the continuous sheet, and a plurality of hinges formed from the continuous sheet that are disposed between the plurality of rigid sections. The plurality of hinges intersect with each other at at least one vertex. At least some of the plurality of hinges that intersect at the at least one vertex are non-collinear. The method also includes switching the barrier from the at least partially collapsed state to an at least partially expanded state by unfolding the plurality of hinges. The barrier in the at least partially expanded state exhibits at least one of a length, width, or thickness that is greater than the barrier in the at least partially collapsed state.

Features from any of the disclosed embodiments may be used in combination with one another, without limitation. In addition, other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art through consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

