Traduction en cours.

Many work situations require the use of knee protectors, which are tested according to European Standard EN 14404. The objective of this study was to analyse the relevance of certain parameters for testing bearing force distribution, in particular the three force measurement points, the artificial test knee used, and the limit value of 30 N.
The three sensor positions defined in the standard do not guarantee that the maximum pressure will be measured. The grid of pressure sensors implemented in this study maps the bearing force distribution fully and immediately.
Three artificial knees of different sizes and a simplified knee were defined and compared: depending on the type of knee protector, the force distribution can vary. But, the pressures obtained with the simplified knee are within the range of those recorded with the other knees. Use of the simplified knee can therefore be considered in place of the currently used test knee, which is difficult to fabricate and is not representative of morphological diversity.
Finally, based on the sample group of protectors evaluated during subjective tests, we can conclude that the 30 N limit specified by the standard is consistent with the degree of comfort felt by the test subjects.