Abstract: A football helmet with shell, faceguard, padding and comfort liner system, has replaceable nose bumpers for connecting a top center of the faceguard to the shell, button and keyhole connectors connecting the liner to an inner surface of the padding and T-nut connectors for connecting the padding to an inner surface of the shell. Front portions of the comfort liner have harder foam cushions than other portions of the liner to improve impact absorption. Selected areas of the padding system contain pads with inner and outer molded thermoplastic urethane parts of different durometer, each including a sheet with plural alternating hollow protrusions. The faceguard has an upper bar with raised ends above a lower edge of the front portion of the shell that form a face opening and on either side of the nose bumper.

Abstract: A football helmet has a shell made of polycarbonate or ABS plastic or thermoplastic composite material and two cheek supports, each removably connected to an earflap. Each cheek support comprises an outer brace, an inner plate removably connected to the outer brace by fasteners passing through through-going holes formed in the earflap, and a cheek pad attached to the inner plate. The outer brace has a lower edge having a contour shaped to follow a contour of the lower edge of the earflap without extending substantially beyond the lower edge of the earflap. The inner plate has a lower edge having a contour shaped to follow the contour of the lower edge of the earflap without extending substantially beyond the lower edge of the earflap and an extension extending from a body of the inner plate and beyond the front edge of the earflap. A cheek pad is removably attached to the inner plate and positioned to overlay the cheek of a wearer.

Abstract: A liner assembly for a protective helmet which includes a wrap-around pad designed to be engaged to the inner surface of a helmet. The wrap-around pad has multiple substantially circular cells spaced along a curved line around the inner surface. The assembly also has a crown pad and two jaw pads. Each jaw pad is an cell L-shaped cell. Each cell is made of an inner sheet, an outer sheet and multiple, outwardly-projecting hollow protrusions.

Abstract: A buckle assembly for a chin strap of a helmet has a metal part connected to a non-marring part. The metal part includes a metal plate with an outer perimeter, end portions and a center portion, and a slot in each end portion and a snap member fixed to the center portion. The non-marring part includes a tray with end and side walls. The end and side walls together defining an inner perimeter corresponding to and receiving the outer perimeter of the metal plate. A shelf extends side-to-side on an inner surface of each end wall, a plurality of locking tabs are on an inner surface of each side wall and at least one intermediate portion is connected to the inside surface of each side wall. The metal plate rests on the shelves and on the intermediate portion(s) and is being locked in the tray by the locking tabs.

Abstract: A liner assembly for a protective helmet has a wrap-around pad inside the helmet with plural circular cells spaced along a curved line, at least one additional cell at each end of the line and one additional cell located off the line. A crown pad removably engagable in a crown of the helmet and two L-shaped jaw pads removably engageable to jaw flaps of the helmet. Each cell includes an outer sheet welded around its perimeter to the perimeter of an inner sheet, each inner sheet engaging a player's head and defining one enclosure for each cell. Each cell containing a foam cushion and multiple spaced apart hollow protrusions contacting the inside of the helmet. Each protrusion has an open large diameter base near the cushion and flat smaller diameter peak engaging the helmet. Each protrusions also having a conical side wall tapering from base to peak.

Abstract: A football helmet with shell, faceguard, padding and comfort liner system, has replaceable nose bumpers for connecting a top center of the faceguard to the shell, button and keyhole connectors connecting the liner to an inner surface of the padding and T-nut connectors for connecting the padding to an inner surface of the shell. Front portions of the comfort liner have harder foam cushions than other portions of the liner to improve impact absorption. Selected areas of the padding system contain pads with inner and outer molded thermoplastic urethane parts of different durometer, each including a sheet with plural alternating hollow protrusions. The faceguard has an upper bar with raised ends above a lower edge of the front portion of the shell that form a face opening and on either side of the nose bumper.

Abstract: A football helmet with shell, faceguard, padding and comfort liner system, has replaceable nose bumpers for connecting a top center of the faceguard to the shell, button and keyhole connectors connecting the liner to an inner surface of the padding and T-nut connectors for connecting the padding to an inner surface of the shell. Front portions of the comfort liner have harder foam cushions than other portions of the liner to improve impact absorption. Selected areas of the padding system contain pads with inner and outer molded thermoplastic urethane parts of different durometer, each including a sheet with plural alternating hollow protrusions. The faceguard has an upper bar with raised ends above a lower edge of the front portion of the shell that form a face opening and on either side of the nose bumper.

Abstract: A football helmet with shell, faceguard, padding and comfort liner system, has replaceable nose bumpers for connecting a top center of the faceguard to the shell, button and keyhole connectors connecting the liner to an inner surface of the padding and T-nut connectors for connecting the padding to an inner surface of the shell. Front portions of the comfort liner have harder foam cushions than other portions of the liner to improve impact absorption. Selected areas of the padding system contain pads with inner and outer molded thermoplastic urethane parts of different durometer, each including a sheet with plural alternating hollow protrusions. The faceguard has an upper bar with raised ends above a lower edge of the front portion of the shell that form a face opening and on either side of the nose bumper.

Abstract: A football helmet with shell, faceguard, padding and comfort liner system, has replaceable nose bumpers for connecting a top center of the faceguard to the shell, button and keyhole connectors connecting the liner to an inner surface of the padding and T-nut connectors for connecting the padding to an inner surface of the shell. Front portions of the comfort liner have harder foam cushions than other portions of the liner to improve impact absorption. Selected areas of the padding system contain pads with inner and outer molded thermoplastic urethane parts of different durometer, each including a sheet with plural alternating hollow protrusions. The faceguard has an upper bar with raised ends above a lower edge of the front portion of the shell that form a face opening and on either side of the nose bumper.

Abstract: A football helmet having a shell, and having a chin protector with chin cup and chin straps, has dual snaps on its chin strap buckles and dual snaps on each side of the helmet shell for improving the snap connection between the chin straps and the helmet to reduce the chances the helmet wearer will loose the helmet during play. Dual snaps on the sides of the helmet are carried on pivoting snap carriers to allow the chin protector to rotate with respect to the helmet shell.

Abstract: A liner assembly for a protective helmet which includes a wrap-around pad designed to be engaged to the inner surface of a helmet. The wrap-around pad has multiple substantially circular cells spaced along a curved line around the inner surface. The assembly also has a crown pad and two jaw pads. Each jaw pad is an cell L-shaped cell. Each cell is made of an inner sheet, an outer sheet and multiple, outwardly-projecting hollow protrusions.

Abstract: A football helmet having a shell, and having a chin protector with chin cup and chin straps, has dual snaps on its chin strap buckles and dual snaps on each side of the helmet shell for improving the snap connection between the chin straps and the helmet to reduce the chances the helmet wearer will loose the helmet during play. Dual snaps on the sides of the helmet are carried on pivoting snap carriers to allow the chin protector to rotate with respect to the helmet shell.

Abstract: A football helmet with shell, faceguard, padding and comfort liner system, has replaceable nose bumpers for connecting a top center of the faceguard to the shell, button and keyhole connectors connecting the liner to an inner surface of the padding and T-nut connectors for connecting the padding to an inner surface of the shell. Front portions of the comfort liner have harder foam cushions than other portions of the liner to improve impact absorption. Selected areas of the padding system contain pads with inner and outer molded thermoplastic urethane parts of different durometer, each including a sheet with plural alternating hollow protrusions. The faceguard has an upper bar with raised ends above a lower edge of the front portion of the shell that form a face opening and on either side of the nose bumper.

Abstract: A helmet has a ventilated shell, ventilated padding and a ventilated liner of plural cells mounted to the padding for engaging a wearer's head. The liner has top and bottom flexible sheets fused around their perimeter, the bottom sheet having plural round or oval toroidal cells and plural round or oval closed cells, the openings in the toroidal cells extending through the top sheet. Foam at least partly fills each cell. Cells under a crown of the shell are connected in a first circuit with a valve for inflating these cells and a other cells under temporal and occipital portions of the shell are connected in a second inflation circuit with a valve for inflating the second plurality of the cells. Cells under the frontal portion not being inflatable and being substantially filled with foam padding.