PHYSIOLOGICAL AND NEUROLOGICAL MONITORING SPORTSWEAR
The present disclosure is directed to a physiological and neurological monitoring apparatus that monitors and satisfies the need for an improved buffer between the skull of a user and the impacting object so as to minimize the likelihood of neck and cranial injury. Further the helmet comprises a facemask for prevent concussions by absorbing the energy from an impact and redirecting the energy across the structure of the helmet shell. The embodiment comprises a helmet shell with elongated cheek guards and an elongated rear neck guard which follows the contour of the user's shoulder line and continues sufficiently below the head of said user to cover the rear neck of the user. These additions help prevent concussions by providing a larger surface of protection to especially weak areas that are prone to injury such as the rear of the neck and the lower jaw line.
This application is related to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/078,814 filed on Nov. 12, 2014 and U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/110,524 filed on Jan. 31, 2015.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTN/A
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates generally to the field of physiological monitoring, and more particularly, to athletic physiological-monitoring and injury-preventive sportswear.
2. Background of the Invention
In contact sports such as American football, injury is relatively common due to the collisions and force of impact between players. In addition to other forms of bodily harm experienced by players, concussions and other forms of head trauma stand out as physical harm that can be especially debilitating and capable of deteriorating a player's health over time if not treated properly. Moreover, although football players are fitted with injury-preventive athletic wear such as helmets, the current helmets are not capable of preventing concussions, entirely due to limitations in the material performance and design of the helmets.
Also, concussions are not readily detectable as the injury is not on the exterior of the body, but rather within the cranium of the injured player. A common occurrence on the playing field of a football game is that a player has a concussion after undergoing a powerful strike to the head and is inaccurately assessed to be in full health. Subsequently, the player returns to the playing field and receives additional strikes to the head, thus increasingly deteriorating the player's physical health at a heightened rate.
Current helmets act as a buffer between the users' skull and an outside object upon collision with that object. Such helmets can disperse the force upon the skull of a player, thus decreasing the chance of concussion, but these helmets cannot eliminate the chance of a concussion entirely. Moreover upon receiving a concussion, current helmets do not have the capability of aiding in the treatment of a concussion by measuring the forces exerted on the helmet or players' or monitoring the players' physiological health.
It would therefore be desirable to have a helmet with improved impact-buffering features from existing helmet designs in order to decrease the likelihood of user-sustained concussions.
It would further be desirable to have a helmet with the capability of monitoring the users' physiological health during use so the user and his or her trainers may be kept abreast of any health concerns that may arise during the helmet's use in gameplay or during training.
Furthermore, it would also be desirable to have a helmet that has the capability of alerting coaches, trainers, referees, and medical personnel of a possible concussion upon impact.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the invention, Applicant in no way disclaims these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
In this specification where a document, act, or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act, or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provision; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn embodiment of this disclosure is directed to an apparatus that satisfies the need for an improved buffer between the skull of a user and the impacting object so as to minimize the likelihood of neck and cranial injury. The embodiment comprises a helmet shell with elongated cheek guards and an elongated rear neck guard which follows the contour of the user's shoulder line and continues sufficiently below the head of said user to cover the rear neck of the user. These additions help prevent concussions by providing a larger surface of protection to especially weak areas that are prone to injury such as the rear of the neck and the lower jaw line.
Another embodiment of this disclosure is directed to a facemask buffer system that satisfies the need for an improved buffer between the skull of a user and the impacting object so as to minimize the likelihood of neck and cranial injury. The embodiment comprises a facemask, set of guiding rods, and a set of springs, all of which ride within channels built within a helmet. The facemask is attached to first distal ends of a set of guiding rods; each guiding rod is fitted with a set of springs. The other distal ends of the guiding rods are attached to a helmet shell. The system is housed within channels that are built into the helmet shell so as to allow the facemask, guiding rods, and springs to move and absorb the energy of an impact from prescribed angles relative to the helmet. These additions help prevent concussions by absorbing the energy from an impact and redirecting the energy across the structure of the helmet shell. A further addition of a pressure sensor integrated within the buffer system allows for monitoring the amount of force absorbed by the facemask buffer system.
A further embodiment of this disclosure is directed to a chin strap buffer system that satisfies the need for an improved buffer between the chin of a helmet user and the impacting object so as to minimize the likelihood of a jaw injury. The embodiment comprises a chin guard, an air pouch, a fan, and two straps. The chin guard is shaped to receive the chin of the user. The fan sits within the center of the chin guard and is connected to the air pouch, which sits in the interior of the chin guard. The chin guard has a strap attached to either side and the straps are connected to a helmet shell. The function of the fan is to draw ambient air and supply the air to the air pouch, thereby keeping a constant air pressure within the air pouch. These additions help prevent injury to the jaw or chin of the helmet user by creating an air cushion between the user's chin and the chin guard that is capable of absorbing a direct impact. A further addition of an air pressure sensor integrated within the air pouch allows for monitoring the amount of force absorbed by the chin strap buffer system. Another addition of a tension sensor integrated with one of the straps allows for monitoring the amount of force absorbed by the chin strap buffer system.
A further embodiment of this disclosure is directed to a cranial buffer system that satisfies the need for an improved buffer between the skull of a user and the impacting object so as to minimize the likelihood of concussions and cranial injury. The embodiment comprises a helmet shell, air sleeve, and at least one fan. The fan sits in a helmet shell, which is shaped to protect the skull of its user. The interior of the helmet shell is lined with an air sleeve, which sits in between the skull of the user and the helmet shell. The function of the fan is to draw ambient air and supply the air to the air sleeve, thereby keeping a constant air pressure within the air sleeve. These additions help prevent injury to the skull of the helmet user by creating an air cushion between the user's skull and the helmet that is capable of absorbing impact energy. A further addition of an air pressure sensor integrated within the air sleeve allows for monitoring the amount of force absorbed by the cranial buffer system.
A further embodiment of this disclosure is directed to a cheek guard pad apparatus that satisfies the need for an improved buffer between the cheeks and jaw line of a helmet user and the helmet itself. The embodiment comprises a set of two pads, each individually comprised of at least two layers of material. An outer layer is made of a structurally stiff material such as plastic, and an inner layer is made of a softer material such as cloth, foam, memory foam, or gel, among others. This apparatus helps prevent injury to the cheek and jaw line of the user by allowing the helmet to shift with respect to the cheeks and jaw of the user without losing its snug fit around the user's skull.
A further embodiment of this disclosure is directed to a brain monitoring system that satisfies the need for monitoring the physiological health of a helmet user. The embodiment comprises a helmet insert, a set of electrodes, a microprocessor, and digital storage medium. The helmet insert is made of a soft material such as gel or foam so that it sits comfortably between the head of the user and the user's helmet. The helmet insert extends from the forehead of the user to the rear of the user's neck, behind the brainstem. A set of electrodes are embedded in the portion of the helmet insert that is in contact with the forehead of the user. The electrodes are therefore in constant contact with the forehead of the user while the helmet insert is in use. The electrodes are electrically connected to a microprocessor, which is itself connected to a digital storage medium. The microprocessor collects electrical brain activity data from the electrodes and uses specially-adapted software to compile the information and evaluate the health of the user. This data is then stored in the storage medium for later access. The electrodes, microprocessor, and digital storage medium are all embedded in the helmet insert, but are detachable for manual data uploading or downloading. This brain monitoring system allows for the brain activity and overall physiological health to be monitored constantly during the use of the helmet in training or gameplay. A further addition of a transmitter for transmitting data wirelessly to an outside receiver allows for third parties to be alerted of health concerns regarding the helmet user. A further addition of another set of electrodes placed on or near the rear neck allow for brain activity and physiological health data to be collected from the brainstem and/or spine for added data collection. A further addition of a Light-Emitting Diode (LED) screen, electrically connected to said microprocessor, facilitates in the reading of the user's neurological and physiological data. The brain monitoring system may further have speakers electrically connected to said microprocessor so that an alarm or alerting noise may be sounded to the user in the event that the brain monitoring system detects a health concern.
The present disclosure may address one or more of the problems and deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. However, it is contemplated that the disclosure may prove useful in addressing other problems and deficiencies in a number of technical areas. Therefore the claimed disclosure should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed herein.
Further, the purpose of the accompanying abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the disclosure of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the disclosure in any way.
In the summary above, in the description and appended claims below, and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particular features of the disclosure. It is to be understood that the disclosure of the product in this specification includes all possible combinations of such particular features. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular aspect or embodiment of the disclosure, or a particular claim, that feature can also be used, to the extent possible, in combination with and/or in the context of other particular aspects and embodiments of the disclosure, and in the disclosure generally.
The term “comprises” and grammatical equivalents thereof are used herein to mean that other components, structures, steps, etc. are optionally present. For example, an article “comprising” (or “which comprises”) components A, B, and C can consist of (i.e., contain only) components A, B, and C, or van contain not only components A, B, and C, but also one or more other components or structures.
The term “at least” followed by a number is used herein to denote the start of a range beginning with that number (which may be a range having an upper limit or no upper limit, depending on the variable being defined). For example, “at least 1” means 1 more than 1. The term “at most” followed by a number is used herein to denote the end of a range ending with that number (which may be a range having 1 or 0 as its lower limit, or a range having no lower limit, depending upon the variable being defined). For example, “at most 4” means 4 or less than 4, and “at most 40% means 40% or less than 40%. When, in this specification, a range is given as “(a first number) to (a second number)” or “(a first number)−(a second number),” this means a range whose lower limit is the first number and whose upper limit is the second number. For example, 25 to 100 mm means a range whose lower limit is 25 mm, and whose upper limit is 100 mm.
The term “mechanical features” is used herein to mean features of a component, mechanical or geometric, which have a functional purpose of attaching or linking that component to one or more other components with compatible or corresponding mechanical features. An example of a mechanical feature is a slot in a component, where said slot is designed to accept a tab from another component and the union of the slot and tab from the two components effectively links, attaches, fixes, and/or locks the components together. The term “mechanical features” refers to, but is not limited to: hooks, hook and loop fasteners, slot and tabs, all male and female fasteners, screws, bolts, nuts, holes that have been tapped, latches, pins, etc.
While the specification will conclude with claims defining the features of embodiments of the disclosure that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the disclosure will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward.
As show in
Referring to facemask buffer system 200 on
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is in the form of a facemask buffer system 200, wherein each said guide rod 230 has more than one spring 240 concentrically around itself and each said spring 240 has a different spring 240 constant from the other springs on particular said guide rod 230.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
Referring to
In an alternative embodiment a chinstrap buffer system 300, further comprising an electromechanical sensor attached to either distal end, 351 or 352, of at least one of said straps 350, said electromechanical sensor being able to record data regarding tension forces along said strap 350.
The present helmet further comprises a cranial buffer system 400, as shown in
Referring to
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a brain monitoring system 600, as shown in
In light of the foregoing description, it should be recognized that embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure can be realized in numerous configurations contemplated to be within the scope and spirit of the claims. Additionally, the description above is intended by way of example only and is not intended to limit the present disclosure in any way, except as set forth in the claims.
The disclosure is not limited to the precise configuration described above. While the disclosure has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the subject disclosure will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this disclosure after considering this specification together with the accompanying drawings. Accordingly, all such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the disclosure are deemed to be covered by this disclosure as defined in the following claims and their legal equivalents. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses, if any, are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures.
All of the patents, patent applications, and publications recited herein, and in the Declaration attached hereto, if any, are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in their entirety herein. All, or substantially all, the components disclosed in such patents may be used in the embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as equivalents thereof. The details in the patents, patent applications, and publications incorporated by reference herein may be considered to be incorporable at applicant's option, into the claims during prosecution as further limitations in the claims to patentable distinguish any amended claims from any applied prior art.
Claims
1. A helmet comprising:
- a molded shell; wherein said molded shell comprises a front side, a rear side, cavity, a back elongated extension and a side elongated portion; wherein said cavity is formed in a lower portion of said molded shell for receiving a user's head; wherein said back elongated extension extends and covers the user's rear neck;
- a inner shell surface;
- a facemask buffer system, wherein said facemask system comprises a facemask and an impact absorbing mechanism;
- a chinstrap buffer system, wherein said chinstrap buffer system comprises a chin guard and at least two straps mechanically coupled to the inner shell surface;
- a cheek guard pad, wherein said cheek guard pad is configured to be located between the user's head and said inner shell surface;
- a cranial buffer system, wherein said cranial buffer system comprises an inlet, an outlet, at least an air sleeve, at least a first fan, wherein said inlet comprises a first opening in said molded shell that provides access to air from outside the molded shell into said air sleeve and said outlet comprises a second opening in said molded shell that serves as an air escape; and
- a brain monitoring system, wherein said brain monitoring system comprises a plurality of sensors in contact with the user's head.
2. The helmet as in claim 1, wherein said first fan assists with the air flowing from outside the molded shell into said air sleeve.
3. The helmet as in claim 1, wherein said cranial buffer system comprises an electromechanical air pressure sensor.
4. The helmet as in claim 1, wherein said absorbing mechanism comprises:
- at least a first channel and a second channel;
- at least a first guide rod and a second guide rod, wherein each rod comprises a first distal end and a second distal end;
- at least a first elastic member and a second elastic member, wherein each elastic member comprises a first elastic distal end and a second elastic distal end;
- wherein said first distal end is attached to the facemask and the second distal end is inside at least said first channel;
- wherein said first elastic distal end is attached to said facemask and the second elastic distal end is attached to the inner shell surface; and
- wherein said first elastic member is concentric around said first guide rod.
5. The helmet as in claim 4, wherein the first elastic member comprises a spring.
6. The helmet as in claim 4, wherein the first elastic member comprises at least a set of springs, wherein each spring comprises a different spring constant.
7. The helmet as in claim 1, wherein said absorbing mechanism comprises at least an electromechanical sensor.
8. The helmet as in claim 1, wherein said plurality of sensors comprises at least an electrode.
9. The helmet as in claim 1, wherein said chin guard system comprises an air pouch including an opening.
10. The helmet as in claim 9, wherein said chin guard system comprises a first hole and a first fan, wherein said opening receives air from said first fan.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 12, 2015
Publication Date: May 12, 2016
Inventor: Clifford L. Tubbs (Miami, FL)
Application Number: 14/939,786