Low-Profile Batting Helmet
The present invention is directed to a low-profile batting helmet. The low-profile helmet includes a gradually-sloped front portion for covering and protecting the front portion of a user's head. The gradual slope of the front portion permits the helmet to conform closely to the users' head, providing more contact between the helmet and the wearer's head than occurs with a conventional helmet. The close conformity of the helmet to the user's head provide a snug fit to secure the helmet to the head and increased comfort to the wearer. In addition, the gradual slope of the front portion presents a decreased vertical surface component (compared to conventional helmets) such that a strike from a stray ball is more easily deflected compared to a strike to a conventional helmet.
None.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protective sports equipment, and more particularly to protective helmets used in baseball and softball. Specifically, the present invention relates to protective batting helmets.
2. Description of Related Art
Protective helmets are commonly used in various sports to provide protection to a player's head and face. In baseball, for example, players commonly wear batting helmets to provide protection against wild pitches or foul balls. Offensive players also sometimes wear helmets when running the bases to protect against balls thrown in the playing field. In lower-level leagues, especially those geared to younger players, protective batting helmets are often required to protect against stray pitches and throws.
Typical batting helmets include a rigid outer shell, with padding affixed to the inside of the helmet to provide a more comfortable fit to the wearer. Because helmets are rarely custom-manufactured for a particular wearer, manufacturers attempt to make batting helmets adaptable to a large number of potential users. A typical batting helmet is shaped in a generally symmetrical pattern (as viewed from front-to-rear and from side-to-side) having relatively steep front and rear outer surfaces. So long as the helmet fits over the head and is reasonably snug such that it will not fall off, the helmet will provide protection. While a batting helmet of this configuration does provide general protection to a user, it does not generally provide a comfortable, secure fit, nor does it provide any enhanced deflection features to protect the user.
Thus, it can be seen that there remains a need in the art for a protective batting helmet that provides a better fit to a user and that further provides enhanced protection to the user.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is directed to a low-profile batting helmet. The low-profile helmet includes a gradually-sloped front portion for covering and protecting the front portion of a user's head. The gradual slope of the front portion permits the helmet to conform closely to the users' head, providing more contact between the padding along the inner surface of the helmet and the wearer's head than occurs with a conventional helmet. The close conformity of the helmet to the user's head provides a snug fit to secure the helmet to the head and increased comfort to the wearer. In addition, the gradual slope of the front portion presents a decreased vertical surface component (compared to conventional helmets) such that a strike from a stray ball is more easily deflected compared to a strike to a conventional helmet.
In an exemplary embodiment, the helmet comprises a rigid shell for protecting the head of the wearer, with the front portion of the helmet having a low-profile, gradual slope. Padding on the interior surface of the helmet contacts the wearer's head, with the padding on the interior of the gradually-sloped front portion of the helmet thus conforming closely to the wearer's head to provide a snug, comfortable fit. The low-profile, gradually-sloped front portion ensures that a greater percentage of the interior of the helmet is in contact with the wearer's head and reduces any gaps between the helmet and the head as compared to conventional batting helmets. The low-profile of the front portion of the helmet further provides a non-vertical surface to deflect any stray pitches and reduce the impact transferred to the wearer when the helmet is struck by a stray ball.
Additional aspects of the invention, together with the advantages and novel features appurtenant thereto, will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned from the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The present invention will be described in greater detail in the following detailed description of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, in which:
A low-profile, protective batting helmet in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is depicted in
Looking first to
Preferably, rigid shell 12 is constructed from any rigid, impact resistant material. Most preferably, rigid shell 12 is constructed of a rigid plastic material such as Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) or polycarbonate. Rigid shell 12 is preferably formed as a unitary piece, including bill 14, using known processes such as molding or casting. Rigid shell 12 may be custom manufactured to accommodate head sizes from extra small (6⅜) to extra large (7½), or may be manufactured to an intermediate size. As will be described in more detail herein below, helmet 10 may also include padding affixed along the inner surface of shell 12 to provide a resilient, comfortable surface against a wearer's head.
The gradual-slope and low-profile of the helmet of the present invention will now be described in part by comparison to a conventional steep-slope, high-profile helmet of the prior art.
Looking first to
As shown in
As can be seen, the non-vertical surface of front portion 16 of the helmet of
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, by deflecting a striking ball, the gradually-sloped, low-profile of the front portion of the helmet of
By comparison, as shown in
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the same analysis can be applied to strikes to the helmet originating from any angle, and to various orientations of the helmet as described previously. Of course, the above descriptions are approximations of the dispersion of force as numerous other factors and components of the helmet must be taken into account in calculating the force transferred to the wearer.
Looking now to
Turning first to
Using these identified points and lines as a reference, it can be seen that helmet 10 has a length (depicted by line l′) as measured between front and rear points f′ and r′, and a height (depicted by line h′) as measured between origin point o′ and top point t′. It can further be seen that the distance between front and top points f′ and t′, as measured along the surface of rigid shell 12, is the surface length of the front portion of the helmet (identified by line df); that the distance between rear and top points r′ and t′, measured along the surface of rigid shell 12 is the surface length of the rear portion of the helmet (identified by line dr); and that the distance between front and rear points f′ and r′, measured along the surface of rigid shell 12, is the total surface length of the helmet (identified by line dt′), such that the total surface length (d1′) is equal to the sum of the length of the front surface df′ and the length of the rear surface (dr′). Finally, as shown by the diagonally shaded areas in
Looking to
It will be further apparent that point f′ defines a front center point of the helmet and that point r′ defines a rear center point. Thus, for example, referring back to
Referring back to
Looking to
Looking again to
Looking now to
Turning first to
Looking still to
Preferably, the low-profile front portion 16 conforms closely to the wearer's head such that at least about fifty-percent of the surface area (i.e., innermost surface 34) of the padding 32 in that front portion contacts the wearer's head in normal use. Preferably, the percentage of surface area (i.e., innermost surface 34) of padding 32 in front portion 16 that contacts the wearer's head in normal use ranges from about fifty percent to about ninety percent, and most preferably is greater than about seventy-five percent. As described previously, padding 32 may be provided in multiple pieces, rather than a continuous piece as depicted in the exemplary embodiment of
As can be seen, the invention described herein provides a low-profile batting helmet that provides a secure, comfortable fit, and further provides enhanced deflection capability and protection to the wearer. Of course, other embodiments or configurations will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and are contemplated by and within the scope of the present invention.
The term “substantially” or “approximately” as used herein may be applied to modify any quantitative representation which could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. For example, the slope of front portion 16 is described as being approximately 20 degrees from parallel with the centerline of the helmet, but may permissibly vary from that orientation if the variance does not materially alter the capability of the invention.
While the present invention has been described and illustrated hereinabove with reference to various exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that various modifications could be made to these embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited to the exemplary embodiments described and illustrated hereinabove, except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims.
Claims
1. A low-profile batting helmet, comprising:
- a rigid shell comprising a front portion, a rear portion, a left portion and a right portion shaped to cover the respective front, rear, left and right portions of a wearer's head, said shell defining a bottom opening and an inner cavity for receiving said wearer's head,
- wherein said front, back, left, and right portions converge at a top point corresponding to a centerline of the helmet, said centerline corresponding to an intersection of lengthwise and widthwise planes extending through a lengthwise center point and widthwise center point, respectively, of the helmet; and
- wherein a slope of said rear portion of said helmet is steeper than a slope of said front portion of said helmet.
2. The low-profile batting helmet of claim 1, wherein a first distance, measured along an outer surface of said rigid shell between said top point and a front center point defined by the intersection of a reference line extending through said centerline in said lengthwise plane and said front portion of said rigid shell, is less than a second distance, measured along an outer surface of said rigid shell between said top point and a rear center point defined by the intersection of said reference line and said rear portion of said rigid shell.
3. The low-profile helmet of claim 2, wherein said first distance ranges from about seventy percent to about ninety-five percent of said second distance.
4. The low-profile helmet of claim 2, further comprising a bill extending outwardly from said front portion and wherein said front center point corresponds to an intersection of said front portion and said bill.
5. The low-profile helmet of claim 2, wherein said slope of said front portion measured at said front center point is not parallel to said centerline.
6. The low-profile helmet of claim 5, wherein said slope of said front portion measured at said front center point is within the range of from about five degrees to about thirty-five degrees from parallel to said centerline.
7. The low profile helmet of claim 5, wherein said slope of said front portion measured at said front center point is within the range of from about ten degrees to about thirty degrees from parallel to said centerline.
8. The low profile helmet of claim 5, wherein said slope of said front portion measured at said front center point is approximately twenty degrees from parallel to said centerline.
9. The low-profile helmet of claim 1, wherein an area of said front portion, measured as the area of the front portion extending outside of a first reference line between said top point and a front center point defined by the intersection of a second reference line extending through said centerline in said lengthwise plane and said front portion of said rigid shell, is less than an area of said rear portion, measured as the area of the rear portion extending outside of a third reference line between said top point and a rear center point defined by the intersection of said second reference line and said rear portion of said rigid shell.
10. The low-profile helmet of claim 9, wherein said areas are cross sectional areas, and wherein said area of said front portion ranges from about seventy-five percent to about ninety percent of said area of said rear portion.
11. The low-profile helmet of claim 9, wherein said areas are cross sectional areas, and wherein said area of said front portion is about eighty percent or less of said area of said rear portion.
12. The low-profile helmet of claim 9, wherein said areas are surface areas, and wherein said area of said front portion ranges from about seventy-five percent to about ninety percent of said area of said rear portion.
13. The low-profile helmet of claim 9, wherein said areas are surface areas, and wherein said area of said front portion is about eighty percent or less of said area of said rear portion.
14. The low-profile helmet of claim 1, further comprising padding affixed to said rigid shell within said inner cavity, said padding having an inner surface configured to conform closely to said wearer's head.
15. The low-profile helmet of claim 14, wherein a portion of said inner surface contacting said wearer's head ranges from about fifty percent to about ninety percent of a total area of said inner surface.
16. The low-profile helmet of claim 14, wherein a portion of said inner surface contacting said wearer's head is greater than about seventy-five percent of a total area of said inner surface.
17. The low profile helmet of claim 1, wherein said top point corresponds to an apex of said helmet.
18. A low-profile batting helmet, comprising:
- a rigid shell comprising a front portion and a rear portion shaped to cover and protect the front and rear portions, respectively, of a wearer's head;
- wherein said front and rear portions meet at a top point corresponding to a centerline of the helmet and wherein a slope of said rear portion of said helmet is steeper than a slope of said front portion of said helmet.
19. The low-profile batting helmet of claim 18, wherein a first length of said front portion as measured along an outer surface of said rigid shell between said top point and a front center point is less than a second length of said rear portion as measured along an outer surface of said rigid shell between said top point and a rear center point corresponding to said front center point.
20. The low-profile helmet of claim 19, wherein said first length ranges from about seventy percent to about ninety-five percent of said second length.
21. The low-profile helmet of claim 19, further comprising a bill extending outwardly from said front portion and wherein said front center point corresponds to an intersection of said front portion and said bill.
22. The low-profile helmet of claim 19, wherein said slope of said front portion measured at said front center point is not parallel to said centerline.
23. The low-profile helmet of claim 19, wherein said slope of said front portion measured at said front center point is within the range of from about five degrees to about thirty-five degrees from parallel to said centerline.
24. The low-profile helmet of claim 19, wherein an area of said front portion, measured as the area of the front portion extending outside of a first reference line between said top point and a front center point defined by the intersection of a second reference line extending through said centerline in said lengthwise plane and said front portion of said rigid shell, is less than an area of said rear portion, measured as the area of the rear portion extending outside of a third reference line between said top point and a rear center point defined by the intersection of said second reference line and said rear portion of said rigid shell.
25. The low-profile helmet of claim 24, wherein said areas are cross sectional areas, and wherein said area of said front portion ranges from about seventy-five percent to about ninety percent of said area of said rear portion tion.
26. The low-profile helmet of claim 24, wherein said areas are cross sectional areas, and wherein said area of said front portion is about eighty percent or less of said area of said rear portion.
27. The low-profile helmet of claim 24, wherein said areas are surface areas, and wherein said area of said front portion ranges from about seventy-five percent to about ninety percent of said area of said rear portion.
28. The low-profile helmet of claim 24, wherein said areas are surface areas, and wherein said area of said front portion is about eighty percent or less of said area of said rear portion.
29. The low-profile helmet of claim 19, further comprising padding affixed to said rigid shell within said inner cavity, wherein a front portion of said padding conforms to said front portion of said rigid shell.
30. The low-profile helmet of claim 29, wherein an inner surface of said front portion of said padding is configured to conform closely to said wearer's head.
31. The low-profile helmet of claim 30, wherein at least seventy-five percent of said inner surface of said padding contacts said wearer's head.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 29, 2008
Publication Date: Sep 3, 2009
Inventors: Lester Broersma (San Diego, CA), Brian Hoying (Saint Louis, MO)
Application Number: 12/040,552
International Classification: A42B 3/12 (20060101); A63B 71/10 (20060101);