PROTECTIVE HELMET
A protective helmet having an inner shell and an outer shell assembly. Internal padding contacts an inner surface of the inner shell and an energy absorbing layer is positioned between the inner shell and the outer shell assembly. The outer shell assembly includes a plurality of rigid, outer shell segments with at least one of the outer shell segments designed and arranged to move relative to the other outer shell segments upon receiving an impact force. The external energy absorbing layer and the outer shell assembly dampens impact energy before it reaches the inner shell.
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This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 61/494,522, filed Jun. 8, 2011, 61/376,818, filed Aug. 25, 2010 and 61/366,703, filed Jul. 22, 2010. Applicant incorporates by reference herein U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 61/494,522, 61/376,818 and 61/366,703 in their entireties.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a protective helmet, and more particularly a helmet for use in contact sports such as American football, lacrosse or hockey.
2. Description of the Related Art
Helmets and other protective headgear are commonly utilized to protect a wearer's head from injury. Typically, helmets are designed specifically for the particular sport or activity. Numerous sports, such as American football, hockey, and lacrosse, require players to wear helmets.
American football helmets have evolved since the inception of football. In the early years of football, football players did not wear helmets or protective headgear. As the number of football player head injuries increased, helmets became a required item of equipment. The football helmet used prior to World War II was primarily a leather cap with ear flaps. Subsequent to World War II, a football helmet was introduced having a hard outer shell made of plastic with a web support mounted in the shell to space it from the player's head. The web support was subsequently replaced with a type of shock absorbing liner or padding.
In addition to the outer shell with interior padding, the conventional football helmet includes a face guard, having either upper or lower side mounts, and a chin protector or strap, that fits snugly about the chin of the player, in order to secure the helmet to the player's head.
In contact sports such as football, helmets provide players a substantial degree of protection against injury to their heads due to impact forces that may be sustained; however, a large number of head injuries, particularly g-force injuries, continue to occur. Rapid acceleration or deceleration of the head (g-forces) has been deemed to be the cause of many sports-related injuries and is the subject of growing concern. When contact is made with the conventional helmet, the rigid outer shell moves as a unit, compressing the padding between the head and the shell on the contact side of the helmet. After some initial compression, the padding begins to move the head. As the entire helmet and head move away from contact, the padding begins to rebound and places increasing force on the head. This process of compressing padding while gradually imparting an increasing load to the head is the method conventional helmets use to address g-force impacts.
It is desirable to have an improved protective helmet which provides increased protection from impact forces sustained by the wearer. It is further desirable to have a protective helmet that provides a reduction of g-forces. It is also desirable to provide an improved sports helmet for contact sports.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe protective helmet of the present invention better protects a wearer of the helmet from an impact force striking the helmet by reducing the g-forces. The protective helmet reduces g-forces through its unique design by having shock absorption on the outside of a single hard shell. The protective helmet comprises an inner shell having internal padding, an energy absorbing layer external of the inner shell, and an outer shell assembly.
The helmet of the present invention has two layers outside the inner shell for added energy absorption—the energy absorbing layer and the outer shell assembly. Unlike the jarring effect that occurs at the point of impact with a single hard shell helmet with interior padding, the outer layers of the present invention dampen the impact energy before reaching the hard inner shell.
With the protective helmet of the present invention, the external energy absorbing layer may comprise a “softer” padding layer. This allows the impacted outer shell assembly to deflect, deform or move relative to the inner shell; thus taking a longer time to impart its force and thereby reducing the rate of acceleration of (or g-force on) the head. A conventional helmet cannot do this for a couple reasons: 1) it must have padding stiff enough to prevent the helmet from coming loose from the head; and 2) because the shell moves as a unit and spreads the impact over the entire surface of the head, its padding deflects less.
The protective helmet of the preferred embodiment of the present invention absorbs impacts with the outer shell assembly and external energy absorbing layer while gradually increasing the load to the inner shell and internal padding and then finally the wearer's head.
One embodiment of the present invention includes a hard outer shell assembly having multiple outer panels allowed to move relative to each other upon impact to dampen the impact energy transmitted to the inner shell.
A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:
Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to refer to identical or similar elements, a first preferred embodiment of the protective helmet, generally referred to as reference numeral 20, is shown in
Referring to
The internal padding 24 is preferably removable and contacts the inner surface 30a of the inner shell 30. The internal padding 24 may comprise a plurality of pads located within the inner shell 30 adapted to contact various portions of the wearer's head, such as the forehead, temples, ears, jaw, crown and back of the head, as is well known to those skilled in the art. Typical utilized padding materials include foam padding, as for example polyurethane foam, rubber foam and PVC nitrile foam. Additionally or alternatively, the internal padding 24 may include an upper suspension system comprising a fully enclosed fluid suspension system that encompasses the entire circumference of the upper head. As compression occurs, the fluid, typically air, is forced out of a controlled air valve, and then filled back with air after impact. Such systems are conventional and well known to those skilled in the art.
Referring to
The outer shell assembly 40 comprises one or more shell panels 42. The shell panels 42 are preferably hard and may be made of a rigid material of the type known to those skilled in the art as, for example, a rigid plastic such as a polycarbonate, a rigid thermoplastic or a thermosetting resin, a composite fiber or possibly a liquid metal. One preferred material may be ABS. The outer shell assembly 40 protects the mini air (gel) cells blanket forming the external energy absorbing layer 50.
In the preferred embodiment of
As discussed above, the outer shell assembly 40 may comprise a plurality of shell panels 42. As one example, the outer shell assembly 40 may comprise five separate panels forming the outer shell: a front panel, a top or crown panel, a left side panel, a right side panel, and a back panel. An example of a four panel outer shell assembly 40 is a combined front and crown panel, left and right side panels, and a back panel as shown in
A multi-panel outer shell assembly 40 preferably allows limited relative movement between adjacent panels 42. The adjacent panels 42 are preferably not secured to each other, but instead are secured to the external energy absorbing layer 50 or the inner shell 30. The individual panels 42 may be directly secured to the energy absorbing layer 50 as described above. One or more of the individual outer shell panels 42 are allowed to move relative to the inner shell 30 as a result of being attached to the external energy absorbing layer 50 and independent from the inner hard shell 30.
Individual panels 42 can be designed, modified or customized for different players or player positions such as a football lineman, receiver, or quarterback. For example, a helmet 20 for a defensive tackle can include more upper head protection by protruding the upper surface of the front or crown portion. Alternatively or additionally, the hardness of the panels may be varied.
In an alternate embodiment, the external energy absorbing layer 50 comprises multiple individual energy absorbing layer segments corresponding substantially to the shape and size of the multiple shell panels 42. For example, the front shell panel would have an energy absorbing layer segment substantially corresponding to the size and shape of the front shell panel. In this embodiment, the energy absorbing characteristics and properties of each shell panel as well as each energy absorbing layer segment can be designed and customized for the desired properties, for individual players, and/or for different player positions.
As shown in
In certain activities such as football, a face guard system 60 is required to protect the player's face from any impact at the front of the helmet. Face guards and attachment devices for attaching the face guard to the helmet shell are well known to those skilled in the art.
The face guard system 60 shown and described is beneficial because, in the event of a player injury, the face guard 62 is quickly and safely removable by removing the pair of plate fasteners 64a. With the fasteners 64a removed, the face guard 62 with side jaw protector plates 64 can be pivoted, about the face guard fasteners 62a, away from the player's face. The face guard 62 can be fully removed by removal of the top two face guard screws 62a at the forehead.
Although not shown, it is also to be understood that the protective helmet 20 may include a chin protector with a chin strap. Such features are well known and understood to those skilled in the art.
Preferably, the padding including the air impact cell system for the helmet 20 is a medical grade polymer such as thermoplastic urethane (“TPU”). Thus, the padding and air impact cell system is antifungal and will not freeze, harden, melt, crack, or leak.
An alternate embodiment of the protective helmet 20 is shown in
Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in
The protective helmet 120 is similar in many respects to protective helmet 20. The protective helmet 120 includes inner shell 130, outer shell assembly 140, one or more internal pads or layers of internal padding 124 attached to the inner shell 130, and an external energy absorbing layer 150 positioned between the inner shell 130 and outer shell assembly 140.
Referring to
Referring to
Preferably, the external padding layer 150 is made of a flexible thermoplastic polymer. Referring to
The size, shape, height and pattern spacing of the indentations 192, 193 can take on many forms. The indentations shown in
Referring to
The combination panel 142bs includes a pair of ear openings that align with the ear slots 132 of the inner shell 130 upon assembly of the helmet 120 as shown in
Referring to
Preferably, the outer surface of the external padding layer 150 includes a plurality of raised ridges 155 positioned between the adjacent outer shell panels 142. The ridges 155 are preferably flush with the outer surface of the outer shell panels 142 and fill in the space between the panels 142. The ridges 155 also preferably exist in the slotted channels 148 of the combination panel 142bs. The ridges 155 eliminate any gap between panels 142 while also providing a relatively smooth exterior surface. For increased strength, the outer shell panels 142 may include a locally increased thickness at or adjacent to larger vent openings 143 and the seams filled by the ridges 155.
In the preferred embodiment of
A front plate assembly 180 is fastened to the front portion of the helmet 120. Referring to
Referring to
With reference to
Referring to
In this preferred embodiment, the faceguard system 160 has upper side mounts 166 with the face guard 162 extending over the jaw line to bolster the side and lower jaw impact protection of the helmet 120. This helps prevent the lower jaw sides of the helmet from flexing inwards from pact and thus reduces impact at the player's lower jaw. The face guard 162 protects from side, top and lower impacts with the pair of upper side mounts 166. It is to be understood that the face guard 162 may take other shapes or geometries; however, it needs to maintain the necessary dimensions/geometry to accommodate the proper fasteners, and to extend far enough to cover and protect the lower jaw area of the helmet shell.
The outer shell segments are connected to the outer padding as described above to dampen the impact energy before it reaches the inner shell. Preferably, the hard outer shell is made by injection molding of certain plastics.
It is the desire that the protective helmet of the present invention provides a degree of protection to its wearer by reducing the g-forces to the head upon impact. It is to be understood that dimensions, surface forms, and internal padding can be changed to accommodate enhanced protection, thus providing safer operation of the helmet. The protective helmet can also be used for various other sports and activities not mentioned previously including, but not limited to, skiing, auto racing, and military impact training exercises.
While the invention has been described in detail above with reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood that modifications and alterations in the embodiments disclosed may be made by those practiced in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. All such modifications and alterations are intended to be covered. In addition, all publications cited herein are indicative of the level of skill in the art and are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as if each had been individually incorporated by reference and fully set forth.
Claims
1. A protective helmet comprising:
- an outer shell assembly;
- an inner shell having inner and outer surfaces;
- internal padding contacting said inner surface of said inner shell;
- an energy absorbing layer positioned between said inner shell and said outer shell assembly;
- wherein said outer shell assembly comprises a plurality of rigid, outer shell segments, at least one of said outer shell segments designed and arranged to move relative to said other outer shell segments upon receiving an impact force.
2. The protective helmet of claim 1, wherein said inner shell is a rigid shell.
3. The protective helmet of claim 1, wherein said outer shell assembly is a rigid shell assembly.
4. The protective helmet of claim 1, wherein said outer shell assembly is directly connected to said energy absorbing layer independent of said inner shell, and said inner shell is directly connected to said energy absorbing layer independent of said outer shell assembly.
5. The protective helmet of claim 4, wherein a portion of said outer shell assembly and a portion of said inner shell are in contacting relationship with each other.
6. The protective helmet of claim 5, wherein said contacting portions of said inner shell and said outer shell assembly are secured to each other.
7. The protective helmet of claim 1, wherein said outer shell assembly comprises a plurality of individual panels and each said individual panel is individually connected to said energy absorbing layer.
8. The protective helmet of claim 7, wherein said plurality of individual panels are not joined to one another.
9. The protective helmet of claim 7, wherein at least one of said individual panels is allowed to move independently of the other said individual panels.
10. The protective helmet of claim 7, wherein at least one of said individual panels is allowed to move relative to said inner shell upon receiving an impact force.
11. The protective helmet of claim 7, wherein at least one of said individual panels includes external padding on an outer surface of said individual panel.
12. The protective helmet of claim 7, wherein at least one of said individual panels has a protruding outer surface for added energy absorption.
13. The protective helmet of claim 7, further comprising a cushioned ridge positioned between adjacent said individual panels of said outer shell assembly.
14. The protective helmet of claim 13, wherein said energy absorbing layer includes said cushioned ridge.
15. The protective helmet of claim 1, wherein said inner shell comprises a front portion, a pair of side portions, a crown portion and a back portion, wherein said inner shell, when placed on a person's head, covers the forehead, ears, crown and back of the head.
16. The protective helmet of claim 15, wherein said inner shell is a single, unitary piece.
17. The protective helmet of claim 1, wherein said plurality of outer shell segments are allowed to move relative to said inner shell upon receiving an impact force.
18. The protective helmet of claim 1, wherein said inner shell and said outer shell assembly include a plurality of vent openings, at least one said outer shell vent opening radially aligned over at least one said inner shell vent opening.
19. The protective helmet of claim 1, wherein said outer shell segments are formed by a plurality of slot channels in said outer shell assembly.
20. The protective helmet of claim 1, further comprising:
- a face guard system connected to said outer shell assembly, said face guard system including a face guard and side jaw protector plates connected to said inner shell.
21. The protective helmet of claim 1, further comprising:
- a face guard system including a face guard having a pair of lower jaw extensions, said lower jaw extensions extending beyond a lower front edge of the outer shell assembly.
22. A protective helmet comprising:
- an outer shell assembly;
- an inner shell having inner and outer surfaces;
- internal padding contacting said inner surface of said inner shell;
- an energy absorbing layer positioned between said inner shell and said outer shell assembly;
- wherein said outer shell assembly comprises a plurality of rigid, outer shell segments, at least one of said outer shell segments designed and arranged to move relative to said inner shell upon receiving an impact force.
23. The protective helmet of claim 22, wherein said outer shell assembly is directly connected to said energy absorbing layer independent of said inner shell, and said inner shell is directly connected to said energy absorbing layer independent of said outer shell assembly.
24. The protective helmet of claim 23, wherein a portion of said outer shell assembly and a portion of said inner shell are directly secured to each other.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 22, 2011
Publication Date: Jan 26, 2012
Applicant:
Inventors: Michael M. Princip (Winston-Salem, NC), James C. Wingo (Austin, TX), Jeremy J. Thompson (Temple, TX)
Application Number: 13/189,289
International Classification: A42B 3/12 (20060101); A42B 3/20 (20060101);