The present invention is directed to a protective sports helmet including a crown energy attenuation assembly positioned within a crown region of the helmet shell. The crown energy attenuation assembly includes: a first energy attenuation element with a plurality of sidewalls arranged to form a hexagonal housing, wherein a first sidewall has a substantially planar configuration; a second energy attenuation element with a plurality of sidewalls arranged to form a hexagonal housing, wherein a first sidewall has a substantially planar configuration; and, a third energy attenuation element with a plurality of sidewalls that are arranged to form a hexagonal housing. A first crown gap is formed between the first and second energy attenuation elements. A second crown gap is formed between the second and third energy attenuation elements. A third crown gap is formed between an extent of the third and first energy attenuation elements. The crown energy attenuation assembly further includes a layer positioned adjacent to the plurality of sidewalls of the energy attenuation elements.

A sports helmet kit has a shell, attachable face guard, composite helmet liner, and fit pods to improve and customize the fit of the helmet to the wearer. The composite liner consists of a base liner and a selected group of fit elements, for example, fit pods, removably attached to the inner surface of the base liner (i.e., the surface of the base liner facing the wearer's head). The fit pods are selected from a set of fit pods having different properties, for example, different sizes, thicknesses, densities, and cross-sections. The selection of fit pods from the set may be aided by taking anatomical measurements of the wearer's head and analyzing the measurements with respect to the geometry of the helmet to produce a pressure map. The measurements may be taken by physical contact or by non-contact means. The fit pods may be selected to optimize a pressure map, and thus optimize the fit, for a given wearer of the helmet.

The present invention provides an apparatus to dissipate and attenuate mechanical waves which travel through a human brain upon blunt trauma. The apparatus comprises a pressurizable and ventable outer balloon shell encasing an inner hard shell. The pressurizable and ventable outer balloon shell is configured to release a pressurized gas to the atmosphere upon an impact to said pressurizable and ventable outer balloon shell. The apparatus is configured to enhance efficiency in reduction of an amplitude of the mechanical waves of the blunt trauma delivered to the human brain and to disrupt doubling-up of mechanical waves in a pressure zone inside the pressurizable and ventable outer balloon shell. The apparatus is configured to ventilate the pressurizable and ventable outer balloon shell and the inner hard shell.

Custom fitting protective athletic equipment composed of larger compressive chambers to generally surround a body part as well a plurality of smaller compressive chambers, which can be shaped to absorb rotational impact forces, outside the larger compressive chambers. A hard or yielding shell positioned either outside the chambers or between them can provide additional impact dampening and protection. Both the larger and smaller compressible chambers preferably contain compressible fluid, such as air, another gas, gel or liquid. Valves are preferably provided in the chambers so that the fluid can be controlled when an impact is received. A method is also disclosed to use three-dimensional scanning techniques and three-dimensional 3D printer manufacturing techniques to produce the protective athletic equipment of the present invention.

The protective sports helmet disclosed herein including a crown energy attenuation assembly positioned within a crown region of the helmet shell and includes: a first energy attenuation element with a plurality of sidewalls arranged to form a hexagonal housing, wherein a first sidewall has a substantially planar configuration; a second energy attenuation element with a plurality of sidewalls arranged to form a hexagonal housing, wherein a first sidewall has a substantially planar configuration; and, a third energy attenuation element with a plurality of sidewalls that are arranged to form a hexagonal housing. A first crown gap is formed between the first and second energy attenuation elements. A second crown gap is formed between the second and third energy attenuation elements. A third crown gap is formed between an extent of the third and first energy attenuation elements. The crown energy attenuation assembly further includes a layer positioned adjacent to the plurality of sidewalls of the energy attenuation elements.

A protective helmet with outer hard plastic shell and internal inflatable bladder arrayed in a particular semi-elliptical fluidic circuit of known elasticity and defined pattern. The bladder is a long thin TPE rubber tube having a valve mounted centrally at mid-length. The tube is mounted inside the hard plastic shell such that the valve protrudes centrally through the hard shell and outward just beneath the occipital bone at the rear of the wearer's head. Inside the tube bisects into equal-length non-return fluidic patterns one on the right-side of the head and one on the left. Each fluidic pattern comprises a semi-ellipse, running continuously up to the temple and looping up and around from temporal-to-frontal-to-parietal sections of the human head, and terminating approximately at the occipital portion. Mesh netting is provided over the tube as a liner layer against the head. The invention vastly improves impact protection, yet is lightweight, flexible, and comfortable to wear on a continuous basis.

Systems, methods, and devices for protecting a user head are provided. In one example, a computer-implemented method can comprise receiving, by a system operatively coupled to a processor, a set of data detected by one or more sensor embedded within the helmet device. The computer-implemented method can also comprise adjusting, by the system, a pressure condition within a first set of inflatable cells of the helmet device based on the set of data.

An airbag inflation system includes a processing circuit configured to receive object data including positional data regarding an object and at least one of a relative velocity and a relative acceleration of the object relative to a first helmet and control operation of an inflation device to inflate an airbag based on the object data.

A helmet having non-bursting air cells preferably includes a hard helmet shell, an outside air cell impact layer and an inside air cell impact layer. The outside air cell impact layer preferably includes at least one air cell layer and an outside layer of sheet material. Each air cell layer includes a plurality of air cells created between two plastic sheets. The inside air cell impact layer includes the at least one air cell layer. The inside and outside air cell impact layers may be permanently or removably attached to hard helmet shell. A second embodiment of the helmet having non-bursting air cells preferably includes the hard helmet shell, the outside air cell impact layer and an inside air cell inflatable impact layer. The inside air cell inflatable impact layer preferably includes at least one inflatable air cell layer and a check valve.

A helmet with an airbag assembly coupled to the shell of the helmet. The airbag assembly includes an airbag and an inflation device. The inflation device is configured to at least partially inflate the airbag upon deployment of the airbag assembly. The helmet also includes a processing circuit disposed at least partially within the shell. The processing circuit is configured to receive helmet data regarding a second helmet, transmit deployment data regarding inflation of the airbag assembly, and control operation of the inflation device to inflate the airbag based on the helmet data.