SAFER FOOTBALL HELMET

Abstract

A safer football helmet including a soft shell not covering an underlying rigid shell, and thereby tending to minimize otherwise-injurious radial forces acting upon the head on contact. Preferably, the soft shell is a fabric-covered, padded material. The soft shell includes a portion that extends substantially over the forehead, and also includes opposing portions lapping over the jaw area to edges of the mouth.

Claims

1. A safer football helmet, comprising: a soft shell including foam padding not covering an underlying hard shell, the soft shell thereby tending to minimize otherwise-injurious radial forces acting upon the head on contact, wherein the soft shell includes a portion providing extended facial protection that does not include a face mask.

2. The safer football helmet of claim 1, wherein the facial protection of the soft shell extends substantially over the forehead, and also includes opposing portions lapping over the jaw area to edges of the mouth.

3. The safer football helmet of claim 1, wherein the foam padding of the soft shell is fabric-covered.

4. The safer football helmet of claim 3, wherein the foam padding comprises a grid-shaped pattern.

5. The safer football helmet of claim 3, wherein the foam padding comprises foam rubber.

6. The safer football helmet of claim 1, wherein the foam padding comprises one or more of the following: rebound foam; closed-cell foam; neoprene foam; viscoelastic polymer gel; memory foam.

7. The safer football helmet of claim 2, further comprising a Velcro clasp for protection of the mouth area.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The novel features which are characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, together with further objects and attendant advantages thereof, can be better understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0022] FIG. 1A is a front perspective view of a prior art conventional hard-shell helmet, showing inner padding adjacent the head (not including the face mask), and distributed forces during impact;

[0023] FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the helmet shown in FIG. 1A;

[0024] FIGS. 2A-2B are front and side perspective view of a preferred, safer football helmet of the present invention;

[0025] FIG. 2C is a front and side perspective view of the safer football helmet shown in FIGS. 2A-2B; and

[0026] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the preferred, safer football helmet shown in FIG. 2, showing distributed forces before and after contact.

[0027] The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] Set forth below is a description of what are believed to be the preferred embodiments and/or best examples of the invention claimed. Future and present alternatives and modifications to this preferred embodiment are contemplated. Any alternatives or modifications which make insubstantial changes in function, in purpose, in structure, or in result are intended to be covered by the claims of this patent.

[0029] Referring to FIGS. 2A-2C, a preferred embodiment of a safer football helmet, generally designated by reference numeral 10, is shown. In general, this helmet has a soft outer shell with underlying grid-shaped padding which better protects the cheek bones and forehead than conventional football helmets.

[0030] In a preferred embodiment, soft shell 20 may consist of fabric-covered, grid-shaped padding with facial protection provided by extending a portion of the padded surface 20a over the forehead and down to the brow line. Additional facial protection is preferably provided by lapping opposing portions of the padded surface 20b over the jaw area and under the nose to the edge of the mouth. Still further additional facial protection may be provided by utilizing a Velcro clasp 30 over the mouth (FIG. 2C).

[0031] The preferred, grid-shaped padding may include an array of flat-topped, pyramid-shaped foam rubber. This configuration allows the padding to depress and expand laterally on contact, thereby facilitating energy absorption. (A mat-type padding, for example, is not preferred as it is relatively poor in energy absorption because it simply “dents” on contact.) Foam padding may also be used, such as rebound foam, closed-cell foam, neoprene foam, viscoelastic polymer gel, memory foam, or other types of energy-absorbing foam. For this purpose, U.S. Pat. No. 9,314,061 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

[0032] Referring to FIG. 2C, outer surface 20 of the padding preferably has a low coefficient of friction, such as a fabric with a high sheen (so that opposing helmets tend to slide off of each other), and which is color-fast and durable.

[0033] Preferably, the helmet has a portion 20a that substantially covers the forehead, as well as tapering opposing ends 20b which lap over the jaw area to the edges of the mouth.

[0034] Ventilation holes 26 may be provided as shown, or in alternative numbers and locations as desired.

[0035] With the helmet shown in FIGS. 2A-C, there is some vulnerability to contact at the nose, depending how far it projects from the padded surface. This small vulnerability will likely offer some discouragement to players from aiming their heads at a contact area.

[0036] Referring now to FIG. 3, a force analysis is shown for the safer football helmet of FIG. 2. While almost all injurious contact forces with hard outer shell helmets will be of a linear type, these same forces on the soft-shell helmet of FIGS. 2A-C will be distributed or spread due to the outer padded surface. To simulate the force distribution, a worst-case scenario has been chosen for possible concussive hits, i.e., direct contact from a hard-surfaced shoulder pad. For this case, the force of the contact, as defined by Newton's Second Law, which measures the changes in velocity and the masses of the bodies in contact, is at or close to a maximum.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 3, the distributed forces F.sub.D on the helmet from a helmet or shoulder pad hit, as shown, will begin to lessen after first contact, and continue to lessen upon more contact with the surface of the helmet due to the energy absorption of the helmet padding. The net forces F.sub.N acting on the player's head are shown to be significantly reduced after completion of contact and energy absorption in the helmet padding.

[0038] In extreme cases of velocity change due to these net forces, there will be no radial forces but there can be sufficient brain movement to cause a concussive injury as the brain bounces off the inside of the skull. This is one of the two types of concussions as previously described by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) as “deceleration injury.”

[0039] The second and only other type of concussive head injury described by the CDC is caused by rotational or twisting forces on the skull. This is an event that can only occur with hard shell helmets, which cause these twisting or radial forces on contact. The impact forces on hard shell helmets, which have been offered by the dominant suppliers these past many years, do not penetrate the hard shell, and thereby render the underlying padding to be ineffectual. The padding for these helmets is essentially a medium for friction forces between the head and the helmet, which cause the radial forces to twist the head.

[0040] With the safer football helmet of FIGS. 2A-C, there are no measurable radial forces on impact. (With conventional helmets, radial forces develop on contact with the hard oval-shaped plates that are typically used; these plates develop resisting shears to the applied forces per plate tectonics, which resisting shears become radial due to the oval shape of the helmet.) Thus, the linear forces exerted on the soft outer padding of the safer football helmet of the present invention remain substantially linear on contact (see FIG. 3) and allow the padding to effectively absorb much of the energy from the impact. Of the two types of concussion injuries as defined by the CDC, only the one caused by deceleration is possible with the safer football helmet, and the likelihood of injury is much less than with hard outer shell helmets.

[0041] It is also consequential that the safer football helmet of the present invention does not employ a conventional face mask. Face masks allow tremendous shear forces to be exerted on the head, torqueing the head on impact. A face mask can cause extreme radial twisting forces on the head due to the torque on the helmet extension.

[0042] The above description is not intended to limit the meaning of the words used in the following claims that define the invention. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will understand that a variety of other designs still falling within the scope of the following claims may be envisioned and used. It is contemplated that these additional examples, as well as future modifications in structure, function, or result to that disclosed here, will exist that are not substantial changes to what is claimed here, and that all such insubstantial changes in what is claimed are intended to be covered by the claims.