Protective helmet having force impact distribution

Abstract

A helmet has a shell, the shell having an outer surface and an inner surface such that at least a portion of the outer surface is formed as a series of adjoining polygon shaped faceted regions that help distribute any force impacted on such regions across a relatively large portion of the shell. The faceted regions may be flat, curvedly contoured, or a combination thereof and extend through to the inner surface of the shell. The middle section has the faceted regions while the crown and the lower section may also have the faceted regions or may be contoured as is typical for a traditional helmet of that style.

Claims

1. A helmet configured to be worn on a human head, the helmet comprising a helmet body that has an outer shell having a first overall outer surface and a first overall inner surface and has a crown, a lower section, and a middle section therebetween, such that at least a portion of the first overall outer surface is formed as a faceted region made from a series of adjoining facets and such that the adjoining facets extend through the outer shell to the first overall inner surface and such that each facet has a second outer surface that is a subset of the first overall outer surface and that has a convex contour and each facet has a second inner surface that is a subset of the first overall inner surface and that has a concave contour that corresponds to the convex contour of the second outer surface of the particular facet.

2. The helmet as in claim 1 wherein the portion of the outer shell having the faceted region is the middle section.

3. The helmet as in claim 2 wherein the portion of the outer shell having the faceted region further includes the crown.

4. The helmet as in claim 2 wherein the portion of the shell having the faceted regions further includes the crown and excludes the lower section.

5. The helmet as in claim 1 wherein the portion of the shell having the faceted regions is the middle section and excludes the lower section.

6. The helmet as in claim 1 wherein the outer shell has a constant thickness.

7. A helmet configured to be worn on a human head, the helmet comprising a helmet body that has an outer shell having a first overall outer surface and a first overall inner surface and has a crown, a lower section, and a middle section therebetween, such that at least a portion of the first overall outer surface is formed as a series of adjoining polygon-shaped facets and such that the adjoining polygon-shaped facets extend through the helmet body to the first overall inner surface and such that each facet has a second outer surface that is a subset of the first overall outer surface and that has a convex contour and each facet has a second inner surface that is a subset of the first overall inner surface and that has a concave contour that corresponds to the convex contour of the second outer surface.

8. The helmet as in claim 7 wherein the portion of the outer shell having the faceted region is the middle section.

9. The helmet as in claim 8 wherein the portion of the outer shell having the faceted region further includes the crown.

10. The helmet as in claim 8 wherein the portion of the shell having the faceted regions further includes the crown and excludes the lower section.

11. The helmet as in claim 7 wherein the portion of the shell having the faceted regions is the middle section and excludes the lower section.

12. The helmet as in claim 7 wherein the outer shell has a constant thickness.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially cutaway, of the protective helmet having force impact distribution of the present invention wherein the faceted regions are relatively flat and are located on the middle section of the helmet.

(2) FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partially cutaway, of the protective helmet having force impact distribution using a different faceted region geometry.

(3) FIG. 3 is a perspective view, partially cutaway, of the protective helmet having force impact distribution employing yet another faceted region geometry and wherein the faceted regions cover both the middle section and the lower section of the outer shell of the helmet.

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the protective helmet having force impact distribution wherein the middle section of the outer shell of the helmet is faceted and the crown and the lower section of the outer shell are not faceted.

(5) FIG. 5 is a sectioned portion of the protective helmet having force impact distribution illustrating the curved contouring of the individual facets that form at least a portion of the outer shell of the helmet.

(6) Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(7) Referring now to the drawings, it is seen that the protective helmet having force impact distribution of the present invention, generally denoted by reference numeral 10, is comprised of a helmet body 12 that is formed from an outer shell 14 that has an overall outer surface 16 and an overall inner surface 18. Cushioning material 20 of appropriate material selection, design, and layering, may be located within interior of the helmet body 12 abutting and possibly attached to the inner surface 18 of the outer shell 14 as is well known in the art of sports helmets and other type of protective helmets. The outer shell 14 is formed from any appropriate material such as polycarbonate layered with other material, such as aluminum, foam, leather, etc.

(8) The helmet body 12 may also have the typical ear holes 22 disposed in the outer shell 14 and a face mask 24 attached to the outer shell 14, if appropriate for the particular sport or activity for which the helmet is designed, as is well known in the art, as well as other appropriate items such as a sun visor (bill), etc.

(9) As seen, instead of having a rounded outer surface, the outer shell 14 has at least a portion of its outer surface 16 formed as a series of connected faceted regions of various geometry such as diamond shaped regions 26 possibly with triangle shaped regions 28 at the outer boundary (the outer boundary being the straight edges 30 that meet any portion of the outer shell 14 that does not have the faceted regions) as seen in FIG. 1, hexagon shaped regions 32 possibly with arrowhead shaped regions 34 as seen in FIG. 2, or triangle (possibly isosceles) shaped regions 36 with a different type of triangle (equilateral) shaped region 38 at the boundary. The outer surface of each of the individual facets of whatever shape, is slightly convex. The outer shell 14 of the helmet body that has the connected faceted regions has a relative constant thickness so that, as seen in the figures, the inner surface 18 of the outer shell 14 also has the faceted regions corresponding to the faceted regions on the outer surface 16 of the outer shell 14, with the facets on the inner surface 18 of the outer shell being slightly concave in order to match the convex contouring of the outer surface of the particular faceted region. By utilizing a constant thickness of the faceted regions of the outer shell 14, impacts on the outer shell 14 allow relatively smooth deflection of forces impacted onto the outer surface 16 of the outer shell 14 with the slight concavity of the outer surface of each faceted region assisting in such force deflection.

(10) The faceted regions can comprise virtually all of the outer surface 16 of the shell 14 or, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, can be confined to the crown 40, roughly upper third of the outer shell 14, such that the middle section 44 and the lower section 42 of the outer shell 14 have the more traditional shape of a sports helmet (or other type of helmet onto which the present invention is implemented). Of course, as seen in FIG. 3, substantially the entire outer shell 14 can be covered with the faceted regions. As seen in FIG. 4, the middle section 44, the prime area of focus of protection of the helmet, can have the faceted regions with the crown 40 and the lower section void of the faceted regions. The cushioning material 20 can be configured so that its outer surfacethe surface that abuts the inner surface 18 of the outer shell 14 is appropriately contoured to match the contouring of the inner surface 18 of the outer shell 14 so that the cushioning material 20 fits snug and tight within the outer shell 14 and is secured appropriately therein, so that the uneven nature of the inner surface 18 of the outer shell 14 is not felt by the wearer of the helmet in any appreciable manner.

(11) The size of each type of faceted region (e.g., diamond shaped faceted region 26) may but need not be of the same size. Additionally, other shapes of faceted regions can be used and more than two types of faceted regions can be employed on a given shell 14.

(12) When a force is imparted onto one or more faceted regions on the outer surface 16 of the outer shell 14, the force is spread or transferred to many of the adjoining faceted regions and possibly to a portion of the non-faceted portion(s) of the outer shell 14 (if the outer shell is so designed) so as to spread the force over a relatively larger surface area so that the force that is transferred through the outer shell 14 into the interior of the helmet body 12 is spread over a relatively large surface area thereby reducing the risk injury to the wearer.

(13) In essence, the present invention reduces the force imparted to the helmet wearer by increasing impact deflection while reducing the reflection.

(14) While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to an embodiment thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.