Liner assembly for a protective helmet

Abstract

A liner assembly for a protective helmet has a rigid shell with an inner surface and concave curvature having a front portion, a rear portion, a crown portion, a pair of opposite portions and a pair of opposite jaw flaps; a wrap-around pad has a plurality of circular cells spaced along a curved line around the inner surface, and at least one additional cell at each end of the curved line. Two jaw pads, each jaw pad removably engaged to a respective one of the jaw flaps, and each jaw pad has one cell having one cell with two curvilinear segments. Each cell of the wrap around pad and the jaw pads includes an outer sheet of thermoplastic and an inner sheet of thermoplastic.

Claims

1. A protective helmet assembly comprising: a rigid shell adapted to cover a head of a wearer, the rigid shell having an inner surface with a concave curvature having a front portion, a rear portion, a crown portion, a pair of opposite side portions each connected to the front, crown and rear portions, and a pair of opposite jaw flaps respectively connected to the pair of side portions; a liner assembly positioned on the inner surface of the shell adapted to engage the head of the wearer, the liner assembly comprising, a wrap-around pad removably engaged to the front, side and rear portions of the inner surface, the wrap-around pad having a plurality of circular cells spaced along a curved line around the inner surface, and at least one additional cell at each end of the curved line; two jaw pads, each jaw pad removably engaged to a respective one of the jaw flaps, and each jaw pad comprising one cell having two curvilinear segments, the curvilinear segments meeting at an angle, wherein the jaw pads and the wrap-around pad are all entirely spaced apart from one another, and wherein each cell of the wrap-around pad and the jaw pads includes an outer sheet of thermoplastic and an inner sheet of thermoplastic, wherein the respective perimeters of the outer sheet and the inner sheet are joined by a weld, each inner sheet being adapted to engage the head of the wearer and defines one enclosure for each cell.

2. The helmet of claim 1, wherein each cell of the wrap-around pad and the jaw pads contains a foam cushion.

3. The helmet of claim 2, wherein the outer sheet of each cell of the wrap-around pad and the jaw pads defines multiple spaced apart, outwardly-projecting hollow protrusions contacting the inner surface of the shell, each of the protrusions having an open base near the foam cushion and a flat peak contacting the inner surface of the shell, the base having a larger diameter than a diameter of the peak, and each of the protrusions also having a conical side wall that tapers from the base to the peak.

4. The helmet of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional cell at each end of the curved line is located above the curved line.

5. The helmet of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional cell at each end of the curved line is located below the curved line.

6. The helmet of claim 1, wherein the shell has a plurality of apertures therethrough for allowing air to move into and out of the shell.

7. The helmet of claim 1, wherein the shell has a plurality of four-sided, groove-shaped slots through the crown portion.

8. A protective batting helmet assembly, comprising: a rigid shell adapted to cover a head of a wearer, the rigid shell having an inner surface with a concave curvature having a front portion, a rear portion, a crown portion, a pair of opposite side portions each connected to the front, crown and rear portions, and a pair of opposite jaw flaps respectively connected to the pair of side portions; a liner assembly positioned on the inner surface of the shell adapted to engage the head of the wearer, the liner assembly comprising, a wrap-around pad removably engaged to the front, side and rear portions of the inner surface, the wrap-around pad having a plurality of circular cells spaced along a curved line around the inner surface; and two jaw pads, each jaw pad removably engaged to a respective one of the jaw flaps; wherein the jaw pads and the wrap-around pad are all entirely spaced apart from one another, wherein each cell of the wrap-around pad and the jaw pads includes an outer sheet of thermoplastic and an inner sheet of thermoplastic, and wherein the respective perimeters of the outer sheet and the inner sheet are joined by a weld, each inner sheet being adapted to engage the head of the wearer and defines one enclosure for each cell.

9. The helmet of claim 8, wherein the wrap-around pad has at least one additional cell at each end of the curved line.

10. The helmet of claim 9, the at least one additional cell being located above the curved line.

11. The helmet of claim 9, the at least one additional cell being located below the curved line.

12. The helmet of claim 8, wherein each of the jaw pads comprises one cell having two curvilinear segments, the curvilinear segments meeting at an angle.

13. The helmet of claim 8, wherein each cell of the wrap-around pad and the jaw pads contains a foam cushion.

14. The helmet of claim 13, wherein the outer sheet of each cell of the wrap-around pad and the jaw pads define multiple spaced apart, outwardly-projecting hollow protrusions contacting the inner surface of the shell, each of the protrusions having an open base near the foam cushion and a flat peak contacting the inner surface of the shell, the base having a larger diameter than a diameter of the peak, and each of the protrusions also having a conical side wall that tapers from the base to the peak.

15. The helmet of claim 8, wherein the shell has a plurality of apertures therethrough for allowing air to move into and out of the shell.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the drawings:

(2) FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a batting helmet according to the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the batting helmet;

(4) FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the helmet;

(5) FIG. 4 is a back elevational view of the helmet;

(6) FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the helmet, showing the jaw pads, the wrap-around pads and the crown pads in their typical orientation inside the helmet;

(7) FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view, showing the jaw pads, the wrap-around pads and the crown pads in their typical orientation inside the helmet;

(8) FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the crown pad, showing the inner surface of the pad;

(9) FIG. 7A is an edge view of the crown pad;

(10) FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the crown pad, showing the outer surface of the pad with one half of a hook-and-loop fastener;

(11) FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the inner surface of the wrap-around pad, laid out;

(12) FIG. 10 is an edge view of the wrap-around pad, showing both the inner and outer surfaces of the pad;

(13) FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the outer surface of the wrap-around pad, laid out

(14) FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the wrap-around pad, taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 9;

(15) FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the wrap-around pad, taken along line 13-13;

(16) FIG. 14 is a top plan view of the inner surface of the jaw pad;

(17) FIG. 14A is a cross-sectional view of the jaw pad; and

(18) FIG. 15 is a top plan view of the inner surface of the jaw pad.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(19) Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to refer to the same or similar elements, FIGS. 1-6 show a batting helmet arrangement 10 comprising a rigid shell 12 adapted to cover the head of a wearer. The rigid shell 12 has an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface having selected concave curvatures at various portions of the shell as can be better appreciated from FIGS. 5 and 6. Returning to FIG. 1, the shell 12 has a front portion 14 for covering at least part of the forehead of the wearer, the front portion 14 having a visor part 16 extending therefrom, the visor part 16 having a slightly concave curvature, a crown portion 18 for covering the top of the wearer's head, a pair of opposite side portions 20 for covering the sides of the wearer's head, a back portion 22 for covering the back of the wearer's head, as well as a pair of opposite jaw flaps 24.

(20) The helmet shell 12 has several openings 26, both for providing ventilation, and for reducing the overall weight of the helmet system 10. It is within the scope of the invention for the openings 26 to be of any shape, including, but not limited to polygonal or round. The openings may be unitary or grouped. In one embodiment, the helmet shell 12 has five groupings of openings 26a to 26i.

(21) As best seen in FIG. 1, the shell has identical, lateral groupings of three openings 26e to 26g on either side of the helmet shell 12, being located in the respective regions between the crown portion 18 and the side portions 20. In these groupings, the opening 26e closest to the front portion 14 has the largest area, the middle opening 26f has a smaller area, and the back opening 26g has the smallest area

(22) As best seen in FIG. 2, the next grouping is along the crown portion 18 of the shell, and is made up of four substantially rectangular openings 26a to 26d. In this first grouping, the opening 26a located closest to the front portion 14 of the helmet shell 12 and the opening 26d located near back portion 22 of the helmet shell 12 have smaller areas relative to the middle openings 26b, 24c.

(23) Finally, as can best be seen at FIGS. 1 and 5, the helmet shell 12 has identical openings 26h located in the respective the jaw flaps 24. Behind each of these jaw flap openings 26h is a smaller opening 26i, which is slightly higher up on the helmet shell 12.

(24) As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a comfort liner system is attached to the inner surface of the rigid shell 12 and comprises a plurality of impact absorbing pads that are spaced apart on the inner surface of the shell 12 and that conform to the inner concave curvatures at the various portions of the shell.

(25) The padding system comprises a wrap-around pad 28 engaged to the front, side and rear portions of the inside of the shell 12, a crown pad 30 removably engaged to the top, inside of the shell 12 and two jaw pads 32, each attached to one of the jaw flaps 24 on the inner surface of the shell 12. The pads 28, 30, 32 may be permanently or removably attached to the inner surface of the shell 12.

(26) FIGS. 9-11 show the wrap-around pad 28 which includes a group of substantially circular cells 34 spaced along a curved line around the inner curvature of the shell 12. The number of cells which make up the wrap-around pad 28 may vary within the scope of the present invention. In certain embodiments, such as the one shown in FIGS. 9-11, there are 9 circular cells along the curved line. It is within the scope of the invention for the wrap-around pad 28 to have different numbers of cells, as well. It is within the scope of the present invention, for example, for the wrap-around pad to have 5-15 cells. It is also within the scope of the present invention for the wrap-around pad to have 7-13 cells. The wrap-around pad 28 includes at least one additional cell 34 at each end of the curved line, located off the curved line. In certain embodiments, the additional cell 34 is above the curved line. In certain other embodiments, the additional cell 34 is below the curved line. While the cells 34 are circular in the embodiment shown, the cells 34 may be of any convenient or effective shape and remain within the scope of the present invention. The cells of the wrap-around pad may have a range of sizes within the scope of the present invention. In certain embodiments, the cells have a diameter in the range of 1.5-2.5 inches.

(27) As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the crown pad 30 is engaged to the crown portion 18 of the inside of the helmet. FIGS. 7, 7A, and 8 illustrate that the crown pad 30 includes three cells 40, 42, 44. FIGS. 6 and 7 shows that the slots 57 of the crown pad line up with the apertures 26b and 26c of the helmet 12. In other embodiments, the crown pad has additional cells and slots, for example 4 cells and 3 slots that line up with, apertures 26a, 26b and 26c of the helmet 12.

(28) FIGS. 14 and 15 show that each of the jaw pads 32 is made up of one L-shaped cell. As shown in FIG. 15, the jaw pads 32 may be connected to the jaw flaps by snaps 46.

(29) As shown in FIGS. 9-13, each cell of each pad 28, 30, 32 includes an outer sheet 48 of thermoplastic welded around its perimeter to the perimeter of a second, inner sheet 50 of thermoplastic. Each inner sheet 50 is designed to engage the head of a player wearing the helmet 10 and defines one enclosure for each cell. As best seen in FIGS. 13 and 14, each cell contains a foam cushion 52.

(30) Further, the outer sheet 48 of each cell defines multiple spaced apart, outwardly projecting hollow protrusions 54 contacting the inside of the shell 12. Each protrusion 54 has an open, large diameter base near the foam cushion 52 and a smaller diameter flat peak engaging the inside of the helmet. Each protrusion 54 also has a conical side wall that tapers from the base to the peak.

(31) According to the invention, at least some of the pads of the padding system are removably attached to the inside surface of shell by mechanical fasteners extending through the shell 12, such as snaps, hook-and-loop fasteners 55 (shown in FIG. 8) or T-nuts 13 (shown in FIGS. 9-11) having a flange nut with a threaded tube for engaging a hole in the pad and for extending through a hole in the shell, and a treaded screw, treaded to the threaded tube. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3-6, the helmet shell has one screw 56 in each of the side portions 20 and two screws 58 in the back portion of the helmet. These screws are for permanently securing the wrap-around pad 28 to the helmet shell 12 by means of the T-nuts. The wrap-around pad 28 has apertures therethrough along the outer sheet 48 adapted to receive an end of the T-nut opposite the side of the T-nut which is secured directly to the helmet shell 12.

(32) The helmet shell 12 also has apertures 60 in the visor 16 and the jaw flaps 24 adapted to facilitate the optional addition of a face guard to the helmet 12.

(33) Each jaw flap 24 also has a snap attachment 62 for securing an optional chin strap to the helmet.

(34) While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.