Helmet for impact protection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12022905-B2
Application number	US-202318126535-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 27, 2023
Priority date	Aug 17, 2015
Publication date	Jul 2, 2024
Grant date	Jul 2, 2024

Abstract

A helmet for protecting a head of a wearer, such as a hockey, lacrosse, football or other sports player. The helmet may have various features to protect the wearer's head against impacts, such as linear impacts and rotational impacts. For example, pads of the helmet may be movable relative to one another in response to an impact on the helmet. The helmet may comprise a frame comprising a plurality of frame members carrying respective ones of the pads and configured to move relative to one another in response to the impact to allow relative movement of the pads.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A helmet for protecting a head of a wearer, the helmet comprising:
an outer shell; and
inner padding disposed within the outer shell, the inner padding comprising:
a first portion comprising:
first network of structural members interconnected at nodes that is configured to resiliently deform from an original configuration in response to an impact on the helmet and return to the original configuration after the impact on the helmet;
a first pad adjacent to the first network of structural members

a second portion comprising:
a second network of structural members interconnected at nodes that is configured to resiliently deform from an original configuration in response to an impact on the helmet and return to the original configuration after the impact on the helmet;
a second pad adjacent to the second network of structural members.

2. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein the structural members of at least one of the portions are elongated.

3. The helmet of claim 2 , wherein given ones of the structural members of at least one of the portions are curved.

4. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein, in at least one of the portions, at least three of the structural members of the portion intersect at each of multiple ones of the nodes of the portion.

5. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein the first pad is disposed between the outer shell and the first network of structural members.

6. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein the first pad is configured to be disposed between the first network of structural members and the wearer's head.

7. The helmet of claim 5 , wherein the second pad is disposed between the outer shell and the second network of structural members.

8. The helmet of claim 6 , wherein the second pad is configured to be disposed between the second network of structural members and the wearer's head.

9. The helmet of claim 5 , wherein the second pad is configured to be disposed between the second network of structural members and the wearer's head.

10. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein: the inner padding comprises a third pad and a fourth pad separate from one another, separate from the first pad and the second pad, the third pad being adjacent to the first network of structural members, and the fourth pad being adjacent to the second network of structural members.

11. The helmet of claim 10 , wherein: the first pad is disposed between the outer shell and the first network of structural members; the second pad is disposed between the outer shell and the second network of structural members; the third pad is configured to be disposed between the first network of structural members and the wearer's head; and the fourth pad is configured to be disposed between the second network of structural members and the wearer's head.

12. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein the first pad and the second pad are mounted to respective ones of the nodes of the first and second portions and configured to move relative to one another in response to the impact on the helmet.

13. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein a material of the first pad is different from a material of the second pad.

14. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein the network of structural members of each portion includes thermoplastic material.

15. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein the first and second networks of structural members are fastened to the outer shell.

16. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein the first and second network of structural members are thinner than the first and second pads.

17. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein:
the first portion of the inner padding comprises a front portion extending in a front part of the helmet;
the second portion of the inner padding comprises a rear portion separate from the front portion and extending in a rear part of the helmet;
the first pad comprises a front pad adjacent to the front portion; and
the second pad comprises a rear pad adjacent to the rear portion.

18. The helmet of claim 17 , comprising an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a fit of the helmet on the wearer's head.

19. The helmet of claim 18 , wherein the front and rear portions of the inner padding are configured to move relative to one another when the adjustment mechanism is operated to adjust the fit of the helmet on the wearer's head.

20. The helmet of claim 19 , wherein the outer shell comprises a plurality of shell members configured to move relative to one another when the adjustment mechanism is operated to adjust the fit of the helmet on the wearer's head.

21. The helmet of claim 19 , wherein: the outer shell comprises a plurality of shell members; and the shell members are configured to move relative to one another and individual ones of the structural members are configured to move relative to one another when the adjustment mechanism is operated to adjust the fit of the helmet on the wearer's head.

22. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein the outer shell comprises ventilation holes allowing air to circulate around the wearer's head, the ventilation holes comprising: a first plurality of ventilation holes that overlap with the first network of structural members; and a second plurality of ventilation holes that overlap with the second network of structural members.

23. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein the inner padding comprises connectors connecting the first and second portions of the inner padding to a remainder of the helmet, the connectors being deformable such that the first network of structural members and the second network of structural members are movable relative to one another in response to an impact on the helmet.

24. The helmet of claim 23 , wherein:
the first network of structural members is connected to the helmet via a first plurality of the connectors; and
the second network of structural members is connected to the helmet via a second plurality of the connectors separate from the first plurality of the connectors.

25. A helmet for protecting a head of a wearer, the helmet comprising:
an outer shell comprising a plurality of shell members;
inner padding disposed within the outer shell, the inner padding comprising: a first portion comprising a first network of structural members interconnected at nodes; and
a second portion comprising a second network of structural members interconnected at nodes, the first network of structural members and the second network of structural members each being configured to resiliently deform from an original configuration in response to an impact on the helmet and return to its original configuration after the impact on the helmet; and
an adjustment mechanism configured to move the shell members relative to one another and move the first and second portions of the inner padding relative to one another for adjusting a fit of the helmet on the wearer's head.

Assignees

• Bauer Hockey Llc

Inventors

• Durocher Jacques

Classifications

• A42B3/127 Primary

  with removable or adjustable pads · CPC title