U.S. patent application number 14/903731 was filed with the patent office on 2016-06-09 for multifaceted protective helmets.
The applicant listed for this patent is THE UAB RESEARCH FOUNDATION. Invention is credited to HAIBIN NING, UDAY VAIDYA.
Application Number | 20160157544 14/903731 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52744669 |
Filed Date | 2016-06-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160157544 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
NING; HAIBIN ; et
al. |
June 9, 2016 |
MULTIFACETED PROTECTIVE HELMETS
Abstract
In some embodiments, a protective helmet includes an outer shell
including a sun visor, the outer shell comprising an outer surface
having a plurality of non-parallel facets.
Inventors: |
NING; HAIBIN; (BIRMINGHAM,
AL) ; VAIDYA; UDAY; (BIRMINGHAM, AL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
THE UAB RESEARCH FOUNDATION |
BIRMINGHAM |
AL |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
52744669 |
Appl. No.: |
14/903731 |
Filed: |
June 20, 2014 |
PCT Filed: |
June 20, 2014 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/US14/43351 |
371 Date: |
January 8, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61843599 |
Jul 8, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/411 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A42B 3/065 20130101;
A42B 3/28 20130101; A63B 71/10 20130101; F41H 1/04 20130101; A42B
3/227 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A42B 3/06 20060101
A42B003/06; F41H 1/04 20060101 F41H001/04; A63B 71/10 20060101
A63B071/10; A42B 3/22 20060101 A42B003/22; A42B 3/28 20060101
A42B003/28 |
Goverment Interests
NOTICE OF GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED RESEARCH
[0002] This invention was made with Government support under grant
or contract number W911NF-04-2-0018 awarded by the Army Research
Laboratory. The Government has certain rights in the invention.
Claims
1. A protective helmet comprising: an outer shell including a sun
visor, the outer shell comprising an outer surface having a
plurality of non-parallel facets.
2. The helmet of claim 1, wherein the facets are generally
planar.
3. The helmet of claim 2, wherein the facets have a geometric
shape.
4. The helmet of claim 3, wherein the facets are triangular.
5. The helmet of claim 1, wherein groups of facets on the outer
surface form multifaceted prisms having a raised center point.
6. The helmet of claim 5, wherein the prisms are pentagonal.
7. The helmet of claim 5, wherein the prisms are hexagonal.
8. The helmet of claim 1, wherein the facets have a nominal
dimension of approximately 1 to 3 inches.
9. The helmet of claim 1, wherein the facets have a maximum
dimension of 1 to 3 inches.
10. The helmet of claim 1, wherein the outer shell further includes
an ear flap.
11. The helmet of claim 10, wherein the ear flap includes an ear
opening.
12. The helmet of claim 1, wherein the outer shell further includes
ventilation openings.
13. The helmet of claim 12, wherein at least one ventilation
opening is formed along the sides of two adjacent facets.
14. The helmet of claim 1, wherein the outer shell is made of a
polymeric material.
15. The helmet of claim 14, wherein the outer shell is made of a
fiber-reinforced polymeric material.
16. The helmet of claim 14, wherein the outer shell is made of a
syntactic material that includes a plurality of microspheres.
17. A baseball helmet comprising: an outer shell adapted to
surround a wearer's head, the shell including an ear flap that is
adapted to cover an ear of the wearer and a visor that is adapted
to shield the wearer's eyes from light, wherein the shell comprises
an outer surface having a plurality of non-parallel, planar,
triangular facets, wherein groups of facets form multifaceted
prisms on the outer surface having a raised center point.
18. The baseball helmet of claim 17, wherein the prisms are
pentagonal or hexagonal.
19. The baseball helmet of claim 17, wherein the ear flap includes
an ear opening.
20. The baseball helmet of claim 17, wherein the outer shell
further includes ventilation openings.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] This application claims priority to co-pending U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/843,599, filed Jul. 8, 2013,
which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Protective helmets are worn in many situations to protect
the head from injury that can result from impact with a static or
dynamic object. Such helmets are often worn by players of various
sports. For example, baseball players typically wear helmets when
they are batting to protect their head from the pitched
baseball.
[0004] While current protective helmets offer protection to the
wearer, improvements in protection are always welcome because of
the potentially serious nature of head injuries.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] The present disclosure may be better understood with
reference to the following figures. Matching reference numerals
designate corresponding parts throughout the figures, which are not
necessarily drawn to scale.
[0006] FIG. 1A is a top perspective view of a first embodiment of a
faceted protective helmet.
[0007] FIG. 1B is a front view of the protective helmet of FIG.
1A.
[0008] FIG. 2A is a top perspective view of a second embodiment of
a faceted protective helmet.
[0009] FIG. 2B is a side view of the protective helmet of FIG.
2A.
[0010] FIG. 3A is a side view of a third embodiment of a faceted
protective helmet.
[0011] FIG. 3B is a top perspective view of the protective helmet
of FIG. 3A.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a syntactic material that can
be used to form an outer shell of a protective helmet.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] Disclosed herein are protective helmets that offer improved
protection to the wearer. As described below, the helmets include
faceted outer surfaces that reduce the potential for normal impacts
and therefore dissipate energy that might otherwise be transmitted
to the wearer's head.
[0014] In the following disclosure, various specific embodiments
are described. It is to be understood that those embodiments are
example implementations of the disclosed inventions and that
alternative embodiments are possible. All such embodiments are
intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure.
[0015] FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a first embodiment of a
protective helmet 10, which can be configured as a sports helmet.
As shown in these figures, the helmet 10 generally comprises an
outer shell 12 that is sized and configured to surround a wearer's
head from the base of the skull to the forehead and from one ear to
the other. In other words, the outer shell 12 is sized and
configured to surround all but the wearer's face. The helmet 10 can
also include a relatively soft inner liner (not shown) that
includes one or more flexible and/or resilient pads that provide
cushioning to the head and dissipate energy from impacts.
[0016] The outer shell 12 is generally rigid and can be made of any
material that provides impact protection to the wearer. In some
embodiments, the shell 12 is made of a polymeric material that is
approximately 1 to 4 mm thick. The polymeric material that is used
can depend upon the application of the helmet and the level of
protection that is required. In some embodiments, the shell 12 is
made of a long fiber thermoplastic (LFT) material. The use of LFTs
is desirable because they provide high levels of protection like
continuous fiber reinforced composites but can be processed using
traditional plastics molding equipment. Therefore, parts can be
manufactured at medium- to high-volume rates with excellent
consistency and repeatability. Long fibers (e.g., fiber lengths of
about 3 mm to 50 mm) provide an elastic modulus and a tensile
strength that is up to approximately 80% of that obtained using
continuous fibers.
[0017] In some embodiments, LFT materials are formed by hot
melt-impregnating continuous reinforcing fiber into a thermoplastic
resin. The mixture can be cooled and formed (e.g., chopped) into
discontinuous reinforcing fiber pellets. The amount of
thermoplastic resin can be approximately 50 to 99 weight % of the
LFT material and the amount of continuous reinforcing fiber (and
once cut into the discontinuous reinforcing fiber) can be
approximately 0.1 to 50 weight % of the LFT material. Example
thermoplastic resins include polyamide, acrylonitrile butadiene
styrene (ABS), polyphenylene sulfide, polypropylene, poly ether
ether ketone, poly ether ketone, polyethylene, poly butylene
terephthalate, poly ethylene terephthalate, polyoxymethylene, and
combinations (mixtures) thereof. Example reinforcing fibers include
carbon, glass, aramid, polypropylene, polyethylene, basalt,
poly{diimidazo pyridinylene (dihydroxy) phenylene}, natural fibers
such as flax, kenaf, bamboo, jute, sisal, and combinations
(mixtures) thereof.
[0018] In other embodiments, the outer shell 12 is made of a
non-reinforced polymer material. Examples of such materials include
polyamide, ABS, polyphenylene sulfide, polypropylene, poly ether
ether ketone, poly ether ketone, polyethylene, poly butylene
terephthalate, poly ethylene terephthalate, polyoxymethylene, or
combinations (mixtures) thereof.
[0019] In still other embodiments, the outer shell 12 is made of a
syntactic material that comprises a plurality of microspheres (also
referred to as cenospheres or microballoons) that are compounded
with a thermoplastic resin. Such a material is schematically
depicted in FIG. 4, which shows a syntactic material 90 that
comprises microspheres 92 compounded with a resin 94. As is
apparent from FIG. 4, the microspheres 92 are small, hollow
spherical elements having an interior void 96 that is enclosed by a
thin outer shell 98. Because much of the volume of the microspheres
92 is void space (e.g., air), the microspheres and the syntactic
material 90 are very lightweight. By way of example, the syntactic
material 90 has a density of approximately 0.3 to 0.9 g/cc and the
microspheres 92 comprise approximately 30% to 35% of the material
by volume percentage. In some embodiments, the microspheres 92 have
a nominal outer diameter of approximately 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm and the
shells 98 have a thickness of approximately 20 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m.
The microsphere shells 98 can be made of substantially any material
that can be formed (e.g., blown) into a very small hollow sphere.
By way of example, the microsphere's shells 98 can be made of a
polymeric, ceramic, glass, or metal material.
[0020] The resin 94 can comprise a polymeric resin. In some
embodiments, the resin is a thermoplastic resin comprising an
olefin, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, or combinations
(mixtures) thereof. Alternatively, the thermoplastic resin can
comprise an engineered polymer, such as polyamide, polyether ether
ketone (PEEK), polyether ketone (PEK), polyethyleneimine (PEI),
polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), or combinations (mixtures)
thereof.
[0021] The protective helmet 10 can be used in substantially any
context. In some embodiments, the helmet 10 is used to protect the
wearer's head during sports activities. In the specific example
illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the helmet 10 takes the form of a
baseball batting helmet that includes one or more ear flaps 14 and
a sun visor 16. It is noted that, although a baseball helmet is
shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the helmet 10 could be configured for use
in other sports, including football, hockey, lacrosse, field
hockey, polo, bicycling, motorsports, and the like. Moreover, the
helmet 10 could be configured for non-sports applications,
including military and combat applications.
[0022] Irrespective of its particular application, the outer
surface 18 of the shell 12 comprises a plurality of facets 20 that
lie in non-parallel planes. In some embodiments, the facets 20 are
generally planar (i.e., not curved) and reduce the likelihood that
a projectile will impact the shell 12 from a normal (perpendicular)
direction. Accordingly, such projectiles will have the tendency to
skirt or skip across the surface 18 of the shell 12. In some
embodiments, each facet 20 defines a similar geometric shape. In
some embodiments, each facet 20 is triangular and therefore
includes three linear sides. In such cases, the triangles can have
three equal angles (equilateral triangle), two equal angles
(isosceles triangle), or no equal angles (scalene triangle). In
some embodiments, the groups of facets 20 define multifaceted
prisms on the surface 18 of the shell 12, such as the hexagonal,
six-facet prism 22 highlighted in FIG. 1A and/or the pentagonal
five-facet prism 24 highlighted in FIG. 1B. In both cases, the
prism 22, 24 defines a raised central point 26 that is formed by
the corners of the facets 20 that define the prism.
[0023] In some embodiments, each facet 20 has a nominal dimension
of approximately 1 to 3 inches. In the example embodiment of FIGS.
1A and 1B, in which the facets 20 are triangular, this dimension
can be the length of one or more sides of the triangles. In other
embodiments, in which the facets are not triangular, the nominal
dimension can be a maximum dimension (length or width) of the
facet. By way of example, the outer surface 18 of the shell 12 can
comprise approximately 80 to 150 facets 20.
[0024] As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the facets 20 can extend across
much of the outer surface 18 of the shell 12 but not all of it. In
the embodiment of these figures, the facets 20 do not extend to the
ear flaps 14 or the sun visor 16.
[0025] With reference to FIG. 1A, the outer shell 12 also includes
ventilation openings 28 that enable air to reach the head and heat
and vapor to escape the helmet 10. In some embodiments, the
openings 28 are configured as elongated linear slits that extend
along the length of the sides (edges) of two or more facets 20. In
the example embodiment of FIGS. 1A and 1B, the shell 12 includes
four such openings 28 arranged in a spaced configuration near the
top of the shell.
[0026] With further reference to FIG. 1A, the outer shell 12 also
includes ear openings 30 that are formed in the ear flaps 14. In
the illustrated embodiment, the ear openings 30 have a general
teardrop shape in which at least one edge of the openings 30 is
curved.
[0027] FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a further embodiment of a
protective helmet 40. The helmet 40 is similar in many ways to the
helmet 10 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Therefore, the helmet 40
generally comprises an outer shell 42 that can be made of one of
the materials described above in relation to the outer shell 12.
The outer shell 42 includes ear flaps 44 and a sun visor 46 and
comprises an outer surface 48 that has a plurality of facets 50
that define multifaceted prisms 52 that each includes a raised
central point 54 formed by the corners of the facets. The outer
shell 42 further includes ventilation openings 56 and ear openings
58. Unlike the outer shell 12, however, the outer shell 40 includes
facets 50 that extend across the ear flaps 44. In addition, the ear
openings 58 are triangular instead of being teardrop shaped.
[0028] FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate yet another embodiment of a
protective helmet 60. The helmet 50 is similar in many ways to the
helmet 40 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Therefore, the helmet 60
generally comprises an outer shell 62 that can be made of one of
the materials described above in relation to the outer shell 12.
The outer shell 62 includes ear flaps 64 and a sun visor 66 and
comprises an outer surface 68 that has a plurality of facets 70
that define multifaceted prisms 72 that each includes a raised
central point 74 formed by the corners of the facets. The outer
shell 62 further includes ventilation openings 76. Unlike the
helmet 40, however, openings 76 of the helmet 60 are arranged in an
alternative pattern in which six ventilation openings 28 are
arranged in an "X" pattern that is visible from the top and rear of
the helmet (see FIG. 3B). The "X" pattern is formed by two crossed
lines of openings 28, with each opening being arranged with its
longitudinal axis aligned with its line. In addition, the helmet 60
includes facets 70 that extend across the sun visor 66.
Furthermore, the helmet 60 has an alternative ear opening pattern
in which each ear flap 44 includes a first or primary ear opening
78 and a second or secondary ear opening 80. In the illustrated
embodiment, the first ear opening 78 is larger than the secondary
ear opening 80. In addition, the primary ear opening 78 is
triangular while the secondary ear opening is elongated and
linear.
[0029] In each of the above-described embodiments, the inner
surface of the outer shell 12 can either be faceted in a similar
manner to the outer surface 18 or can be smooth similar to
conventional helmets. Regardless, it is reiterated that a
relatively soft inner liner comprising one or more flexible and/or
resilient pads can be provided within the shell to cushion the
wearer's head and/or dissipate direct or rotational force.
* * * * *