Protective Headgear

Abstract

An inflatable member dimensioned to be mounted to the inside curvature of a rigid shell, and to be preferably inserted within a slightly oversized foamed elastomeric envelope which is bonded to the inside curvature of said shell. Air fill means are provided so that the user can inflate the member by introducing air to a plurality of communicating compartments within the member, and thereby both size the head gear assembly and cushion the head of the user against shocks.

Parent Case Text

This application is a continuation-in-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 12,805, filed Feb. 19, 1970, now abandoned by the same applicants.

Description

This invention relates to means which provide improved protective headgear, and particularly relates to an inflatable member assembly which is used to advantage on the inside of a substantially rigid head shell to both size the shell to the head of the user and to protect the user.

Protective headgear units and assemblies, for the most part, are designed to protect the head principally by means of a rigid shell which may be plastic or metal. While such "helmet" or "hard hats" do provide a hard, protective barrier, problems still remain. Such problems generally are concerned with providing a good secure fit of the gear on the head of the user, and additionally protecting the head of the user against blows, shocks, or the like.

This problem arises with greater frequency in the ever spreading area of sport activities. In particular, the problem, on too many occasions, has dire consequences in football and hockey activities. A greater concern arises because of the ever increasing popularity of these sports among younger children.

Various cushioning means have been mounted within hard, rigid shells which are intended to operate as protective head gear. For example, elastomeric blocks or cushions have been bonded to the inside curvature of the shell, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,248,738. Certain sophisticated cushioning techniques have been developed wherein liquid filled, as well as gas filled, liners are employed within the shells, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,039,109. Other air-filled liners have involved special designing so that communicating conduits form a close fitting crown, or the like between the head and the shell. Such devices have been shown in patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,186,004, 3,462,763 and 3,254,883.

It is one principal object of the present invention to provide an improved air-filled liner for a rigid shell which may be quickly mounted within the shell, which is designed to provide effective sizing of the shell to the head and cushioning against shocks, and which may be quickly air-filled to obtain substantially uniform distention for the desired purposes.

It is yet another important object of the invention to provide an improved inflatable member, provided together with a foamed elastomeric oversized envelope, with means so that the user can quickly and reliably inflate said member to provide dependable and efficient sizing and cushioning when said member and envelope are mounted within a shell worn by the user.

Still another important object of the invention is to provide a protective head gear assembly in which is mounted the improved inflatable member contained within the foamed elastomeric envelope, which envelope is fastened to the inside of the shell by a plurality of bonding points.

It is still another important object of the present invention to provide an inflatable member which can be used together with conventional helmet suspension means to improve cushioning against shocks, as well as to provide desired sizing.

A yet another important object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable member which has supports for a suspension mounting, as well as providing the aforesaid cushioning and sizing.

It is yet another important object of the invention to provide an inflatable member of improved design for use with a foamed elastomeric envelope when mounted to the inside curvature of a rigid shell, said improved liner having a plurality of communicating compartments to provide substantially uniform inflation with smaller volumes of air; and which inflation is further effected through a fixed elongated air-fill tube which is easily engageable by the user's mouth for inflation when mounted in the shell worn by the user. One aspect of this object is the further provision of release means to allow the escape of air from the liner when sever shocks are imparted to thereby improve protection to the head of the user.

The foregoing objects are attained together with still other objects which will occur to practitioners from time to time by the present invention. The features of this invention are now shown in detail in the following disclosure which includes drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an inflatable T-shaped member with air-fill means;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view, which may be considered as taken along the longitudinal axis of the horizontal or vertical arms of the members shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a foamed elastomeric envelope in which the member of FIG. 1 may be inserted;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the envelope shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, on a reduced scale, showing the inflatable member of FIG. 1, in phantom, seated within the envelope shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the sizing and cushioning assembly mounted inside a hard, rigid protective shell, said assembly being the member of FIG. 1 inserted in the envelope of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is the side elevational view of the shell with mounted cushioning and sizing assembly positioned on a user's head, and being actuated by the user to effect sizing and cushioning;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the shell with cushioning and sizing assembly therein worn by a user, and with a portion removed to illustrate structures of the assembly, partly in section;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of an alternative embodiment of an inflatable member;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view along line 10--10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view of a helmet having a known suspension means and the inflatable member of FIG. 9 in an elastomeric envelope;

FIG. 12 is a side sectional view of the helmet assembly shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a portion of a sectional view showing the inflatable member, envelope and helmet, on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of an alternative embodiment of an inflatable member;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the vertical arm of the member shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a bottom plan view of a helmet with the inflatable member of FIG. 15 contained in an elastomeric envelope;

FIG. 17 is a side sectional view of the helmet assembly shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a partly section view on an enlarged scale, showing a part of the inflatable member of FIG. 14 fastened to the shell;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the inflatable member of FIG. 14 as it is disposed in a helmet which has been removed for clarity; and

FIG. 20 is a side elevational view of an alternative embodiment of an inflatable member.

Referring first to the view of FIG. 7, the protective headgear shown generally as 10 is illustrated as the type worn in playing hockey. The protective head gear includes a substantially rigid shell 12 which has a crescent shaped ventilating area on each side made up from a number of ventilating holes 14. In the preferred embodiment, the ventilating holes are not obstructed by the sizing and cushioning assembly, shown generally as 16 in the view of FIG. 6.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, an inflatable T-shaped member is shown generally as 18, and it is formed of one sidewall 20 and an opposite sidewall 22, both of which conform to said T-shape. The two walls are affixed to each other along a continuous peripheral seal line 24. The peripheral seal may be formed by heat sealing when the T member is formed from preferred thermoplastic material, such as polyvinyl chloride.

The vertical arm 25 of the T-member has a plurality of compartments defined by compartment seal lines 26. Such seal lines terminate short of the opposite continuous peripheral sealed edges to provide paired compartmental passageways 28. The vertical arm 25 is designed to contact the medial crown portion of the head when mounted in a helmet or the like. The horizontal arm 29 of the T-member has a cushioning and sizing portion on each side of the vertical arm which is adapted to contact temporal portions of the head on opposite sides when said T-member is inside a helmet or the like. The horizontal arm has a plurality of compartments formed by compartmental seal lines 30, and such seal lines are shown extending to one of the peripheral edges of the horizontal arm while terminating short of the opposite peripheral edge. A communicating air passageway 32 is thereby formed between the end of the seal line 30 and the adjoining peripheral edge or seal. It is seen that seal lines 26 and 30 define air compartments of substantially uniform dimensions. The communicating passageways 28, 32 permit introduced air to move to all the compartments to obtain substantially uniform distension of the member with smaller amounts of air than would be required in the absence of such compartments.

In the form illustrated, the horizontal arm has a tapered edge 34 and an opposite tapered bottom edge 35. The tapers decrease towards the opposite ends 36 of the horizontal arm. This tapered configuration is preferred because the opposite ends of the horizontal arm can then be engaged against the temporal portions of the head above the ears, when in place, without crimping, folding, or bunching-over in the limited area of that part of the head.

The preferred air-fill means for the inflatable member is an elongated air fill tube 38 having an air discharge end located between the walls 20, 22 for inflating the T-member. The opposite end of the air fill tube 38 has an air-fill inlet 42 which is closed by means such as a resilient sealing cap 44. The air fill tube 38 is elongated to a sufficient distance so that the inlet end 42 can be positioned in the mouth of the user for inflating the member when the liner is installed in the helmet or the like.

In another preferred embodiment, the sealing cap 44 is adapted to be retained on the inlet end up to predetermined pressure levels so that when severe shocks occur, the pressure build-up exceeds the predetermined level, blows off the cap 44, and thereby allows the air to escape through the inlet end 42. This enhances the shock protection of the liner in the helmet by relieving the resistence to severely imparted blows or the like.

The improved practice of the present invention provides that the inflatable member is seated or positioned within a slightly oversized envelope. In the illustrated embodiment, a T-shaped envelope is shown generally as 46. Such an envelope is preferably formed from elastomeric material such as foam rubber. The envelope may be formed from two sidewalls, including a head sidewall 48 and an opposite shell sidewall 50. The sidewalls are joined by a continuous peripheral seal 52 which may be formed by bonding, heat sealing, or the like. The foamed elastomeric sidewalls may have different thicknesses, but it has been found particularly useful to select dimensions of about one-eighth inch to about one-quarter inch. The peripheral seal continues around the vertical arm 53, around the bottom and ends of the horizontal arm 54. The seal is interrupted at the top of the horizontal arm to define an open top 56 which allows insertion and removal of the inflatable T-member 18. In the illustrated form, one of the ends 62 of the horizontal arm is provided with a cut-out seat 63 for the air-fill tube. The elongated air-fill tube 38 is shown seated in the cut-out in the view of FIG. 5. Such view also illustrates how the T-inflatable member is fully seated within the slightly oversized envelope 46.

The inflatable member and envelope assembly are mounted to the inside of a rigid, hard shell by means such as bonding the shell sidewall 50 to the inside of the shell along a plurality of bonding points, such as 64. It is seen, therefore, that one sidewall 50, which forms both the horizontal and vertical arms, is bonded to the inside shell curvature 66. The other sidewall 48 contacts the head of the user.

The use of the inflatable member and the envelope in a hard rigid shell may be illustrated by reference to the hockey type of helmet shown in FIGS. 6-8. Such a helmet has a bottom, continuous curvilinear edge 68. The edge has a rasied portion 70 spaced above the top of the ear, a lowered portion 72 in front of the ear, and a lowered portion 74 behind the ear. The inflatable T-member and envelope assembly are disposed inside the helmet so that the vertical arm covers the medial line of the head and extends at least to about the forehead portion. The horizontal arm extends a sufficient distance so that its opposite ends 62 form only a small gap along the medial line of the forehead. The envelope may be bonded to the inside curvature 66 of the shell 12 as a first step, whereupon the open top 56 will be directed toward bottom curvilinear edge 68. The inflatable member 18 will be inserted by first moving vertical arm 25 through the open top and into the vertical arm 53 of the envelope. The horizontal arm 29 of the T-inflatable member will then be seated within the horizontal arm 54 of the envelope. The elongated air-fill tube 38 will be positioned in seat 63, and will be available for engagement by the mouth of the user as indicated in FIG. 7.

The user will inflate the T-member 18 to a sufficient degree of comfort until the helmet is securely sized and positioned on the head. The T-member and envelope assembly will correctly and comfortably size a helmet which has been selected for a near-fit on the head. It will be appreciated that a helmet selection may be made from three basic sizes such as "small," "medium" or "large." Once the helmet has been desirably sized and cushioned, the user will close inlet end 42 of the air-fill tube 38 by replacing resilient sealing cap 44. The closed air-fill tube may then be tucked inside the helmet towards the opposite ear, as indicated in the view of FIG. 8.

Another form of the inflatable member is shown in the views of FIGS. 9-13. Referring first to the view of FIG. 11, a shell 79 has mounted therein a conventional suspension cushioning assembly 18. The assembly includes a central portion spaced from the inside of this shell, said central portion including an elastomeric core 82 placed within a capsule made of a top elastomeric skin 84 and a bottom elastomeric skin 86. The core has air spaces and is of lighter density than the skins. The bottom elastomeric skin 86 is provided with an air vent 88 so that air can slowly escape from the core through such vents in the recognized manner following impact.

Bottom skin 86 is shown with a number of aligned pairs of slots 90 through which heavy support straps 92 are inserted. Each strap is moved through the aligned slots of a pair, and the opposite ends of the straps are then secured to the shell by fasteners such as strap rivets 94.

The foregoing suspension assembly is known, together with the described method of mounting within the shell. Such a conventional suspension cushioning assembly may be advantageously used in combination with an inflatable member shown generaly as 96. This is a single arm or unbranched inflatable member having a uniform side to side dimension except for an enlarged end compartment 98. The extension 99 of the enlarged compartment is shown with an elongated air-fill tube 100 mounted thereto. This tube has features similar to those previously described, including a removable friction cap 102. The end of the tube opposite to the end closed with the fraction cap 102 is shown herein as having a flared end 104. This flared end is preferably heat sealed to one of the walls 106, 108 of the inflatable member as shown.

In the illustrated embodiment, the single arm inflatable member is deposited within an envelope 112 so that extension 99 extends out of the top of the envelope when mounted within the shell. The illustrated envelope is elastomeric as previously described, and is formed by folding a sheet to form an inside fold 112 and an outside fold 114. The single arm inflatable member is placed within the envelope by moving through top opening 115. The inside fold 114 of the envelope may be bonded or otherwise fastened to the inside of the shell, and it is preferred to bond the wall 108 of the single arm inflatable member to the inside fold 112 of the envelope, such bonding being indicated in the view of FIG. 13 wherein inside fold 112 follows the contour of wall 118 of the inflated member. It will be seen that in this embodiment the inflatable member and envelope assembly both size and cushion the shell or helmet against the temporal portions of the head, whereas the conventional suspension assembly merely cushions the top of the head.

Referring now to the views of FIG. 14-19, a specialized inflatable member is shown with means for providing suspension mounting within a shell. Such inflatable member likewise possesses the previously described features of cushioning and sizing. The inflatable member is shown generally as 116, and is seen to have a substantially T-shape with a horizontal arm 118 provided with anchor tabs 120 along one margin thereof. Each of the anchor tabs 120 is shown with a fastener opening 121. Also shown are corner anchorizing tabs 122 with fastener openings 123 in each tab. A vertical arm 124 is provided with an anchor tab 126 shown with tapered sides. The vertical arm anchor tab 126 is likewise provided with a fastener opening 128. The vertical arm 124 is further shown with angular straps 130 branching therefrom. Each strap is provided with an anchor tab 132 provided with a fastener opening 134.

An elongated air-fill tube 136 is seen with a removable friction cap 138 at its free end. The other end of the elongated airfill tube is connected to the end compartment of the vertical arm 124. In particular, the end of the tube communicates with the interiors of the plurality of communicating compartments formed by a heavy support wall 140 and a lighter distendable wall 142. The end of the tube passing through wall 142 has a flared end 144 which is preferably heat sealed to wall 142. The heavy support wall 140 is preferably formed from the same material as distendable wall 142, namely, a heat sealable plastic such as vinyl. Wall 140 is preferably several times thicker than distendable wall 142, and such wall is intended primarily for support rather than distension following inflation. The anchor tabs are shown as double layers formed from said support wall sealed to said distendable wall.

Looking now at FIGS. 16-18, the inflatable member is shown mounted within a shell 146, such member being preferably mounted within a folded elastomeric envelope. The vertical arm 124 is shown extending along the inside curvature of the shell so that such arm is in position to follow the medial line of the crown portion of the head. The vertical arm is spaced from a major portion of the inside curvature of the shell to provide a suspension mounting. Such mounting is obtained by fastening anchor tabs 132 of straps 130 to the shell by means such as the illustrated double head rivet 147. This illustrated inflatable member is mounted within the shell by using fasteners such as double head rivets 147 to secure anchor tabs 120, 122, and 128 to the shell, together with anchor tabs 132 of straps 130.

The inflatable member for suspension mounting may likewise be mounted within an elastomeric folded envelope in a way which was previously described. As shown, the vertical and horizontal arms are within a folded envelope having an inside fold 148 and an outside fold 150. The end of the vertical arm 124 may extend out of said envelope so that elongated air-fill tube 136 may be in position for inflation by the user. The straps 130 may or may not be mounted within such an envelope. In general, the anchor tabs on the horizontal arm, the vertical arm, and the straps will extend out of such envelope for mounting to the shell. It will be seen that such anchor tabs attain added rigidity by having the distendable wall bonded or sealed along all points to the heavier support wall. Such a structure leads to stronger anchoring of the inflatable member to the shell.

The view of FIG. 19 shows the shape which the inflatable member assumes within the shell. It will be seen that horizontal arm 118 is in position to size and cushion the temporal portions of the head, and that vertical arm 124 is in position to size and cushion the crown portion of the head. The straps 130 lock the vertical arm 124 in spaced relation to the curvature of the shell, which is not shown in this view. The view of FIG. 19 shows the elongated tube 136 in lowered position so that the user may inflate the same following removal of friction cap 138. The view of FIG. 16 shows the elongated tube raised to inactive position inside the shell. In use, the elongated air-fill tube 136 will be moved to this position following inflation of the member 116.

Still another alternative embodiment of the inflatable member is indicated in the view of FIG. 20. This member assumes a general H-shape wherein vertical arms 150 and 152 flank a horizontal arm 154. An elongated air-fill tube 156 is shown mounted to an end compartment of the vertical arm 152, said tube being fitted with a removable friction cap 158. In use, arm 152 will follow a front inside curvature of the shell to size and cushion the front and temporal portions of the head. Vertical arm 150 will follow the back inside curvature of the shell to size and cushion the back and rear temporal portions of the head. The horizontal arm 154 will follow the medial line of the crown portion of the head.

This inflatable member may be mounted within an elastomeric envelope, as previously described, and the inflatable member and envelope assembly may be variously mounted within the shell as previously indicated. The elongated air-fill tube 156 will be in position to be lowered at the front of the face to active position for inflating the member. Following inflation, the friction cap will be remounted and the tube will be tucked between the inside of the shell and the head, as described before. This inflatable member is provided with a plurality of communicating compartments which are similar to previous embodiments disclosed herein. Likewise, this embodiment is formed by two side walls sealed along their peripheral edges, said walls being of substantially equal thicknesses, or one of the walls being a heavier support wall as described in association with the views of FIGS. 14-19.

The inflatable member of this invention will preferably be mounted within the shell together with the elastomeric covering at least on the head side of the member. Such elastomeric covering is preferably foam rubber, but may be of other materials having a density less than the density of the inflatable member, which may be thermoplastic vinyl material. When an envelope form is used, at least the head side of the envelope should have the elastomeric covering.

The claims of the invention are now presented.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An inflatable cushioning and sizing means for mounting wihtin a protective, substantially rigid head shell, including an inflatable T-shape member formed of one sidewall disposable towards the head side when mounted in said shell, and an opposite sidewall disposable towards the interior of the rigid shell when mounted therein, one of said sidewalls being substantially thicker than the other of the sidewalls, the thicker sidewall being a substantially non-distendable support wall, and a plurality of anchoring tabs being disposed along the peripheral margin of said arms, and fastening means on each of said anchoring tabs for mounting said tabs to the shell, said sidewalls sealed along their peripheral edges, said T-shape member including a horizontal arm and a vertical arm, said horizontal arm being sufficiently long to extend around the opposite temporal portions of the user's head to about the medial line of the forehead, an elongated air-fill tube communicating between said peripherally sealed sidewalls, said tube being sufficiently long to reach a mouth of a user for inflation when mounted in said shell, and a plurality of communicating compartments within the member formed by discontinuous seal lines to provide communicating passageways between the compartments.

2. A protective headgear assembly including a substantially rigid head shell, a cushioning and sizing assembly mounted within said shell, said assembly having a member formed of one sidewall disposable towards the head side when mounted in said shell, and an opposite sidewall disposable towards the interior of the rigid shell when mounted therein, said sidewalls sealed along their peripheral edges to form an arm, said arm being sufficiently long to extend around the opposite temporal portions of the user's head to about the medial line of the forehead, an elongated air-fill tube communicating between said peripherally sealed sidewalls, said tube being sufficiently long to reach a mouth of the user for inflation when mounted in said shell, a removable closure for the end of said air-fill tube, a plurality of communicating compartments within the arm formed by discontinuous seal lines to provide communicating air passageways between the compartments, and cushion means along both opposite sidewalls for cushioning the head of the user and for mounting the inflatable member to the inside of the shell.

3. A member as in claim 2 wherein said cushion means is a slightly oversized envelope containing said member, said envelope having at least a foamed elastomeric covering on the side of the member disposable towards the head side, and means in said envelope to permit access to said member and said air-fill means.

4. An inflatable member and envelope assembly as in claim 4, wherein said envelope is sealed along its peripheral edges, except for an open top which extends along the top edge of the envelope to thereby allow said inflatable member to be inserted through said open top and removed from said open top.

5. An inflatable member as in claim 2 wherein said member has a general T-shape, a horizontal arm of said T-shaped member extending around the opposite temporal portions of the user's head, a vertical arm of said T-shaped member being sufficiently long to extend over the medial crown line of the user's head to about the forehead, and said cushion means covering the opposite sidewalls of at least said horizontal arm.

6. An inflatable member as in claim 2 wherein said member is substantially an unbranched single arm, and said cushion means substantially covering the opposite sidewalls of said arm.

7. An inflatable member as in claim 2, wherein said member is of a general H-shape, having two vertical arms to respectively contact the forehead and back of the head and an intermediate horizontal arm to contact the medial line of the head, wherein said cushion means cover the sidewalls of at least said vertical arms, and wherein said elongated air-fill tube communicates between the walls of an end compartment in one of said vertical arms.

8. An inflatable member as in claim 1, wherein a plurality of supporting straps are joined to said vertical arm, an anchoring tab being present at the end of each of said straps, said anchoring tabs having side wall portions of the inflatable member bonded to each other to form a double layer tab, and fastening means on said tabs for anchoring the straps to the shell, said straps being of a length so that the vertical arm is held in spaced relationship to the inside curvature of the shell when the inflatable member is mounted within the shell.

9. An inflatable member and cushion means assembly as in claim 2, which further includes said assembly mounted within a substantially rigid protective headgear shell having an inside curvature which follows the top and opposite sides of the head when worn, said shell having a bottom, continuous curvilinear edge which defines extensions of the shell to protect the base at the back of the head, said cushion means on the shell sidewall of the inflatable member being engageable with the inside shell curvature and being held thereto by a plurality of bonding points, and said arm of the inflatable member and cushion means extending along the opposite sides of the head and terminating substantially along the medial line of the forehead when worn.

10. An inflatable member, envelope and shell assembly as in claim 11, wherein said shell has ventilating areas on opposite sides above the arm of the envelope mounted within the inside shell curvature.

11. An inflatable member, envelope and shell assembly as in claim 12, wherein said bottom, continuous curvilinear edge has a portion spaced above the top of the ears, and lowered portions behind and in front of the ears when worn.

12. A protective headgear assembly as in claim 4, wherein said elastomeric cushion means is a slightly oversized foamed rubber envelope, said inflatable member is a vinyl thermoplastic, and said air-fill means is an elongated tube having an air inlet end sealed by a frictionally fitted removable cap.

13. An inflatable member as in claim 6, wherein said cushion means is a slightly oversized envelope having at least a foamed elastomeric covering on the side of the member disposable towards the head side.

14. An inflatable member as in claim 8 wherein said cushion means is a slightly oversized envelope having at least a foamed elastomeric covering on the side of the member disposable towards the head side.

15. An inflatable member, envelope and shell assembly as in claim 11, wherein said cushion means is a slightly oversized foamed elastomeric envelope, and wherein said envelope and inflatable member have a general T-shape, a horizontal arm extending around the temporal portions of the head to about the forehead, and a vertical arm extending over the medial crown line of the head to about the forehead.

16. An inflatable member, envelope and shell assembly as in claim 11, wherein said cushion means is a slightly oversized foamed elastomeric envelope, and wherein said envelope and inflatable member have a general H-shape having two vertical arms to respectively contact the forehead and back of the head, and an intermediate horizontal arm to contact the medial line of the head.