Impact Absorbing Frame and Layered Structure System for Safety Helmets

Abstract

To be embedded within most customizable strong yet flexible safety helmet shells, is a strong, lightweight, impact absorbing “Frame” and a multi-layered impact absorbing cushioning “structure”. Two combined yet independent components designed to protect the user's head and cranium and to reduce the violent sudden acceleration and deceleration of the head and brain after impact. One aspect consists of a solid, continuous and unbroken “Frame” The frame comprises a number of semi-circular arched segments or “panels” with several other smaller semi-circular arched panels placed facing opposite the larger panels within the frame. The additional cushioning in the structure comprises several layers and levels of cushioning protection. These layers consist of a cushioning interior impact liner, a soft silicone gel material, a form fitting inner liner, and optional cloth liners.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates generally to protective headgear and, more specifically, to an impact absorbing frame and cushioning structure that prevents injury and reduces damage to the user.[0002]Protective headgear or helmets have been worn for a long time now, by individuals to protect against head injuries. The use of helmets is often a mandatory requirement for driving bicycles and certain other motor vehicles, in high impact sports and in material handling and other potentially hazardous locations.[0003]The use of safety helmets has been just that—to reduce or completely protect the user from any top, lateral and penetration impact to the user's head. However, commonly used protective headgear use a hard outer casing with an impact-energy absorbing padding placed between the outer casing and the user's head. The flaw in these hard casing helmets is that they actually permit the generation of a high-impact shock wave and only after this shock wave is...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0024]Accordingly, the present invention strives to overcome some of the disadvantages of prior safety helmets by a) providing a protective system that is closer in weight and size to the user's anatomical head, thereby minimizing resultant disproportion between the head with helmet and the neck / torso and by b) redirecting or dissipating injurious forces away from the head and brain, by using an internal frame and a cushioning structure that will move relative to each other in predetermined directions and increments.

[0026]A very important safety feature of this design is that because of the frame absorbing or re-directing force vectors along predetermined incremental stages, any rotational vectors at the time of impact will be decreased or actually changed to linear vectors, thereby reducing the risk of the very damaging rotational injuries to the nerve roots and / or brain stem. Coupled with the cushioning structure, this system is designed to absorb kinetic and / or potential energy at the time of the fall / impact, and transfer it along more controlled, less damaging vectors away from the head and brain.

[0027]A practical consideration is that this frame and structure design will be lightweight, comfortable and versatile enough to accommodate most recreational and sporting activities including but not limited to bicycling, snowboarding, skateboarding, rollerblading, horseback riding and with minimal modifications to protect the face, more aggressive activities such as hockey and football. Thoughts have been given to aesthetics, since a helmet cannot protect if it is not worn and thus, especially for the high risk, energetic youths, this system allows for a wider range of outer shell designs to provide “visual appeal”.

[0028]There has been a desperate call from the professional community treating head injuries, for a radically different safety helmet design, away from the 'skull over the skull’ concept, to one that incorporates current knowledge of how head, neck and especially‘contre’ coup’ injuries occur. The design of this system focuses first on accepted injury mechanisms and then simulates some of the effective structural features commonly used in architectural and engineering physics to reduce concentrated loads and earthquake damage in large structures. Capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight, the arch is significant because, in theory at least, it provides a structure which eliminates tensile stresses in spanning an open space. All the forces are resolved into compressive stresses.

[0033]By means of a force re-directing frame and an impact absorbing structure, this system design remains closer to the natural head size and weight thereby; a) avoiding the increased injury risks noted above and b) providing equitable skull protection for simple direct impact and most important of all c) uniquely minimizing the most common and destructive ‘contre coup’ injuries.

Problems solved by technology

The flaw in these hard casing helmets is that they actually permit the generation of a high-impact shock wave and only after this shock wave is generated are they designed to minimize the strength of the shock wave and reduce its effects by the use of shock absorbing material between the hard casing and the user's head.

Although these and other conventional helmet liners have worked well, they have failed to provide protection against both high and low degrees of impact imparted on a helmet over the extended life of said helmet.

The impact force is often so great that the rider's helmet may even initially bounce back upon contacting the surface and the head may be thrust backwards subjecting the head and neck regions to additional injury causing forces.

If the impact is severe enough, it may lead to a concussion (striking of the brain matter to the skull with moderate force) or even a contusion (striking of the brain matter to the skull with high force) and may also lead to skull fracture.

Further, mandatory rules by industry organizations and / or government regulations often obligate the work force of specific industries such as the construction industry to wear ‘hard hats’, which again carry the limitations mentioned above—that of permitting the initial generation of a shockwave and ensuing attempts by shock absorbing padding in the headgear to absorb the said impact forces that cause this shockwave.

Helmets from their first use to today have essentially been an artificial skull over the human skull and thus only duplicate the same protection the natural skull is already providing, without adding any more safety dimensions.

There is an important disadvantage and negative safety feature inherent with conventional helmet styles In order to provide sufficient protection from impact forces, heretofore it has been the practice of the helmet manufacturers to form the cushioning shell layer with a thickness of one inch or more, and if the padding is for comfort it is often of similar thickness.

Termed a ‘zinger’ in its mild, temporary form, permanent total nerve loss results when the ‘bending’ injury is more severe.

Larger diameter and / or added weight invariably increase rotational force potential and rotation, according to whiplash research, is the most destructive.

The thin outer layer may crack under impact load, Adding to the shortcomings of this patent are the legal hurdles that will arise when trying to approve such a design for commercial use.

Furthermore, aerodynamic problems would be a significant issue with this design.

Crash helmets disclosed by the '271 patent does not seem likely to provide a significant improvement over current safety helmet shells.

Consequently, the protective helmet disclosed by the '889 patent would provide little or no protection to the wearer.

This helmet seems geared toward non-motorized injuries, limiting the potential for wide commercial use and would provide little to no impact protection in high impact events.

This would provide little to no improvement over current protective helmets of similar designs or size.

This design would only cover a limited amount of the head area, leaving other critical areas vulnerable.

All these aforementioned helmets do not seem likely to provide a significant improvement over current safety helmet shells.

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