Aspects of this document relate generally to helmets with an integrated rotational limiter.
Protective headgear and helmets have been used in a wide variety of applications and across a number of industries including sports, athletics, construction, mining, military defense, and others, to prevent damage to a user's head and brain. Contact injury to a user can be prevented or reduced by helmets that prevent hard objects or sharp objects from directly contacting the user's head. Non-contact injuries, such as brain injuries caused by linear or rotational accelerations of a user's head, can also be prevented or reduced by helmets that absorb, distribute, or otherwise manage energy of an impact. This may be accomplished using multiple layers of energy management material.
Conventional helmets having multiple energy management liners are able to reduce the rotational energy transferred to the head and brain by facilitating and controlling the rotation of the energy management liners against one another. Some conventional helmets, such as, for example, those disclosed in US Published application 20120060251 to Schimpf (hereinafter “Schimpf”) employ a continuous surface interrupted by a recess in the outer liner that a projection from the inner liner extends into. Additionally, other conventional helmets, such as those disclosed in US Published application 20010032351 to Nakayama (hereinafter “Nakayama”) employ an inner liner and an outer liner that both have interlocking recesses and projections.
Some conventional helmets employ structures or objects that bridge energy liners that must break, deform, and/or deform an elastic material for the liners to rotate against each other. Such a method of energy absorption has advantages and disadvantages; while the energy is absorbed by the failure or deformation of the projections, it either happens over a short period of time, thus doing little to attenuate the rotational accelerations experienced by the user's head and brain, or the liners may tend to rotate out of one another, reducing the helmet stability.
According to one aspect, a helmet includes an outer liner having an interior surface comprising a shelf extending inward from the interior surface proximate a perimeter of an opening at a lower edge of the outer liner. The shelf includes an arresting surface. The helmet also includes an inner liner having an exterior surface, an interior surface and an edge connecting the exterior surface to the interior surface. The edge is facing the arresting surface of the shelf. The inner liner is slidably coupled to the interior surface of the outer liner through at least one return spring and slidably movable relative to the outer liner between a first position in which the edge of the inner liner is separated from the arresting surface of the shelf by a first gap, and an arrested position in which a portion of the edge of the inner liner is in contact with a portion of the arresting surface of the shelf in response to movement of the outer liner relative to the inner liner caused by an impact to the helmet. Furthermore, the at least one return spring biases the inner liner toward the first position.
Particular embodiments may comprise one or more of the following features: the interior surface proximate a majority of the perimeter of the opening may include the shelf. The at least one return spring may be composed of an elastomer material. The first gap separating the edge of the inner liner from the arresting surface of the shelf while the inner liner is in the centered position may be between 12 mm and 15 mm. The shelf may include a plurality of shelf pieces. The arresting surface of the shelf may be discontinuous. The outer liner may include a front, a rear, and/or two sides opposite each other and connecting the front and the rear, Also, a first portion of the shelf may be located proximate the rear of the outer liner, a second portion of the shelf may be located proximate one of the two sides of the outer liner, and a third portion of the shelf may be located proximate the other of the two sides of the outer liner. The first gap may be substantially uniform across the arresting surface when the inner liner is in the first position. The outer liner may include a plurality of vents passing through the outer liner. The inner liner may include a plurality of channels passing through the inner liner. The plurality of channels may at least partially overlap with the plurality of vents, and may form a plurality of apertures from outside the helmet to inside the helmet. Each of the plurality of vents may be beveled at the interior surface of the outer liner. Each of the plurality of channels may be beveled at the exterior surface of the inner liner. Additionally, at least one of the interior surface of the outer liner and the exterior surface of the inner liner may include a surface of reduced friction. Finally, an air gap may exist between a majority of the exterior surface of the inner liner and the interior surface of the outer liner.
According to another aspect, a helmet includes an outer liner having an interior surface including a shelf extending inward from the interior surface proximate a majority of a perimeter of an opening at a lower edge of the outer liner. The shelf includes an arresting surface. The helmet also includes an inner liner having an exterior surface, an interior surface and an edge connecting the exterior surface to the interior surface. The edge is facing the arresting surface of the shelf. The inner liner is slidably coupled to the interior surface of the outer liner through at least one return spring. Also, the inner liner is slidably movable relative to the outer liner between a first position in which the edge of the inner liner is separated from the arresting surface of the shelf by a first gap that is substantially uniform across the arresting surface, and an arrested position in which a portion of the edge of the inner liner is in contact with a portion of the arresting surface of the shelf in response to movement of the outer liner relative to the inner liner caused by an impact to the helmet. Lastly, the at least one return spring biases the inner liner toward the first position.
Aspects and applications of the disclosure presented here are described below in the drawings and detailed description. Unless specifically noted, it is intended that the words and phrases in the specification and the claims be given their plain, ordinary, and accustomed meaning to those of ordinary skill in the applicable arts. The inventors are fully aware that they can be their own lexicographers if desired. The inventors expressly elect, as their own lexicographers, to use only the plain and ordinary meaning of terms in the specification and claims unless they clearly state otherwise and then further, expressly set forth the “special” definition of that term and explain how it differs from the plain and ordinary meaning. Absent such clear statements of intent to apply a “special” definition, it is the inventors' intent and desire that the simple, plain and ordinary meaning to the terms be applied to the interpretation of the specification and claims.
The inventors are also aware of the normal precepts of English grammar. Thus, if a noun, term, or phrase is intended to be further characterized, specified, or narrowed in some way, then such noun, term, or phrase will expressly include additional adjectives, descriptive terms, or other modifiers in accordance with the normal precepts of English grammar. Absent the use of such adjectives, descriptive terms, or modifiers, it is the intent that such nouns, terms, or phrases be given their plain, and ordinary English meaning to those skilled in the applicable arts as set forth above.
Further, the inventors are fully informed of the standards and application of the special provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112,116. Thus, the use of the words “function,” “means” or “step” in the Detailed Description or Description of the Drawings or claims is not intended to somehow indicate a desire to invoke the special provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, 116, to define the invention. To the contrary, if the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, 116 are sought to be invoked to define the inventions, the claims will specifically and expressly state the exact phrases “means for” or “step for”, and will also recite the word “function” (i.e., will state “means for performing the function of [insert function]”), without also reciting in such phrases any structure, material or act in support of the function. Thus, even when the claims recite a “means for performing the function of . . . ” or “step for performing the function of . . . ,” if the claims also recite any structure, material or acts in support of that means or step, or that perform the recited function, then it is the clear intention of the inventors not to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, 116. Moreover, even if the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶6 are invoked to define the claimed aspects, it is intended that these aspects not be limited only to the specific structure, material or acts that are described in the preferred embodiments, but in addition, include any and all structures, materials or acts that perform the claimed function as described in alternative embodiments or forms of the disclosure, or that are well known present or later-developed, equivalent structures, material or acts for performing the claimed function.
The foregoing and other aspects, features, and advantages will be apparent to those artisans of ordinary skill in the art from the DESCRIPTION and DRAWINGS, and from the CLAIMS.
The inventions will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, where like designations denote like elements, and:
This disclosure, its aspects and implementations, are not limited to the specific material types, components, methods, or other examples disclosed herein. Many additional material types, components, methods, and procedures known in the art are contemplated for use with particular implementations from this disclosure. Accordingly, for example, although particular implementations are disclosed, such implementations and implementing components may comprise any components, models, types, materials, versions, quantities, and/or the like as is known in the art for such systems and implementing components, consistent with the intended operation.
The word “exemplary,” “example,” or various forms thereof are used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” or as an “example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Furthermore, examples are provided solely for purposes of clarity and understanding and are not meant to limit or restrict the disclosed subject matter or relevant portions of this disclosure in any manner. It is to be appreciated that a myriad of additional or alternate examples of varying scope could have been presented, but have been omitted for purposes of brevity.
While this disclosure includes a number of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail particular embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the disclosed methods and systems, and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the disclosed concepts to the embodiments illustrated.
Conventional helmets having multiple energy management liners reduce the rotational energy of an impact transferred to the head and brain by facilitating and controlling the rotation of the energy management liners against one another. Some conventional helmets employ liner interfaces interrupted by a recess in one liner that a projection from another liner extends into, limiting the ability of one liner to rotate with respect to the other. See, for example,
Conventional helmets employing structures such as these have the disadvantage of relying on one or more small projections, and friction between liners, to absorb all of the rotational energy of an impact. The absorption is either done over a small period of time, thus doing little to attenuate the rotational accelerations/decelerations experienced by the user's head and brain, or is spread over a range of relative displacement of the liners that stability is compromised, and one liner will possibly rotate out of another, compromising the head protection for the wearer.
Additionally, some conventional helmets include a continuous interface surface between an inner liner and the outer liner. See, for example, the continuous outer liner 102 and a continuous inner liner 104 of the helmet 100 of
Contemplated as part of this disclosure are helmets having multiple energy management liners that are able to effectively rotate against one another upon impact while still being limited in the range of rotation by an integrated rotational limiter. Specifically, by using a rotational limiter, such as a shelf or a series of partial shelves or shelf pieces, on an interior surface of an outer liner to interface with an edge of an inner liner, a protective helmet may effectively attenuate rotational energy of an impact while also retaining and stabilizing the inner liner inside the outer liner.
This is advantageous in relation to conventional helmets, such as helmet 100 of
Reference is made herein to inner and/or outer liners comprising an energy management material. As used herein, the energy management material may comprise any energy management material known in the art of protective helmets, such as but not limited to expanded polystyrene (EPS), expanded polyurethane (EPU), expanded polyolefin (EPO), expanded polypropylene (EPP), or other suitable material.
An outer liner 202 is exterior to the inner layer of a helmet and is composed, at least in part, of energy management materials. In some embodiments, the exterior surface of the outer liner 202 may comprise an additional outer shell layer, such as a layer of stamped polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or a polycarbonate (PC) shell, to increase strength and rigidity. This shell layer may be bonded directly to the energy management material of the outer liner 202. In some embodiments, the outer liner 202 may have more than one rigid shell. For example, in one embodiment, the outer liner 202 may have an upper PC shell and a lower PC shell.
According to various embodiments, the outer liner 202 may be the primary load-carrying component for high-energy impacts. As such, the outer liner 202 may be composed of a high-density energy management material. As a specific example, the outer liner may be composed of EPS.
The outer liner 202 may provide a rigid skeleton for the helmet 200, and as such may serve as the attachment point for accessories, such as a chin bar, or other structures. Although not shown in
As shown, the outer liner 202 has an opening 206 at the lower edge 308, where a user would insert their head. The perimeter 320 of the opening 206 of the outer liner 202 is bordered by a front 310, a rear 312, as well as two sides 314 opposite each other and connecting the front 310 and the rear 312. In some embodiments, the outer liner 202 may comprise one or more vents 316 passing between the outside of the liner to the inside. In other embodiments, the outer liner 202 may be continuous and unvented. As previously discussed, the outer liner 202 also has an interior surface 300 comprising a shelf 400 extending inward proximate the perimeter 320 of the opening 206. The shelf 400 will be discussed in greater detail with respect to
Also shown in
The inner liner 204 has an exterior surface 302 and an interior surface 304. The perimeters of these surfaces are connected by an edge 306. The edge 306 might also be referred to as an edge surface, or an edge face. In some embodiments, the edge 306 may interface with the exterior surface 302 and the interior surface 304 at an angle. In other embodiments, the edge 306 may smoothly blend into the exterior surface 302 and the interior surface 304. In some embodiments, the edge 306 may be a flat surface, while in others, it may be a curved, wavy, or multi-faceted surface. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the inner liner 204 may comprise one or more channels 318 passing between the exterior surface 302 and the interior surface 304 to facilitate ventilation. In other embodiments, the inner liner 204 may be continuous and unvented.
According to various embodiments, the shelf 400 serves to lock the inner liner 204 in place after it is placed inside the outer liner 202, and provides a hard stop to the motion, be it rotational or linear, of the inner liner 204 with respect to the outer liner 202. Other embodiments may include additional, or different, structures, surfaces, bumpers, and/or features to constrain the motion of the inner liner 204 relative to the outer liner 202 to desired bounds. In some embodiments, at some points the inner liner 204 may be fixed in place, while at others it may move freely.
Advantageous over conventional helmets, the use of a shelf 400 such as those described herein may be adapted to a variety of helmet types. For example, the non-limiting embodiment shown in
In some embodiments, the interior surface 300 of the outer liner 202 proximate a majority of the perimeter 320 of the opening 206 may comprise a shelf 400. In other words, a majority of the perimeter 320 may be proximate to a portion of the shelf 400. For example, the non-limiting example shown in
In some embodiments, the helmet 200 may comprise a plurality of partial shelves or shelf pieces 410. In some embodiments, a shelf piece 410 may be a portion of a shelf 400 (e.g. first portion 404 of
As shown, the shelf 400, comprises an arresting surface 402 to interface with the edge 306 of the inner liner 204. As previously discussed, the edge 306 of the inner liner 204 faces the arresting surface 402 of the shelf 400. In the context of the present description and the claims that follow, the edge 306 of the inner liner 204 is considered to be facing the arresting surface 402 of the shelf 400 when the orientation of the edge 306 relative to the arresting surface 402 is such that when the inner liner 204 slides with respect to the outer liner 202 such that the inner liner 204 makes contact with the shelf 400, the edge 306, or a portion 418 of the edge 306, is in contact with the arresting surface 402, or a portion 420 of the arresting surface 402, of the shelf 400.
In some embodiments, the edge 306 and the arresting surface 402 may be shaped such that when they make contact, the edge 306 is mated with the arresting surface 402 where contact is made. In other embodiments, the arresting surface 402 may be shaped such that it captures, cups, wraps around, and/or retains the edge 306, such that the inner liner 204 is prevented from rotating out of the outer liner 202. In some embodiments, the arresting surface 402 of the shelf 400 may be a continuous surface. In other embodiments, the arresting surface 402 may be discontinuous. For example, the arresting surface 402 of a shelf 400 may be discontinuous when the shelf 400 comprises a plurality of shelf pieces 410, each separate and distinct from the others.
In some embodiments, the first gap 412 between the arresting surface 402 and the edge 306 may be substantially uniform. In the context of the present description and the claims that follow, substantially uniform refers to the size of the first gap 412 being within a particular distance range throughout the arresting surface 402. For example, the difference between the smallest first gap 412 and the largest first gap 412 throughout the arresting surface 402 may be 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, or more. In other embodiments, the first gap 412 between the arresting surface 402 and the edge 306 may be non-uniform. As a specific example, the first gap 412 between the edge 306 and the arresting surface 402 may widen to make space for a ventilation duct through the inner liner 204 and the outer liner 202.
The inner liner 204 is slidably movable between the first position 414 and an arrested position 416, in which the edge 306, or a portion of the edge 306, of the inner liner 204 is in contact with the arresting surface 402, or a portion of the arresting surface 402, of the shelf 400.
In some embodiments, forces may be needed to return the inner liner 204 to a pre-impact position (e.g. first position 414). See, for examples, the return spring 500 of
A return spring 500 may be composed of a variety of elastic materials, including but not limited to an elastomer such as silicone. According to various embodiments, a return spring 500 may have a variety of shapes, including but not limited to bands, cords, and coils. In some embodiments, one or more return springs 500 may directly couple an edge 306 of the inner liner 204 to the interior surface 300 of the outer liner 202. In other embodiments, one or more return springs 500 may directly couple the outer liner 202 to locations on the exterior surface 302 of the inner liner 204 that are not proximate an edge 306 of the inner liner 204.
Some embodiments may employ one or more return springs 500 to return the inner liner 204 to the first position 414. Other embodiments may employ additional, or alternative methods. For example, in some embodiments, the first gap 412 between the edge 306 and the arresting surface 402 may be empty. In other embodiments, the first gap 412 may contain a bumper composed of an elastic material, which may serve to absorb impact energy and return the inner liner 204 to the first position 414. In some embodiments the shelf 400 may be integral to the outer liner 202, and may be composed of the same material as the rest of the outer liner 202. In other embodiments, the shelf 400 may be composed of an elastic material that may absorb additional impact energy transferred through motion of the inner liner 204 and assist in returning the inner liner 204 to the first position 414.
As shown in
While use of vents 316, channels 318, and/or apertures 422 in helmets is well known in the art, an inner liner 204 slidably coupled to the inside of an outer liner 202 through return springs 500 presents an issue not faced by conventional helmets. Therefore, according to various embodiments, the edges (i.e. the boundary where the liner surface tips inward to start a void in the surface) of vents 316 are shaped at the interior surface 300 and the edges of channels 318 are shaped at the exterior surface 302 such that rotation of the outer liner 202 with respect to the inner liner 204 is not impeded (e.g. the edge of a vent getting caught on the edge of a channel, etc.).
In some embodiments, including the non-limiting example shown in
As noted above, attenuation of rotational energy occurs when the exterior surface 302 of the inner liner 204 and the interior surface 300 of the outer liner 202 rotate against each other. In various embodiments, one or more of these surfaces may be modified to facilitate that rotation. For example, in one embodiment, the exterior surface 302 of the inner liner 204 may comprise a surface of reduced friction 322, having been treated with a material to decrease friction. Materials include, but are not limited to, in-molded polycarbonate (PC), an in-molded polypropylene (PP) sheet, and/or fabric LFL. In other embodiments, a material or a viscous substance may be sandwiched between the two liners to facilitate rotation.
According to one embodiment, there may be an air gap 502 between the two liners, or between a majority of the exterior surface 302 of the inner liner 204 and the interior surface 300 of the outer liner 202, to help allow for movement. For example, the air gap 502 between the two liners may range from 0.3 mm to 0.7 mm. In other embodiments, there may be other distances of air gap 502 between the two liners.
Where the above examples, embodiments and implementations reference examples, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that other helmet and manufacturing devices and examples could be intermixed or substituted with those provided. In places where the description above refers to particular embodiments of helmets and customization methods, it should be readily apparent that a number of modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof and that these embodiments and implementations may be applied to other to helmet customization technologies as well. Accordingly, the disclosed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the disclosure and the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/064,159, filed Oct. 6, 2020; which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/990,567, filed May 25, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,834,988, issued Nov. 17, 2020; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/638,257, filed Jun. 29, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,010,126, issued Jul. 3, 2018, titled “Protective Helmet with Integrated Rotational Limiter,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1244559 | Stocks | Oct 1917 | A |
3495272 | Tempelhof | Feb 1970 | A |
4345338 | Frieder, Jr. | Aug 1982 | A |
5010598 | Flynn | Apr 1991 | A |
5742937 | Baudou | Apr 1998 | A |
5940889 | Shirai | Aug 1999 | A |
6925657 | Takahashi | Aug 2005 | B2 |
8578520 | Halldin | Nov 2013 | B2 |
8683617 | Chilson | Apr 2014 | B2 |
8782819 | Culpepper | Jul 2014 | B1 |
8955169 | Weber | Feb 2015 | B2 |
9131743 | Marzec | Sep 2015 | B2 |
9474316 | Berry | Oct 2016 | B2 |
9474317 | Berry | Oct 2016 | B2 |
9549582 | Phipps | Jan 2017 | B2 |
10010126 | Shaffer | Jul 2018 | B1 |
10561192 | Weber et al. | Feb 2020 | B2 |
10834988 | Shaffer | Nov 2020 | B2 |
11647804 | Shaffer | May 2023 | B2 |
20010032351 | Nakayama | Oct 2001 | A1 |
20030140400 | Ho | Jul 2003 | A1 |
20040250340 | Piper | Dec 2004 | A1 |
20060162053 | Lee | Jul 2006 | A1 |
20100319110 | Preston-Powers | Dec 2010 | A1 |
20120000008 | Baldackin | Jan 2012 | A1 |
20120060251 | Schimpf | Mar 2012 | A1 |
20120198604 | Weber | Aug 2012 | A1 |
20140007322 | Marz | Jan 2014 | A1 |
20140013491 | Hoshizaki | Jan 2014 | A1 |
20140223641 | Henderson | Aug 2014 | A1 |
20150089724 | Berry | Apr 2015 | A1 |
20150089725 | Lowe | Apr 2015 | A1 |
20150250246 | Phipps | Sep 2015 | A1 |
20150250253 | Jacobsen | Sep 2015 | A1 |
20150264991 | Frey | Sep 2015 | A1 |
20150359285 | Rennaker, II | Dec 2015 | A1 |
20160161222 | Lee | Jun 2016 | A1 |
20200305534 | Chilson | Oct 2020 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20230255296 A1 | Aug 2023 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 17064159 | Oct 2020 | US |
Child | 18131712 | US | |
Parent | 15990567 | May 2018 | US |
Child | 17064159 | US | |
Parent | 15638257 | Jun 2017 | US |
Child | 15990567 | US |