SYSTEM, METHOD, ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE AND APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING AN INDIVIDUAL FROM SUSTAINING A CONCUSSION AND FOR MEASURING AND EVALUATING CONCUSSION RISK ARISING FROM A COLLISION

TECHNICAL FIELD

Herein is disclosed an article of protective wear that reduces the risk that its wearer sustain a concussion arising from collision, especially, but not exclusively, in the context of athletic competition, and more particularly to an article of protective wear generally in the form of a cowl or balaclava, which may include various electronic measurement, processing and communication devices that produce, process and communicate collision measurement data and other data that may be used to evaluate concussion risk arising from a collision, in addition to other uses of such data.

BACKGROUND

Recently, it has become understood that repeated concussions, such as may occur to those who participate in contact sports (football, hockey, rugby, soccer, etc.), striking sports (boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, etc.), or military combat arms occupations, exposes such participants to an elevated risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a neurodegenerative disease that progresses and worsens over the span of time, and may result in dementia. It is now understood that risk of concussion and CTE relate to peak linear acceleration and peak radial acceleration of the head during collision—as such peak values increase, so, too, does risk of concussion and CTE.

In addition to the inherent negative health implications posed by concussions and the prospect of CTE, dawning public awareness of these risks has resulted in certain societal responses. For example, participation in high school football has declined by seventeen percent between 2006 and 2023. Additionally, the rules of football—at every level ranging from high school, to college, to professional football—have changed to penalize hits that may present a risk of concussion. These new rules may contain subjective elements, and officiating decisions made pursuant to such rules are often the subject of controversy. Moreover, as a protective measure, a player subjected to such hits may be compelled to exit competition for a period of time to be evaluated medically, in order to determine whether the player may have sustained a concussion, prior to returning to competition (if the player is permitted to return at all). Medical evaluation of a player to diagnose a concussion is known to be based upon player-reported symptoms, which is complicated by the subjective nature of such player self-assessment.

In view of the foregoing, there exists a need to protect individuals from concussion, to provide objective data to aid in the evaluation of whether or not an individual may have sustained a concussion, and, in the context of athletic competition, to provide objective data to aid in officiating decisions.

SUMMARY

Against this backdrop, the present invention was developed. According to some embodiments, an article of manufacture that is suitable to be worn by a wearer includes a first layer of fabric and a second layer of fabric. A layer of foam is interposed between the first layer of fabric and the second layer of fabric. The layer of foam is enclosed by the first the second layers of fabric and formed into a balaclava.

According to other embodiments, a balaclava that is suitable to be worn by a wearer having a calvaria, crown of head, neck, chest and back includes an impact-hardening foam in one or more regions of the balaclava. When the balaclava is worn by said wearer, the aforementioned regions substantially cover at least the calvaria and neck of the wearer.

According to still other embodiment, a balaclava that suitable to be worn by a wearer having a head, neck, shoulders, chest and back includes an impact-hardening foam. The balaclava includes the capacity to prevent the impact-hardening foam from tearing during athletic activity by the wearer. The balaclava also includes the capacity to permit the wearer to select a size of the balaclava based exclusively upon the size of the head of the wearer, while permitting the balaclava to fit snugly to the neck of said wearer. The balaclava also includes the capacity to permit the wearer to select a size of the balaclava based exclusively upon the size of the head of the wearer, while permitting the balaclava to fit snugly to the chest of said wearer. The balaclava also includes the capacity to permit the wearer to select a size of the balaclava based exclusively upon the size of the head of the wearer, while permitting the balaclava to fit snugly to the back of said wearer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a pattern for creation of an exemplary embodiment of a balaclava, and various views of a balaclava created from such pattern.

FIG. 2 depicts exemplary embodiments of patterns for creation of an exemplary embodiments of balaclavas, and various views of balaclavas created from such patterns.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a balaclava including a hook-and-loop fastener to close the balaclava.

FIG. 4A depicts an exemplary embodiment of a balaclava including mesh inserts.

FIG. 4B depicts an exemplary embodiment of a pattern by which the balaclava of FIG. 4A may be constructed.

FIG. 5A depicts the direction of an axis along which a fabric layer of the balaclava may not stretch, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5B depicts an exemplary embodiment of a balaclava including a pair of stabilizer strips.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a balaclava including a fusible, and a pattern by which such balaclava may be constructed.

FIG. 7A depicts an exemplary pattern for construction of a balaclava with a pair of pockets.

FIG. 7B depicts an example of a balaclava constructed from the pattern of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8A depicts an exemplary embodiment of a balaclava including various hook-and-loop patches.

FIG. 8B depicts an exemplary embodiment of a strap system that may cooperate with the hook-and-loop patches of FIG. 8A to fasten the balaclava to its wearer.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a balaclava including a slash-resistant neck region, and also depicts an exemplary embodiment of a pattern by which such a balaclava may be constructed.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a layer of foam that is perforated, and, according to some embodiments, included in the balaclava.

FIGS. 11A-C depict exemplary embodiment of patterns by which a multi-piece balaclava may be constructed.

FIG. 11D depicts examples of balaclavas constructed according to the patterns of FIGS. 11A-11C.

FIG. 12 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a block diagram of an electronic system that may be incorporated in a balaclava, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a system for communicating, processing, and presenting data collected by the system of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a user interface presented by a smart device included in the system of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 depicts an exemplary embodiment of throat microphone system that may be incorporated in a balaclava, according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of an item of protective wear, presenting a front view 1000 of such item, a side view 1002, and a rear view 1004. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the item is generally in the form of a balaclava or cowl, and may be referred to herein by either term.

The balaclava of FIG. 1 provides protection against its wearer from sustaining concussions as a result of collision, and is therefore useful in a great many contexts. Herein, the balaclava may be referred to in the context of American football, but it is to be understood that it is useful in the context of all contact sports, striking sports and military combat arms occupations, among other contexts.

A user of the balaclava of FIG. 1 may don by pulling the balaclava over his or her head, so that his or her face becomes situated within the frontal aperture 1005, so that the user may see and speak freely, and may grasp its front lower edge 1006 to pull the balaclava downwardly, so that it fits snugly to the user's body throughout the balaclava's entirety. In the particular embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, the front lower edge 1006 of the balaclava extends to approximately the middle of the user's sternum, extends approximately three-quarters of the way to the user's shoulders at edges 1008 and 1010, and, at its rear lower edge 1012, extends approximately just past cervical area of the spine. Other lengths are possible, some of which are discussed below. The embodiment of FIG. 1 may be produced in various sizes to accommodate different size people.

The various embodiments of the balaclava disclosed herein may be worn as an individual item of protective wear, or may be worn in concert with other items of protective wear. For example, the balaclava of FIG. 1 may be worn under a helmet (such as a football or hockey helmet, among other such helmets), and may be worn under pads (such as shoulder pads used in football or hockey), and may be worn under armor (such as under body armor, such as may be used in certain military occupations). This is true of all of the various embodiments discussed herein.

The balaclava may be formed from a layer of foam (discussed further, below) that is surrounded by two layers of fabric. In other words, the product may be thought of as a first layer of fabric, with a layer of foam atop the aforementioned first layer, with a second layer of fabric atop the foam, with the first and second layers of fabric being stitched together at various seams (discussed further, below), in order to enclose the foam, and to form the balaclava structure:

Fabric-Foam-Fabric.

Whereas foam may be inclined to tear when subjected to certain kinds of forces, such as sheering forces, especially forces that have slow rates of application, the fabric may be chosen to be resistant to tearing when subjected to such slow rates of application of such forces, in order to preserve the integrity of the balaclava. According to some embodiments, the foam may resist tearing when subjected to forces that would otherwise cause tearing, if those forces are applied rapidly, while the fabric may be relatively vulnerable to tearing when subjected to rapid rates of application of such forces. Thus, the foam and fabric, together, resist tearing—each one bolstering the integrity of the whole, when the other might otherwise tear.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a pattern 1014 from which the balaclava may be formed. The pattern 1014 includes an inner boundary line 1016 and an outer boundary line 1018, each of which form a continuous, closed shape. According to some embodiments, and as depicted in FIG. 1, the inner boundary line 1016 and outer boundary line 1018 are approximately coincident along the various bottom edges 1006, 1008, 1010 and 1012 of the balaclava. The shape defined by the inner boundary line 1016 is approximately a similar figure to the shape formed by the outer boundary line 1018, only slightly smaller.

The inner boundary line 1016 defines a path along which a sheet of foam is to be cut, so that the resulting body of foam approximately conforms to the shape defined by the inner boundary line 1016. Similarly, the outer boundary line 1018 defines a path along which a sheet of fabric is to be cut, so that the resulting body of fabric approximately conforms to the shape defined by the outer boundary line 1018. As described in more detail below, a body of foam approximately conforming to the shape defined by the inner boundary line 1016 may be sandwiched between two bodies of fabric approximately conforming to the outer boundary line 1018, and the outer edges of the fabric bodies may be stitched in order to enclose the foam and form the balaclava. According to some embodiments, the foam may be glued to one or both fabric bodies, although this need not be the case. The fact that the outer boundary line 1018 generally traces a similar path to that of the inner boundary line 1016, while being a little larger means that the fabric bodies generally have a fringe or border region extending beyond the edge of the foam, permitting the pair of fabric bodies to be stitched to one another along such fringe or border regions, thereby enclosing the foam. (According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, wherein the inner boundary line 1016 and outer boundary line 1018 are approximately coincident along the various bottom edges 1006, 1008, 1010 and 1012 of the balaclava, the fabric bodies are not stitched to one another along such edges 1006, 1008, 1010 and 1012—the balaclava is closed, instead, by a binding along such edges 1006, 1008, 1010 and 1012 to add additional strength, and to provide a clean, finished appearance.)

The pattern 1014 depicted in FIG. 1 includes seven darts 1020, 1022, 1024, 1026, 1028, 1030 and 1032 identified by reference numerals, and includes seven additional darts that are not so identified. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the pattern 1014 is approximately symmetric, meaning that discussion of the darts 1020, 1022, 1024, 1026, 1028, 1030 and 1032 identified by reference numerals serves to illuminate the purposes and manners of dealing with the darts not identified with reference numerals.

The purpose of the various darts 1020, 1022, 1024, 1026, 1028, 1030 and 1032 is to permit the balaclava to conform to the shape of a wearer's head, neck, trapezius, chest and back. For example, darts 1020 and 1022 cooperate to accommodate the curvature of the left side of the top or crown of the wearer's head. Obviously, the unlabeled symmetrical counterpart darts accommodate the curvature of the right side of the top or crown of the wear's head. Given the ready apparentness of such observation, similar observations are not stated herein, for the sake of brevity. Dart 1020 is nested inside of dart 1022. Therefore dart 1020 is closed prior to closure of dart 1022. Dart 1020 is closed by stitching together its opposed edges, with the result being that, upon having completed such closure, dart 1022 contains two opposed, continuous edges that may, in turn, be stitched to one another. The result of having closed darts 1020 and 1022 can be seen in FIG. 1 as seams 1034 and 1036 residing in the finished product—seam 1034 is the result of having closed dart 1020, while seam 1036 is the result of having closed dart 1022.

Dart 1024 accommodates the curvature that extends from the left, lower surface of the jaw or mandible to the upper portion of the neck, so that the balaclava fits snugly to the left, lower portion of the mandible to the upper portion of the neck (i.e., from the chin, to the left, lower surface of the wearer's jaw, to the upper neck). The result of having closed dart 1024 is the creation of seam 1038.

Dart 1026 accommodates the curvature that extends from the front left of the neck to the collarbone or clavicle, so that the balaclava fits snugly to the left, rear portion of the mandible or condylar process to the collarbone or clavicle. The result of having closed dart 1026 is the creation of seam 1040.

Dart 1028 accommodates the curvature that extends from the left side of the head or skull to the left trapezius, so that the balaclava fits snugly to the portion head, the left portion of the neck, and to the left trapezius, toward the left shoulder. The result of having closed dart 1028 is the creation of seam 1042.

Darts 1030 and 1032 cooperate to accommodate the curvature of the left, rear of the skull, itself, and the curvature extending from the left, rear of the skull to the left rear of the neck, and to the left, upper back, so that the balaclava fits snugly to the left, rear of the skull, to the left rear of the neck, and to the left, upper back. Dart 1030 is to be closed prior to closure of dart 1032, given that it is nested within dart 1032. The result of having closed dart 1030 is the creation of seam 1044, and the result of having closed dart 1032 is the creation of seam 1046.

In addition to closing the various darts 1020, 1022, 1024, 1026, 1028, 1030 and 1032, the edge of the left chest portion 1048 of the balaclava may be stitched to the edge of the right portion 1050 of the balaclava to close the product at the chest, producing a seam 1052 running down the front middle of the balaclava.

According to some embodiments, the foam may exhibit non-Newtonian characteristics, such as hardening in response to impact. For example, according to some embodiments, the foam may be an open-cell urethane foam. For example, according to some embodiments, the foam may be PORON XRD® (commercially available from Rogers Corporation, USA), or may be D3O® (commercially available from D3O Lab, UK), or similar materials. Such foams may be available in sheets, which may be cut to conform to the inner boundary line 1016 of the pattern 1014. The thickness of the sheet of foam may be selected to balance protection and freedom of motion on the part of the wearer of the balaclava. For example, according to some embodiments, the foam sheet may be between approximately 1 and 7 mm in thickness (example: 3 mm, or 5 mm in thickness), although this need not be the case—for example, in certain contexts a thicker layer may be desirable (example: in endeavors, such as athletic events, wherein the participants desire to increase the thickness of the balaclava, so as to eliminate the necessity of a helmet, i.e., the balaclava is desired to be worn as a proxy for a helmet, as opposed to being worn in combination therewith).

Foams of the sort just described, when impacted, harden in the region proximal to the impact. The hardening arises because such foams are, at a microscopic level, formed of very small cells that typically contain air (e.g., the diameter of such cells falls in the range of 10's or 100's of micrometers; example: 24-187 μm, in the case of D3O, or 15-122 μm in the case of PORON XRD). Upon impact, these cells compress, and by virtue of such compression, the air within the cells is expelled. The flow of air exiting such cells is a courier of energy, meaning the air flow dissipates the energy of the impact. Moreover, as the cells of these foams compress, the cells become smaller, meaning that cell density increases, which causes the foam to harden in such regions. Thus, in response to an impact, the foam hardens, and dissipates much of the energy in the course of hardening, and—once hardened—serves to distribute the impact force over the area of the hardened region, thereby reducing the pressure attributable to the impact.

It is believed that, in response to an impact to the head, the balaclava will dissipate much of the energy, and spread out the force of such impact over a broad area, thereby protecting the wearer from risk of sustaining a concussion. Further, tensile forces that are applied rapidly also cause the foam to harden. Thus, were it the case that a wearer of such a balaclava were to suffer a collision that would cause his or her head to “snap” in a given direction (example: forward), then the foam on the opposite side of the neck (example: rear of the neck) would experience rapid application of tensile forces (resulting from the head beginning to snap forward), causing the foam to harden, thereby resisting such snapping motion. According to some embodiments, to promote propagation of transient elastic waves resulting from impact throughout the balaclava—thereby promoting the above-described impact hardening mechanism to occur throughout as much foam material as possible in response to an impact—the balaclava may be made from a single, continuous piece of foam. This is depicted in FIG. 1, for example. Nevertheless, it is not necessary that the balaclava be made from a single, continuous piece of foam.

In laboratory testing, when comparing the response to impact of (i) a dummy outfitted only a football helmet with (ii) a dummy outfitted with both a balaclava and a football helmet, peak linear accelerations of the head were reduced by as much as approximately 24%, peak radial accelerations of the head were reduced by as much as approximately 16%, and modeled risk of concussion was reduced by as much as approximately 62% (relative risk reduction)—depending on the particular collision scenario under examination. Similarly impressive results were seen in laboratory tests with hockey helmets and skiing helmets.

According to some embodiments, the fabric used to enclose the foam may be selected for its capacity to direct moisture away from the skin, and to dry quickly, in order to promote comfort for the wearer. The fabric may also be selected to exhibit a two-way stretch, as discussed in further detail, below. Neither of these qualities are essential for the fabric. The fabric may also be selected for its capacity to resist tearing, as discussed previously. For example, according to some embodiments, the particular fabric commercially available under the name SP-2800 from Sportek International Inc. may be selected as the fabric to be used to enclose the foam.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary mid-length embodiment of the balaclava 2000, that extends approximately just beyond the clavicle or collarbone of its wearer, along with a corresponding pattern 2002 for its construction. Also depicted in FIG. 2 is an exemplary neck-length balaclava 2004, along with a corresponding pattern 2006 for its construction. The structure of such balaclavas 2000 and 2004, manner of their production, and believed protective mechanism is apparent in view of the preceding discussion, and, for the sake of brevity, such discussion is not repeated here.

FIG. 3 depicts a different embodiment of the balaclavas of FIGS. 1 and 2. The neck and chest portions of the balaclava of FIG. 3 are not closed via stitching. In other words, referring back to FIG. 1, the neck and chest portions of the balaclava of FIG. 3 are not closed by stitching edge 1048 to edge 1050. Instead, one edge, such as edge 1050 has a strip of hook-and-loop fasteners (example: VELCRO®) stitched thereto, so that the strip is appended to edge 1050. This means that, if the aforementioned strip were to have a width of x inches, then, when such a balaclava is worn by the user, edge 1050 would extend past the wearer's midline of his or her neck and chest by a length of approximately x inches. The other edge, such as edge 1048, has a counterpart strip of hook-and-loop fasteners stitched along the interior surface of the balaclava, along the length of edge 1048. According to some embodiments such counterpart strip has a width of y inches, and y may be less than x, such as approximately one-half of x. For example, according to some embodiments, x may be equal to approximately 2 inches, while y is equal to approximately 1 inch. Thus, a wearer may don such a balaclava by pulling the balaclava over his or her head, and then grasp edge 1048, and pull that edge 1048 firmly over the counterpart larger strip, in order to snugly fit the balaclava to his or her neck and chest. This embodiment accommodates variations in neck and chest sizes from user-to-user. This is important, because although such a balaclava may be produced in several sizes (example: a small size full-length balaclava, a medium size full-length balaclava, a large size full-length balaclava, an extra-large a small size full-length balaclava, a small size mid-length balaclava, a medium size mid-length balaclava, and so on), a wearer will have to select a size based on the size of his or her head (example: “my head fits a large, so I'll have to buy a large size balaclava in whatever length I prefer”), but the wearer's neck or chest may be out of proportion to his or her head. This embodiment allows for such variation from wearer-to-wearer, while ensuring that each such user has the ability to snugly fit the balaclava to his or her neck and chest. In the embodiments where the appended strip is of a greater width than the other strip (example: 2 inches versus 1 inch), the wearer may pull the 1-inch-wide strip over the counterpart 2-inch-wide strip, having a 2-inch range of options pertaining to how far across his chest he or she may opt to pull the 1-inch strip—giving rise to the ability of such an embodiment to accommodate users with the same size head, but different size necks or chests. The hook-and-loop strip is indicated by reference numeral 3000 in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 depicts this hook-and-loop closure feature on a full-length balaclava, but this is for the sake of brevity. It is to be understood that this feature may be used in connection with both a mid-length balaclava and a neck-length balaclava.

According to some embodiments, instead of inclusion of a hook-and-loop fastener assembly to close the chest region of the balaclava, the balaclava may be closed by a zipper assembly. For example, a length of zipper tape to which zipper teeth, a zipper starter box, a zipper slider, a zipper pull, and a top stop are directly or indirectly attached, may be stitched or otherwise attached along the length of one chest edge of the balaclava. A corresponding plurality of lengths of zipper tape, each of which are directly or indirectly attached to an insertion pin, zipper teeth and a top stop may be stitched or otherwise attached along the length of the other end of the chest edge of the balaclava, which each successive lengths of zipper tape being located at a successively more lateral position along the chest. Thus, a wearer of such a balaclava would don it by pulling it over his or her head, grabbing the end of the zipper with the starter box and zipper slider, and pulling it across his or her chest to the most laterally located corresponding length of zipper tape with an insertion pin that he or she can manage to reach, given the size of his or her body features, and then zip the zipper assembly closed, thereby fastening the balaclava snugly to his or her chest and neck.

According to another embodiment the chest region may be closed by buckle assemblies. For example, a plurality of male buckles, each of which are adjustably coupled to a strap, may be attached to the chest region of the balaclava by stitching or otherwise attaching each of the aforementioned straps at approximately regular vertical intervals along the length of the chest edge of the balaclava. A corresponding plurality of female buckles, each of which are non-adjustably coupled to a strap, may be attached to the chest region of the balaclava by stitching or otherwise attaching each of the aforementioned straps at vertical positions along the length of the chest edge of the balaclava, so that the vertical positions of these straps are approximately the same at those attached to their male counterparts (one strap coupled to a female buckle for one strap coupled to a male buckle). Thus, a wearer of such a balaclava would don it by pulling it over his or her head, grabbing each of the male buckles and inserting each such buckle into its corresponding female buckle, and then pull each strap to which each male buckle is coupled to tighten the balaclava so that if fits snugly to his or her chest and neck.

FIG. 4A depicts an embodiment of a balaclava that includes a pair of mesh regions 4000 and 4002 on its front chest region, and a pair of mesh regions 4004 and 4006 on its rear region, near the rear area of each trapezius. The mesh regions 4000, 4002, 4004 and 4006 allow the balaclava to fit snugly to its wearer despite variations, from wearer to wearer, in chest, shoulder, and back shapes and sizes. The mesh material is chosen to be light weight, and exhibit 4-way stretch, meaning it can stretch along each of a pair of orthogonal axes, so that the mesh can stretch in any direction to accommodate the contours of a larger wearer's chest, shoulders and back. The mesh material permits freedom of motion on the part of its wearer, and, in the event of accommodating a wearer with relatively smaller features, can fold over itself without compromising the protective function of the balaclava (as the foam portion remains snug to the wearer, and does not, itself, exhibit folding), and without discomfort to the wearer arising from such folding. According to some embodiments, the aforementioned mesh may be PNET-044, commercially available from Spandex House, Inc.

FIG. 4B depicts an exemplary embodiment of a pattern by which the balaclava of FIG. 4A may be made. The pattern includes in boundary lines and outer boundary lines, as was the case in FIG. 1, and their respective purposes are the same. For the sake of brevity, a discussion of them is not reiterated here. As was the case in FIG. 1, where the inner boundary line and outer boundary line are coincident, such edges may be closed with binding.

The pattern includes darts 4008, 4010, 4012, 4014, 4016 and 4018. Dart 4008 accommodates the curvature of the left side of the crown or top of the wearer's head, the closure of which results in seam 4009. Dart 4010 accommodates the curvature around the lefthand portion of the wearer's chin, the closure of which results in seam 4011. Dart 4012 accommodates both the curvature of the lefthand side of the wearer's head and the curvature of the lefthand side of the wearer's neck and trapezius, the closure of which results in seam 4013. Dart 4018 accommodates the curvature around the lefthand portion of the rear of the wearer's head, the lefthand portion of the rear of the wearer's neck, and the lefthand portion off the wearer's back, the closure of which results in seam 4017.

To make the balaclava of FIG. 4A and 4B, two sheets of fabric are cut to approximately conform to the pattern formed by the outer boundary line of the pattern, and a sheet of foam is cut to approximately conform to the pattern formed by the inner boundary line of the pattern. The sheet of foam is sandwiched between the two fabric layers. Next, the two fabric layers are stitched to one another, except along the edges where the inner and outer boundaries are coincident. Darts 4008, 4010, 4012 and 4018 are stitched closed. Then, dart 4016 is partially stitched closed—it is stitched closed from its vertex 4022 to the point identified by point 4020.

Dart 4014 is closed by stitching the mesh insert 4024 into such dart. (As shown in FIG. 4B, it does not appear that insert 4024 will fit into dart 4014. Dart 4014 will stretch open as a result of closing dart 4012, and the result is that dart 4014 will become approximately congruous with mesh insert 4024, so that it may be stitched therein, thereby closing the dart, as shown by mesh insert 4002 in FIG. 4A.)

Mesh insert 4026 is inserted into partially-closed dart 4016. (As shown in FIG. 4B, it does not appear that insert 4026 will fit into dart 4016. By virtue of partially closing dart 4016, and by further virtue of closing dart 4012, dart 4016 becomes approximately congruous with mesh insert 4026, so that it may be stitched therein, thereby closing the dart, as shown by mesh insert 4004 in FIG. 4A.)

Thereafter, the hook-and-loop strips are stitched along the chest region, as discussed previously, and the edges of fabric not previously stitched to one another are joined via binding. The binding 4028 along such edges is depicted in FIG. 4A.

(The pattern is symmetric, and the previous discussion addresses only the lefthand side of the pattern, and resulting fabric pieces, mesh inserts, and foam piece. It is readily apparent that such discussion pertains to the righthand side of the pattern, and resulting fabric pieces, mesh pieces and foam piece, and for the sake of brevity, such discussion is not reiterated.)

Previously, it was stated that, according to some embodiments, the fabric may exhibit a two-way stretch, meaning that—with respect to a pair of orthogonal axes—it stretches along one such axis, but does not stretch along the other such axis. For some fabrics, the particular axis along which the fabric does not stretch may be the same as the grain line. For others, the particular axis along which the fabric does not stretch may be orthogonal to the grain line. Herein, the document is written as though the grain line indicates the axis along which two-way stretch fabrics do not stretch. Those of skill in the art will understand that, in the event that a balaclava employs fabric wherein the grain line indicates the axis along which such two-way stretch fabric stretches, then the teachings herein referring to grain line are to be rotated by ninety degrees.

FIG. 5A depicts an exemplary direction of the grain line, as a dashed line on the pattern. The grain line runs in the same direction throughout the entire sheet of fabric, as it is a quality of the fabric, itself. A grain line running in the direction depicted in the pattern of

FIG. 5A is advantageous, because the fabric does not stretch in the direction the head would move, were it to “snap” forward or backward. Thus, the grain line, when oriented as depicted in the pattern of FIG. 5A, permits the fabric to cooperate with the foam in resisting occurrence of events wherein the head may “snap” forwards or backwards.

As the continuous sheets of fabric (and foam) are formed into a balaclava by closing the various darts and perform other steps, as described elsewhere herein, the direction of the grain line in various regions of the balaclava is altered relative the anatomy of the wearer. This can be seen by the other dashed lines that indicate the grain line directions in other such regions. As can be seen, such other dashed lines do not run parallel to the dashed line shown in the pattern. Of note, these dashed lines reveal that—once pulled together into a balaclava—the resulting grain lines throughout the product are not oriented so as to resist the wearer's head from “snapping” laterally, such as toward the wearer's left shoulder or toward the wearer's right shoulder.

(Although the grain line depicted in FIG. 5A was depicted in the context of a mid-length balaclava, the discussion relating to FIG. 5A and 5B pertains to balaclavas of any length and any size.)

FIG. 5B depicts a balaclava that includes a pair of stabilizer ribbons 5000 and 5002. The stabilizer ribbons 5000 and 5002 are formed of a zero-way stretch material, meaning that they do not stretch in any direction. The ribbons 5000 and 5002 effectively add a grain line that runs along the length of each such ribbon 5000 and 5002. In other words, the ribbon 5000 running along the righthand side of the wearer's head, down the righthand side of the wearer's neck, and along the trapezius on the right side of the wearer's body, toward the wearer's right shoulder, does not stretch at all, and therefore resists a tendency of the wearer's head to “snap” toward his lefthand side of his or her body—which would require stretching of the fabric on the right side of the wearer's neck; the fabric on the right side of the wearer's neck will no longer stretch, given that it is attached to the stabilizer ribbon 5000, which, itself, does not stretch. Similarly, the ribbon 5002 running along the lefthand side of the wearer's head, down the lefthand side of the wearer's neck, and along the trapezius on the left side of the wearer's body, toward the wearer's left shoulder, does not stretch at all, and therefore resists a tendency of the wearer's head to “snap” toward his righthand side of his or her body-which would require stretching of the fabric on the left side of the wearer's neck; the fabric on the left side of the wearer's neck will no longer stretch, given that it is attached to the stabilizer ribbon 5002, which, itself, does not stretch.

Each such stabilizer ribbon 5000 and 5002 may be stitched on to the balaclava after having formed the balaclava, as described herein elsewhere. Although the balaclava of FIGS. 5A and 5B is depicted as including the aforementioned mesh regions and hook-and-loop strips, stabilizer ribbons 5000 and 5002 may be included as a feature of a balaclava that includes no such additional features or any other additional features disclosed herein, and may be included on balaclavas of any length or any size.

According to some embodiments, the stabilizer ribbons 5000 and 5002 may be made of zero-way stretch polyester ribbon, for example, of the sort typically used in automotive seat belts.

As stated previously, it is desirable that the balaclava fit snugly and smoothly to its wearer. As such, it is desirable to prevent stretching of the balaclava, such as at seam allowances associated at the various seams thereof. Such stretching may occur, for example, when a wearer attempts to don a helmet (example: American football helmet or hockey helmet, etc.) atop the balaclava. As the wearer of the balaclava attempts to pull the helmet down on to his or her head, there is substantial friction between the helmet and the balaclava (because a helmet also needs to fit snugly to a wearer's head), and as the helmet is urged downwardly into place atop the wearer's head, the balaclava might ordinarily stretch downwardly, producing folding and rolls of fabric and foam along the wearer's back and rear neck area, for example. To suppress such stretching, a fusible may be introduced into the balaclava.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the fusible 6000. According to some embodiments, the fusible is a non-woven, light-weight fusible interliner that exhibits zero-way stretch, such as the 7636 fusible, commercially available from Chargeurs PCC. The interliner may have an adhesive coating applied to one of its surfaces. After having cut the fabric and foam according to the pattern, and prior to formation of the balaclava (by closing its various darts and performing the other steps described elsewhere herein), the fusible 6000 may be adhered to the particular surface of the fabric that interfaces with the foam, in the region identified by reference numeral 6002. According to some embodiments, this may be done by applying heat (such as via an iron) to the fusible-fabric pair, causing the fusible 6000 to adhere or bond to the fabric in region 6002. According to some embodiments, the fusible 6000 is adhered to region 6002 of the inner surface (i.e., the surface that interfaces with the foam, as opposed to interfacing with the wearer's head) of the outer fabric piece (i.e., the particular piece of fabric that would interface with a helmet), and not to the other piece of fabric. According to some embodiments, the fusible 6000 is adhered to region 6002 of the inner surface of both pieces of fabric.

Region 6004 depicts the location of the fusible, after the balaclava has been formed into product.

Because the fusible exhibits zero-way stretch, it prevents stretch from occurring at the seam allowances within the region 6002 and 6004. According to some embodiments, this may be significant, because although the grainline of the fabric may prevent the fabric along the rear of the head, neck and back from stretching downwardly (and thereby creating rolls along the neck and back), and although a stabilizer ribbon may prevent such downwardly stretching along the sides of the wearer's head and neck, without the fusible 6000, the balaclava would still be free to stretch at the seam allowances. Additionally, because of the alteration of the direction of the grainline as a result of dart closure (see FIG. 5A, for example), certain regions of the crown-area of the balaclava would be free to stretch and fold during donning of a helmet, if not for inclusion of such a fusible.

A fusible may be included in other regions of the balaclava, i.e., in regions other than the crown of the head, in order to promote stability and strength in other such regions, for example.

The fusible 6000 may be included in a balaclava of any length, and of any size. The fusible 6000 may be included in a balaclava that includes any of the other features disclosed herein, or that includes no other such features.

According to some embodiments, the balaclava may include one or more pockets into which the wearer may insert gel packs. The gel packs may be heated or refrigerated in order to heat or cool the wearer, as desired. The access points or openings leading 7000 and 7002 to such pockets are depicted in FIG. 7B. Thus, as can be seen from FIG. 7B, according to some embodiments, the balaclava may retain—in pockets—gel packs that may be held against the wear's rear neck and back regions.

FIG. 7A depicts a sheet of fabric 7004 that has been cut to conform to the pattern depicted in FIG. 4B. The particular sheet of fabric 7004 depicted in FIG. 7A is the sheet that interfaces with the wearer, i.e., the inner sheet of fabric 7004.

FIG. 7A also depicts a sheet of mesh 7006 (e.g., the same mesh used in connection with the mesh inserts depicted in FIGS. 4A and 4B). The mesh is chosen to be stretchable (example: four-way stretch), strong, and light weight. The mesh sheet 7006 is shaped so that its boundary is approximately coincident with region 7008 of the fabric 7004. During construction, the mesh sheet is placed atop the inner sheet of fabric 7004, and stitched thereto, with stitching be applied approximately along the paths indicated by the dotted line 7010. As can be seen from FIG. 7A, the stitching path 7010 includes a pair of gaps 7012 and 7014. As a result, the inner sheet of fabric 7004 and mesh 7006, once stitched according to the path 7010, define a pair of pockets 7016 and 7018—one pocket 7016 in the region of the wearer's rear neck, and the other pocket 7018 in the region of the wearer's back. The stitching gaps 7012 and 7014 define the access points 7000 and 7002 to the pockets 7016 and 7018, respectively. Thus, at this stage of construction, there is the inner sheet of fabric 7004 has been attached to mesh 7006, leaving a pair of stitching gaps 7012 and 7014:

Inner sheet-mesh.

Thereafter, a layer of foam that has been cut to approximately conform to the pattern of FIG. 4B is placed upon the inner sheet 7004, and an outer layer of fabric that has been cut to approximately conform to the pattern of FIG. 4B is placed thereupon:

Inner sheet-mesh-foam-outer sheet.

In the context wherein the balaclava is being worn by a wearer:

Wearer-inner sheet-mesh-foam-outer sheet-helmet/environment.

Next, the inner sheet of fabric 7004 and outer sheet of fabric are stitched to one another, in order to enclose the foam (as has been discussed previously). This is performed as described previously, with one exception. During this operation, the outer sheet of fabric is not stitched to the inner sheet of fabric 7004 along the edges where the stitching gaps 7012 and 7014 are located. Instead, in those regions, the outer sheet of fabric is stitched to the mesh 7006, so as not close the access points 7000 and 7002 to the pockets 7016 and 7018.

With the foam enclosed, the balaclava may be formed by closing the various darts and performing the other steps described previously, with the following exceptions. Where a dart is to be closed by sewing one edge thereof to the opposite edge thereof, in the regions corresponding to the stitching gaps 7012 and 7014, the opposite edge of the dart is to be stitched only to the inner sheet of fabric 7004 in those regions 7012 and 7014, so as not to close the access points 7000 and 7002 to the pockets 7016 and 7018. Additionally, where a dart is to be closed by introduction of a mesh insert therein (as discussed above), the mesh insert is to be stitched to the seam created by joining the inner sheet of fabric 7004 to the outer sheet of fabric (as described previously), except that in the regions corresponding to the stitching gaps 7012 and 7014, the mesh insert is to be stitched only to the inner sheet of fabric 7004, so as not to close the access points 7000 and 7002 to the pockets 7016 and 7018.

The pockets 7016 and 7018 of FIGS. 7A and 7B may be included in any length balaclava, and in any size. (If the pocket feature is included in neck-length embodiments of the balaclava, it may be the case that only the upper pocket 7016 is included in such embodiments.). Moreover, the pockets 7016 and 7018 of FIGS. 7A and 7B may be included in balaclavas having any other feature or features disclosed herein, or no other such feature or features.

According to some embodiments, pocket 7016 is approximately 3 inches wide and 3 inches tall, and pocket 7018 is approximately 6 inches wide and 3 inches tall, although other sizes are contemplated, possible, and within the scope of the invention.

In the context of some embodiments, during periods where the wearer may be in motion, such as during athletic competition, wherein the wearer may be running, jumping and the like, the balaclava may exhibit motion relative to the wearer's body. State another way, it may “shift around” on the wearer's body or even lose contact with the wearer's body in certain regions. This is inimical to the goal of having the balaclava remain in snug, smooth contact with the wearer, in order to provide proper protection to the wearer.

According to some embodiments, the balaclava may include a system of straps that fasten the balaclava to the wearer, in order to address the aforementioned issue of motion of the balaclava during certain activities on the part of the wearer. For example, the balaclava may include a strap 8000, such as the one depicted in FIG. 8B. The strap 8000 includes a principal member 8002, and a pair of oblique members 8004 and 8006. The oblique members are joined to the principal member 8002, such as via stitching 8008 and 8010. At the extremities of each of the members are regions 8012, 8014, 8016, and 8018 containing a hook-and-loop connector, such as VELCRO. According to some embodiments, the bodies of the members 8002, 8004, and 8006, are elastic. According to other embodiments, the members 8002, 8004, and 8006 are adjustable in length via the use of tri-glides and buckles (male and female connectors, for example), or the like. Although FIG. 8B depicts a single such strap 8000, balaclavas that accord to such embodiments include two such straps—one for use on the righthand side of the wearer, and the other for use on the lefthand side of the wearer. Again, given the symmetry of the balaclava and the human body, only one such strap 8000 is depicted and discussed.

Turning to FIG. 8A, it can be seen that the balaclava therein includes counterpart hook-and-loop patches 8020, 8022, and 8024. (The balaclava of FIG. 8A contains other hook-and-loop patches on its righthand side, given the symmetry of the balaclava, their discussion is omitted for the sake of brevity). The counterpart patches 8020, 8022 and 8024 may be stitched on to the balaclava, after having formed it, as described elsewhere herein. In the context of embodiments of the balaclava including stabilizer strips, the counterpart patches 8020, 8022 and 8024 should be stitched on to the balaclava after having attached the stabilizer strips, so that the full length of the hook-and-loop patch is accessible. This is depicted in FIG. 8A.

In use, the wearer would first attach hook-and-loop region 8014 of the strap 8000 to counterpart patch 8024 at approximately the location indicated by reference numeral 8026, and would also attach hook-and-loop region 8016 of the strap 8000 to counterpart patch 8022 at approximately the location indicated by reference numeral 8028. Thereafter, the wearer would don the balaclava, as described previously, and would grab the strap 8000, extend it under his or her left armpit, and: (i) stretch it to attach hook-and-loop region 8012 of the strap 8000 to counterpart patch 8020 at approximately the location indicated by reference numeral 8030; and (ii) stretch it to attach hook-and-loop region 8018 of the strap 8000 to counterpart patch 8022 at approximately the location indicated by reference numeral 8032. Thus, by virtue of the elastic forces of the strap 8000, members 8004 and 8006 serve to pull the balaclava tight to the wearer's trapezius, and member 8002 serves to pull the balaclava tight to the wearer's chest and back. As can be seen from FIG. 8A, the counterpart patches 8020, 8022, and 8024 are sized and shaped so that the hook-and-loop connector regions 8012, 8014, 8016, and 8018 of the strap 8000 may attach along a range of locations, so that the members 8002, 8004 and 8006 can be made to be taut during wear, so that the elastic forces serve their aforementioned respective purposes.

According to some embodiments, the strap 8000 may be adjustable, such as via a strap adjuster or slide adjuster. According to such embodiments, the strap 8000, itself, need not be elastic, although the strap 8000 can be both elastic and adjustable.

The strap system of FIGS. 8A and 8B may be included in full-length and mid-length balaclavas, of any size. Moreover, the strap system of FIGS. 8A and 8B may be included in balaclavas having any other feature or features disclosed herein, or no other such feature or features.

According to some embodiments, the balaclava may include a KEVLAR®-blend fabric in certain regions to protect the wearer from lacerations or wounds from slashes and from punctures or wounds related to stabbing—such as may occur in certain sports, such as hockey or in certain fields, such as military combat arms occupations. According to some embodiments, the particular fabric exhibits puncture-resistance, and also exhibits a capacity to deflect slashes from a blade, such as from blade of a hockey skate or a knife. According to some embodiments, such fabric may be a blend of approximately 40% ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, approximately 33% KEVLAR, approximately 18% stainless, and approximately 9% glass—such as the fabric marketed under the trade name PKS-7410.

FIG. 9 depicts a sheet of fabric 9000 that has been cut to conform to the pattern of FIG. 4B. Fabric 9000 is the outer sheet of fabric of the balaclava, i.e., the particular sheet of fabric that interfaces with the helmet or the environment. The inner surface of the outer sheet of fabric is depicted in FIG. 9—i.e., the surface of the sheet that interfaces with the foam. Also depicted in FIG. 9 is a sheet of KEVLAR-blend fabric 9008 (such as the one referred to above) that has been cut to approximately conform to region 9002 of the sheet of fabric 9000, and a sheet of KEVLAR-blend fabric 9010 that has been cut to approximately conform to region 9004. (The lefthand side of the balaclava is discussed here. The product is symmetric, and for the sake of brevity, discussion of the righthand side is omitted.)

During construction, KEVLAR-blend fabric 9008 is attached, such as via stitching, to region 9002, i.e., to the inner surface of the outer layer of fabric 9000 of the balaclava. Similarly, KEVLAR-blend fabric 9010 is attached, such as via stitching, to region 9004, i.e., to the inner surface of the outer layer of fabric 9000 of the balaclava. The remainder of the steps for construction of the balaclava are the same as those discussed previously herein, with the exception that: (1) when enclosing the foam between the inner layer of fabric and outer layer of fabric 9000, the stitching that attaches the two layers of fabric also penetrates the KEVLAR-blend fabric 9008 and 9010; and (2) during the process of closing the various darts—such as with mesh—a KEVLAR-blend fabric piece 9012 is used to close dart 9006 in the region near the vertex of the dart 9006, and thereafter the dart 9006 is closed with mesh, as described previously.

The resulting balaclava is depicted in FIG. 9—outwardly, the protective KEVLAR-blend fabric cannot be seen (because it is attached to the inner surface of the outer layer of fabric, and only the outer surface of the outer layer is visible, and because KEVLAR-blend fabric piece 9012 is obscured by the mesh used to close the dart 9006). Shaded regions 9014, 9016, 9018 and 9020 depict the regions protected by the KEVLAR-blend fabric pieces 9008, 9010 and 9012. Although the balaclava of FIG. 9 depicts the protective regions 9014, 9016, 9018 and 9020 covering the front and side of the neck, according to some embodiments, the protective regions 9014, 9016, 9018 and 9020 are extended to include the rear of the neck, the back and/or the chest—with corresponding alterations to the KEVLAR-blend fabric pieces 9008, 9010 and 9012, and additions thereto.

The KEVLAR-blend fabric protective regions 9014, 9016, 9018 and 9020 of FIG. 9 may be included in balaclavas of any length, and of any size. Moreover, the KEVLAR-blend fabric protective regions 9014, 9016, 9018 and 9020 of FIG. 9 may be included in balaclavas having any other feature or features disclosed herein, or no other such feature or features.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a piece of foam 10000 that has been cut according to the pattern of FIG. 4B. As can be seen from FIG. 10, the foam 10000 contains a plurality of perforations 10002, two of which have been identified by a reference numeral. (The perforations 10002 are too numerous to identify each such perforation with a reference numeral without cluttering FIG. 10, so only two such perforations 10002 have been identified.) The perforations 10002 promote the escape of heat, thereby assisting in keeping the wearer of the balaclava cool.

According to some embodiments, a pair of regions 10004 and 10006 exhibit a greater concentration of perforations 10002 than the remainder of the surface of the foam 10000. After having formed the balaclava as described herein elsewhere, these regions 10004 and 10006 are proximal to the wearer's ears. Thus, perforations 10002 in these regions—which are more concentrated—promote the ability to hear on the part of the wearer of the balaclava, which is important in the context of athletic competition and military applications.

The perforated foam 10000 of FIG. 10 may be included in balaclavas of any length, and of any size. Moreover, such foam 10000 may be included in balaclavas having any other feature or features disclosed herein, or no other such feature or features.

The various exemplary embodiments of balaclavas depicted and discussed above have been made of a single, continuous piece of foam. This need not be the case, and the invention is not so limited. For example, FIG. 11A depicts patterns 11000, 11002, 11004, and 11006 by which a balaclava may be made of four separate pieces of foam. As was the case with the other patterns discussed previously, for each pattern 11000, 11002, 11004, and 11006, a piece of foam is to be cut to approximately conform to the inner boundary of such pattern, and a pair of pieces of fabric are to be cut to approximately conform to the outer boundary line of such pattern. Thereafter, the shaped foam resulting from pattern 11000 is to be enclosed by the fabric pieces resulting from such pattern 11000, by sandwiching the foam between the pair of pieces of fabric, and stitching the pair of pieces of fabric to one another around the periphery (as discussed above), so that the foam is enclosed by the fabric. This same operation is performed on the shaped pieces of foam and fabric pairs resulting from patterns 11002, 11004, and 11006, so that four pieces of foam are enclosed in fabric, appearing generally in the shapes of the patterns 11000, 11002, 11004, and 11006.

In the wake of having formed the aforementioned four fabric-enclosed foam units (i.e., fabric-foam-fabric), the particular fabric-enclosed foam unit corresponding to pattern 11000 is located (the “lefthand side piece”), and the particular fabric-enclosed foam unit corresponding to pattern 11002 is located (the “top-of-head-and-rear-neck-and-back piece”). The edge of the lefthand side piece extending between the corners corresponding to corners 11008 and 11012 is stitched to the edge of the top-of-head-and-rear-neck-and-back piece extending between the corners corresponding to corners 11010 and 11014. Further, the particular fabric-enclosed foam unit corresponding to pattern 11004 is located (the “righthand side piece”), and the edge of the righthand side piece extending between the corners corresponding to corners 11016 and 11020 is stitched to the edge of the top-of-head-and-rear-neck-and-back piece extending between the corners corresponding to corners 11018 and 11022. Still further, the particular fabric-enclosed foam unit corresponding to pattern 11006 is located (the “frontal piece”), and the edge of the frontal piece extending between the corners corresponding to corners 11024 and 11028 is stitched to the edge of the lefthand piece extending between the corners corresponding to corners 11026 and 11030, while the edge of the frontal piece extending between the corners corresponding to corners 11032 and 11036 is stitched to the edge of the righthand piece extending between the corners corresponding to corners 11034 and 11038, thereby completing a full-length embodiment of a balaclava made of four pieces of foam.

According to some embodiments, the fabric of the balaclava made from the patterns 11000, 11002, 11004, and 11006 of FIG. 11A exhibits a two-way stretch quality, as described above, and the axis along with the fabric does not stretch is depicted by the dashed arrows in each pattern. Notably, these axes are not rearranged during the production of the balaclava, meaning that a balaclava made pursuant to the principles revealed in the discussion pertaining to FIG. 11A, would not require a stabilizer strip in order to resist fabric stretch actions resulting from head “snap.”

FIG. 11B depicts patterns by which a mid-length balaclava may be made from plural pieces of foam, and FIG. 11C depicts patterns by which a neck-length balaclava may be made from plural pieces of foam. The manners of making such balaclavas are parallel to that discussed with reference to FIG. 11A, and for the sake of brevity, parallel discussions are omitted here.

FIG. 11D depicts the full-length balaclava, mid-length balaclava and neck-length balaclavas resulting from construction of balaclava pursuant to the patterns of FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C.

Multi-piece balaclavas, such as the ones discussed with reference to FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C and 11D may be made in any length and any size, and may include any other feature or features disclosed herein, or no other such feature or features.

Herein, where materials are described as being joined by stitching, those of skill in the art will understood that such materials may be joined by other means, such as, but not limited to, by bonding or gluing such materials together.

According to some embodiments, in the context of the various embodiments herein, where seams are closed to enclose the foam with fabric, a 514 Overedge or 402 SN Chainstitch may be used; where the edges of darts are closed to one another, a 401 SN Chainstitch or 301 Lockstitch may be used; where a mesh insert is used to close a dart, a ¾″ hem with a ¼″ 406 DN Bottom Coverstitch may be used; where a stabilizer strip is attached to the balaclava, a Topstitch in the region next to a dart with a 301 SN Lockstitch may be used; where a hook-and-loop fastener strip is attached to the balaclava, a 301 Lockstitch may be used; where KEVLAR is attached to balaclava, a 301 Lockstitch may be used; where binding is used to close an edge, such binding may be glued on or stitched. The use of the aforementioned particular stitches is not necessary, and other stitches are contemplated, possible, and within the scope of the invention.

According to some embodiments, all of the fabric pieces of the various embodiments herein, are made of KEVLAR. According to some embodiments, all of the fabric pieces of the various embodiments herein, are made of a flame-retardant material, such as Nomex, which may be beneficial in contexts wherein the wearer could potentially be exposed to flames (example: in the context wherein the wearer is a participant in automotive sports). According to some embodiments, all of the fabric pieces of the various embodiments herein, are made of a water-resistant material, which may be beneficial in protecting the foam in contexts wherein the user could potentially be exposed to water.

According to some embodiments, all or some of the foam pieces of the various embodiments herein, are coated with a thin layer of a water-resistant treatment, such as SCOTCHGARD® OUTDOOR PROTECTOR (Commercially available from Tenaquip, CA), which may be beneficial in protecting the foam in contexts wherein the user could potentially be exposed to water.

According to some embodiments, all or some of the foam pieces of the various embodiments herein, are coated with a thin layer of a flame-retardant treatment, such as FLAMECHECK M-111 (Commercially available from RDR Technologies, USA), which may be beneficial in protecting the foam in contexts wherein the user could potentially be exposed to flames. This could also serve to protect the user from additional injury by preventing foam melting and deformation.

FIG. 12 depicts a block diagram of an electronic system 12000 that, according to some embodiments, may be integrated into the various embodiments of the balaclava disclosed herein. The system 12000 includes a microcontroller 12002, which, in turn, may include a processing unit and onboard memory (volatile and non-volatile memory, such as RAM and ROM or PROM or flash memory or the like). The microcontroller 12002 is operably coupled to different varieties of sensors that are integrated throughout the various surfaces of the balaclava, receiving data from such sensors either continuously, or in response to impact, or in response to a command. The present discussion described the data flow from such sensors as being continuous and occurring at approximately regular intervals (a data measurement approximately once every millisecond, for example), although other schedules and schemes of data acquisition are contemplated, possible, and within the scope of the invention.

According to some embodiments, one or more 3-D accelerometer sensors 12004 may be coupled to the microcontroller 12002—directly or indirectly, such as via a port expander. The accelerometers 12004 provide acceleration data along each of three orthogonal axes. Each accelerometer 12004 may be housed at various locations along the head portion of the balaclava, in order to measure acceleration of the head. For example, the portions of the balaclava covering the wearer's head may be constituted of two layers of foam, instead of one, and the accelerometers 12004 may be housed in the region between the two layers, so as to protect the accelerometers, themselves, and to prevent the user from feeling the accelerometers while wearing the balaclava:

outer fabric-[optional fusible]-foam-accelerometers-foam-inner fabric.

Thus, during operation, the accelerometers 12004 provide the microcontroller 12002 with acceleration data at approximately regular intervals, with such data pertaining to the acceleration of the head along each of three orthogonal axes, at various points of the head where the accelerometers are located, such as the front of the head, the crown of the head, the lefthand side and righthand side of the head, and the rear of the head, for example, in order to provide information concerning the linear acceleration of the head (on a measurement-by-measurement basis) at the location of each accelerometer 12004. Configurations with any number of accelerometers 12004 are possible, including, without limitation configurations including six or nine accelerometers.

According to some embodiments, one or more 3-D gyroscopes (embodied as integrated circuits) 12006 may be coupled to the microcontroller 12002—directly or indirectly, such as via a port expander. Each gyroscope 12006 provides angular acceleration data along three orthogonal axes. The gyroscope sensors 12006 may be located at various points around the head (example: front, rear, lefthand side, righthand side), and may provide data on a measurement-by-measurement basis (example: approximately once per millisecond), in order to provide angular acceleration data at each such point of the head. The gyroscopes 12006 may be integrated into the balaclava as described with reference to the accelerometers, for example.

According to some embodiments, a non-contact infrared thermometer sensor 12008 (embodied as an integrated circuit) may be coupled to the microcontroller 12002—directly or indirectly, such as via a port expander. The non-contact thermometer sensor 12008 may be housed along the forehead or temple area, such as in a recess of a foam liner that extends along the periphery of the orifice of the balaclava intended for the wearer's face. Thus, the body temperature of the wearer may be measured on a measurement-by-measurement basis (example: once per millisecond), without contact between the thermometer sensor 12008 and the wearer, and without reliance upon thermal conduction for obtaining the body temperature measurement (thermal conductance, when relied upon by a sensor external to the wearer's body, such as by a sensor in contact with the wearer's head, may also be in thermal contact with the environment, which may influence the measurement).

According to some embodiments, one or more tactile pressure sensors 12010 may be coupled to the microcontroller 12002—directly or indirectly, such as via a port expander. The tactile pressure sensors 12010 may be embodied as flexible substrates that return pressure measurements at regions within the surface of the substrate (example: returning on the order of 200-300 measurements per square centimeter—“region₁is experiencing a pressure of x psi; region₂is experiencing a pressure of y psi; and so on”). The measurement regions may be arranged in a grid form substantially covering the surface of the flexible substrate. The tactile pressure sensors 12010 may be interposed between the balaclava's outer layer of fabric and the foam:

Outer fabric-[optional fusible]-TPS-foam-[optional sensors]-[optional foam]inner fabric.

The tactile pressure sensors 12010 provide the microcontroller 12002 with a continuous stream of data concerning the pressure imposed upon each measurement region of each sensor, on a measurement-by-measurement basis (example: a pressure measurement concerning each region of each sensor, approximately each millisecond). The result is that, the microcontroller 12002 may be supplied with a continuous stream of data concerning the pressure applied throughout the balaclava (according to embodiments wherein the tactile pressure sensors 12010 are integrated throughout the balaclava's entirety) or throughout a region of the balaclava, such as the head region (according to embodiments wherein the tactile pressure sensors 12010 are integrated throughout only a particular region or regions of the balaclava).

According to some embodiments, the microcontroller 12002 may be coupled to a flexible circuit board, along with a GPS module 12012 and a transceiver module 12014, each of which are operably and communicably coupled to the microcontroller 12002. According to some embodiments, the transceiver module 12014 is a WiFi module. According to some embodiments, the transceiver module 12014 is a wireless data transceiver (example a 4G or 5G transceiver. According to some embodiments, the transceiver module 12014 is a BLUETOOTH® transceiver. The aforementioned flexible circuit board may be coupled to the balaclava, contained, for example, in the aforementioned rear pocket 7018. According to some embodiments, the aforementioned mesh sheet 7006 used in connection with formation of the pocket 7018 is made of a thin layer of foam (non-Newtonian foam, for example) enclosed on fabric, instead of mesh, in order to protect the wearer of the balaclava from feeling the various electronics on his or her back, when, for example, the wearer might be tackled and land on his or her back.

According to some embodiments, the various sensors 12004, 12006, 12008, and 12010, which may be located remotely from the microcontroller 12002, may be coupled to the microcontroller 12002 via flexible ribbon cable contained under the outer fabric layer, and, according to some embodiments, under the foam layer of the balaclava.

The system 12000 of FIG. 12 is a block diagram. It is understood to include a battery, ground planes, and other supporting electronics and circuit elements to permit operation.

During operation, firmware is executing on the microcontroller 12002. According to some embodiments, the firmware obtains GPS data (latitude and longitude data) from the GPS module 12012 continually and approximately periodically (example: approximately once per millisecond). With the receipt of each unit of GPS data, the firmware associates the unit of GPS data with a timestamp. Similarly, with the receipt of each measurement from each sensor 12004, 12006, 12008, and 12010, the firmware associates each measurement with a timestamp. Thereafter, the firmware sends the GPS data and measurement data—in association with timestamp information, and a unique ID, that may be used to associate such information, directly or indirectly, with a particular wearer of the balaclava—to the transceiver module 12014, for transmission to a backend computing platform.

An example of the aforementioned backend computing platform 13000 is depicted in FIG. 13. The aforementioned backend computing platform 13000 may be embodied as one or more computers or servers communicably connected with one another, and arranged to disperse various operations and functions across such computers or servers. A cloud computing system is an example of a backend computing platform 13000.

The backend computing platform 13000 is in data communication with a network 13002 (example: the Internet). Each balaclava 13004, 13006 and 13008 integrated with the system 12000 of FIG. 12 may communicate, via transceiver 12014, with a gateway 13010. The gateway 13010 relays such communications to the network 13002 as network packets (example: IP packets), for delivery to the backend computing platform 13000. The gateway 13010 may be a wireless router, a BLUETOOTH gateway/router, or a 4G or 5G cell tower, for example.

During use, such as during an athletic competition, each player may wear a balaclava 13004, 13006 and 13008 integrated with the system 12000 of FIG. 12. During use, each such system 12000 transmits GPS and sensor data, along with timestamp data and a unique ID, to the backend computing platform 13000, via the gateway 13010 and network 13002. Software executing on the backend computing platform 13000 receives such data, and stores it, such as in a database or data store. The software accesses the database or data store to acquire the data, and to use it to make calculations, in order to provide data to an application running on a smart device (example: tablet or smart phone), that may be accessed by coaches or medical personnel at the aforementioned athletic competition. The data is used to populate a user interface presented by such application, such as the user interface of FIG. 14.

FIG. 14 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a user interface 14000 presented by the aforementioned application. The user interface 14000 presents information concerning a particular selected wearer of the balaclava (e.g., a particular football player or hockey player, and so on, wherein the selection was made via the application by a user of the application, such as a coach or team doctor). The user interface contains information concerning the most recent collision in which the selected player has been involved. It also contains other near real-time information about the selected player.

For example, the user interface presents the time 14002 at which the most recent hit occurred, and the approximate location of such collision 14004 (according to some embodiments, expressed in a manner relative to the field or rink or arena in which the athletic event is hosted), so that the user of the application can ensure that he or she is looking at the intended collision data. According to some embodiments, the user interface 14000 responds to user touch gestures, so that the user can swipe left or right, to advance to a more recent hit, or retreat to a distant hit. The user interface 14000 also presents: (1) the peak pressure 14006 imposed upon the selected player during the course of the selected hit; (2) the peak linear acceleration 14008 of the head of the selected player during the course of the selected hit; (3) the peak angular acceleration 14010 of the head of the selected player during the course of the selected hit; and (4) the total quantity of collisions 14012 the player has been involved in during the competition (or over a selected timeframe, such as a season, a selected month, or a career, etc.).

The user interface 14000 also contains a graphical representation of the player 14014—in this particular example, a depiction of opposite sides of the player's head. Within the picture is presented a pressure map 14016 depicting the peak pressures sensed by the tactile pressure sensors 12010 during the course of the selected hit. In other words, the pressure map may be color coded, with each color representing a particular psi range. A user of the application could therefore examine the pressure map, locate the anatomical region having the greatest measured pressure, and deduce the anatomical location at which the selected player was hit. The user interface also indicates an indication 14018 of a probability that the selected hit resulted in a concussion, as determined by a model, and a graphical element 14020 to simply present such information pictorially. The user interface 14000 also presents some near real-time player information: (1) the aggregate distance covered 14022 by the selected player over the course of the game; (2) the speed 14024 at which the selected player is presently moving; (3) the present body temperature 14026 of selected player; and (4) the aggregate quantity of g-force linear acceleration 14028 the selected player has endured in the course of the various collisions during the game.

The software executing on the backend computing platform 13000 may support the informational demands of the aforementioned application, for example, by applying a thresholding strategy on the data collected from the sensors, such as from the accelerometers 12004. For example, in the event that the data from one or more of the accelerometers 12004 data exceeds a threshold acceleration level for more than a threshold period of time, then a collision may be declared as having been detected, with the collision beginning at the timestamp associated with the first threshold crossing. The collision is determined to continue until all of the accelerometer data drops below a threshold pressure level (which may be different than the previously mentioned acceleration level), at which point the collision is declared as having ended. Thus, a timestamp at which a collision begins and ends may be obtained by the software. The beginning and ending collision timestamps may be used to sort through the tactile pressure sensor data to locate the peak pressure 14006 for the user interface 14000. Similarly, the time stamps may be used to sort through accelerometer sensor data to locate the peak linear acceleration 14008, and to sort through the gyroscope sensor data to locate the peak angular acceleration 14010. The total number of declared collisions in the selected timeframe may be used to populate the aggregate hits data 14012. The collision-start timestamp may be used for the time-of-collision data 14002. Finally, the GPS data associated with the collision-start timestamp may be mapped to an arena-relative statement of collision location, in order to populate the location data field 14004. The pressure map 14016 may be created by color-coding the peak pressure of every region of every sensor between the collision-start timestamp and the collision-end timestamp. The remaining fields are straight-forwardly understood in terms of population.

Previously, the mobile device 13012 was described as being accessed by, for example, a coach or a team doctor. Others could access the device 13012 and use the app. For example, officials (referees, for example) could access the app to determine where a player being tackled was actually hit, or what particular portion of the body a player used to execute a tackle. Such information removes uncertainty and subjectivity from officiating.

Turning to FIG. 15, according to some embodiments, the balaclava incorporates a throat microphone 15000 attached to the region of the balaclava near the larynx, such as attached to the inner layer of fabric of the balaclava, and also includes speakers 15002 attached to the region of the balaclava near each ear, again, such as attached to the inner layer of fabric of the balaclava. The throat microphone 15000 and speakers 15002 may be electrically connected to a connector 15004 attached near an edge of the balaclava, such as the front edge or rear edge, so that the microphone 15000 may be connected to an audio input of a communication device (example: two-way radio), and the speakers 15002 may be connected to an audio output of such communication device via such connector 15004, thus permitting the user of the balaclava nearly hands-free operation of such communication device.

The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the invention. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modifications and changes that may be made to the present invention without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

SYSTEM, METHOD, ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE AND APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING AN INDIVIDUAL FROM SUSTAINING A CONCUSSION AND FOR MEASURING AND EVALUATING CONCUSSION RISK ARISING FROM A COLLISION

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