Helmet
AssigneeMips AB
InventorThomas Blaine Hoshizaki
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to a helmet comprising a shell; and a force redirection member disposed between the shell and a head when the helmet is worn, the member configured to redirect a force impacting on the shell to a direction different from the original direction of the impact on the shell. The present invention also relates to a method to decrease the risk of injury to a person wearing a helmet, caused by rotational forces when the helmet is impacted by a force characterized by a specific direction having a first vector, the method comprising redirecting the force into a different direction having a second vector, wherein the direction of the second vector is selected to reduce the risk of a specified injury associated with acceleration of the head in the direction of the first vector.
Claims16
A helmet comprising:
- a shell;
- and
- at least one force redirection member disposed between the shell and a head when the helmet is worn, the member configured to redirect a force impacting on the shell to a direction different from the original direction of the impact on the shell,
- wherein the at least one force redirection member further comprises a wedge-shaped body having a base and an opposing incident surface disposed at an acute angle relative to a tangent of a surface of the helmet overlying the at least one force redirection member, whereby the force impacting on the shell is exerted on the incident surface to thereby redirect said force;
- wherein the body comprises a composite structure of a first material and a second material different from the first material.
A method to decrease the risk of injury to a head of a person wearing a helmet, caused by a rotational force during an impact to the helmet by a force characterized by a specific direction having a first vector, the method comprising:
- securing a wedge-shaped force redirection member to an interior of the helmet, the member having a base and an opposing incident surface disposed at an acute angle relative to a tangent of a surface of the helmet overlying the at least one force redirection member, wherein the force redirection member comprises a composite structure of a first material and a second material different from the first material and is configured to receive the force impacting the helmet so that pressure is exerted on the incident surface based on the force impacting the helmet;
- and
- redirecting the rotational force into a predetermined different direction having a second vector by positioning the force redirection member so that the force will meet the incident surface to form an angle therewith that is different from an angle normal to the incident surface to change the directional vector of the force so that the second vector comprises at least one vector component that is different from that of the first vector, wherein the redirecting to the second vector reduces the risk of a specified injury associated with acceleration of the head in the direction of the first vector.
A helmet comprising:
- a shell;
- and
- one or more fluid-filled bladders;
- wherein each bladder includes a wedge-shaped force redirection member retained therein,
- wherein each force redirection member comprises a base and an opposing sloping surface that forms an acute angle relative to a tangent of a surface of the shell overlying the respective force redirection member, and
- wherein the acute angle of said opposed sloping surface of each force redirection member is configured to redirect a force impacting on the shell to a direction different from an original direction of the impact on the shell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.