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US 12,156,562 B2Granted
Hard hat with impact protection material
AssigneeMilwaukee Electric Tool Corporation
InventorsJoseph R. Worple, Abhijeet A. Khangar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hard hat and related impact protection layer is shown. The hard hat includes one or more feature to improve support of the impact protection layer. The impact protection layer is designed to improve impact energy absorption provided by a crushable material located within the hard hat shell.
Claims12
A hard hat, comprising:
- an outer shell formed from a rigid material, the outer shell comprising:
- an exterior surface;
- an interior surface defining a cavity configured to receive a head of an operator;
- a crown portion positioned in a central area of the hard hat surrounding a center point;
- a bottom portion defining a lower circumference extending along the exterior surface;
- an impact protection layer positioned within the cavity, the impact protection layer comprising:
- a first piece supported at a first location within the cavity;
- and
- a second piece supported at a second location within the cavity;
- and
- an attachment structure that non-rigidly supports the impact protection layer within the cavity;
- and
- separation ribs coupled to the outer shell, the separation ribs including:
- a central wall positioned between adjacent pieces of the impact protection layer;
- a first flange extending in a first direction from the central wall;
- and
- a second flange extending in a second direction from the central wall;
- wherein the first flange overlaps at least a portion of the first piece of the impact protection layer and second flange overlaps at least a portion of the second piece of the impact protection layer such that the first and second pieces of the impact protection layer are retained relative to the interior surface of the outer shell.
15 more elements
A hard hat, comprising:
- an outer shell formed from a rigid material, the outer shell comprising:
- an exterior surface;
- an interior surface defining a cavity configured to receive a head of an operator;
- a crown portion positioned in a central area of the hard hat surrounding a center point;
- a brim portion defining a lower circumference extending along the exterior surface;
- an impact protection layer positioned within the cavity, the impact protection layer comprising:
- a first piece supported at a first location within the cavity;
- and
- a second piece supported at a second location within the cavity;
- and
- an attachment structure that non-rigidly supports the impact protection layer within the outer shell, wherein the attachment structure supports the impact protection layer adjacent to the interior surface of the outer shell allowing the impact protection layer to shift relative to the outer shell;
- and
- a secondary component coupled along the interior surface of the outer shell via a fastener to the attachment structure, wherein the secondary component is positioned between the outer shell and the impact protection layer and engages the impact protection layer, wherein an inner surface of the secondary component is rounded such that the impact protection layer is allowed to slide along the inner surface of the secondary component.
10 more elements
A hard hat, comprising:
- an outer shell formed from a rigid material, the outer shell comprising:
- an exterior surface;
- an interior surface defining a cavity configured to receive a head of an operator;
- a crown portion positioned in a central area of the hard hat surrounding a center point;
- a bottom portion defining a lower circumference extending along the exterior surface;
- an impact protection layer positioned within the cavity;
- and
- an attachment structure that non-rigidly supports the impact protection layer adjacent to the interior surface of the outer shell such that the impact protection layer is allowed to move relative to the outer shell while being retained adjacent to the interior surface;
- wherein the impact protection layer includes a central section positioned along the interior surface of the crown portion and a plurality of radially aligned sections extending outward from the central section, the radially aligned sections including a curved inner edge;
- and
- wherein a circular crown perimeter defines a circumference along the exterior surface of the outer shell and the plurality of radially aligned sections of the impact protection layer have a variable thickness such that the plurality of radially aligned sections include a thicker portion at the crown perimeter adjacent the crown portion and decreasing thickness in a direction from the crown perimeter to a brim edge positioned at the bottom portion of the hard hat.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.