Football helmet with impact attenuation system
AssigneeRiddell, Inc.
InventorsVittorio Bologna, Nelson Kraemer, Thad M. Ide
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A protective football helmet is provided having a one-piece molded shell with an impact attenuation system. This system includes an impact attenuation member formed in an extent of the front shell portion by removing material from the front portion. The impact attenuation member is purposely engineered to change how the front portion responds to an impact force applied substantially normal to the front portion as compared to how other portions of the shell respond to that impact force. In one version, the impact attenuation member is a cantilevered segment formed in the front portion of the shell.
Claims25
A protective sports helmet to be worn by a wearer, the helmet comprising:
- an shell including:
- a left side portion with an ear opening formed therein;
- a lower shell edge;
- an upper transverse sidewall that extends outward from the shell;
- a lower transverse sidewall that extends outward from the shell;
- a raised band that:
- (i) extends between the upper transverse sidewall and lower transverse sidewall, (ii) extends rearward from a portion of the left side portion of the shell, and (iii) includes an extent that is positioned above the ear opening when the protective sports helmet is in a neutral state when the protective sports helmet is not worn by a wearer;
- and
- a ventilation opening formed in the shell and positioned between the lower transverse sidewall and the lower shell edge.
The protective sports helmet claim of 8, wherein the lower frontal shell regions further includes a sidewall that extends:
- (i) outward from the shell, (ii) upward from a reference point located in the lower frontal shell region the shell, and (iii) towards the crown portion of the shell.
A protective sports helmet to be worn by a wearer, the helmet comprising:
- an shell including:
- a left side portion with an ear opening formed therein;
- a lower shell edge;
- an upper transverse sidewall that extends outward from the shell;
- a lower transverse sidewall that extends outward from the shell;
- a raised band is integrally formed in the shell and has:
- a frontal height is at a first location that extends between the upper transverse sidewall and lower transverse sidewall, and
- a rear height is at a second location that extends between the upper transverse sidewall and lower transverse sidewall, and wherein the rear height is greater than the frontal height;
- and
- a ventilation opening formed in the shell and positioned between the lower transverse sidewall and the lower shell edge.
The protective sports helmet claim of 14, wherein the first substantially linear segment has a width at a first location, and the first eyelet has a width that is larger than the width of the first substantially linear segment.
A protective sports helmet to be worn by a wearer, the helmet comprising:
- a shell including:
- a left side portion having a left ear opening;
- a lower shell edge;
- a lower transverse sidewall that extends:
- (i) outward from the shell, and (ii) upward and rearward from a reference point, wherein said reference point is both contained in the left side portion of the shell and positioned above the left ear opening;
- and
- a ventilation opening formed in the shell and positioned between the lower shell edge and the lower transverse sidewall, and wherein said ventilation opening includes a length that is greater than a width of the ventilation opening.
The protective sports helmet claim of 24, wherein the lower frontal shell regions further includes a first sidewall that extends:
- (i) outward from the shell, (ii) upward from a reference point located in the lower frontal shell region the shell, and (iii) towards the crown portion of the shell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.