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.
Claims37
A football helmet to be worn by a player while playing football, the helmet comprising:
- a one-piece shell including:
- a crown portion defining an upper region of the shell;
- a front portion extending generally forwardly and downwardly from the crown portion;
- left and right side portions extending generally downwardly and laterally from the crown portion, each of the left and right side portions having an ear flap configured to overlie an ear of the player wearing the helmet;
- a rear portion extending generally rearwardly and downwardly from the crown portion;
- and,
- an impact attenuation member formed in an extent of the front portion by removing material from the front portion, the impact attenuation member having a base and a free end extending downward from the base and terminating above a lower frontal edge of the shell, wherein the impact attenuation member changes how the front portion responds to an impact force applied substantially normal to the front portion as compared to how the left and right side portions respond to said impact force.
A protective sports helmet wearable by a player while playing a contact team sport, the helmet comprising:
- a one-piece shell including:
- a crown portion defining an upper region of the shell;
- a front portion extending generally forwardly and downwardly from the crown portion;
- left and right side portions extending generally downwardly and laterally from the crown portion, each of the left and right side portions having an ear flap configured to overlie an ear of the player wearing the helmet;
- a rear portion extending generally rearwardly and downwardly from the crown portion;
- and,
- an impact attenuation member formed in an extent of the front portion by removing material from the front portion, the impact attenuation member having a base and a free end extending downward from the base and terminating above a lower frontal edge of the shell, wherein the impact attenuation member changes how the front portion responds to an impact force applied substantially normal to the front portion as compared to how the left and right side portions respond to said impact force.
A football helmet wearable by a player while playing football, the helmet comprising:
- a one-piece shell including:
- a crown portion defining an upper region of the shell;
- a front portion extending generally forwardly and downwardly from the crown portion;
- left and right side portions extending generally downwardly and laterally from the crown portion, each of the left and right side portions having an ear flap configured to overlie an ear of the player wearing the helmet;
- a rear portion extending generally rearwardly and downwardly from the crown portion;
- and,
- a cantilevered segment formed in the front portion of the shell, the cantilevered segment including a base and a free end, wherein the base functions as a living hinge to facilitate elastic deformation of the cantilevered segment when impact forces are applied to the front portion of the shell, wherein the free end extends downward from the base and terminates above a lower frontal edge of the shell, and
- wherein the cantilevered segment is elastically displaced inward toward the helmet wearer when a substantially on-center impact force is applied to the front portion of the shell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.