Football helmet having improved impact absorption
View Patent ↗A football helmet is disclosed that includes a shell constructed of fiber reinforced epoxy resin, a liner made from expanded polypropylene, an impact absorbing layer situated between the liner and the shell, and a face gaurd. The impact absorbing layer is constructed from either expanded polypropylene or a viscoelastic polymer encased in a suitable thin yet resilient and elastic membrane. An optional impact absorbing band is also shown disposed around the inner periphery of the liner and encircling the player's head. The impact absorbing band serves to reduce impact forces occurring from side helmet impact with objects or players. An alternate helmet liner is also disclosed having hexagonal apertures situated in the crown thereof to lower the density of the EPP material in that region and improve energy absorbing characteristics of the helmet assembly.
1. A football helmet comprising:
a shell having an inner surface facing a wearer, an outer surface facing away from the wearer when the helmet is worn, an opening adapted to be over a face area of the wearer, a crown area and wherein said shell is constructed of epoxy resin including fiber reinforcing material and adapted to receive an athlete's head therein, and wherein said fiber reinforcing material in the crown area is lower than the fiber reinforcing material in areas outside the crown area of said shell;
an energy absorbing layer situated adjacent the inner surface of said shell and extending over the crown area of said shell;
a liner having an outer surface conforming with the inner surface of said shell and said energy absorbing layer adjacent the inner surface of said shell and an inner surface closely conforming to the head of the wearer, said liner disposed within said shell such that said energy absorbing layer is situated between said liner and said shell in the crown area of said shell, said liner having a substantially uniform thickness and fabricated from expanded polypropylene, said liner including a plurality of uniformly spaced apart polygonal apertures formed in said liner in the area adjacent said energy absorbing layer, and wherein said polygonal apertures extend partially into said liner a predetermined distance that is less than the substantially uniform thickness of said liner;
a plurality of fitment pads situated about and attached to the inner surface of said liner for sizing said liner to the head of the wearer;
a face mask attached to said shell over the face area of said shell; and
wherein said energy absorbing layer has a higher compressive strength than the compressive strength of said liner.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein said energy absorbing layer is expanded polypropylene having a density higher than the density of said liner.
3. The device of claim 2 wherein the fiber reinforcing material of said shell is a fiber mesh including carbon fibers, Kevlar fibers and fiberglass fibers.
4. A football helmet comprising:
a shell having an inner surface facing a user, an outer surface facing away from the user when the helmet is worn, an opening over the face area of the user, a crown area and wherein said shell is constructed of epoxy resin including fiber reinforcing material and adapted to receive an athlete's head therein, and wherein said fiber reinforcing material in the crown area is lower than the fiber reinforcing material in areas outside the crown area of said shell;
means for absorbing energy disposed along the inner surface of said shell and extending over the crown area of said shell;
a liner having an outer surface conforming with the inner surface of said shell and said means for absorbing energy situated adjacent the inner surface of said shell, said liner having an inner surface closely conforming to the head of the wearer, said liner having a substantially uniform thickness in the area adjacent said crown area of said shell, said liner disposed within said shell such that said means for absorbing energy is situated between said liner and said shell in the crown area of said shell, said liner including a plurality of radially oriented polygonal apertures extending partially into said liner a predetermined distance that is less than the uniform thickness of said liner in the area adjacent said crown area of said shell, said plurality of apertures being uniformly spaced apart and situated adjacent said means for absorbing energy and wherein said liner is fabricated from expanded polypropylene;
a plurality of fitment pads situated about and attached to the inner surface of said liner for sizing said liner to the head of the wearer;
a face mask attached to said shell over the face area of said shell; and
wherein said means for absorbing energy has a higher compressive strength than that of said liner.
5. The device of claim 4 wherein said means for absorbing energy is a thin layer of expanded polypropylene having a density higher than the density of said liner.
6. The device of claim 5 wherein the fiber reinforcing material of said shell is a fiber mesh including carbon fibers, Kevlar fibers and fiberglass fibers.
7. A football helmet comprising:
a shell having an inner surface facing a wearer, an outer surface facing away from the wearer, an opening adapted to be over a face area of the wearer, a crown area corresponding to the upper portion of said shell, and wherein said shell is constructed of epoxy resin including fiber mesh reinforcing material and adapted to receive an athlete's head therein, and wherein said fiber reinforcing material in the crown area is lower than the fiber reinforcing material in areas outside the crown area of said shell;
an energy absorbing layer situated adjacent the inner surface of said shell and extending over the crown area of said shell, said energy absorbing layer being fabricated from expanded polypropylene, and wherein said energy absorbing layer has a substantially uniform thickness;
a liner having an outer surface conforming with the inner surface of said shell and said energy absorbing layer situated adjacent the inner surface of said shell, said liner also having an inner surface closely conforming to the head of the wearer, said liner having a liner thickness substantially larger than the substantially uniform thickness of said energy absorbing layer, said liner disposed within said shell such that said energy absorbing layer is situated between said liner and said shell in the crown area of said shell, said liner being fabricated from expanded polypropylene, said liner including a plurality of spaced apart polygonal apertures formed in said liner in the area adjacent said energy absorbing layer, said plurality of apertures extending partially into said liner a predetermined distance that is less than the liner thickness;
a plurality of fitment pads situated about and attached to the inner surface of said liner for sizing said liner to the head of the wearer;
a face mask attached to said shell over the face area opening of said shell; and
wherein said energy absorbing layer is formed from expanded polypropylene having a higher compressive strength formulation than the expanded polypropylene formulation used for said liner.
8. The device of claim 7 wherein the fiber mesh reinforcing material of said shell is a fiber mesh including a combination of carbon fibers, Kevlar fibers and fiberglass fibers.
9. The device of claim 8 wherein said plurality of polygonal apertures are hexagonal in cross-section and arranged so that the distance between centers of adjacent apertures is fixed throughout the plurality of polygonal apertures.
10. The device of claim 9 wherein the wall thickness of said liner between adjacent hexagonal apertures is greater than one-eighth inch.