Lacrosse helmet
View Patent ↗A lacrosse helmet comprises rigid single-piece shell formed of a suitable material such as polycarbonate or ABS plastic and adapted to receive and protect the head of a wearer. The shell has acclivities integrally formed therein to define features in the shell. Two alternative padding assemblies are disclosed. In a first alternative, the padding assemblies include a front liner installed in the brow area of the shell, a lateral liner extending around the back inner surface of the shell and backed by an inflatable occipital pad, a crown shock absorber, and jaw pads. In a second alternative, the padding assemblies include an inner shell or bonnet comprising a left section, right section, and rear section, which are assembled together with a crown comfort layer and a rear comfort layer, and inserted into the shell. This alternative also includes jaw pads as in the first alternative.
1. A lacrosse helmet comprising:
a single-piece plastic outer shell adapted to receive and protect the head of a wearer,
the outer shell having a front region, a crown region, a rear region, a left side region, a right side region, an inner surface and an outer surface,
a removable jaw protector removably attached to the outer shell and extending forwardly from the outer shell and adapted to cover and protect the lower jaw of the wearer,
an inner shell comprised of a right section, a left section, and a rear section, the right section interlocking with the left section, the right section interlocking with the rear section, and the left section interlocking with the rear section,
a slot through the rear section,
an elastic strap having a left tab and a right tab, each of said left tab and right tab having at least one hole therethrough,
the elastic strap passing through the horizontal slot in the rear section and attached to the inner surface of the outer shell by fasteners passing through the at least one hole each of said left tab and right tab to stretch the elastic strap to exert a biasing force on the rear section tending to bias the rear section toward the head of the wearer;
a faceguard attached to the outer shell and removable jaw protector, wherein the faceguard comprises a grid of a plurality of horizontal wire members, a plurality of vertical wire members, and a bottom wire member extending from a left side of the faceguard adjacent to a left portion of the removable jaw protector to a right side of the faceguard adjacent to a right portion of the removable jaw protector,
a left loop strap and a right loop strap attaching the bottom wire member to the removable jaw protector,
a first one of said plurality of vertical wire members is attached to the bottom wire member at a position forward of the left loop strap, and
a second one of said plurality of vertical wire members is attached to the bottom wire member at a position forward of the right loop strap.
2. The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein at least one of the right section, left section, and rear section is composed of expanded polypropylene.
3. The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein at least one of the right section, left section, and rear section is composed of expanded polystyrene.
4. The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein the right section and left section are interlocked by a first protrusion mating with a first notch, the right section and rear section are interlocked by a second protrusion mating with a second notch, and the left section and rear section are interlocked by a third protrusion mating with a third notch.
5. The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein the outer shell has a thickness in the range of 0.11 inches to 0.13 inches.
6. The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 further comprising a crown comfort layer removably attached to an inner surface of the inner shell.
7. The lacrosse helmet of claim 6 wherein the crown comfort layer comprises a foam cushion layer.
8. The lacrosse helmet of claim 7 wherein the crown comfort layer further comprises a loop fabric layer backing the foam cushion layer, the loop fabric layer disposed between the foam cushion layer and the inner surface of the inner shell.
9. The lacrosse helmet of claim 7 wherein the foam cushion layer comprises a plurality of integrally molded pads and a base layer connecting the integrally molded pads.
10. The lacrosse helmet of claim 7 wherein the crown comfort layer comprises a front central lobe, a left front lobe, a right front lobe, a left crown lobe, a right crown lobe, a left rear crown lobe, a right rear crown lobe, a left rear lobe, and a right rear lobe.
11. The lacrosse helmet of claim 10 wherein the left front lobe and the right front lobe are connected to the front central lobe.
12. The lacrosse helmet of claim 10 wherein the left crown lobe and the right crown lobe are connected to the front central lobe.
13. The lacrosse helmet of claim 10 wherein the right rear crown lobe is connected to the right crown lobe and the left rear crown lobe is connected to the left crown lobe.
14. The lacrosse helmet of claim 10 wherein the right rear lobe is connected to the right rear crown lobe and the left rear lobe is connected to the left rear crown lobe.
15. The lacrosse helmet of claim 6 wherein the right section of the inner shell comprises a first forward bottom edge, the left section of the inner shell comprises a second forward bottom edge, and the crown comfort layer comprises bendable tabs configured to engage with the first forward bottom edge and second forward bottom edge.
16. The lacrosse helmet of claim 6 wherein the inner shell defines a plurality of ventilation through-holes and the crown comfort layer defines negative spaces which are shaped to avoid the ventilation through-holes when the crown comfort layer is attached to the inner surface of the inner shell.
17. The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 further comprising a rear comfort layer removably attached to an inner surface of the inner shell.
18. The lacrosse helmet of claim 17 wherein the rear comfort layer comprises a foam cushion layer.
19. The lacrosse helmet of claim 18 wherein the rear comfort layer further comprises a loop fabric layer backing the foam cushion layer, the loop fabric layer disposed between the foam cushion layer and the inner surface of the inner shell.
20. The lacrosse helmet of claim 17 wherein the rear section of the inner shell comprises a bottom edge, and the rear comfort layer comprises a bendable tab configured to engage with the bottom edge.
21. The lacrosse helmet of claim 6 further comprising a rear comfort layer removably attached to the inner surface of the inner shell adjacent to the crown comfort layer.
22. The lacrosse helmet of claim 21 wherein the rear comfort layer comprises a foam cushion layer.
23. The lacrosse helmet of claim 22 wherein the rear comfort layer further comprises a loop fabric layer backing the foam cushion layer.
24. The lacrosse helmet of claim 21 wherein the rear section of the inner shell comprises a bottom edge, and the rear comfort layer comprises a bendable tab configured to engage with the bottom edge.
25. A lacrosse helmet comprising:
a single-piece plastic shell adapted to receive and protect the head of a wearer,
the shell having a front region, a crown region, a rear region, a left side region, a right side region, an inner surface and an outer surface,
a jaw protector attached to the shell and extending forwardly from the shell and adapted to cover and protect the lower jaw of the wearer,
a faceguard attached to the shell and jaw protector, wherein the faceguard comprises a grid of a plurality of horizontal wire members, a plurality of vertical wire members, and a bottom wire member extending from a left side of the faceguard adjacent to a left portion of the jaw protector to a right side of the faceguard adjacent to a right portion of the jaw protector,
a left loop strap and a right loop strap attaching the bottom wire member to the jaw protector,
a first one of said plurality of vertical wire members is attached to the bottom wire member at a position forward of the left loop strap, and
a second one of said plurality of vertical wire members is attached to the bottom wire member at a position forward of the right loop strap.
26. The lacrosse helmet of claim 25 wherein the outer shell has a thickness in the range of 0.11 inches to 0.13 inches.
27. The lacrosse helmet of claim 25 wherein the jaw protector is removably attached to the outer shell.
28. The lacrosse helmet of claim 25 further comprising an inner shell within the plastic shell.