Protective headgear
Protective headgear in one case comprises a main body having a pair of side head parts connected by a forehead part and a crown part extending from the forehead part. The body is shaped to encompass the head of a wearer. The main body comprises an inner sheet of an open cell polyurethane foam material, an outer barrier layer, and an intermediate section comprising portions of an open cell polyurethane foam material between the inner and the outer layers. The open cell polyurethane foam has a density of from 100 to 300 kg/m 3 which significantly reduces the G-force energy transferred to a players head during impact.
1. A protective headgear comprising a main body comprising:
a pair of side head parts connected by a forehead part and a crown part extending from the forehead part, the main body being configured to encompass the head of a wearer;
an inner layer of wicking material;
an outer barrier layer; and
an intermediate section between said inner layer of wicking material and said outer barrier layer, the intermediate section comprising:
an inner foam layer; and
an outer foam layer comprising a plurality of spaced-apart foam pieces,
wherein said inner foam layer and said outer foam layer of the intermediate section comprise an impact resistant open cell polyurethane foam having a density of from 100 to 300 kg/m 3 , and
wherein the outer barrier layer comprises a plurality of pockets which are configured to receive the foam pieces of said intermediate section outer foam layer.
2. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 1 wherein the intermediate section comprises an impact resistant open cell polyurethane foam having a density of from 150 to 250 kg/m 3 .
3. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 1 wherein the intermediate section inner foam layer is of an impact resistant open cell polyurethane foam having a density of from 150 to 250 kg/m 3 .
4. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 1 wherein the intermediate section inner foam layer has a first thickness and the intermediate section outer foam layer has a second thickness which is greater than the first thickness.
5. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 4 wherein the second thickness is from 1.5 to 5 times the first thickness.
6. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the second thickness is from 1.5 to 3 times the first thickness.
7. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the second thickness is about 2 times the first thickness.
8. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the intermediate section inner foam layer is about 3 mm in thickness and the intermediate section outer foam layer foam pieces are about 6 mm in thickness.
9. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 1 wherein the intermediate section inner foam layer is perforated.
10. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 9 wherein the intermediate section inner foam layer comprises from 3 to 5 holes per cm 2 and the holes are from 2 mm to 4 mm in diameter.
11. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 1 wherein the intermediate section inner foam layer comprises a wicking fabric bonded to the inner layer of open cell foam.
12. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 1 wherein the outer barrier layer comprises closed cell foam.
13. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 1 wherein G-Force energy transferred to a wearer's head during impact is less than 150.
14. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 13 , wherein G-Force energy transferred to the wearer's head during impact is less than 120.
15. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising an outer fabric bonded to the outer barrier layer.
16. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each side part of the main body comprises a plurality of through holes for alignment with a wearer's ears.
17. The protective headgear as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each side part of the main body comprises a mounting for a chin strap.