US3103014A

US3103014A - Headgear

Info

Publication number: US3103014A
Application number: US169896A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gerard E Morgan
Original assignee: JOHN T RIDDELL Inc
Current assignee: JOHN T RIDDELL Inc
Priority date: 1962-01-30
Filing date: 1962-01-30
Publication date: 1963-09-10
Anticipated expiration: 1980-09-10

Description

Sept. 10, 1963 s. E. MORGAN HEADGEAR Filed Jan. 30, 1962 INVENTOR. GERARD E. MORGAN BY 71 051 3 22, 3 M

United States Patent 3,193,014 HEADGEAR Gerard E. Morgan, Glenview, 111., assignor to John T.

Riddeil, Inc, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed lan. 3t), 1962, Ser. No. 169,896

6 Claims. (Cl. 2--3) This invention relates to improvements in headgear, and it is more particularly concerned with the provision of a protective member adapted to be associated with a headgear whereby added protection for the neck area is made possible.

In football and various other activities, the use of headgear to ward off the detrimental effects of blows is quite common. Such helmets ordinarily comprise an outer shell of plastic or leather and a cradle for the head is formed inside this shell. The cradle, which may comprise straps, padding or combinations thereof, is spaced from the helmet shell and, therefore, direct contact between the shell and the head is avoided.

It has been found that ill-fitting helmets can be dangerous because there is a possibility of injury due to impact of the rim o-f the helrnet on the back of the neck. This has become more apparent with the wide use of face guards, since this protruding member is often hit thereby throwing the helmet back and causing the rear rim to hit the neck. Since the rim comprises a thin member, a sharp blow is received and injury to the cervical vertebrae or other points can result.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved headgear construction which employs a protective member for the neck area whereby added safety is made possible.

lt is a further object of this invention to provide a protective member for the neck area which is effective to prevent injury but which, at the same time, will not affect the fit or comfort of the associated headgear.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a headgear construction combined with a neck protector which is particularly suitable for use as a football helmet.

These and other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter. For purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, specific embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawings in which-- FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a football helmet having the protective member of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the rear portion of a helmet viewed from the inside of the helmet;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom View taken about the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective viewsof the rear portion of a helmet;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken about the line 55 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded side elevation of the component parts of the protective member.

The headgear construction of this invention is characterized by a protective member adapted to be located at the rear of the helmet. The protective member includes a semi-rigid sheet portion which is contoured to fit against the inner rear wall of the headgear. The sheet portion extends below the rear rim of the headgear and bends around the rim rearwardly of the helmet in a curvilinear fashion. Resilient padding is secured to the sheet portion and overlies this portion in at least that part which will contact the neck of the wearer if the helmet is forced against the neck.

The protective member is preferably removable and in a preferred form of this invention, the member is designed to be employed with conventional football helmets and other headgear. Specifically, the member includes arms which are adapted to cooperate with rivet points in head- 3" l 0 3"0 l 4 Patented Sept. 10, 1963 "ice gear constructions whereby the neck protector can be held in place.

The drawings will serve to illustrate one example of a headgear construction characterized by the features of this invention. There is shown a football helmet 10 provided with a conventional face guard 12 and chin strap 14. Chordal straps l6 and headbands 18 form a head cradle which-is spaced with respect to the helmet shell.

The protective member 20 of this invention is provided at the rear of the helmet. The member 20* includes a horizontal portion 22 and a pair of upstanding arms 24. The arms 24 are formed with indentations 26 and are tapered as shown at 28 whereby the protective member will fit around rivet posts 30.

The member 20 is made up of a semi-rigid sheet portion 32 which maybe formed of various fibrous materials, plastics, metals or wood. The sheet portion 32 is contoured to conform to the inside of the helmet, and this portion is characterized by stiffness and resiliency. With these characteristics, the contour of this portion is maintained while, at the same time, this portion will give in response to the application of stress. I

Covering the sheet portion 32 is a layer of resilient padding 34. This padding may comprise foam rubber, sponge or any suitable natural or synthetic equivalent. The layer of pad-ding is shown covering the entire portion 32. However, it will be apparent that itis only necessary to cover that part of the portion 32 which extends below the lowermost strap of the helmet cradle, or that part which could contact the wearers neck. A A inch thick plastic sheet covered with a A inch layer of plastic foam represents a suitable embodimentof the protective member 20.

It will be noted that the member 20 bends around the bottom rim 36 of the helmet, thus presenting a rounded surface. move relative to the head whereby the member 20 moves in the direction of the arrow 36, the presentation of a sharp, hard surface is avoided. Such movement can occur when blows are delivered around the head and a particularly dangerous situation occurs when the face guard of an illfitting helmet is pushed upwardly, since great leverage is available and a high force will result. Due to the design of the member 20, the detrimental effects of such blows are greatly reduced. The resilient padding 34 will soften the impact of the blow due to its natural cushioning characteristics; More important, the semi-rigid character of the portion 32 cooperates with this padding to take up effects of the blow. The portion 32 will bend as the member 20' strikes the neck and a highly effective stress dissipating arrangement is thus provided.

It has been found that the protective member 20 including the resilient portion 32 combined with the padding 34 is highly preferable to mere padding on the rim 36. In addition, the design of the member 20 is important in decreasing the chances of injury. Since the portion 32 is contoured to fit inside the helmet, there is inherently a concave configuration given to the member 20. Similarly, the bend in the member 20 presents a rounded surface to the neck, and this over-all configuration approximates the curvature of the cervical vertebrae in eX- tension. Accordingly, the high forces resulting in the neck region, occasioned by a blow to the head, are distributed over a wide area, decreasing the possibility of a high stress build up.

Ihe provision of the particular means on the protective member 20' for engagement with the helmet is particularly important. The protective member can be associated with a helmet by spreading apart the arms 24 and pushing the member upwardly around the rivet posts 30.

Accordingly, when the helmet caused to- The resilient character of the member will serve to hold it in place indefinitely. The member can be associated with existing helmet designs by reason of this characteristic, and no special designs in new helmets are required in order to adaptthe helmets for use in combination with this member. a

, It will be understood that various modifications can be made, in. the above described headgear construction which provide the characteristics of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, particularly as defined in the following claims.

1 claim: 1. In a headgear construction the improvement comprising a protective member located at the rear of said headgear, said protective member comprising a semi-rigid sheetportion contoured to fit against the inner wall at the rear of said headgear, said sheet portion including an edgeportion extending below the rear rim of the headgear and bending around said rim rearwardly of the headgear, and resilient padding secured to and overlying at least part of said sheet portion whereby a padded surface is presented in the interior of the "headgear behind the neck of the wearer.

' 2. A headgear construction according to claim 1 wherein said protective member includes means for removably securing it to said headgear.

3. In a headgear construction of the type having an outer shell and an internal head cradle spaced from said shell the improvement comprising a protective member located at the rear of said headgear, said protective member comprising a semi-rigid sheet portion contoured to fit against the inner wall at the rear of said headgear, said sheet port-ion. including an edge pontion extending below the rear rim of the headgear and bending around said r-irn rearvwardly of the headgear, and resilient padding secured to and overylin-g at least part of said sheet portion, said padding defining an outer surface which is normally spaced from the back of the neck of the wearer when the 4 I head of the wearer is cradled within said headgear and which protects the neck of the wearer from contact with said rim.

4. A headgear constnuction according to claim 3 wherein said head cradle is fastened to said shell at points adjacent the rear of the headgear and wherein said protective member includes means adapted to engage said headgear at said points for removably holding said protective member in position.

5. In a headgear construction of the type having an outer shell and an internal head cradle spaced from said shell the improvement comprising a protective member located at the rear of. said headgear, said protective member comprising a semi-rigid sheet portion contoured to fit against the inner wall at the rear of said headgear, said sheet portion including a lower horizontal section having an edge portion extending below the rim of the headgear and bending around said rim rearwardly of the headgear, a pair of upstanding sections extending from said horizontal section formed to releasably engage said headgear, and resilient padding secured to and overlying at leastthe horizontal section of said protective member including f said edge portion whereby a rounded and padded surface is presented in the interior of the headgear behind the neck of the wearer.

6. A headgear construction according to claim 5 wherein said cradle is formed from a plurality of straps secured at rivet points within said headgear, said upstanding members being adapted to be spread apart and fitted around at least one of said rivet points thereby holding said protective member in position within said headgear.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,660,375 Dieterle Feb. 28, 1928 2,861,270 McCoy Nov. 25, 1958 3,041,623 Glohe July 3, 1962 a

Claims

1. IN A HEADGEAR CONSTRUCTION THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A PROTECTIVE MEMBER LOCATED AT THE REAR OF SAID HEADGEAR, SAID PROTECTIVE MEMBER COMPRISING A SEMI-RIGID SHEET PORTION CONTOURED TO FIT AGAINST THE INNER WALL AT THE REAR OF SAID HEADGEAR, SAID SHEET PORTION INCLUDING AN EDGE PORTION EXTENDING BELOW THE REAR RIM OF THE HEADGEAR AND BENDING AROUND SAID RIM REARWARDLY OF THE HEADGEAR, AND RESILIENT PADDING SECURED TO AND OVERLYING AT LEAST PART OF SAID SHEET PORTION WHEREBY A PADDED SURFACE IS PRESENTED IN THE INTERIOR OF THE HEADGEAR BEHIND THE NECK OF THE WEARER.