Individually fitted helmet liner

MEMORY

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY ref. GRICK et al 235

An individually adapted helmet shell includes a plurality of superimposed layers in mutual contact, which consist of. · Each one on a sheet of thermoplastic material provided du · '·.' a set of open and not filled receptacles to allow ································································································································ The lining adapts to the head of a user * ··. · •

individual warming the leaves until they acquire a plastic state, placing the lining between an external body and the head.

of the user, and exerting a downward pressure ·. ··.

· .. · on the external body to deform the leaves in the appropriate degree · · · · · · · a. ·

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BACKGROUND PE THE INVENTION

Protective helmets that have hard external bodies and that are intended to be used in various military, industrial or other applications are well known in the art. In these helmets, it is generally convenient to arrange an elastic lining assembly between the external body and the user's head to help absorb shocks. Although in the past, belts or similar elements have generally been used for this purpose, they must be adjustable to fit the various head sizes, which results in a certain degree of oscillation from the front to the back or from a side to the other side.

In an attempt to remedy this defect, several tailoring projects adapted to the measure have been suggested.

According to a known method for making a helmet adapted to the measurement, which is described in the Patent of US Pat. No. 3,882.54. · · In the name of Morton, the external body of the helmet is separated at uqa * · * distance of the user's head and injected alveolar material in the region between the external body and an elastic layer superimposed on the wearer's head. The netaq- * •

The ability to directly manipulate the foaming agent limits the usefulness of this method in practice. '

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According to another method of realization of a helmet ··, adapted to the measurement, which is described in the Patent of the W »S ..

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No. 4,100,320, in the name of Chisum, the hull lining is pre ..

• • • • • • • form with a plurality of adjacent walls of cells respectively containing the first and second components of a honeycomb formation mixture. After placing the lining between the body of the helmet and the user's head, it «

they remove the partitions of the cells separating the first and second components to initiate the alveolar material formation process. Although this method avoids direct exposure to the alveolar material of the lining, the complexity and therefore the cost of the preformed lining limits its practical application. On the other hand, both methods refer to procedures that can be performed only once and that do not allow the ulte- / adjustment. 1 of the lining for a different user or a different head size ^ 5.

Another method is described in the patent application of US Serial No. 132,817 in the name of Michael R. Lavender, filed March 24, 1980. This patent application. _and · Discloses an individually adapted helmet shell that presents a plurality of layers which each consist of · · · · a sheet of thermoplastic material provided with a set of receptacles that individually receive separate elements of hollow epoxy spheres. The adjacent layers are arranged in such a way that the separating elements of a £_tCap «A correspond to the spaces formed between the elemei ^ tOh ··. · Of an adjacent layer, so that the layers fit together jointly to a degree determined by the degree of deformation penma • • • · · · · Nent of the leaves in the regions of the spheres of the adjacent layers. The sheets constituting the lining are elastic at normal temperatures but are plastically deformable at elevated temperatures so that they can be tailored to a new head size by simply placing the helmet after heating the layers to an appropriate softening temperature.

Although the helmet lining described above complies with the objects of the invention, there are still some possibilities for improvement. First, the need to arrange the adjacent layers with the spheres of a layer in correspondence with the spaces formed between the spheres of an adjacent layer gives rise to a relatively expensive manufacturing operation and which requires time to maintain, the various layers in appropriate correspondence Secondly, the relative incompressibility of the hollow epoxy spheres leads to a tendency of the finished hull to change position in relation to ·. · * ·. * The head of the user, because the lining can not adapt · *, completely to the contours of the user's head .. Finally, traction or paired springs are needed to maintain t '

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

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One of the objects of the invention is to propose.

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• • • • • • • Quickly and simply adjust to the user's head. · · · · · · ·

Another object of the invention is to provide an individually adapted helmet shell which can be adjusted again to accommodate a new head size.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an individually adapted helmet shell having uniform and therefore predictable structural characteristics.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an individually adapted helmet liner that does not require any trimming after adjustment.

Another object of the invention is to provide an individually adapted helmet liner that is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an individually adapted helmet liner that resists the tendency to change position in the wearer's head.

Another supplementary object of the invention consists of: · · · · providing an individually adapted helmet lining which must not be kept taut during the size adjustment. '···

Other objects can be seen in the following description. * '·. · •

Generally speaking, the invention relates to a helmet lining in which a plurality of layers, consisting of cad3.

a ⁱⁿ a sheet of elastic thermoplastic material provided with a set of receptacles, are superposed in mutual contact with one another, the receptacles being open. * · And not filled so that they can deform in response to contact under pressure with an adjacent layer. The liner adapts to the head of a given user by heating the sheets until they acquire a plastic state, placing the lining between an external fixation device and the user's head to deform the sheets to the appropriate degree, and removing the lining from the user's head when it has cooled down to return to a non-plastic rigid state.

Leaving the liner receptacles open and not filled instead of being filled with relatively incompressible separator elements, the possibility of making a helmet lining is obtained which, although sufficiently rigid to ensure the necessary separation between the external body and the head of the liner.

- 6 - ^! user, without ajnbarao flexible enough to soften the effects of relative alignment of the layers. Therefore, contrary to the liner described in the patent application No. • • •

series 132.817, the receptacles of a given layer must not be kept in correspondence with the spaces formed between · ··· the receptas * I ls of an adjacent layer, and therefore it is possible to simplify the process a lot of manufacture. Because of the * ···. · •

Greater overall flexibility of the assembled lining, the liner according to the invention is also more easily adapted to the contour of J..a ·.

user's head, minimizing the tendency of the outer helmet *.

· .. · to change position. Finally, it has been proved that by leaving the open receptacles γ not full, it is possible to eliminate the fixation springs used in the lining according to the prior art in order to keep the latter tensioned during the adjustment of the lug. hand. On the contrary, the liner according to the invention only needs to be kept under pressure during the adaptation operation in order to deform the layers to the appropriate degree.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings in which reference is made to the present in which the same reference characters are used to indicate identical elements in the various views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a helmet incorporating the liner individually adapted according to the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged partial sectional view of *

- 7 a peripheral part of the helmet lining shown in figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view of. · * A central part of the hull according to the invention, representing · .. * · * the relative arrangement of the external body and the thermoplastic material lining.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the inner liner of the thermosplastic material of the hull partially shown in Figure 3.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT · ··.

_ - As can be seen in Figure 1, a mode of realization.

• Preferred of the helmet according to the invention, which is indicated by the general • • · • handle by the reference numeral 66, includes an external body 68 and an inner liner 74 of thermoplastic material. The body 68 includes a rigid outer layer 70, made of an appropriate reinforced plastic material, and an energy absorption liner 72 made of alveolar polystyrene located inside the outer layer 70, as shown in Figure 3.

As can be seen in Figures 2 to 4, the inner liner 74, which is detachably attached to the body 68 by any appropriate means, for example the means that will be described later, includes four sheet-shaped layers. , 76, 78, 80 and 82, made of a suitable elastic thermoplastic material.

Suitable thermoplastic materials include ethylene-vinyl acetate, resin e-polymer that can be purchased

- 8 10 of the Ε. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company under the trademark Elvax, and the copolymer of ethylene and methacrylic acid from the same source and bearing the trademark ^ Surlyn; This last material is an ionomer resin. Each one * of layers 76, 78, 80 and 82 is formed under vacuum on a hemispherical dome (not illustrated) similar to the mold shown in patent application Serial No. 132,817, but with some protrusions or protuberances formed at regular intervals on the surface of the dome in such a way that the resulting blade formed under a vacuum includes a flat part 84 with "hollow spherical tubes" 86 separated in a regu- lar manner. Preferably,

After vacuum forming the layers 76, 78, 80 and 82 in the manner described above, they are cut to the desired shape and their edges are glued or otherwise fastened to one another as shown in the figure. 2. A hemispherical profile layer 88 of comfortable honeycomb material is pegq * · · * · * then along the inner edge of the inner layer * 5 82 of thermoplastic material- An inner lining or coating 90 of tissue knitted fabric to a peripheral belt ·· of woven fabric 92 is then fastened to the layer set 76 to 88 by gluing the peripheral tape 92 to the outer surface of the set of layers at a distance of approximately 25, 4 mm (1 in) from the lower edge of the cutout as shown in Figure 2, so that '' *.

· · · · The liner 90 covers the inner surface of the layer áe, • · · * alveolar material 88 and in such a way that the tape 92 extends along the periphery of the outer layer 76 of thermoplastic material. The peripheral tape 92 carries front and side forward fastening devices 94 which are adapted to complementary fastening devices 96 (FIG. 1) supported by the lower side of the alveolar polystyrene liner 72 of the body 68. Appropriate fastening devices they include, for example, the fixing devices marketed by the American Sailor, Inc., under the Velero brand.

Preferably, the overall internal dimensions of the liner 74 should not change by an amount greater than plus or minus 1/4 inch when fitted to individual subjects. To accommodate a typical range of intended head sizes while maintaining this standard, the liner 74 is made in six basic sizes, using head molds of different sizes, such as the head of the head illustrated. * · * In patent application Serial No. 132.817, to determine the size and shape of the different layers during fabrication and assembly. ··. *

Adjacent layers 76, 78, 80 and 82 of thermoplastic material are jointly adapted to a certain degree with the degree of permanent deformation of the sheets constituting the layers. They deform the sheets in the desired while ··· • * · · · grade are in a plastic state and then cooling the hoja§ • · * to harden while retaining this deformation, the effective thickness of all layers 76, 78 , 80 and 82 can be easily adjusted within a particular range of sizes.

To fit the liner 74 to the user's head, the liner is heated in a 93.32®C (200®F) oven for approximately 7 to 10 minutes, depending on the exact heating time and temperature of the material particular thermoplastic that is used. After heating the liner in this manner, it is placed inside the body 68 or an adaptive device (not shown) by convenient alignment of the fixing devices 94 with the corresponding fixing devices 96 supported by the helmet or the helmet. adaptation device. The body 68 with

11 liner 74 is placed inside the user's head and pressed firmly downwards for approximately 3 minutes, until the lining 74 is in place. _and ;

cooled to a temperature at which it has solidified sufficiently. * ···

After the layers 76, 78, 80 and 82 have cooled down to a non-plastic rigid state, the sheets which are • • • •

form the layers retain their plastic deformation which allows the desired adaptation to the user's head. This procedure can be performed repeatedly to adjust cGe. ** · ···· new liner 74 either to a different individual or to the same * · · · dividual whose head size has changed, as long as * the • « · * New size is at least as important as the adjusted head size and is included in the same range of sizes. Therefore, the liner according to the invention easily adapts to changes in size due, for example, to the change in the length of the hair or the protuberances of the head.

It will be noted that the objects of the invention are met. 11 Hull lining according to the invention is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and can be adapted to the user's head quickly and easily. The helmet lining according to the invention can be adjusted again to accommodate a variation of the size of the head, while opposing the tendency to change position in the user's head. The helmet lining according to the invention does not require the use of fixing springs or the like during adjustment, nor does it require trimming afterwards.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are useful and can be used without employing - * · · * '· other features and subcombinations. This is included within the scope of the claims. It is also •

Of course, several changes of detail may be made within the scope of the claims and without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, it will be understood that the in ... *.

χθ vention is not limited to the specified details that are rer '· * · · * presented and described.

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In summary, the Utility Model that is requested ··.

• «* · ta should fall on the following: