Sports helmet

May 30, 1961

2,985,883

Μ. T. MARIETTA

SPORTS HELMET Filed Jan. 23, 1959

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United States Patent Office

2,985,883

Patented May 30, 1961

2,985,883 SPORTS HELMET

Michael T. Marietta, 302 Empire State Bank Bldg.

Dallas, Tex.

Filed Jan. 23,1959, Ser. No. 788,547

Claims. (Cl. 2—9)

This invention relates to helmets used in sports, more particularly football, and has primary reference to an improved face guard.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a face guard comprising upper and lower members connected by vertical struts to not only strengthen the front portion thereof, but to also more adequately protect the face of the user.

Another object of the invention is to construct an improved face guard having attaching portions to receive pairs of fastenings which not only provide a firm and stable connection between the rear portion of the guard and the helmet, but also make it possible for one of said fastenings to be made to permit the snap-on fastener of the chin strip to be readily and easily connected thereto, thereby assuring quick and easy mounting of the helmet on the head of the wearer.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists in the novel construction combination, and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the helmet with the face guard and chin strap assembled in relation thereto.

Figure 2. is a side elevation of the helmet shown in * Figure 1 with one end of the chin strap loose from its fastening to better expose the latter.

Figure 3 is a detail horizontal cross-sectional view taken on the line 3—3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an exploded view of a portion of the ear nap, terminal portion of the face guard, and the fastenings for connecting the face guard with the helmet.

Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a specially designed screw with a snap head which operates independently from the snap on the helmet.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The body of the helmet is designated generally as A, and as usual the front portion is open to permit the user to have normal range of vision. The side walls of the helmet are provided with the enlarged portions B which house the ear flaps C and also protect the wearer’s face and ears from the inner ends of the dual fastening elements D and E carried by the terminal portion F of the face guard G.

As will be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the guard G comprises upper and lower rail elements 1 and 2 which diverge from the terminal attaching portions F and are held in spaced relation by the vertical struts 3 located generally to either side of the zone of the mouth of the wearer of the helmet. These struts are preferably formed integrally with the rails but may be separately applied if desired. The guard G is of substantially U-shape formation and upper and lower rail elements 1 and 2 are integral with the terminal portion F previously referred to. ,

Referring first to the fastening D it will be observed ' from Figures 3 and 4 that the same includes a nut 4 hav40

IS ing an internally threaded portion 5 for receiving the threaded shank of a fastening screw 6 which passes through aligned openings 6a and 6b located in members B and F, respectively. A lock washer 7 may be used to secure the screw in position.

The fastening E, which is of special formation, includes a two-piece eyelet 8 and 9 (Figure 4) whose central bore 8α receives the threaded shank 10 of the special fastening whose head includes flange 11 and a snap-ring 12. The threaded shank 10 passes through the opening 13 in the terminal portion F of the guard G and also projects through the bore of the two-piece eyelet 8—9 to receive a nut 14. In order to accommodate the outer portion 9 of the two-piece eyelet, the inner face of the terminal portion F of the face guard is recessed as indicated at 13α.

It will thus be seen that the face guard G is securely supported on the element A at two points, namely, by fastenings D and E so that the guard is secured to the helmet in a manner that it will not move relative to the helmet under extreme pressure.

Another distinctive feature of the invention is that the provision of the special fastenings 10, 11, 12, shown in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5, makes it possible to readily attach the chin strap S to the helmet so that it will not interfere with the securement of the terminal portion of the guard to the helmet. For example, the chin strap S, which is adjustable in a conventional manner, is provided on each adjusting buckle with a snap fastener cup or female member 15 which enables the ends of the chin strap to be secured, to opposite male fastener members E after it is once adjusted, while at the same time the face guard itself is rigidly supported in position.

From the foregoing it will now be seen that the present invention provides a skeletal face guard, comprising upper and lower guard rails 1 and 2 held in spaced relation by cross struts 3 while their end portions converge into a solid terminal F provided with spaced openings along the longitudinal axis of the terminal to cooperate with the fastenings D and E to firmly secure the guard to the helmet and also permit the chin strap to be adjusted and snapped into position once the helmet is on the head of the wearer. The guard G is preferably made of nylon or equivalent material to provide the necessary lightness and strength to stand punishment in the field.