Abstract:
A helmet that both protects the user against injury during a fight and indicates through the cracking of an outer shell and release of stage blood that a blow to the head has been struck sufficient to cause a concussion or bloody head injury to an unprotected head. The helmet includes an inner helmet and outer helmet. The inner helmet is preferably similar in construction to helmets presently used in sports such as football, hockey and bicycling with an absorbent layer next to the user&#39;s head, an intermediate soft protective layer and a hard plastic outer layer. On top of the inner helmet, an outer helmet is provided consisting of two plastic shells sandwiching a reservoir of stage blood. For added protection, a visor and neck protector are preferably attached to the helmet.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority under 35 USC 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/602,045, filed on Feb. 22, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to martial arts accessories, more specifically a helmet which cracks and releases stage blood when a severe blow is made to a fighter&#39;s head. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    One of the purposes of martial arts, such as kung-fu, karate, judo and stick-fighting, is to teach self-defense skills. If a person is attacked with a knife, stick or gun, for example, it is helpful to have martial arts skills to disarm and subdue the attacker. Because a person may need to react quickly and instinctively in an actual attack, it is valuable for the martial arts training to closely simulate the conditions of an actual attack. The more real the simulation is, the less likely the martial arts participant will freeze up or make an ineffective defense when an actual attack occurs. 
         [0004]    One of the problems with simulating an actual attack during martial arts training is that the participant can get badly hurt if they freeze up or make an ineffective defense. Ideally, the martial arts participant will be provided with equipment that can protect them against injury during martial arts training, even if that martial arts training closely simulates an actual attack. 
         [0005]    One of the parts of the body that is most vulnerable to serious injury during an actual attack is the head. For example, if the head is struck firmly with a hard stick, the result can be a bloody head injury and/or concussion. It would thus be desirable to have equipment to protect the head during martial arts training while safely demonstrating when a blow is received that would cause serious injury to an unprotected head. By demonstrating when a severe blow is taken to the head, the martial arts participant can learn how to do a better job of protecting the head from serious injury. 
         [0006]    Helmets, of course, are a well known means of protecting the head in numerous sports such as football, hockey, bicycling, baseball, skiing and lacrosse. In several prior patents, indicators are provided to demonstrate when a helmet has been damaged by a blow past the point where it can be considered safe for continuing head protection. These prior patents include Rigel&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,718 (colored liquid from capillary tube released when helmet is irreparably damaged), Rush&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,226 (cracks on outside of helmet shell indicates that the helmet is no longer safe to use) and Beck&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 7,509,835 (shock detector indicates that helmet is no longer safe to use). Nonetheless, while these prior art helmets indicate when the helmet has been damaged beyond the point of safe use, none of these patents address the problem of demonstrating to a martial arts participant when a blow is struck to the head to the point of causing a concussion or a bloody head injury if the head were unprotected. 
         [0007]    Other patents and published applications disclose that reservoirs of stage blood can be inserted into costumes for use in pretending that a bloody injury has occurred. These other patents and published applications include Geller&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,475 and Cho&#39;s PCT Published Application No. WO 2009/005224. The problem with these costumes is that they do not indicate the amount of real harm that must be inflicted before a bloody injury is caused in a real fight. In movies, the pretend fights are usually carefully choreographed before they are filmed to give the appearance of a real fight without actually being a real fight. Sometimes, blood is released as the result of a pretend blow when no real blow has occurred. For example, in Cho&#39;s PCT application, an electronic controller is used to determine the release of stage blood. How much blood is released through use of this electronic controller does not appear to have correspondence to the severity of a blow being struck. 
         [0008]    What is needed in martial arts is a helmet that both protects the user&#39;s head and provides a graphic indicator of how much injury a blow to the head would cause if the head were unprotected. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present invention provides a helmet that both protects the user against injury during a fight and indicates through the cracking of an outer shell and/or release of stage blood that a blow to the head has been struck sufficient to cause a concussion or bloody head injury if the helmet were not present. In a preferred embodiment, the helmet includes an inner helmet and outer helmet. The inner helmet is similar in construction to helmets presently used in sports such as football, hockey and bicycling with an absorbent layer next to the user&#39;s head, an intermediate soft protective layer (e.g., Styrofoam) and a hard plastic outer layer. Most of the protection against head injury is provided by the inner helmet. On top of the inner helmet, an outer helmet is provided preferably consisting of two plastic shells sandwiching a reservoir of stage blood. For added protection, a visor and neck protector are preferably attached to the helmet of the present invention. 
         [0010]    When a blow is struck against the outer shell of the outer helmet by, for example, a stick, an appropriate amount of injury is demonstrated by the outer helmet. For example, if the blow is a light or glancing blow that would not cause noticeable injury to an unprotected head, the outer helmet will not show any appreciable damage. For an intermediate blow, one or more cracks will appear in the outer shell of the outer helmet but no stage blood will be released. For a severe blow that will likely result in concussion or bloody head injury to an unprotected head, the outer shell of the outer helmet will crack open sufficiently to allow stage blood to be released from the outer helmet. Through the flowing blood, it will be apparent to the helmet user and all spectators that a blow has been struck that would have resulted in a serious injury to an unprotected head. 
         [0011]    To reduce expense, the outer helmet is preferably separable from the inner helmet. After a severe, stage blood causing blow has been struck to the outer helmet, the damaged outer helmet can be separated from the inner helmet and removed. A new outer helmet can then be attached over the inner helmet to allow continued use of the inner helmet. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  shows an undamaged helmet of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  shows a cross-sectional view of the helmet of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  shows the helmet of  FIG. 1  receiving an intermediate blow sufficient to crack the outer helmet but not to release stage blood. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  shows the helmet of  FIG. 1  receiving a severe blow sufficient to both crack the outer helmet and release stage blood. 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  shows a cross-sectional view of the severe blow of  FIG. 4  at the moment of impact. 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  shows a cross-sectional view of the severe blow of  FIG. 4  after stage blood has seeped through cracks in the outer shell. 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  shows a perspective view of the  FIG. 6  helmet with stage blood seeping through cracks in the outer shell. 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  shows a rear view of the helmet of the present invention with a neck protector added. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0020]      FIG. 1  shows of a helmet  10  of the present invention in new, undamaged condition. The helmet  10  is especially designed for use in martial arts, including fighting with sticks  12 , but can also be used in other contact sports such as hockey, football and lacrosse. First and foremost, the helmet  10  is designed to protect the user&#39;s head  16  from injury, such as injury caused by being hit by a stick  12 . A face mask  14  is preferably attached to the helmet to additionally protect the user&#39;s face from injury. The face mask  14  may be made from a clear, hard plastic, such as acrylic, poly vinyl chloride (PVC) or polypropylene. 
         [0021]      FIG. 2  shows a cross-section of the helmet  10  of  FIG. 1 . The helmet  10  preferably has an inner helmet  20  and an outer helmet  30 . The inner helmet  20  can be similar in construction to helmets used in sports such as football, hockey, lacrosse and bicycling. The inner helmet  20  is preferably constructed of an absorbent layer  22 , a soft padding layer  24  and a hard outer layer  26 . 
         [0022]    The absorbent layer  22  is composed, for example, of absorbent foam material, natural fabric or synthetic fabric. The purpose of this absorbent layer  22  is to wick sweat away from the user&#39;s head during sports activity. Outside the absorbent layer  22  is a soft padding layer  24  to cushion the user&#39;s head against the shock of any blow struck to the helmet  10 . The soft padding layer  24  is preferably constructed of a soft plastic, such as Styrofoam, but may also be constructed of natural or synthetic fabrics. A hard outer layer  26  is preferably formed at the exterior of the inner helmet  20 . The hard outer layer  26  is preferably made from a hard plastic, such as acrylic, poly vinyl chloride or polypropylene. The purpose of the hard outer layer  26  is to prevent any blows from contacting the user&#39;s head. In an alternative embodiment, the outer helmet  30  can be used as a hard outer layer to thereby dispense with the need to incorporate a hard outer layer  26  into the inner helmet  20 . 
         [0023]    The outer helmet  30  preferably consists of a hard inner shell  32 , a hard outer shell  34  and a fluid holding reservoir  36  sandwiched between the two shells. The primary purpose of the outer helmet  30  is to provide an indication of the severity of any blow struck to the helmet  10 . The hard inner  32  and outer  34  shells are preferably formed of a hard plastic, such as acrylic, poly vinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) or polypropylene. To achieve the objectives of the invention, it is particularly important to properly select the material and thickness of the material for the outer shell  34 . The material and thickness should be chosen so that a light or glancing blow to the helmet  10  does not result in any appreciable damage to the outer shell  34  in the same way it would not result in any appreciable damage to an unprotected user&#39;s head  16 . For an intermediate blow, the outer shell  34  should show some cracking (see,  FIG. 3 ), but not so much cracking as to result in the release of fluid from the reservoir  36 . Finally, a severe blow to the outer shell  34 , which would cause a concussion or a serious bleeding head injury to the user if the user were not wearing the helmet  10 , should cause sufficient cracking to the outer shell  34  as to result in the release of fluid  40  from the reservoir  36  (see  FIGS. 4 and 6 ). To achieve these objectives, the thickness of the outer shell  34  will depend upon the material used. In their experiments, for example, the inventors have found that polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) with a thickness between 0.03 and 0.10 inches, preferably around 0.06 inches, may be used for the outer shell  34  to achieve desired results. As those of skill in the art will recognize, other plastics and appropriate thicknesses may be used for the outer shell  34  to achieve the desired results. Since the inner shell  32  does not need to serve this indicator purpose, it can be made thicker than the outer shell  34  to better provide protection to the user. 
         [0024]    Between the inner shell  32  and outer shell  34 , there is a fluid holding reservoir  36 . In one embodiment, this reservoir can be a bladder which would not require tight sealing between the inner shell  32  and outer shell  34 . In an alternative embodiment, there is no bladder for the reservoir  36  in which case there should be a leak proof fit between the inner shell  32  and outer shell  34 . In this alternative embodiment, a hole (not shown) may be placed in either the inner shell  32  or outer shell  34  after they are formed together for use in filling the reservoir  36  with fluid. The hole should then be sealed after the reservoir  36  is filled with fluid  40  so that fluid will not leak out of the outer helmet  30  before a blow is struck. To help preserve the structural integrity of the outer helmet  30 , baffles  38  ( FIG. 2 ) may be built into the reservoir  36  to keep the inner shell  32  and outer shell  34  spaced apart. 
         [0025]    The fluid  40  (see,  FIGS. 4 and 6 ) in reservoir  36  is preferably a red colored liquid, such as stage blood. As the fluid is released from the outer helmet  30  after a severe blow (see,  FIGS. 4 and 6 ), use of stage blood will effectively simulate a bloody head wound. If the helmet  10  of the present invention is used in a martial arts competition, the appearance of stage blood after a blow to the helmet  10  may result in the competition being ended. As those of skill in the art will recognize, other types and fluid colors can also be used. To increase the realism of a competition, the outer shell  34  should preferably be colored differently than the fluid  40  so that the fluid can be easily seen when it is released. For example, if stage blood is used for the fluid  40 , the outer shell  34  might be colored white or brown. Coloring of the outer shell  34  can be accomplished by, for example, tinting or spray painting the plastic used in the outer shell  34 . 
         [0026]    Turning now to  FIG. 3 , an intermediate blow to helmet  10  is shown from stick  12  causing cracks  18  to form in the outer shell  43  of the outer helmet  30 . When the helmet  10  receives merely a light or glancing blow, the outer shell  34  will be strong enough to protect the helmet from any noticeable injury. Similarly, such a light or glancing blow to a person&#39;s unprotected head would also result in no noticeable injury apart from perhaps a scratch or rash. 
         [0027]    When a person&#39;s unprotected head is struck with an intermediate blow, there will be some level of damage, such as a temporary stinging pain followed by a bruise. In such case, the person may be able to avoid any external bleeding. This level of intermediate damage is simulated in the helmet  10  of the present invention by the cracking shown in  FIG. 3 . While this cracking is evidence of damage, it is not so deep or extensive as to result in the release of stage blood  40  from the helmet  10 . 
         [0028]      FIG. 4  shows the results of a severe blow to the helmet  10 . This corresponds to a blow that would create a concussion or bloody head injury if it were made to an unprotected head  16 . As shown in  FIGS. 4-6 , this severe blow creates cracks  18  in the outer shell  34  of the outer helmet  30  that are either deep or extensive as to result in the release of fluid  40 , such as stage blood. As shown in  FIG. 7 , after such a severe blow is struck, the fluid  40  will continue to flow out of the reservoir  36  and through the cracks  18  in the outer shell  34  even after the blow has ended. 
         [0029]    To avoid the need to replace the entire helmet  10  once a severe blow is struck, the helmet  10  can be constructed so that the outer helmet  30  is severable from the inner helmet  20 . In that way, after the outer helmet  30  is severely damaged to the extent fluid  40  is released, the outer helmet  30  can be removed and replaced with a new outer helmet  30 . In this way, an undamaged inner helmet  20  can continue to be used and need not be replaced. To allow this severability, a mild adhesive can be used to attach the inner shell  32  of the outer helmet  30  where it meets the hard outer layer  26  of the inner helmet  20 . This mild adhesive is preferably strong enough to hold the helmet  10  together under normal conditions, but weak enough that the outer helmet  30  can be manually pulled off the inner helmet  20 . Alternatively, pegs (not shown) can be formed in the inner shell  32  of the outer helmet  30  which fit into matching holes (not shown) in the hard outer layer  26  of the inner helmet  20 , or vice versa. Clips (not shown) can also be used to snap the outer  30  and inner  20  helmets together. 
         [0030]    Turning now to  FIG. 8 , a rear neck guard  50  is attached to the helmet  10  of the present invention to protect the back of the user&#39;s neck from blows. If desired, this rear neck guard  50  can be connected to the helmet fluid reservoir  36  to provide visual evidence that a severe blow has been struck. Also, if desired, this rear neck guard can be extended to protect the front of the neck. 
         [0031]    In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific preferred embodiments and methods. It will, however, be evident to those of skill in the art that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than restrictive sense; the invention being limited only by the appended claims.