Abstract:
The present invention is dedicated to a face mask for a sporting helmet, the face mask being an integral one-piece cast metal comprising a plurality of curved longitudinal members and a plurality of rising members joining each other thereby defining a plurality of apertures.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to a face guard for a sporting helmet, and particularly to a face guard for use by hockey players.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     The sport of hockey subjects its participants to a high risk of head and facial injuries. Much of the risk results directly from the implements used during play of a game. Specifically, the hard rubber pucks used in the game are propelled at extremely high velocities and can produce serious injury when striking delicate parts of a body, especially the eyes.  
         [0003]     Hockey helmets have significantly reduced the incidence of head injury and the introduction of protective face guards, including both transparent plastic shields and welded steel-wire cages, have reduced the likelihood of facial injury. Prior protective face guards have exhibited various drawbacks that either limit their effectiveness or render them objectionable to a high percentage of players. For example, plastic shields have a tendency to impair vision by accumulating condensation during certain environmental conditions, while welded steel-wire face guards are relatively heavy and are prone to corrosion and failure at the soldering points.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0004]     In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an integral one-piece cast metal face guard having advantageous weight, corrosion-resistance and strength characteristics as compared to welded steel-wire face guards.  
         [0005]     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a face mask for a sporting helmet, the face mask being an integral one-piece cast titanium comprising a plurality of curved longitudinal members and a plurality of rising members joining each other thereby defining a plurality of apertures.  
         [0006]     In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a face mask for a sporting helmet, wherein the plurality of curved longitudinal members and the plurality of rising members have a circular cross-section.  
         [0007]     In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided face mask wherein the plurality of rising members have an elliptical cross-section, the elliptical cross-sections having major axes oriented in a same direction or in a direction perpendicular to the curvature of the longitudinal members.  
         [0008]     In accordance with a yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided face mask for a sporting helmet comprising at least two integral one-piece cast metal parts, each of the parts comprising a plurality of curved longitudinal members and a plurality of rising members crossing each other thereby defining a plurality of apertures. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0009]     Embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a cast metal face guard.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  shows a front elevation view of the cast metal face guard of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0012]      FIG. 3   a  shows a cross sectional view (along axis III--III as shown in  FIG. 2 ) of the cast metal face guard of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0013]      FIG. 3   b  shows a cross sectional view (along axis III--III as shown in  FIG. 2 ) of an alternative embodiment of the cast metal face guard of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 3   c  shows a cross sectional view (along axis III--III as shown in  FIG. 2 ) of another alternative embodiment of the cast metal face guard of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 3   d  shows a cross sectional view (along axis III--III as shown in  FIG. 2 ) of a further alternative embodiment of the cast metal face guard of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0016]     Reference is made to  FIGS. 1 and 2  which represent a cast metal face guard  10  according to a particular embodiment of the present invention. The face guard  10  defines a protective cage extending in front of the wearer&#39;s face when attached to the front portion of a helmet. The cage is formed of curved longitudinal members  12  and rising members  14  crossing (through) each other at various angles forming a plurality of apertures sufficiently small to prevent the passage of objects such as, for example, a hockey puck or a butt end of a hockey stick. However, unlike typical wire mesh face guards, the cast metal face guard  10  is cast as a single piece instead of being made of a plurality of wire meshes which have to be welded together, making it lightweight and very resistant, eliminating the need of soldering points between the various wires meshes. The metal used is preferably titanium but could be other metals such as, for example, steel, aluminum, an alloy or a combination thereof.  FIG. 3  shows a cross sectional view (along axis III--III as shown in  FIG. 2 ) of the cast metal face guard  10  of  FIG. 2 , showing curved longitudinal members  12  and rising members  14  which may have a generally circular cross-section.  
         [0017]      FIGS. 3   b  to  3   d  illustrate alternate embodiments of the cast metal face guard. Namely,  FIG. 3   b  illustrates an alternate cast metal face guard  20  which has similar curved longitudinal members  22  and rising members  24  layout as the cast metal face guard  10  of FIGS.  1  to  3   a  but is made of two separate cast metal half-guards  26 ,  28 . Another embodiment of the cast metal face guard  30  is illustrated by  FIG. 3   c , in which the rising members  34  may have a generally elliptical cross-section, having all their major axes  36  oriented in the same general direction. A further embodiment of the cast metal face guard  40  is illustrated by  FIG. 3   d , in which the rising members  44  may also have a generally elliptical cross-section but having their major axes  46  oriented in a perpendicular direction to the curvature of the longitudinal members  42  or radially from a point inwardly (not shown). As may be understood, a further embodiment of the cast metal face guard  40  may have rising members  44  which may have a generally elliptical cross-section, but each adjacent rising member  44  may have a different shaped ellipse. As may be understood, rising members  44  need to be strong in order to support impacts thereon. Alternatively, rising members  44  must also be as narrow as possible in order to minimize the impact on the field of vision that rising members  44  cause to the player. Thus, by concentrating the material of the rising members  44  along major axes  36 , the amount of material available to resist impact is unchanged, and the ability of the rising members  44  to resist bending moment (i.e. impacts) thereon is improved. As may be understood, as a player&#39;s field of vision changes from directly in front of him to the periphery, the cross-sectional shape of the rising members  44  may change in order to minimize the effect on the field of vision.  
         [0018]     It is to be understood that the curved longitudinal members  12 ,  22 ,  32 ,  42  may be of the same or different geometry than that of the corresponding rising members  14 ,  24 ,  34 ,  44 . As well, the layout and number of longitudinal members and rising members may be different then the one illustrated in FIGS.  1  to  3   d . Furthermore, mixtures of individual longitudinal members and rising members cross-sections together with mixtures of layouts are possible.  
         [0019]     Although the present invention has been described by way of particular embodiments and examples thereof, it should be noted that it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that modifications may be applied to the present particular embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention.