Patent Publication Number: US-2020281299-A1

Title: Critically Damped Fluid Flow Protective Helmet

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to and incorporates entirely by reference U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/814,043 filed on Mar. 5, 2019. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to protective helmets and, more particularly, to low-cost protective helmets for use in sports. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many attempts have been made and millions of dollars have been spent trying to make a helmet to prevent concussions and other forms of brain damage during a collision in sports, motorcycling, military and other needs. To date, very elaborate and expensive designs have limited success in reducing the motion of the brain during an impact. Moreover, expensive helmet designs will be cost prohibitive for the most vulnerable individuals who play football at younger ages. Elaborate and expensive designs will not filter down to practical applications. 
     Current technologies generally employ foam or other shock absorbing materials to reduce the deceleration rate of the head during the impact. However, they do little or nothing for the ‘bounce back’ motion that causes the brain to move back and forth after the initial impact. Most designs offer little capability to have critical damping based on mass without significant changes. 
     In view of the problems discussed above, there exists a need for a low-cost, critically damped fluid flow protective helmet. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with one form of the present invention, there is provided a protective helmet system for protecting a user&#39;s head, the protective helmet including an outer shell and an inner shell, the inner shell being integrally secured within an interior cavity of the outer shell; a mat located between the outer and inner shells, the mat comprising a plurality of cells and a plurality of channels, the plurality of cells and the plurality of channels collectively defining a fluid flow system wherein each of the plurality of channels is structured and disposed for connecting adjacent ones of the plurality of cells such that each of the plurality of cells is in fluid flow communication; a fluid in the fluid flow system; and wherein a critical dampening occurs when a force impacts the outer shell at a point of impact causing the fluid to flow away from the point of impact thereby dampening at the point of impact as the fluid flows through the fluid flow system causing each of the plurality of cells on the opposing end of the mat, relative to the point of impact, to fill such that motion of the user&#39;s head away from the point of impact is decelerated. 
     In accordance with one form of the present invention, there is provided a protective helmet system for protecting a user&#39;s head and neck, the protective helmet including an outer shell and an inner shell, the inner shell being integrally secured within an interior cavity of the outer shell; a mat located between the outer and inner shells and extending therefrom down the user&#39;s neck, the mat comprising a plurality of cells and a plurality of channels, the plurality of cells and the plurality of channels collectively defining a fluid flow system wherein each of the plurality of channels is structured and disposed for connecting adjacent ones of the plurality of cells such that each of the plurality of cells is in fluid flow communication; a fluid in the fluid flow system; and wherein a critical dampening occurs when a force impacts the outer shell at a point of impact causing the fluid to flow away from the point of impact thereby dampening at the point of impact as the fluid flows through the fluid flow system causing each of the plurality of cells on the opposing end of the mat, relative to the point of impact, to fill such that motion of the user&#39;s head away from the point of impact is decelerated. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic illustrating the fluid flow mat including cells s with channels therebetween; 
         FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the helmet illustrating the cells and channels of the mat in between the inner and outer shells; 
         FIG. 3A  is a side elevational view of the helmet before impact; 
         FIG. 3B  is a side elevational view of the helmet during impact; 
         FIG. 3C  is a side elevational view of the helmet immediately following impact; and 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of the helmet in accordance with one embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the several views of the drawings, the protective helmet of the present invention is shown and generally indicated as  10 . 
     The helmet  10  includes a mat  12  including fluid filled cells  14  with channels  16  interconnecting them to create critical dampening by using the flow of a fluid  18  from one side to the other to provide dampening at the point of impact that collapses as the fluid  18  flows to the opposing side(s) of the helmet  10 . When a wearer&#39;s head bounces away from the point of impact, the fluid  18  builds up more ‘padding’ to slowly decelerate the head and limit the motion and acceleration of the brain in the head. The fluid  18  may be a liquid or a gas. 
     Just as a car&#39;s suspension is critically turned or critically damped to minimize oscillations and displacement, critical ‘tuning’ of the helmet  10  can be made during production to control the fluid flow rate by the size of the channels  16 , the viscosity of the fluid  18  and the size of the cells  14 . An inner shell  20  and an outer shell  22  are designed to contain the mat  12  of cells  14  and provide for air flow for cooling. 
     This fluid filled design can be made thinner than typical foam padding and still provide enhanced deceleration. The thinner design will make the helmet less restrictive and more comfortable. 
     Moreover, the protective helmet  10  can be made less expensively than currently available helmet designs thereby making the helmet  10  available to a broader range of sports teams and individuals at varying levels. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3A-3C , upon impact, the fluid filled cells  14  collapse at a rate designed to reduce the deceleration of the wearer&#39;s head, wherein the fluid  18  moves through the channels  16  at an appropriate rate for providing added fluid  18  to the cells  14  on the opposing side of the helmet  10 . The inner shell  20  flexes slightly as the wearer&#39;s head moves towards the point of impact. When the head starts to ‘bounce back’ to the other side, the expanded cells  14  provide more cushioning and collapse down at an appropriate rate to limit the deceleration in that direction. Fluid  18  moves back to the other side and this provides critical dampening for the oscillation of the head back and forth and minimizes the movement of the brain in the skull. This critical dampening can be adjusted during manufacturing to accommodate different head sizes (mass) of the users. The dampening channel size and fluid viscosity can be adjusted to provide critical dampening thus reducing the oscillation to a minimum. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , in one embodiment of the helmet  10 , a layer  24  of secondary fluid cells  26  extends from the mat  12  such that the layer  24  is adjacent the neck of the wearer. The secondary fluid cells  26  are structured and disposed such that they are not filled with fluid  18  unless there is an impact. Upon impact, these cells  26  at the neck will fill and provide enhanced protection for the neck. Most presently available helmet designs provide little to no protection of the neck. 
     While the present invention has been shown and described in accordance with several preferred and practical embodiments, it is recognized that departures from the instant disclosure are contemplated within the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this subject matter belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the specification and relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. For brevity and/or clarity, well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail herein. 
     The term “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Similarly, examples are provided herein solely for purposes of clarity and understanding and are not meant to limit the subject innovation or portion thereof in any manner. 
     The terms “for example” and “such as” mean “by way of example and not of limitation.” The subject matter described herein is provided by way of illustration for the purposes of teaching, suggesting, and describing, and not limiting or restricting. Combinations and alternatives to the illustrated embodiments are contemplated, described herein, and set forth in the claims. 
     For convenience of discussion herein, when there is more than one of a component, that component may be referred to herein either collectively or singularly by the singular reference numeral unless expressly stated otherwise or the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, components N (plural) or component N (singular) may be used unless a specific component is intended. Also, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise or the context indicates otherwise. 
     It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “comprises,” “including,” and/or “comprising” specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof unless explicitly stated otherwise or the context clearly requires otherwise. The terms “includes,” “has” or “having” or variations in form thereof are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprises” as that term is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. 
     It will be understood that when a component is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another component, it can be directly connected or coupled or coupled by one or more intervening components unless expressly stated otherwise or the context clearly indicates otherwise. 
     The term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, phrases such as “between X and Y” and “between about X and Y” should be interpreted to include X and Y unless expressly stated otherwise or the context clearly indicates otherwise. 
     Terms such as “about”, “approximately”, and “substantially” are relative terms and indicate that, although two values may not be identical, their difference is such that the apparatus or method still provides the indicated or desired result, or that the operation of a device or method is not adversely affected to the point where it cannot perform its intended purpose. As an example, and not as a limitation, if a height of “approximately X inches” is recited, a lower or higher height is still “approximately X inches” if the desired function can still be performed or the desired result can still be achieved. 
     While the terms vertical, horizontal, upper, lower, bottom, top, and the like may be used herein, it is to be understood that these terms are used for ease in referencing the drawing and, unless otherwise indicated or required by context, does not denote a required orientation. 
     The different advantages and benefits disclosed and/or provided by the implementation(s) disclosed herein may be used individually or in combination with one, some or possibly even all of the other benefits. Furthermore, not every implementation, nor every component of an implementation, is necessarily required to obtain, or necessarily required to provide, one or more of the advantages and benefits of the implementation. 
     Conditional language, such as, among others, “can”, “could”, “might”, or “may”, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments preferably or optionally include certain features, elements and/or steps, while some other embodiments optionally do not include those certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language indicates, in general, that those features, elements and/or step may not be required for every implementation or embodiment. 
     The subject matter described herein is provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed as limiting the nature and scope of the subject invention. While examples of aspects of the subject invention have been provided above, it is not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for implementing the subject invention, and one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that further combinations and permutations of the subject invention are possible. Furthermore, the subject invention is not necessarily limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages which may have been noted in any part of this disclosure. Various modifications and changes may be made to the subject invention described herein without following, or departing from the spirit and scope of, the exemplary embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein. Although the subject matter presented herein has been described in language specific to components used therein, it is to be understood that the subject invention is not necessarily limited to the specific components or characteristics thereof described herein; rather, the specific components and characteristics thereof are disclosed as example forms of implementing the subject invention. Accordingly, the disclosed subject matter is intended to embrace all alterations, modifications, and variations, that fall within the scope and spirit of any claims that are written, or may be written, for the subject invention.