Patent Publication Number: US-6708339-B1

Title: Sport helmet face guard

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is a face guard that may be attached to a sport helmet of the type utilized in baseball, football, and other sports as well. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     For many years sport helmets have been utilized to protect a sporting participant from head injuries. Conventional helmets of this type are typically formed of rigid plastic and are shaped as a unitary structure that covers the crown of a person&#39;s head and which also has side flaps that protect the sides of a person&#39;s head and which cover the ears of the wearer. Protective helmets of this type are particularly important to safeguard the well-being of children and adolescents, since such individuals are younger, more inexperienced, and therefore likely to make many mistakes in playing a sport that could result in very serious injury without some form of protection. 
     Protective helmets of this type are particularly important for use by batters in the game of baseball since the head injury resulting from a ball thrown quite hard by a pitcher can be a very serious matter indeed. Moreover, in juvenile sports, the person pitching the ball will often throw a pitch with considerable speed, but with very erratic accuracy. It is therefore important for a batter to be protected as much as possible from a pitched ball. While conventional baseball helmets provide suitable protection to the top and sides of the head of a player, the helmet itself cannot provide protection to the players face, since it would obscure a players vision. 
     Various face guards have been designed for attachment to a baseball or football helmet so as to provide face protection for the player. Conventional devices of this type provide a grid of rigid bars that pass across the players face and are secured to the opposing sides of the helmet. However, such conventional devices typically require some type of modification to the structure of the helmet. 
     Some face guards have been constructed so as to avoid drilling extra holes in a sport helmet or to avoid mounting devices permanently attached to the basic helmet. Some of these involve threaded ferrules that are screwed together through the ear holes of the side flaps to clamp the side ends of the face guard to the structure of the helmet. However, when the components of such devices are screwed together to clamp the structure of the helmet therebetween, they often produce excessive stress on the plastic structure of the helmet so that the helmet cracks and must be discarded. Such devices have therefore not been commercially successful. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a sport helmet face guard that not only can be attached to the helmet without any modification or alteration whatsoever to the helmet, but also a system that avoids damage to the helmet by the attachment mechanism. The present invention departs from prior approaches employing rigid structural attachment mechanisms, and instead employs at least one resilient coupling to firmly, but removable secure the face guard to the helmet. 
     The invention involves a face guard that may be attached to a conventional baseball batting helmet. It may also be used in the sport of football and attached to a conventional football helmet. In fact, the invention may be utilized with any sporting helmet that is formed as a rigid structure and which has portions at the side of the wearer&#39;s head with openings at the location of the ears. 
     The key aspect of the invention is that the face guard can be attached to and detached from the sports helmet without any modification to the helmet itself and without danger of damaging the helmet. Helmets of this type are invariably provided with openings at the ear positions of the wearer. The face guard of the invention is attached to the helmet by one or more resilient connectors or couplings at these ear openings. 
     Attachment is by means of a reasonably stiff, but somewhat flexible, resilient, rubber ear hole attachment piece. The attachment piece has a generally disc-shaped configuration with at least one, and preferably a pair of mutually parallel channels defined in the periphery of the otherwise disc-shaped structure. The provision of these channels defines an inboard disc-shaped flange that can be resiliently deformed and inserted through the ear hole opening with the remaining portion of the attachment piece residing on the exterior of the helmet at the ear position. The outer, generally disc-shaped flange of each attachment piece or coupling may also be resiliently deformed and inserted through an opening in a mounting clip on one side of the face guard, or a pair of attachment mounting clips on the face guard located on both of the opposing sides of the helmet. 
     The attachment member or mounting clips of the face guard are preferably flat, plate-like, washer-shaped structures with a circular central opening therethrough. However the mounting clips need not necessarily be complete rings, but can have a C-shaped configuration which will still require resilient deformation of the mounting clip engaging piece or flange that fits into the mounting clip. The face guard may also employ a pair of short wire rod stabilizers that hook around the edges of the helmet at the corners of the face opening. 
     In one broad aspect the present invention may be considered to be a face guard for a sport helmet having side flaps with ear openings defined therethrough. The face guard of the invention is comprised of an open face protection grid of rigid bars curved convex forward and having opposing side ends. At least one rigid mounting clip having a helmet attachment opening defined therein is secured to at least one of the side ends of the face protection grid. At least one resilient coupling is provided having an arcuate, helmet engagement channel defined therein. This channel is sized to fit snugly within the confines of either one of the side flap ear openings. The channel thereby defines a resiliently compressible helmet attachment flange for insertion through an ear opening in one of the ear flaps of the helmet. The resilient coupling also defines a resiliently compressible mounting clip attachment flange for insertion into the helmet attachment opening in the mounting clip. 
     The face guard of the invention can be constructed as a guard that extends only across half the face of a wearer. Such a device is very useful for attachment to a baseball batting helmet in which the greatest danger of exposure to injury is to the side of the batter&#39;s face nearest the pitcher. Such a half face guard has an advantage of less obstruction to the view of the batter since the area obscured by the bars of the grid is minimized. In such a device there is a mounting clip only on the side end of the grid closest to the pitcher. In such a device a single resilient coupling is utilized. For a right-handed batter the mounting clip is located on the left side of the grid and is attached to the left ear hole of the helmet by the single resilient coupling employed. For a left-handed batter the attachment would be at the right ear opening of the helmet. 
     While a half face guard does have certain advantages, it does require different structures for right-handed batters and left-handed batters. Consequently, in a preferred embodiment of the invention the open face protection guard of rigid bars provides a full protection for the entire face of the wearer and has separate rigid mounting clips at each of the side ends of the face protection guard. In this embodiment a pair of resilient couplings are employed. 
     Therefore, in a preferred aspect, the present invention may be defined as a face guard for a sport helmet having side flaps with ear openings defined therethrough. The face guard is comprised of an open face protection grid of rigid bars curved convex forward and having opposing side ends positionable alongside the helmet side flaps externally thereof. A separate rigid mounting clip having a helmet attachment opening defined therein is secured to each of the side ends of the face protection grid. A pair of resilient couplings are provided. Each of these couplings has an arcuate helmet engagement channel defined therein of a size to fit snugly within the confines of one of the side flap ear openings. A resiliently compressible helmet attachment flange for insertion through an ear opening in one of the ear flaps and a resiliently compressible mounting clip attachment flange for insertion into the helmet attachment opening in the mounting clip are thereby defined. 
     In still another aspect the invention may be considered to be the combination of a sport helmet having a pair of opposing side flaps with ear openings defined therethrough and a face guard having an open face protection grid of rigid bars curved concave forward and having opposing side ends, at least one rigid mounting clip, and at least one resilient coupling. The mounting clip has a helmet attachment opening defined therein that is secured to at least one of the side ends of the face protection grid. The resilient coupling has an arcuate, helmet engagement channel defined therein. This channel is sized to snugly fit within the confines of either one of the side flap ear openings in the helmet. The resilient coupling thereby defines a resiliently compressible helmet attachment flange for insertion through an ear opening in one of the ear flaps, and a resiliently compressible mounting clip attachment flange for insertion into the helmet attachment opening in the mounting clip. 
    
    
     The invention may be described with greater clarity and particularity by reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective review of one preferred embodiment in a combination employing a face guard according to the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the face guard shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the face guard shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional detail view taken along the lines  4 — 4  in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional detail view taken along the lines  5 — 5  in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 6 is a side elevational view that illustrates an alternative embodiment of a face guard according to the invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of one of the resilient couplings employed according to the invention as illustrated in FIG. 1, shown in isolation. 
     FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the coupling illustrated in FIG.  7 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a sport helmet  10 , which in the embodiment illustrated is a baseball batting helmet of the type widely utilized in organized youth sporting programs. The helmet can may be formed of any durable, stiff rigid plastic, such as Delrin, polyvinyl chloride, ABS, etc. It could also be formed of some other rigid materials, such as aluminum. The helmet  10  is a unitary, molded structure and has a dome-shaped crown  12  that covers the crown of the wearer&#39;s head and the back of the wearer&#39;s neck. The helmet  10  also has a pair of integrally formed opposing side flaps  14  that extend alongside the sides of the wearer&#39;s head outboard from the wearer&#39;sears. Each of the side flaps  14  is provided with a circular ear opening  16 , indicated in FIG.  5 . The sport helmet  10  is also provided with a forwardly projecting bill  18  extending forward from the crown portion  12  above and between the side flaps  14 . 
     The combination illustrated in FIG. 1 also includes an open face protection grid  20  formed of rigid bars  22 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30 ,  32 ,  34 , and  36 . These bars are preferably formed of steel rod or wire stock and are welded together at their various points of contact. The face protection grid  20  is curved convex forward and has opposing side ends  38  and a pair of mounting clips  40 . As illustrated in FIG. 3, each of the mounting clips  40  has a helmet attachment opening  42  defined therein. The mounting clips  40  are secured to the side ends  38  of the face protection grid  20 . 
     The combination illustrated in FIG. 1 also employs a pair of resilient couplings  44 , one of which is illustrated in isolation in FIGS. 7 and 8. Each of the resilient couplings  44  has a generally disc-shaped configuration, as illustrated in FIGS. 6,  7 , and  8 , and has a central, frustoconical opening  45  defined therethrough. One purpose of the central opening  45  is to provide the wearer with an opening leading to the wearer&#39;s ear so that the wearer&#39;s hearing is not totally obstructed. Another purpose of the opening  45  is to enhance the extent of compressibility of the resilient coupling  44 . 
     Each resilient coupling  44  is preferably formed of a stiff, but resiliently compressible rubber or rubber based material. Each of the resilient couplings  44  has an arcuate, helmet engagement channel  46  defined therein. The channel  46  is visible in the isolated view of the resilient coupling  44  shown in FIG.  8 . The helmet engagement channel  46  is sized to snugly fit within the confines of either one of the side flap ear openings  16 , as illustrated in FIG.  5 . The helmet engagement channel  46  thereby defines a resiliently compressible annular helmet attachment flange  48  for insertion through an ear opening  16  of one of the ear flaps  14  of the helmet  10 . 
     Each of the resilient couplings  44  also has an arcuate, mounting clip engagement channel  50  defined therein parallel to and located outboard from the helmet engagement channel  46 . The mounting clip engagement channel  50  is sized to snugly fit within the helmet attachment opening  42  of the mounting clip  40 . The structure of the resilient coupling  44  thereby delineates a resiliently compressible mounting clip attachment flange  52  and a disc-shaped cushioning pad  54 . The cushioning pad  54  is located between the helmet attachment flange  48  and the mounting clip attachment flange  52  and is delineated therefrom by the radial, annular channels  46  and  50 , respectively, defined in the structure of the resilient coupling  44 . 
     The helmet attachment flange  48  has a generally disc-shaped, circular, annular configuration with a frustoconical surface  56  that facilitates insertion of the helmet attachment flange  48  through an ear opening  16  of one of the helmet side flaps  14 . As illustrated in FIG. 7, the mounting clip attachment flange  52  is also essentially a disc-shaped flange having a circular, annular configuration, but from which a forwardly facing segment is removed as indicated by the chord edge  58 . 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4 and  6 , the face protection grid  20  is formed with a plurality of convex, curved, laterally oriented, vertically spaced, face shielding bars, namely the bars  22 ,  24 ,  26 , and  28 . These bars are curved convex forwardly and terminate at their extremities at the steel mounting clips  40 . The mounting clip attachment bars  38  are formed by the same wire or steel rod stock that forms the arcuately curved lowermost face shielding bar  22  and the bar  30 . The mounting clip attachment bars  38  are welded to the mounting clips  40 . The other bars  32 ,  34 , and  36  are bracing bars that interconnect the face shielding bars to each other. The bracing bars are secured to the face shielding bars by welded connections at the locations at which the bracing bars pass across and contact the face shielding bars. This results in a face protection grid  20  that is thereby quite rigid and protects the wearer&#39;s face even from a hard object thrown at a high-speed, such as a pitched baseball. 
     The face protection grid  20  is further comprised of a laterally oriented helmet bill-engaging bar  30  that is arcuately curved to terminate at the mounting clips  40 . The helmet bill-engaging bar  30  is located above the uppermost face shielding bar  28 . The helmet bill-engaging bar  30  is configured to conform to the curvature of the location on the helmet  10  at which the bill  18  is delineated from the crown portion  12  of the helmet  10 . The bill-engaging bar  30  thereby serves to prevent the face shielding grid  20  from dropping down to expose the wearer&#39;s face. 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, the preferred embodiment of the invention employing the face protection grid  20  is also comprised of downwardly and inwardly projecting hooks  60  that are formed of short segments of bent steel or wire stock. The hooks  60  are welded to the bill-engaging bar  30  at laterally spaced separation from each other and are configured to engage the helmet  10 , preferably at approximately the location of the demarcation between the bill  18  and the helmet side flaps  14 . The hooks  60  prevent the face protection grid  20  from rising or being pulled out of position in front of the face of the wearer. Together the bill-engaging bar  30  and the hooks  60  stabilize the location of the face protection grid  20  relative to the helmet  10  and prevent it from rotating relative thereto at the ear hole openings  16 . 
     In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 3 the mounting clip  40  is a flat plate formed as a disc or washer having a completely annular shape. The sections  38  of the rigid stock forming the bill engagement bar  30  and the foremost face protection bar  22  are welded to the forward edges of the disc-shaped or ring shaped mounting clips  40 . 
     To attach the face protection grid  20  to the helmet  10  the mounting clip attachment flanges  52  of the two resilient couplings  44  on the opposing side ends of the protective grid  20  are resiliently deformed and forced from the inboard side through the central, circular openings  42  in the mounting clips  40 . When released, the resilient, mounting clip attachment flanges  52  reside outboard from the outwardly facing surfaces. of the mounting clips  40  and thereby capture the mounting clips  40  within the mounting clip receiving channels  50 . Because a segment of the otherwise circular shape of the mounting clip attachment flange  52  is removed, clearance is provided to accommodate the presence of the face grid attachment bar  38  and the terminal ends of the face protection bars  22 ,  24 ,  26 , and  28  and the terminal ends of the bill engagement bar  30 . 
     The face protection grid  20  is then brought into position in front of the face opening of the helmet  10  with the resilient couplings  44  located outboard from the helmet side flaps  14 , with the bars and the helmet engaging hooks  60  of the face protection grid  20  substantially in the position as illustrated in FIG.  1 . The structures of the helmet side flaps  14  and the steel bar stock forming the face protection grid  20  has enough resiliency to allow the resilient couplings  44  to be initially located totally outboard from the side flaps  14 . The resiliently compressible helmet attachment flanges  48  are thereupon forced inwardly through the ear openings  16  in the helmet side flaps  14  and, when released, engage the helmet side flaps  14  as illustrated in FIG.  5 . The face guard of the invention is thereby securely, but releaseably attached to the helmet  10 . It is significant that this manner of attachment requires no modification whatsoever to the structure of the helmet  10 . 
     It makes no difference whether the resilient couplings  44  are first attached to the mounting clips  40  or to the ear flaps  14  of the helmet  10 . The order of coupling of the resilient couplings to the helmet  10  and to the mounting clips  40  is at the user&#39;s discretion. 
     It should be further noted that the protective grid  20  with the mounting clips  40  at its ends can be completely removed from the helmet  10  by pushing the mounting clip attachment flanges  52  back through the openings  42  in the mounting clips  40 . The resilient couplings  44  can be left attached to the helmet  10  with the protective grid separated therefrom, if desired. 
     FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the invention which employs mounting clips  140  in place of the mounting clips  40 . The mounting clips  140  are formed as flat, C-shaped structures with a central opening  142  and with a slotted, radial opening  143  directed away from the protective grid  20  of rigid bars. With this embodiment of the invention, the mounting clips  140  can be attached to the resilient couplings  40  by pressing the slotted openings  143  thereof against the structure of the resilient couplings  44  at the mounting clip receiving channels  50  thereof. The structures of the resilient couplings  44  are sufficiently compressible to allow the ends of the slotted C-shaped mounting clip  140  to pass behind the structure of the releaseable couplings  44  at the mounting clip receiving channels  50 . The C-shaped mounting clips  140  thereby releaseably capture the resilient couplings  44  in the manner of a C-shaped washer. 
     Undoubtedly, numerous variations and modifications of the invention will become readily apparent to those familiar with protective guards for sports helmets. For example, mounting clips and resilient couplings of alternative configurations may be substituted for those illustrated and described. Also, various configurations of elements of the protection grid may be employed to hold the protection grid  20  in position relative to the helmet  10 . In addition, while the presence of a cushioning pad  54  between the ear attachment flange and the mounting clip attachment flange is highly desirable, it is not absolutely essential. The resilient couplings according to the invention could be constructed with a single channel that delineates the helmet attachment flange from the mounting clip attachment flange. In such a construction the mounting clips reside in contact with the outside surfaces of the ear flaps. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not be construed as limited to the specific embodiments depicted and described, but rather is defined in the claims appended hereto.