Patent ID: 7299505

Claim:
A site-selectable, helmet-installable, non-springy load-cushioning pad deployable as one of a collection of plural, spaced pads inside the shell of a helmet comprising compressible, non-springy, viscoelastic, urethane foam componentry with a structure possessing a load-response behavior which (a) resists sudden-movement rapid compression, yet (b) is less resistive to slow-movement compression, wherein said urethane foam componentry compression characteristics are degraded when exposed to water-based moisture, and completely covering said componentry, an encapsulating elastomeric film formed of material which functions simultaneously, over the entire outside surface of said componentry, to block all outside water-based moisture from reaching said componentry, while at the same time offering over the entire outside surface bidirectional gas permeability of all non-water-based gases to preserve non-springiness of the pad as a whole.