Patent ID: 8313602

Claim:
A method for manufacturing a protective helmet, comprising: winding a ballistic-tolerant tape, said tape coated with a thermoplastic or thermosetting adhesive, around a solid mandrel to create a spheroid structure; cutting the spheroid structure into two halves, each of said halves comprising a preform; placing one said preform into a first mold member having an interior cavity that defines an outside surface of a helmet; pressing together the first mold member and a second mold member, wherein the second mold member includes a bladder that projects from the second mold member and is sized to engage said preform located in the interior cavity of the first mold member when the first and second mold members are pressed together; pressurizing the bladder and heating the first and second mold members until the adhesive has melted or cured; positioning a containment and expansion ring around the bladder at a top edge of the preform to prevent the pressurized bladder from acting axially on the top edge of the preform when the preform is located in the mold; cooling the first and second mold members; and removing a molded preform from the first and second mold members.