Patent ID: 8739317

Claim:
A liner for protective headgear adapted to be interposed between the interior surface thereof and a wearer's head received therein, the liner comprising: a plurality of fluid cells formed from a flexible, fluid-impermeable material, each fluid cell adapted to receive and store fluid therein, the plurality of fluid cells further including: a group of networked fluid cells extending in a hub-and-spoke arrangement across the liner, where: the networked fluid cells define the hubs in the hub-and-spoke arrangement, the networked fluid cells being spaced from one another; elongate fluid passageways define the spokes in the hub-and-spoke arrangement, the elongate fluid passageways interconnecting two networked fluid cells; and the networked fluid cells and the elongate fluid passageways cooperate to equalize fluid pressure across the networked fluid cells responsive to a force delivered to a networked fluid cell by communicating fluid through the elongate fluid passageways between the group of networked fluid cells; and a group of discrete, non-networked fluid cells encompassed by at least two networked fluid cells and the fluid passageways interconnecting them, wherein the discrete fluid cells are completely separate from the networked fluid cells; wherein at least some of the discrete fluid cells position the headgear on a wearer's head and maintain an initial spaced relationship between the user's head and the interior surface of the headgear when the fluid pressure in the networked fluid cells is at least a predetermined minimum value.