Patent ID: 8739318

Claim:
A helmet for receiving a head of a hockey or lacrosse player, the head having a crown region, left and right side regions, a back region and an occipital region, said helmet comprising: (a) a front shell for facing the crown region of the head; (b) a rear shell for facing the left and right side regions, the back region and the occipital region of the head, said rear shell comprising inner and outer surfaces and a central elongated slot residing within an imaginary vertical longitudinal plan that bisects said rear shell of said helmet in two generally identical halves; (c) a rear inner pad for facing the back and left and right side regions of the head, said rear inner pad being mounted to said rear shell; (d) an occipital inner pad located below said rear inner pad for facing the occipital region of the head; (e) a central member extending along said imaginary vertical longitudinal plan of said rear shell, said central member comprising an upper part hingedly mounted with respect to said rear shell and a lower part mounted to said occipital inner pad; and (f) a single wedging member located between said rear shell and said central member, said single wedging member being movable along said imaginary vertical longitudinal plan of said rear shell from a first position to a second position wherein, in use, in said second position, said occipital inner pad applies pressure upon the occipital region of the head for urging said front shell towards the crown region of the head.