Patent ID: 7988313

Claim:
A headgear comprising an outer shell, an energy absorbing support structure operationally coupled to said shell, an electronic lighting display unit supported by a substrate, a light-transmissive window disposed over the lighting display unit so as to permit viewing of the lighting display unit and any graphical representation that is disposed on at least one of, said light-transmissive window, said lighting display unit, and the substrate of said lighting display unit, wherein said graphical representation is illuminated by said lighting display unit to be observed externally of the headgear; and wherein an improvement comprises: said outer shell including an opaque portion over most of an extent of said outer shell and the outer shell having at least one window of light-transmissive material integrated with the outer shell; said lighting display unit being mounted underneath a top surface of the window so as to be visible through the window but not through the opaque portion of the shell; and wherein the lighting display unit is disposed in a shallow cavity in the shell having dimensions corresponding to the outer dimensions of the lighting display unit for a close fit such that the window is flush with an outer surface of the shell and at least one of the window and the lighting display unit is flush with an inwardly facing surface of the shell, the window and the lighting display unit being supported by the shell and not on the energy absorbing support structure.