Headgear structure

Claim 2

A headgear assembly for protecting the head of a wearer against injury from bumps including in combination, a flexible helmet adapted to fit relatively closely to the wearer''s head, a plurality of discrete bodies of impact resistant energy-absorbing material extending over the area of said helmet covering the portion of the wearer''s head outside the wearer''s ear and means for individually supporting said bodies on said helmet to permit relative movement therebetween to cause said helmet to conform closely to the shape of the wearer''s head.

Claim 3

An assembly as in claim 1 in which said bodies comprise first and second bodies extending from the front to the rear of the helmet over the crown of the wearer''s head and being arranged symmetrically with reference to the fore-and-aft centerline of the helmet.

Claim 4

An assembly as in claim 2 in which said bodies comprise respective third and fourth bodies located at the sides of said helmet alongside said first and second bodies.

Claim 5

An assembly as in claim 3 in which each of first and second bodies extends downwardly over the back of the wearer''s head.

Claim 6

An assembly as in claim 4 in which said third and fourth bodies extend downwardly behind said earcups and over the mastoid processes of the wearer''s head.

Claim 7

An assembly as in claim 1 in which said supporting means comprises pockets in said helmet for readily removably receiving saiD bodies.

Claim 8

An assembly as in claim 1 including a substantially rigid shell disposed outwardly of and extending over said helmet carrying said bodies and readily releasable means for securing said helmet to said shell.

Claim 9

An assembly as in claim 7 in which said helmet is an envelope having pockets for removably receiving said bodies.

Claim 10

An assembly as in claim 7 including pressure actuatable interengageable means on the inside of said shell and on the outside of said helmet in the region of the crown of said assembly for stabilizing the position of said helmet relative to said shell.

Claim 11

An assembly as in claim 1 in which said helmet is a fabric envelope and in which said bodies are inserts located within said envelope.

Claim 12

An assembly as in claim 1 including manually operable means for drawing said helmet into conformity with the wearer''s head.

Claim 13

An assembly as in claim 1 including a relatively rigid outer shell and means for releasably securing said shell over said helmet.

Claim 14

An assembly as in claim 12 including means for positioning said helmet within said shell.

Claim 15

An assembly as in claim 1 including means for spacing said bodies from the wearer''s head to ventilate said assembly.

Claim 16

An assembly as in claim 14 in which said spacing means comprises protrusions formed on said bodies.

Claim 17

An assembly as in claim 15 in which said bodies are formed with holes extending from the inner surfaces to the outer surfaces thereof.

Claim 18

An assembly as in claim 1 in which said plurality of bodies include a pair of crown pads extending from the front to the rear of said helmet on opposite sides of the fore-and-aft centerline of the helmet.

Claim 19

An assembly as in claim 17 in which said plurality of bodies include a pair of side pads located at the sides of said crown pads and adapted to extend from the temple areas rearwardly toward the back of the head and above the ears of the wearer.

Claim 20

An assembly as in claim 18 in which said plurality of bodies include a front pad extending across the wearer''s forehead.

Claim 21

An assembly as in claim 19 in which said helmet is an envelope formed with pockets for receiving said pads.

Claim 22

A protective headgear structure comprising a flexible close-fitting helmet and means carried by said helmet for protecting the head of a wearer against impacts, said protecting means comprising at least two separate pads of energy-absorbing material disposed side by side in position to protect the crown portion of the wearer''s head, and individually supported by said helmet in a sufficiently spaced relation so as to be movable relative to each other to conform to the size and shape of the wearer''s head comprising a pair of outer panels of flexible, yieldable netting extending side by side from a front edge adjacent the wearer''s forehead over the head to a rear edge at the base of the wearer''s skull, the netting of each of said outer panels being biased with respect to the netting of the other outer panel with warplike threads of the two nettings parallel at the point of the common boundary of the outer panels adjacent the crown of the wearer''s head and intersecting elsewhere along that common boundary at acute angles which increase from the crown toward both extremities of the outer panels; side panels of relatively inelastic but flexible material attached to the sides of said outer panels adjacent the front and rear ends thereof; and a pair of segments of flexible, yieldable netting respectively disposed between the central portions of said side panels and said outer panels, the netting of each said segment being biased with respect to the netting of the adjacent outer panel with warplike threads of the outer panel and segment nettings parallel adjacent the middle of their common boundary and intersecting elsewhere along their common boundary at acute angles which increase toward the extremities thereof, said two pads respectively underlying said outer panels, extending from the front to the rear of the helmet in generally parallel relation over the crown of the wearer''s head on opposite sides of the center line of said helmet, said headgear including a second pair of pads respectively underlying said side panels and the adjacent segments on opposite sides of said two first-mentioned pads and curved to extend over and behind the ear areas of the wearer''s head, for protecting the opposite sides of the head, said second pair of pads being individually supported by said helmet in sufficiently spaced relation to said two first-mentioned pads so as to be movable relative to said two first-mentioned pads.

Claim 23

A protective headgear structure comprising a flexible close-fitting helmet and means carried by said helmet for protecting the head of a wearer against impacts, said protecting means comprising at least two separate pads of energy-absorbing material disposed side by side in position to protect the crown portion of the wearer''s head, and individually supported by said helmet in a sufficiently spaced relation so as to be movable relative to each other to conform to the size and shape of the wearer''s head comprising a pair of outer panels of flexible, yieldable netting extending side by side from a front edge adjacent the wearer''s forehead over the head to a rear edge at the base of the wearer''s skull, the netting of each of said outer panels being biased with respect to the netting of the other outer panel with warplike threads of the two nettings parallel at the point of the common boundary of the outer panels adjacent the crown of the wearer''s head and intersecting elsewhere along that common boundary at acute angles which increase from the crown toward both extremities of the outer panels; side panels of relatively inelastic but flexible material attached to the sides of said outer panels adjacent the front and rear ends thereof; and a pair of segments of flexible, yieldable netting respectively disposed between the central portions of said side panels and said outer panels, the netting of each said segment being biased with respect to the netting of the adjacent outer panel with warplike threads of the outer panel and segment nettings parallel adjacent the middle of their common boundary and intersecting elsewhere along their common boundary at acute angles which increase toward the extremities thereof, said two pads respectively underlying said outer panels, extending from the front to the rear of the helmet in generally parallel relation over the crown of the wearer''s head on opposite sides of the center line of said helmet, said headgear including a second pair of pads respectively underlying said side panels and the adjacent segments on opposite sides of said two first-mentioned pads and curved to extend over and behind the ear areas of the wearer''s head, for protecting the opposite sides of the head, said second pair of pads being individually supported by said helmet in sufficiently spaced relation to said two first-mentioned pads so as to be movable relative to said two first-mentioned pads.

Claim 24

Structure as defined in claim 21, wherein said helmet further includes an inner layer of flexible, yieldable netting extending over the interior of said helmet and stitched to said outer panels and segments to cooperatively define therewith individual pockets for holding said pads, said inner layer having plural slits respectively positioned at central portions of said pockets for insertion and removal of said pads.

Claim 25

Structure as defined in claim 22, wherein said pads are perforated for ventilation of the interior of the helmet, and wherein each of said pads bears on its inner surface a layer of material having formed therein plural flexible protrusions for holding the inner surface of the pads spaced away from the wearer''s head to permit passage of air between the pad and the head.

Claim 26

Structure as defined in claim 22, further including a gore of flexible yieldable netting secured to and extending below the forward edges of said outer panels for engaging the wearer''s forehead, said gore comprising a pocket, and further including an energy-absorbing pad inserted within the gore for protecting the wearer''s forehead.