Football helmet face mask

Claim 2

In combination with a football helmet having an opening for exposing the user's face, a mask including: an elongated member spanning said opening; means connecting opposite ends of the elongated member to opposite sides of the opening; a plurality of beads mounted along the elongated member, each of said beads comprising; a body having an opening for receiving the elongated member; and a structure mounted on the body for closing one side of said opening such that the body and the structure form a bead slideably rotatably mounted on the elongated member.

Claim 3

A combination as defined in claim 1, in which the body and said structure comprise a pair of similarly shaped halves, including means at opposite ends of the halves for connecting them together to form an opening.

Claim 4

A combination as defined in claim 1, in which each bead comprises a pair of halves each having a semi-cylindrical opening, and hinge means connecting one side of said halves together such that the two halves are hingedly connected together, and latch means at the opposite end of said halves adapted to snap said halves together in a closed position.

Claim 5

A combination as defined in claim 3, in which said latch means comprises one of said halves having an opening with a pair of inwardly projecting spaced lips and the opposite half has a pair of arms with a pair of outwardly projecting spaced ears, the arms being adapted to be received between the lips and up into the opening to a position in which the ears expand to a position larger than the space between the lips so as to retain the arms in a locked position.

Claim 6

The combination with a football helmet having an opening for exposing the user's face, a mask including: a wire frame including a plurality of frame wire elements; means mounting said frame on the helmet over the helmet opening; a plurality of beads disposed side-by-side along at least one of the frame elements, each bead comprising; a body having a central opening receiving the wire element so as to be rotatably mounted thereon, the body having means forming a lateral opening for removing the body from the wire element by passing the element from the central opening through the lateral opening.

Claim 7

The combination with a football helmet having an opening for exposing the user's face, a mask including: a wire frame including a plurality of frame wire elements; means mounting said frame on the helmet over the helmet opening; a plurality of beads disposed side-by-side along at least one of the frame elements, each bead comprising; a body having a central opening receiving the wire element so as to be rotatably mounted thereon, the body having means forming a lateral opening for removing the body from the wire element by passing the element from the central opening through the lateral opening.

Claim 8

A combination as defined in claim 5, in which each of the bodies is formed of a plurality of separable sections formed so as to be relatively movable with respect to one another to open or close said lateral opening.