Jaw protection device

Claim 1

A device for attachment to a helmet for protecting a jaw comprising a rigid elongate plate having a pair of substantially parallel end portions and a curved intermediate portion extending between said end portions, means for rigidly attaching said end portions to a helmet on sides thereof respectively so that said plate is fixed immovably to the helmet, said intermediate portion being disposed to extend in front of and spaced from the chin and curved to follow the contour of the chin, said end portions being disposed to be spaced from the facial structures of the person and to overlie the jaw on the respective sides of the face of the person whereby said plate is shaped to extend along both sides of the jaw and in front of the chin paralleling the anatomical structure of the jaw, the device being adapted to be spaced from the facial structures of the person wearing the helmet, said intermediate portion having generally parallel upper and lower curved edges which are generally horizontally disposed when the helmet is worn by the person, each of said end portions having generally parallel forward and rear edges which are generally vertically disposed when the helmet is worn by the person, said upper edge connecting to said forward edge, said plate having an edge extending between each of said rear edges and said respective lower edge at an oblique angle relative thereto to provide a chamfered corner to said plate so that interference between the device and the shoulders of the person is reduced during sideways head movement, and wherein said plate has a width along said chamfered edge which is less than about a width of said intermediate portion and less than about a width of each of said end portions.

Claim 2

A device for attachment to a helmet for protecting a jaw comprising a rigid elongate plate having a pair of substantially parallel end portions and a curved intermediate portion extending between said end portions, means for rigidly attaching said end portions to a helmet on sides thereof respectively so that said plate is fixed immovably to the helmet, said intermediate portion being disposed to extend in front of and spaced from the chin and curved to follow the contour of the chin, said end portions being disposed to be spaced from the facial structures of the person and to overlie the jaw on the respective sides of the face of the person whereby said plate is shaped to extend along both sides of the jaw and in front of the chin paralleling the anatomical structure of the jaw, the device being adapted to be spaced from the facial structures of the person wearing the helmet, said intermediate portion having generally parallel upper and lower curved edges which are generally horizontally disposed when the helmet is worn by the person, each of said end portions having generally parallel forward and rear edges which are generally vertically disposed when the helmet is worn by the person, said upper edge connecting to said forward edge, said plate having an edge extending between each of said rear edges and said respective lower edge at an oblique angle relative thereto to provide a chamfered corner to said plate so that interference between the device and the shoulders of the person is reduced during sideways head movement, and wherein said plate has a width along said chamfered edge which is less than about a width of said intermediate portion and less than about a width of each of said end portions.

Claim 12

A device for attachment to a helmet for protecting a jaw comprising a rigid elongate plate having a pair of substantially parallel end portions and a curved intermediate portion extending between said end portions, means for rigidly attaching said end portions to the helmet on sides thereof respectively so that said plate is fixed immovably to the helmet, said intermediate portion having a width which is between about 11/2 and 21/2 inches and being disposed to extend in front of and spaced from the chin of a person wearing the helmet and curved to follow the contour of the chin, said end portions being disposed to be spaced from the facial structures of the person and to overlie the jaw on the respective sides of the face of the person whereby said plate is shaped to extend along both sides of the jaw and in front of the chin paralleling the anatomical structure of the jaw, the device being adapted to be spaced between about 3/4 11/2 inches from the facial structures of the person wearing the helmet, said intermediate portion having a lower edge, the device further comprising a rigid elongate member having a pair of end portions each of which is attached to said lower edge on opposite sides respectively of the device to be spaced from and underlie the chin to prevent objects from entering to contact the jaw from underneath the jaw, said intermediate portion having generally parallel upper and lower curved edges which are generally horizontally disposed when the helmet is worn by the person, each of said end portions having generally parallel forward and rear edges which are generally vertically disposed when the helmet is worn by the person, said upper edge connecting to said forward edge, said plate having an edge extending between each of said rear edges and said respective lower edge at an oblique angle relative thereto to provide a chamfered corner to said plate so that interference between the device and the shoulders of the person is reduced during sideways head movement, and wherein said plate has a width along said chamfered edge which is less than about a width of said intermediate portion and less than about a width of each of said end portions.

Claim 13

A device for attachment to a helmet for protecting a jaw comprising a rigid elongate plate having a pair of substantially parallel end portions and a curved intermediate portion extending between said end portions, means for rigidly attaching said end portions to the helmet on sides thereof respectively so that said plate is fixed immovably to the helmet, said intermediate portion having a width which is between about 11/2 and 21/2 inches and being disposed to extend in front of and spaced from the chin of a person wearing the helmet and curved to follow the contour of the chin, said end portions being disposed to be spaced from the facial structures of the person and to overlie the jaw on the respective sides of the face of the person whereby said plate is shaped to extend along both sides of the jaw and in front of the chin paralleling the anatomical structure of the jaw, the device being adapted to be spaced between about 3/4 11/2 inches from the facial structures of the person wearing the helmet, said intermediate portion having a lower edge, the device further comprising a rigid elongate member having a pair of end portions each of which is attached to said lower edge on opposite sides respectively of the device to be spaced from and underlie the chin to prevent objects from entering to contact the jaw from underneath the jaw, said intermediate portion having generally parallel upper and lower curved edges which are generally horizontally disposed when the helmet is worn by the person, each of said end portions having generally parallel forward and rear edges which are generally vertically disposed when the helmet is worn by the person, said upper edge connecting to said forward edge, said plate having an edge extending between each of said rear edges and said respective lower edge at an oblique angle relative thereto to provide a chamfered corner to said plate so that interference between the device and the shoulders of the person is reduced during sideways head movement, and wherein said plate has a width along said chamfered edge which is less than about a width of said intermediate portion and less than about a width of each of said end portions.