FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to safety equipment for protecting athletes and others from concussions, and particularly to a shock absorbing cap to be worn by a user, e.g., someone engaging in sports, inside a hard protective helmet to reduce the transfer of shock from a force impacting the helmet to the head of the athlete or user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern helmets used in playing football, riding motor cycles, and etc. have a hard plastic outer shell. Inside there is webbing or relatively hard foam padding connecting the shell to the head of the user. When there is a sudden and severe impact on the helmet shell, the shell acts to protect the head from penetrating wounds and scrapes. However, the force is transmitted through the shell to the webbing or padding. Because the webbing or padding is relatively inflexible, it in turn transmits much of the force to the head.

The brain is resting somewhat loosely inside the skull. The sudden force applied to the skull from one direction causes the brain to strike the interior of the skull on the side opposite from where the force was applied. A single such blow can cause a concussion. Repeated strikes, even if not large enough to cause a concussion, are believed to lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (“CTE”).

US2013/0254978 of McInnis et al. discloses an insert inside a hard plastic shell of a helmet. The insert comprises a shock absorbing portion and a flexible liner portion. The shock absorbing portion is disposed between the helmet shell and the liner portion. The shock absorbing portion has a substantially constant resistive deformation force characteristic for reducing the peak G-force applied to the head during an impact.

The McInnis insert can comprise a plurality of flexible liner connectors for movably interconnecting the liner portion to a helmet shell to allow for the flexible movement of the liner portion relative the shell. The liner connectors can be in the form of vent shaft walls that each define a vent shaft for providing fluid communication between a head space of the liner and an outer side of the shock absorbing portion so to ventilate the space between the wearer's head and the interior of the helmet.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,918,918 of Jackson is basically directed to preventing neck injuries and concussions by using straps to attach a helmet to an anchor assembly at the shoulders, chest and upper back. Similarly, US Published Application No. 2015/0128332 of Jinkins includes shoulder flange straps to prevent the helmet from moving with respect to the shoulders.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a structure for providing additional force or shock abortion between the webbing or padding of a traditional safety helmet and the head. This shock absorption is proved by a cap that the user can wear inside the helmet. Thus, there is no need to change the helmets currently in use today. However, a player or motor cycle rider may have to select a slightly larger helmet to accommodate the shock absorbing cap. The cap may be made from all natural fibers or a combination of natural and man-made fibers which act to protect the dura mater, arachnoid mater and pia mater (meninges membrane) of the brain. It is particularly useful for professional football players, but can also be used by non-professionals and in other sports (e.g., hockey) and activities (e.g., bicycle riding, motor cycle riding, auto racing).

In one embodiment the shock absorbing cap is made of three regions of material. The first region, which is next to the scalp, has knitted fiber bundles that extend longitudinally, i.e., from the front forehead to the back of the neck. The fibers of the first region are preferably 100% cotton knitted fibers and act as a ground cap for comfort, good hand and fit close to the scalp. The second region is made of a plurality of layers of braided fiber bundles laid one on top of the other. The fiber bundles of the second layer are preferably made of 100% Wool Fleece. These fiber bundles run alternately in the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction, i.e., from side to side of the head, and lay on top of each other to practically fill the gap between the first region at the head of the wearer and the interior of the helmet. This second region is the main shock absorbing element of the invention. The final or third region is made of braided fiber bundles of preferably 100% carbon fibers, which run either longitudinally or laterally depending on the direction of the topmost bundle of the second region. The carbon fibers provide great strength to the shock absorbing cap and help it to retain its shape. Further, these fibers tend to spread force applied to one location to the bulk of the cap. Each region is interlocked with the other.

Also, instead of 100% fibers of each type in each region, other fibers may be blended into the bundles so long as most of the fibers in each region are as designated. In addition, the thickness of each region can be adjusted. Most importantly the second region has great resiliency so it can be compressed to absorb a force but return to its original shape after the force is removed. This second region is made with sufficient thickness to absorb most of the force from a typical blow during a football game or a fall from a moving motor cycle, so as to reduce the chances of a concussion and the likelihood of CTE.

There is a particular process for forming the first embodiment of the shock absorbing cap as follows:

1) A Plaster of Paris mold is made of the space between the wearer's head and the interior of the helmet. This is achieved by placing a plastic cap on the user's head which is a replica of the interior of the helmet on the top and is open on the bottom to receive the user's head. Then the Plaster of Paris is poured through an opening in the top and fills the space. As an alternative, the actual helmet can be used as the mold. The plaster is then poured through holes in the helmet. A plastic cap on the users head catches the plaster and forms the base of the mold. The plaster mold can then be measured to get the dimensions required for the shock absorbing cap of the present invention. As an alternative, the mold can be formed from warm wax instead of plaster. Once the void is filled the wax is allowed to cool and solidify. The wax mold is then placed into a container and Plaster of Paris is poured around it. When the plaster is firm, it is heated which melts the wax and allows it to run out (loss wax molding). What remains is a void in the plaster that is the shape of the void between the user's head and the interior of the helmet.

The absorbent cap can then be constructed in this void.

2) The knitted cotton cap is trimmed and applied to the wearer's scalp as if it were a lace front wig.

3) The cap is placed in the void. Then a layer of wool locks, i.e., a braided bundle, is formed. The layer is 3 ply locked and is laid densely on top of the cap in the void in a longitudinal or lateral direction. Then a second layer of wool locks is laid on top of the first and at right angles to it, e.g., laterally if the cotton cap is longitudinal. A third layer with the opposite orientation is laid on the second. This is repeated as the wool lock layers fill up the void. The placement of the layers is adjusted to evenly fill the void, which is not uniform because of the various shapes that a wearer's head can take on.

4) When the void is nearly filled, the third region of carbon fiber material is laid on top of the uppermost layer of wool braid material. The carbon fibers hold the structure together.

5) The cap is removed from the void and is submerged in hot water to cause the various regions and layers to interlock.

A second embodiment of the present invention is a hybrid, i.e., it uses a combination of natural and man-made fibers, instead of using all natural fibers as in the first embodiment. In particular, the base layer is a cap made of 100% cotton as with the first embodiment. However, the second layer is made of woven squares of a yarn blend or mixture of Aramid as the filling and Carbon in the warp, as opposed to 100% wool in the original design. The second embodiment does not use a third layer as in the first embodiment.

The process for making the second embodiment is nearly the same as that used for the first embodiment, except that step 4) is eliminated. Also, in step 3), instead of braided bundles of wool, the second embodiment uses triaxial woven squares made of a combination of aramid and carbon fibers. This layer extends all the way to the top of the cap because no carbon fiber upper layer is used with this second embodiment.

