Natural Fiber Impact Attenuation System

Abstract

A natural fiber impact attenuation system capable of protecting a user engaged in a professional, recreational, or competitive activity is disclosed. The system may be constructed partly or entirely of biodegradable natural fiber materials such as cork in an agglomerated or non-agglomerated form. Impact attenuation pads may be installed within the shell of a helmet so that a user's head decelerates during an impact event by causing natural fiber impact attenuation pads to deform into void spaces or empty areas. The natural fiber impact attenuation system may be secured to a helmet by adhesives or other fastening methods.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 498,598 filed on Jun. 19th, 2011, entitled “Protective Natural Fiber Helmet”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not ApplicableTHE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT[0003]Not ApplicableINCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC[0004]Not ApplicableSEQUENCE LISTING[0005]Not ApplicableBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0006]1. Field of the Invention[0007]The present invention relates to protective helmets and more particularly to an impact attenuation system for use in a helmet that is constructed partially or entirely out of a natural fiber material.[0008]2. Description of the Related Art[0009]It is well known that the survivability of accidents, particularly without serious injury, depends strongly on whether the victim is wearing ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0019]It is an object of the present invention to provide a natural fiber impact attenuation system for protecting the head of a user engaged in a professional, recreational, or competitive activity.

[0028]In the above-mentioned exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the natural fiber impact attenuation system may be inserted into the outer shell of a helmet. The system may use multiple layers of cork pads with holes cut in the pads to allow for the cork pads to deform adequately during an impact event. In an accident, a user's head deforms the cork pads as his or her head decelerates. Slower deceleration aids in preventing the user from being as injured, or as seriously injured, had the user's head impacted directly with a helmet's hard outer shell.

Problems solved by technology

By way of example, a person with no head protection may well sustain fatal injuries in an accident while a person simply wearing a helmet would not.

Head injury is a significant cause of accidental death and disability among children and adults in the United States and other countries, frequently resulting from activities such as bicycling, snow sports, motorcycles and ATVs, watersports including whitewater sports, skateboarding, equestrian activities, climbing sports, baseball, roller-skating, kick scooters, and in-line skating.

This means the hard shell helmets are not designed to withstand forces from higher energy impacts due to higher speeds or falls.

However, the EPS helmet liners are rigid, inelastic, with very little flexibility.

Because of this, they are “single impact” helmets, and have serious deficiencies in their energy attenuation characteristics.

Some designer materials such as Zorbium® do have the characteristics of being malleable and can be used in multiple impacts, but are costly to not only the consumer, but the environment as well.

The pads will not retain moisture, reducing degradation and further extending service life.

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