Cephalic Protection Cell Double-Layer Shell Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current helmets are heavy, expose the cranio-cervical joint, limit the visual field, and do not effectively prevent injuries from impact and deceleration, leading to facial and occipital injuries due to their outdated design and material usage, which has not evolved significantly in 30 years.
Innovation Solution
The Cephalic Protection Cell features a lighter, smaller design with a double-layer shell mimicking the skull's structure, incorporating impact-absorbing materials like elastomers and trabecular sponge, along with a flexible polyurethane foam layer and viscoelastic polymer support, to distribute and dissipate impact energy, reducing the risk of direct and deceleration-related injuries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional helmet design is used, then impact protection is provided, but the device becomes heavy and exposes the cranio-cervical joint
Solution Approach 1:
The helmet is divided into a modular structure with a hard outer shell and a separate soft inner lining layer. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function (impact resistance and comfort/cervical protection) while reducing the overall mass compared to a single heavy structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The helmet combines different materials with complementary properties: a hard polymer shell for impact resistance and a soft foam lining for comfort and cervical spine protection. This composite approach provides comprehensive protection while minimizing weight.
2Strength
If traditional helmet design is used, then impact protection is provided, but the visual field is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The helmet design provides enhanced protection locally at the forehead and crown areas where impacts are most likely, while maintaining a lighter overall structure that does not obstruct the visual field. The hard shell is strategically positioned to protect critical areas without extending into the user's peripheral vision.
3Stability of the object's composition
If traditional helmet design is used, then structural integrity is maintained, but facial and occipital areas are exposed to injury
Solution Approach 1:
The helmet incorporates a dynamic soft inner lining that can deform and move with the head, providing continuous coverage of the face and occipital areas. This flexible layer moves with the user's head movements while maintaining protective coverage, unlike rigid traditional designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The combination of hard shell and soft foam lining creates a composite structure where the soft layer provides extended coverage to protect the face and occipital areas from direct impacts and deceleration forces, complementing the structural integrity provided by the hard shell.
4Strength
If helmet mass is increased to reduce deceleration injuries, then brain protection is improved, but cervical spine injuries are favored
Solution Approach 1:
The helmet's protective function is segmented between the hard shell (for brain impact protection) and the soft inner lining (for cervical spine protection). This segmentation allows optimization of each component's mass for its specific function, avoiding the need to increase overall mass beyond what is necessary for brain protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The soft inner lining acts as an intermediary layer between the hard shell and the head, absorbing deceleration forces and reducing the transmission of impact forces to the cervical spine. This intermediary layer protects the cervical spine without requiring increased mass of the primary protective shell.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration significantly reduces the risk of brain and cervical spine injuries by distributing impact force over a longer time, enhancing protection and comfort while reducing the device's mass and promoting wider use across various activities.
Implementation Method 1
incorporating impact-absorbing materials like elastomers and trabecular sponge, to distribute and dissipate impact energy
Implementation Method 2
viscoelastic polymer support, to distribute and dissipate impact energy, reducing the risk of direct and deceleration-related injuries
Implementation Method 3
a double-layer shell mimicking the skull's structure
Data Source
AI summary
A new concept in cranial protection, is a device of individual protection with the purpose of protect the user's head against impact and decelerations. The Cephalic Protection Cell must be used with the objective of avoid direct injuries caused by impact and indirect injuries caused by deceleration, resting and, at the same time, improving the amount of time in which a contact strength is applied to the head, preventing, this way, localized injuries (by impact) or spreaded injuries (by deceleration) in the brain and in other internal structures of the cranium, and also regarding its hability to preserve the cervical spine, thanks to its less mass.