Football Helmet Cheek Support Retention System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern football helmets lack effective retention mechanisms and adequate protection for the cheek area during collisions, leading to potential helmet displacement and increased risk of injury.
Innovation Solution
The integration of extended cheek supports with an inner plate and outer brace, connected by fasteners through the helmet's earflaps, provides enhanced retention and protection by overlaying the zygomatic bone area, combined with removable padding for comfort and impact absorption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional helmet design is used, then the helmet structure is simple, but the retention mechanism is ineffective and cheek area protection is inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The cheek support system is divided into separate components: an inner plate attached to the helmet shell, an outer brace that overlays the cheek area, and fasteners that connect them. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while maintaining overall system effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The cheek support structure uses a nested configuration where the inner plate is positioned inside the helmet shell, the outer brace overlays it, and both are connected through fasteners. This nested arrangement provides multiple layers of protection and retention without excessive external bulk.
2Reliability
If cheek supports with inner plate and outer brace are added, then retention and protection are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The inner plate serves multiple functions: it provides a structural base for the cheek support system, attaches to the helmet shell for retention, and serves as an attachment point for the outer brace. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The fasteners serve dual purposes by both connecting the inner plate to the helmet shell and securing the outer brace to the inner plate. This combining of attachment functions into single components reduces the total number of parts needed in the system.
Data Source
AI summary
A plastic football helmet has a shell with a left earflap in a left side region and a right earflap in a right side region, each ear flap having a non-circular ear hole, and an offset area defined on a top edge by a top banked portion and on a bottom edge by a bottom banked portion, the offset area extending continuously from the right ear flap, across the rear region, to the left ear flap. The non-circular ear holes are in the offset area. Both the top edge and the bottom edge of the offset area curve upward from the right ear flap to the rear region and curve upward from the left ear flap to the rear region. The top edge and bottom edge do not meet at any point such that offset area begins at an open right end in the right earflap and ends at an open left end in the left earflap. Cheek support are attached to the earflaps to improve retention of the helmet and provide protection to the cheek area against blows.