Suspended Helmet Liner With Slip Interface for Oblique Impacts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing helmets, particularly those designed for oblique impacts, fail to effectively reduce rotational acceleration of the brain, leading to injuries such as concussions and subdural hematomas, without significantly increasing manufacturing costs or complexity.
Innovation Solution
A helmet design featuring an outer shell and a head mount suspended within, with an air gap and a low friction interface between the head engagement device and the head mount, allowing relative movement to dissipate rotational energy through sliding motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a helmet is designed with a single solid shell structure, then it provides basic protection but causes pressure points and discomfort to the wearer's head
Solution Approach 1:
The helmet shell is divided into multiple segments or zones with varying thicknesses and material properties. This segmentation allows the helmet to distribute impact forces more evenly across the wearer's head, reducing pressure points while maintaining protective capability. The shell can be divided into thicker regions for high-impact areas and thinner regions for lower-impact areas.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the helmet shell are designed with locally optimized properties including varying thickness, material composition, and structural reinforcement. This allows the helmet to provide enhanced protection where needed while reducing weight and improving comfort in other areas. The local quality approach enables customization of protection levels for specific impact zones.
2Strength
If the helmet shell is made thicker and more rigid for better protection, then impact resistance improves but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The helmet shell utilizes composite materials that combine different substances with complementary properties. These composites provide high strength-to-weight ratio, delivering superior impact resistance without proportionally increasing weight. The composite structure may include layers of different materials that work together to absorb and distribute impact forces efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than uniformly thickening the entire shell, the design segments the shell into zones with optimized thickness and material properties. High-impact areas receive thicker, more rigid construction while lower-impact areas use thinner, lighter materials. This segmented approach maintains overall protection capability while significantly reducing total weight.
3Temperature
If ventilation openings are added to improve airflow, then cooling effectiveness increases but structural strength decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The helmet incorporates flexible or semi-flexible shell materials that can accommodate ventilation openings without significantly compromising structural integrity. These materials have inherent flexibility that allows for the creation of airflow channels while maintaining the overall strength and protective capability of the helmet shell.
Solution Approach 2:
Composite material construction allows for the integration of ventilation features within the shell structure itself. The composite layers can be designed to provide both structural strength and airflow pathways, with some layers optimized for strength and others for ventilation. This multi-layer composite approach enables simultaneous achievement of cooling effectiveness and structural integrity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A helmet (1), comprising an outer shell (2); a head mount (20), configured to be mounted on the top of the head of a wearer of the helmet; wherein the head mount is suspended within the outer shell such that, in use, an air gap (21) is provided between head mount and the outer shell; the helmet further comprises a head engagement device (40) that is mounted on a surface of the head mount, that is configured to face the head of a wearer of the helmet, such that the head engagement device can move relative to the head mount; and a low friction interface is provided between the head mount and the head engagement device.