Segmented Helmet Shell with Elastomeric Donuts for Rotational Impact Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sports helmets primarily protect against direct impacts but fail to adequately address the risk of rotational injuries caused by lateral impacts, which can lead to serious brain damage and concussions.
Innovation Solution
A protective helmet design featuring independently movable structures with energy-absorbing cells and elastomeric donuts that compress and extend to distribute the impact force over time, reducing the magnitude of both direct and lateral impacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional helmets use a hard outer shell with internal padding, then skull fracture protection is improved, but protection against rotational injuries from lateral impacts is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The helmet shell is divided into multiple independently movable structures (panels) that can move relative to each other and to the shell. This segmentation allows each structure to independently respond to lateral impacts, reducing rotational forces transmitted to the head while maintaining overall shell integrity for direct impact protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the static helmet shell into a dynamic system where structures are coupled to the shell through movable connections (sliders, hinges, or elastic elements). These connections allow the structures to move laterally when struck, dynamically absorbing rotational energy and reducing the transmission of angular forces to the wearer's head.
2Stability of the object's composition
If structures are rigidly coupled to the shell, then structural integrity is improved, but impact magnitude is not reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Movable connections (sliders, hinges, or elastic elements) are introduced as intermediary components between the structures and the shell. These intermediaries maintain structural integrity by keeping structures coupled to the shell while allowing controlled movement that reduces impact magnitude through energy absorption and force distribution.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If structures are allowed to move freely, then lateral impact protection is improved, but structural stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements controlled dynamics through movable connections that permit lateral movement for impact protection while constraining movement in other directions to maintain structural stability. The connections are designed to allow motion primarily in the lateral direction where impact protection is needed, while preventing excessive movement that would compromise structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the helmet structure have different mobility characteristics. Structures are designed with specific movement capabilities tailored to their location and function, with movable connections providing localized freedom of movement where needed for impact absorption while maintaining stability in other regions of the helmet.
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
The helmet effectively reduces the magnitude and duration of impact forces, minimizing rotational acceleration and the risk of concussions by distributing impact energy, thereby enhancing protection against both direct and lateral impacts.
Implementation Method 1
Each donut is capable of compressing and extending when its corresponding structure experiences a lateral impact. The compressing and extending of the donut extends the time of impact transfer from the structure to the shell, thereby reducing the magnitude of an impact transfer from lateral hit.
Implementation Method 2
Each assembly includes an elastomeric donut whose top surface is coplanar with the outer surface of the shell. Each donut is capable of compressing and extending when its corresponding structure experiences a lateral impact.
Implementation Method 3
Each structure includes a cell made of foam with a specific resiliency, where an optimal resiliency is based upon field impact testing for a particular player position.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus for protecting a user from impacts to the head. The apparatus includes a shell configured to receive a human head and a plurality of structures attached to the outer surface of the shell, where each structure is independently coupled to the shell with a respective assembly. The structures move independently of one another but are restricted to moving laterally along the outer surface of the shell. The structures each include a foam cell that reduces the magnitude of a head-on impact as the impact transfers from the foam cell to the shell. The assemblies each include an elastomeric donut that reduces the magnitude of a lateral impact as the impact is transferred from the foam cell to the donut assembly to the shell. Thus, a user is protected from the concussive effects of a head-on impact and the rotational acceleration injuries of a lateral impact.