Viscoelastic Headgear with Macrostructure Impact Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current headgear lacks effective impact absorption features for activities outside typical helmet-wearing sports, such as soccer, lacrosse, and ice hockey, and does not provide adequate protection for head injuries like concussions.
Innovation Solution
The development of headgear with a base that engages the head and incorporates a force-absorbing structure featuring a viscoelastic polymer with a coarse macrostructure, including protrusions and recesses, designed to absorb impact forces, providing varying damping coefficients and protection for different areas of the skull.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If headgear is designed without force absorbing structures, then the device complexity is reduced and manufacturing is simplified, but the headgear cannot effectively absorb impact forces and protect against head injuries
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous foam material as the force absorbing structure within the headgear. The porous structure allows the material to compress and deform under impact forces, absorbing energy through cell collapse and material deformation. This provides effective impact absorption while maintaining a relatively simple overall device structure, as the protective function is achieved through the intrinsic properties of the porous material rather than complex mechanical mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite construction by combining the porous foam force absorbing structure with a headgear base layer. This composite approach integrates the energy-absorbing properties of the foam material with the structural support and wearing comfort of the base, creating a unified protective device that addresses both impact absorption and wearability without requiring separate complex systems.
2Reliability
If traditional helmets are used for protection, then impact forces are absorbed, but the headgear becomes too heavy and cumbersome for activities outside typical helmet-wearing sports
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential protective function from traditional heavy helmets by implementing a minimalistic design. Instead of using full helmet structures with rigid shells and multiple components, the invention isolates and applies only the necessary force-absorbing element (porous foam structure) integrated into a lightweight base, providing adequate protection for lower-impact activities while significantly reducing weight and bulk.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible, thin headgear base rather than rigid helmet shells. The base is designed to be lightweight and conformable, providing comfort and adequate protection for non-contact or low-impact sports. This approach replaces heavy rigid structures with flexible, thin-walled construction that maintains protective functionality while minimizing weight and improving wearability for activities like soccer, lacrosse, and ice hockey.
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 headgear effectively absorbs impact forces, offering lightweight protection for various physical activities and medical conditions, reducing the risk of head injuries by distributing and dissipating force across the headgear surface.
Implementation Method 1
a force absorbing structure featuring a viscoelastic polymer with a coarse macrostructure, including protrusions and recesses, designed to absorb impact forces
Implementation Method 2
providing varying damping coefficients and protection for different areas of the skull
Data Source
AI summary
Headgear includes a base configured to engage the head of the wearer. A force absorbing structure is carried by the base. In some cases, the force absorbing structure includes a surface including a coarse macrostructure configured to facilitate absorbing forces applied to the headgear. The coarse macrostructure includes a plurality of protrusions, and at least one of the protrusions has a thickness of at least about 0.50 mm. In some cases, the force absorbing structure includes a porous macrostructure configured to facilitate absorbing forces applied to the headgear. The porous macrostructure includes a plurality of passageways each having a width of at least about 2.00 mm.