Faceguard

Abstract

A faceguard to be mounted on a football helmet which greatly reduces the ability of an opposing player to penetrate the exterior surface of the faceguard and grasp, with his/her hands, the faceguard and rotate the wearer's head in such a way as to cause injury to the wearer's head, neck, or spine. Furthermore, the faceguard will accomplish the above stated while still providing appropriate ventilation for the wearer and allow the wearer to receive water from a standard squeeze type sports water bottle. The faceguard is provided with a flush elastomeric mounting bushing to make the faceguard simpler to manufacture and easier and less awkward to mount to a football helmet. The flush elastomeric mounting bushing provides shock absorption between the faceguard and the helmet at the mounting points. The flush feature of the mounting bushing provides an additional safety benefit of decreasing the likelihood that the mounting will be caught on a player's uniform or cause any puncture or scrape to the skin of another player. The flush feature also makes it difficult for an opposing player to grip or hold the facemask of the wearer. The faceguard is constructed of a single body of injection molded clear or tinted plastic which can withstand high-impact in order to sustain the abuse required of such a device in the game of football.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A helmet faceguard protection system comprising:
 a helmet;   a faceguard protection device attached to said helmet comprising an upper viewing area surrounded by an upper integral frame section defining ventilation apertures located outside the viewing area, a lower frame section extending downwards and outwards to cover a user's nose, cheeks, mouth and chin, said frame section has formed therein a number of apertures of sufficient size to enable a user to speak, breathe and pass a drinking straw therethrough, said apertures incapable of allowing finger sized objects passage therethrough;   said faceguard yielding an overall streamlined shape which blends in with the shape of said helmet and a generally streamlined interface between said faceguard and said helmet when mounted onto said helmet without stray or protruding edges at any joining parts of said faceguard or helmet and therefore preventing the hooking or grabbing of opposing players garments or fingers; and   at least three mounting lugs, wherein are formed apertures, said at least three lugs integrally attached to the periphery of said faceguard for attaching said faceguard to said helmet.   
     
     
         2 . A faceguard protection device for mounting onto a football helmet comprising:
 an upper viewing area surrounded by an upper integral frame section defining ventilation apertures located outside the viewing area, a lower frame section extending downward and outward to cover a user's nose, cheeks, mouth and chin, said frame section having formed therein a number of apertures of sufficient size to enable a user to speak, breathe and pass a drinking straw therethrough, said apertures incapable of allowing finger sized objects passage therethrough;   said faceguard yielding an overall streamlined shape which blends in with the shape of said helmet and a generally streamlined interface between said faceguard and said helmet when mounted onto said helmet without stray or protruding edges at any joining parts of said faceguard or helmet and therefore preventing the hooking or grabbing of opposing players garments or fingers; and   at least three mounting lugs, wherein are formed apertures, said at least three lugs being integral with the periphery of said faceguard for attaching said faceguard to said helmet.   
     
     
         3 . The faceguard protection device defined in  claim 2  wherein said faceguard device is composed of clear plastic. 
     
     
         4 . The faceguard protection device defined in  claim 2  wherein said faceguard device is composed of tinted plastic. 
     
     
         5 . The faceguard protection device defined in  claim 2  wherein said apertures within said lugs contain elastomeric bushings, wherein are formed apertures for passing a fastener therethrough for attaching said faceguard to said helmet, said bushings within said lugs yielding a streamlined configuration and providing a shock absorbing connection between said faceguard and said helmet. 
     
     
         6 . The faceguard protection device defined in  claim 2  further comprising a metal rod frame molded within said periphery of said faceguard, for strengthening said faceguard and said at least three attachment lugs. 
     
     
         7 . The faceguard protection device defined in  claim 2  wherein said upper viewing area and said lower frame section comprise separate respective sections, namely a first section and a second section, said first section having at least four bores formed in a lower edge thereof for connecting said first section to said second section, said second section having at least four bores formed in an upper edge thereof for connecting said second section to said first section; and
 at least four means for fastening inserted within said at least four bores in each of said first and said second sections fixedly attaching said first section to said second section. 
 
     
     
         8 . The faceguard protection device defined in  claim 7  wherein said first section is composed of tinted plastic. 
     
     
         9 . The faceguard protection device defined in  claim 7  wherein said second section is composed of tinted plastic. 
     
     
         10 . A faceguard protection device for mounting to a helmet comprising:
 an upper viewing area surrounded by an upper integral frame section defining ventilation apertures located outside the viewing area, a lower frame section extending downward and outward to cover a user's nose, cheeks, mouth, chin, and at least one and one half inches below said user's chin, said frame section has formed therein a number of apertures of sufficient size to enable a user to speak, breathe and pass a drinking straw therethrough, said apertures incapable of allowing finger sized objects passage therethrough;   said faceguard yielding an overall streamlined shape which blends in with the shape of said helmet and a generally streamlined interface between said faceguard and said helmet when mounted onto said helmet without stray or protruding edges at any joining parts of said faceguard or helmet and therefore preventing the hooking or grabbing of opposing players garments or fingers; and at least three mounting lugs, wherein are formed apertures, said at least three lugs integrally attached to the periphery of said faceguard for attaching said faceguard to said helmet.