Protective Headwear

Abstract

A helmet includes a shell having a lower edge, and an edge support extending around the lower edge of the shell. The edge support has a greater structural rigidity than the shell. The helmet can further include a retention strap system, and the edge support can include at least one attachment to attach the retention strap system to the helmet. The attachment can, for example, include a seating, and the helmet can, for example, further include an abutment member removably seatable within the seating. The abutment member can be attachable to a strap of the retention strap system.

1 . A helmet, comprising:
 a shell having a lower edge, and   an edge support extending around the lower edge of the shell, the edge support having greater structural rigidity than the shell   
     
     
         2 . The helmet of  claim 1  further comprising a retention strap system, the edge support comprising at least one attachment to attach the retention strap system to the helmet. 
     
     
         3 . The helmet of  claim 2  wherein the attachment comprises a seating, the helmet further comprising an abutment member removably seatable within the seating, the abutment member being attachable to a strap of the retention strap system. 
     
     
         4 . The helmet of  claim 2  wherein the edge support comprises a plurality attachments, each of the attachments comprising a seating, the helmet further comprising a plurality of abutment members, each abutment member being removably seatable within one of the seatings, each abutment member being attachable to one strap of the retention strap system. 
     
     
         5 . The helmet of  claim 4  wherein each of the abutment members is designed to fail under load before the edge support fails. 
     
     
         6 . The helmet of  claim 4  wherein each of the attachments comprises an opening in a lower portion thereof which is adapted to pass one strap of the retention strap system thereththrough before the one strap is attached to one of the abutment members. 
     
     
         7 . The helmet of  claim 6  wherein the attachments are positioned on an inner side of the edge support. 
     
     
         8 . The helmet of  claim 7  further comprising at least one connector on an outer side of the edge support to attach an article to the helmet. 
     
     
         9 . The helmet of  claim 8  wherein the edge support is formed separately from the shell and is attached to the lower edge. 
     
     
         10 . The helmet of  claim 9  wherein the edge support is molded from a monolithic piece of polymeric material. 
     
     
         11 . The helmet of  claim 1  further comprising at least one connector on an outer side of the edge support to attached an article to the helmet. 
     
     
         12 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein the shell is formed of ballistic resistant material. 
     
     
         13 . The helmet of  claim 12  where the shell includes no passages therethrough. 
     
     
         14 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein the edge support is formed from a material having an Izod impact strength of at least 30 ft-lb/in 2 , a tensile modulus of at least 800,000 psi, a flexural modulus of at least 700,000 psi, a flexural strength of at least 24,000 psi. 
     
     
         15 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein the edge support is formed from a material having an Izod impact strength of at least 35 ft-lb/in 2 , a tensile modulus of at least 1,200,000 psi, a flexural modulus of at least 1,100,000 psi, a flexural strength of at least 35,000 psi. 
     
     
         16 . The helmet of  claim 15  wherein the material is glass-filled nylon having at least 30% by weight glass fill. 
     
     
         17 . A helmet, comprising:
 a shell having a lower edge, and   an edge support extending around the lower edge of the shell, the edge support comprising an inner wall extending around an inner wall of the shell and an outer wall extending around an outer wall of the shell, the inner wall of the edge support comprising a plurality of attachments to which a retention strap system is connected, the outer wall of the edge support comprising at least one connector for attachment of an article to the helmet.   
     
     
         18 . The helmet of  claim 17  wherein the shell is formed of ballistic resistant material. 
     
     
         19 . The helmet of  claim 17  where the shell includes no passages therethrough. 
     
     
         20 . A helmet, comprising:
 a shell having a lower edge, and   an edge support extending around the lower edge of the shell, the edge support comprising an inner wall extending around an inner wall of the shell and an outer wall extending around an outer wall of the shell, the inner wall comprising a plurality of attachments to which a retention strap system is connected.