Face Armor

Abstract

Ballistic material side elements are shaped to cover portions of a wearer's face and selectively attached to a ballistic helmet. The side elements cover the sides of the wearer's head, but leave room to avoid interfering with hearing needs and goggles. These side elements are held in place by connecting them to the existing helmet shell with an encircling strap and band, or to the straps and hardware of the helmet retention system by receiving portions of the straps through loops on the interior of the side elements. A front ballistic member may join the side elements to cover a significant portion of the wearer's face. The ballistic material is formed of a plurality of layers with a resin and joined by the application of pressure. Higher pressure in the forming of the side elements produces stiff members which stay in place when attached to the helmet.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A face armor assembly for attachment to a helmet having a stiff helmet shell and a helmet retention assembly with downwardly extending front straps, the face armor assembly comprising:
 a flexible helmet cover for encirclement of portions of the helmet shell and attachment thereto;   a first patch of one part of a two-part hook and loop fastener fixed to an outwardly facing surface of the helmet cover;   a first side element comprised of a ballistic element and mounted to the ballistic element a patch of the other part of the two-part hook and loop fastener facing inwardly for removable engagement of the first side element with the helmet cover; and   a loop fixed to the first side element and facing inwardly, the loop positioned to receive a portion of a downwardly extending strap from the helmet assembly, to restrict the displacement of the first side element with respect to the helmet shell, and to thereby position the first side element for protection of portions of the face of a person wearing the helmet assembly.   
     
     
         2 . The face armor assembly of  claim 1  wherein the first side element is contained within a flexible fabric bag, and wherein the patch of the other part of the two-part hook and loop fastener is attached to an inwardly facing surface of the fabric bag, to which the loop is also fixed. 
     
     
         3 . The face armor assembly of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a second patch of one part of a two-part hook and loop fastener fixed to the outwardly facing surface of the helmet cover; 
 a second side element comprised of a ballistic element and having a patch of the other part of the second patch of the two-part hook and loop fastener affixed to the second side element to face inwardly for removable engagement of the second side element with the helmet cover second patch. 
 
     
     
         4 . The face armor assembly of  claim 3  further comprising a front element, the front element extending between the first side element and the second side element, and being releasably connected to both the first side element and the second side element, the front element comprising a ballistic element. 
     
     
         5 . A face armor protective assembly for attachment to a helmet having a stiff helmet shell and a helmet retention assembly with downwardly extending front straps, the face armor protective assembly comprising:
 a ballistic element having a sheet of material attached to an inwardly facing surface;   a flexible strap fixed to the sheet and extending upwardly therefrom, the strap positioned to extend upwardly into engagement with a front strap of the helmet retention assembly; and   portions defining a loop fixed to the ballistic element and facing inwardly, the loop being positioned to receive a portion of a downwardly extending front strap from the helmet assembly, to restrict the displacement of the enclosure with respect to the helmet shell, and to thereby position the face armor protective assembly for protection of portions of the face of a person wearing the helmet assembly.   
     
     
         6 . The face armor assembly of  claim 5  further comprising a front element, the front element extending between the first side element and a second side element, and being releasably connected to both the first side element and the second side element, the front element comprising a ballistic element. 
     
     
         7 . The face armor assembly of  claim 5  wherein the sheet further comprises:
 portions of the sheet defining a first slot positioned above the loop; 
 portions of the sheet defining a second slot positioned above the first slot, a middle segment being defined between the first slot and the second slot; 
 portions of the sheet defining a third slot positioned above the second slot; and 
 a securement tab fixed to the sheet and extending upwardly from the first slot, wherein a helmet retention assembly front strap is receivable within the first slot and the second slot, and a helmet retention assembly nape strap is receivable within the first slot and the second slot, such that the securement tab extends over the middle segment to retain portions of the front strap and the nape strap beneath the middle segment. 
 
     
     
         8 . A face armor and helmet assembly comprising:
 a stiff helmet shell;   a face armor assembly comprising:   a concave, rearwardly opening front band which extends over the helmet shell above a face of a wearer of the helmet, the band having a first end and a second end;   a strap which extends between the first end and the second end of the front band, the strap and the band defining an encircling loop configured to encircle the helmet shell;   a first side element extending downwardly from the front band; and   a second side element extending downwardly from the front band, and spaced from the first side element to be positioned opposite the first side element, to be positioned to protect portions of a face of a person wearing the helmet to which the face armor assembly is mounted, wherein both the first side element and the second side element are comprised of a vertical segment which extends downwardly from the front band, and a horizontal segment which extends downwardly and frontwardly from the vertical segment, wherein an opening is defined between the first side element and the second side element and beneath the front band, the opening providing the wearer access to the wearer's mouth to permit eating and drinking while wearing the face armor assembly, the first side element and the second side element being formed of a single piece of ballistic material.   
     
     
         9 . The face armor and helmet assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the opening comprises an eye opening between the vertical segments of the first side element and the second side element, the eye opening being above the horizontal segments. 
     
     
         10 . The face armor and helmet assembly of  claim 8  wherein the front band, the first side element, and the second side element are formed from a single piece of molded transparent plastic. 
     
     
         11 . The face armor and helmet assembly of  claim 8  wherein the front band has a brow segment positioned between the first end and the second end, and wherein a lip extends rearwardly from the brow segment for engagement beneath a lower edge of the helmet shell to limit the upward displacement of the face armor assembly with respect to the helmet shell.