Impact absorbing structures for athletic helmet

Abstract

A garment worn by a wearer has an exterior shell and an interior shell with impact absorbing material comprising various structures between the exterior shell and the interior shell. When force is applied to the exterior shell, the structures of the impact absorbing materials deform (e.g., compress), reducing the force received by the interior shell. For example, the impact absorbing material forms structures such as multiple branched “Y” shapes or multiple cylindrical rods with a surface contacting the exterior shell and a surface contacting the interior shell. The interior of the rods and other impact absorbing structures may be filled with a deformable material, such as foam. The impact absorbing material may be formed into jacks, spherical shapes, bristles, intersecting arches, or other shapes positioned between the exterior shell and the interior shell.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A helmet comprising:
 an inner shell formed to partially enclose a portion of a wearer's head;   an outer shell enclosing the portion of the wearer's head concentrically with the inner shell; and   a plurality of impact absorbing structures partially filling a volume between the inner shell and the outer shell, an impact absorbing structure having a proximal end contacting the inner shell and a distal end contacting the outer shell.   
     
     
         2 . The helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the impact absorbing structure comprises:
 a base portion having an end coupled to the inner shell; and   a plurality of branched portions, each branched portion having an end coupled to the outer shell of the helmet to form an angle between the branched portions, and each branched portion having an additional end coupled to an additional end of the base portion opposite the end of the base portion coupled to the inner shell.   
     
     
         3 . The helmet of  claim 2 , wherein the angle between the branched portions is between 30 degrees and 120 degrees. 
     
     
         4 . The helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the impact absorbing structure comprises two arches that intersect perpendicular to each other at an apex of the impact absorbing structure, each arch forming half a circle and secured to the inner shell of the helmet. 
     
     
         5 . The helmet of  claim 4 , wherein the inner shell of the helmet has an indentation aligned with a projection of the impact absorbing structure on the surface, the indentation having a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the impact absorbing structure. 
     
     
         6 . The helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the impact absorbing structure comprises three arches that intersect perpendicular to each other at an apex of the impact absorbing structure at angles of 60 degrees, each arch forming half a circle. 
     
     
         7 . The helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the impact absorbing structure comprises a plurality of perpendicularly interlocked rings that together form a spherical wireframe shape. 
     
     
         8 . The helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the impact absorbing structure comprises a jack shape formed by three orthogonally intersecting bars that connect a central point to faces of an imaginary cube enclosing the impact absorbing structure. 
     
     
         9 . The helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the impact absorbing structure comprises a circular base coupled to a circular top via a conical structure, the circular base coupled to the inner shell of the helmet. 
     
     
         10 . The helmet of  claim 9 , wherein the conical structure has a hollow interior. 
     
     
         11 . The helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the impact absorbing structure comprises:
 a base portion coupled to the inner shell of the helmet and coupled to the outer shell of the helmet;   a plurality of support portions, each support portion coupled to the base portion at an angle and coupled to and to the outer shell of the helmet at an additional angle.   
     
     
         12 . The helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the impact absorbing member comprises:
 a base portion coupled to the inner shell of the helmet and coupled to the outer shell of the helmet;   a plurality of supplemental portions, each supplemental portion having an end coupled to the base portion; and   a plurality of support portions, each support portion coupled to an opposing end of a corresponding supplemental portion and coupled to the outer surface of the helmet.   
     
     
         13 . The helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the impact absorbing member comprises a circular base coupled to the inner shell of the helmet, an additional circular base coupled to the outer shell of the helmet and having a smaller diameter than a diameter of the circular base, and a vertical member coupling to a circumference of the circular base to a circumference of the additional circular base. 
     
     
         14 . An apparatus comprising:
 an inner shell;   an outer shell concentric with the inner shell; and   a plurality of impact absorbing structures partially filling a volume between the inner shell and the outer shell, an impact absorbing structure having a proximal end contacting the inner shell and a distal end contacting the outer shell.   
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the impact absorbing structure comprises:
 a base portion having an end coupled to the inner shell; and   a plurality of branched portions, each branched portion having an end coupled to the outer shell of the helmet to form an angle between the branched portions, and each branched portion having an additional end coupled to an additional end of the base portion opposite the end of the base portion coupled to the inner shell.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the angle between the branched portions is between 30 degrees and 120 degrees. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of of  claim 14 , wherein the impact absorbing structure comprises two arches that intersect perpendicular to each other at an apex of the impact absorbing structure, each arch forming half a circle and secured to the inner shell of the apparatus. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the inner shell of the apparatus has an indentation aligned with a projection of the impact absorbing structure on the surface, the indentation having a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the impact absorbing structure. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the impact absorbing structure comprises three arches that intersect perpendicular to each other at an apex of the impact absorbing structure at angles of 60 degrees, each arch forming half a circle. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the impact absorbing member comprises:
 a base portion coupled to the inner shell of the helmet and coupled to the outer shell of the apparatus;   a plurality of supplemental portions, each supplemental portion having an end coupled to the base portion; and   a plurality of support portions, each support portion coupled to an opposing end of a corresponding supplemental portion and coupled to the outer surface of the apparatus.   
     
     
         21 . An apparatus comprising:
 an inner shell;   an outer shell concentric with the inner shell; and   a plurality of impact absorbing structures partially filling a volume between the inner shell and the outer shell, an impact absorbing structure comprising a support member having a proximal end contacting the inner shell and a distal end contacting the outer shell, an additional support member having an additional proximal end contacting the inner shell and an additional distal end contacting the outer shell, and a connecting member coupling the support member to the additional support member.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the connecting member comprises a rectangular structure perpendicular to the inner shell and perpendicular to the outer shell. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein a proximal end of the rectangular structure contacting the inner shell and a distal end of the rectangular structure contacts the outer shell. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the connecting member comprises an arched structure perpendicular to the inner shell and perpendicular to the outer shell and arched in a plane parallel to the inner shell and to the outer shell. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein a proximal end of the arched structure contacting the inner shell and a distal end of the arched structure contacts the outer shell. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 20  wherein an impact absorbing structure comprises a structural group comprising a plurality of support members positioned relative to each other and having pairs of support members coupled to each other by connecting members. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein the structural group comprises a central support member and a plurality of radial support members positioned along a circumference of a circle having an origin of the support member and a plurality of connecting members, each connecting member coupling the central support member to a radial support member. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein the structural group comprises six support members coupled to each other by a plurality of connecting members to form a hexagon.