Sport helmet

Abstract

The helmet uses a new fastener to fasten a cage to the helmet shell allowing sides of the cage to be mounted directly against the shell, reducing the width of the shell on each side. A ball is attached to a portion of a bar of the cage to act as a limit stop precluding movements of the cage with respect to the helmet. A chin bar is fastened to the helmet at two points on each side of the shell. The shell is molded with recessed portions designed to receive the two branches of the chin bar on each side where they will be fastened to the shell so that the outer surfaces of the chin guard are flush with the shell at the locations of attachment to provide a smooth transition and reduce weight. An adjustment device to adjust the fit of the helmet to the user includes a star wheel on each side of the helmet attached to an arcuate flexible strip extending rearwardly around the occipital area of the skull. A sliding mechanism attached to the strip allows the strip to be moved forward and backward to allow it to be tightened or loosened, respectively, with respect to the player's head. A ratcheting lateral adjustment device is also disclosed.

1 .- 19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . A helmet for protecting a wearer's head, the helmet comprising:
 (a) a protective shell defining a cavity configured to receive the wearer's head, wherein the protective shell comprises left and right side portions, wherein the left and right side portions each have an inner surface configured to face towards the wearer's head and an outer surface opposite to the inner surface, wherein each of the left and right side portions terminates at a respective front edge between the inner surface and the outer surface of the respective side portion;   (b) a face-protecting cage mounted to the protective shell and configured to protect a face of the wearer, the face-protecting cage comprising a plurality of bars;   (c) a fastener facing both the inner surface and the outer surface of a given one of the left and right side portion of the protective shell, the fastener being configured to loop around a portion of one of the bars to retain the portion of said one of the bars aligned with the front edge of the given side portion of the protective shell.   
     
     
         21 . The helmet of  claim 20 , wherein the fastener is a first fastener, wherein the given side portion is the left side portion, wherein the helmet further comprises a second fastener facing both the inner surface and the outer surface of the right side portion of the protective shell, the second fastener being configured to loop around a portion of another one of the bars to retain the portion of that bar aligned with the front edge of the right side portion of the protective shell. 
     
     
         22 . The helmet of  claim 21 , wherein said portions of the bars are spaced apart by substantially the same distance as the front edges of the first and second side portions. 
     
     
         23 . The helmet of  claim 21 , wherein the portions of the bars retained by the first and second fasteners contact the front edge of the left side portion of the protective shell and the front edge of the right side portion of the protective shell, respectively. 
     
     
         24 . The helmet of  claim 20 , wherein the portion of the bar retained by the fastener contacts the front edge of the given side portion of the protective shell. 
     
     
         25 . The helmet of  claim 20 , wherein the face-protecting cage comprises a stopper protruding from a first one of the bars and configured to limit movement of the face-protecting cage relative to the protective shell, the stopper and the fastener being movable relative to one another. 
     
     
         26 . The helmet of  claim 25 , wherein the stopper is located on the one of the bars of which a portion is retained by the fastener. 
     
     
         27 . The helmet of  claim 25 , wherein the stopper protrudes from the one of the bars of which a portion is retained by the fastener. 
     
     
         28 . The helmet of  claim 25 , wherein the stopper comprises a knob. 
     
     
         29 . The helmet of  claim 25 , wherein the stopper is spherical. 
     
     
         30 . The helmet of  claim 20 , wherein the face-protecting cage comprises a first stopper protruding from a first one of the bars and configured to limit movement of the face-protecting cage relative to the protective shell, the first stopper and the first fastener being movable relative to one another, and wherein the face-protecting cage comprises a second stopper protruding from a second one of the bars and configured to further limit movement of the face-protecting cage relative to the protective shell, the second stopper and the second fastener being movable relative to one another. 
     
     
         31 . The helmet of  claim 30 , wherein the second stopper is located on the one of the bars of which a portion is retained by the second fastener. 
     
     
         32 . The helmet of  claim 30 , wherein the second stopper protrudes from the one of the bars of which a portion is retained by the second fastener. 
     
     
         33 . The helmet of  claim 20 , wherein the fastener comprises an opening to receive a portion of the face-protecting cage such that the portion of the face-protecting cage is between the fastener and the protective shell and engages the protective shell. 
     
     
         34 . The helmet of  claim 20 , wherein the plurality of bars includes a plurality of generally horizontal and vertical bars crossing one another. 
     
     
         35 . The helmet of claim  claim 30 , wherein the portion of the bar around which the fastener is looped includes a portion of one of the generally vertical bars. 
     
     
         36 . The helmet of  claim 30 , wherein the portion of the bar around which the fastener is looped includes a portion of a one of the generally horizontal bars. 
     
     
         37 . The helmet of  claim 20 , wherein the fastener is a clip. 
     
     
         38 . The helmet of  claim 20 , further comprising a chin bar fastenable to the shell. 
     
     
         39 . The helmet of  claim 38 , wherein the chin bar is configured to extend forward of the front edges and to loop around in front of the shell. 
     
     
         40 . The helmet of  claim 38 , wherein a material of the chin bar is different from a material of the face guard. 
     
     
         41 . The helmet of  claim 38 , wherein the chin bar is wider than each of the bars of the face guard. 
     
     
         42 . The helmet of  claim 20 , wherein the helmet is a lacrosse or football helmet.