A novel protective helmet

Abstract

Provides is a novel protective helmet design that allows helmet designers and manufacturers to create more advanced designs with cavities, converging walls, and movable parts inside a helmet to reduce both linear and rotational forces applied to the head during an impact and as a result, reduce the risk of head injury and concussion. Also provided is a cost-effective design and manufacturing method that creates helmets that are light-weighted and perform better compared to the conventional helmet designs in terms of reducing linear and rotational forces applied to the head during an impact. The method also allows manufacturing helmets while consuming less raw materials for the shock-absorbing liner which is cost-effective and better for the environment.

1 . A protective helmet comprising:
 an outer shell having an inward surface;   a first set of shock-absorbing liners attached to the inward surface of the outer shell;   a second set of shock-absorbing liners having multiple parts that can move and deform independently of each other when an impact force is applied to the outer shell of the protective helmet; and   a fitting liner covering one or more of the parts of the second set of shock-absorbing liners,   attachment means connecting an inward surface of the first set of shock-absorbing liners to the second set of shock-absorbing liners; and   wherein a contact area between the first set of shock-absorbing liners and the second set of shock-absorbing liners is smaller than an inner surface area of the first set of shock-absorbing liner.   
     
     
         2 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more parts of the second set of shock-absorbing liners are separately attached to the first set of shock-absorbing liners using at least one of the attachment means. 
     
     
         3 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the attachment means provide a finite amount of play in the connection between of the second set of shock-absorbing liners relative to the first set of shock-absorbing liners. 
     
     
         4 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the attachment means further attaches to the fitting liner. 
     
     
         5 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the attachment means is flexible and elongates elastically under the impact force, or plastically when the impact force exceeds a threshold. 
     
     
         6 . The protective helmet of anyone of  claims 1-5 , wherein the attachment means are made of any mechanical or chemical attachment means selected from the list comprising: hook-and-loop fastener, pin, snap pin, snap pin basket, snap fastener, latch-and-hook fastener, clips, hinge, press-fitting, hook plastic insert and loop rubber, rubber holder, mesh holder, silicone rubber holder, tie, connector, spring, buckle, heat-seal, sewing, fusion, elastic, fitting, adhesive, insert, screw, railing, button, buttonhole, rivet, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the attachment means are frangible in order to rupture when the impact force exceeds a second threshold to allow unrestricted movement between the first set and the second set of shock-absorbing liners. 
     
     
         8 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the first set of shock-absorbing liners comprises a low friction layer. 
     
     
         9 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the second set of shock-absorbing liners comprises a low friction layer. 
     
     
         10 . The protective helmet of  claim 8 or 9 , wherein either of the low friction layers comprises a lubricant, plastic, rail, sliding groove, wax, powder, polymer, elastomer, rubber, polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), carbon fiber, silicone rubber, silicone lubricant, fluid-filled compartment, fabric, fiber, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the attachment means elongates, ruptures or dislocates during the impact force to allow the second set of shock-absorbing liners to move relative to the first set. 
     
     
         12 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the second set of shock-absorbing liners are comprised of materials with a similar or different density than the first set of shock-absorbing liners. 
     
     
         13 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the second set of shock-absorbing liners are made of different materials than the first set of shock-absorbing liners. 
     
     
         14 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the two sets of shock-absorbing liners comprise micro-porosity, macro-porosity, thin-walled structure, fluid-filled compartment, truss structure, lattice structure, auxetic structure, channeled structure, open cavity, closed cavity, hole, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the first sets of shock-absorbing liners, or the second set of shock-absorbing liners, or both comprise at least some of the attachment means. 
     
     
         16 . The protective helmet of  claim 1 , wherein one or more shapes and sizes are defined to be used repeatedly for all of the multiple parts of the second set of shock-absorbing liners. 
     
     
         17 . A method of manufacturing a protective helmet, the method comprising:
 separately making a) a first set of shock-absorbing liners and b) a second set of shock-absorbing liners, the second set of shock-absorbing liners having multiple parts;   attaching the first set of shock-absorbing liners to each of the multiple parts of the second set of shock-absorbing liners using attachment means;   fixing an outer shell at its inward surface to the first set of shock-absorbing liners;   and covering a fitting liner around one or more of the multiple parts of the second set of shock-absorbing liners.