ENERGY DISSIPATING BREAKAWAY ASSEMBLY FOR PROTECTIVE HELMET
First Claim
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1. A motion restrictor device for use with a protective helmet to reduce the risk of head or spine injury caused by injurious movement of the helmet, said motion restrictor device comprising:
- a harness wearable by a user of the helmet;
a strut presenting first and second ends, with the first end of the strut adapted to be associated with the protective helmet and the second end of the strut operably coupled to the harness,said strut permitting relative motion between the first and second ends thereof; and
a decelerator configured to affect relative motion between the ends of the strut in response to the injurious movement and absorb a load experienced by the strut when the load exceeds a load threshold,said decelerator being operable to stop at least substantially all motion between the ends of the strut in response to the injurious movement when the load experienced by the strut is below the load threshold,said decelerator being operable to at least partly absorb the load experienced by the strut and permit restricted motion between the ends thereof when the load experienced by the strut is above the load threshold.
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Abstract
A protective helmet, which includes a motion restrictor device, is disclosed. The device includes a strut having a pair of relatively moveable strut members. One of the strut members is associated with the helmet, and the other strut member is associated a harness assembly. The device also includes a brake assembly, with the assembly providing a plurality of arrest rates. Each of the arrests rates corresponds with a rate of relative motion (or acceleration) and a corresponding force experienced between the pair of strut members.
45 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A motion restrictor device for use with a protective helmet to reduce the risk of head or spine injury caused by injurious movement of the helmet, said motion restrictor device comprising:
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a harness wearable by a user of the helmet; a strut presenting first and second ends, with the first end of the strut adapted to be associated with the protective helmet and the second end of the strut operably coupled to the harness, said strut permitting relative motion between the first and second ends thereof; and a decelerator configured to affect relative motion between the ends of the strut in response to the injurious movement and absorb a load experienced by the strut when the load exceeds a load threshold, said decelerator being operable to stop at least substantially all motion between the ends of the strut in response to the injurious movement when the load experienced by the strut is below the load threshold, said decelerator being operable to at least partly absorb the load experienced by the strut and permit restricted motion between the ends thereof when the load experienced by the strut is above the load threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification