CA2830398A1 - Head guard motorized helmet for everyday use (for all ages) - Google Patents

Description

PATENT 1: HEAD GUARD
HELMET FOR EVERYDAY MOTORIZED VEHICLE USE (FOR ALL AGES) Abstract The invention provides protective headwear (helmet) for persons of all ages, for everyday motorized vehicle use, hence persons operating or as passengers in a motorized vehicle.
The helmet is to be worn when in a motorized vehicle and is to provide head protection in the event of a collision. The head protection is provided by the composites of the outer shell and inner lining of the helmet. Based on a combination of the racing car and the motorcycle helmet designs, the shell of the helmet is hard enough to resist penetration by a sharp object, and upon impact, the inner lining, that is energy absorbing, absorbs most of the force of the head's movement against the inner surface of the helmet, and in doing so, reduce the head movement and bring the head to a stop.
The idea for this invention has its roots in the racing car helmet and the motorcycle helmet and as such may include components of either or both helmet designs. However, with the objective of being suitable for everyday motorized vehicle use, the components of the new motorized vehicle helmet may extend to include, or be replaced by any component or combination of components that can achieve the overall objective of providing head protection for everyday motorized vehicle use that is comfortable, lightweight and adjustable.
Understanding that protective head gear can enhance head protection in any motorized vessel where a collision could occur, the vision is that the use of this helmet will not be limited to motorized vehicles but will extend to all vessels wherein there is a real likelihood of a head injury in the event of a collision, such as in buses, trains, passenger airplanes and helicopters.
Specification General character of the Motorized Vehicle Helmet This invention relates to head safety for operators or passengers of a motorized vehicle for everyday use and is to be available to persons of all ages.

2 Background information There is a big but not yet identified need for everyday motorized vehicle protective headwear:
Of the 1.5 million Americans who sustain a traumatic brain injury (TB)) annually, 20% are the result of motor vehicle-traffic crashes.' The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that TB) caused by motor vehicle crashes will become the third leading cause of the global burden of disease by 2020.2 Direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity of TBI
totalled an estimated $60 billion in the United States in 2000.3 References in Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA) level one course 2009:
1. Langlois JA, Rutland-Brown W, Thomas KE. Traumatic brain injury in the United States: emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2004.
2. World Health Organization (1996), The global burden of disease: A
comprehensive assessment of mortality and disability from diseases, injuries and risk factors in 1990 and projected to 2020. In Murray CJL & Lopez AD (eds.), Global burden of disease and injuries series. Harvard University Press, Boston.

3. Source: Finkelstein E, Corsco P, Miller T and associates. The incidence and Economic Burden of Injuries in the United States. New York (NY): Oxford University Press; 2006.
Currently there is no protective headwear for everyday car use: The only protective headwear available with regards to vehicles, are construction hard hat helmets, racing car helmets and motorcycle helmets.
Nature of the Motorized Vehicle Helmet The idea for this invention has its roots in the racing car helmet and the motorcycle helmet and is to include components of either or both helmet designs as necessary to obtain the objective of protective head gear that is suitable for everyday motorized vehicle use:
hence, comfortable, lightweight and adjustable.
Components of the racing car helmet:
A racing car helmet is designed to absorb energy and distribute impact to entire head.
Design elements of the racing car helmet that enhance protection:
= The shell of the helmet is hard enough to resist penetration by a sharp object.
Upon impact, the shell should delaminate, allowing the helmet liner to spread and absorb the force of the head's movement against the inner surface of the helmet.
(Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association: http://www.vscda.org/apparel.html) ;;--. A racing car helmet contains:
= Houses (casings) Components of a motorcycle helmet:
A motorcycle helmet is designed to absorb energy, bring the head to a gentle stop and to protect against pointy objects. Design elements of the motorcycle helmet that enhance protection are the outer shell and the energy-absorbing inner liner:
= The outer shell contains components designed to protect against pointy objects and absorb energy upon impact. There are 2 kinds of outer shell composites:
o A resin/fiber composite (such as fibreglass, carbon fiber and Kevlar). In a crash, this helmet's shell flexes crushes and delaminates.
= A mounded thermoplastic such as ABS or polycarbonate, the same basic stuff used in face shields and F-16 canopies. ). In a crash, the helmet's shell absorbs energy as it flexes, and in doing so, is designed to:
o Protect against pointy things trying to penetrate the EPS
o Protect against abrasion = The inner lining contains components designed to absorb most of the energy upon impact in the event of a collision and also to bring the head to a gentle stop:
o The inner lining is made of expanded polystyrene or EPS (the same stuff used in beer coolers, foam coffee cups, and packing material). In the event of a collision, the liner's job is to bring the head to a gentle stop.
o As it crushes, EPS absorbs lots of energy at a predictable rate. EPS
actually absorbs the kinetic energy of a moving head, creating a very small amount of heat as the foam collapses. In a crash, the inner liner absorbs most of the energy.
Racing car and motorcycle helmets are not suitable for everyday car use as they are designed for optimal speed, are bulky and are not designed for everyday comfort. The car helmet is to comprise components from either or both the racing car helmet and the motorcycle helmet that provide the best head protection in the event of a collision, yet the design is to take into consideration everyday use, and as such, will be: comfortable, adjustable and lightweight.
Specification of Motorized Vehicle Helmet for everyday use Inventive idea:

4 A light weight motorized vehicle helmet to provide optimal head protection for all individuals seated in a motorized vehicle. Motorized vehicle helmets to be available for all age groups from infants to adults. Currently, there are no helmets for persons operating or seated in a motorized vehicle for the purpose of everyday driving/transportation.
Statistics on deaths and on the long term life impact of brain injuries resulting from car accidents are high:
= The major cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is road traffic accidents. Source (World Health Organization (WHO) 1996) = The WHO currently rates road traffic accidents as the seventh leading cause of the global burden of disease, and projects that it will rise to be the third most significant cause by the year 2020. Source (WHO 1996) = Motor vehicle accidents are one of the leading causes of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Source: http://www.braininjury.com/injured.html July 28 2010 Children are much more at risk than adults when it comes to injury through fracture and deformation of the skull, both of which can injure the brain: "Recent studies show that children's skulls are only 1/8 as strong as that of adults."
Source: http://www.braininjury.com/injured.html July 28 2010 The medical field no longer upholds a long held principle known as the "Kennard Principle", that held that the neuroplasticity a child's brain exhibits as it evolves, would allow it to work around or adapt to organic brain damage, and as such, equivalent brain damage to a child and an adult would result in less problems in the child than in the adult. Many recent studies have proven the Kennard principle to be wrong, for the outcome for children suffering TBI
has proven to be far worse that the outcome for an equally injured adult (ibid). In short, the frontal lobes involve executive thinking, and the development of these lobes in a child continues until the age of about 16. Disturbances in the development of these lobes, for instance as could be caused through TBI, can cause subtle but profound problems. Changes in this area of the brain affect the executive functions and as such affect basically what it is to be human (ibid) In the study entitled "Cognitive Indicators of Vocational Outcome After Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in Childhood" it was noted that falls and motor vehicle related accidents account for over 70% of injuries of pre-school children, and often produced diffused closed brain injuries were mostly the frontal areas of the brain are damaged."
Source: http://www.braininjury.co/children.html July 28 1010 Advantage of using motorized vehicle helmet (disadvantages resulting from death or TBI are reduced/overcome) = A significant reduction in deaths = A significant reduction in hospital costs = A significant reduction in cost of rehabilitation following TBI resulting from a motor vehicle accident = A significant reduction in cost relating to the long-term care of those with severe TBI following a motor vehicle accident = A significant reduction in TBI motor vehicle related additional costs such as loss of wages when family has to look after person with TBI, or loss of wages due to decline in mental health (depression) following death of loved one due to motor vehicle accident, or severe impairment, counselling for family members (bereavement, coping).
Full description:
Helmet to be adjustable to properly fit individual head, or helmet can come in different sizes.
In event of car accident, car helmet to:
= Absorb impact = provide cushioning = Reduce movement of the brain within the skull to reduce the possibility of various brain injuries: diffuse axonal injury, concussion, contusion, coup-contrecoup.
o Diffuse axonal injury: extensive tearing of nerve tissue throughout the brain.
o Concussion: trauma to the brain from an impact or a sudden momentum or movement change. The blood vessels in the brain may stretch and cranial nerves may be damaged.
o Contusion: bruise (bleeding) on the brain.
o Coup-contrecoup injury: contusions that are both at the site of the impact and on the complete opposite side of the brain. Coup-contrecoup occurs when the force impacting the head is not only great enough to cause a contusion at the site of impact, but also able to move the brain and cause it to slam to the opposite side of the skull which causes the additional contusions.

Car helmet to be designed for optimal comfort:
= Ideally no under strap needed or, is optional = Made of material that is lightweight = Attractive: Not bulky & comes in a variety of colors Claims As more research and trials are needed to determine the best composites for the new helmet designed for everyday motorized vehicle use, the outer shell and inner lining are not limited to the components of the racing car and/or the motorcycle helmet designs, but may include any composite(s) found to enhance the complete protection of the head when in a motorized vehicle.
Understanding that protective head gear can enhance head protection in any structure where a collision could occur, the vision is that the use of this helmet will not be limited to motorized vehicles but will extend to all vessels wherein there is a real likelihood of a head injury in the event of a collision, such as in busses, trains, passenger airplanes and helicopters.