Apparel – Guard or protector – For wearer's head
Patent
1986-10-14
1988-04-12
Rimrodt, Louis K.
Apparel
Guard or protector
For wearer's head
2425, A42B 112, A42B 300
Patent
active
047364696
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to headgear for slalom racers.
In slalom competitions, the winding course is indicated by gates defined by pairs of poles whose bases are flexible to allow the poles to bend without breaking or becoming uprooted.
As in all speed trails, a downhill skier in the slalom also tries to follow the shortest possible route in order to gain even the smallest fractions of a second. In passing through the gates, the downhill skier passes as close as possible to the pole which is on the inside of the curve and/or closest to the next gate and in fact uses his arm and/or leg to push the pole aside so as to graze the base with his ski. However, this manoeuvre causes the skier to lose his balance, which makes him lose speed and reduces or cancels out the benefit arising from the choice of the shorter route.
The object of the present invention is to provide a device which protects the face and head of a slalom racer from frontal and lateral impacts, and enables him to take the maximum advantage from the possibility of grazing the poles and moving them aside without thereby losing speed.
According to the present invention this object is achieved by means of headgear for slalom racers, characterised in that it comprises at least one annular band for encircling the head, at least the frontal-lateral part of which comprises a thick structure of resiliently-compressible foamed material for absorbing shocks, this structure being covered externally by a flexible abrasion-resistant surface layer and having the form of a peak with such a shape in plan as to project in correspondence with the forehead and temporal zones through such an extent as to shield all parts of the face and any goggles from frontal blows and the ears from glancing and lateral blows.
FIG. 1 of the appended drawings is a pictorial representation of a slalom racer in a competition, wearing headgear according to the invention.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a slalom racer S having the headgear H according to the invention may push directly at the pole P of a gate and move it aside (arrow F) with a blow from his head, without making a movement of his arms or legs which would reduce his downhill speed.
The thick frontal-lateral structure of foamed material may be formed with an optimum density for giving the pole P a deflecting blow such as to move it out of the way of the head and body of the skier, and at the same time for absorbing the shock as a result of deformation of the foamed material so that the skier's head does not feel the blow.
The effectiveness of the device according to the invention is confirmed by the splendid results achieved after the priority date of the present patent application, by athletes of several national teams in the 1985-86 skiing season.
Countless rigid, semi-rigid and soft types of headgear, with or without peaks, are known from the prior art for dangerous work, sports activities, children, etc.
Examples of known rigid helmets with rigid peaks are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,188 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,514,787.
Examples of known non-rigid types of headgear with rigid peaks are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,218,947, U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,188 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,514,737.
Examples of known soft shock-resistant headgear having thin peaks with an indeterminate shape in plan are illustrated in FR-A-2294659 and DE-U-1948509.
Examples of soft shock-resistant headgear without peaks are known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,391,335, U.S. Pat. No. 2,969,547 and De-U-7507120.
A protective device for the heads of baseball players and the like is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,143,483, which consists of a sponge rubber ring with a thickened zone which the player can orientate in the direction from which he expects the ball to arrive.
All these known types of headgear have the sole function of protecting the wearer's head in a passive manner against impacts of the head in movements against a stationary object and/or against blows from an object moving towards the head. However, they do not provide for the possibility of the head g
REFERENCES:
patent: 3904469 (1975-09-01), Dickstein
patent: 4168542 (1979-09-01), Small
patent: 4612672 (1986-09-01), Schrack
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