Apparel – Guard or protector – For wearer's head
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-19
2004-11-02
Lindsey, Rodney M. (Department: 3765)
Apparel
Guard or protector
For wearer's head
C002S425000, C002S468000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06810535
ABSTRACT:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable.
REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX
Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the art of safety restraint devices for the head and neck of an occupant of a vehicle, and more particularly to a restraint device for controlling and limiting the forward and downward movement of the occupant's head when the vehicle is subjected to deceleration forces, and a method of restraining such occupant's head.
(2) Description of Related Art
An occupant of a high performance car, truck, plane, or boat (hereinafter referred to collectively as “vehicle”) commonly wears a helmet for protection from head injury and also wears a shoulder harness which restrains torso movements relative to the seat and vehicle. When the vehicle undergoes deceleration either in normal operation or in a crash, the torso of the occupant is restrained by the seat and harness, to move with the vehicle, but the helmeted head is commonly unrestrained except by contact with portions of the vehicle or seat. Thus, loads which constrain the head to move with the torso are transmitted primarily through the neck. Such neck loads lead to fatigue of the operator during normal vehicle operation and to injury in a vehicle crash.
The related art has shown various types of head support devices for use for occupants of a vehicle. Illustrative are U.S. Pat. No. 3,278,230 to Boyce et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,896 to Ackerman; U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,996 to Varteressian; U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,822 to Sawyer; U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,509 to Romo et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,681 to Benitez et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,134,106 to Shaffer et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,510 to Hubbard; U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,459 to Patterson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,147 to Adams et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,708 to Monson et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,770 to Allen et al; U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,722 to Betts; U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,566 to Hubbard; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2001/0002087 to Townsend.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,278,230 to Boyce et al describes a shell and frame which is individually fitted and worn on the torso of an astronaut or a crew member of a high performance aircraft. This shell and frame serve as the seat back once it is secured into the aircraft by means of pins. A headrest is mounted to the frame extending upward from the torso shell to behind the head. The head is held in the headrest by a strap on each side of the helmet. The straps are retracted, when the restraint system is actuated in an emergency situation, to securely hold the head to the headrest There is no specific description given of the placement of the straps relative to the geometric configuration of the head and helmet. Except for rearward movements of the helmet which are restrained by contact with the headrest, the head and helmet are not restrained under normal vehicle operation but only by retraction of the straps on the reels which must be actuated for system operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,896 to Ackerman describes a bar which attaches to the rear of a football helmet and extends downward to fit into a cylindrical guide attached to the shoulder pads. This device would allow only movements of the helmet relative to the shoulder pads which are vertical along the axis of the bar and rotational about the axis of the bar; other motions are restrained by the device. The restrained motions are needed for athletic performance or vehicle operation and the motions not restrained by the device could result in potentially fatiguing or injurious loading in the neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,996 to Varteressian describes a device (similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,896 to Ackerman above) which includes a bar with its upper end attached to the rear of the helmet in a track to allow vertical motion of the bar relative to the helmet within limits of the track and the lower end of the bar attached by a ball and socket to a jacket worn on the torso. Movements of the neck are restrained by the ball-and-socket at the jacket and the slider in the track at the helmet; these restrained neck motions are not those that would naturally occur and they could be irritating to the user. For example, lateral bending of the neck to the right or left must follow the combination of rotations and translations dictated by the center of ball-and-socket joint rather than the motions of the vertebral linkage. If the stops in the ball-and-socket and slider are configured correctly, this design could reduce the potential for injury at the extremes of neck motion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,822 to Sawyer describes a harness with straps on the torso and connected to the helmet to prevent the helmet from leaving the head. The harness straps do not substantially restrain the forward bending of the neck and they could cause potentially injurious compressive and bending loading in the neck under extreme neck motions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,509 to Romo et al describes a strap between a football helmet and shoulder pads which is similar in effect to the harness described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,822 to Sawyer above.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,681 to Benitez et al describes a device as such: “Columnar support extends upward from the back of the occupant for attachment to the crash helmet.” This support is not substantively described.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,134,106 to Shaffer et al describes an attachment of a football player's helmet to the shoulder pads by pin joints on either side of the neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,510 to Hubbard describes a neck protection device that includes in combination a high collar extending over the occupant's shoulders and a set oftethers for attachment to the helmet and collar. The high collar extends upward to adjacent the center of gravity of the head and helmet which is about eye level of the occupant. This head and neck support requires that the loading from the tethers be resisted by the collar. This loading configuration required a large collar structure which often interferes with the occupant's helmet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,459 to Patterson describes a head restraint device which connects the helmet of the occupant to the vehicle seat. The head restraint has a restraining strap which applies a single force to the head to restrain the head from horizontal forward motion and a strap assembly on the helmet to hold the head upright. The restraining strap pulls the head directly back near the middle of the head and helmet. The restraining strap only applies the force when the deceleration forces are above a predetermined level. The attachment of the strap to the helmet allows the helmet to rotate about a vertical axis approximately 180 degrees. The restraint can also be connected to the torso of the occupant to simultaneously retract the head and the torso. The restraint must be detached for the occupant to exit the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,147 to Adams et al describes a seat insert for a vehicle which maintains an occupant of the vehicle in a forward position during high G acceleration. The seat insert has a head support member for supporting the occupant's head during a forward, leaning posture. A head support member restraint cord is provided to restrain the movement of the head support member during an occupant's forward lean. The top and bottom of the helmet are restrained to the head support member which is behind and above the top of the helmet. The head support member tends to resist motions of the occupants head which are downward due to accelerations. The seat insert also includes a back plate assembly connected to the head support member for supporting the spine in its natural curvature. The back plate assembly is able to pivot forward relative to the seat of the vehicle. The seat insert is able to transfer G-induced weight from the spine to the back plate assembly and ultimately to the existing seat of the vehicle. The seat insert restrains the occupant relative to the seat and must rely on restraint of the torso to be compatible with the head restrain
Everman Gregory R.
Lindsey Rodney M.
Miller, Everman & Bernard, PLLC
Speed Solutions, Inc.
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