Protective headgear

Abstract

A protective shell for use within a cap such as a baseball cap and which incorporates elongate slots which open into the back of the shell and extend forwards towards the front of the shell. The presence of the slots, in conjunction with the inherent flexibility of the shell material, enable the lateral sections of the shell to move inwards and outwards to accommodate a range of head sizes.

1 . A shell for fitting within a headcap to provide a degree of protection from impacts, said shell being formed with a pair of slots, one on each side of the shell, each slot opening into the back side of the shell and extending in a generally back to front direction towards the front of the shell, and being such as to enable the shell material on its opposite sides to mutually move, and thus alter the effective size of the shell.  
     
     
         2 . A shell as claimed in  claim 1  being of a generally concave shape, longer from front to back than from side to side, in order to accommodate the shape of the human head.  
     
     
         3 . A shell as claimed in  claim 2  wherein the slots effectively divide the shell into different regions, together making up said concave shape: a top region extending, when worn, back to front over the top of the head and merging into a front region which extends, when worn, across the front of the head and two lateral regions extending, when worn, back to front across respective sides of the head and merging into the front region, and wherein each slot separates a respective lateral regions from the top region.  
     
     
         4 . A shell as claimed in  claim 3  wherein the top region and the slots are dimensioned and shaped so that the slots do not pass across the impact zones specified in International Safety Standard EN812.  
     
     
         5 . A shell as claimed in either one of claims  3  or  4  wherein said slots are of a width sufficient to enable the lateral regions to be flexed towards and away from the top region to thereby effectively alter the size of the shell to enable the shell to accommodate a range of head sizes.  
     
     
         6 . A shell as claimed in any one of  claims 2  to  5  wherein said slots extend forwards over a greater proportion of the front-to-back length of the shell.  
     
     
         7 . A shell as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the shell material is a plastics material.  
     
     
         8 . A shell as claimed in  claim 7  wherein the shell material is one of: ABS, polypropylene, PVC, or polyethylene.  
     
     
         9 . A shell as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, made by injection moulding.  
     
     
         10 . A shell for fitting within a headcap to provide a degree of protection from impacts, said shell being formed with a pair of slots, one on each side of the shell, each slot opening into the front side of the shell and extending in a generally front-to-back direction towards the back of the shell, and being such as to enable the shell material on its opposite sides to mutually move, and thus alter the effective size of the shell.  
     
     
         11 . A shell as claimed in  claim 10  being of a generally concave shape, longer from front to back than from side to side, in order to accommodate the shape of the human head.  
     
     
         12 . A shell as claimed in  claim 11  wherein the slots effectively divide the shell into different regions, together making up said concave shape: a top region extending, when worn, front to back over the top of the head and merging into a back region which extends, when worn, across the back of the head and two lateral regions extending, when worn, front to back across respective sides of the head and merging into the back region, and wherein each slot separates a respective lateral region from the top region.  
     
     
         13 . Protective headgear comprising a headcap, the interior of which is fitted with a shell as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.  
     
     
         14 . Protective headgear as claimed in  claim 13  wherein the shell is secured within the headcap by means of Velcro pads, snap buttons or pockets.  
     
     
         15 . Protective headgear as claimed in either one of claims  13  or  14  wherein the shell is lined with compressible material.  
     
     
         16 . Protective headgear as claimed in  claim 15  wherein the compressible material comprises a foam material.