Helmet with chin guard

Abstract

A helmet assembly having a helmet shell to which a chin guard assembly is attached. The chin guard assembly is disposed and configured to protect the underside of the wearer's chin and jaw and counter rotational acceleration created by impact to the underside of the wearer's chin.

Claimed is: 
     
         1 . A helmet assembly comprising:
 a helmet shell;   a chin guard assembly coupled to the helmet shell, wherein the chin guard assembly is disposed and configured to protect the underside of the wearer's chin and jaw and counter rotational acceleration created by impact to the underside of the wearer's chin or jaw.   
     
     
         2 . The helmet assembly of  claim 1  wherein the chin guard assembly comprises:
 a rigid expanse extending from the helmet shell right side to the helmet shell left side and disposed on the front side of the wearer; 
 the rigid expanse attached at a first end to the helmet shell right side and attached at a second end to the helmet shell left side and disposed to protect against impact to the underside of a wearer's chin and jaw. 
 
     
     
         3 . The helmet assembly of  claim 2  wherein the rigid expanse is shaped to generally follow a wearer's chin and jaw. 
     
     
         4 . The helmet assembly of  claim 2  wherein the rigid expanse comprises:
 a right elongated member attached to the helmet shell right side and a left elongated member attached to the helmet shell left side; 
 wherein at least one of the right side elongated member and the left side elongated member is attached by a fastening assembly comprising: 
 a sleeve attached to the helmet shell into which a portion of an end of one of the elongated members is disposed; and 
 a first stop at the end of the elongated member. 
 
     
     
         5 . The helmet assembly of  claim 4  wherein the sleeve is rotatable with respect to the helmet shell. 
     
     
         6 . The helmet assembly of  claim 4  further comprising a spring disposed about a portion of the end of the elongated member between the first stop and the sleeve. 
     
     
         7 . The helmet assembly of  claim 4  further comprising:
 a second stop disposed about a portion of the end of the elongated member on a side of the sleeve opposing the first stop. 
 
     
     
         8 . The helmet assembly of  claim 7  wherein the second stop is adjustable along the elongated member. 
     
     
         9 . The helmet assembly of  claim 4  wherein the end portion of the elongated member is curved at its end to inhibit removal from the sleeve thereby forming the first stop. 
     
     
         10 . The helmet assembly of  claim 1  further comprising a face mask. 
     
     
         11 . The helmet assembly of  claim 9  wherein the chin guard assembly is attached to the face mask. 
     
     
         12 . The helmet assembly of  claim 10  wherein the chin guard assembly is pivotally attached to the face mask. 
     
     
         13 . The helmet assembly of  claim 11  comprising:
 one or more rotatable attachment elements attaching the chin guard assembly to the face mask. 
 
     
     
         14 . The helmet assembly of  claim 13  wherein at least one rotatable attachment element is in the form of a bar extending from the face mask to the chin guard assembly and the bar is rotatable with respect to the face mask and the chin guard. 
     
     
         15 . The helmet assembly of  claim 13  wherein at least one of the rotatable attachments is releasable. 
     
     
         16 . The helmet of  claim 13  further comprising one or more spacer components disposed to maintain a selected distance between one or more rotatable attachment elements and parts of one or both of the face mask and chin guard assembly. 
     
     
         17 . The helmet assembly of  claim 1  wherein the chin guard assembly is rotatable with respect to the helmet shell at pivots on the right and left side of the helmet shell. 
     
     
         18 . The helmet assembly of  claim 1  further comprising a chin strap coupled to the helmet shell for securing the helmet assembly in place on a wearer. 
     
     
         19 . The helmet assembly of  claim 1  wherein the chin strap is engaged with the chin guard assembly to help keep the chin guard assembly in place. 
     
     
         20 . The helmet assembly of  claim 1  further comprising a cupped chin component secured to the chin strap. 
     
     
         21 . A helmet accessory comprising:
 a fastening assembly for attaching the helmet accessory to a helmet shell;   a chin guard assembly, which when connected to the helmet shell is disposed and configured to help protect the underside of the wearer's chin and counter rotational acceleration created by impact to the underside of the wearer's chin and jaw.   
     
     
         22 . The helmet accessory of  claim 21  wherein the chin guard assembly comprises:
 a rigid expanse, which when attached to the helmet shell extends from the helmet shell right side to the helmet shell left side and is disposed on the front side of the wearer; 
 the rigid expanse attached at a first end to the helmet shell right side and attached at a second end to the helmet shell left side and disposed to help protect against impact to the underside of a wearer's chin and jaw. 
 
     
     
         23 . The helmet accessory of  claim 22  wherein the rigid expanse comprises:
 a right elongated member attachable to the helmet shell right side and a left elongated member attachable to the helmet shell left side; 
 a fastening assembly for attaching at least one of the right side elongated member and the left side elongated member, the fastening assembly comprising: 
 a sleeve attachable to the helmet shell into which a portion of an end of one of the elongated members is disposed; and 
 a first stop at the end of the elongated member. 
 
     
     
         24 . The helmet accessory of  claim 23  wherein the sleeve is rotatable. 
     
     
         25 . The helmet accessory of  claim 23  further comprising a spring disposed about a portion of the end of the elongated member between the first stop and the sleeve. 
     
     
         26 . The helmet accessory of  claim 23  further comprising:
 a second stop disposed about a portion of the end of the elongated member on a side of the sleeve opposing the first stop. 
 
     
     
         27 . The helmet accessory of  claim 21  wherein the helmet accessory is attachable to a face mask on the helmet shell. 
     
     
         28 . The helmet accessory of  claim 21  for use with a helmet shell having a chin strap, wherein the chin strap is engagable with the chin guard assembly to keep the chin guard assembly in place. 
     
     
         29 . The helmet accessory of  claim 21  for a helmet with a face mask, the helmet accessory further comprising:
 one or more connection components to connect the helmet accessory to a face mask; 
 one or more spacer components to define selected relative distances between connections components and parts of the face mask and parts of the chin guard assembly.