Helmet with stage blood indicator to simulate head injury

Abstract

A helmet that both protects the user against injury during a fight and indicates through the release of stage blood that a blow to the head has been struck sufficient to cause a concussion or bloody head injury if the helmet were not present. The helmet includes an inner helmet and outer helmet. The inner helmet is similar in construction to helmets presently used in sports such as football, hockey and bicycling preferably with an absorbent layer next to the user's head, an intermediate soft protective layer and a hard plastic outer layer. On top of the inner helmet, an outer helmet is provided with a reservoir or multiple packets of stage blood. For added protection, a visor and neck protector are preferably attached to the helmet.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A helmet capable of simulating the extent of injury a blow would cause to an unprotected head comprising:
 an inner helmet;   a detachable outer helmet fitting over said inner helmet, said outer helmet including multiple polymeric packets containing sealed fluid positioned beneath a polymeric outer layer;   wherein when a blow is stuck to said polymeric outer layer of said outer helmet that would cause an injury to an unprotected head, one or more of said sealed packets beneath said polymeric outer layer will rupture and release fluid through said polymeric outer layer.   
     
     
         2 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein said fluid is stage blood. 
     
     
         3 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein cracks are pre-formed in said polymeric outer layer to allow fluid to seep through said polymeric outer layer cracks when a fluid packet is ruptured. 
     
     
         4 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein said polymeric packets are held in pockets formed in said outer helmet underneath the outer helmet's outer layer. 
     
     
         5 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein said polymeric pockets are located on the sides, top, front and back of said outer helmet. 
     
     
         6 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein said outer helmet is formed from a soft, durable polymer. 
     
     
         7 . The helmet of  claim 6  wherein said soft, durable polymer is selected from the group of silicon, elastomer and polypropylene. 
     
     
         8 . The helmet of  claim 6  wherein said soft, durable polymer has a hardness rating on the Shore Hardness Scale of approximately A60. 
     
     
         9 . The helmet of  claim 2  wherein said polymeric packets each have approximately 4 cubic centimeters of stage blood. 
     
     
         10 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein said polymeric outer layer of said outer helmet is formed from a hard, rigid plastic that cracks when struck with a blow that would cause injury to an unprotected head. 
     
     
         11 . The helmet of  claim 10  wherein said hard, rigid plastic is polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) having a thickness between 0.03 and 0.10 inches. 
     
     
         12 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein said detachable outer helmet is attached to said inner helmet with screws. 
     
     
         13 . A helmet capable of simulating the extent of injury a blow would cause to an unprotected head comprising:
 an inner helmet;   a detachable outer helmet formed from a soft, durable polymer fitting over said inner helmet, said outer helmet including multiple polymeric packets containing sealed fluid positioned in pockets beneath an outer layer and a plurality of pre-formed cracks in said outer layer;   wherein when a blow is stuck to said outer layer of said outer helmet that would cause an injury to an unprotected head, one or more of said sealed packets beneath said outer layer will rupture and release fluid through said pre-formed cracks.   
     
     
         14 . The helmet of  claim 13  wherein said fluid is stage blood and said packets contain approximately 4 cubic centimeters of such stage blood. 
     
     
         15 . A helmet capable of simulating the extent of injury a blow would cause to an unprotected head comprising:
 an inner helmet;   an outer helmet fitting over said inner helmet having a fluid reservoir interposed between said inner helmet and an outer shell;   said outer shell being made from polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) having a thickness between 0.03 and 0.10 inches such that, when a blow is struck to said helmet that would cause a bloody injury to an unprotected head, said outer shell will crack to the point where fluid will be released from said reservoir and through said outer shell.   
     
     
         16 . A method of staging a martial arts competition that allows blows to be struck to a participant's head where head injury can be simulated without actually injuring the participant's head comprising the steps of:
 selecting a helmet capable of simulating the extent of injury a blow would cause to an unprotected head comprising an inner helmet, a detachable outer helmet fitting over said inner helmet, said outer helmet including multiple polymeric packets containing sealed fluid positioned beneath a polymeric outer layer, wherein when a blow is stuck to said polymeric outer layer of said outer helmet that would cause an injury to an unprotected head, one or more of said sealed packets beneath said polymeric outer layer will rupture and release fluid through said polymeric outer layer;   placing said helmet on the head of a martial arts competition participant; and,   allowing blows to be struck to the head of the martial arts competition participant until fluid is released from said helmet.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein said fluid is stage blood. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the steps of:
 after said martial art competition is completed, detaching said outer helmet from said inner helmet; 
 removing any ruptured polymeric packets; 
 cleaning fluid from said helmet; 
 placing new polymeric packets in the locations where said ruptured polymeric packets were removed; and, 
 re-attaching said outer helmet onto said inner helmet so that said helmet can be used again for a new martial arts competition.