Protective lightweight helmet

Abstract

A lightweight protective headgear for non-contact sports comprising a soft foam helmet designed to prevent head and facial injuries to the user.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A one-piece protective soft helmet, particularly suited for non-contact sports comprising: a protective head covering made from a molded soft foam formed as a single homogeneous component, a chin strap suitable for securing said headgear to the head of a person, and a rear strap; wherein said soft helmet is formed to fit overtop and snugly follow the contours of a human head, wherein the helmet extends past the ears but provides a gap in the frontal portion of the helmet that extends from the portion of the helmet about adjacent to the eyebrows of a user to the ear portion; the soft helmet comprises a crown ridge, a forehead ridge, and a temple ridge. 
     
     
         2 . The helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the weight of the helmet is no more than about two pounds. 
     
     
         3 . The helmet of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of openings extending through the molded soft foam. 
     
     
         4 . The helmet of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of ridges positioned on the side, rear, and top of the helmet. 
     
     
         5 . The helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the gap is filled with a protective eye shield that extends to about the level of the nose of the use, and wherein a strap is provided that secures a mouth guard to the helmet. 
     
     
         6 . The helmet of  claim 5  wherein the weight of the helmet is no more than about 30 ounces. 
     
     
         7 . A soft helmet comprising:
 a. a protective foam core covering the top of the head, the sides of the head, the rear of the head, and the top portion of the forehead, wherein the foam core ends at about the front of the ear and is provided therein, an opening between the ears and the forehead;   b. the protective foam having a pliable form to provide protection against impact to the soft helmet;   c. a plurality of internal cushions capable of being selectively attached to the interior of the soft helmet;   d. a plurality of vents extending through the foam core; and   e. a plurality of ridges positioned along the sides of the helmet.   
     
     
         8 . The helmet of  claim 7  wherein the helmet weighs less than about 32 ounces. 
     
     
         9 . The helmet of  claim 7  wherein the helmet weighs less than about 24 ounces. 
     
     
         10 . The helmet of  claim 7  wherein the helmet weighs less than about 16 ounces. 
     
     
         11 . The soft helmet of  claim 7  further comprising a visor disposed of in said opening between the front of the ear and the top portion of the forehead that extends to and is in continuous contact with the foam core from the ears, all along the forehead portion; and vertical and lateral visor supports embedded within the foam core that connect to the visor. 
     
     
         12 . The helmet of  claim 11  wherein there are two lateral visor supports each of which extends from one side of the visor, around the rear of the helmet and connects to the other side of the visor. 
     
     
         13 . The helmet of  claim 11  wherein the vertical supports extend from the top of the forehead to the rear of the helmet; and wherein the lateral supports extend from the side of the visor to the rear of the helmet and connect with the opposing lateral supports. 
     
     
         14 . The helmet of  claim 11  wherein there are at least two vertical visor supports and at least two lateral supports. 
     
     
         15 . A helmet for women's lacrosse comprising:
 a. a helmet having a foam core and comprising a plurality of openings extending through the foam core at the top, rear, and sides of the helmet; wherein a facial opening is provided at the front of the helmet and disposed of in said facial opening is a visor;   b. a skeleton of lateral and vertical supports comprising at least two lateral supports on each side of the helmet and at least two vertical supports on the top of the helmet embedded within the foam core of the helmet; and   c. wherein each of the lateral and vertical supports is selectively attached to said visor.   
     
     
         16 . The helmet of  claim 15  further comprising a plurality of ridges positioned on the side of the helmet. 
     
     
         17 . The helmet of  claim 15  further comprising a plurality of ridges positioned on the side and the top of the helmet. 
     
     
         18 . The skeleton of  claim 15  which is made of a thermoplastic material that is capable of being heated and then molded upon cooling. 
     
     
         19 . The skeleton of  claim 15 , wherein the visor is selectively attached with a rigid mechanism to the vertical supports, and selectively attached with a non-rigid attachment means on the lateral supports. 
     
     
         20 . The skeleton of  claim 15  wherein the visor is either a clear visor or a cage style visor.