Lacrosse helmet

Abstract

A lacrosse helmet comprises rigid single-piece shell formed of a suitable material such as polycarbonate or ABS plastic and adapted to receive and protect the head of a wearer. The shell has acclivities integrally formed therein to define features in the shell. Two alternative padding assemblies are disclosed. In a first alternative, the padding assemblies include a front liner installed in the brow area of the shell, a lateral padding assembly extending around the back inner surface of the shell and backed by an inflatable occipital pad, a crown shock absorber, and jaw pads. In a second alternative, the padding assemblies include an inner shell or bonnet comprising a left section, right section, and rear section, which are assembled together with a crown comfort layer and a rear comfort layer, and inserted into the shell. This alternative also includes jaw pads as in the first alternative.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A lacrosse helmet comprising:
 a single-piece plastic shell adapted to receive and protect the head of a wearer,   the shell having a front region, a crown region, a rear region, a left side region, a right side region, an inner surface and an outer surface,   the shell having a thickness in the range of 0.11 inches to 0.13 inches,   a jaw protector removably attached to the shell and extending forwardly from the shell and adapted to cover and protect the lower jaw of the wearer,   a front liner attached to inner surface of the shell in the front region to overlie a brow area of the head,   a lateral padding assembly attached to the inner surface of the shell in the rear region to at least partially overlie an occipital area of the head,   an inflatable occipital pad attached the inner surface of the shell in the rear region, the inflatable occipital pad being disposed between the inner surface of the shell and the lateral padding assembly,   a crown shock absorber attached to the inner surface of the shell in the crown region,   a left jaw pad attached to the inner surface of the shell in the left side region to at least partially overlie an upper left jaw of the head,   a right jaw pad attached to the inner surface of the shell in the right side region to at least partially overlie an upper left jaw of the head,   a faceguard removably attached to the shell and jaw protector.   
     
     
         2 . The lacrosse helmet of  claim 1  wherein the shell is composed of polycarbonate plastic. 
     
     
         3 . The lacrosse helmet of  claim 1  wherein the shell is composed of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic. 
     
     
         4 . The lacrosse helmet of  claim 1  wherein the lateral padding assembly is composed of side lateral elements and a central lateral element. 
     
     
         5 . The lacrosse helmet of  claim 4  wherein
 the inflatable occipital pad has a valve assembly for inflating the inflatable occipital pad, 
 the valve assembly extends through a hole in the shell, and 
 the inflatable occipital pad biases the central lateral element toward the head. 
 
     
     
         6 . The lacrosse helmet of  claim 1  wherein
 the faceguard comprises a grid of a plurality of horizontal wire members, a plurality of vertical wire members, and a bottom wire member, 
 a left loop strap and a right loop strap attaches the bottom wire member to the removable jaw protector, 
 a first one of said plurality of vertical wire members is attached to the bottom wire member at a position forward of each of the left loop strap, and 
 a second one of said plurality of vertical wire members is attached to the bottom wire member at a position forward of each of the right loop strap. 
 
     
     
         7 . The lacrosse helmet of  claim 1  wherein each of said right jaw pad and left jaw pad comprises a shock absorbing layer and a cushion layer, wherein: the shock absorbing layer comprises a plurality of spaced-apart projecting hollow protrusions protruding from a base sheet, and the cushion layer is removably attached to the shock absorbing layer. 
     
     
         8 . The lacrosse helmet of  claim 1  wherein the shock absorbing layer is comprised of thermoplastic urethane. 
     
     
         9 . The lacrosse helmet of  claim 1  wherein the crown shock absorber comprises a front portion and a rear portion, the front portion and rear portion hingedly attached by at least one living hinge,
 each of said front portion and rear portion comprised of a shock absorbing layer, a barrier layer, an outer layer, and at least one pad, 
 the shock absorbing layer having a plurality of spaced-apart projecting hollow protrusions protruding from a base sheet, 
 the outer layer having at least one pocket formed therein containing the at least one pad, 
 the barrier layer disposed between the shock absorbing layer and the outer layer, and 
 the shock absorbing layer, barrier layer, and outer layer sealed together such that the barrier layer seals the pocket formed in the outer layer.