Impact Dispersing and Friction Dissipating Spring-Mounted Outer Shell Boxing Helmet for Prevention of Cumulative Long-Term Brain Damage

Abstract

The innovative aspects of the Impact Dispersing and Friction Dissipating Spring-Mounted Outer Shell Boxing Helmet for Protection Against Long-Term Cumulative Brain Damage are its creation of separation and multiple buffers between the brain and the force generated by punches landing on the wearer's head, its ability to spread the force generated by direct punches over larger surface areas of the head through a spring-mounted impact dispersion system, thereby decreasing the likelihood of highly-concentrated amounts of force causing permanent damage, and the ability of its outer shell to ricochet back and forth when hit with indirect, glancing punches in a way that diverts the energy from such punches from going straight to the wearer's brain by taking advantage of naturally-occurring phenomena such as gravity and friction created by air molecule resistance.

1 . The subject matter regarded as the primary claim is the impact dispersing and friction dissipating spring-mounted outer shell helmet design, through which the outer shell of the helmet is suspended by strategically-placed springs that sit atop the base helmet, which collectively serve to spread the force generated by direct punches over a larger surface area of the head, thereby reducing the concentration of the force sustained to the area where the punch lands, and the outer shell will be loosely attached to the ends of the springs facing away from the base helmet, in such a way that the firm-yet-loose high-strength industrial thread holding the springs and outer shell together will provide enough give for the outer shell to ricochet back and forth, and dissipate force generated before such force is able to travel directly to the brain, when it is struck with an indirect, glancing blow. The outer shell sits suspended by compression springs atop the base helmet, and the base helmet sits directly on the wearer's head.
 This spring-mounted outer shell design operates under a combination of three distinct theories for the purposes of protecting the brain from excessive damage and mitigating the effect of blows to the head sustained over a prolonged period of time by athletes participating in high-intensity contact sports.   The first theory behind the impact dispersing, friction dissipating spring-mounted outer shell's effectiveness is that the physical distance between the wearer's brain and the outer shell where punches land will reduce some punch-generated force from traveling straight to the wearer's brain, due to the buffer created by the physical and structural distance. This physical distance between the brain and the area where a punch lands will serve to reduce the amount of sheer force that reaches the brain much more effectively than a conventional single-layer boxing helmet that sits directly atop the wearer's head (and therefore is inherently unable to provide this same physical buffer.) Additionally, the separation of the outer shell into three distinct layers (the hard plastic outer shell surrounded by latex foam on both sides and enclosed by a double layer of canvas material) creates extra additional layers of physical and structural resistance, on top of that already created by the placement of the springs, through which force generated by incoming punches will have a harder time travelling through compared with a single-layer helmet.   This design is largely based on the anatomical structure of woodpecker and ram brains. As was pointed out by renowned brain researcher Dr. Bennet Omalu, and mentioned in the movie ‘Concussion’, the brains of woodpeckers and rams are connected to fibrous evolutionary structures that anatomically suspend their brains within their skulls, which serve as protection against brain damage that would otherwise result from instinctively-engrained behaviors such as pecking wood at a rapid speed and challenging rivals to head-bashing territorial disputes. However, human brains are much more vulnerable because we as a species have never adopted these same evolutionary brain structure traits that mitigate the effects of degenerative head trauma. Human brains more or less just float inside the skulls with nothing anatomically protective holding them in place. The lack of a suspension structure in our brains similar to those in woodpecker and ram brains means that when humans get hit in the head, our free-floating, delicate brains are more or less just slammed into the side of our skull with nothing to restrain their movement. A person's brain slamming into the side of their skull is ordinarily what causes what is known as a ‘knock out’ in boxing, and is a natural reaction to trauma received that our brains are not evolutionarily equipped to handle.   While humans do not have the same internal brain protections as these animals, the main goal of this helmet is to attempt to do the next best thing. The helmet design proposed in this utility patent application seeks to protect the vulnerable human brain by attempting to create externally the same evolutionary structures that protect woodpeckers and rams from degenerative brain conditions and allow them to incur repeated head trauma without the same degenerative effects that humans would otherwise naturally experience. It is by incorporating these evolutionary structures into a wearable apparatus that this design aims to prevent or at the very least lessen the effects of degenerative brain illness in boxers, and eventually other athletes, with the hope that lessening the amount of force that reaches the brain directly will mitigate cognitive decline resulting from sustained head trauma, with the ultimate goal of allowing former contact sport athletes to sustain their mental well-being and independence as they age.   The second theory behind the effectiveness of the spring-mounted outer shell helmet design is that the springs suspending the outer shell above the base helmet will disburse the force generated by direct punches over a greater surface area of the head than a single-layer helmet sitting directly atop the head would. By channeling force from a punch hitting the outer shell over a larger surface area of the head, The goal of the spring suspension structure is to spread the force of any blow that hits any part of the outer shell over a larger surface area of the head, thereby preventing the concentration of damage that would otherwise be restricted to a smaller surface area of the brain while also preventing direct force from impacting the jaw and temple areas, which are arguably the two most vulnerable areas on the front and sides of the head (See  FIG. 4B ). This principle of spreading the impact over a larger surface area is derived from the falling technique that judo practitioners use to lessen the impact of hitting the ground when they are thrown by their opponent. When taking a fall in judo, practitioners are instructed to hit the ground with their arm right as they land. This method of falling spreads the overall impact of a fall over a larger surface area of the body, which not only reduces pain, but also reduces the likelihood of injury, since a smaller surface area of the body hitting the ground does not lessen the amount of force generated by your body hitting the ground; it just makes it that much worse and intense for the smaller, more concentrated surface area of the body that is forced to absorb the entire impact.   The third theory behind the effectiveness of this spring-mounted outer shell design is the outer shell's somewhat-loose attachment to the springs, on the ends of them that face outward and away from the base helmet. The outer shell will be attached by loops of high-strength industrial thread that are small enough to keep the outer shell securely fastened to the spring ends, but large enough so that the outer shell is not firmly fixed in place with nowhere to move. Constructing the helmet in a way that allowing the outer shell to have this wide range of motion will allow the outer shell to ricochet when struck by glancing punches, which means that instead of traveling straight to the brain, this force will manifest itself by causing the outer shell to ricochet back and forth, and such a design allows this force generated to dissipate naturally through its interactions with gravity and the surrounding air molecules which create friction that will stifle the outer shell's kinetic energy, meaning that the energy that was transferred to the outer shell that caused it to ricochet it will never directly reach the brain as it would in the case of an indirect, glancing punch striking a single-layer helmet. This construct, which makes use of natural-occurring gravity and friction resulting from air molecule resistance to stop the ricochet motion, is thus consistent with the overall aim of this helmet design by seeking to preventing as much concentrated force from reaching the brain as is possible, with the ultimate goal being to mitigate a boxer's risk of developing mental health problems later in life that are associated with sustaining consistent blunt force trauma to the head over a long period of time.   By putting as many buffers as are practically and ergonomically possible between the human brain and any amount of force generated that is directed toward it by a striking object, and by utilizing a spring-mounted system that spreads the force of sustained head trauma over a larger surface area of the head, the impact dispersing and friction dissipating spring-mounted outer shell boxing helmet seeks to lessen the amount of force directly absorbed by the boxer's brains throughout the course of their day-to-day training, which should ultimately mitigate the amount of cumulative long-term brain damage sustained. The overall aim of this invention is to mitigate, to the extent possible, brain damage suffered by those who decide to box, whether for fun or professionally. Countless studies have shown that those who box are astoundingly more susceptible to developing cognitive ailments such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and pugilistic dementia later in life. For centuries, boxers have sacrificed their bodies, minds and lives to participate in a grueling sport that crosses cultural boundaries and brings joy to millions, and these people without a doubt deserve both our gratitude and our best efforts, whenever possible, to make sure that they are able to live comfortable, peaceful lives once their careers have ended.   The helmet design incorporating the spring-mounted outer shell that is being submitted as part of this specific utility patent application (and that which is currently being built for initial testing) is intended for use in boxing specifically. The reasoning behind this is based on a personal belief that boxers out of all contact-sport athletes have perhaps the greatest need for improved head protection. Should this patent be approved, my plan is to send a working version of this design to either the Brain Trauma Foundation or the Brain Injury Research Institute so that clinical testing can be undertaken to determine the extent of brain protection that this spring-mounted outer shell design offers to its users, in comparison with that being offered by the conventional single-layer helmets that boxers currently use in training. If the tests prove to be successful, I would like to implement this design in helmets for use in other high-intensity contact sports such as football, hockey, and lacrosse, among others, with the hope that this idea can promote better long term brain health for athletes competing in sports such as these that carry an inherently higher risk of causing cumulative long-term brain injury, such that carries a high likelihood of decreasing the overall quality of these athletes' lives as they age. It is my hope that if this design proves to be effective, it may be able to be implemented in other sports equipment that improves the quality of the athletes who sacrifice their lives and bodies to entertain the rest of us through the sports that we are all so passionate about while knowing next to nothing about what the people who perform them to live better and more fulfilling lives once their careers have ended.