Face mask for football helmet and football helmet including the same

Abstract

Disclosed is a helmet including an outer shell configured to surround a wearer's head and having an open front, a face mask mounted on the outer shell and located on a frontal opening of the outer shell to protect a front of a wearer's face, and a plurality of fixing clips installed on the outer shell to fix the face mask.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A football helmet comprising an outer shell configured to surround a wearer's head and having an open front, a face mask mounted on the outer shell and located on a frontal opening of the outer shell to protect a front of a wearer's face, and a plurality of fixing clips installed on the outer shell to fix the face mask,
 wherein the face mask comprises a plurality of curved bars which are bent,   wherein the plurality of curved bars comprise a frame bar disposed along the frontal opening of the helmet and coupled to the outer shell of the helmet and a plurality of lateral bars extending across the frontal opening of the helmet and having both fore ends attached to the frame bar, and   wherein the frame bar comprises a metallic core member and a polycarbonate outer cover installed on an exterior of and surrounding the core member.   
     
     
         2 . The football helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the lateral bars each comprise a metallic core member and a polycarbonate outer cover installed on an exterior of and surrounding the core member. 
     
     
         3 . The helmet of  claim 1 , further comprising an internal liner installed inside the outer shell to buffer an impact. 
     
     
         4 . The football helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the core member and the outer cover have a circular or elliptical cross-sectional structure. 
     
     
         5 . The football helmet of  claim 4 , wherein the core member has a diameter of 3 mm to 6 mm. 
     
     
         6 . The football helmet of  claim 5 , wherein the outer cover has a thickness of 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm. 
     
     
         7 . The football helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the outer cover is formed by mixing polycarbonate with glass fibers. 
     
     
         8 . The football helmet of  claim 7 , wherein the glass fibers are mixed in an amount of more than zero to 30 wt %. 
     
     
         9 . The football helmet of  claim 1 , wherein the outer cover is integrally formed with the core member through insert-injection molding or over-molding. 
     
     
         10 . A face mask for a football helmet comprising an outer shell configured to surround a wearer's head and having an open front, the face mask mounted on the outer shell and located on a frontal opening of the outer shell to protect a front of a wearer's face, and a plurality of fixing clips installed on the outer shell to fix the face mask,
 wherein the face mask comprises a plurality of curved bars which are bent,   wherein the plurality of curved bars comprise a frame bar disposed along the frontal opening of the helmet and coupled to the outer shell of the helmet and a plurality of lateral bars extending across the frontal opening of the helmet and having both fore ends attached to the frame bar, and   wherein the frame bar comprises a metallic core member and a polycarbonate outer cover installed on an exterior of and surrounding the core member.   
     
     
         11 . The face mask of  claim 10 , wherein the lateral bars each comprise a metallic core member and a polycarbonate outer cover installed on an exterior of and surrounding the core member. 
     
     
         12 . The face mask of  claim 10 , wherein the core member and the outer cover have a circular or elliptical cross-sectional structure. 
     
     
         13 . The face mask of  claim 12 , wherein the core member has a diameter of 3 mm to 6 mm. 
     
     
         14 . The face mask of  claim 13 , wherein the outer cover has a thickness of 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm. 
     
     
         15 . The face mask of  claim 10 , wherein the outer cover is formed by mixing polycarbonate with glass fibers. 
     
     
         16 . The face mask of  claim 15 , wherein the glass fibers are mixed in an amount of more than zero to 30 wt %. 
     
     
         17 . The face mask of  claim 10 , wherein the outer cover is integrally formed with the core member through insert-injection molding or over-molding.