FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to helmets worn for protection against head injury, including, but not limited to motorcycle helmets.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Many helmets comprise an outer shell with padding inside the shell which assists in keeping the outer shell in position, provides comfort and allows impact loads received by the outer shell, to be spread when being transferred to the wearer. In helmets that extend to the wearer's lower jaw or lower, the padding on the insides of the helmets, in the vicinity of the wearer's cheeks (the check pads), is typically relatively thick and needs to be compressed when the helmet is fitted or removed. The compression of a helmet's cheek pads when fitting or removing the helmet, to allow sufficient space for the wearer's head to be inserted into or withdrawn from the helmet, causes minimal discomfort during normal use. However, in the event of an accident, these pads can restrict the ability to remove the helmet quickly and/or can cause unwanted movement of the wearer's head or spine while removing the helmet, e.g. when an emergency worker has to remove a helmet from an injured motorcyclist and battles with resistance from the helmet's cheek pads.

The present invention seeks to provide a helmet with padding that serves all the purposes mentioned above, yet allows easy removal of the helmet from the wearer's head, thus reducing the risk of spinal injury.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a helmet comprising a robust outer shell and padding on the inside of the shell, said padding including at least one cheek pad disposed laterally inside the shell near a lower rim of the shell at a position generally corresponding to the wearer's lower jaw when the helmet is worn, said cheek pad including a thin, flexible lining and a compressible element held inside the lining;

wherein said lining of the cheek pad defines an opening that is normally closed, but that can be opened with ease by hand, and said opening and compressible element of the cheek pad being configured to allow the compressible element to be removed from the cheek pad without moving the wearer's head and without directly touching the wearer's head with the compressible element, by withdrawing the compressible element through the opening, when opened.

The lining of the cheek pad may form a pocket in which the compressible element is held.

The helmet may include two of said cheek pads, disposed on opposing lateral sides of the helmet. The opening of the cheek pad is normally held closed by a hook-and-loop fastener.

The helmet may include a pull tab attached to the compressible element, to allow it to be gripped by hand and withdrawn easily through the opening of the cheek pad. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how it may be carried into effect, the invention will now be described by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figures 1 to 4 are pictorial views of underside cheek pad of a helmet according to the present invention, showing sequential steps in removing a compressible element from the cheek pad.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A helmet according to the present invention includes a robust outer shell of firm, durable material such as a durable polymer of composite. Inside the shell, soft padding is provided, including cheek pads 14 disposed on opposing lateral sides of the helmet, just above the lower rim of the shell, at positions that generally correspond to the lower jaws of a person wearing the helmet.

Each cheek pad 14 includes a thin, flexible lining 16, preferably of non-irritating synthetic fabric and the lining forms a pocket with an opening 18 along its lower edge that extends along the lower rim of the helmet's shell. The opening 18 is held closed by strips 20.1 and 20.2 of the opposing sides of a hook-and-loop fastener (known commercially under the trade name Velcro ^® ). Inside each cheek pad 14, a compressible element in the form of a foam comfort pad 22 is held inside the lining 16 and the opening 18 is normally held closed by the fastener strips 20. The comfort pad 22 has a pull tab 24 that is formed by a strap extending around the comfort pad and the pull tab is preferably also normally held inside the lining 16, although it can be allowed to protrude through the opening 18, if preferred.

As shown in Figure 1 , during normal use, the cheek pad 14 is thick and can extend inwards from the lower rim of the helmet shell like a conventional cheek pad. In this condition, the opening 18 is held closed by the fastener strips 20.

Referring to Figure 2, in the event that the cheek pad 14 needs to be reduced in size, e.g. if the helmet needs to be removed from the wearer's head while avoidi movement of the wearer's head or spine as far as possible, the opening 18 is opened by releasing the fastener strips 20.

As shown in Figure 3, the pull tab 24 is gripped by hand and is pulled to withdraw the comfort pad 22 from the lining 16 through the opening 18. Once the comfort pad 22 has been completely withdrawn, the lining 16 forms a flexible, empty sack as shown in Figure 4, which can easily be pulled aside, thus offering practically no resistance to removal of the helmet from the wearer's head.

The removal of the comfort pad 22 as described above can be done very quickly and easily during an emergency and it is simple enough to be done on a side of the wearer's head that may not be visible, but that can be reached by hand - e.g. when the wearer's head is oriented with one cheek towards the ground. The withdrawal of the comfort pad 22 also avoids direct contact between the comfort pad and the wearer's head and causes no friction on the wearer's skin and requires no inward movement that could press against the wearer's head - thus reducing the risk of unwanted head or spine movement while removing the comfort pad.