VENTILATED SAFETY HELMET WITH PROGRESSIVELY CRUSHABLE LINER

摘要

A safety helmet comprises a hard outer shell (12) defining a recessed interior and having front and rear edges. A bowl-shaped liner (22) having front and rear edges and a peak between said edges is contoured to fit snugly in the shell so that the front and rear edges of the liner (22) are adjacent to the front and rear edges of the shell (12). The liner (22) has an interior surface contoured generally to fit a wearer's head and a corrugated exterior surface, the tips of the liner corrugations (26, 28) contacting the shell (12) along multiple lines of contact. The corrugations (26) in at least a central zone of the liner (22) adjacent to the peak extend fore and aft between the front and rear edges of the liner (22) such that the corrugations define valleys that are spaced from the shell (12) to provide air passages (38) in the helmet extending from the front of the helmet to an array of through-holes (30) in the liner (22) and to a vent opening (16) in the shell adjacent to the rear edge of the liner (22). A valve (34) is provided to control air flow through the passages and the through-holes. Preferably also, the liner (22) is of a crushable material so that the liner corrugations (26, 28) provide progressive crushability to protect against lower energy impacts on the helmet.