NFL Helmet

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This project is about building a safe helmet for NFL players that will help them prevent concussion while playing the game. This is done by using combination of material science with air principle to transfer and distribute the impact force from one point of the helmet to the entire part in order to absorb the impact force. This new concept helmet design has three layers the upper layer, the middle layer and the inner layer. The upper layer is made up of standard rigid hard material to give the first protection for the players. The inner layer is made up of soft rigid material to give comfort and protection for the head of the players. The edge of the upper and inner layer is connected by a flexible hard material like nylon and it will seal the middle compartment. The middle layer contains many small bubbles aligned in a shape shown at diagram below. The bubbles have hallowed spherical shape inflated with air that lacks firmness. When the helmet is exposed to impact force at a point x in the helmet, the force will be equally transferred to entire part of the helmet instead of the one point impact. Since the force is transferred and absorbed in to 90 degree of the axis of the impact, the energy that will be at the head of the player will be a fraction of the action impact force. At moment of impact the since the inner layer and upper layer has more rigidity than the middle layer or the bubbles, the bubbles change their shape from being spherical shape to elliptical shape. This is because the bubbles are filled with air and air exert equal force inside the bubbles and when the bubbles are being pushed from above and down (from positive and negative y – axis) simultaneously they will become elliptical since there is no rigid structure in x – axis to maintain their shape. This will make them push each other in x – axis. Since the edge of the middle compartment is made of strong flexible nylon, the edge also changes its shape from flat to semi-circle. This mechanism will transfer the force of impact from the y – axis in to the x – axis assuming that the line of force comes in y – axis. This will reduce the force of impact from becoming on one point and distribute the entire force even and that will play crucial role on making the force which reach the head of the player fractions of the original action force on the upper layer of the helmet.

As seen on the attached diagram the helmet have three parts which is: 
The upper layer - very rigid hard layer,
The middle layer - filler with number of bubbles and
The inner layer - soft rigid layer

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  • ABOUT THE ENTRANT

  • Name:
    Anteneh Gashaw
  • Type of entry:
    individual
  • Patent status:
    pending