Moving Helmet Pic
The Hard Hat®

The Flexible Helmet - A New Concept!

 

  

Welcome to The Hard Hat

Worldwide patent licenses are available for a variety of recreational sport, aeronautical, and military uses under development.   Potential manufacturing and/or marketing partnership arrangements may be considered. An optimized master CAD file created by Revworks, Inc. is available to expedite tooling.
Basic Concept:
An entirely unique approach to the basic concept of a protective helmet for several major recreational sports and a variety of military uses. The helmet consists of several overlapping plates of typical shell material with padding, attached to each other with a special highly durable elastic fabric. The design provides the same hard shell, impact absorbent mechanical protection as traditional helmets, but in an extremely low bulk, close fitting form. Due to the nature of the helmet's design, it also results in a near perfect custom fit to each individual wearer without adjustment and is approximately 95% anatomically correct. The helmet was originally designed for freefall parachuting due to the sport's need for maximum speed conducive to precision group maneuvers. The arrangement allows the helmet to stretch and flex to the individual wearer's head size and shape, eliminating the need for bulky padding or webbing systems. The concept, patented as the Flexible Helmet, has been manufactured as the The Hard Hat® for approximately three years on a custom basis by Airventures, Inc. near Raleigh, North Carolina. 
Markets: (Click pictures to enlarge)

High Speed Water Sports:  

  • The Flexible Helmet is the only practical design that "grips" the head due to it's elastic function and remains secure without a chinstrap.  This will allow the helmet to release from the head by the drag of water force during a spill and avoid potentially serious neck injury that may occur with helmets using a chinstrap.

See Product Overview page for a full length version for these markets:

Recreational Snow Sports

Military and Law Enforcement:

  • Close quarter use in armored vehicles and HALO high altitude parachutist uses.

Recreational Skydiving:

  • Company president Richard March estimates the helmet will be in full commercial production within four to six months for the world wide skydiving equipment industry due to unusually high demand.
What are people saying about The Hard Hat®?:
"...combines the look of a soft hat with the protection of a helmet." -Skydiving Magazine, Nov. 97.
"This is the answer we have been looking for (the past) eight years." -John Giovanni, Executive Director, The Jockey Club (U.S.)
Patent Information:
The second patent for the concept was issued September 2, 1997, with several patents either pending or issued in economically significant countries worldwide. Due to the superior cosmetic desirability of the concept among the other advantages, the helmet is under evaluation by several national sports associations and the U.S. Federal Departments of Defense and Justice. Full copies of the patents including drawings, are now available on the Internet at the search page of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  Just click each number: 5,544,367 and the improved version 5,661,854.
January 01, 2002:
Federal Registration granted for The Hard Hat® trademark.
 
 
June 1, 2002:

The first of several pending Letters Patent deeds for major foreign countries have been issued.

To Date:   Pending:

  • Australia

  • New Zealand

  • Brazil

  • Mexico

  • Canada

  • China

  • Europe

  • Japan

December 1998 – December 2001

Several patent licenses for a variety of sport and military uses were held by 3 Tex, Inc. of Research Triangle Park North Carolina, a structural composite fabric design and production company. 3 Tex pursued manufacture of the Flexible Helmet design concept as a proprietary product incorporating their three dimensional weave technology to produce an advanced high strength lightweight shell. 3 Tex invested in successful research and development of production and tooling design based primarily on vacuum assisted Resin Transfer Molding (RTM). CAD design files for tooling were created and perfected to produce the initial tooling for both RTM and the expanded polypropylene (EPP) impact liner sections. Part design of the helmet was optimized for minimized tooling and simplified, efficient assembly. 3 Tex also funded administrative costs of patent filing and application in several foreign countries. During development the design’s creator Richard March, was retained by 3 Tex as Project Manager with primary responsibility for all contract CAD design, materials purchasing, contracted tooling production and market promotion. Initial prototyping displayed at major trade shows generated significant interest by specialized law enforcement organizations and several major sports equipment manufacturers. Due to general financial conditions 3 Tex was unable to continue into full commercial production.

Further Information:

Please call 919-494-2103 to order your custom THE HARD HAT flexible helmet.
This information is excerpted from the Commercialization Assessment Report created by University of Florida College of Engineering for Airventures Uninsured, Inc.. The detailed report is available from the company at Airventures Uninsured, Inc., P.O. Box 264, Franklinton, N.C. 27525 USA, Telephone 919-494-2103. Email us for it now!
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