Jul 14, 2026

US12677902 - Protective headwear with airflow

In one aspect, a protective headwear is provided and includes a headgear, an outer shell, a duct and a manifold. The headgear is configured to engage a wearer's head and at least partially support the protective headwear on a wearer's head. The headgear includes a front, a rear opposite the front, a right side, and a left side opposite the right side. The outer shell is coupled to the headgear at a coupling location and includes a shield positioned to the front of the headgear. The duct is at least partially coupled to and at least partially positioned in an interior of the outer shell. The duct is located below the coupling location. The manifold is positioned to the rear of the headgear and configured to divert airflow into at least a first portion of airflow and a second portion of airflow.

Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
Inventors: William P. Gardner, Nishank R. Patel, Eric T. Sommers, John C. Mehnert
Filing date: 2023-10-27

The patent describes a protective headwear system that includes a headgear, an outer shell, and a duct system designed to manage airflow for the wearer. The innovative design features a manifold that diverts airflow into ducts with exhaust ports strategically positioned to direct air onto the wearer’s face.

Claim 1

1 . A protective headwear comprising: a headgear configured to engage a wearer’s head; an outer shell coupled to the headgear at a coupling location about which the outer shell is rotatable; a pair of ducts coupled to and at least partially positioned in an interior of the outer shell, wherein each duct comprises a shell portion and a flexible portion, wherein the shell portion is coupled to the interior of the outer shell and to the flexible portion, and wherein the shell portion and the flexible portion are positioned below the coupling location; a manifold configured to receive and divert airflow into the flexible portion of each duct, wherein the flexible portion is coupled to and between the shell portion and the manifold to provide the airflow from the manifold to the shell portion of each duct; and a plurality of exhaust ports configured to exhaust the airflow onto locations of a wearer’s face, wherein at least one of the plurality of exhaust ports is located on the shell portion, fixed with respect to the shell portion, and positioned to exhaust air from the airflow from at least a top-facing surface of the shell portion in at least an upward direction, wherein the at least one of the plurality of exhaust ports on the pair of ducts is located below the coupling location at which the outer shell is rotatably coupled to the outer shell. a headgear configured to engage a wearer’s head; an outer shell coupled to the headgear at a coupling location about which the outer shell is rotatable; a pair of ducts coupled to and at least partially positioned in an interior of the outer shell, wherein each duct comprises a shell portion and a flexible portion, wherein the shell portion is coupled to the interior of the outer shell and to the flexible portion, and wherein the shell portion and the flexible portion are positioned below the coupling location; a manifold configured to receive and divert airflow into the flexible portion of each duct, wherein the flexible portion is coupled to and between the shell portion and the manifold to provide the airflow from the manifold to the shell portion of each duct; and a plurality of exhaust ports configured to exhaust the airflow onto locations of a wearer’s face, wherein at least one of the plurality of exhaust ports is located on the shell portion, fixed with respect to the shell portion, and positioned to exhaust air from the airflow from at least a top-facing surface of the shell portion in at least an upward direction, wherein the at least one of the plurality of exhaust ports on the pair of ducts is located below the coupling location at which the outer shell is rotatably coupled to the outer shell.

Google Patents

https://patents.google.com/patent/US12677902

USPTO PDF

https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/12677902