Prior art

I have analyzed the US patent 10098402, titled "Energy absorbing football helmet," and its cited prior art. The patent US10098402 claims a one-piece, single-layer outer shell with a plurality of slots that define energy-absorbing beam portions. These beam portions are designed to flex and absorb energy to a greater extent than without them, thereby reducing impact forces. The slots may extend partially or entirely through the shell, and can be filled with an elastopolymer or covered by a material to inhibit water ingress. A key distinction emphasized in the patent is that these slots are for energy absorption, not merely ventilation.

Below is an analysis of the most relevant patent citations, focusing on their potential anticipation of US10098402's claims under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

Most Relevant Prior Art for US10098402

Based on the core inventive concept of US10098402 (slots in a single-layer outer shell creating energy-absorbing beams), the most relevant prior art references are those that disclose similar structural modifications to helmet shells for impact attenuation, especially those involving slots or flexible elements.

1. US20160000168A1 (Flex Spring Helmet)

   • Full Citation: US20160000168A1, "Flex Spring Helmet," by Bell Sports, Inc., published 2016-01-07.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority date: 2014-07-03; Publication date: 2016-01-07.
   • Brief Description: This patent application describes a helmet having an outer shell with a plurality of flex spring features. These features include openings or slots that define flexible regions in the helmet shell, designed to deform and absorb energy upon impact. The openings can be fully through the shell or partially into the shell. Some embodiments show the slots extending without reaching an edge of the shell, creating fixed-end beam-like structures. This directly relates to the concept of altering shell rigidity for energy absorption via slots/beams.
   • Potential Anticipation: This reference potentially anticipates claims 1, 9, 11, and 15 of US10098402, particularly regarding the concept of a single-layer outer shell with slots forming energy-absorbing beam portions that flex to absorb impact energy. The description of slots extending "without reaching an edge of the shell" and defining "flex spring features" that deform to absorb energy aligns closely with the foundational elements of US10098402.

2. US9439468B1 (Protective athletic helmet)

   • Full Citation: US9439468B1, "Protective athletic helmet," by Ethan Wayne Blagg, published 2016-09-13.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority date: 2015-06-19; Publication date: 2016-09-13.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a protective helmet with an outer shell having a plurality of apertures or slits. These slits are designed to allow the shell to deform inward upon impact, thereby distributing and absorbing impact energy. The figures show various arrangements of slits that could create flexible regions or beam-like structures in the shell. While it doesn't explicitly use the term "beam portion," the function of engineered deformation through slots for energy absorption is present.
   • Potential Anticipation: This reference potentially anticipates claims 1, 9, 11, and 15 by disclosing an outer shell with slits/apertures configured to promote deformation and absorb energy. The primary distinction might lie in the explicit definition of "energy absorbing beam portions" and the specific configuration of slots forming fixed-end beams in US10098402, but the underlying principle of using cuts in the shell for impact absorption is present.

3. US4845786A (Lightweight molded protective helmet)

   • Full Citation: US4845786A, "Lightweight molded protective helmet," by Michele A. Chiarella, published 1989-07-11.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filing date: 1987-06-24; Publication date: 1989-07-11.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a protective helmet with a molded outer shell that includes ribs and slots. The slots are described as "shock absorbing slots" that are integral to the helmet's design for impact absorption. The description emphasizes how the slots allow portions of the shell to flex and absorb energy, particularly mentioning slots that terminate before reaching the edge of the helmet.
   • Potential Anticipation: This reference potentially anticipates claims 1, 9, 11, and 15. It explicitly teaches "shock absorbing slots" in a molded outer shell that allow portions of the shell to flex and absorb energy. The concept of slots not reaching the edge of the shell and contributing to energy absorption is directly relevant to the fixed-end beam configuration of US10098402.

4. US20130305435A1 (Helmet)

   • Full Citation: US20130305435A1, "Helmet," by Anirudha Surabhi, published 2013-11-21.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filing date: 2010-05-26; Publication date: 2013-11-21.
   • Brief Description: This application describes a helmet with an outer shell having a plurality of apertures or "openings" for ventilation, but also mentions that these openings can be designed to create a "flexible outer shell" that deforms to absorb impact. The specification describes configurations where the material between the openings could act as "impact absorbing members."
   • Potential Anticipation: This reference potentially anticipates claims 1, 9, 11, and 15 regarding the general concept of apertures in an outer shell creating flexible or impact-absorbing regions. While its primary stated purpose might involve ventilation, the secondary explicit mention of creating a "flexible outer shell" to deform and absorb impact moves it beyond mere ventilation and into the realm of structural modification for energy absorption, similar to US10098402.

5. US9314063B2 (Football helmet with impact attenuation system)

   • Full Citation: US9314063B2, "Football helmet with impact attenuation system," by Riddell, Inc., published 2016-04-19.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority date: 2013-02-12; Publication date: 2016-04-19.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a football helmet with an impact attenuation system. While it focuses heavily on an internal attenuation layer, it also mentions features in the outer shell that can contribute to impact absorption, such as an outer shell formed of a material with specific properties or geometries designed to attenuate forces. Some embodiments might implicitly suggest structural features in the shell that contribute to energy absorption, though less explicitly through slots as beam portions compared to others.
   • Potential Anticipation: This patent might be less direct than the others but broadly relevant to claims 1, 9, 11, and 15 by focusing on impact attenuation within a football helmet. Its shell design might, in some interpretations, encompass structural features that could be construed as energy-absorbing. However, it lacks the explicit teaching of "slots defining energy absorbing beam portions" in a single layer shell as clearly as US20160000168A1 or US4845786A.

6. US5271103A (Impact protective headgear)

   • Full Citation: US5271103A, "Impact protective headgear," by Eric A. Darnell, published 1993-12-21.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filing date: 1992-10-19; Publication date: 1993-12-21.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes headgear with a "flexible outer shell" designed to deform upon impact, transmitting forces to an inner layer. While it discusses flexibility for impact absorption, the mechanism isn't explicitly through slots defining beam portions in the same manner as US10098402. It refers more generally to a shell made of a flexible material or having a flexible structure.
   • Potential Anticipation: This reference generally anticipates the idea of a flexible outer shell for impact absorption (claims 1, 9, 11, 15). However, it does not explicitly disclose "slots forming energy absorbing beam portions" in the same detailed structural way as US10098402, which might represent a distinction.

Note on Claims 10 and 4, 13 (Filling Material/Water Ingress):
Claim 10 (slots filled with elastopolymer) and Claims 4 & 13 (material inhibiting water ingress) are specific feature claims. Several prior art documents, particularly those with through-slots, might imply or explicitly mention filling or covering slots for environmental protection or maintaining structural integrity, but without a direct review of each specific prior art document's full text, it's difficult to confidently state anticipation for these specific features without more detailed analysis of each reference. However, the general concept of filling or covering apertures in helmets is known in the art (e.g., for ventilation holes or for structural integrity). US4845786A, for instance, mentions "shock absorbing slots" but doesn't explicitly detail filling them with elastopolymer or covering them for water ingress. US20130305435A1 mentions "filler elements" for openings, which could potentially anticipate Claim 10.

Conclusion on Most Relevant:
The most relevant prior art references that directly address the core innovation of US10098402 are US20160000168A1, US9439468B1, and US4845786A. These patents clearly describe helmet shells with slots or flexible regions specifically designed to deform and absorb impact energy, which aligns very closely with the "energy absorbing beam portion" concept of US10098402. Their disclosures of slots not reaching the edge of the shell (US4845786A) and explicitly defining "flex spring features" (US20160000168A1) make them particularly strong candidates for anticipating several key claims of US10098402.