Elwha/Intellectual Ventures, U.S. Patent No. 10,184,867 (“Systems And Methods For Helmet Liner Evaluation”)

Entering into the stadium: Bill Gates. Yes, that Bill Gates. By Jonathon Western

The NFL returned to action last fall amid the ongoing pandemic, and while cardboard cutout fans and face-masked coaching staffs transformed the game’s outward appearance, a serious concern inherent to football remains: head injury.

There is no doubt that the high-impact nature of football is a key part of what makes the game so exciting. At the same time, it’s not surprising that 300-pound humans colliding into each other at over 20 miles per hour, oftentimes head-to-head, has been found to have adverse effects on the brain. The most widely studied disorder, known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, is a degenerative brain disease resulting from an accumulation of repeated head trauma with symptoms that tend to activate years later after players’ retirement.

While eliminating head trauma entirely from the game of football is not exactly possible, there are ways in which such impact can be mitigated. The NFL, for example, has instituted immediate disqualifications for players who deliver hits to the neck or head of a “defenseless” player in order to discourage such plays. But perhaps there is even greater potential for preventing head injury in the helmets themselves.

Entering into the stadium: Bill Gates. Yes, that Bill Gates.

The Microsoft co-founder is one of several inventors (21 to be exact) for U.S. Patent No. 10,184,867 (“Systems And Methods For Helmet Liner Evaluation”) describing a sensor-based “helmet testing apparatus” which seeks to ensure that players’ helmets satisfy certain safety compliance parameters. As the patent explains, the helmet liner—a layer of deformable material between the helmet’s shell and the player’s head for reducing impact forces—can degrade from impact over time. Throughout this degradation, the ability of the helmet “to reduce the forces and accelerations from impacts to the user's head may begin to diminish, putting the user in greater risk of sustaining injuries (e.g., concussions, etc.).” The “helmet testing apparatus” may be used to evaluate the condition of the liner in light of standards or regulations to determine an overall safety rating for the helmet.

Claim 1 of the patent recites:
“a sensor … positioned within an interior head cavity of a helmet to acquire compliance data regarding a liner disposed within a shell of the helmet;
a movable member configured to (i) rotate at least one of the helmet and the sensor … to acquire the compliance data …; and
a processing circuit configured to determine a rating for the helmet based on the compliance data and predetermined compliance parameters for the helmet.”
As illustrated in the figure below, the helmet testing apparatus (30) includes a sensor (32) and one or more movable members (42 and 44) to move/rotate a helmet (10) for testing. The sensor can be a touch probe or other type of contact sensor. The helmet is placed onto the testing apparatus, and then, as the helmet is rotated, the sensor “may be selectively positioned into a plurality of locations to engage and measure the compliance of liner 16.”
The patent envisions that the helmet testing apparatus is utilized to evaluate the condition of a player’s helmet “between plays, during timeouts, or other breaks in play on the sideline, in an equipment room between games, or other chosen locations.” It is certainly realistic to imagine equipment managers collecting players’ helmets during stoppages of play to verify whether any of the helmets recently suffered an impact that might now render the helmet unsafe.

Elwha’s U.S. Patent No. 10,184,867, Fig. 5

While the helmet testing apparatus is designed to work with traditional helmets, the patent also describes a helmet with sensors embedded within the helmet itself. As illustrated in the figure below, an otherwise conventional-looking helmet (10) includes helmet sensors (24) that are disposed on the shell (12) or embedded within the liner (16). The patent explains that the sensors are “configured to measure impact data (e.g., at least one of impact forces, torques, accelerations, etc.) regarding an impact to helmet 10.” Furthermore, the helmet may include an indicator module (21) that provides an indication when impact data measured by the helmet sensor exceeds a threshold.

Elwha’s U.S. Patent No. 10,184,867, Fig. 2

It is unclear whether or not the sensor-embedded helmet is designed to operate independently of the aforementioned helmet testing apparatus. Of course, there are obvious advantages of a helmet that is able to test itself, eliminating the need to manually remove the helmet and place it onto a separate testing apparatus. But interestingly, each of the patent’s independent claims recites the helmet testing apparatus for rotation of the helmet and/or the sensor. The claim drafters, apparently, did not envision the sensor-embedded helmet to function as a standalone.

Why has Bill Gates decided to venture into the world of sports tech? Perhaps the better question is: why not? Gates is a long-time partner of the well-known Intellectual Ventures (owners of Elwha LLC, this patent’s assignee) which holds an enormous patent portfolio spanning countless industries. Gates is also a known fan of the Seattle Seahawks, owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. It would not be entirely surprising to see Gates, at some point, go the way of several other tech tycoons who have obtained ownership of a professional sports team.

In any event, Gates’s patent is yet another example of how technological innovations are making a positive impact on modern sports.

SOURCE