AU2021100396A4 - Safety helmet - Google Patents

Abstract

Described herein is a safety helmet (500) with a crown (502) and a brim (504) extending from the crown. The brim includes a side section (510, 512) for, in use, shading a side of a wearer's head. A cut-out (516) is formed in the side section. An attachment 5 mechanism (514) is located above the brim and generally aligned with the side section. In use, the attachment mechanism receives an accessory and an arm thereof passes through the cut-out to allow a component of the accessory to be located below the brim.

Description

Safety helmet

Field of the invention

[001] The present disclosure relates to safety helmets, also known as hard hats.

Background of the invention

[002] Industrial and construction sites present various hazards. In order to mitigate the risks associated with site hazards, workers and visitors to such sites are usually required to wear certain personal safety equipment.

[003] For example, one particular hazard associated with many work sites is objects falling onto a worker's head or various other types of impact to a worker's head. Safety helmets are worn to provide protection from such impact.

[004] Another hazard associated with many work sites is the potential for hearing damage caused by loud noise. In order to protect against this hazard hearing protection such as earmuffs can be worn.

[005] Reference to any prior art or background information in this specification is not an acknowledgment or suggestion that this prior art or background information forms part of the common general knowledge in any jurisdiction or that this prior art could reasonably be expected to be understood, regarded as relevant, and/or combined with other prior art by a skilled person in the art.

Summary of the invention

?0 [006] In one aspect the present invention provides a safety helmet including: a crown; a brim extending from the crown, the brim including a side section for, in use, shading a side of a wearer's head; a cut-out in the side section of the brim; and an attachment mechanism located above the brim and generally aligned with the side section, wherein the attachment mechanism receives an accessory, and wherein in use an arm of the ?5 accessory can pass through the cut-out to allow a component of the accessory to be located below the brim.

Brief description of the drawings

[007] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cap-style safety helmet;

[008] Figure 2A is a side view of a helmet earmuff accessory;

[009] Figure 2B is a perspective view of the earmuff accessory of Figure 2A;

[0010]Figure 3 is a perspective view of a full brim type helmet;

[0011]Figure 4 is a perspective view of a full brim type helmet with custom-made earmuff accessories fitted;

[0012]Figure 5 is a perspective view of a full brim type helmet in accordance with an embodiment;

[0013]Figure 6A is a perspective view of the helmet of Figure 5 with standard earmuff accessories fitted;

[0014]Figure 6B is a front view of the helmet of Figure 5 with standard earmuff accessories fitted;

[0015]Figure 6C is a side view of the helmet of Figure 5 with standard earmuff accessories fitted;

[0016]Figure 7 is a perspective view of the helmet of Figure 5 with full inserts fitted;

[0017]Figure 8A is a top perspective view of a full insert;

[0018]Figure 8B is a bottom perspective view of a full insert;

[0019]Figure 9A is partial bottom perspective view of the helmet of Figure 5 with the ?0 insert of Figure 8 fitted;

[0020]Figure 9B is partial sectional view of the helmet of Figure 5 with the insert of Figure 8 fitted;

[0021]Figure 1OA is an isometric view of the helmet of Figure 5 with full inserts in place;

[0022]Figure 10B is an isometric view of the helmet of Figure 5 with full inserts partially removed;

[0023]Figure 10C is an enlarged partial bottom view of the helmet of Figure 5 with an insert in place;

[0024]Figure 10D is an enlarged partial bottom view of the helmet of Figure 5 with the insert removed;

[0025]Figure 11 is a partial view of the helmet of Figure 5 with a partial insert fitted;

[0026]Figure 12 is a perspective view of a partial insert;

[0027]Figure 13 is a perspective view of another partial insert;

[0028]Figures 14 and 15 provide bottom perspective views of a helmet in accordance with a further embodiment;

[0029]Figures 16 and 17 provide partial enlarged bottom perspective views of the helmet of Figures 14 and 15;

[0030]Figure 18 provides a bottom perspective view of a helmet in accordance with a further embodiment.

Detailed description of the embodiments

?0 [0031]In this description the same reference numerals have been used to indicate the same or similar features.

[0032]As discussed above, safety helmets and ear protection are two relatively common forms of worksite personal safety equipment.

[0033]Figure 1 shows a known type of safety helmet 100. Safety helmet 100 is a cap style hard hat which includes a crown 102 and a bill 104 (at the front of the helmet only). Helmet 100 further includes a pair of attachment slots 106 - only the left of which can be seen in Figure 1. The attachment slots 106 receive removable helmet accessories. Many helmets on the market provide attachment slots 106 of a standard size/shape in order to allow for various accessories (e.g. earmuffs, face shields etc.) to be attached to the helmet. Typically attachment slots 106 receive general 25mm and 30mm accessories.

[0034]Figures 2A and 2B illustrate a relatively standard earmuff accessory 200 intended for use with a helmet (such as helmet 100). Earmuff accessory 200 generally includes an attachment portion 202, an accessory component 204 (in this case an ear cup intended to cover a wearer's ear), and an arm 206 joining the attachment portion 202 to the accessory component 204. The attachment portion 202 includes a tab 208 which is shaped and sized to be received in a helmet attachment slot, such as slot 106 of helmet 100.

[0035]For ease of reference, helmet accessories which are intended to be attached via an attachment slot (e.g. 106) above the brim of a helmet and have an accessory portion .0 that needs to be located below the brim of the helmet will be referred to as below-brim accessories (notwithstanding the fact that the actual attachment to the helmet is above the brim). Earmuffs, therefore, are one type of 'below brim' accessory.

[0036]A limitation of helmet 100 is that the bill 104 does not extend around the entire helmet 100. To address this issue, full brim safety helmets are known. One example of ?5 this is full brim safety helmet 300 of Figure 3. Full brim helmet 300 includes a crown 302 and a brim 304 which extends around the entire circumference of the crown, thereby providing additional sun protection to the wearer's ears and neck when compared to a cap-style helmet.

[0037]While the brim 304 of the full brim helmet 300 provides additional sun protection, it also prevents helmet 300 from being used with standard below-brim helmet accessories. For example, earmuff accessory 200 of Figure 2 could not be used with helmet 300 as the brim 302 would obstruct the arm 206 of the earmuff, preventing the ear cup 204 from properly locating on a wearer's ear.

[0038]Attempts have also been made to solve the issue of below-brim accessories for full brim helmets. These attempts, however, require custom made accessories designed specifically to fit the full brim helmet in question. Figure 4 provides an example of such an arrangement. The full brim safety helmet 400 of Figure 4 is provided with earmuff accessories 406 that are received in standard attachment slots 408. In order to accommodate the brim 402 of helmet 400, however, the arms 410 of the earmuffs are specially shaped to include a bowed section 412 which extends around the brim 402 thus allowing the ear cups 414 to locate correctly on a wearer's ears.

[0039]The arrangement of Figure 4 allows for a full brim safety helmet to be fitted with hearing protection and/or other below-brim accessories. The arrangement cannot, however, be used with 'standard' below-brim accessories such as the earmuff accessory 200 shown in Figure 2. Furthermore, under the approach depicted in Figure 4 - i.e. providing accessory arms that are shaped to extend around the helmet brim accessories that fit one type of full brim helmet will not necessarily fit another type of full brim helmet. For example, if helmet brim has a different shape/size/profile to that of helmet 400, the earmuff accessories 406 shown in Figure 4 would not work as the bowed section of the arm 410 would be the wrong shape and unable to accommodate/bypass the differently shaped brim.

[0040]In order to address this problem, the present disclosure is directed to providing a ?5 full-brim helmet that can be used with standard below-brim accessories - for example a standard earmuff accessory 200 of Figure 2.

[0041]Turning to Figure 5, a perspective view of a full brim helmet 500 in accordance with an embodiment is provided. Helmet 500 includes a crown 502 and a full brim 504. As can be seen, brim 504 extends around the entirety of the crown 502 and generally includes a front brim section 506 (for shading a wearer's face), a rear brim section 508

(for shading the rear of a wearer's head), a left-side brim section 510 (for shading the left-side of a wearer's head), and a right-side brim section 512 (for shading the right side of a wearer's head). In the present embodiment the crown 502 and brim 504 are a single, integral component.

[0042]Helmet 500 further includes a pair of attachment mechanisms, in this case attachment slots 514: specifically a left side attachment slot 514L and a right side attachment slot 514R. The attachment slots 514 are generally located on either side of the crown 502 near the brim 504. Attachment slots 514 are shaped and sized to receive removable helmet accessories as described above. In certain embodiments, attachment slots 514 are 'standard' in that they are designed to accept standard accessories (e.g. 25mm or 30mm accessories). In other embodiments attachment slots 514 may be alternatively shaped/sized, or alternative attachment mechanisms entirely may be provided (e.g. studs, hooks, or other releasable fastening means by which an accessory may be attached to a helmet).

[0043]The brim 504 of helmet 500 is provided with a pair of cut-outs 516. Each cut-out 516 is generally aligned with a corresponding attachment slot 514. Specifically a left side cut-out 516L is generally aligned with the left-side attachment slot 514L, and a right-side cut-out 516R is generally aligned with the right-side attachment slot 514R.

[0044]In use, brim cut-outs 516 accommodate below-brim helmet accessories. .0 Specifically, the brim cut-outs 516 allow accessory arms (e.g. 206) to pass from above the brim 502 to below the brim 502 without having to go around the brim 502: instead, the accessory arms (e.g. 206) pass straight through the cut-outs 516.

[0045]Figures 6A, 6B and 6C illustrate helmet 500 with earmuff accessories 200 attached. The attachment portions 202 of the earmuff accessories 200 are received in ?5 helmet attachment slots 514 (above the helmet brim 504). The arms 206 of the accessories 200 pass through the brim cut-outs 516, thus allowing the accessory components 204 (in this case ear cups) to be located below the helmet brim 504.

[0046]In order to further accommodate accessories such as earmuffs, the helmet brim 504 of the present embodiment is shaped to include two elevated brim sections 520

(most clearly seen in the side view of Figure 6C). Elevated brim sections 520 are elevated when compared to the remaining (i.e. non-elevated) portions of the brim 504. Elevated brim sections 520 are formed in the left and right sides of the helmet 500 so that they are approximately aligned with a wearer's ears when the helmet 500 is worn. Accordingly, the elevated brim sections 520 are also approximately aligned with the accessory slots 514 and are the sections of the brim 504 in which the cut-outs 516 are formed. To provide the elevated sections 520, the brim 504 is moulded (or otherwise formed) such that each side of the brim 504 has a first ramp section 522 towards the front of the helmet 500, a second ramp section 526 towards the rear of the helmet 500, and a relatively flat middle section 524 between the two ramp sections (in which the cut out 516 is formed). The ramp sections 522 and 526 join the non-elevated sections of the brim to the elevated middle section 524.

[0047]In certain embodiments, helmet cut-outs 514 are designed to receive removable inserts.

[0048]Figure 7 illustrates a helmet 500 in which cut-outs 516 have been fitted with full inserts 702: specifically, a left full insert 702L received in the left cut-out 516L, and a right full insert 702R received in the right cut-out 516R. When full inserts 702 are fitted the brim 504 of the helmet 500 is complete: i.e. the upper surface of the brim 504 is substantially continuous around the entire helmet 500.

.0 [0049]In the present embodiment, inserts 702 are removably secured in the brim 504 by a snap-fit arrangement. This will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9, however it will be appreciated that alternative arrangements for removably securing inserts 702 are possible.

[0050]Figures 8A and 8B respectively provide top and bottom perspective views of a ?5 removable full insert 702. Figures 9A and 9B respectively provide a partial view of the underside of the helmet brim 504 and a partial sectional view of the helmet brim 504 with a full insert 702 fitted.

[0051]Full insert 702 is formed with a main body portion 704 which is shaped to correspond to the shape of the brim cut-out 516 in which the full insert 702 is to be received.

[0052]Full insert 702 is further provided with a pair of rails 706. Rails 706 are located on opposite sides of the main body portion 704 and are shaped to be received in corresponding opposed channels 708 located on the underside of the helmet brim 504. So that the upper surface 710 of the full insert 702 is flush with the upper surface of the brim 504 when the full insert 702 is fitted, the upper surface of the rails 706 is vertically offset from the upper surface 710 of main body portion 710.

[0053]One end of full insert 702 is further provided with a tab 712 having a protrusion 714 located thereon. Protrusion 714 is shaped to engage with a corresponding recess 716 located in the underside of the helmet brim 504. The free end of the tab 712 is ramped 718 to facilitate insertion of the insert 702 into the cut-out 516.

[0054]Generally speaking, the opposing channels 708 and recess 716 provide a retaining mechanism to retain an insert such as 702 in the cut-out 516. Alternative mechanisms for retaining inserts into cut-outs 516 could be used.

[0055]The upper surface 710 of the insert is provided with a plurality of ridges 720 to provide a gripping surface to assist with removal/insertion of the full insert 702 from/into the brim cut-out 516.

?0 [0056]To further illustrate the operation of the inserts 702: Figure 10A provides an isometric view of helmet 500 with inserts 702 in place; Figure 10B provides an isometric view of helmet 500 with inserts 702 partially removed; Figure 10C provides an enlarged, partial bottom view of helmet 500 with insert 702 in place; and Figure 10D provides an enlarged partial bottom view of helmet 500 with insert 702 removed.

?5 [0057]In certain embodiments, helmet cut-outs 514 are also designed to receive removable partial inserts to partially close off cut-outs 514 when an under-brim accessory is being used.

[0058]Figure 11 provides a partial view of helmet 500 with a partial insert 1102 fitted in cut-out 516, and Figure 12 depicts partial insert 1102 by itself. Partial insert 1102 is very similar to full insert 702 with the exception that partial insert 1102 is formed with an opening 1104. When the partial insert 1102 is fitted into the cut-out the opening 1104 creates a gap between the insert and the body of the helmet 500 through which an arm of an accessory can pass (e.g. arm 206 of earmuff accessory 200). Furthermore, partial insert 1102 is fitted with a pair of tabs 1106 for securing partial insert 1102 in place (though, again, alternative securing mechanisms can be used).

[0059]In order to use partial inserts such as 1102, the helmet 500 is fitted with the relevant under-brim accessory (e.g. earmuffs) and the partial insert 110 is then fitted. In this way the body of the partial insert 1102 partially completes the brim 504 of the helmet 502 (covering over part of cut-out 516), but without obstructing or interfering with the arm 206 of the accessory.

[0060]Alternative partial inserts are possible. For example, as shown in Figure 13 the opening 1104 of the partial insert 1102 could be covered with a flexible/deformable material 1108 having a cut 1110 in it for accommodating an accessory arm 206 and allowing the material 1108 to deform around the arm 206.

[0061]Figures 14 to 16 provide various views of a helmet 1400 in accordance with a further embodiment. Helmet 1400 includes the features of helmet 500 described above. .0 In addition, Helmet 1400 includes an insert stowage mechanism generally indicated at 1402.

[0062]The insert stowage mechanism 1402 is designed to hold/accommodate inserts such as full inserts 702 and/or partial inserts 1102 described above. For example, when a user of helmet 1400 removes inserts 702 or 1102 from their slots 1404 the user can ?5 stow those inserts in the stowage mechanism 1402 to keep them safe.

[0063]In the present embodiment, the insert stowage mechanism 1402 is located on the underside of the brim 1406 at the rear of the helmet. By locating the insert stowage mechanism 1402 at the rear of the helmet the mechanism (and any held inserts) are kept out of the wearer's way and do not obscure the wearer's vision.

[0064]Figures 14 and 15 provide bottom perspective views of helmet 1400 with inserts 702 respectively in place and removed. Figures 16 and 17 provide partial enlarged bottom perspective views of helmet 1400 with inserts 702 respectively in place and removed, and allowing the stowage mechanism of the present embodiment to be more clearly seen.

[0065]The insert stowage mechanism 1402 of the present embodiment comprises a pair of walls 1408 and 1410 extending generally vertically from the underside of the brim 1406. Together, walls 1408 and 1410 define one or more slots 1412, each slot for receiving an insert. In this case two slots 1412A and 1412B are provided in a stacked arrangement - i.e. slot 1412A being positioned atop slot 1412B.

[0066]Specifically, wall 1408 defines two channels 1414A and 1414B and wall 1410 defines two channels 1416A and 1416B. Channel 1414A opposes corresponding channel 1416A to form slot 1412A. Channel 1414B opposes corresponding channel 1416B to form slot 1412B.

[0067]The channels 1414 and slots 1404 (formed in the brim 1406 of the helmet 1400) are shaped and sized to receive the same insert. That is, inserts that fit in the slots 1404 are also accommodated by the channels 1414.

[0068]Alternative insert stowage mechanisms could be provided. For example, an insert stowage mechanism designed to hold a single insert rather than two (as depicted in ?0 Figures 14 and 15) could be provided. Alternatively, side-by-side insert stowage mechanisms could be provided (instead of a stacked arrangement as depicted), each of the side-by-side mechanisms designed to accommodate a single insert or multiple inserts. For example, Figure 18 provides a bottom perspective view of a helmet 1800 illustrating an arrangement in which the insert stowage mechanism includes two insert ?5 slots 1802 and 1804 (underneath the brim at the rear left and rear right of the helmet 1800 respectively). Each slot 1802/1804 is formed in a similar fashion to the stowage mechanism of helmet 1400 (i.e. a pair of walls with opposing channels formed therein).

[0069]Still further, the stowage mechanism could be located at an alternative location for example atop the brim 1400, on the side/sides of the brim, on the inside of the helmet crown 1418 (e.g. between the internal surface of the crown and an installed harness), or on the outside of the helmet crown 1418.

[0070]Helmet 500 includes various other features. Many of these features are described in applicant's Australian innovation patent AU 2013101096, filed on 14 August 2013 and titled "safety helmet" (the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety). While AU 2013101096 describes a cap-style helmet, many of the features can equally be applied (or be adapted to be applied) to a full brim helmet such as helmet 500. These include the materials described in AU 2013101096 (though alternative materials could, of course, be used), the suspension system (e.g. harness and head band though, again, alternative harness systems could be used), and other features described in AU 2013101096.

[0071]It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined in this specification extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.

[0072]It will be further understood that as used herein, the terms "including" and ''comprising" (and grammatical variants thereof) indicate the inclusion of certain features but do not preclude the existence of other features.

Claims (17)

1. A safety helmet including:

a crown;

a brim extending from the crown, the brim including a side section for, in use, shading a side of a wearer's head;

a cut-out in the side section of the brim; and

an attachment mechanism located above the brim and generally aligned with the side section,

wherein the attachment mechanism receives an accessory, and wherein in use an arm of the accessory can pass through the cut-out to allow a component of the accessory to be located below the brim.

2. The safety helmet of claim 1, wherein:

the brim includes a left-side section and a right-side section;

the left-side section is formed with a left-side cut-out;

the right-side section is formed with a right-side cut-out;

a left-side attachment mechanism is located above the brim and generally aligned with the left-side section; and

a right-side attachment mechanism is located above the brim and generally aligned with the right-side section.

3. The safety helmet of claim 2, wherein the safety helmet is a full-brim safety helmet and further includes a front brim section and a rear brim section.

4. The safety helmet of claim 3, wherein the left and right-side sections are each provided with an elevated brim section, the elevated brim sections being elevated compared to the rest of the side sections.

5. The safety helmet of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each attachment mechanism is an attachment slot.

6. The safety helmet of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the brim is provided with one or more retaining mechanisms, each retaining mechanism corresponding to a cut out and being configured to retain an insert in the corresponding cut-out.

7. The safety helmet of claim 6, wherein each retaining mechanism defines a slot into which the insert corresponding to the retaining mechanism is received.

8. The safety helmet of claim 7, wherein the slot of each retaining mechanisms is defined by a pair of opposed channels.

9. The safety helmet of any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein each retaining mechanism includes a recess for receiving a protrusion of the insert corresponding to the retaining mechanism.

10. The safety helmet of any one of claims 1 to 9, further including at least one insert, the or each insert receivable in a corresponding cut-out of the helmet.

11. The safety helmet of claim 10, wherein the or each insert is securable in its corresponding cut-out by a snap-fit mechanism.

12. The safety helmet of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the at least one insert includes a full insert which, when received in the corresponding cut-out, covers the entirety of the cut-out.

13. The safety helmet of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the at least one insert includes a partial insert which, when received in the cut-out, covers part of the cut-out, leaving a gap between the partial insert and the helmet body, the gap accommodating an arm of a helmet accessory.

14. The safety helmet of any one of claims 6 to 13, further including an insert stowage mechanism for stowing one or more inserts.

15. The safety helmet of claim 14, wherein the insert stowage mechanism is located ?0 beneath the brim of the helmet.

16. The safety helmet of claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the insert stowage mechanism defines a slot for receiving an insert.

17. The safety helmet of claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the insert stowage mechanism defines a pair of slots for receiving a pair of inserts.