AU2229500A - A safety helmet - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant(s): TODD ANTHONY KALAJZICH Invention Title: A SAFETY HELMET The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: A SAFETY HELMET FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a safety helmet and a peak therefor.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION With an increased obligation on the employer for the welfare of their staff, employee safety is critical for many companies. The wearing of moulded safety helmets is now compulsory in all heavy industrial and construction areas. Version of the moulded safety helmet which are currently available, although assisting in the prevention of serious head injury from falling objects, are restrictive in terms of vision and in particular have S"limited vertical vision.

••go A person's danger vision is the vision approximately two oooo metres from their feet or standing position, and 20 vertically from that mark. This is the vision an oooo individual would normally use to observe any obstacles or dangers. When walking up stairways or inclined ramps, the o.

wearer's vision is reduced dramatically through the oooo•: wearing of the moulded safety helmet. With the head tilted toward the ground the current moulded safety helmet cuts out nearly all vertical vision. When climbing perpendicular stairs, the vision is practically totally obscured by the safety helmet. If the wearer wishes to see above they may tilt the head almost completely back leaving the face exposed, and in many instances the helmet may become detached from the wearer's head.

37588 -3- This restriction of an individual's danger vision reduces the individual's ability to avoid overhead obstacles such as overhead walkways, conveyors, beams, low-entry points or doorways.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a safety helmet including a peak of a rigid and substantially transparent material.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a peak of a safety helmet, the peak being of a rigid and substantially transparent material and being S- adapted to fit to the safety helmet.

e Preferably the peak is insertably fitted to the safety helmet. Alternatively the transparent peak is formed integral with the safety helmet and may for example be comoulded together with the safety helmet.

Typically the safety helmet includes a peak support formed integral with the remainder of the helmet and including a S" cut-out shaped complementary to and adapted to insertably receive the peak.

Preferably the insertable peak is elongate and shaped generally oblong with a rear longitudinal edge being adapted to releasably engage a corresponding edge of the cut-out of the helmet. More preferably opposing transverse edges of the insertable peak are configured to slidably engage corresponding opposing edges of the cutout of the helmet.

37588 Typically the rear longitudinal edge of the peak is in at least part cross-section shaped complementary to the corresponding edge of the cut-out of the helmet. More typically said edges of the peak and the helmet are configured to resiliently clip to one another.

Alternatively a fastener such as a screw or pin engages said edges of the peak and the helmet so as to fix the peak to the remainder of the safety helmet.

Preferably the opposing transverse edges of the peak are in at least part cross-section shaped complementary to the corresponding edges of the cut-out of the helmet to permit sliding engagement of said complementary shaped edges.

More preferably the opposing transverse edges of the peak 15 together with the corresponding edges of the cut-out of the helmet are shaped to allow insertion but to inhibit retraction of the detachable peak. For example, the opposing transverse edges of the peak may include a series of longitudinally spaced protrusions, such as teeth raked 20 inward of the helmet, designed to engage corresponding longitudinally spaced recesses in the opposing edges of the cut-out of the helmet.

Generally the peak is injection moulded from a suitable polymeric material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to achieve a better understanding of the nature of the present invention several preferred embodiments of a safety helmet and a peak therefor will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 37588 Figure 1 is a perspective view of a safety helmet together with a retracted peak; Figure 2 is a plan view of the safety helmet and peak of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a front and side elevational view of the safety helmet of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the safety helmet and peak of Figures 1 and 2 together with various sectional views depicting attachment of the peak to the safety helmet; Figure 5 are perspective views from both sides of another embodiment of a safety helmet according to the invention; and Figure 6 is a bottom view of the safety helmet of 1 5 Figure DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in Figures 1 and 2 there is a safety helmet shown e• generally as 10 including an insertable peak 12. The 20 safety helmet 10 further includes a moulded head piece 14 which is substantially half-spherical in shape and together with a peaked crown 16 is of a conventional construction.

eeooe The moulded head piece 14 as also shown in Figure 3 includes a peak support 18 which includes a cut-out The peak support 18 extends outwardly from a front of the moulded head piece 14 in a similar manner to a peak of a conventional safety helmet. The cut-out 20 is shaped complementary to and adapted to insertably receive the peak 12. In this example the peak 12 is shaped generally oblong with opposing longitudinal edges being slightly arcuate.

37588 Figure 4 depicts in detail various arrangements for attachment of the peak 12 to the peak support 18. In these embodiments opposing transverse edges 22A and 22B of the peak 12 are designed to slidably engage corresponding edges 24A and 24B of the peak support 18 of the helmet Mutually engaging edges of the peak 12 and peak support 18 are in cross-section shaped complementary to one another.

Attachment at may take any of the four forms shown in Figure 4. The two general forms depicted include a "bead and socket" configuration and a "tongue and groove" arrangement. Otherwise, mutually engaging transverse edges of the peak 12 and the peak support 18 can include a series of longitudinally spaced teeth and corresponding 15 recesses formed in the "bead and socket" or "tongue and groove", respectively, to permit insertion only of the peak 12 within the recess 20 of the peak support 18. The teeth and corresponding recesses are raked inward so that removal of the peak 12 is restricted.

Attachment at in Figure 4 also illustrates three forms of engagement between a longitudinal rear edge 26 of the S peak 12 and a corresponding edge 28 of the peak support 18. In two of these forms the peak 12 is designed to resiliently clip onto the peak support 18 whereas the third form of attachment relies upon a fastener such as a screw or pin 30 for fixing the peak 12 to the peak support 18. Otherwise, the longitudinal edge 26 of the peak 12 includes a recess which is shaped complementary to the corresponding edge of the peak support 18. This may take the form of a "bead and socket" joint or a partial socket or groove formed in the longitudinal edge 26 of the peak 12. Mutually engaging transverse edges such as 22A and 37588 -7- 24A of the peak 12 and peak support 18 may also be fixed to one another via a fastener such as the screw or pin 32.

Importantly, the insertable peak 12 of this embodiment is injection moulded from a transparent material. This insertable peak 12 is thus a substitute for an opaque peak of the conventional safety helmet. The transparent peak 12 is sized so as to allow vertical vision for the wearer.

This line of vision would otherwise be obstructed by the opaque peak or visor of the conventional safety helmet.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate another embodiment of a safety helmet depicted as 50 according to the present invention.

In this instance a transparent peak 52 is moulded integral 15 with a remainder of the helmet 50. The transparent peak 52 is shown speckled whereas the remainder of the helmet 50 is opaque.

0*00 oeoe coo• The safety helmet includes a moulded head piece 54 which 20 is half-spherical in shape with a peaked crown 56 similar [.to that of the preceding embodiments.

s ee The moulded head piece 54 has a number of moulded housing units such as 58 and 60 which are used to house removable clips such as 62 and 64. These clips such as 62 and 64 are spaced circumferentially about an inner rim of the head piece 54 and are in a conventional manner used to attach a cradle 66 and headband 68 to the moulded head piece 54. The cradle is made up of a series of straps such as 70 and 72, and the head band 68 is adjustable to fit an individuals head. The safety helmets 10 and 50 are constructed from a hard, durable and moisture-resistant material. The helmets 10 and 50 together with the 37588 respective peak 12 and 52 are designed to provide protection to an individuals head. The helmets 10 and are moulded to the shape of a human head and the transparent peak 12 or 52 improves the wearers vision particularly in an upward and vertical direction.

Now that several preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in some detail it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the safety helmet and peak therefor have at least the following advantages: the safety helmet together with the transparent peak significantly increase a wearers vision and, oo 9 o for example, assist in identification of any 15 overhead objects or obstructions; and (ii) the safety helmet and transparent peak are relatively simple in their configuration and 99.9 *construction without greatly deviating from a eeoc conventional safety helmet.

999999Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention as described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described.

For example, the entire safety helmet may be formed of a transparent material rather than the peak alone.

Attachment of the transparent peak to the remainder of the helmet may vary provided the transparent peak is firmly fitted to the helmet. The transparent peak and/or helmet may be constructed from a range of materials including polymeric materials which exhibit appropriate impact properties for a safety helmet.

37588 All such variations and modifications are to be considered within the scope of the present invention the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.

o 9* e 9 *9 e e.

e eeee 37588

Claims (10)

1. 2. A peak of a safety helmet, the peak being of a rigid and substantially transparent material and being adapted to fit to the safety helmet.
2. 3. A safety helmet or a peak therefor as defined in claim 1 or 2 wherein the peak is insertably fitted to the safety helmet.
3. 4. A safety helmet or a peak therefor as defined in any S 15 one of the preceding claims further including a peak support formed integral with the remainder of the helmet and including a cut-out shaped complementary to and adapted to insertably receive the peak. o
4. 5. A safety helmet or a peak therefor as defined in claim 4 wherein the insertable peak is elongate and shaped generally oblong with a rear longitudinal edge being S. adapted to releasably engage a corresponding edge of the S"cut-out of the helmet.
5. 6. A safety helmet or a peak therefor as defined in claim 4 wherein opposing transverse edges of the insertable peak are configured to slidably engage corresponding opposing edges of the cut-out of the helmet.
6. 7. A safety helmet or a peak therefor as defined in claim 5 wherein the rear longitudinal edge of the peak is 37588 111 I] in at least part cross-section shaped complementary to the corresponding edge of the cut-out of the helmet.
7. 8. A safety helmet or a peak therefor as defined in claim 7 wherein said edges of the peak and the helmet are configured to resiliently clip to one another.
8. 9. A safety helmet or a peak therefor as defined in claim 6 wherein the opposing transverse edges of the peak are in at least part cross-section shaped complementary to the corresponding edges of the cut-out of the helmet to permit sliding engagement of said complementary shaped edges. S. 15 10. A safety helmet or a peak therefor as defined in C. o claim 9 wherein the opposing transverse edges of the peak together with the corresponding edges of the cut-out of 0*4C the helmet are shaped to allow insertion but to inhibit ro retraction of the detachable peak.
9. 11. A safety helmet or a peak therefor as defined in any one of the preceding claims wherein the peak is injection moulded from a suitable polymeric material. oo S
10. 12. A safety helmet or a peak therefor substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 15th day of March 2000 TODD ANTHONY KALAJZICH By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK 37588