AU705676B2

AU705676B2 - Attachable visor

Info

Publication number: AU705676B2
Application number: AU65575/96A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Leslie Crampton
Original assignee: Christina Investments Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Christina Investments Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1995-09-11
Filing date: 1996-09-11
Publication date: 1999-05-27
Anticipated expiration: 2016-09-11
Also published as: AU6557596A

Description

la- TITLE: ATTACHABLE VISOR FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an attachable visor.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION It is known to provide visors for crash helmets such as are used in motor car racing, motor cycle driving and racing and also in respect of bicycle riding and racing.

Commonly, such visors are made as permanent attachments to an existing helmet.

However, many helmets are made without the requisite 960911,cmsdat.096,christina.cap1 2 permanent attachment means that might be required for a visor and this is particularly so in the case of helmets that are used with respect to bicycles and also with respect to skiing and other sports in which it is desired to provide some form of protection for the eyes of a wearer including protection against wind, snow, rain, sleet, dirt and sun.

Accordingly, the present invention has as its object, to provide a visor which may be attached to a helmet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides:an attachable visor for a crash helmet (or sports helmet or other helmet such as may be used in industry) comprising a forehead band for attachment to a forehead adjacent, in use, portion of the helmet, hook and loop or hook and hook attachment means comprised S: of a hook part and a loop or hook part, one part of which being attached to the forehead band and the other part of which being adapted for connection to said forehead adjacent portion of the helmet whereby the forehead band may be attached to the helmet by attachment of said one part of said other part, and a visor attached to the forehead band.

PREFERRED ASPECTS OF THE INVENTION a Preferably the hook and loop or hook and hook attachment means is industrial grade Velcro.

Preferably said other part is provided with an adhesive whereby it may be attached to said forehead adjacent 96091.cmsdat.096,christinacap,2 3 portion.

That adhesive is conveniently a pressure sensitive adhesive.

The pressure sensitive adhesive may be covered by a release sheet which can be removed when it is desired to attach said other part to said forehead adjacent portion.

Having regard to the fact that said one part and said other part of such hook and loop or hook and hook attachment means can be detached from one another, the visor can thus be detached leaving said other part attached and reattachment can occur when desired.

Preferably the visor is carried by a visor carrier which is pivotally attached to the forehead band.

The forehead band preferably comprises first and second mounting points adjacent its ends so that the visor carrier may pivot about those mounting points.

The forehead band may comprise third and fourth mounting points adjacent its ends, the third point being adjacent the first point and the fourth point being adjacent the second point. This arrangement will enable the visor carrier to be connected either the first and second or third and fourth points which may enable adaption to oooe helmets of different shapes and/or, given flexibility in *e 30 the visor carrier and visor, the adoption of different curves in the visor.

o* a The visor may be attached to the visor carrier so as to not be normally removable. In this context, "normally 35 removable" should be understood as being not readily removable.

96091 Lamsdat.0964chistinacap3 4 However, it is preferred that the visor is readily removable from the visor carrier. This will enable the visor to be changed for one of a different type such as exchanging a clear visor for one tinted to reduce the effects of sun. Alternatively a sun peak may be applied.

The visor may be made removable from the visor carrier by many means including key slot interconnections, press fitting interconnection and locating the visor in a channel in the visor carrier.

The forehead band preferably attaches to the visor carrier by means of screws with wingnuts so that the visor carrier may be tightened to be in a desired position.

To facilitate the last, the screws are preferably nonrotatable with respect to the forehead band.

This last may be accomplished by using screws having a square cross-section adjacent a head and receiving those screws in square holes in the forehead band. Those holes are preferably located in bosses carried by the forehead band.

The screws and wingnuts are preferably formed of plastics material.

The visor may be clear, have a mirror finish or any other in bulk or surface treatment such as tinting and coating.

A specific example of a visor in accordance with this oa.

invention including in combination with a helmet will now be given by way of non-limiting example with the aid of the accompanying representations.

960911.cmsdat.096Xhrisdnacap,4 5 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS OF THE REPRESENTATIONS Figure 1 is a view of a helmet fitted with a visor in accordance with this invention and is a video generated image which has been captured to computer file and converted via a publication package to an image and reproduced to paper, Figure 2 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 but is a view after further computer enhancement of edge lines, Figure 3 is a view of a visor in accordance with this invention and is a video generated image which has been captured to computer file and converted via a publication package to an image and reproduced to paper, and Figure 4 is a view corresponding to Figure 3 but is a view after further computer enhancement of edge lines.

INTEGER LIST 1. Helmet 2. Visor 3. Rear portion 25 4. Side portions 5. Forehead portion 6. Brow portion 21. Forehead band C22. Industrial velcro S- 30 23. Strip of hook material 24. Strip of hook or loop material 26. Removable tape 27. Bosses 28. Screws 35 31. Wingnuts 36. Visor carrier 37. Clear visor 960911,cmsdat.096,chrsinaxp5

I

6 38. Plastic rivets 39. Keyhole slots DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH RESPECT TO THE REPRESENTATIONS In Figures 1 and 2 is shown a helmet 1 fitted with a visor in accordance with the present invention.

The visor 2 is shown in greater detail in Figures 3 and 4.

The helmet 1 comprises a rear portion 3, side portions 4, a forehead portion 5 and a brow portion 6.

The helmet has internal padding and necessary chin straps and fasteners to enable it to be worn on a user's head.

These are not shown.

The visor 2 comprises a forehead band 21 which is provided with two portions of industrial velcro 22.

Each portion of industrial velcro 22 comprises a strip of hook material 23 which is bonded to the forehead band 21 in any convenient manner but such as with the use of a pressure sensitive adhesive, a strip of hook or loop 25 material 24 which is provided with a pressure sensitive surface and a removable tape 26 which protects the pressure "sensitive material on the strip of hook or loop material 24.

In use, the removable tape 26 is removed and the pressure sensitive adhesive on the strip of hook or loop material 24 is adhered to the forehead portion 5 of the helmet 1 so as to attach the visor 2 to the helmet 1.

35 At the ends, the forehead band 21 has bosses 27, only one of which is clearly seen in Figure 4.

96O911xcmsdatO96,christinaxcap,6

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7 Through those bosses pass screws 28 and the screws 28 also pass through holes, not seen, in a visor carrier 36.

Wingnuts are located on the screws 28 to secure the visor carrier 36 to the forehead band 21.

It is to be noted that the bosses 27 have square holes through them and that the screws 28 adjacent their heads are of square cross-section so that the screws 28 are nonrotatable in the bosses 27.

The wingnuts 31 may be tightened or loosened to retain the visor carrier 36 in a particular position or to allow the visor carrier 36 to be moved.

A clear visor 37 is attached to the visor carrier 36 by means of plastic rivets 38.

The clear visor 37 also has keyhole slots 39 which might be used to engage with headed members provided on the visor °o carrier 36 as an alternative means of securing the clear visor 37 to the visor carrier 36.

The above described visor may be easily affixed to a helmet and may be removed therefrom but leaving the strip of hook or loop material 24 with the helmet so that re-attachment may be done whenever it is required.

The visor described is a simple and ready means of converting a helmet which itself is not provided with a visor into a helmet with a visor.

Modifications may be made to the visor described above.

In one modification, the forehead band was extended in length and was provided with two sets of the bosses 27 at each end. By having two sets of the bosses 27, it was 9 6091,cmsdat.096christina-ap,7 8 possible to more readily adapt the visor 2 to helmets of differing sizes in that the appropriate bosses were selected according to the size of the helmet.

In another modification the visor carrier was provided with a channel in lieu of the plastic rivets 28 and the channel and the clear visor 37 were co-operative so that the visor could be pushed into and also removed from the channel.

This arrangement enabled the clear visor 37 to be exchanged for a tinted visor.

The claims, illustrations, photographs and drawings, if any, form part of the disclosure of this specification as does the description, claims, illustrations, photographs and drawings of any associated provisional or parent specification or of any priority document, if any, all of which are imported hereinto as part of the record hereof.

Finally it is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be incorporated into the various constructions and arrangements or parts without departing from the spirit and ambit of the invention.

*oo* *o*oo 96091 1,cmsdat.096.christina cap,8 10 THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:- 1. An attachable visor for a crash helmet (or sports helmet or other helmet such as may be used in industry) comprising a forehead band for attachment to a forehead adjacent, in use, portion of the helmet, hook and loop or hook and hook attachment means comprised of a hook part and a loop or hook part, one part of which being attached to the forehead band and the other part of which being adapted for connection to said forehead adjacent portion of the helmet whereby the forehead band may be attached to the helmet by attachment of said one part of said other part, and a visor attached to the forehead band.

2. An attachable visor as defined in Claim 1 in which the hook and loop or hook and hook attachment means is industrial grade Velcro.

9. 99 3. An attachable visor as defined in Claim 1 or 2 in which said other part is provided with an adhesive 25 whereby it may be attached to said forehead adjacent portion.

4. An attachable visor as defined in Claim 3 in which the adhesive is a pressure sensitive adhesive.

An attachable visor as defined in Claim 4 in which the pressure sensitive adhesive is covered by a release sheet which can be removed when it is desired to attach said other part to said forehead adjacent R 35 portion.

990323,cmsdat.096,christina.cap,

Claims

6. An attachable visor as defined in any one of Claims 1 to 5 in which the visor is carried by a visor carrier which is pivotally attached to the forehead band.
7. An attachable visor as defined in Claim 6 in which the forehead band comprises first and second mounting points adjacent its ends so that the visor carrier may pivot about those mounting points.
8. An attachable visor as defined in Claim 7 in which the forehead band comprises third and fourth mounting points adjacent its ends, the third point being adjacent the first point and the fourth point being adjacent the second point, which arrangement enables the visor carrier to be connected to either the first e• and second or third and fourth points. o
9. An attachable visor as defined in Claim 8 which can be adapted to suit helmets of different shapes and/or can 20 adopt different curves. An attachable visor as defined in any one of Claims 6 to 9 in which the visor is readily removable from the visor carrier.
11. An attachable visor as defined in Claim 10 in which the visor is removable from the visor carrier by key slot interconnections.
12. An attachable visor as defined in Claim 10 in which the visor is removable from the visor carrier by press fitting interconnections.
13. An attachable visor as defined in Claim 10 in which 3 5 the visor is removable from the visor carrier by 990323,cmsdat.096,crisina.cap, 11 12 locating the visor in a channel in the visor carrier.
14. An attachable visor as defined in any one of Claims 6 to 13 in which the forehead band attaches to the visor carrier by means of screws with wingnuts so that the visor carrier may be tightened to be in a desired position. An attachable visor as defined in Claim 14 in which the screws are non-rotatable with respect to the forehead band.
16. An attachable visor as defined in Claim 15 in which ka the screws have a square cross-section adjacent a head a S. 15 and are received in square holes in the forehead band.
17. An attachable visor as defined in Claim 16 in which the square holes are located in bosses carried by the forehead band. a o S. a.
18. An attachable visor as defined in any one of Claims 14 to 17 in which the screws and wingnuts are formed of plastics material. a. a. 25 19. An attachable visor as defined in any one of the preceding claims in which the visor is clear. An attachable visor as defined in any one of Claims 1 to 18 in which the visor has a mirror finish or any other in bulk or surface treatment such as tinting and coating.
21. An attachable visor substantially as hereinbefore defined with reference to the examples. 990323,cmsdat.096,christina.cap,12 13
22. An attachable visor substantially as hereinbefore defined with reference to the drawings. Dated this 2 3 rd day of March, 1999 SANDERCOCK COWIE PATENT ATTORNEYS FOR CHRISTINA INVESTMENTS PTY LTD 4. 4 4 S OSS 4. 4 0** S. S 5 4 S *4 S S S S. S 4 @4 04 S. S 4. 44 9 S 0 S *545 4* 5* 990323,cmsdat.096,christina.cap, 13 ABSTRACT An attachable visor for a crash helmet (or sports helmet or other helmet such as may be used in industry) comprising a forehead band for attachment to a forehead adjacent, in use, portion of the helmet, hook and loop or hook and hook attachment means comprised of a hook part and a loop or hook part, one part of which being attached to the forehead band and the other part of which being adapted for connection to said forehead adjacent portion of the helmet whereby the forehead band may be attached to the helmet by attachment of said one part of said other part, and a visor attached to the forehead band. a. 96091 bcmsdat.096,christina-cap,13