EP0477608A1 - Simplified dual visor operating mechanism - Google Patents
Simplified dual visor operating mechanism Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0477608A1 EP0477608A1 EP91114872A EP91114872A EP0477608A1 EP 0477608 A1 EP0477608 A1 EP 0477608A1 EP 91114872 A EP91114872 A EP 91114872A EP 91114872 A EP91114872 A EP 91114872A EP 0477608 A1 EP0477608 A1 EP 0477608A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- visor
- ring
- assembly
- arbor
- releasing
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
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Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A42—HEADWEAR
- A42B—HATS; HEAD COVERINGS
- A42B3/00—Helmets; Helmet covers ; Other protective head coverings
- A42B3/04—Parts, details or accessories of helmets
- A42B3/18—Face protection devices
- A42B3/22—Visors
- A42B3/226—Visors with sunscreens, e.g. tinted or dual visor
Definitions
- Luisada et al Patent No. 3,636,565 shows another form of dual visor assembly in which opposite arms of the respective visors have noncircular openings receiving respective noncircular shafts on opposite sides of the helmet shell.
- the other visor arms have circular openings receiving the noncircular shafts.
- Respective positive locking means associated with the shafts are adapted to be released by pushbuttons to permit the shafts to be turned by knobs.
- One object of our invention is to provide a dual visor operating mechanism which is simpler than are dual visor operating mechanisms of the prior art.
- Another object of our invention is to provide a dual visor operating mechanism which is compact.
- a still further object of our invention is to provide a dual visor operating mechanism which is less expensive to construct than are dual visor operating mechanisms of the prior art.
- Yet another object of our invention is to provide a dual visor operating mechanism which affords infinite adjustment of the individual visors and requires no further action on the part of the user to lock either visor in its position.
- Still another object of our invention is to provide a dual visor operating mechanism which affords an adjustable, pre-settable down-stop for either visor.
- a protective helmet indicated generally by the reference character 10 which may be provided with our dual visor operating mechanism includes a hard shell 12 carrying respective inner and outer visors 14 and 16 adapted to be moved between inoperative positions and operative positions in front of the wearer's eyes in a manner to be described hereinbelow.
- the inner visor 14 is carried by a pair of inner visor arms 18 and 20 mounted on respective left side and right side arbors 22 and 26 secured to the sides of the shell by any suitable means such as pairs of screws 24 and 28 which prevent rotation of the arbors.
- the arm 18 is freely rotatable about the arbor 22 so that this arm may be termed a "coasting" arm.
- the arm 20 normally is clamped to the arbor 26 and is adapted to be released therefrom when the visor is moved so that it can be termed an "actuating" arm.
- outer visor 16 is carried by respective outer visor arms 30 and 32 supported on the arbors 22 and 26.
- outer visor arm 30 is an "actuating" arm while the outer visor arm 32 is a “coasting" arm.
- the inner visor actuating arm 20 is secured to the visor 14 by any suitable means such as screws 38.
- a C-ring 42 surrounding the arbor 26 has legs 44 and 46.
- the C-ring 42 When the C-ring 42 is assembled on the arbor 26 its legs 44 and 46 are disposed between pre-loading pins 48 and 50 on the arm 20 on opposite sides of the slot 40 so that the ring 42 is tightly clamped to the arbor 26.
- the length of the slot 40 controls the spring rate of the arm and thus, in conjunction with the location of the pins 48 and 50, the level of clamping force of the pre-loading pins upon the C-ring legs. It will readily be appreciated that any attempt to rotate the arm 20 relative to the arbor 26 will be resisted by the force with which the C-ring 42 engages the arbor. Thus, the visor 14 is clamped to the arbor 26.
- arbor 26 also carries an actuating ring 52 provided with an elongated slot 54.
- the arrangement is such that the shorter dimension of the slot 54 is approximately equal to the diameter of the arbor 26.
- the ring 52 with an actuating element 56 which is disposed in the space between legs 44 and 46 of C-ring 42 when the actuating ring is positioned on the arbor 26.
- the element 56 which is of non-circular cross-section is such that when the ring 52 shifts sideways relative to the arbor 26, it rotates about element 56 and thus causes element 56 to spread the legs 44 and 46 to release the clamping force of ring 42 on the arbor 26 to permit the arm 20 and the visor 14 to be moved. This action is illustrated in FIG. 6.
- the actuating element 56 may be any suitable shape which will accomplish the purpose of spreading the legs 44 and 46 upon rotation of the ring 52 relative to the arbor.
- it may be an oval actuating element 72.
- the ring 52 may be formed with an elongated slot 74, as shown in FIG. 5. This slot 74 receives a tang 76 or pin on the visor arm to limit the movement of the actuating ring 52 relative to the arbor 26. It will of course be understood that sufficient clearance is provided between the hole 74 and the tang 76 that the C-ring 42 releases its grip by the time the limit position of the actuating ring is reached.
- the assembly with means for centering the actuating ring 52.
- compression springs 78 and 80 may be inserted within the opening 54 between the arbor 26 and the ring 52. With this arrangement, the actuating ring is tightly held in position.
- FIGS. 2 and 7 we provide the visor actuating assembly 34 with a down-stop adjustment plate 60 attached to the arbor 26 by means of a screw 81.
- plate 60 with an arcuate slot 82 carrying a fastener 85 adapted to receive one of the mounting screws 28 releasably to secure the fastener 85 in an adjusted position along the length of slot 82.
- plate 60 with a tang 83 adapted to be engaged by the knob 58.
- screws 81 and 84 are partially unscrewed to permit down-stop plate 60 to rotate. Plate 60 is then pushed rearward or clockwise as viewed in FIG. 7 to engage knob 58 with tang 83.
- the helmet is then donned and the wearer, by rotating the actuator knob 58 counterclockwise rotates the visor 20 and down-stop plate 60 into the desired lowest operative position.
- screw 81 is tightened and the visor is rotated back to the inoperative position.
- the helmet is doffed and screw 28 is tightened, securing the down-stop adjustment plate 60 in the desired position, providing the wearer with a repeatable lowest operative position for the visor.
- a down-stop adjustment plate 86 similar to plate 60 and secured to arbor 24 by a screw 89 has a slot which carries a fastener 87 which receives a mounting screw 24. The operation of this adjustment is the same as that associated with assembly 34.
- the outer visor operating mechanism 36 includes an outer visor C-ring 62 associated with another pair of pre-loading pins (not shown), an actuating ring 64 having an elongated opening 66 surrounding the arbor 22 and a knob 68. Ring 64 carries an actuator 70 disposed between the legs of the C-ring 62.
- the operation of the outer visor mechanism is the same as that described hereinabove in connection with the inner visor operating mechanism.
- the inoperative position of the visors 14 and 16 is indicated by the dot-dash line in FIG. 1.
- the wearer should the wearer desire to lower the inner visor 14, he actuates knob 58 in a counterclockwise direction to cause the actuator 56 to spread the legs 44 and 46 of the ring 42 through a distance sufficient to release the ring clamping force.
- the visor 14 can be lowered.
- Release of the knob 58 causes the C-ring 42 to restore its clamping force on the arbor 26 to hold the visor in the position to which it has been moved.
- Mechanism 36 can be operated in a similar manner to raise or lower the outer visor 16.
Landscapes
- Helmets And Other Head Coverings (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- There are known in the prior art protective helmets and the like which are provided with inner and outer visors which can selectively be moved from an inoperative position to a position in front of the wearer's eyes. Generally, one of the two visors is clear while the other is tinted. Various mechanisms are known for mounting the visors for movement between operative and inoperative positions and for actuating the visors between the two positions. Most of these mechanisms involve the use of tracks mounted on the helmet body, together with individual operating mechanisms for moving the inner and outer visors. Most of the mechanisms also are provided with means for adjusting the visor to intermediate positions in steps.
- Luisada et al Patent No. 3,636,565 shows another form of dual visor assembly in which opposite arms of the respective visors have noncircular openings receiving respective noncircular shafts on opposite sides of the helmet shell. The other visor arms have circular openings receiving the noncircular shafts. Respective positive locking means associated with the shafts are adapted to be released by pushbuttons to permit the shafts to be turned by knobs.
- While mechanisms of the type described above are generally satisfactory, they are relatively complicated and bulky. Owing to their complexity, the mechanisms also are relatively expensive to manufacture.
- One object of our invention is to provide a dual visor operating mechanism which is simpler than are dual visor operating mechanisms of the prior art.
- Another object of our invention is to provide a dual visor operating mechanism which is compact.
- A still further object of our invention is to provide a dual visor operating mechanism which is less expensive to construct than are dual visor operating mechanisms of the prior art.
- Yet another object of our invention is to provide a dual visor operating mechanism which affords infinite adjustment of the individual visors and requires no further action on the part of the user to lock either visor in its position.
- Still another object of our invention is to provide a dual visor operating mechanism which affords an adjustable, pre-settable down-stop for either visor.
- Other and further objects of our invention will appear from the following description.
- In the accompanying drawings to which reference is made in the instant specification and which are to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like reference characters are used to indicate like parts in the various views:
- FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a helmet provided with our dual visor operating mechanism.
- FIG. 2 is a horizontal section of the helmet shown in FIG. 1 looking up into the helmet.
- FIG. 3 is a section with parts removed of the operating mechanism of one of the visors in the form of our invention shown in FIG. 1.
- FIG. 4 is a section with parts removed of the visor operating mechanism of one of the visors mounted on the helmet illustrated in FIG. 1.
- FIG. 5 is a section of a modified form of a part of the operating mechanism illustrated in FIG. 4.
- FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view illustrating the mode of operation of our dual visor operating mechanism.
- FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view illustrating an adjustment provided by our dual visor operating mechanism.
- Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a protective helmet indicated generally by the
reference character 10 which may be provided with our dual visor operating mechanism includes ahard shell 12 carrying respective inner andouter visors - The
inner visor 14 is carried by a pair ofinner visor arms right side arbors screws arm 18 is freely rotatable about thearbor 22 so that this arm may be termed a "coasting" arm. Further as will be apparent from the description hereinbelow, thearm 20 normally is clamped to thearbor 26 and is adapted to be released therefrom when the visor is moved so that it can be termed an "actuating" arm. - The
outer visor 16 is carried by respectiveouter visor arms arbors outer visor arm 30 is an "actuating" arm while theouter visor arm 32 is a "coasting" arm. - We provide respective inner and outer visor actuating assemblies indicated generally by the
respective reference characters actuating mechanisms - Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner visor actuating
arm 20 is secured to thevisor 14 by any suitable means such as screws 38. We formarm 20 with a longitudinally extendingslot 40 to create springiness in the flat plane of the arm. - A C-
ring 42 surrounding thearbor 26 haslegs ring 42 is assembled on thearbor 26 itslegs pre-loading pins arm 20 on opposite sides of theslot 40 so that thering 42 is tightly clamped to thearbor 26. The length of theslot 40 controls the spring rate of the arm and thus, in conjunction with the location of thepins arm 20 relative to thearbor 26 will be resisted by the force with which the C-ring 42 engages the arbor. Thus, thevisor 14 is clamped to thearbor 26. - Referring now to FIG. 4,
arbor 26 also carries an actuatingring 52 provided with anelongated slot 54. The arrangement is such that the shorter dimension of theslot 54 is approximately equal to the diameter of thearbor 26. - We provide the
ring 52 with an actuatingelement 56 which is disposed in the space betweenlegs ring 42 when the actuating ring is positioned on thearbor 26. Theelement 56 which is of non-circular cross-section is such that when thering 52 shifts sideways relative to thearbor 26, it rotates aboutelement 56 and thus causeselement 56 to spread thelegs ring 42 on thearbor 26 to permit thearm 20 and thevisor 14 to be moved. This action is illustrated in FIG. 6. - We provide
ring 52 with aknurled knob 58 to facilitate turning of thering 52 to release the clamping action ofring 42. It will readily be appreciated that the limit of movement of thering 52 relative to thearbor 26 is equal to the distance d in FIG. 4. - The actuating
element 56 may be any suitable shape which will accomplish the purpose of spreading thelegs ring 52 relative to the arbor. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, it may be an oval actuating element 72. - It will further be appreciated that in some instances it might not be desirable to have
ring 52 contact thearbor 26 at the limit of its movement. In order to avoid such an operation, thering 52 may be formed with anelongated slot 74, as shown in FIG. 5. Thisslot 74 receives atang 76 or pin on the visor arm to limit the movement of the actuatingring 52 relative to thearbor 26. It will of course be understood that sufficient clearance is provided between thehole 74 and thetang 76 that the C-ring 42 releases its grip by the time the limit position of the actuating ring is reached. - Preferably we provide the assembly with means for centering the actuating
ring 52. For example,compression springs opening 54 between thearbor 26 and thering 52. With this arrangement, the actuating ring is tightly held in position. - Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 7, we provide the
visor actuating assembly 34 with a down-stop adjustment plate 60 attached to thearbor 26 by means of ascrew 81. We formplate 60 with anarcuate slot 82 carrying afastener 85 adapted to receive one of themounting screws 28 releasably to secure thefastener 85 in an adjusted position along the length ofslot 82. We provideplate 60 with atang 83 adapted to be engaged by theknob 58. - To make an adjustment,
screws 81 and 84 are partially unscrewed to permit down-stop plate 60 to rotate.Plate 60 is then pushed rearward or clockwise as viewed in FIG. 7 to engageknob 58 withtang 83. The helmet is then donned and the wearer, by rotating theactuator knob 58 counterclockwise rotates thevisor 20 and down-stop plate 60 into the desired lowest operative position. Then, screw 81 is tightened and the visor is rotated back to the inoperative position. The helmet is doffed and screw 28 is tightened, securing the down-stop adjustment plate 60 in the desired position, providing the wearer with a repeatable lowest operative position for the visor. - We provide the visor operating assembly 36 with a down-stop arrangement similar to that provided for
assembly 34. A down-stop adjustment plate 86 similar toplate 60 and secured toarbor 24 by ascrew 89 has a slot which carries afastener 87 which receives a mountingscrew 24. The operation of this adjustment is the same as that associated withassembly 34. - Referring again to FIG. 2, the outer
visor operating mechanism 36 includes an outer visor C-ring 62 associated with another pair of pre-loading pins (not shown), anactuating ring 64 having anelongated opening 66 surrounding thearbor 22 and aknob 68.Ring 64 carries an actuator 70 disposed between the legs of the C-ring 62. The operation of the outer visor mechanism is the same as that described hereinabove in connection with the inner visor operating mechanism. - In operation of our dual visor operating mechanism, the inoperative position of the
visors inner visor 14, he actuatesknob 58 in a counterclockwise direction to cause theactuator 56 to spread thelegs ring 42 through a distance sufficient to release the ring clamping force. By continuing pressure on the knob, thevisor 14 can be lowered. Release of theknob 58 causes the C-ring 42 to restore its clamping force on thearbor 26 to hold the visor in the position to which it has been moved.Mechanism 36 can be operated in a similar manner to raise or lower theouter visor 16. - It will be seen that we have accomplished the objects of our invention. We have provided a dual visor operating mechanism which is simple in construction for the results achieved thereby. Our dual visor operating mechanism is compact. It is less expensive to produce than are dual visor operating mechanisms of the prior art. Our dual visor operating mechanism permits of infinite adjustment of the inner and outer visors.
- It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of our claims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made in detail within the scope of our claims without departing from the spirit of our invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that our invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.
Claims (25)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US58868690A | 1990-09-26 | 1990-09-26 | |
US588686 | 1990-09-26 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0477608A1 true EP0477608A1 (en) | 1992-04-01 |
EP0477608B1 EP0477608B1 (en) | 1994-11-30 |
Family
ID=24354880
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19910114872 Expired - Lifetime EP0477608B1 (en) | 1990-09-26 | 1991-09-03 | Simplified dual visor operating mechanism |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0477608B1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2050671C (en) |
DE (1) | DE69105434T2 (en) |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3487470A (en) * | 1967-03-09 | 1970-01-06 | Sierra Eng Co | Side track dual visor helmet |
US3631540A (en) * | 1969-06-02 | 1972-01-04 | Sierra Eng Co | Visor-latching device |
GB1560723A (en) * | 1977-06-13 | 1980-02-06 | Helmets Ltd | Visor assemblies |
GB2172193A (en) * | 1985-03-12 | 1986-09-17 | Figgie Int Inc | A helmet assembly |
EP0270368A1 (en) * | 1986-12-03 | 1988-06-08 | Helmets Limited | Helmet and visor mechanism therefor |
-
1991
- 1991-09-03 EP EP19910114872 patent/EP0477608B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1991-09-03 DE DE1991605434 patent/DE69105434T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1991-09-04 CA CA 2050671 patent/CA2050671C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3487470A (en) * | 1967-03-09 | 1970-01-06 | Sierra Eng Co | Side track dual visor helmet |
US3631540A (en) * | 1969-06-02 | 1972-01-04 | Sierra Eng Co | Visor-latching device |
GB1560723A (en) * | 1977-06-13 | 1980-02-06 | Helmets Ltd | Visor assemblies |
GB2172193A (en) * | 1985-03-12 | 1986-09-17 | Figgie Int Inc | A helmet assembly |
EP0270368A1 (en) * | 1986-12-03 | 1988-06-08 | Helmets Limited | Helmet and visor mechanism therefor |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CA2050671C (en) | 1996-01-16 |
DE69105434T2 (en) | 1995-06-14 |
CA2050671A1 (en) | 1992-03-27 |
DE69105434D1 (en) | 1995-01-12 |
EP0477608B1 (en) | 1994-11-30 |
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