FR2814341A1 - SAFETY DEVICE FOR SYSTEMS FOR HANGING AN ACCESSORY ON A HELMET AND PARTICULARLY A MASK - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a device for fixing (1) an accessory (2) such as an oxygen mask on a helmet (3), comprising main assembling means (MP) arranged on the helmet (3) to co-operate with complementary assembling means integral with the accessory. The invention is characterised in that it comprises a safety device which causes the accessory to be released when it is in contact with a liquid, said safety device comprising a releasing element made at least partly from a material which disintegrates when it is in a wet environment.

Description

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SAFETY DEVICE FOR SYSTEMS FOR HANGING AN ACCESSORY ON A HELMET AND PARTICULARLY A MASK
The present invention relates to accessory attachment systems on a helmet and more particularly a safety device intended to equip these systems to allow the automatic removal or unhooking of an accessory in certain particular situations.

 Numerous types of helmets are known in the prior art intended to equip professionals such as firefighters, soldiers or pilots and others used during leisure activities such as mountaineering, speleology or motorcycles, for example. These helmets, specific to their use, sometimes use accessories that hang on the helmet, such as oxygen masks, gas masks, communication devices or others. However, in certain emergency situations, these accessories attached to the helmet can be a nuisance and even form a significant problem for the user.

 This is, for example, the case when an airplane pilot ejects from his device and he falls in the aquatic environment, the presence of his oxygen mask can seriously harm the pilot who must manually manipulate the system. 'hanging said mask to free it, manual operation which can prove to be delicate and which it is not necessarily in a condition to perform.

 Thus, to remedy this particular case and allow the release of the oxygen or gas mask during this type of incident, the present invention provides a device for attaching an accessory to a helmet.

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 which comprises a safety system intended to obtain the detachment of the accessories and in particular gas or oxygen masks in such situations.

 The present invention therefore aims to solve the aforementioned problems using simple, reliable and easy to implement means. It offers a safety device intended to allow the accessories worn by the helmet to be detached or detached from a fall in a liquid such as sea water or fresh water and finds, in particular, its application in the particular case of a fighter pilot ejecting above the sea.

 According to its main characteristic, the accessory attachment device such as an oxygen mask on a helmet, is of the type comprising main assembly means arranged on the helmet to cooperate with complementary assembly means integral with the accessory, and is characterized in that it comprises a safety device which causes the attachment to become loose when it is in contact with a liquid, said safety device comprising an unlocking element produced at least partially in a material which disintegrates when it is in a humid environment.

 According to an additional characteristic of the attachment device of the invention, it is characterized in that it comprises locking members which cooperate with attachment elements to allow the assembly of the main and complementary assembly means only when these locking members are in an assembly position in which they are held by the safety device.

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 According to a preferred embodiment of the attachment device of the invention, the safety device and the locking members are arranged on the main assembly means located on the helmet.

 According to another characteristic of the attachment device of the invention, it is characterized in that the safety device is constituted by an elastic biasing device which biases the locking members against stop means, the release is controlled by the unlocking element.

 According to an additional characteristic of the hooking device of the invention, it is characterized in that the stop means consist of an intermediate piece, a trigger spring and the unlocking element, said stop means being fixed removably to a base which carries the locking members so that they can be held in the assembly position.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, the fixing of the abutment means on the base is only possible when the trigger spring is compressed, said compressive stress being obtained by virtue of the presence of the unlocking element and disappearing when the unlocking element has disintegrated.

 According to the preferred embodiment of the attachment device of the invention, the base carries two fixing grooves in which the lateral edges of the plate or blade type trigger spring cooperate when said spring is biased by the element of unlocking which is supported on a bearing surface of the intermediate piece.

 According to this embodiment, the unlocking element consists of a coated paracetamol tablet, and can be in any

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 other material such as, for example, a hydrofusible or water-soluble polymer such as polyvinyl alcohol, or the like.

 According to an alternative embodiment of the attachment device of the invention, the unlocking element is formed by a pellet made of a material which disintegrates very quickly in a humid environment, said pellet being enclosed in a sealed envelope which destroys during an ejection.

 Furthermore, the invention also relates to a protective helmet, characterized in that it comprises main assembly means which have a safety device with an unlocking element produced at least partially in a material which disintegrates in a humid environment .

 Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description which follows with reference to the appended drawings which are given only by way of nonlimiting examples.

 Figures 1 to 10 illustrate the preferred embodiment of the attachment device and associated helmet and alternative embodiments of the device.

 FIG. 1 illustrates in perspective a pilot's helmet and his oxygen mask hung by a fastening device of the invention.

 FIG. 2 illustrates in perspective the helmet and its mask when they have been removed using the safety device.

 Figures 3a to 3d show schematically in cross section the operation of the safety device, respectively in the assembly position, when the pellet has disintegrated, during the ejection of the jaws, and in the final position once unhooked.

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 Figure 4 illustrates in longitudinal section the main and complementary attachment means of the device.

 Figure 5 illustrates the main assembly means in exploded perspective.

 Figure 6 shows in perspective the locking members.

 Figure 7 illustrates in perspective the base of the device.

 Figure 8 shows in perspective the intermediate piece.

 Figures 9a and 9b show in cross section an alternative embodiment of the unlocking element respectively in the passive position and when it is subjected to a windblast.

 Figure 10 shows an alternative embodiment of the device according to a view similar to Figure 3a.

 According to the invention, the attachment device (1) for an accessory (2) on a helmet (3) is of the type comprising main assembly means (MP) disposed on the helmet (3) intended to cooperate with complementary assembly means (MC) integral with the accessory (2).

Thus, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the attachment device (1) of the invention finds its application especially for the attachment of oxygen masks (2) on the helmets (3) of airplane pilots. However, it could also be used for other accessories which may cause discomfort for the pilot when he ejects from the cockpit of his plane and is found in the sea, for example, or be used in other applications related to different types of headphones.

 According to the invention, the attachment device (1) has a safety device (DS) which causes the attachment of the accessory (2)

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 when in contact with a liquid. This device (DS) comprises an unlocking element (4) made at least partially from a material which disintegrates when it is in contact with a liquid. This unlocking element (4) is arranged in the attachment device (1) to cause the disassembly of the main assembly means (MP) and complementary assembly means (MC) when it is disintegrated by a liquid such only water.

 To do this, the hooking device (1) comprises locking members (5a, 5b) which cooperate with hooking elements (6a, 6b) to hook the main assembly means (MP) with the complementary assembly means (MC), this cooperation being able to take place only when said locking members (5a, 5b) are positioned in an assembly position (A), position in which they are held by the safety (DS) as long as it is not triggered by contact with water.

 According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the locking members (5a, 5b) and the safety device (DS) which keeps them in the assembly position (A) are arranged on the main assembly means (MP ), that is to say on the helmet (3), while the hooking elements (6a, 6b) are carried by a hooking loop (7) integral with a fixing strap (8) of the mask (2). These hooking elements (6a, 6b) consist of two locking teeth movable against an elastic return device (9), as shown in FIG. 4.

 However, it goes without saying that the configuration of the attachment device could be different and that the safety device with its locking members and its unlocking element could be arranged, no longer on the main assembly means (MP) of the helmet (3), but directly on the complementary assembly means (MC) worn

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 by the accessory (2), without departing from the protective field of the invention.

 According to the preferred embodiment of the attachment device (1) of the invention, the main assembly means (MP) which comprise the safety device (DS) have a base (10) intended to be fixed to the helmet ( 3), and more precisely on its side wall (3a), as illustrated in FIG. 2. The base (10) advantageously carries the locking members (5a, 5b) which are formed by two toothed jaws positioned in the base to allow the passage of the hooking loop (7) and its locking teeth (6a, 6b) between their respective teeth in order to obtain cooperation between said teeth and the teeth of the jaws, as shown in FIG. 4.

 Said cooperation can be stopped either by means of a manual unlocking device (11) with push buttons of the conventional type which can be carried by the complementary assembly means (MC) and which makes it possible to retract the locking teeth (6a, 6b ), for example, either by triggering the safety device (DS) which moves the locking members (5a, 5b) to make them leave the assembly position (A) in which the cooperation with the teeth (6a, 6b ) is possible, as illustrated in Figures 3a and 4.

 According to the preferred embodiment of the main assembly means (MP), the safety device (DS) consists of an elastic biasing device (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) intended to bias the locking members (5a , 5b) to make them leave their assembly position (A) and abutment means (MB) which keep the locking members in their assembly position (A) against the action of the elastic biasing device. Said stop means (MB) are controlled by the unlocking element (4) which allows, when it is

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 disintegrated in contact with a liquid, to release said stop means and thus allow the locking members (5a, 5b) to leave their assembly position under the action of the elastic biasing device (12a, 12b, 12c).

 The elastic biasing device is advantageously constituted by four springs (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) which are intended to be positioned in housings (13a, 13b, 13c, 13d) of the locking members by bearing on the bottom ( 14) of the base (10), as shown in FIGS. 3a, 5 and 6. They are compressed when the locking members (5a, 5b) are in the assembly position (A).

 The stop means (MB) whose release is controlled by the unlocking element (4) are formed by an intermediate piece (15), a trigger spring (16) of the blade or plate type and the unlocking element ( 4). This assembly (4,15, 16) is arranged to be fixed on the base (10) so as to prevent the movement of the locking members (5a, 5b) when they are in the assembly position (A). It is thus fixed to the base by means of two longitudinal grooves (18a, 18b) situated in the lateral walls (19a, 19b) of the base (10) in which the lateral edges (16a, 16b) of the plate (16) forming the spring are housed, said plate coming to bear directly on the upper face of the locking means or indirectly via a frame (15a) of the intermediate piece (15).

 The assembly (4,15,16) forming the stop means (MB) on the base (10) can only be carried out when the leaf or plate type spring (16) is compressed and the distance (L1) between its edges (16a, 16b) is substantially equal to the distance (L2) between the grooves (18a, 18b) to allow their cooperation. To do this, the intermediate part (15) has a peripheral support frame (15a) from

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 which extends an upper bearing surface formed by an arch (15b). Thus, the spring (16) compresses when it is positioned above the frame (15a) to urge the unlocking element (4) to bear against the arch (15b). The unlocking element (4) then makes it possible by pressing on the hoop (15b) to compress the spring (16) which, by positioning itself flat, allows its lateral edges (16a, 16b) to cooperate in the longitudinal grooves (18a, 18b), as shown in Figure 3a.

 Therefore, when the unlocking element (4) is disintegrated under the action of a liquid, the spring (16) relaxes. It thus resumes its initial inverted V shape, causing the withdrawal of its lateral edges (16a, 16b) from the grooves (18a, 18b), since the distance (L1) between said edges is then found to be less than the distance (L2) between the gorges. The trigger spring (16) is released from the base (10), as shown in Figure 3b; it therefore releases the assembly which it formed with the intermediate part (15) and the element (4), that is to say the stop means (MB) which are then ejected from the base to which they were linked under the impulse of the elastic biasing device (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) at the same time as the locking members (5a, 5b), as shown in Figures 3c and 3d. The ejection of the stop means (MB) and of the locking members (5a, 5b) is carried out towards the outside of the base (10) without any discomfort, thanks to the particular construction of the stop means, which allow to play the role of ejectable stop, on the one hand, and to carry at the same time the unlocking element which triggers said ejection, on the other hand. This construction makes it possible to produce a base (10), the general shape of which is a rail with a U-shaped profile, which thus leaves the locking members (5a, 5b) free to eject upwards (HA) without being hindered by a surface which would serve as a stop for the unlocking element (8), for example. It can be noted that the base (10) includes a hole (30) in its

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 bottom intended to allow its fixing on the walls of the helmet (3). According to the illustrated embodiment, the unlocking element (4) is formed by a tablet made of a material which disintegrates on contact with water such as, for example, coated paracetamol (patented system Dolflash / flashtabtechnology) or other . Thanks to the specific configuration of the stop means (4,15, 16), the thickness (h) of the pad used can vary, without however requiring modification of said means, thus making it possible to adapt any type of pad in a same safety device by changing only the release spring if necessary. Similarly, according to the illustrated embodiment, the pellet used is of cylindrical shape but it could be of different shape, without however departing from the protective field of the invention.

 Furthermore, according to an alternative embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 9a and 9b, the unlocking element (4) is produced by a pellet (4a) made of a material which disintegrates very quickly in a humid environment, said pellet being enclosed in an envelope ( 4b) which is sensitive to winblast, that is to say an envelope (4b) which is destroyed automatically under the action of the friction of the air during the ejection of the pilot. This variant advantageously allows the use of a material for the tablet (4a) which disintegrates very quickly in a humid atmosphere without risking inadvertent triggering of the safety device, due to the envelope (4b) which protects the tablet from the external environment there was no pilot ejection. In the first illustrated embodiment, the choice of material is a compromise to be found so that the pellet quickly disintegrates in water but so that it is not too sensitive to humid outside air in order to avoid any inadvertent triggering of the safety device during the flight.

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 It can be noted, according to an alternative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, that the stop means (MB) can be produced directly by the unlocking pad (4), thanks to an upper support surface (25) integral with the base (10) which blocks the pad (4) against the stress of the locking members (5a, 5b) and their springs (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d). However, this variant presents a risk during triggering because the bearing surface (25) can constitute a hindrance for the ejection of the jaws (5a, 5b). In addition, in this variant, the thickness of the patch (4) must then be constant and precise for the device to be effective.

 Furthermore, it goes without saying that the attachment device may have a protective cover intended to maintain a certain aesthetic appearance to the helmet, said cover being obviously not waterproof to allow contact of water with the unlocking element and being removably clipped onto the stop means, for example, to be ejected with them.

 Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown by way of examples, but it also includes all the technical equivalents and their combinations.

Claims (10)

 1. Attachment device (1) of accessory (2) such as an oxygen mask on a helmet (3), of the type comprising main assembly means (MP) arranged on the helmet (3) to cooperate with complementary assembly means (MC) integral with the accessory (2), characterized in that it includes a safety device (DS) which causes the accessory to detach when it is in contact with a liquid, said safety device comprising an unlocking element (4) made at least partially from a material which disintegrates when it is in a humid environment.  2. attachment device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises locking members (5a, 5b) which cooperate with attachment elements (6a, 6b) to allow the assembly of the means main and complementary assembly (MP, MC) only when these locking members (5a, 5b) are in an assembly position (A), position in which they are held by the safety device (DS).  3. fastening device (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the safety device (DS) and the locking members (5a, 5b) are arranged on the main assembly means (MP) located on the helmet (3).  4. Hanging device (1) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the safety device (DS) is constituted by an elastic biasing device (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) which biases the <Desc / Clms Page number 13>  locking members (5a, 5b) against stop means (MB), the release of which is controlled by the unlocking element.  5. Hanging device (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the stop means (MB) consist of an intermediate piece (15), a trigger spring (16) and the unlocking element (4 ), said stop means being detachably attached to a base (10) which carries the locking members (5a, 5b) so as to be able to hold them in the assembly position (A).  6. An attachment device (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the fixing of the stop means (MB) on the base (10) is only possible when the trigger spring (16) is compressed, said compressive stress being obtained by virtue of the presence of the unlocking element (4) and disappearing when the unlocking element (4) has disintegrated.  7. An attachment device (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the base (10) carries two fixing grooves (18a, 18b) in which the lateral edges (16a, 16b) of the trigger spring (16 ) of the plate or blade type cooperate when said spring is biased by the unlocking element (4) which is supported on a bearing surface (15b) of the intermediate piece (15).  8. An attachment device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the unlocking element (4) consists of a tablet made of a hydrofusible or water-soluble material.  9. Hanging device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the unlocking element (4) is formed by a pad (4a) made of a material which disintegrates very <Desc / Clms Page number 14>  quickly in a humid environment, said pellet being enclosed in a sealed envelope (4b) which is destroyed during a windblast.  10. Protective helmet (3), characterized in that it comprises main assembly means (MP) which have a safety device (DS) with an unlocking element produced at least partially in a material which disintegrates into humid environment.