GB1573597A

GB1573597A - Protective helmets

Info

Publication number: GB1573597A
Application number: GB20385/78A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1977-05-30
Filing date: 1978-05-18
Publication date: 1980-08-28
Also published as: FR2392617B1; JPS53164313U; IT1104675B; FR2392617A1; IT7849570A0

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO PROTECTIVE HELMETS (71) I, MASAHIRO HASEGAWA, a Japanese citizen, 301 Inoue Bldg. 11-12, Nishiazabu 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan, do hereby declare the invention for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to a ventilated protective helmet for use when riding vehicles such as motorcycles.

Nowadays from a view point of safety, motorcycle riders have a legal obligation to wear a protective helmet. In general, conventional helmets are not designed to conduct an air stream inside the helmet. Thus particularly in summer, the temperature inside the helmet is liable to increase and the head of the wearer becomes moist. Therefore even after use for only a short time, the helmet feels uncomfortable.

It has been proposed to provide an air flow inside the helmet so as to ventilate the helmet. In a previously proposed ventilated helmet there are formed one or more inlet apertures and one or more outlet apertures in the forehead and rear portions, respectively of the outer shell. However this previously proposed helmet does not have sufficient ventilation efficiency owing to the fact that the air stream can neither flow effectively nor spread wholly inside the helmet.

Further since the shell should have high mechanical strength it is not desirable to form both the inlet apertures in the shell.

Sometimes such apertures might injure the user or decrease the mechanical strength.

The apertures formed in the forehead portions of the shell are particularly undesirable.

According to the invention, there is provided a ventilated protective helmet for use in riding vehicles such as motorcycles, said helmet comprising an outer shell, a shock absorbing layer on the inner surface of the shell, and a plurality of grooves formed in the inner surface of the shock absorbing layer and extending from the portion of the helmet arranged to lie on the forehead to the portion of the helmet arranged to lie at the back of the head, each groove being associated with an inlet opening at the edge of the forehead portion of the helmet through which air flows into the groove and the rear ends of the grooves being associated with one or more openings provided at the rear edge portion of the helmet and opening to the outside of the helmet to discharge the air from the grooves externally of the helmet.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a partially cut away front view of a helmet according to the invention; Figure 2 is a cross-section showing a forehead edge portion of the helmet of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a partially cut away rear view of the helmet shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a cross-section illustrating a rear edge portion of the helmet of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a partially cut away perspective view showing another embodiment of the helmet according to the invention; Figure 6 is a cross sectional view showing another embodiment of the helmet according to the invention; Figure 7 is a rear view of the helmet of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a side view illustrating yet another embodiment of the helmet according to the invention;; Figure 9 is a partial perspective view showing an embodiment of an air-collecting device secured to a helmet according to the invention; Figure 10 is a cross-section of the forehead edge portion of the helmet of Figure 8; Figures 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 are partial perspective and cross-sectional views showing several other embodiments of an air-collecting device.

Figures 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a helmet according to the invention. The helmet generally denoted by a reference numeral 2 comprises an outer shell 3 made of strong, hard, material. The inner surface of the shell 3 is covered with a shock-absorbing layer 5 composed of, for example foamed polystyrene or cork.

In the inner surface of the shock-absorbing layer 5 there are formed a plurality of stream line grooves or recesses 6 which extend from the forehead portion to the rear portion of the helmet which lies at the back of the head.

As illustrated in Figure 2 inlet openings 1 of the recesses 6 lead from the forehead edge of the shell 3. The rear ends of the recesses 6 terminate at outlet openings 4 formed in the rear portion of the outer shell 3 as shown in Figures 3 and 4. A cushion layer 9 for absorbing vibration is applied to the inner surface of the layer 5 and is made of a sponge-like material which is permeable to air. Reference numeral 13 denotes a flange which is arranged to surround the neck of the user.

In use, air is taken into the helmet, during movement of the motorcycle, through the inlet openings 1 of the recesses 6 at the forehead portion and the air flows through the streamline recesses 6 smoothly, and is discharged through the outlet opening 4. The interior of the helmet communicates with the air streams in the recesses 6 through the permeable layer 9, so that the interior of the helmet is not at high temperature and high humidity. Since the pressure at the outlet openings 4 is lower than that in the recesses 6 and the recesses have a streamline configura- tion, the air in the recesses is forcedly discharged through the outlet openings 4 and there is a sufficient air flow through the recesses 6.Moreover, there are not formed any dangerous openings and projections in the forehead portion of the shew3, and there- fore the mechanical strength of the shell 3 is not decreased. The layer 9 may be omitted if desired.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of a helmet according to the invention. This embodiment is not provided with the permeable layer on the shock-absorbing layer 5. Further, the streamline recesses 6 are closed at the rear portion of the helmet. That is to say there are not outlet openings formed in the shell 3. In order to discharge the air effectively from the inside of the helmet, a plurality of outlet openings 4 are formed in a flange 13 which is secured to the rear edge of the helmet and is made of soft and resilient material such as rubber. Also in this case, the pressure at the outside of the outlet openings 4 becomes lower than that inside the helmet when the wearer is riding the motorcycle and thus air is effectively taken into the inside of the helmet through the inlet openings 1 and flows smoothly through the streamline recesses 6.

In this manner extremely effective ventila- tion can be obtained.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate another embodiment of the helmet according to the invention. In this embodiment a relatively thick flange 13' is secured to the rear edge of the helmet. The flange 13' comprises an inner cushion member made of soft material and a core member 15 made of resilient material.

In the core member 15 there are formed a plurality of divergent outlet openings 4", a space 16 communicating with the openings 4" and a number of passages 17 through which the streamline recesses 6 communicate with the space 16. In this embodiment the air stream taken into the helmet 2 through the inlet openings 1 flows along the steamline recesses 6 and is discharged through the passages 17, and space 16 and the outlet openings 4".

In the embodiment of Figure 8, a flange 13" is formed with a plurality of slit-like outlet openings 4" which communicate with the streamline recesses through a space formed in the flange 13". In front of these openings 4" are provided vanes 18 which are outwardly inclined toward the rear portion like louvres. The vanes 18 may be formed integrally with the flange 13". It is preferred to incline the slit-like openings 4" with respect to a lower edge of the flange 13" as shown in Figure 8.

In order to increase the air outlet efficiency of the inlet openings 1 of the recesses 6, an air collecting device may be provided at the forehead edge of the he met .

Figures 9 and 10 show a first embodiment of the air-collecting device. In this embodiment, an air-collecting device 30 having aplurality of apertures 31 is secured to the forehead edge 20 of the helmet 2 in such a manner that the inside of the device 30 communicates with the inlet openings 1 of the streamline recesses 6. By providing such air collecting device 30 at the forehead edge 20 of the helmet 2 a large amount of air is effectively introduced into the recesses 6 through the device 30. The air collecting device 30 is formed by soft resilient material such as rubber or plastics.

In Figures 11 and 12 an air-regulating member 32 having a semicircular crosssection is provided on the forehead portion of the shell 3 above the air-collecting device 30. By providing such a member 32 the air is more effectively taken into the device 30 through the apertures 31. The air-regulating member 32 may be formed by resilient material so as to protect the user.

Figures 13 and 14 illustrate another embodiment of the air-collecting device. In this embodiment a substantially tubular aircollecting device 33 having several apertures 34 is secured to the forehead edge portion of the shell 3 in such a manner that it encloses the forehead edge 20 of the helmet 2. Thus the air stream taken into the air-collecting device 33 flows into the recesses 6 through the inlet opening 1 thereof.

Figure 15 shows still another embodiment of the air-collecting device. In this case a padded body 35 made of soft material and having several rectangular apertures 36 is secured to the forehead edge 20 of the helmet 2. The apertures 36 communicate with the inlet openings 1 of the streamline recesses.

Figure 16 shows still another embodiment of the air-collecting device. In this embodiment goggles 10 are connected to the shock absorbing layer 5 of the helmet 2 by means of a skirt member 37 having a number of corrugations. The air is introduced along the corrugations into the inlet openings 1 of the streamline recesses 6 formed in the layer 5.

In winter or rain, the inlet openings 1 of the streamline recesses 6 may be closed by applying a suitable cover to the forehead edge 20 of the helmet 2. This may be also effected by inserting a shielding member into the passages 17 of the embodiment of Figures 6 and 7.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 3 and 6, the streamline recesses 6 communicate with the outlet openging 4 and 4" through the common spaces, but in a modified arrangement, each recess may directly communicate with a respective outlet opening. In such a modified arrangement the number of outlet openings will be equal to that of the recesses.

The helmets particularly described herein avoid the drawbacks of the previously proposed helmet described above and provide an effective air stream wholly inside the helmet utilizing the air pressure generated by movement of the motorcycle.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. A ventilated protective helmet for use in riding vehicles such as motorcycles, said helmet comprising an outer shell, a shockabsorbing layer on the inner surface of the shell, and plurality of grooves formed in the inner surface of the shock-absorbing layer and extending from the portion of the helmet arranged to lie on the forehead to the portion of the helmet arranged to lie at the back of the head, each groove being associated with an inlet opening at the edge of the forehead portion of the helmet through which air flows into the grooves and the rear ends of the grooves being associated with one or more outlet openings provided at the rear edge portion of the helmet and opening to the outside of the helmet to discharge the air from the grooves externally of the helmet.

2. A helmet according to claim 1, further comprising a cushioning layer of airpermeable material applied to the inner surface of the shock-absorbing layer.

3. A helmet according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the or each outlet opening is formed in the shell.

4. A helmet according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the helmet further comprises a flange member made of resilient material and secured to the rear edge of the helmet, and the or each outlet openings is formed in said flange member.

5. A helmet according to claim 4, wherein the rear ends of the recesses communicate with the or each outlet opening through a plurality of passages formed in the flange member.

6. A helmet according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising an aircollecting device at the forehead portion of the shell in communication with the inlet openings.

7. A helmet according to claim 6, further comprising an air-regulating device secured to the forehead portion of the shell above the air-collecting device.

8. A helmet substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **.

34 is secured to the forehead edge portion of the shell 3 in such a manner that it encloses the forehead edge 20 of the helmet 2. Thus the air stream taken into the air-collecting device 33 flows into the recesses 6 through the inlet opening 1 thereof.

Figure 15 shows still another embodiment of the air-collecting device. In this case a padded body 35 made of soft material and having several rectangular apertures 36 is secured to the forehead edge 20 of the helmet 2. The apertures 36 communicate with the inlet openings 1 of the streamline recesses.

Figure 16 shows still another embodiment of the air-collecting device. In this embodiment goggles 10 are connected to the shock absorbing layer 5 of the helmet 2 by means of a skirt member 37 having a number of corrugations. The air is introduced along the corrugations into the inlet openings 1 of the streamline recesses 6 formed in the layer 5.

In winter or rain, the inlet openings 1 of the streamline recesses 6 may be closed by applying a suitable cover to the forehead edge 20 of the helmet 2. This may be also effected by inserting a shielding member into the passages 17 of the embodiment of Figures 6 and 7.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 3 and 6, the streamline recesses 6 communicate with the outlet openging 4 and 4" through the common spaces, but in a modified arrangement, each recess may directly communicate with a respective outlet opening. In such a modified arrangement the number of outlet openings will be equal to that of the recesses.

The helmets particularly described herein avoid the drawbacks of the previously proposed helmet described above and provide an effective air stream wholly inside the helmet utilizing the air pressure generated by movement of the motorcycle.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. A ventilated protective helmet for use in riding vehicles such as motorcycles, said helmet comprising an outer shell, a shockabsorbing layer on the inner surface of the shell, and plurality of grooves formed in the inner surface of the shock-absorbing layer and extending from the portion of the helmet arranged to lie on the forehead to the portion of the helmet arranged to lie at the back of the head, each groove being associated with an inlet opening at the edge of the forehead portion of the helmet through which air flows into the grooves and the rear ends of the grooves being associated with one or more outlet openings provided at the rear edge portion of the helmet and opening to the outside of the helmet to discharge the air from the grooves externally of the helmet.
2. A helmet according to claim 1, further comprising a cushioning layer of airpermeable material applied to the inner surface of the shock-absorbing layer.
3. A helmet according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the or each outlet opening is formed in the shell.
4. A helmet according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the helmet further comprises a flange member made of resilient material and secured to the rear edge of the helmet, and the or each outlet openings is formed in said flange member.
5. A helmet according to claim 4, wherein the rear ends of the recesses communicate with the or each outlet opening through a plurality of passages formed in the flange member.
6. A helmet according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising an aircollecting device at the forehead portion of the shell in communication with the inlet openings.
7. A helmet according to claim 6, further comprising an air-regulating device secured to the forehead portion of the shell above the air-collecting device.
8. A helmet substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.