GB2310585A

GB2310585A - A helmet head flap

Info

Publication number: GB2310585A
Application number: GB9604484A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jacques William Forrest; Colin Andrew Paton
Original assignee: Thetford Moulded Products Ltd
Current assignee: Thetford Moulded Products Ltd
Priority date: 1996-03-01
Filing date: 1996-03-01
Publication date: 1997-09-03
Anticipated expiration: 2016-03-01
Also published as: GB9604484D0; GB2310585B

Abstract

A helmet sealing device (1) comprising at least one flap (2,3) having opposite faces and including a fixing portion (2a,3a) intended to be fixed to a helmet part and a sealing portion (2b,3b) for closing in use the gap between the helmet part and a wearer's head. The sealing portion (2b,3b) is grooved to facilitate resilient flexing of the sealing portion relative to the fixing portion and, in use, is able to adopt different positions relative to the fixing portion in dependence on the size of the gap to be closed and with one of its faces pressed against a wearer's head.

Description

A Helmet Head Flap This invention relates to a helmet sealing device of the kind comprising at least one flap, the or each of which has opposite faces and comprises a fixing portion intended to be fixed to a helmet part and a sealing portion for closing in use the gap between the helmet part and a wearer's head, e.g. the wearer's face. In particular, but not exclusively, the helmet sealing device is intended to be used as part of an industrial helmet having a closable visor for preventing dust laden, or otherwise polluted, atmosphere from entering the region in front of a wearer's face and behind the visor when the latter is in a lowered position.

The invention also relates to a helmet provided with such a helmet sealing device and having one or more flaps.

It is known to provide an industrial helmet, e.g. a miner's helmet, having ear defenders and a raisable and lowerable visor with separate cheek parts on both sides of the helmet in front of the ear defenders. An example of such a known industrial helmet is shown in EP-A-0492984. To cater for heads of different sizes, the cheek parts must be spaced sufficiently far apart to enable the helmet to be used by wearers having relatively wide heads and wearers having relatively thin heads. It has been found desirable to close these gaps between the cheek parts and the wearer's face to prevent the ingress of atmosphere bearing pollutants, e.g. dust or coal dust, into the region in front of a wearer's face and behind the lowered visor.

Up until now, such flaps have been detachably fixed to the helmet part using hook and loop attachment means.

The flaps have been relatively stiff and any movement between the flap and the helmet part has been accommodated in the hook and loop attachment means. This does not provide a resilient connection and in use the rim of the flap loosely touches the wearer's head or face.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a helmet flap intended in use to bridge and close the gap between a helmet part and the wearer's head, e.g. the wearer's face.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a helmet sealing device comprising at least one flap, the or each flap having opposite faces and comprising a fixing portion intended to be fixed to a helmet part and a sealing portion for closing in use the gap between the helmet part and a wearer's head, wherein the sealing portion of the or each flap is resiliently flexible relative to the fixing portion and, in use, is able to adopt different positions relative to the fixing portion in dependence on the size of the said gap to be closed and with one of its faces pressed against a wearer's head.

The resilient flexing of the sealing portion of the or each flap ensures that a resiliently deflected flap face (instead of a flap edge) is resiliently pressed in use against a wearer's head or face providing a positive closure of the gap.

Preferably the or each sealing portion has a preformed initial curvature with the said one face being generally convex. The sealing portion can be resiliently flexed from its initial curvature to adopt smaller radius curvatures when closing a gap with the convex face of the sealing portion being resiliently urged against a wearer's head.

Conveniently the or each flap is grooved to facilitate resilient flexing of the sealing portion. In particular, the sealing portion may be provided with a plurality, e.g. four or five, generally parallel spaced apart grooves.

Suitably the helmet sealing device is of a composite sandwich construction. For example, the sandwich construction may comprise a flexible foam filling having, on one side, a fabric covering and, on its other side, a plastics covering. Typically the fabric covering comprises a "polycotton" covering and provides the said one face of the sealing portion. The plastics covering suitably comprises a PVC backing layer.

The fixing portion of the or each flap may be provided with fixing means, e.g. holes, to facilitate its fixing to a helmet part with the use of other fixing means, e.g. plastic rivets, screws or the like. Loop and hook fixing means, e.g. velcro (trade mark) may also be used.

Since the sealing device may need to be replaced, it is preferred that the fixing means do not permanently secure the fixing portion to the helmet part. Alternatively, however, the fixing portion may be adhered to the helmet part.

In the case where it is desired to close the gaps between a wearer's cheeks and downwardly depending helmet cheek parts, a pair of separate flaps may be provided.

Conveniently, however, a single sealing device may be provided comprising a pair of flaps joined by a bridging portion intended to be fixed to a helmet forehead part.

One or more helmet sealing devices may be attached to a lower edge portion of a helmet visor to close, in use, the gap between the lowered visor and a wearer's face.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a helmet fitted, e.g. detachably fitted, with at least one helmet sealing device according to said one aspect of the invention.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with particular reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a helmet sealing device according to the invention for closing gaps between helmet side parts and a wearer's face; Figure 2 is a schematic view of another embodiment of a helmet sealing device according to the invention for closing gaps between the lower part of a helmet visor and a wearer's face; Figure 3 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line III-III of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a schematic view of a helmet fitted with helmet sealing devices according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows a helmet sealing device, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, comprising a pair of spaced apart flaps 2 and 3 joined by a bridging portion 4.

Each flap 2 (3) comprises a helmet fixing portion 2a (3a) and a sealing portion 2b(3b). The fixing portion 2a is provided with three fixing holes 5a, 5b and 5c, the fixing portion 3a is provided with three fixing holes 6a, 6b and 6c and the bridging portion is provided with two fixing slits 7a and 7b.

The helmet sealing device 1 has a composite sandwich construction having an inner flexible foam plastics layer 8, an outer covering layer 9 of plastics, e.g. PVC, material acting as a stiffener, and a further outer covering layer of a fabric material, e.g. a "polycotton" material, intended in use to contact a wearer's face or head.

The sealing portion 2b (3b) of each flap 2(3) is provided with a series of generally parallel spaced apart grooves 11 (12) to facilitate resilient flexing of the sealing portion 2b (3b) relative to the fixing portion 2a (3a). In particular these grooves' may be formed by omitting the foam plastics layer 8 in the regions of the grooves or by providing the layer 8 with reduced thickness in these regions. As shown in Figure 3, the flap 2 is generally flat although the sealing portion 2b may be preformed into a curved configuration (as indicated by the chain lines). In any case, if a force F (see Figure 3) is applied to the sealing portion 3b as indicated, the grooves 11 will cause the sealing portion 2b to resiliently deflect into a curved configuration.

Figure 4 shows the sealing device 1 in position on an industrial helmet 20 provided with downwardly depending spaced apart helmet cheek parts 21 and 22 provided at opposite sides of the helmet in front of ear defenders 23 and 24, respectively. The sealing device 1 is fixed, preferably detachably, to the helmet 20. As shown, the fixing portions 2a and 3a are fixed by plastics rivets or the like to the cheek parts 21 and 22, respectively, and the bridging portion 4 is fixed to a head band portion of the helmet 20. The sealing portions 2b and 3b are resiliently flexed relative to the fixing portions 2a and 2b, respectively, and bridge across the gaps between a wearer's face and the helmet cheek parts 21 and 22. The flexible sealing portions 2b and 3b adopt curved configurations with their ribbed, convex surfaces resiliently pressing against the wearer's face to prevent the ingress of polluted atmosphere, e.g. a coal dust laden atmosphere, from entering into the region in front of the user's face behind the lowered visor 25 of the helmet.

Although not shown in Figure 4, the lower rim of the visor 25 may be fitted with visor flaps 30 (see Figure 2) each comprising a fixing portion 31 and a resiliently flexible, grooved, sealing portion 32. In use a pair of such visor flaps may be fixed, e.g. detachably, to the lower edge of the visor 25 for sealing in use against a wearer's face or head (which is intended to include the neck of the wearer). As with the flaps 2 and 3, the or each visor flap 30 is intended to be resiliently flexed into a curved configuration in which the ribbed, convex surface ot the visor flap is resiliently pressed against the wearer's head to close the gap between the head and the lower rim of the visor 25.

Claims

1. A helmet sealing device comprising at least one flap, the or each flap having opposite faces and comprising a fixing portion intended to be fixed to a helmet part and a sealing portion for closing in use the gap between the helmet part and a wearer's head, wherein the sealing portion of the or each flap is resiliently flexible relative to the fixing portion and, in use, is able to adopt different positions relative to the fixing portion in dependence on the size of the said gap to be closed and with one of its faces pressed against a wearer's head.

2. A helmet sealing device according to claim 1, in which the or each sealing portion has a preformed initial curvature with the said one face being generally convex.

3. A helmet sealing device according to claim 1 or 2, in which the or each flap is grooved to facilitate resilient flexing of the sealing portion.

4. A helmet sealing device according to claim 3, in which the sealing portion of the or each flap is provided with a plurality, e.g. four or five, generally parallel spaced apart grooves.

5. A helmet sealing device according to any of the preceding claims having a composite sandwich construction.

6. A helmet sealing device according to claim , comprising a flexible foam inner filling having, on one side, a fabric covering and, on its other side, a plastics covering.

7. A helmet sealing device according to claim 6, in which said fabric covering comprises a "polycotton" covering and provides the said one face of the sealing portion.

8. A helmet sealing device according to any of the preceding claims, in which the fixing portion of the or each flap is provided with fixing means to facilitate its fixing to a helmet part with the use of other fixing means.

9. A helmet sealing device according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a pair of flaps joined by a bridging portion intended to be fixed to a helmet forehead part.

10. A helmet sealing device constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figures 1 and 3 or Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A helmet fitted, e.g. detachably fitted, with at least one helmet sealing device according to any one of the preceding claims.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows

1. A helmet sealing device comprising at least one flap, the or each flap having opposite faces and comprising a fixing portion intended to be fixed to a helmet part and a sealing portion for closing in use the gap between the helmet part and a wearer's head, wherein the sealing portion of the or each flap is grooved to facilitate resilient flexing of the sealing portion relative to the fixing portion and, in use, is able to adopt different positions relative to the fixing portion in dependence on the size of the said gap to be closed and with one of its faces pressed against a wearer's head.

6. A helmet sealing device according to claim 5, comprising a flexible foam inner filling having, on one side, a fabric covering and, on its other side, a plastics covering.

10. A helmet sealing device constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figures 1 and 3 or Figure 2 oÇ the accompanying drawings.