JP2007123089A - Battery pack and headgear - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery pack for supporting one or more batteries. <P>SOLUTION: The battery pack comprises at least one battery case to accept and support at least one battery, a support bar installed on this battery case, an output means installed on this battery case in order to supply selectively the output from the battery in the battery case, and a switching means connected between the battery case and the output means in order to connect selectively the battery in the battery case to the output means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

background
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a battery pack, and is generally directed to a battery pack for supporting one or more batteries, which can be removably mounted, particularly on a helmet.

There are a number of the battery pack of well-known in the prior art prior art. There are many helmets known in the prior art, such as described, for example, in US Pat. Nos. 5,054,480, 5,711,033, and co-pending application serial number 10 / 6577,417. There are examples where these components are used in conjunction with environmental respiratory systems, medical protection systems, and the like. However, in previous uses of these components, the battery (or batteries) in the pack was connected to the helmet by a cable or other elongated connector wire. Typically, a helmet that is turned on is connected to a cable and worn by a user, for example, a battery pack that is attached to a belt or other element of clothing. The battery pack may be located far away from the user's location.

  These known techniques may allow the user freedom of movement (when the battery source is remote) or the connector cable may hang from the user's helmet and the hanged connector cable may become tangled with other cables, etc. There is a limit in terms of discomfort coming from.

However, it is clear that attempts to simply place the battery (or battery pack) on the helmet have a number of serious drawbacks or problems. For example, the battery pack must be properly placed to reduce the burden on the user. It must not interfere with other functions and / or users of the helmet and other considerations. These objectives require a new kind of battery pack without completely ruining current helmet designs.
US Pat. No. 5,054,480 US Pat. No. 5,711,033 Continuation Application Serial No. 10 / 6577,417 Concurrent Continuation Application “Battery Pack for Helmet” (“BATTERY” by Laurence Green, filed on the same date and assigned a serial number Refer to the co-pending design patent application entitled “PACK FOR HELMETS”).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a battery pack for supporting one or more batteries, which can be removably attached to a helmet. The battery pack is attached to the helmet headband to allow the battery to be ergonomically worn. The battery pack gives access to the battery to get power from it and to give it recharge. The control switch controls the operation of the battery pack.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a left rear perspective view of a helmet 100 typically made of lightweight plastic.

  The helmet 100 is pivotally mounted to an adjustable headband 101 by means of suitable screws 102 on each side of the helmet. The headband 101 includes an adjustment knob 103 that is used to loosen or tighten the headband for adjustment to comfortably fit the wearer's head.

  The headband typically includes an overhead strap 104 (commonly seen in FIG. 2), which is often formed integrally with the headband 101. The rear portion of the headband 101 functions as a support for the battery pack 200.

  The battery pack includes battery cases 201 and 202 attached to opposite ends of the crossbar 203. The crossbar 203 is preferably attached to the headband 101 by pins 204 and 205 (see FIG. 4 for details).

  Charging jack 206 is attached to battery pack 200 adjacent to battery case 201 for recharging the battery in battery pack 200. The battery output jack 208 is typically attached to the battery pack 200 adjacent to the charging jack 206. The output jack 208 is used to connect an electronic gear (not shown) on or in the helmet 100 to the batteries in the battery cases 201 and 202.

  The switch 207 is attached to the battery pack 200 adjacent to the battery case 201 for convenience and balance. The switch 207 connects the battery in the battery pack 200 to an electrical component (for example, a fan motor) mounted in or on the helmet via the output jack 208, or to an external battery charging source via the charging jack 206. To be selectively connected to.

  Caps 211 and 212 are through latches 222 and 221 (shown in FIG. 4) on case liners 420 and 450 (shown in FIG. 4) that communicate with holes 453 and 452 (shown in FIG. 4). Are attached to the ends of the battery cases 202 and 201. Finger grips 225 and 224 (shown in FIG. 4) are provided to facilitate removal of the cap and case liner assembly.

  Referring now to FIG. 2, for convenience, another view of the battery pack 200 with the helmet 100 removed is shown.

  The battery pack 200 is attached to the headband 101 described above. For example, the mounting pins 204 and 205 pass through the cross bar 203 and engage with the headband 101.

  In FIG. 2, an overhead strap 104 connected to (or integrally formed with) the headband 101 is shown. If desired, a forehead cushion 110 of any suitable material can be attached to the front portion of the headband.

  Support arms 120 and 121 are formed on opposite sides of the headband 101 to receive suitable mounting screws 102 (see FIG. 1) for pivotally attaching the helmet 100 to the headband.

Furthermore, battery cases 201 and 20 having caps 212 and 211, respectively.
2 is attached to the crossbar 203. The switch 207 is attached to the battery pack 200 adjacent to the battery case 202 in this embodiment.

  Referring now to FIG. 3, another diagram of the present invention is shown. A headband 101 with strap 104 and fixtures 120 and 121 is shown. Mounting pins 204 and 205 extending through the headband 101 on the opposite side of the adjustment knob 103 are shown.

  A crossbar 203 placed on the headband 101 is shown. The crossbar 203 may include a groove for receiving the upper edge of the headband on the lower side if desired.

  Battery cases 201 and 202 joined to opposite ends of the crossbar 203 as described above are shown.

  Referring now to FIG. 4, an exploded view of a battery pack 200 adapted to be attached to a helmet headband as described above is shown.

  The crossbar 203 is typically manufactured from a suitable lightweight plastic material such as polycarbonate. A suitable reinforcing bar 401 is manufactured from a lightweight material of suitable force, such as but not limited to aluminum, to provide additional force to the battery pack. The reinforcing rod 401 is disposed inside the groove 402 in the cross bar 203. The reinforcing bar includes threaded holes 404 and 405 that are aligned with the associated holes in the crossbar 203 and are adapted to receive the mounting pins 204 and 205 described above. The threaded portions 430 and 431 of the pins 204 and 205 engage the threaded holes 404 and 405, respectively, and the reinforcing bar is held securely in the crossbar 203.

  Battery case support columns 406 and 407 can be seen at opposite ends of the cross bar 203, respectively.

  Support post 407 includes an opening 409 for receiving switch 207, which is secured in opening 409 by a tooth mounted with a spring integrated with the switch.

  Support post 406 includes openings 408 and 410 for receiving jacks 206 and 208 secured by conventional lock nuts or the like.

  The battery case 202 is formed from a suitable plastic such as polycarbonate. The case 202 is attached to the reinforcing rod 401 by a screw 411, and this screw passes through the opening 413 at the upper end of the case 202 as described above, and the screw at the end of the reinforcing rod 401 attached to the cross bar 203. Enter the cut opening 415. Further, the screw 231 is engaged with the front surface of the case 202 through the support column 407 (see FIG. 1). This configuration provides a strong and fixed assembly. Case 201 reflects case 202 and is attached to crossbar 203 in a similar manner.

  Batteries 418 and 419 (sized appropriately to energize the electrical components in helmet 100) are inserted into battery case liner 420. The conductive end of the battery is preferably a rechargeable battery and interfaces with connectors 421 and 421A that interconnect with connectors 422 and 423 at the inner end of case liner 420. The connectors 422 and 423 engage with pin connectors 424 and 425, respectively, on the circuit board 426, and the circuit board is attached to the connecting end of the case 202 that interconnects with the conductor in the battery case 202.

  The circuit connectors 428 and 428A are connected to a pair of connectors mounted on the circuit board 427 inside the cap 211 that engages the open end of the case liner 420. The circuit board 427 is connected to contacts 422 and 423 having wires inside the liner 420.

  The assembly of battery case 201 is essentially a replica of battery case 202. Thus, the latch 221 (see FIG. 1) projects slightly outward from the surface of the case liner 450 (shown in a partially inserted state). When the liner case 450 is further pushed into the battery case 201, the latch 221 is pushed until the latch is released and engages with a latch holder 452, which is a hole in the inner surface of the battery case 201.

  In order to remove the liner case 450, the latch 221 is pushed in, the liner case is gripped by a finger grip 225 (see FIG. 1) and pulled outward. The liner case 420 is similarly removed by pressing its latch 222 (see FIG. 1) and grasping the finger grip 224 (see FIG. 2) and pulling it outward.

  Referring now to FIG. 5, a schematic diagram of circuitry included in the battery pack 200 is shown. The circuit includes a removable and rechargeable battery 500, which shows a combination of individual batteries 418 and 419 in the liner cases 420 and 450 shown in FIG. 4 and shown with respect to FIG.

  Individual cells 418 and 419 are electrically connected as shown in FIG. 4 and described with respect to FIG. The battery 500 is connected to the battery case circuit via contacts 422 and 423 associated with the controllers 424 and 425, which are indicated by the contacts 501 and 502 shown in FIG. Contact 501 connects battery 500 to the toggle arm of switch 207, while contact 502 connects battery 500 to common line 503.

  Common line 503 is connected to one terminal of charging jack 206 and one terminal of power output jack 208. The other terminal of each jack is connected to the output terminal of switch 207. Thus, by operating switch 207, battery 500 is selectively connected to power jack 208 for supplying power to the power device in the helmet, or alternatively to charging jack 206 for recharging battery 500. Is done.

  The conductors shown in FIG. 5 can include individual wires or plated conductors attached to components of the battery pack 200.

  Thus, the unique design and concept of the battery pack is shown and described. While this description is directed to particular embodiments, it is understood that those skilled in the art may envision modifications and / or changes to the specific embodiments shown and described herein. Any such modifications or changes within the scope of this description are intended to be included herein. It is understood that this description is intended to be illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting. Rather, the scope of the invention described herein is limited only by the claims that follow.

It is a left back perspective view of the battery pack of the present invention with which the helmet was equipped. FIG. 3 is a right rear perspective view of the battery pack of the present invention attached to a helmet headband with a helmet removed for clarity. FIG. 3 is a lower right rear perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 2. It is an exploded view of the battery pack separated from the helmet. It is the schematic of the electric circuit of a battery pack.

Explanation of symbols

  100 helmet, 101 headband, 104 overhead strap, 200 battery pack, 201 battery case, 203 crossbar, 204 mounting pin, 206 charging jack, 221 latch, 401 reinforcement rod, 406 support post, 420 case liner, 421 connector, 422 contact.

Claims (14)

At least one battery case for receiving and supporting at least one battery;
A support rod attached to the battery case;
Output means attached to the battery case for selectively providing output from the battery in the battery case;
A battery pack comprising switching means connected between the battery case and the output means for selectively connecting a battery in the battery case to the output means. A first battery case and a second battery case for receiving at least one battery respectively;
A support rod connected between the first battery case and the second battery case;
Input means attached to the first battery case to enable connection to the batteries in the first battery case and the second battery case;
Output means mounted on the first battery case to enable connection from the battery to the utilization device;
An intermediate between the first battery case and the second battery case to be attached to the second battery case and to selectively connect a battery to one of the input means and the output means. And a switching means connected between the input means and the output means.   The battery pack according to claim 2, comprising reinforcing means attached to the support bar to provide additional structural force.   The battery pack according to claim 2, wherein each of the input unit and the output unit includes a jack.   The battery pack according to claim 2, wherein the switching unit includes a toggle switch. A headgear having at least one electrical component including a battery support for supporting a battery electrically connected to the electrical component,
The battery support is a headgear attached to the headgear so that the battery is suspended below the helmet.   The headgear according to claim 6, comprising a headband connected to the headgear to support a headgear of a wearer's head.   The headgear according to claim 7, wherein the battery support is attached to the headband so that the battery is suspended below the headband.   The headgear according to claim 7, comprising a switch mounted on the battery support for selectively controlling an electrical connection between the battery and the electrical component.   The headgear according to claim 7, comprising a fixing pin for fixing the battery support to the headband.   The headgear according to claim 6, wherein the battery support includes a cross bar for supporting a battery case for supporting the battery.   The headgear according to claim 11, wherein the cross bar includes a separate reinforcing rod.   The headgear according to claim 6, wherein the battery support includes a first battery case and a second battery case for mounting a battery.   The headgear according to claim 13, comprising an electrical conductor attached to each of the first battery case and the second battery case for interconnecting supported batteries.

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