JP2016047971A - helmet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lightweight helmet that is excellent in air permeability and wearability and capable of being used on a daily basis, while having impact buffer capability equivalent to that of a conventional helmet.SOLUTION: A disclosed helmet includes: an outer shell that is obtained by compressing a foam and molding it into a hat body shape; a reinforcement member that is arranged inside the outer shell; and an impact buffer liner that is arranged inside the reinforcement member and provided in the state of being bought into contact with a user's head.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a helmet for protecting the head against an impact from the outside, and more particularly to a helmet that is lightweight and excellent in comfort.

  There are helmets and headgear as protective caps to protect the head against impacts from falling objects and falls and external blows, but helmets are excellent in terms of functionality to protect the head, but everyday Since it is heavy to wear, it is used only for specific purposes (for example, driving a motorcycle, etc.). On the other hand, the headgear worn by care recipients, etc., is assumed to be lightweight and worn on a daily basis, but because it aims to protect the head due to falls, shock cushioning materials are also used for helmets Sponge-like materials are used instead of high-density foamed polystyrene. In this way, when trying to specialize in the head protection performance, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the outer shell of the protective cap and to dispose impact cushioning materials such as high-density foamed polystyrene with a certain thickness or more. There is a problem that the weight is increased.

  With respect to the above problems, Patent Document 1 discloses a lightweight protective cap that can be worn on a daily basis, and an inner protective cap that can be worn inside a cloth hat. As an inner-type protective cap, a structure including a cap-shaped cap body formed of a fiber-reinforced composite material and a cushioning sheet-like material provided inside the cap body is disclosed. For example, in one embodiment of the protective cap disclosed in Patent Document 1, the cap-shaped cap body is a strip-shaped product obtained by cutting a tape-shaped prepreg in which a polypropylene resin is impregnated into E glass lobe into a length of 35 mm. Is produced by randomly dispersing and depositing on a mold, heating, melting and cooling to obtain a sheet-like material having a thickness of 4.5 mm, and the sheet-like material is cut into a size of 140 × 140 mm. The cap body is produced by press molding with a cap body mold, and the weight of the cap body obtained in this manner is 129 to 152 g.

  Further, in the cap body described in Patent Document 1, the cushioning sheet-like material is a three-dimensional knitted fabric, a three-dimensional network or urethane gel having a thickness of 3 to 8 mm, and includes the cushioning sheet-like material. The total weight of the inner protective cap for preventing damage is assumed to be 154 to 185 g.

JP 2007-138319 A

  The inner-type protective cap for preventing head damage described in Patent Document 1 is assumed to be applied to a hat made of cloth, and adds a head protecting function to the cap, so that it is required for a safety helmet or the like. It does not have a special head protection function. On the other hand, conventional helmets have a structure in which an impact absorbing member such as polystyrene foam is placed inside an outer shell made of plastic such as ABS, and although the helmet itself has high strength and shock absorbing capability, the helmet is heavy and the work site For example, it is difficult to put on when wearing a helmet, and wearing a helmet on a daily basis puts a heavy burden on the user.

  The inventors of the present invention have recently reviewed the structure of the helmet from the ground up, and the outer shell has shock-absorbing properties, and the reinforcing member that is strong and excellent in mechanical strength is provided with an outer shell and an inner (part contacting the head). As a structure placed between the two layers, the conventional two-layer structure is changed to a three-layer structure, so that it has a shock-absorbing capacity equivalent to that of a conventional helmet, but is lightweight and has excellent breathability and wearability. The knowledge that the helmet which can be used for can be realized was obtained. The present invention is based on this finding.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a helmet that is lightweight, excellent in air permeability and wearability, and can be used on a daily basis, while having an impact buffering capacity equivalent to that of a conventional helmet.

  A helmet according to the present invention includes an outer shell obtained by compression-molding a foam into a cap shape, a reinforcing member disposed inside the outer shell, and an impact disposed in contact with the head disposed inside the reinforcing member. A buffer liner.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the outer shell may be provided with a plurality of through holes.

  Moreover, in one Embodiment of this invention, the said outer shell may consist of a compression-molded foam and the resin layer provided in the surface of the said foam, or may be.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the reinforcing member may be made of a mesh-like, woven or knitted fiber-reinforced resin, or made of a lightweight metal such as a magnesium alloy or a titanium alloy. It may be.

  Moreover, in one Embodiment of this invention, the said reinforcement member may be provided with the some through-hole.

  Moreover, in one Embodiment of this invention, the said impact buffer liner may consist of a buffer member with which the hollow resin bag body connected two or more, and may consist of foamed resin.

  Moreover, in one Embodiment of this invention, 5-30 mm may be sufficient as the thickness of the said outer shell.

  Moreover, in one Embodiment of this invention, 1-10 mm may be sufficient as the thickness of the said reinforcement member.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the impact buffer liner may have a thickness of 1 to 30 mm.

  According to the present invention, a three-layer structure in which a shock-absorbing member that has been conventionally disposed inside a helmet is used as an outer shell, and a reinforcing member that supplements the strength of the outer shell is disposed between the inner (impact-buffering liner). By doing so, a lightweight helmet can be realized while maintaining the same shock absorbing capacity as before even if the thickness of the shock absorbing member is reduced.

  Moreover, since a breathability can be ensured by providing a through hole in the outer shell or the reinforcing member, a helmet that is excellent in comfort and can be used on a daily basis can be realized.

It is sectional drawing of one Embodiment of the helmet of this invention. It is sectional drawing of other embodiment of the outer shell to be used. It is the perspective view which showed one Embodiment of the impact buffer liner used for the helmet of this invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A ′ of the impact buffering liner illustrated in FIG. 3.

  A helmet according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a helmet according to an embodiment of the present invention. The helmet 1 includes an upper shell 2 having a substantially hemispherical or concave curved shape, a reinforcing member 3 disposed inside the upper shell 2, and a head portion disposed more inside the upper shell 2 and the reinforcing member 3. (Impact buffer liner 4 provided in contact with (not shown)). Furthermore, the helmet 1 may be provided with a chin strap 5 for locking to a chin or the like when worn by a user. For example, the helmet 1 extends from both sides of the outer shell 2 through the reinforcing members 3. An existing chin strap 5 may be provided. Of course, the chin strap 5 may include an adjuster that can be adjusted according to the size of the user's head.

  The outer shell 2 is made of expanded polystyrene that is compression-molded so that the expansion ratio is about 5 to 25 times. Although the strength of the outer shell increases as the expansion ratio decreases, the mass per unit volume increases and the weight of the entire helmet increases. Further, the impact absorbing ability of the outer shell itself is reduced. On the other hand, expanded polystyrene that is compression-molded so that the expansion ratio exceeds 25 times is lightweight and excellent in shock absorption capability, but the head of the user is protected even if it has a reinforcing member on the inside. However, the strength of the outer shell itself is reduced. A preferable expansion ratio is about 10-15.

  Further, in order to further improve the strength and durability of the outer shell 2 itself, as shown in FIG. 2, it may be a composite having a resin layer 6 in the outermost layer. For example, using a general-purpose resin sheet such as a polyester resin, ABS, or polycarbonate as the resin layer 6, a composite can be produced by integrally forming a foamed polystyrene when compression molding.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the outer shell 2 can be provided with a plurality of through holes 21. Providing the through hole 21 can ensure ventilation with the head, so that the comfort of the helmet is improved. The through holes 21 may be provided uniformly or randomly on the surface of the outer shell. The diameter of the through hole may be about 0.5 mm to 10 mm. If the hole diameter of the through hole 21 is too large, the strength of the outer shell itself is lowered. Further, the greater the number of through holes provided, the better the air permeability. However, when the number of through holes is too large, the strength of the outer shell itself decreases. Therefore, it is preferable to provide the through holes so that the number of through holes having a hole diameter of about 1 to 5 mm is about 1 to 10 holes / cm ² per unit area.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the outer shell 2 may be provided with a protrusion 22 on a part of the inside. By mounting the protrusion 22 and the reinforcing member 3 described later in contact with each other, the shock absorbing power of the helmet is further improved.

  The thickness of the outer shell 2 is 5 to 30 mm, preferably 5 to 15 mm. If the thickness exceeds 30 mm, the strength of the outer shell increases, but the mass increases and the weight of the entire helmet increases. On the other hand, when it is less than 5 mm, the strength of the outer shell, which is the outermost layer, is insufficient even in a helmet structure including a reinforcing member. The mass of the outer shell 2 whose thickness is in the above range is approximately 20 to 50 g.

  Next, the reinforcing member 3 disposed inside the outer shell 2 will be described. The reinforcing member 3 is provided to maintain the strength and impact resistance of the helmet. As described above, in the conventional helmet, the outer shell, which is the outermost layer, plays a role of the strength of the helmet, but in the present invention, the reinforcing member responsible for the function of maintaining the strength and the impact resistance is the helmet. Arranged in the inner layer.

  The reinforcing member uses fiber reinforced resin from the viewpoint of lightness and strength. The fiber reinforced resin can be produced by curing a prepreg obtained by impregnating a fiber body with a resin into a substantially semicircular or concave curved shape so as to fit the inner layer of the outer shell. As the fibers that can be used, fibers used in conventionally known fiber reinforced resins can be used without limitation, for example, not only polyester fibers and nylon fibers, but also ultra-high-strength polyethylene fibers known as engineering plastic fibers, and high-strength polyethylene fibers. Arylate fiber, aramid fiber, high strength polyetherketone (PEEK) fiber, PBO fiber, carbon fiber, etc. can be used. Further, a fibrous metal may be used.

The prepreg can be formed by impregnating a resin into a fiber sheet formed by aligning the above-described fibers in one direction, a fiber sheet in which fibers are woven, knitted or meshed, or a non-woven sheet. As the woven fiber sheet, various materials such as plain weave, twill weave and satin weave can be used. Moreover, you may use the cross prepreg which has arrange | positioned the strip-shaped prepreg in the background. The basis weight of the fiber sheet is preferably about 100 to 300 g / m ^{2 in} consideration of air permeability.

  Examples of prepreg matrix resins include conventionally known thermosetting resins such as epoxy resins, phenol resins, unsaturated polyester resins, and thermoplastic resins such as vinyl ester resins, acrylic resins, polyester resins, polyolefin resins, polyamides. Resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin, etc. can be used. Further, as the epoxy resin, a thermoplastic epoxy resin having no three-dimensional crosslinked structure may be used.

  A reinforcing member can be formed by placing a prepreg obtained by impregnating the above-described fiber sheet with a matrix resin in a mold and heating and compressing the prepreg. The resin may be cured while filling the voids in the fiber sheet with the matrix resin, but the prepreg may be cured by adjusting the amount of resin impregnated so that the resin is not buried between the fibers. In the reinforcing member thus obtained, the portion not impregnated with the resin remains as a through hole, so that the air permeability of the reinforcing member is improved. Moreover, you may form a through-hole later in the reinforcement member obtained by increasing resin amount so that resin may be buried between fibers.

  In addition to the above-described fiber reinforced resin, a lightweight and high-strength material can be used as the reinforcing member. For example, a sheet made of a lightweight metal such as a magnesium alloy or a titanium alloy is used as a substantially hemispherical or concave curved surface. What was shape | molded in the shape of a shape can be used as a reinforcement member.

  The thickness of the reinforcing member is 1 to 10 mm, preferably 1 to 3 mm. If the thickness exceeds 10 mm, the strength of the reinforcing member increases, but the mass increases and the weight of the entire helmet increases. On the other hand, if it is less than 1 mm, the strength of the entire helmet will be insufficient. The mass of the reinforcing member 3 whose thickness is in the above range is approximately 50 to 120 g.

  The helmet according to the present invention is provided with an impact buffer liner 4 in which a plurality of hollow resin bag bodies are connected between the reinforcing member and the user's head. In the conventional helmet structure, a cushioning material such as styrene foam is arranged in the contents, and a circulating headband, a hammock, a sponge, etc. are arranged between the cushioning material and the head, but in the present invention, the head and By disposing the impact buffering liner 4 having a thickness of about 1 to 30 mm in the direct contact portion, the circulating headband, hammock, sponge and the like can be made unnecessary, and the size of the entire helmet can be reduced. As a result, the helmet can be made lighter than before. Therefore, it is easier to wear compared to conventional helmets, and the burden on the user is reduced even when the helmet is worn and used daily.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the shock-absorbing liner 4 used in the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A ′ of the shock-absorbing liner shown in FIG. 3. The impact buffering liner 4 has a structure in which a plurality of hollow resin bags 41 are connected. The resin bag bodies 41 are connected by a tubular member 42 so that the individual resin bag bodies 41 are ventilated. The impact buffer liner 4 having such a structure has a cushioning function because a reaction force is exerted by the air inside the resin bag body when a force is applied to the resin bag body. Moreover, since the tubular member 42 to which the resin bag bodies 41 are connected is present, air permeability can be ensured.

  In addition, since the impact cushioning liner 4 can be regarded as the convex portion of the resin bag body 41 and the concave portion of the tubular member 42, only the convex portion comes into contact with the head, so that the user's wearing feeling is improved.

  The shock-absorbing liner 4 can be made of a foamed polystyrene that has been conventionally used in addition to the above-described materials. However, when the foamed polystyrene is molded into a substantially hemispherical or concave curved shape, it is convex inward. By forming so as to have a structure including a plurality of protrusions, only the convex portion comes into contact with the head, so that the user's wearing feeling is improved.

  The impact buffer liner 4 has a thickness of 1 to 10 mm, preferably 2 to 5 mm. As the thickness is increased, the shock absorbing performance is improved, but the bendability of the shock absorbing liner is lowered and the wearing feeling is impaired.

  In addition to the above, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and it goes without saying that such improved forms are also included in the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Helmet 2 Outer shell 3 Reinforcement member 4 Impact buffer liner 5 Jaw cord

Claims (11)

An outer shell formed by compression-molding a foam into a cap, and
A reinforcing member disposed inside the outer shell;
An impact buffer liner disposed inside the reinforcing member and in contact with the head;
Helmet equipped with.   The helmet according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of through holes are provided in the outer shell.   The helmet according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer shell includes a compression-molded foam and a resin layer provided on a surface of the foam.   The helmet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reinforcing member is made of a fiber-reinforced resin having a mesh shape, a woven shape, or a knitted shape.   The helmet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reinforcing member is made of a lightweight metal such as a magnesium alloy or a titanium alloy.   The helmet according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member includes a plurality of through holes.   The helmet according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the impact buffer liner is formed of a buffer member in which a plurality of hollow resin bag bodies are connected.   The helmet according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the impact buffering liner is made of a foamed resin.   The helmet according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the outer shell has a thickness of 5 to 30 mm.   The helmet according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the reinforcing member has a thickness of 1 to 10 mm.   The helmet according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the impact buffer liner has a thickness of 1 to 30 mm.

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