JP4420669B2 - Protective headgear - Google Patents

Abstract

A protective shell for use within a cap such as a baseball cap and which incorporates elongate slots which open into the back of the shell and extend forwards towards the front of the shell. The presence of the slots, in conjunction with the inherent flexibility of the shell material, enable the lateral sections of the shell to move inwards and outwards to accommodate a range of head sizes.

Description

  The present invention relates to protective headgear, and more particularly to a shell for mounting on a soft head cap that provides some protection against impact.

  To provide a degree of protection to the head and at the same time allow the user to wear a very cool cap that is different from a practical single pointed helmet, for example a protective shell made of hard plastic material with a soft cap such as a baseball cap It is well known to be mounted inside. Such modified caps provide some protection for the head and are suitable when the risk of injury is relatively low.

  Known shells of this kind are generally sized and the object of the present invention is to provide a design that can be adjusted for various sized heads. It will be appreciated that a good fit on the head is important if the protection provided by the modified cap should be as effective as possible.

  To achieve this object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, the shell is formed with a pair of slots, one on each side thereof, each slot open to the rear side of the shell, and the entire rear portion. To the front of the shell in the direction of the front, the material on both sides of the shell can be moved relative to each other and thus the effective size of the shell can be changed.

  In a second aspect of the invention, the slot is open to the front side of the shell and extends generally from the front to the rear toward the rear of the shell. However, for convenience of explanation, the first (and preferred) feature of the present invention is assumed in the following description. Thus, in the text below, the same language applies to the second feature by reversing the front part to the rear part, or vice versa.

The protective shell for use with a soft cap is usually shaped like a concave bowl, and the front and back are slightly longer than between the sides to match the shape of the human head.
The shell of the present invention is effectively divided into different regions depending on the slot, is formed in the concave shape described above, and the top region extends over the top of the head from the rear to the front when worn. The front region, when worn, extends across the frontal region when worn, and the two lateral regions extend across the sides of the head from the rear to the front to unite with the front region. To do. These slots separate each lateral region from the top region.

  Thus, the lateral region is joined to the top region via the front region, and due to the flexibility of this connecting portion, a certain degree of movement between each lateral region and the top region is possible, such as During adjustment, a concave bowl shape is maintained throughout the shell. In this way, the shell can be fitted to various sized heads while maintaining both comfort and some degree of protection. In practice, the shell can be manufactured in the smallest size within a predetermined range, and when it is mounted on a relatively large head, it fits into such a head by expanding the slot. This is due to the flexibility of the joint between the lateral region and the top region described above. In another aspect, the shell can be manufactured to an intermediate size within a predetermined range so that it can be expanded and contracted as needed to accommodate the full range of head sizes.

  The deeper the slot, the smaller the rear region width, thereby improving flexibility. However, if these slots are too long, the overall structural integrity of the shell is compromised. These slots are positioned to extend from the rear to the front along the shell, with the top region formed therebetween. Since the top area is the main protection area, the slots must not be too close to each other and must be wide enough to provide effective protection for the head. The best position for the slot is considered to be far enough away from the part of the shell that protects the top of the head, and in fact is the part of the shell that protects the upper part of the head. The unprotected side portions of the head are protected by lateral areas on each side.

The slot is preferably designed to be outside the impact zone specified in international safety standard EN812. This is discussed in more detail below.
The shell is conveniently made of a plastic material, for example formed by injection molding. Exemplary materials include ABS, polypropylene, PVC, or polyethylene. The thickness of the shell wall is typically 1 mm to 4 mm, and the currently preferred thickness is 1.5 mm.

Reducing the thickness reduces weight and thus increases comfort, but strength is at the expense of this.
In order that the invention may be more fully understood, embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The protective shell shown in the accompanying drawings is designed for baseball caps. However, this design can be easily modified for this other type of cap or cap. The shell is mounted inside the cap and the cap may be modified by providing suitable attachment means (not shown) such as a velcro pad, snap button, or pocket to hold it in place.

  The shell includes a thin wall structure 1 made of ABS plastic material and has a generally concave shape suitable for mounting on a human head. The shell rim 2 is lowered at the front 3 and raised at the rear 4. The side of the shell is cut out at 5 to provide a gap for the ear pads, in case the ear pads need to be worn.

  The shell is divided into four sections by a pair of elongated slots 6. These slots open to the rear part 4 of the shell and extend forward over a large proportion of the front and rear length of the shell. One slot 6 is formed at a corresponding position on each side of the shell. The four sections are a top section 7 that extends forward from the rear rim 2 by a length approximately equal to the length of the slot 6, a front section 8 that extends rearward from the front rim and merges with the remaining sections, and two Two transverse sections 9, 10 are considered.

  Due to the presence of the slot 6 and the inherent flexibility of the shell material, the transverse section can be moved effectively inward and outward to accommodate small and large head sizes. This is due to the hinge action formed at the tip of the slot 6 between different sections of the shell. The width of the slot is set so as to provide sufficient lateral clearance to move the transverse sections 9, 10 below the top section 7. This is particularly associated with fitting the shell to a small head. In addition, the slot provides a degree of ventilation. This improves comfort when worn over time.

  The shell may further be lined with a compressible material such as foam material (not shown) to improve comfort. Typically this is a 2 to 16 mm thick PU foam adhered to a Velcro strip. The presently preferred thickness is 12 mm.

  In order to provide protection for impacted wearers, a shell can be designed that meets the requirements for impact and penetration for International Safety Standard EN812. FIG. 5 shows the circular impact zone 11 specified in this standard projected on the plan view of the shell 1. As can be seen, the slots 6 are formed so as to avoid as much as possible the adverse effects caused by the presence of these slots so as to avoid these impact zones as much as possible. The slot is positioned as high as possible on the shell to provide maximum ventilation effect. However, an impact zone is required. Due to the provision of the slot 6, the comfort of people of various sizes, for example with a head of 50 to 65, can be considered in one design.

  The cap equipped with the shell of the present invention can be used in a field where the danger is limited to some extent, and the user does not need to wear a clunky helmet.

1 is a perspective view of a protective shell made in accordance with the present invention. It is a side view of the protective shell of FIG. It is a top view of the protective shell of FIG. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the protective shell of FIG. 1. It is a figure similar to FIG. 3 which shows an impact zone.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thin wall structure 2 Rim 3 Front part 4 Rear part 5 Notch 6 Slot 7 Top section 8 Front section 9, 10 Horizontal section

Claims (9)

  A shell having a generally concave shape and having a pair of slots (6) formed as one slot on each side, which is mounted in a head cap to prevent a part of an impact, Open to the rear side (4) of the shell, extending forwards over the majority of the length from the front to the rear of the shell toward the front (3) of the shell in a generally rear-to-front direction, The shell is effectively divided into various regions constituting the concave shape as a whole, and the upper region (7) covers the top of the head when worn and extends forward from the rear to the front when worn. Fits the front region (8) extending over the entire head, and when worn, the two side regions (9, 10) extend from the rear to the front over the entire side head, and the front region ( In the shell that fits 8), each slot (6) A width sufficient to separate the side regions (9, 10) from the upper region (7) and allow each side region to bend in a direction toward and away from the upper region; A shell that changes the size of the shell to accommodate different sized heads.   The shell according to claim 1, wherein the material for the shell is a resin material.   The shell of claim 2, wherein the material for the shell is one of ABS, polypropylene, PVC, or polyethylene.   The shell according to claim 1, which is made by injection molding.   A shell having a generally concave shape and having a pair of slots (6) formed as one slot on each side, which is mounted in a head cap to prevent a part of an impact, Open to the front side (2) of the shell and extending rearwardly towards the rear (4) of the shell in a generally front-to-back direction over the majority of the length from the front to the rear of the shell, The shell is effectively divided into various regions constituting the concave shape as a whole, and the upper region (7) covers the top of the head when worn and extends rearward from the front, and when worn, the occipital region Each slot in the shell that fits the rear region extending across and extends from the front to the rear over the entire temporal region when the two side regions (9, 10) are worn. (6) each side region ( 10) separated from the upper region (7) and wide enough to allow each side region to bend in a direction toward and away from the upper region, thereby A shell that can cope with heads of various sizes by changing the size of the shell.   A protective headgear including a head cap having the shell according to any one of claims 1 to 5 mounted therein.   The protective headgear according to claim 6, wherein the shell is fixed in the head cap using a Velcro (registered trademark) pad, a snap button, or a pocket.   The protective headgear according to claim 6, wherein the shell is lined with a compressible material.   The protective headgear of claim 8, wherein the compressible material includes a foam material.

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