JP7184986B2 - Helmet - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to improving the sealability of a shield in a helmet.

A helmet worn by an occupant of a motorcycle or the like has, as a main portion, a main cap body composed of an outer shell made of a hard synthetic resin and an inner liner made of a shock-absorbing material such as foam. The main cap body of such a helmet has a substantially spherical shape, is open at the bottom for wearing by the wearer, and is provided with an opening window at the front to provide the wearer with a field of vision. The opening window is usually provided with a shield having permeability, and by covering the opening window, it is possible to prevent the inflow of wind and rainwater from the opening window while securing the wearer's field of vision. The shield is connected to a pair of rotating mechanisms projecting from both side surfaces of the main cap body, and is configured to be movable between a position for closing the opening window and a position for opening the opening window.

A so-called full-face helmet has a chin guard under an open window to cover the wearer's chin area, thereby protecting the chin area from blows, impacts, etc., even when the wearer falls, for example. In addition, the chin guard is configured to be movable upward with respect to the main cap body, and the so-called open face without a chin guard, which is desired when driving at low speeds or when stopped, and the safety of the full face type, which is particularly important when driving at high speeds. A so-called flip-up type helmet is also well known, which can be realized by switching the open feeling of the type.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for reliably sealing the visor when it is closed by inserting a gasket into the support frame of the visor of the helmet (corresponding to the shield of the present application). In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a helmet sealing structure in which the gasket at the upper end of the visor is in close contact with the upper part of the opening window, and the lower end of the visor is in close contact with the sealing lip at the upper end of the chin protector (corresponding to the chin guard of the present application). disclosed. Furthermore, in Patent Document 3, a shield screen (corresponding to the shield of the present application) is in close contact with the upper edge of the window (corresponding to the opening window of the present application) and the upper edge of the chin guard plate (corresponding to the chin guard of the present application). , a technique for preventing air leakage is disclosed.

European Patent No. 1847192 U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,465 JP-A-61-132604

In a helmet with a shield, since there is a gap between the shield and the main cap body, there is a problem of water infiltration into the inside of the helmet, especially in bad weather such as a storm or when driving for a long time in the rain. In order to prevent water ingress, there is a structure in which a rubber (hereinafter referred to as "window rubber") is provided around the opening window to seal the gap between the shield and the opening window to close the gap between the shield and the main shell. Adopted. At this time, if water enters the inside of the shield, the wearer's concentration may be impaired and safe driving may be hindered, so it is particularly important to prevent water from entering the wearer's field of vision. Become. Specifically, by moving the left and right ends of the window rubber, which are prone to flooding, away from the opening window, that is, by moving it to the rear of the helmet, even if it is flooded, it will be out of the wearer's field of vision as much as possible. Such ingenuity is applied.

However, on both side surfaces of the main cap body, a pair of rotating mechanisms are provided that are connected to both ends of the shield and allow the shield to move in the vertical direction. Therefore, in order to move the positions of the left and right ends of the window rubber rearward of the helmet, not only the shape of the shield is changed, but also the rotation mechanism itself is moved rearward of the helmet. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of reducing the weight of the helmet and ensuring safety, there is a demand to make the structure of the rotating mechanism as simple as possible. In this way, the movement of the rotating mechanism itself to the rear of the helmet is limited, and the actual situation is that the position of the rotating mechanism on the side surface of the main cap body is limited to some extent. Therefore, it is difficult to make the submerged area completely out of the wearer's field of vision.

Furthermore, since the rotation mechanism is composed of various members, the rotation mechanism has a shape that slightly protrudes from the outer surface of the main cap body when the helmet is viewed from above. Therefore, in the vicinity of the rotating mechanism, a sealing member that is thicker than the window rubber at the center of the opening window is required in order to fill the gap between the main cap and the shield. Such a sealing member is molded integrally with the window rubber, or configured as a separate member connected to the window rubber. However, exposing such a window rubber or sealing member on the surface of the helmet poses a problem that the appearance of the design is spoiled.

In particular, these problems are more pronounced in flip-up helmets in which the chin guard can be moved relative to the main cap body. In a flip-up type helmet, the chin guard is also connected to a rotating mechanism so that the chin guard can move vertically with respect to the main cap body. That is, since the thickness of the chin guard is added, the protrusion of the rotating mechanism is further increased, and the sealing member for that purpose is also bulkier. If the sealing member becomes bulky, the adhesion strength to the shield is lowered, so the water intrusion prevention function is lowered. Therefore, an additional sealing member is added to compensate for the sealing member around the rotating mechanism. However, it is difficult to add a sealing member that does not interfere with the movement of the shield or chin guard.

In flip-up type helmets, in order to overcome the above weaknesses, by moving both ends of the window rubber further to the rear of the helmet, even if water enters, it will be out of the wearer's field of vision. A structure is adopted for escaping. However, since a rotation mechanism for flipping up the chin guard and a rotation mechanism for raising and lowering the shield are provided on both sides of the main cap body, compared to a general full face helmet, The positional restriction of the rotation mechanism is more strongly received. In addition, if the rotation mechanism is positioned rearward, the shield must also be extended rearward, resulting in a large and heavy shield. As described above, the flip-up type helmet tends to spoil the aesthetic appearance of the design, making it difficult to reliably eliminate water leakage.

Further, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, contact between the shield and the helmet is achieved by providing a gasket between the shield and the helmet. weight increases. Also, there is a risk that a gap will form between the gasket and the helmet. In addition, the techniques described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 can ensure close contact between the shield and the window rubber at the center of the opening window, but completely prevent water from leaking from the periphery of the rotation mechanism into the inside of the helmet. The problem is that it cannot be prevented.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is intended to improve the sealing performance between the main cap body and the shield in the helmet, and to prevent the inside of the helmet from entering in bad weather even in various types of helmets. To provide a helmet capable of preventing water intrusion.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the helmet of the present invention includes a main cap body having a substantially spherical opening window that opens at least forward in order to provide a wearer with a field of vision, and a main cap body that protrudes from both side surfaces of the main cap body. a shield that is connected to a pair of rotating mechanisms provided in the shield and is movable between a closed position that is fixed to close the opening window and an open position that is fixed to open the opening window;
When the shield is in the closed position, the gap between the upper side of the shield and the upper side of the opening window of the main cap body is sealed from the vicinity of one of the rotating mechanisms to the vicinity of the other rotating mechanism. and a sealing member for
The upper end portion of the shield is bent toward the main cap body at least near the left and right ends of the seal member, and is in contact with the seal member when the shield is in the closed position. It is characterized by

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a helmet capable of improving the sealability between the main cap body and the shield of the helmet and preventing water from entering the inside of the helmet during bad weather even in various types of helmets. .

1 is a perspective view of a helmet according to an embodiment of the invention with the shield closed and the chin guard down; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a helmet according to an embodiment of the invention with the shield open and the chin guard down; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a helmet according to an embodiment of the invention with the shield open and the chin guard up; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing section xx of FIG. 1 through a helmet according to an embodiment of the invention when the shield is closed and the chin guard is down; Fig. 3 is a left side view of the helmet of an embodiment of the invention with the shield closed and the chin guard down; Fig. 10 is a right side view showing the positional relationship between the cover member and the seal member when the chin guard is on the bottom; FIG. 5B is a right side view corresponding to FIG. 5B showing the positional relationship between the cover member and the seal member when the chin guard begins to open from bottom to top; FIG. 5C is a right side view corresponding to FIG. 5B showing the positional relationship between the cover member and the seal member when the chin guard is on top; It is a schematic diagram of the cross section when cutting the p part of FIG. 5A in the front-back direction in the helmet of embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the helmet of the embodiment of the present invention, taken along the left-right direction at the q portion of FIG. 5A.

A helmet according to the present invention has a main cap body provided with an opening window that provides visibility to a rider of a motorcycle or the like wearing the helmet, and a shield connected to the main cap body and opening and closing the opening window. In order to prevent water from entering through the gap between the opening window and the shield even when riding a motorcycle for a long time wearing a helmet in bad weather such as a storm, the opening window and the shield are designed to prevent water from entering. The gap between is sealed by a sealing member. At this time, even if water enters the inside of the helmet, the right and left ends of the sealing member are moved to the rear of the helmet as much as possible so that the water does not enter the wearer's field of vision.

A pair of rotating mechanisms for opening and closing the shield, which are provided on both sides of the main cap, hold the shield and rotate it around a rotation axis that is substantially perpendicular to the side of the main cap. A part called a shield base is built in. Therefore, the pair of rotating mechanisms protrude from the left and right side surfaces of the main cap body. In order to hold the shield with appropriate strength, the rotating mechanism must have a certain thickness, and the position of the rotating mechanism is also determined within a predetermined range.

Conventionally, the left and right ends of the sealing member are arranged closer to the front of the helmet than the rotating mechanism. Since the rotating mechanism has a certain thickness, it is necessary to raise the left and right ends of the seal member closer to the rotating mechanism from the side surface of the main cap body. As the amount of rising of the seal member increases, the adhesion strength to the shield decreases, so the water intrusion prevention function deteriorates. Therefore, another sealing member is added to the left and right ends of the sealing member to compensate for the deterioration of the water intrusion prevention function.

However, if the left and right ends of the sealing member are moved further rearward, it interferes with the opening and closing movement of the shield, so a separate sealing member cannot be added. Therefore, in this embodiment, instead of adding separate sealing members to the left and right ends of the sealing member, the upper side end portion of the shield is bent toward the main cap body. As a result, the degree of close contact between the shield and the main cap body is increased, and the gap is eliminated. Furthermore, since the air resistance at the upper end of the shield is reduced, it is possible to prevent water from entering the inside of the helmet, improve aerodynamic performance, and reduce wind noise.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of a helmet according to an embodiment of the invention with the shield closed and the chin guard down; FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a helmet 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is formed by connecting a substantially spherical main cap body 10 and a shield 20 . The lower part of the main cap body 10 is an opening for the wearer to insert the head and put on, and an opening window 11 is provided in front of the main cap body 10 . The wearer can see forward through the opening window 11 .

The shield 20 is movable between a closed position fixed to close the opening window 11 and an open position fixed to open the opening window 11 by a pair of rotating mechanisms 12a and 12b. The shield 20 can be made of a transparent resin material such as polycarbonate.

Rotating mechanisms 12 a and 12 b are provided on both side surfaces of the main cap body 10 . In FIG. 1, the rotating mechanism 12a on the left side is a shield base (not shown) or the like that is connected to the shield 20 and rotates the shield 20 around a rotation axis substantially orthogonal to the left side of the main cap body 10. Contains parts. Although not shown, a rotating mechanism 12b is also provided on the right side of the main cap body. Pivoting mechanisms 12a and 12b protrude from both sides of the main cap body 10 for the components contained therein.

A chin guard 13 is provided in front of the main cap body 10 and below the opening window 11 . The chin guard 13 covers the wearer's chin area and protects the wearer's chin area from knocks, impacts, etc., for example, in the event of a fall. The chin guard 13 is formed separately from the main cap body 10, is connected to pivot mechanisms 12a and 12b, pivots relative to the main cap body 10, and is fixed at a first position below the upper edge 111 of the opening window. and a second position fixed above the upper edge 111 of the opening window. The axis of rotation of the chin guard 13 does not have to coincide with the axis of rotation of the shield 20 . If the axis of rotation of the chin guard 13 does not coincide with the axis of rotation of the shield 20, the chin guard 13 can be connected to a separate part from the shield base to which the shield 20 is connected.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the helmet of an embodiment of the invention with the shield open and the chin guard down. Since the configuration of each portion of the helmet 1 is the same as that of FIG. 1 except that the shield 20 is in the open position, description of each portion will be omitted.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the helmet of an embodiment of the invention with the shield open and the chin guard up. 1 except that the shield 20 is at the open position and the chin guard 13 is at the top (second position), the description of each part will be omitted.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing section xx of FIG. 1 of a helmet according to an embodiment of the invention when the shield is closed and the chin guard is down. The xx section is a substantially horizontal plane passing through the vicinity of the upper side 111 of the opening window.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the main cap body 10 is provided with a sealing member 14 that seals the gap between the main cap body 10 and the shield 20 . The seal member 14 is provided around the opening window 11 and seals the gap between the shield 20 and the opening window 11 . The location where the seal member 14 is provided is the position of the main cap body 10 corresponding to the upper side of the shield 20 when the shield 20 is in the closed position, near the upper side 111 of the opening window 11 . Further, the seal member 14 is provided so as to be able to seal from the vicinity of the left rotating mechanism 12a to the vicinity of the right rotating mechanism 12b. Since the rotating mechanisms 12a and 12b protrude from both side surfaces of the main cap body 10 as described above, the seal member 14 is thicker near the left end 141a and right end 141b than near the central portion. At this time, if the left end 141a and the right end 141b of the sealing member 14 are configured to be located on the rear side of the left and right ends of the opening window 11, it is possible to keep the area with a relatively high risk of flooding away from the occupant's field of vision, which is preferable. be. The sealing member 14 can be configured as an integral window rubber made of a material having elasticity such as rubber, or can be configured as a window rubber and a sealing member which are continuously formed of a material having elasticity such as rubber.

Cover members 15a and 15b are provided around the rear of the rotating mechanisms 12a and 12b of the main cap body 10, respectively. By connecting the cover members 15a and 15b to the left end 141a and the right end 141b of the seal member 14, the gap between the main cap body 10 and the left and right rear portions of the shield 20 is closed to prevent water intrusion, and the rotation mechanism 12a. and 12b can be protected from impact. The cover members 15a and 15b can be formed of resin or the like as separate members from the main cap body 10 and the shield 20. As shown in FIG. Alternatively, the cover members 15a and 15b may be formed by protruding the main cap body 10 around the rotating mechanisms 12a and 12b. The cover members 15a and 15b are provided to cover at least the rear sides of the rotating mechanisms 12a and 15b. In this manner, the surroundings of the rotating mechanisms 12a and 12b are sealed by the seal member 14 and the cover members 15a and 15b.

FIG. 5A is a left side view of the helmet of an embodiment of the invention with the shield closed and the chin guard down. As shown in FIG. 5A, the cover member 15a is provided so as to cover the rear side of the rotating mechanism 12a. At this time, if the top surface of the seal member 14 and the top surface of the cover member 15a form a continuous surface, the shield 20 can also be configured with a continuous surface corresponding to this shape, so that there is little difference in level and the effect of preventing water intrusion is enhanced. It is excellent in aesthetics and easy to manufacture, which is preferable.

Figure 5B is a right side view of the helmet of an embodiment of the invention with the chin guard down. As shown in this figure, the right cover member 15b is attached to the chin guard 13 in this embodiment. Although not shown, the left cover member 15a is attached to the chin guard 13 in the same manner as the right cover member 15b. When the chin guard 13 is positioned downward, the upper end 151b of the cover member 15b and the right end 141b of the seal member 14 overlap. Although not shown, the upper end 151a of the left cover member 15a and the left end 141a of the seal member 14 overlap each other.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D, the chin guard 13 is opened from bottom to top, so that the upper end 151b of the cover member 15b and the right end 141b of the seal member 14 are separated from each other, and the left cover member 15a is opened. The upper end 151a of the sealing member 14 and the right end 141a of the sealing member 14 are separated from each other. Note that the illustration of the shield 20 is omitted in FIGS. 5B to 5D.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the helmet of the embodiment of the present invention, taken along the front-rear direction at the portion p in FIG. 5A. As shown in FIG. 6, a seal member 14 is provided in the vicinity of the upper side 111 of the opening window 11 of the main cap body 10 . The shield 20 is bent at its upper side so as to approach the main cap body 10 and contacts the seal member 14 at the bent portion.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the helmet according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along the left-right direction at the portion q in FIG. 5A. As shown in FIG. 7, the upper side of the shield 20 is bent so as to approach the main cap body 10, and the bent portion contacts the left end 141a of the seal member 14 provided on the main cap body 10. As shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the chin guard 13 is movably connected to a first fixed position below the aperture window and a second position fixed above the aperture window by a pair of rotating mechanisms. However, the configuration of the chin guard is not limited to this, and the chin guard 13 may be molded integrally with the main cap body 10 so as not to move. Furthermore, the helmet may be configured only with the main cap body 10 and the shield 20 without the chin guard 13 .

As described above, according to the present invention, the bending of the shield presses the sealing member and brings it into close contact with the sealing member. As a result, even in various types of helmets, it is possible to prevent water from leaking into the helmet during bad weather, which is an effect that cannot be obtained with conventional techniques. Furthermore, it is possible to obtain the effect of improving aerodynamic performance and reducing wind noise.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments. That is, other embodiments, additions, changes, deletions, etc., can be changed within the range that a person skilled in the art can conceive, and as long as the effects of the present invention can be achieved in any aspect, it is within the scope of the present invention. It is included.

1 helmet 10 main cap body 11 opening window 111 upper side of opening window 12a, b rotation mechanism on left side and right side 13 chin guard 14 sealing member 141a, b left end and right end of sealing member 15a, b left and right side cover member 20 shield

Claims (4)

It is connected to a main cap body having a substantially spherical shape and having an opening window that opens at least forward to provide visibility to the wearer, and a pair of rotating mechanisms provided protruding from both side surfaces of the main cap body, a shield movable between a closed position fixed to block the open window and an open position fixed to open the open window;
When the shield is in the closed position, the gap between the upper side of the shield and the upper side of the opening window of the main cap body is sealed from the vicinity of one of the rotating mechanisms to the vicinity of the other rotating mechanism. and a sealing member for
The upper end portion of the shield is bent toward the main cap body at least near the left and right ends of the seal member, and is in contact with the seal member when the shield is in the closed position. cage,
The cover member further comprises a cover member that covers at least the rear side of the rotating mechanism and that is connected to the left and right ends of the seal member to block the space between the main cap body and the left and right rear portions of the shield. Helmet to do. A full-face helmet having a chin guard under the opening window,
2. The helmet according to claim 1, wherein said cover member is constructed integrally with said chin guard. Continuing with a chin guard connected to the pivoting mechanism and movable between a first position secured below the top of the window and a second position secured above the top of the window; 2. Helmet according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover member is formed. 3. An upper surface of said sealing member and an upper surface of said cover member form a continuous surface at left and right ends of said sealing member when said chin guard is in said first position. helmet described in .

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