KR102600337B1 - Connection assembly for adjoining a peripheral device to a host wearable device - Google Patents

Abstract

A connection assembly for adjoining a peripheral device to a host wearable device. An example of an assembly could be a hard hat with accessory connection slots that allow for both mechanical and electrical connection of various accessories, such as earphones, video displays, headlamps, and welder's face shields.

Description

Connection assembly for adjoining a peripheral device to a host wearable device

This application is a divisional applicant for U.S. Patent No. 9,013,297, filed October 17, 2014, a divisional applicant for U.S. Patent No. 9,177,458, and a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application No. 14/883,157, filed October 14, 2015 It is an application.

The present invention relates generally to the field of 'smart' safety equipment. In particular, the present invention relates to an accessory system for 'smart' safety devices that not only provides a mechanical connection mechanism between peripheral devices and a host wearable device, but also enables exchange of data and power.

In today's manufacturing environment, workers often use a variety of accessories, such as earphones, face shields, and headlamps, that are attached to equipment worn on their heads or to other clothing or pieces of personal protective equipment. Current accessory attachment systems only provide a means to mechanically connect peripherals and host devices. As personal protective equipment becomes 'smart', there is a need for simple, universal solutions that enable both mechanical and electrical connectivity of the devices.

The connection assembly adjacent the peripheral device to the host wearable device. The connection assembly includes a housing secured to the host wearable device. The housing defines the receiving section. Electrical contacts extend through the housing and into a portion of the host wearable device.

The advantages of the present invention will be readily understood as will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
1 is a side view of one embodiment of the invention mounted on a wearable device;
Figure 2 is a top view of the wearable device of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a bottom perspective view of the wearable device;
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in Figure 1;
Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a wearable device with an earphone accessory;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a wearable device with an earphone accessory fixed therein;
Figure 7 is a partially cut side cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 in Figure 1;
Figure 8 is a partially cut side cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 in Figure 5;
Figure 9 is a partially cut side cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 in Figure 6;
Figure 10 is a perspective view of a wearable device with two peripheral devices fixed therein in a stacked relationship; and
Figure 11 is an exploded perspective view of a wearable device in which the second peripheral device is removed from the first peripheral device.

Workers use connection assemblies to mechanically and electrically attach various peripheral devices (e.g., headphones, welder shields, video displays, etc.) to the host wearable device. The connection assembly is designed in a way to accommodate existing non-electrical accessories. In addition to the mechanical attachment mechanism, the assembly includes circuitry that provides a data interface and a power interface. These assemblies will enable data exchange (including audio and video signals) between the host wearable device and attached 'smart' peripherals, as well as provide power to the devices. Accessory connectors can be designed in a way to allow multiple accessories connected to a single host port simultaneously (hereinafter referred to as “stacks”). Data and power interfaces may be compatible with industry standards for electrical connectors and communication protocols such as USB, UART, PBI, FireWire, etc. Because the host wearable device may be worn in a volatile environment, peripheral devices must be secured and electrically connected to the host wearable device using spark suppression connections.

1-3, one embodiment of the present invention is generally indicated by 20. The present invention is a connection assembly (20). The connection assembly 20 is secured to the host wearable device, generally shown at 22. In this embodiment, the host wearable device 22 is a piece of protective headwear commonly referred to as a hard hat. Those skilled in the art should understand that host wearable device 22 may be a vest, jacket, collar, gloves, or any other device configured to be worn by an operator.

The safety helmet 22 has a hard shell 24. The shell 24 is designed to cover the head of an adult. Shell 24 includes a perimeter 26 defining an opening 28 (best seen in Figure 3). The hard hat 22 typically includes a harness 30 so that the hard hat 22 does not have to sit directly on the operator's head. In the depicted embodiment, the harness 30 has an adjuster that will allow the operator to adjust it to the appropriate size so that the hard hat 22 fits comfortably on the head and is tight enough that the hard hat 22 can be easily removed. 32).

Hard hat 22 also includes a sunshade 34 to help protect the face of the operator wearing hard hat 22. Electronics 36 may be secured to sunshade 34 or any other portion of hard hat 22 . Electronic devices 36 connected to hard hats are the subject of U.S. Patents Nos. 9,013,297 and 9,177,458, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, there are two connection assemblies 20 that are secured to the host wearable device (hard hat) 22. These two connection assemblies 20 are diametrically opposed to each other. In other embodiments, more or fewer connection assemblies 20 may be secured to hard hat 22, and the use of more or fewer will depend on the environment in which hard hat 22 is being deployed.

Although two connection assemblies 20 are shown as being secured to hard hat 22, the remainder of this discussion will discuss only one connection assembly 20 as two operating identically. Although some embodiments may have different connection assemblies 20 with different configurations, each connection assembly 20 will operate in the same way.

The connection assembly 20 includes a housing 40 secured to the hard hat 22 . More specifically, the housing 40 is fixed to the outer shell 24 of the hard hat 22. Housing 40, like shell 24, is made of a hard material. In many cases, housing 40 will be formed integrally with shell 24.

The housing 40 defines the receiving unit 42. The receiving unit 42 is designed to receive a peripheral adapter 44, which will be described in more detail later. Receiver 42 is a generally rectangular tube with side walls 46 extending vertically over a portion of shell 24. The receiver 42 has upper 48 and lower 50 perforations. Peripheral adapter 44 may be designed to be inserted into either opening 48 or 50. In an embodiment not shown, the receiver 42 may have a portion of the side wall 46 removed for the purpose of securing an alternatively designed peripheral device or for cleaning the interior of the receiver 42. Side wall 46 includes an inner side wall surface 52, which will be discussed in greater detail later. Two guides 53 and 55 are used to guide the peripheral adapter 44 to the receiving unit 42. The guides 53 and 55 may be simple side walls, as shown in the figures, or may include grooves.

Connection assembly 20 also includes electrical contacts 54. Electrical contacts 54 extend along at least one inner wall 56 of receiver 42 . Electrical contacts 54 may include a plurality or set of contacts 54, 54', 54'' (as shown in Figure 1), thereby allowing multiple functions to be performed through a single contact "point." As an example, if electrical contact 54 were a single contact, it may simply provide voltage at that point. If the electrical contacts are actually a set of contacts 54, 54', 54'', each may provide voltage, data signals, and audio/video signals, respectively. Depending on the protocol and data compression used, more than one type of data may be transmitted through a single point of contact. Additional electrical contacts may be integrated into the guides 53, 55, depending on data capacity requirements.

Electrical contact 54 is electrically connected to conductor 58 , which in turn is electrically connected to control unit 60 . Control unit 60 may extend along the front of hard hat 22, as shown in Figure 6, or may be housed within electronics housing 62, as shown in Figure 4, and has electrical contacts. 54 , as well as supply power and data (from a battery (not shown) housed within battery housing 63 ) to and from any electronic devices 36 embedded in the host wearable device 22 . Control unit 60 is described in more detail in the above US patent.

5, 6, 8, and 9, peripheral devices are generally indicated by 64. In these figures, the peripheral device 64 is a pair of earplugs (only two are shown in FIGS. 10 and 11). Earplugs 64 protect the worker's ears by covering or absorbing noise generated in the environment. The earplugs 64 have the ability to transmit information to the operator via an audio signal through the speaker 66 (shown in dashed lines), and they have the ability to sense information if the earplugs 64 are equipped. there is. For example, earmuffs 64 may have an ambient light sensor or an ambient temperature sensor attached thereto. Additionally, the body temperature is fixed to the earmuffs so that the worker's temperature can be measured.

Communication of these signals to and from an electrical device (graphically represented as microphone 66) mounted on the earplugs 64 is accomplished via a peripheral adapter 44. The peripheral adapter 44 includes adapter contacts 68 which are connected via a suitable wire harness to the electrical device 66 hosted by the earplugs 64 . In Figure 11, three adapter contacts 68, 68', 68'' are shown for electrical connection to the three electrical contacts 54, 54', 54'' of Figure 1. Peripheral adapter 44 is designed to be inserted into connection assembly 20. Peripheral adapter 44 extends down to the distal end 70. Peripheral adapter 44 may be shorter than the length of receiver 42 and, as such, may extend beyond receiver 42 when fully inserted. Peripheral adapter 44 has an outer surface 72 to which adapter contacts 68 are secured. As described above, adapter contacts 68, 68', 68 are secured to the outer surface 72 which makes electrical contact with a set of electrical contacts 54, 54', 54'' through press fit physical contact. '').

Peripheral adapter 44 also includes a deflection surface 74. The deflection surface 74 abuts the inner wall surface 52 of the receiving unit 42. Deflection surface 74 forces adapter contact(s) 68 to engage electrical contact(s) 54. Through friction, deflection surface 74 locks peripheral adapter 44 into connection assembly 20. This prevents the peripheral device 64 from being disconnected from the hard hat 22 . In an alternative embodiment, a physically separate locking surface or relief is used to actively prevent the peripheral adapter 44 from being pulled out of the receiver 42.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the host wearable device 22 is shown as having a second peripheral device 80 . The second peripheral device 80 is a convertible face protection shield with an augmented reality display. A worker using the host wearable device 22 may move the convertible face protection shield 80 to and from its use location depending on the task for which it is used. In Figure 10, the convertible face shield 80 is not in its use position; It is in a retreat position.

Referring to Figure 11, the second peripheral device 80 includes a peripheral control unit 90, which may include a power converter, if desired. Peripheral control unit 90 is in communication with control unit 60 through a set of adapter contacts 92 that allow power to be received and data to be transmitted and received. In one embodiment, the convertible face shield 80 includes a screen device 94 capable of transmitting video in a holographic or projection manner. In another example, screen device 94 may include a coating on exterior surface 82. It could be a transparent "touch screen" film that would allow operators greater freedom of communication and two-way transmission of data. The second peripheral 80 may be stacked within the first set of peripherals 64 using a slot 96 designed to receive and electrically connect the second peripheral 80 therein. When the second peripheral device 80 is not in use, a lid (not shown) may be fixed over the slot 96 to protect the components within the slot 96 from damage.

The second peripheral device (80) is stacked relative to the first peripheral device (64) in such a way that the adapter contacts of the second peripheral device (80) extend along the peripheral adapter received by the first peripheral device (64), An electrical connection is provided from the second peripheral device 80 to the host wearable device 22 via a connection assembly 20 .

It should not be construed in a limiting way, and the list of potential peripheral devices may include: headphones, augmented reality displays, face shields, welder visors, flashlights, visible lights, various biometric and environmental sensors, and wireless communication devices ( (including cell phones), microphone, CB radio, camera, gas mask, chin strap, earplugs, safety glasses, liners, etc.

The invention has been described in an exemplary manner. It should be understood that the terminology used is intended to be descriptive rather than limiting.

Many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Accordingly, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

Claims (12)

A connection assembly for connecting a peripheral device to a host wearable device, the connection assembly comprising:
A housing secured to the host wearable device, the housing including a receptacle defining an aperture, the aperture having a periphery around which a portion of the peripheral device extends through the aperture, the receiver comprising: the housing comprising a side wall extending around the entire perimeter of the perforation; and
A connection assembly comprising electrical contacts extending through the housing and into a portion of the host wearable device. The connection assembly of claim 1, comprising a biasing surface disposed along a portion of the housing to secure the peripheral device to the housing. delete The connection assembly of claim 1 , comprising a second contact extending through a portion of the host wearable device and causing the receiver to provide power to the peripheral device. The connection assembly of claim 1, wherein the receiving portion includes an open end allowing access to the electrical contact. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving unit has a deflection surface that forces a portion of the peripheral device to contact the electrical contact while maintaining a closed circuit between the electrical contact and the peripheral device as long as the peripheral device is within the receiving unit. Including, a connection assembly. 7. The connection assembly of claim 6, wherein the deflection surface extends at an angle relative to the electrical contact. The connection assembly of claim 4, wherein the electrical contact is a data interface. The connection assembly of claim 8, wherein the second contact is a power interface. With hard hat assembly,
a base ring surrounding the user's head;
a cover extending upward from the base ring to cover and protect the head;
A connector for abutting a peripheral device with the hard hat assembly, the connector including a housing secured to the base ring, the housing having a receiving portion having four side walls creating perforations, and locking the peripheral device to the receiving device. the connector defining a deflection surface disposed within the perforation; and
A hard hat assembly, comprising electrical contacts extending through a portion of the hard hat assembly. 11. The hard hat assembly of claim 10, wherein the connector includes a plurality of electrical contacts allowing a plurality of peripheral devices to be secured therein. 12. The hard hat assembly of claim 11, comprising a control unit for controlling a plurality of peripheral devices secured to the hard hat assembly.

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