US20090222978A1

US20090222978A1 - Buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets

Info

Publication number: US20090222978A1
Application number: US12/073,580
Authority: US
Inventors: Kenneth Fang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-03-07
Filing date: 2008-03-07
Publication date: 2009-09-10

Abstract

A buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets is adapted for being installed in a safety helmet with a buckle strap. The buckle strap adjustment assembly includes two positioning elements and a fixing element. One end of each positioning element is fixed in the safety helmet and the fixing element is detachably combined with the other end of each positioning element. The fixing element has a body portion which has first through-holes in each of two sides thereof for the buckle strap passing through. Basing on the above structure, the present invention can effectively avoid that the safety helmet slips up and down.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a buckle strap adjustment assembly, especially to a buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets.
2. Description of Related Art
For safely riding bicycles, users wear special safety helmets for bicycles. A conventional safety helmet generally includes a buckle strap for fixing the safety helmet on a user's head. However, conventional buckle straps cannot effectively fix safety helmets on users' heads so that the safety helmets easily moves back and forth or from side to side and always aren't located in a proper position, which causes that the safety helmets cannot be worn comfortably and safely.
Accordingly, there are all kinds of buckle strap lacing and locking assemblies on the market, which can prevent safety helmets from moving back and forth or from side to side. Furthermore, some buckle strap lacing and locking assemblies have an adjustment function so that users can adjust tightness/looseness of the buckle strap lacing and locking assemblies to ensure that safety helmets fit users' heads and provide comfort and safety for users.
Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a conventional buckle strap lacing and locking assembly 700 a for safety helmets includes a fixing piece 71 a, an annular strap 72 a and two adjustment elements 73 a. The fixing piece 71 a has through-hole portions 771 a arranged in a lower portion and a higher portion of each of left and right sides thereof, which are shaped like elongated slots, and a serrated portion 712 a protruding from a central thereof.
The annular strap 72 a is mounted in the safety helmet 800 a, and two adjustment elements 73 a are disposed on two rear end portions of the annular strap 72 a and engage with the serrated portion 712 a of the fixing piece 71 a. Basing on the engagement between the two adjustment elements 73 a and the serrated portion 712 a, the buckle strap lacing and locking assembly can be used to adjust tightness/looseness of the annular strap 72 a. A buckle strap 810 a of the safety helmet 800 a has a rear strap 812 a. One end of the rear strap 812 a passes through two of the through-hole portions 771 a of the fixing piece 71 a to be directly fixed on a rear portion of the safety helmet 800 a, and the other end of the rear strap 812 a passes through the other through-hole portions 771 a of the fixing piece 71 a to be fixed. When users need to adjust tightness/looseness of the annular strap 72 a up and down, users can move the fixing piece 71 a up and down along the rear strap 812 a to achieve the adjustment object.
However, during use, the buckle strap lacing and locking assembly 700 a will become loose after adjusted. Because two rear straps 812 a directly pass through the through-hole portions 711 a of the fixing piece 71 a and then are directly fixed on the safety helmet 800 a, the fixing piece 71 a easily directly slips up and down along the two rear straps 812 a and cannot be effectively located, which causes that the safety helmet 800 a cannot be firmly attached to a user's head to protect the user.
Hence, the inventors of the present invention believe that the shortcomings described above are able to be improved and finally suggest the present invention which is of a reasonable design and is an effective improvement based on deep research and thought.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets which can effectively avoid that safety helmets slip up and down.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, a buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets in accordance with the present invention is provided. The buckle strap adjustment assembly which is installed in a safety helmet with a buckle strap includes two positioning elements, one end of each positioning element fixed in the safety helmet; and a fixing element detachably combined with the other end of each positioning element; wherein the fixing element has a body portion which has two left-to-right adjacent first through-holes in each of two sides thereof for the buckle strap passing through.
The efficacy of the present invention is as follows: the fixing element of the present invention has the body portion which the buckle strap can pass through, so that the present invention can effectively and directly fix the buckle strap, and comparing with the prior art, the present invention can effectively avoid that the safety helmet slips up and down during use to ensure that the safety helmet can be firmly attached to a user's head.
To further understand features and technical contents of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings related the present invention. However, the drawings are only to be used as references and explanations, not to limit the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional buckle strap lacing and locking assembly for safety helmets;

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the conventional buckle strap lacing and locking assembly and a safety helmet;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a buckle strap adjustment assembly according to the present invention and a safety helmet;

FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of the buckle strap adjustment assembly according to the present invention and the safety helmet;

FIG. 5 is an assembled perspective view of another embodiment of the buckle strap adjustment assembly according to the present invention and the safety helmet; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the buckle strap adjustment assembly according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a buckle strap adjustment assembly 100 for safety helmets according to the present invention is adapted for being installed in a safety helmet 800 with a buckle strap 810. The safety helmet 800 is a special helmet for bicycles. The buckle strap adjustment assembly 100 includes two positioning elements 10 and a fixing element 20.
Please refer to FIG. 3, each positioning element 10 is made of a material with slight elasticity, such as plastic and the like. Each positioning element 10 includes a sheet portion 11, an embedded portion 12 protruding out of an end portion (top end portion) of the sheet portion 11, and a first fastening portion 13 formed in the other end portion (bottom end portion) of the sheet portion 11, relative to the embedded portion 12, which may consist of a plurality of fastening holes.
The fixing element 20 also is made of a material with slight elasticity, such as plastic and the like. The fixing element 20 includes a body portion 21 and two protruding pieces 22 extending out of a top lateral edge of the body portion 21. Each protruding piece 22 has a second fastening portion 23 formed thereon, which may consist of a plurality of fastening pins. Basing on ergonomics, the body portion 21 is designed to have a right side and a left side slightly bent frontward, thereby forming a flat sheetlike body in curved shape. Two left-to-right adjacent first through- holes 24 a, 24 b are formed in a lower edge of each of the right and the left sides of the body portion 21.
The buckle strap adjustment assembly 100 of the present invention is mounted in a rear side of the safety helmet 800. One end of each positioning element 10 is fixed in the rear side of the safety helmet 800, and the other end may be detachably combined with the fixing element 20. In the embodiment of the present invention, the embedded portions 12 of the two positioning elements 10 may be respectively embedded in the safety helmet 800 in advance so as to fix the two positioning elements 10 in the safety helmet 800, and the fixing element 20 is combined with the two positioning elements 10 through an engagement between the two second fastening portions 23 of the protruding pieces 22 and the two first fastening portions 13 of the positioning elements 10, that is, each fastening pin may be fastened into a corresponding fastening hole to be located. The first fastening portions 13 and the second fastening portions 23 may have different structures from that of the embodiment to achieve the above object, for example, the first fastening portions 13 may be designed to be a plurality of fastening pins, and the second fastening portions 23 may be designed to be a plurality of fastening holes engaging with the fastening pins.
Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the buckle strap 810 has two front straps 811 and at least one rear strap 812. After passing through the safety helmet 800, each of the two front straps 811 may be connected with a locating element (not shown) which may abut against the safety helmet 800, so that the two front straps may be fixed on a frond end portion of the safety helmet 800. The rear strap 812 of the buckle strap 810 passes through the first through- holes 24 a, 24 b of the body portion 21 of the fixing element 20 to be firmly combined in the safety helmet 800. Further, fastening pieces 813, 814 are disposed between the two front straps 811 and the rear strap 812 to fasten each other.
Accordingly, the fixing element 20 and the two positioning elements 10 of the present invention may be mounted at a rear portion inside the safety helmet 800, the two front straps 811 of the buckle strap 810 may be fixed at a front portion inside the safety helmet 800, and the rear strap 812 may be mounted on the fixing element 20 via passing through the first through- holes 24 a, 24 b, so that the body portion 21 of the fixing element 20 can elastically abut against a back portion of a user's head when the user wears the safety helmet 800. Thus, the fixing element 20 and the two front straps 811 may form a three-site fixation structure in the safety helmet 800 to prevent the safety helmet 800 from moving back and forth or from side to side and provide optimum comfort and safety for the user. Additionally, since the rear strap 812 of the buckle strap 810 directly passes through the first through- holes 24 a, 24 b of the fixing element 20, when the user needs to adjust the buckle strap 810 up and down, he may directly draw and move the rear strap 812 to adjust the buckle strap 810 in a proper position. Thereby the safety helmet 800 can be adjusted to fit the user's head and firmly worn by the user to avoid moving up and down.
Please refer to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, another embodiment of the present invention is shown. The difference between this embodiment and the above embodiment is that this embodiment may further include an annular strap 30 and a lacing and locking mechanism 40.
The annular strap 30 is made of a material with slight elasticity, such as plastic and the like. The annular strap 30 includes two end portions 31 a, 31 b, and each end portion 31 a or 31 b forms a slot 32 a or 32 b in an extremity thereof. The slot 32 a has a serrated portion 33 a on one inner wall thereof, the slot 32 b has a serrated portion 33 b on one inner wall thereof, and the two serrated portions 33 a, 33 b correspond to each other.
The lacing and locking mechanism 40 includes a base 41, a driven element 42, an adjustment wheel 43, a connecting board 44 and a fixing assembly 45, and may further include a pair of panels 46. A circular groove 411 is defined in a center of the base 41, and a plurality of continuous locking teeth 412 protrude from a side wall of the circular groove 411 and a pivot pin 413 protrudes out of a bottom wall of the circular groove 411. The base 41 has a second through-hole 414 extending through the pivot pin 413 and the base 41, and two openings 415 connected with the circular groove 411.
The driven element 42 includes a main body 421, a gear 422 protruding out of an inner end surface of the main body 421, a plurality of elastic arms 423 respectively extending from lateral edges of the main body 421, and a plurality of locking portions 424 respectively formed on outside edges of the elastic arms 423. Furthermore, the driven element 42 further includes a pivot hole 425 which extends through the main body 421 and the gear 422. An end of each elastic arm 423 is bent and extended towards the main body 421 to form a blocking arm 426.
The adjustment wheel 43 is a circular wheel of which an outer edge has a slip prevention surface 431 with concavities and convexities in order that the adjustment wheel 43 can be driven to turn. The adjustment wheel 43 has a shaft portion 432 and a plurality of guiding pins 433 which protrude from a center of an inner concave surface of the adjustment wheel 43. A locking hole 434 is defined in a center of the shaft portion 432. The connecting board 44 has a third through-hole 441. The fixing assembly 45 may be a screw. The two panels 46 may have particular characters, patterns or symbols formed thereon.
The annular strap 30 is mounted in the safety helmet 800, the two end portions 31 a, 31 b of the annular strap 30 corresponding to the fixing element 20. The connecting board 44 is located on the fixing element 20, and further, the connecting board 44 may be integrally connected with the body portion 21 of the fixing element 20. Of course, the connecting board 44 and the fixing element 20 also may be separate components, and the connecting board 44 is mounted on the body portion 21 of the fixing element 20 via joint etc.
The two end portions 31 a, 31 b of the annular strap 30 respectively pass through the two openings 415 of the base 41 and overlap each other in the base 41, and the pivot pin 413 of the base 41 passes through the slots 32 a, 32 b in the two end portions 31 a, 31 b. The driven element 42 is received in the circular groove 411 of the base 41, and the pivot pin 413 of the base 41 pivotally engages with the pivot hole 425 of the driven element 42. At the same time, the locking portion 424 on each elastic arm 423 abuts against a corresponding locking tooth 412, and the gear 422 extends into the slots 32 a, 32 b of the two end portions 31 a, 31 b and engages with the two serrated portions 33 a, 33 b.
The shaft portion 432 of the adjustment wheel 43 is pivotally inserted into the second through-hole 414 of the base 41, so that the adjustment wheel 43 is pivotally mounted on the base 41. Each guiding pin 433 of the adjustment wheel 43 is inserted into a corresponding space defined by an corresponding elastic arm 423, a corresponding blocking arm 426 and the main body 421 and may move in the corresponding space, thereby the adjustment wheel 43 drives the driven element 43 to turn. The two panels are detachably and relatively mounted on both sides of the circular groove 411 of the base 41 to provide an effect of character display. The fixing assembly 45 may pass through the third through-hole 441 of the connecting board 44 and the second through-hole 414 of the base 41, and further extend into the locking hole 434 of the adjustment wheel 43, whereby to locate the adjustment wheel 43 and mount the base 41 on an outside edge of the connecting board 44.
In this embodiment, the driven element 42 is driven to turn via turning the adjustment wheel 43, so that the gear 422 drives the serrated portions 33 a, 33 b of the two end portions 31 a, 31 b of the annular strap 30, which leads the two end portions 31 a, 31 b of the annular strap 30 to move towards or away from each other thereby adjusting the size of the loop formed by the annular strap 30. Accordingly, the user can adjust tightness/looseness of the annular strap 30 of the safety helmet 800 to ensure that the safety helmet 800 fits the user's head and is firmly worn.
When the adjustment wheel 43 is turned clockwise, since each guiding pin 433 may abut against an inner side of the corresponding blocking arm 426 of the driven element 42, the adjustment wheel 43 may drive the driven element 42 to turn. At the same time, the locking teeth 412 in the circular groove 411 may abut against the locking portion 424, so each elastic arm 423 generates elastic deformation towards the main body 421, which leads each locking portion 424 to cross the adjacent locking tooth 412 and enter a trough of a next locking tooth 412. Under the action of the elastic force from each elastic arm 423, each locking portion 424 abuts against the trough to be fixed. However, if the adjustment wheel 43 is continuously turned clockwise, then the locking portions 424 of the driven element 42 will abut against the locking teeth 412 in the circular groove 411 in turn, till the adjustment is completed and the locking portions 424 of the driven element 42 are fixed in corresponding troughs of the corresponding locking teeth 424. Based on the above adjustment, the annular strap 30 can move inwards by a proper distance (the maximum distance is the distance between the slot 32 a and the slot 32 b) to be tightened.
Additionally, when the adjustment wheel 43 is turned anticlockwise, since each guiding pin 433 abuts against an inner side between each elastic arm 423 and the main body 421, the driven element 42 may be driven to turn anticlockwise. At the same time, each elastic arm 423 undergoes elastic deformation towards the main body 421, so that each locking portion 424 crosses the adjacent locking tooth 412 and enters a trough of a next locking tooth 412. Under the action of the elastic force from each elastic arm 423, each locking portion 424 will abut against the trough to be fixed. Also, when the continuously anticlockwise adjustment is completed, the locking portions 424 of the driven element 42 are fixed in corresponding troughs of the corresponding locking teeth 424. The difference is that the annular strap 30 can move outwards for a proper distance to be loosed.
Thus, because the end portion of the buckle strap 810 can pass through the body portion 21 of the fixing element 20 of the present invention, the present invention can effectively and directly fix the two rear straps 812 of the buckle strap 810. Comparing with the prior art, the present invention can effectively avoid that the safety helmet 800 slips up and down during use so as to ensure that the safety helmet 800 can be firmly attached to a user's head. Furthermore, basing on the structural design of the fixing element 20 and the positioning elements 10, the present invention can freely replace the fixing element 20.
Secondly, the present invention may further include the annular strap 30 and the lacing and locking mechanism 40 to provide a function of left-to-right adjustment for the safety helmet 800. Accordingly, the present invention can be adjusted to ensure that the safety helmet 800 fits the user's head and provide optimum comfort and safety for users.
What are disclosed above are only the specification and the drawings of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and it is therefore not intended that the present invention be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various equivalent changes may be made depending on the specification and the drawings of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets which is installed in a safety helmet with a buckle strap, comprising:

two positioning elements, one end of each positioning element fixed in the safety helmet; and

a fixing element, detachably combined with the other end of each positioning element, having a body portion which has two left-to-right adjacent first through-holes in each of two sides thereof to pass through the buckle strap.

2. The buckle strap adjustment assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the buckle strap has at least one rear strap which passes through the first through-holes of the fixing element.

3. The buckle strap adjustment assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein each positioning element has a sheet portion, an embedded portion protruding out of an end portion of the sheet portion and a first fastening portion formed in the other end portion of the sheet portion, relative to the embedded portion, the embedded portion being embedded in the safety helmet; and the fixing element having two second fastening portions engaging with the first fastening portions of the two positioning elements.

4. The buckle strap adjustment assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the fixing element has two protruding pieces extending out of a lateral edge of the body portion, each of which has one of the second fastening portions formed thereon.

5. The buckle strap adjustment assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein each first fastening portion includes a plurality of fastening holes and each second fastening portion includes a plurality fastening pins.

6. The buckle strap adjustment assembly as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:

an annular strap, mounted in the safety helmet and having two end portions, each end portion having a slot formed in an extremity thereof and each slot having a serrated portion on one of its inner walls; and

a lacing and locking mechanism comprising:

a base, having a circular groove, a second through-hole and two openings connected with the circular groove, wherein a plurality of locking teeth protrude from a side wall of the circular groove and a pivot pin protrudes out of a bottom wall of the circular groove, the second through-hole extends through the pivot pin and the base, and the two end portions of the annular strap pass through the two openings of the base, and the pivot pin passes through each slot of the annular strap;

a driven element, having a main body, a gear protruding out of an end surface of the main body, a plurality of elastic arms respectively extending from lateral edges of the main body and a plurality of locking portions respectively formed on outside edges of the elastic arms, wherein an end of each elastic arm is bent and extended towards the main body 421 to form a blocking arm, the driven element further has a pivot hole extending through the main body and the gear, the pivot pin of the base pivotally engages with the pivot hole, the gear engages with the serrated portions of the annular strap, and each locking portion abuts against a locking tooth of the base;

an adjustment wheel, having a shaft portion and a plurality of guiding pins which protrude from the adjustment wheel, wherein the shaft portion has a locking hole and is pivotally inserted in the second through-hole of the base, and each guiding pin is inserted in a corresponding space defined by an corresponding elastic arm, a corresponding blocking arm and the main body;

a connecting board, located on the body portion of the fixing element, having a third through-hole; and

a fixing assembly, passing through the third through-hole of the connecting board and the second through-hole of the base, further extending into the locking hole of the adjustment wheel for locating the adjustment wheel and mounting the base on an outside edge of the connecting board.

7. The buckle strap adjustment assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein the connecting board is integrally connected with the body portion of the fixing element.

8. The buckle strap adjustment assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein the connecting board and the fixing element are separate components, and the connecting board is joint on the body portion of the fixing element.