WO1993014723A1

WO1993014723A1 - Protective device

Info

Publication number: WO1993014723A1
Application number: PCT/FI1993/000017
Authority: WO
Inventors: Reijo Lehtonen
Original assignee: Reijo Lehtonen
Priority date: 1992-01-22
Filing date: 1993-01-18
Publication date: 1993-08-05
Also published as: CA2128428A1; AU3353993A; DK86694A; FI920275A0; FI90624C; GB9414349D0; CA2128428C; FI920275A; GB2278693A; DK170831B1; FI90624B; GB2278693B

Abstract

The invention relates to a protective device, particularly a welding shield, comprising a portion (1) of an opaque material to be supported on the head and intended to protect the wearer from radiation and sparks, said portion being provided with a transparent section (2) in the area of the wearer's eyes. The protective device further comprises a protective glass (4) positioned in the area of the wearer's eyes and arranged to be turned upwards. In order that the wearer could see better, a transparent viewing section (6) is formed below the transparent section (2), the viewing section (6) being substantially parallel with the section (2) so that the wearer is able to view the workpiece through the viewing section (6) downwards even when the protective glass (4) has been turned so as to cover the section (2). The lower edge of the protective glass (4) is provided with a protective plate (7) extending substantially downwardly from the lower edge of the protective glass, the protective plate (7) preventing the entrance of radiation to the viewing section (6) when the workpiece is viewed through the protective glass (4).

Description

Protective device

The invention relates to a protective device, particularly a welding shield, comprising a portion of an opaque material to be supported on the head and intended to protect the wearer from radiation and sparks, said portion being provided with a trans¬ parent section in the area of the wearer's eyes; the protective device further comprising a protective glass positioned in the area of the wearer's eyes and arranged to be turned upwards.

This kind of protective devices are today well- known especially in welding. The most usual structure comprises a helmet part of wood, metal, plastic, etc., positioned on the worker's head so as to protect his face. The helmet part is further provided with an opening in the area of the wearer's eyes, and the opening is provided with a protective glass through which the welding point can be viewed during welding. In some cases, the opening made in the area of the wearer's eyes is provided with a transparent plate which closes the opening but through which the welder is able to see. The transparent plate may be made e.g. of transparent plastic. The protective glass is fitted in place in such a way that it can be turned into a position in which it covers the opening and correspondingly turned aside so that the wearer of the protective device sees around him through the opening. The protective glass is made of a material such that the welding workpiece can be viewed through it during welding.

A drawback of the previously known protective devices has been that the ability of the wearer of the device to see around him has been restricted and difficult to achieve. This is because the wearer does not see around him or not even the welding workpiece if the protective glass is in the position covering the transparent portion of the helmet part and the welding is not in progress. The wearer, that is, the welder has to turn either the protective glass or the entire protective device away from the eyes always when he starts to weld or interrupts welding before he is able to see the welding workpiece and, for instance, to position the welding rod appropriately. Before starting the welding the protective glass or the entire helmet has to be again turned into the position protecting the face and the eyes. This is inconvenient and requires the use of at least one hand. The field of vision is further restricted by the fact that the helmet has to be such that the radiation caused by the welding does not in any way reach the eyes of the welder. As a consequence, the welder's field of vision is very restricted when the protective glass is in front of his eyes. In practice, the welder thereby sees only the welding workpiece.

The object of the invention is to provide a protective device by means of which the drawbacks of the prior art can be eliminated. This is achieved by means of a protective device according to the invention which is characterized in that a trans¬ parent viewing section is formed below the trans¬ parent section, the viewing section being substan¬ tially parallel with the transparent section provided with the protective glass so that the wearer is able to view the workpiece through the viewing section substantially downwards even when the protective glass is in front of the wearer's eyes, thus covering the transparent section, and that the lower edge of the protective glass is provided with a protective plate extending substantially downwardly from the lower edge of the protective glass, the protective plate preventing the entrance of radiation to the viewing section when the workpiece is viewed through the protective glass.

An advantage of the invention over the prior art is that the wearer of the protective device is able to view e.g. the welding workpiece even though the protective glass is positioned in front of the wearer's eyes. For instance, when the welding is interrupted, the welder is thus able to position the welding rod accurately at the right position even though the protective glass is in front of his eyes, and the protection is nevertheless as efficient as previously. When the protective device according to the invention is used, it is not necessary to use hands in the above-mentioned situations. A further advantage of the invention is that it is simple, so that its introduction costs are low. In the following the invention will be described with reference to a preferred embodiment shown in the attached drawings, wherein

Figure 1 shows a general side view of a protective device according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a general side view of the protective device shown in Figure 1 when the protective glass has been turned up;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the situation of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of the situation of Figure 2.

In the figures, the reference numeral 1 indicates a portion to be supported on the head of the wearer to protect the wearer from radiation and sparks formed e.g. during welding. The portion 1 is made of an opaque material, such as plastic. In the figures, the reference numeral 2 indicates a transparent section positioned in the area of the wearer's eyes. In the embodiment of the figures, the transparent section 2 comprises an opening made in the portion 1 and a plate portion 3 of a transparent material fitted in the opening. The reference numeral 4 indicates a turnable protective glass. The protective glass 4 is fastened to the portion 1 in such a way that it can be turned in front of the wearer's eyes, whereby it covers the transparent section and enables the workpiece to be viewed during welding, for instance. This position is shown in Figures 1 and 3. The protective glass 4 can also be turned into a position in which it does not cover the transparent section 2, whereby the wearer of the protective device is able to see around him through the section 2. This position of the protective glass 4 is shown in Figures 2 and 4. In the figures, the reference numeral 5 indicates means for supporting the protective device on the head of the wearer. Such means are fully obvious to one skilled in the art, so they will not be described in greater detail herein.

According to the basic idea of the invention, a transparent viewing section 6 is formed below the transparent section 2, which viewing section 6 is substantially parallel with the section 2. The wearer is able to view the workpiece through the viewing section substantially downwards even when the protective glass 4 has been turned in front of the wearer's eyes to cover the transparent section 2. This situation appears particularly clearly from Figure 1, in which the viewing direction of the wearer through the viewing section 6 is indicated generally with the arrow KS. As used in this connection, the expression "substantially parallel" means that the plane of the viewing section 6 extends substantially parallel to the plane of the transparent section 2. According to the invention, the lower edge of the protective glass 4 is provided with a protective plate 7 extending substantially downwardly from the lower edge of the protective glass. The purpose of the protective plate 7 is to prevent radiation from entering the viewing section 6 when the workpiece is viewed through the protective glass 4 turned in front of the transparent section 2.

In the embodiment of the figures, the trans¬ parent viewing section 6 is formed by an opening formed in the portion 1 protecting the wearer from sparks and radiation and a plate 8 of a transparent material fitted in the opening. The material of the plate 8 is preferably the same as that of the plate portion 3. This material may be e.g. a suitable plastic material.

The idea of the invention is that the wearer of the protective device does not need to turn the protective glass or the entire protective device when he, for instance, wants to interrupt the welding so as to view the workpiece and then restart the welding. When wearing the protective device according to the invention, the welder is able to view the workpiece through the viewing section by changing the viewing direction even though the protective glass is in the position required by welding. Harmful radiation formed in welding cannot, however, reach the viewing section 6 and thus the face of the wearer during welding, as the protective plate 7 extending downwardly from the lower edge of the protective glass prevents the entrance of radiation to the viewing section. It is to be noted that the workpiece is viewed through the protective glass 4 when the welding is in progress, whereby the protective plate 7 is positioned between the workpiece and the viewing section 6 and prevents the escape of radiation from the workpiece to the viewing section. When using the protective device according to the invention, the welder does not need to use the hands e.g. to turn the protective glass at different work stages and, however, the protection is as efficient as previous¬ ly. Safety at work is thus even increased since, as compared with the previously known devices, the protective glass, for instance, is more reliably in the right position before each work stage when wear- ing the protective device according to the invention, as the glass need not be turned intermittently away from the position protecting the eyes. By the use of the invention the hands can be used solely for sup¬ porting and holding the welding means and possibly the object to be welded, because the protective glass, for instance, need not be moved by hands at the different work stages. This also increases the safety.

The embodiment described above is not intended to restrict the invention in any way, but the invention can be modified within the scope of the claims as desired. Accordingly, it is obvious that the protective device according to the invention or its details need not necessarily be exactly similarly to those shown in the drawings, but other solutions are possible as well. The shape of the protective device need not be accurately such as shown in the figures. The different details may also be shaped according to the requirements in each particular case. The viewing section need not necessarily form an extension of the transparent section, as in the example of the figures, but the viewing section can be formed of a separate opening and a transparent portion fitted in the opening. The transparent plates may even be omitted both from the viewing section and the transparent section, if this is considered neces¬ sary. The transparent viewing section and the trans¬ parent section may also be formed by a single integral section, in which case the protective glass, when turned down, covers the upper portion of the integral section while leaving its lower portion un¬ covered. The integral section may be formed e.g. by an opening made in the opaque portion, and a trans¬ parent plate can be fitted in the opening, if re- quired. The transparent plate may be integral or it may comprise two parts, etc. In the two-part embodi¬ ment, the transparent plates can be manufactured either of the same material or of different materials.

Claims

Claims :

1. A protective device, particularly a welding shield, comprising a portion (1) of an opaque material to be supported on the head and intended to protect the wearer from radiation and sparks, said portion being provided with a transparent section (2) in the area of the wearer's eyes; the protective device further comprising a protective glass (4) positioned in the area of the wearer's eyes and arranged to be turned upwards, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e d in that a transparent viewing section (6) known per se is formed below the transparent section (2), the viewing section (6) being in a manner known per se substantially parallel with the transparent section (2) provided with the protective glass (4) so that the wearer is able to view the workpiece through the viewing section (6) substantially downwards even when the protective glass (4) is in front of the wearer's eyes, thus covering the transparent section (2), and that the lower edge of the protective glass (4) is provided with a protective plate (7) extending substantially downwardly from the lower edge of the protective glass, the protective plate (7) preventing the entrance of radiation to the viewing section (6) when the workpiece is viewed through the protective glass (4).

2. A protective device according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the transparent section (2) and the transparent viewing section (6) are arranged to form a single integral section.