Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A42—HEADWEAR
  • A42B—HATS; HEAD COVERINGS
  • A42B3/00—Helmets; Helmet covers ; Other protective head coverings
  • A42B3/04—Parts, details or accessories of helmets
  • A42B3/0406—Accessories for helmets
  • A42B3/042—Optical devices
  • A42B3/0426—Rear view devices or the like

Definitions

• the invention relates to an article of headgear
• the channel mounts three planar
• the mirrors are
• a helmet comprising
• the mirror or mirrors enabling a person wearing the helmet to
• mirror or mirrors are carried by or formed on a one piece mounting, simplifies manufacture of the mounting and also enables the mounting together with the
• helmet of the invention can be very significantly lighter than the prior known
• At least a portion of the mounting may extend from one side of the inner
• locating means may be provided between the shell and the mounting The
• sideways locating means may comp ⁇ se a nb on one of the shell and the mounting and means defining a groove to receive the nb on the other of the
• headgear having a channel therethrough and a mounting, the mounting carrying
• the channel may take any suitable form but preferably the channel is an
• the mounting may be mounted on the channel so as
• the mounting may include portions which engage in
• the article may be a helmet
• the mounting may be arranged to he inside the shell.
• the upper surface of the mounting preferably follows the general contour of
• the mounting can thus be fitted closeiy and snugly against the
• the lower surface of the mounting preferably follows the
• the channel may be open at
• the shell includes a transparent window
• the transparent window element may be a separate part or alternatively may be integral with the shell.
• mounting may be of substantially constant thickness. This reduces the mate ⁇ al
• the mounting may conveniently comp ⁇ se a plurality of
• the channel may be defined at least partly in a cushioning material such as foam within the helmet and the cushioning
• mate ⁇ al may have increased resilience locally alongside the channel.
• the or each mirror may take any suitable form and may be electrodeposited onto a surface of the mounting
• the mounting may suitably be made of
• plastics material such as ABS or an alloy of ABS and polycarbonate while the
• electrodeposited material may be metal and may for example be chromium
• the channel may be divided at least at the front of the article by further
• the cushioning material may be provided in the cushioning material adjacent at least one mirror such as to allow pressurized air to be directed against the mirror to clean it
• the optical elements constituted by the mirrors may be of any desired shape
• At least one of the optical elements constituted by the mirrors is parabolically curved
• the mirror into which a wearer will look is preferably
• optical elements being parabolically curved
• the first optical element into which a wearer looks, in use is
• the first element may
• the final optical element mav be a parabolically convex mirror This will increase the spread of
• protective shell and the line of sight between the two or two of the optical elements may pass through a window in the shell, the or each optical element
• the window being detachably mounted on the shell
• the or each optical element after the window may be mechanically mounted on
• Fig 1 is a side elevation in cross-section of a helmet according to the
• Fig 2 is a fragmentary detail rear elevation of the helmet of Fig 1
• Fig. 3 is a side elevation in cross-section of a helmet according to the
• Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the helmet of Fig. 3
• the helmet 10 of the embodiment comprises an outer shell 12 made of strong
• a single piece mounting 18 is provided in the roof of the shell 12 and may be
• the mounting 18 comprises four planar sections and one slightly convex section serially
• the first planar section 20 lies flat against a planar
• planar section 22 extends across the curved part of the shell 12 and is
• a nb 28 extends upwardly to the shell 12 from the junction between the third planar
• fu ⁇ her nb 32 extends from the other edge of the fourth planar section 30 where it is connected to the convex section 34 which leads to the rear of the
• a single lateral nb 36 parallel to the ribs 28 and 32 extends centrally
• the convex section 34 is also metallised on its lower surface to provide a mirror surface 40
• a flange 42 extends from the
• the central nb 44 extends to the inner surface of the shell 12
• a rectangular cross-section channel 54 is
• a further flange 58 is
• the mounting 18 can be injection moulded and the electrodeposited areas can
• the mounting 18 complete with mirrored surfaces is simply slid into the channel until the first section 20 lies against the extension 21 of the helmet shell 12 and the rear
• boss grooves 50 for sideways location and can be glued into place.
• the mounting 18 as shown is very lightweight. Alternatively the mounting 18
• the portion 58 of the foam 14 adjacent the channel 56 may have additional resilience to compensate for the gap constituted by the channel.
• the ribs 28,32.36 are not provided.
• the channel 54 is sealed and may be filled with
• dry gas or may be evacuated in order to protect the mirror surfaces 23.26.40
• the front of the channel 54 would be sealed with a further transparent window
• the one-piece mounting 18 provides a fourth mirror
• a screen such as an LCD screen may be provided in the channel 54 to provide information to the wearer.
• the mounting 18 of the second embodiment comprises five sections
• section 20 is a separate part which includes outwardly extending hemispherical
• the angle of the first section 20 can be adjusted by pivoting it. the friction
• the mirror surface 23 of the first section 20 is in the shape of the
• the mirror surface 26 on the third section 24 is planar.
• the entire mounting 18 is substantially circumferential to a wearer's head
• the channel 54 can be much smaller both in depth and width The mounting
• the window 56 is made of a very strong transparent mate ⁇ al such as polycarbonate and includes a wide mounting flange 70 all around it which
• the window 56 may be made from about 3mm thick
• a person wearing the helmet 10 can look into the first mirror
• first and last mirror surfaces 23.40 are parabolically curved
• the method of mounting the mounting 18 is very simple and as the mounting
• a suitable plastics mate ⁇ al such as ABS, a combination of ABS and
• glass filled reinforced nylon is particular, glass filled reinforced nylon.
• the entire outer shell 12 may be made from
• the shell 12 could be left transparent, or could be painted except for the
• channel 54 may not be a single open channel at the front of the helmet, but
• foam 14 may extend up to the mounting 18 to form a dividing wall
• the dividing wall may be triangular
• the central dividing wall may have a different density foam to
• Apertures may be provided through the foam 14 and the lining cloth into the
• the first two mirrors 23,26 reflect at much shallower
• the position of the mirrors could be varied to provide dedicated helmets for
• a helmet is envisaged with a mirror
• Helmets could also be produced dedicated to the riders of
• the mounting 18 may be movable within the helmet 10 to allow for rider position changes.
• Air vents may be provided in the foam leading to the channel 54 to provide
• helmets driving helmets, motor racing helmets, police helmets, fireman ' s
• helmets military helmets, pilot's helmets, space helmets, safety helmets or

Landscapes

• Helmets And Other Head Coverings (AREA)

Priority Applications (7)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=10781110

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (11)

Cited By (4)

Families Citing this family (3)

Citations (7)

Family Cites Families (1)

• 1995
  • 1995-09-22 GB GBGB9519377.7A patent/GB9519377D0/en active Pending
• 1996
  • 1996-09-23 CA CA002232265A patent/CA2232265C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1996-09-23 ES ES96931181T patent/ES2191765T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-09-23 AU AU69973/96A patent/AU709102B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1996-09-23 EP EP96931181A patent/EP0859560B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-09-23 WO PCT/GB1996/002349 patent/WO1997010731A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1996-09-23 NZ NZ318486A patent/NZ318486A/xx unknown
  • 1996-09-23 DE DE69625824T patent/DE69625824T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1996-09-23 JP JP51250097A patent/JP3795081B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1996-09-23 BR BR9610482-1A patent/BR9610482A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1998
  • 1998-03-20 MX MX9802239A patent/MX9802239A/es not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (7)

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