Apparel – Guard or protector – For wearer's head
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-08
2001-02-13
Neas, Michael A. (Department: 3741)
Apparel
Guard or protector
For wearer's head
C002S424000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06185753
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a full-face type helmet for protecting the head or the face of a user when riding on various kinds of motorized vehicles such as motorcycles and automobiles, and more particularly to the cheek installing members (the cheek pad) to be installed inside the helmet shell.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A comfortable fit of a full-face type helmet in which the head of a user is fully covered is maintained by a repelling action of a shock absorbing liner made of expanded polystyrene foam fitted to and arranged inside the shell and a cushion member made of urethane material adhered to and fixed to the inner side of the shock absorbing liner at the location corresponding to the head of the drivers or a location ranging from the ears to the cheeks and the chin. In particular, the cushions arranged at both right and left sides of the shell for pressing at the location ranging from the cheeks to the chin, i.e., the cheek pads, contribute to a fitting of the full-face type helmet.
However, since this full-face type helmet is formed with an integral chin guard at the lower front portion of the shell and the liner made of expanded polystyrene foam is fixed to an inner side of the chin guard, the breath (hot air) of a user is reflected against the liner arranged at the chin guard and directed against the front ends of the cheek pads arranged at both right and left sides near the mouth root portion of the user, resulting in hot air lost in the releasing path being accumulated between the chin guard and the face of the user.
A situation may develop in which the hot air lost in releasing path in the helmet is moved upward to collect as moisture in the shield.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As a means for preventing the breath of the helmet wearing person (user) from being accumulated in a space at the front part of his face within the helmet, it is satisfactory to guide the breath of the user reflected against the chin guard, accumulated between the user and the inner surface of the shell and directed to both right and left cheek pads out of the helmet, wherein as its method, the front side of the cushion member of the cheek portions arranged at both right and left sides in the shell can be reduced in size and cut and the cheek installing members (the cheek pads) pressing the chin part so as to prevent the reflected breath from being directed against the cheek installing members (the cheek pads). That is, the area of the cushion member abutted against the cheeks and the chin is reduced.
However, there may also be considered that the original function of the cheek pads for supporting the chin part is damaged and the wearing comfortable feeling of the helmet is reduced and when the front side of the cushion member at the cheek pads is cut and the area of the cushion member abutted against the cheek portions and the chin portion is reduced.
The present invention is completed in reference to the aforesaid problems found in the prior art and it is an object of the present invention to provide a full-face type helmet in which the breath of a user reflected against the chin guard, accumulated between the user and the inner surface of the shell and flowed toward the right and left cheek pads is guided in an efficient manner from the lower part of the helmet in a slant rearward direction and released out of the helmet without affecting the original holding function of the cheek installing members (the cheek pads) contributing to the comfortable fit of the helmet, resulting in the breath not accumulated in the space at the front part of the face of the person wearing the helmet.
The technical means applied by the present invention to accomplish the aforesaid problems has a feature in the full-face type helmet in which the shock absorbing liner is arranged inside the full-face type shell and the cheek installing members (cheek pads) are fixed to both right and left sides in correspondence with the location ranging from the head or the ears to the cheeks of the helmet wearing person, wherein a guide passage for releasing the breath of the helmet wearing person reflected at the chin guard installed inside the shell and accumulated between the helmet wearing person and the inner surface of the shell from the lower part of the shell in a slant rearward direction is formed by crushing and deforming the intermediate part of the cushion member constituting the cheek pads in a thickness direction or cutting the cushion member without reducing the abutted area with the cheeks in the cheek pads and the cheek holding function.
The formation of the guide passage at the cheek pads is carried out by a method wherein the front lower side of the cushion member laminated and adhered on the base member constituting the cheek pads is made non-adhered in respect to the base member, an outer cover covering the base member and the cushion member are applied with a certain tension being set to the cushion member at the non-adhered part of the cushion member and engaged with the base member.
As a method for applying a tension to this outer cover, the outer cover is formed into a bag shape, a rubber ring having a sufficient extending or shrinkage is fixed to an opening of the cover, and the tension is applied by the extending or shrinkage force. In this case, the part in the outer cover corresponding to that location (the front lower part) is formed with an opening to which the corner part at the front lower side of the base member is fitted. In addition, in order to apply a certain tension effectively against the corresponding portion of the outer cover, there may be applied a hook for use in engaging with the outer cover against the predetermined location of the base member and the hook may be integrally formed with the base member or the separate molded product may be adhered to and fixed to the base member.
In the case that the guide passage is formed with a certain tension being applied to the front lower portion of the outer cover, the corresponding part of the cushion member can be peeled of f from its extremity end toward an inner part in order to form a neat guide passage and in this case, when the repelling force of the cheek pads is reduced by the peeling-off of the cushion member, a reinforcing plate such as a synthetic resin plate having a less amount of extending or shrinkage is adhered to the peeled-off portion of the cushion member so as to adapt for a shrinkage or a warping of the cushion member.
In addition to the method in which a certain tension is applied to the outer cover for covering the base member and the cushion member to form the guide passage, the guide passage may also be formed between the base member and the curved molded plate such that the non-adhered part of the front and lower portion of the cushion member in the cheek pads with the base member is provided with a soft curved molded plate so as to cause the cushion member to be crushed and deformed but the plate having sufficient elasticity so as not to injure the user and its part is adhered to and fixed to the base member.
The guide passage in the cheek pads may be formed such that the cap integrally provided with the molded plate to be abutted against the non-adhered portion of the cushion member and pushing it up from the base member in a direction moving away from the base member is applied to cover the cushion member at the front lower parts of the cheek pads to be removably attached to the shell and the base member at the non-adhered location of the base member. In this case, it may also be applicable that the cap provided with the molded plate is applied from above the outer cover and crushed together with the cover and the outer cover may be applied to the base member before the outer cover is set so as to crush the cushion member and then the outer cover may be applied over it. Provided that in this case, the corresponding location of the outer cover is provided with an opening through which the cap may pass.
Although the means for forming the guide passage is
Dykema Gossett PLLC
Neas Michael A.
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