Apparel – Guard or protector – For wearer's head
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-22
2001-06-26
Lindsey, Rodney (Department: 3741)
Apparel
Guard or protector
For wearer's head
C002S006500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249918
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a helmet with a shell, a chin guard hingedly mounted to the shell and a locking mechanism for locking the chin guard to the shell in a closed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,652 discloses a safety helmet wherein the locking mechanism comprises swivel bolts located at both extremities of the chin guard. The swivel bolts engage a locking member provided on the inside of the shell and is releasable against the force of a loading spring. For moving the chin guard from the closed to the open position, both swivel bolts need to be moved in an unlocking position, requiring the two hands from the operator.
EP 0 518 178 discloses a full face helmet having a chin guard that can be opened with just one hand by acting on a lever with the thumb. The lever protrudes in front of and outside the chin guard, which could cause an accidental opening of the chin guard in case of impact. This system is therefore not sufficiently reliable.
EP 0 895 726 having an earlier priority date than the present application, but published after the priority date of the present application, discloses a helmet wherein the actuating member operating the locking members is located inside the chin guard and may be operated with one hand. While providing a reliable closure system, this helmet suffers from the problem that the actuating member is not easily accessible.
The present invention aims to provide a helmet comprising an openable chin guard, which is reliable in case of impact, and wherein the locking mechanism is easily accessible and may be operated with one hand.
This object is achieved with the helmet according to the present invention comprising a shell and a chin guard. The chin guard has a first lateral portion, a second lateral portion and a front portion positioned between the first and second lateral portions. The chin guard is hingedly mounted to the shell and moveable between an open position and a closed position. The chin guard has a locking mechanism for locking the chin guard to the shell in the closed position. The locking mechanism comprises a first locking member applied at the first lateral portion; a second locking member applied at the second lateral portion; and an actuating member connected to said first and second locking members and provided for actuating the first and second locking members. The front portion has a first cavity and a second cavity. The actuating member comprises spaced apart first and second buttons located in said first and second cavities and provided to be pressed towards each other for moving the locking members in the unlocking position.
By providing that the cavities are located in the front portion of the chin guard and that the locking members can be simply unlocked by pressing the two buttons towards each other, a reliable mechanism which can be operated with two fingers of one hand is provided. The closure system is in addition easily accessible since the buttons are located in the cavities in the chin guard front portion.
In a preferred embodiment, the actuating member is connected to the locking members with tie rods. This provides a reliable transmission mechanism from the push buttons to the locking members.
The locking members are in particular formed by levers hingedly mounted to the chin guard.
Preferably, the locking mechanism further comprises a support member fixed to the chin guard, and the locking member is hingedly fixed to the support member. This facilitates the assembly of the locking mechanism. The support member, the locking members and the actuating member may be assembled together and then fixed on the inside of the chin guard.
For safety reasons, the helmet further preferably comprises means for holding the chin guard in the open position. This avoids an accidental closure of the chin guard, which could be dangerous in case a motorcyclist using such a helmet with the chin guard in the open position is driving.
Preferably, the helmet further comprises a first visor assembly hingedly mounted to the chin guard. This enhances the user flexibility, since it allows to open the first visor assembly, while maintaining the chin guard in the closed position. In particular, the helmet further comprises a second visor assembly hingedly mounted to the first visor assembly. This forms a helmet with a double visor wherein the first visor could be a conventional transparent visor, while the second visor is of a darker colour forming thereby a sun screen.
In order to facilitate the hinge movement of the second visor assembly with respect to the first visor assembly, the first visor assembly comprises a groove and the second visor assembly comprises a sliding button slideably mounted in the groove.
In a further preferred embodiment, the helmet further comprises resilient means between said first and second buttons for bringing the first and second buttons in a rest position. In order to open the chin guard, it will be sufficient to press the two buttons together against the load of the resilient means. When releasing the buttons, they will return automatically, with the load of the resilient means, to its initial position.
Ventilation to the inside of the helmet is ensured with ventilation means. These means contribute at the same time in demisting the visors.
A modular helmet is formed when the chin guard is removably mounted on said shell. When a user wishes to convert his helmet of the closed type to a helmet of the open type, he simply removes the chin guard from the shell.
Further details of the invention will now be described referring to the annexed drawings showing a preferred embodiment of the helmet according to the invention.
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Cross, S.A.
Laff, Whitesel & Saret, Ltd.
Lindsey Rodney
Whitesel J. Warren
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