Apparel – Guard or protector – For wearer's head
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-25
2001-06-12
Neas, Michael A. (Department: 3741)
Apparel
Guard or protector
For wearer's head
C002S411000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06243881
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to helmets and more specifically it relates to a helmet cover system for visually enhancing conventional helmets thereby encouraging children to wear helmets.
Conventional helmets for children and adults are designed for lightweight and functionality making them visually unappealing. Children will often remove conventional helmets during an activity such as bicycle riding to avoid undesirable remarks by other children. This is extremely dangerous and increases the likelihood that the child will become injured in an accident. Therefore, there is a need for a device that will encourage children to wear helmets while not interfering with the needed protection of the helmets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Helmets have been in use for years. Typically, a conventional bicycle helmet will have a high rim portion exposing the ears, unlike a motorcycle helmet, making them visually unappealing. A conventional bicycle helmet usually will have a strap for removably securing to the child's head during utilization. The problem is that many children will remove the conventional bicycle helmets to avoid criticism by other children.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for visually enhancing conventional helmets thereby encouraging children to wear helmets.
In these respects, the helmet cover system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of visually enhancing conventional helmets thereby encouraging children to wear helmets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of helmets now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new helmet cover system construction wherein the same can be utilized for visually enhancing conventional helmets thereby encouraging children to wear helmets.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new helmet cover system that has many of the advantages of the helmets mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new helmet cover system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art helmets, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises an outer shell, a support strap attached to the outer shell, and a securing device for securing the outer shell about a conventional helmet. The outer shell preferably has a visually appealing appearance such as a cartoon character, a sport team's helmet, or other desirable shape for children. The outer shell comprises a body, a cavity within the body having a lower opening, a face opening, and a curved member. The cavity is formed to removably receive the conventional helmet and yet be easily worn individually by the child upon their head without discomfort. The body of the outer shell is preferably comprised of injected foam material and painted with a resilient paint for providing a visually stimulating appearance to the child. The securing device is preferably a plurality of pieces of hook and loop fastener attached within the cavity and correspondingly to the conventional helmet, however snap devices may also be utilized to secure the outer shell to the conventional helmet. The curved member provides a motorcycle helmet appearance and also allows the addition of the appearance of a face of a famous character.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a helmet cover system that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices.
Another object is to provide a helmet cover system that increases the visual appearance of a conventional helmet.
An additional object is to provide a helmet cover system that encourages children to wear their helmets.
A further object is to provide a helmet cover system that is removably attachable to a conventional helmet without requiring significant alteration to the conventional helmet.
Another object is to provide a helmet cover system that does not interfere with the proper utilization of a conventional helmet.
An additional object is to provide a helmet cover system that may be removed from a conventional helmet and worn by the child as a novelty item during play.
A further object is to provide a helmet cover system that floats upon water during utilization in a swimming pool or lake.
Another object is to provide a helmet cover system that simulates a child's favorite sports team, cartoon characters, sports and holidays.
A further object is to provide a helmet cover system that may be reduced in size comparable to a bicycle helmet for utilization by children as a toy.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to the reader and it is intended that these objects and advantages are within the scope of the present invention.
To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3242500 (1966-03-01), Derr
patent: 3425460 (1969-04-01), Grant
patent: 4937888 (1990-07-01), Straus
patent: 5421035 (1995-06-01), Klose et al.
patent: 5556668 (1996-09-01), Chun
patent: 5713082 (1998-02-01), Bassette et al.
patent: 5724681 (1998-03-01), Sykes
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