Method of manufacturing a protective helmet and protective helmet manufactured in accordance with said method

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a protective helmet, in particular a bicycle helmet, that has a shock-absorbing helmet body having a concave inner side and a convex outer side and that has an outer shell arranged at the outer side of the helmet body. The method includes the steps: placing the outer shell into a mold; and filling a casting material into the mold at at least one filling point to form the helmet body. The casting material connects to an inner side of the outer shell. The filling point for the casting material is provided at the outer side of the formed helmet body, with the outer shell having an opening in the region of the filling point.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a protective helmet that has a shock-absorbing helmet body having a concave inner side and a convex outer side and that has an outer shell arranged at the outer side of the helmet body, the method comprising the steps: placing the outer shell into a mold; and filling a casting material into the mold at at least one filling point to form the helmet body, wherein the casting material connects to an inner side of the outer shell, wherein the filling point is provided at the outer side of the formed helmet body, with the outer shell having an opening in a region of the filling point.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the filling point is arranged spaced apart from a margin of the helmet body.

3. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the casting material is filled into the mold at a plurality of filling points, with at least one of the plurality of filling points being provided at the outer side of the formed helmet body.

4. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the opening of the outer shell is peripherally closed.

5. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the outer side of the helmet body is covered by a cover part in the region of the filling point after a removal of the helmet body and of the outer shell connected hereto from the mold.

6. A protective helmet that has a shock-absorbing helmet body and an outer shell arranged at the outer side of the helmet body and that has in particular been manufactured in accordance with a method in accordance claim 1, wherein the helmet body has at least one filling point at its surface for the casting material forming the helmet body, wherein the filling point is arranged at the outer side of the helmet body, with the outer shell having an opening in the region of the filling point.

7. The protective helmet in accordance with claim 6, wherein the outer side of the helmet body is covered by a cover part in the region of the filling point.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a bicycle helmet in a mold; and

[0028] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a bicycle helmet with a shell part to be fastened to the outer side.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The bicycle helmet 11 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a helmet body 13, for example composed of EPS styrofoam, having a concave inner side 15 and a convex outer side 17 and comprises an outer shell 21, composed of a polycarbonate, for example, arranged at the outer side 17 of the helmet body 13. The bicycle helmet 11 is manufactured on the basis of an in-mold technique and is located in the state shown in FIG. 1 in a mold 23 that comprises a matrix 25 and a patrix 27 that bound a hollow space 29 of the mold 23. In the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 1, the cross-sectional plane of the drawing extends through a plurality of ventilation openings 31 of the bicycle helmet 11 so that both the helmet body 13 and the outer shell 21 each appear segment-like. The helmet body 13 and the outer shell 21, however, actually form a respective contiguous structure.

[0030] For the manufacture of the bicycle helmet 11, the outer shell 21 is first placed into the matrix 25 so that a convex outer side of the outer shell 21 contacts a concave inner surface of the matrix 25. The mold 23 is then closed. A casting material is then filled into the mold 23 to form the helmet body 13. The mold 23 has three filling passages 33 for this purpose. The middle one of these three filling passage 33 is located in the matrix 25 and opens at a filling point 35 of the helmet body 13 that is arranged at the outer side 17 of the helmet body 13 to be formed, spaced apart from the margin of the helmet body 13. So that the casting material may pass through the middle filling passage 33 into the hollow space 29 of the mold 23, the outer shell 21 has an opening 37 in the region of the filling point 35, i.e. the helmet body 13 to be formed is not covered by the outer shell 21 at this point.

[0031] After the filling of the casting material into the mold 23, it connects with an inner side of the outer shell 21 in a force-transmitting manner. The mold 23 may be opened after a hardening period. The bicycle helmet 11 may then be removed from the mold 23 and may be provided with further equipment elements, for example with a cushioning at an inner side and with a strap fixing system.

[0032] Innovative possibilities result for the shape of the helmet body 13 in that the filling point 35 of the middle filling passage 33 is arranged at the outer side 17 of the helmet body 13 since a homogeneous distribution of the casting material within the hollow space 29 of the mold 23 may be effected more easily. The structure of the mold 23 may also hereby be made more simple.

[0033] It may be seen from FIG. 2 that with such a bicycle helmet 11, a filling point 35 at the outer side 17 of the helmet body 13 may be covered by a shell part 39 (cf. the arrow shown dashed). The shell part 39 may correspond to the outer shell 21 with respect to material and/or color. As explained above, a different kind of cover part may also be provided instead of the shell part 39.