PROTECTIVE HELMET WITH A RETRACTABLE AND REMOVABLE VISOR

Abstract

A protective helmet adapted to receive and protect a head of a wearer comprises: an outer shell shaped to protect the head of the wearer, with the outer shell defining a bottom opening and an internal cavity for receiving the head of the wearer; a headband and a suspension positioned within the internal cavity of the outer shell; and a visor rotatable between a retracted position within the outer shell to an extended position in front of a face of the wearer, wherein the visor simultaneously rotates about a first pivot axis and a second pivot axis as it moves between the retracted position and the extended position. The visor can also be readily removed from the protective helmet and easily replaced should it become damaged.

Claims

1. A protective helmet adapted to receive and protect a head of a wearer, comprising: an outer shell shaped to protect the head of the wearer, with the outer shell defining a bottom opening and an internal cavity for receiving the head of the wearer; a headband and a suspension positioned within the internal cavity of the outer shell; and a visor rotatable between a retracted position within the outer shell to an extended position in front of a face of the wearer, wherein the visor simultaneously rotates about a first pivot axis and a second pivot axis as it moves between the retracted position and the extended position.

2. The protective helmet as recited in claim 1, and further comprising: an anchor block secured to the outer shell on one side of the protective helmet, with the anchor block including a first cam and a second cam; and a retainer receiving and retaining a portion of the visor, the retainer including first and second elongated slots which define respective pathways for the first cam and the second cam of the anchor block, such that the visor moves between the retracted position and the extended position as controlled by the interaction of the first cam and the second cam of the anchor block with the first and second elongated slots of the retainer.

3. The protective helmet as recited in claim 2, wherein the anchor block includes an upstanding wall portion, with the first cam and the second cam each extending from a lateral surface of the upstanding wall portion of the anchor block.

4. The protective helmet as recited in claim 2, wherein the retainer includes a groove for receiving and retaining the portion of the visor.

5. The protective helmet as recited in claim 4, and further comprising: a latch pivotally mounted to the retainer for selectively engaging the visor, such that, when the latch is in a closed position, the visor is locked into position in the groove of the retainer, but, when the latch is in an open position, the visor can be withdrawn from the groove.

6. The protective helmet as recited in claim 5, wherein the latch includes an integral ridge extending from a surface thereof, such that, when the latch is in the closed position, the integral ridge is received in a slot defined through the visor, but when the latch is in the open position, the integral ridge is disengaged from the visor.

7. The protective helmet as recited in claim 1, and further comprising an inner shell secured to the outer shell and positioned within the internal cavity of the outer shell.

8. The protective helmet as recited in claim 7, wherein, in the retracted position, the visor is stored between the outer shell and the inner shell of the protective helmet.

9. A protective helmet adapted to receive and protect a head of a wearer, comprising: an outer shell shaped to protect the head of the wearer, with the outer shell defining a bottom opening and an internal cavity for receiving the head of the wearer; a headband and a suspension positioned within the internal cavity of the outer shell; a visor; a first anchor block secured to the outer shell on one side of the protective helmet, with the first anchor block including a first cam and a second cam; and a first retainer including first and second elongated slots which define respective pathways for the first cam and the second cam of the first anchor block, such that movement of the first retainer relative to the first anchor block is controlled by the interaction of the first cam and the second cam of the first anchor block with the first and second elongated slots of the first retainer, wherein the first retainer is further configured to receive and retain the visor.

10. The protective helmet as recited in claim 9, wherein the first retainer includes a groove for receiving and retaining a portion of the visor.

11. The protective helmet as recited in claim 9, and further comprising: a second anchor block secured to the outer shell on an opposite side of the protective helmet, with the second anchor block also including a first cam and a second cam; and a second retainer including first and second elongated slots which define respective pathways for the first cam and the second cam of the second anchor block, such that movement of the second retainer relative to the second anchor block is controlled by the interaction of the first cam and the second cam of the second anchor block with the first and second elongated slots of the second retainer, wherein the second retainer is further configured to receive and retain the visor.

12. The protective helmet as recited in claim 11, wherein the second retainer includes a groove for receiving and retaining a portion of the visor.

13. The protective helmet as recited in claim 11, wherein, when the visor is received and retained by the first retainer and the second retainer, the first cam of the first anchor block and the first cam of the second anchor block are aligned and define a first pivot axis for rotation of the visor relative to the outer shell.

14. The protective helmet as recited in claim 13, wherein, when the visor is received and retained by the first retainer and the second retainer, the second cam of the first anchor block and the second cam of the second anchor block are aligned and define a second pivot axis for rotation of the visor relative to the outer shell.

15. The protective helmet as recited in claim 10, and further comprising: a latch pivotally mounted to the first retainer for selectively engaging the visor, such that, when the latch is in a closed position, the visor is locked into position in the groove of the first retainer, but, when the latch is in an open position, the visor can be withdrawn from the groove of the first retainer.

16. The protective helmet as recited in claim 12, and further comprising: a latch pivotally mounted to the second retainer for selectively engaging the visor, such that, when the latch is in a closed position, the visor is locked into position in the groove of the second retainer, but, when the latch is in an open position, the visor can be withdrawn from the groove of the second retainer.

17. A protective helmet adapted to receive and protect a head of a wearer, comprising: an outer shell shaped to protect the head of the wearer, with the outer shell defining a bottom opening and an internal cavity for receiving the head of the wearer; an inner shell secured to the outer shell and positioned within the internal cavity of the outer shell; a headband and a suspension positioned within the internal cavity of the outer shell and secured to the inner shell; a first anchor block secured to the outer shell on one side of the protective helmet, with the first anchor block including a first cam and a second cam; a first retainer including first and second elongated slots which define respective pathways for the first cam and the second cam of the first anchor block, such that movement of the first retainer relative to the first anchor block is controlled by the interaction of the first cam and the second cam of the first anchor block with the first and second elongated slots of the first retainer; a second anchor block secured to the outer shell on an opposite side of the protective helmet, with the second anchor block also including a first cam and a second cam; a second retainer including first and second elongated slots which define respective pathways for the first cam and the second cam of the second anchor block, such that movement of the second retainer relative to the second anchor block is controlled by the interaction of the first cam and the second cam of the second anchor block with the first and second elongated slots of the second retainer; and a visor received and retained by the first retainer and the second retainer; wherein the visor is rotatable between a retracted position between the outer shell and the inner shell to an extended position in front of a face of the wearer via movement of the first retainer relative to the first anchor block and movement of the second retainer relative to the second anchor block.

18. The protective helmet as recited in claim 17, wherein the first retainer includes a groove for receiving and retaining a portion of the visor, and wherein the second retainer includes a groove for receiving and retaining another portion of the visor.

19. The protective helmet as recited in claim 18, and further comprising: a first latch pivotally mounted to the first retainer for selectively engaging the visor, such that, when the first latch is in a closed position, the visor is locked into position in the groove of the first retainer, but, when the first latch is in an open position, the visor can be withdrawn from the groove; and a second latch pivotally mounted to the second retainer for selectively engaging the visor, such that, when the second latch is in a closed position, the visor is locked into position in the groove of the second retainer, but, when the second latch is in an open position, the visor can be withdrawn from the groove.

20. The protective helmet as recited in claim 19, wherein the first latch includes an integral ridge extending from a surface thereof, such that, when the first latch is in the closed position, the integral ridge is received in a first slot defined through the visor, but when the first latch is in the open position, the integral ridge is disengaged from the visor; and wherein the second latch also includes an integral ridge extending from a surface thereof, such that, when the second latch is in the closed position, the integral ridge is received in a second slot defined through the visor, but when the second latch is in the open position, the integral ridge is disengaged from the visor.

21. A protective helmet adapted to receive and protect a head of a wearer, comprising: an outer shell shaped to protect the head of the wearer, with the outer shell defining a bottom opening and an internal cavity for receiving the head of the wearer; a headband and a suspension positioned within the internal cavity of the outer shell; a visor; a first anchor block secured to the outer shell on one side of the protective helmet; a first retainer configured to engage and move relative to the first anchor block, the first retainer including a first groove for receiving and retaining a portion of the visor; a first latch pivotally mounted to the first retainer for selectively engaging the visor, such that, when the first latch is in a closed position, the visor is locked into position in the first groove of the first retainer, but, when the first latch is in an open position, the visor can be withdrawn from the first groove; a second anchor block secured to the outer shell on an opposite side of the protective helmet; a second retainer configured to engage and move relative to the second anchor block, the second retainer including a second groove for receiving and retaining another portion of the visor; and a second latch pivotally mounted to the second retainer for selectively engaging the visor, such that, when the second latch is in a closed position, the visor is locked into position in the second groove of the second retainer, but, when the second latch is in an open position, the visor can be withdrawn from the second groove; wherein the visor is rotatable between a retracted position within the outer shell to an extended position in front of a face of the wearer via movement of the first and second retainers relative to the first and second anchor blocks.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary protective helmet with a retractable and removable visor made in accordance with the present invention, with the visor in an extended position;

[0014] FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1, but with the visor in a retracted position;

[0015] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1;

[0016] FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial bottom view of the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1, showing where one (left) side of the visor is secured to the outer shell of the protective helmet;

[0017] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the visor of the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1;

[0018] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one of the retainers for receiving and retaining a portion of the visor of the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1;

[0019] FIG. 7 is a plan view of a latch which is pivotally mounted to the retainer of FIG. 6 in the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1;

[0020] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the retainer of FIG. 6 and the latch of FIG. 7 as assembled together in the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1;

[0021] FIG. 9 is a plan view of the retainer of FIG. 6 and the latch of FIG. 7 as assembled together in the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1;

[0022] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the retainer of FIG. 6 and the latch of FIG. 7 as assembled together in the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1, in which a portion of the visor of FIG. 1 is received and retained in a groove defined by the retainer, with the latch engaging the visor;

[0023] FIG. 11 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 10, but with the latch pivoted out of engagement with the visor;

[0024] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the anchor block in the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1;

[0025] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the anchor block as connected to a bracket which would be positioned on the opposite side of the brim of the outer shell in the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1; and

[0026] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the retainer of FIG. 6 and the latch of FIG. 7 as assembled to the anchor block of FIG. 12 in the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027] The present invention is a protective helmet with a retractable and removable visor.

[0028] FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of an exemplary protective helmet 10 made in accordance with the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the protective helmet 10. As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the protective helmet 10 includes: a substantially rigid outer shell 20 shaped to protect the wearer's head, with the outer shell 20 defining a bottom opening and an internal cavity for receiving the wearer's head; a headband 30 positioned in the outer shell 20 near the bottom opening of the outer shell 20; and a suspension 35 comprised of at least two straps intersecting one another within the internal cavity of the outer shell 20. Such headbands and suspensions are well-known in the art and are further described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,609,254 and 7,174,575, which are incorporated herein by reference. The headband 30 and suspension 35 cooperate to reduce the potential for injury by maintaining a distance between the outer shell 20 and the head of the wearer and attenuating some translational energy of the force of an impact to the outer shell 20 of the helmet 10.

[0029] Referring still to FIGS. 1-3, in this exemplary embodiment, the protective helmet 10 further includes an inner shell 40 with a foam liner (shown in FIG. 3) positioned between the outer shell 20 and the suspension 35, which also aids in attenuating some translational energy of the force of an impact to the outer shell 20 of the helmet 10. Indeed, in this exemplary embodiment, the headband 30 and the straps of the suspension 35 are secured to the inner shell 20; however, in other embodiments, the headband 30 and/or the straps of the suspension 35 may be secured directly to the outer shell 20. In this exemplary embodiment, the protective helmet 10 also includes a chin strap 45 and an ear/neck protector 48. Finally, and of particular importance to the present invention, the protective helmet 10 includes a visor 50. In this regard, a visor 50 refers to and includes any form of face protection shield that covers any portion of the eyes and/or face of the wearer.

[0030] FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial bottom view of the exemplary protective helmet of FIG. 1, showing where one (left) side of the visor 50 is secured to the outer shell 20 of the helmet 10. Specifically, the visor 50 is secured by multiple components that not only secure the visor 50 to the outer shell 20 of the protective helmet 10, but allow the visor 50 to be readily moved from a retracted position within the outer shell 20 of the helmet 10 (i.e., a position between the outer shell 20 and the inner shell 40 in this exemplary embodiment) as shown in FIG. 1 to an extended position in front of the face of a wearer as shown in FIG. 2, or removed from the helmet 10 altogether. These components include: an anchor block 60, which is secured to the outer shell 20 of the protective helmet 10 by one or more screws or similar fasteners 61, with the anchor block 60 including a first cam 64 and a second cam 66, which each extend from a lateral surface of an upstanding wall portion 63 of the anchor block 60 (as further described below with respect to FIGS. 12-14); a retainer 70 including a groove 72 for receiving and retaining a portion of the visor 50, and further including first and second elongated slots 74, 76 (as further described below with respect to FIGS. 6 and 8-11) which define respective pathways for the first cam 64 and the second cam 66 of the anchor block 60; and a latch 80 which is pivotally mounted to the retainer 70 for selectively engaging the visor 50 (as further described below with respect to FIGS. 7-11). Each of these components and its respective interaction with the other components is described in further detail below. Furthermore, the opposite (right) side of the visor 50 is secured in the same manner to the opposite (right) side of the outer shell 20 of the protective helmet 10.

[0031] FIGS. 5-7 are, respectively, views of the visor 50, the retainer 70, and the latch 80 in isolation. As shown in FIG. 5, the visor includes slots 52 defined through the visor 50 near each of its side edges, the importance of which is described below.

[0032] Referring now to FIG. 6, and as mentioned above, the retainer 70 includes a groove 72, which is configured to receive a portion (i.e., a side edge) of the visor 50. The retainer 70 also includes an integral recess 78 for receiving the latch 80, as further described below. Finally, the retainer 70 includes first and second elongated slots 74, 76, which define respective pathways for the first cam 64 and the second cam 66 of the anchor block 60, as further described below.

[0033] Referring now to FIG. 7, the latch 80 includes two aligned bosses 80a, 80b. Furthermore, the latch 80 also includes upper and lower protrusions 81a, 81b.

[0034] Referring still to FIGS. 6 and 7, along with the views of the retainer 70 and the latch 80 assembled together in FIGS. 8 and 9, with respect to the mounting of the latch 80 in the integral recess 78 of the retainer 70, the aligned bosses 80a, 80b of the latch are received in corresponding openings 70a (one which is visible in FIG. 6) defined in the retainer 70 on opposites sides of the integral recess 78. Thus, once the aligned bosses 80a, 80b of the latch 80 are positioned in the openings 70a defined in the retainer 70, the latch 80 can pivot with respect to the retainer 70 about a pivot axis defined by the aligned bosses 80a, 80b. Furthermore, the upper and lower protrusions 81a, 81b of the latch 80 are received in corresponding notches 71a (one which is visible in FIG. 6) defined in the retainer 70. However, these upper and lower protrusions 81a, 81b are only intended to lock the latch 80 in a closed position through frictional engagement, as shown, for example, in FIG. 8. However, by applying a force to the edge 79 of the latch 80 (i.e., pulling it), the frictional force is overcome, and the latch 80 can be again pivoted about the pivot axis defined by the aligned bosses 80a, 80b into an open position.

[0035] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the retainer 70 and the latch 80 as assembled, in which a portion of the visor 50 is received and retained in the groove 72 defined by the retainer 70, with the latch 80 engaging the visor 50. FIG. 11 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 10, but with the latch 80 pivoted out of engagement with the visor 50. As shown in FIG. 11, the latch 80 also includes an integral ridge 86 extending from its rear surface. As described above with respect to FIG. 5, the visor includes slots 52 defined through the visor 50 near each of its side edges. Referring again to FIG. 11, when the latch 80 is in the closed position, the integral ridge 86 extending from the rear surface of the latch 80 is positioned in the slot 52 defined through the visor 50 near its side edge. Thus, when the latch 80 is in the closed position, the visor 50 is locked into position within the groove 72 defined by the retainer 70, as shown in FIG. 10. However, when the latch 80 is pivoted out of engagement with the visor 50 (i.e., the integral ridge 86 is withdrawn from the slot 52 defined through the visor 50) into an open position, as shown in FIG. 11, the visor 50 can be withdrawn from the groove 72 and removed from the retainer 70.

[0036] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the anchor block 60. The anchor block 60 includes a central body portion 62, with one or more holes 62a defined therethrough. Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the anchor block 60 is secured to the outer shell 20 of the protective helmet 10 by fasteners 61 that pass through the holes 62a.

[0037] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the anchor block 60 as connected to a bracket 90 which would be positioned on the opposite side of the brim of the outer shell 20. In FIG. 13, however, for purposes of illustrating the connection between the anchor block 60 and the bracket 90, the outer shell 20 has been removed. As shown, in this exemplary embodiment, certain of the fasteners 61 that are used to secure the anchor block 60 to the outer shell 20 of the protective helmet 10 are threaded into the bracket 90 to ensure that the anchor block 60 is securely fastened to the outer shell 20. However, it should be recognized that, in other embodiments, the anchor block 60 may be secured directly to the outer shell 20 of the protective helmet 10. In such cases, the bracket 90 is unnecessary.

[0038] Referring again to FIG. 12, the anchor block 60 also includes an upstanding wall portion 63, with the first cam 64 and the second cam 66 each extending from a lateral surface of the upstanding wall portion 63 of the anchor block 60.

[0039] FIG. 14 illustrates the same components as FIG. 13, but viewing the assembly from the opposite side (i.e., from inside of the protective helmet 10). As shown in FIG. 14, the first cam 64 extending from the lateral surface of the upstanding wall portion 63 of the anchor block 60 is received in the first elongated slot 74 of the retainer 70. Similarly, the second cam 66 extending from the lateral surface of the upstanding wall portion 63 of the anchor block 60 is received in the second elongated slot 76 of the retainer 70. Since the position of the anchor block 60 is fixed relative to the outer shell 20 of the protective helmet 10, the interaction of the respective first and second cams 64, 66 with the corresponding first and second elongated slots 74, 76 controls movement of the retainer 70, and thus the visor 50, with respect to the outer shell 20 of the protective helmet 10. Specifically, when the visor 50 is in the retracted position within the outer shell 20 of the protective helmet 10, the first cam 64 would be positioned at the right end of the first elongated slot 74, and the second cam 66 would be positioned at the lower end of the second elongated slot 76. To move the visor 50 into an extended position in front of the face of the wearer, the wearer grasps the edge of the visor 50 and pulls it down. As a result of the interaction of the respective first and second cams 64, 66 with the corresponding first and second elongated slots 74, 76, the visor 50 rotates downward and away from the face of the wearer, with the first cam 64 now positioned at the left end of the first elongated slot 74 and second cam 66 positioned at the upper end of the second elongated slot 76, as shown in FIG. 14.

[0040] As mentioned above, the opposite (right) side of the visor 50 is secured in the same manner to the opposite (right) side of the outer shell 20 of the protective helmet 10. Thus, the visor 50 can be characterized as rotating simultaneously about a first pivot axis defined by the aligned first cams 64 on the left and right sides of the protective helmet 10 and a second pivot axis defined by the aligned second cams 66 on the left and right sides of the protective helmet 10 as the visor 50 moves between the retracted position and the extended position. Because of this rotation along two axes, when it is rotated from the retracted position to the extended position, the visor 50 is effectively extended forward (away from the face) before it drops down (in front of the face). Thus, the visor 50 can be used over and in front of glasses, goggles, or other eye protection that may also be used by the wearer.

[0041] Additionally, because the visor 50 can be readily removed by pivoting the latches 80 out of engagement with the visor 50, as described above with respect to FIG. 11, the visor 50 can be easily replaced should it become damaged.

[0042] One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that additional embodiments and implementations are also possible without departing from the teachings of the present invention. This detailed description, and particularly the specific details of the exemplary embodiments and implementations disclosed therein, is given primarily for clarity of understanding, and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom, for modifications will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure and may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.