Forehead band

Abstract

A forehead band attaches to a head band of an interior fitting assembly of a protective helmet is described. The forehead band includes a strip-shaped support which is provided with a holder for removably fixing the forehead band to the head band. The support is covered with a sweat-absorbing overlay. The holder has tubular supporting connection pieces integrally formed on the support and designed to engage into openings of the head band. The overlay has complementary longitudinal edges and is provided with openings for releasably receiving the supporting connection pieces. The overlay is washable with or without the support. The entire forehead band is designed so that the overlay or its support or both can be readily replaced.

Claims

1. A forehead band for attaching to a head band of an interior fitting assembly of a protective helmet, the forehead band comprising: a strip-shaped support having a front side and a rear side opposite the front side, the front side facing away from the head band; a plurality of connectors for releasably fixing the forehead band to the head band by non-positively or positively engaging a respective plurality of fitting openings disposed in the head band, the plurality of connectors being formed integrally with the support, each connector having a base joined to the rear side and a free end distal from the base and the rear side, each connector of the plurality of connectors comprising a substantially tubular shape and extending away from the rear side; and an overlay disposed over the support on the front side, the overlay comprising a sweat-absorbing material for absorbing sweat.

2. The forehead band according to claim 1, wherein the free end comprises an outwardly protruding snap tab, the respective connector being elastically resilient at the free end.

3. The forehead band according to claim 2, wherein the support comprises an air aperture, the air aperture is aligned with one of the openings of the head band between the free ends.

4. The forehead band according to claim 1, wherein the overlay comprises a textile blank.

5. The forehead band according to claim 4, wherein the overlay is disposed additionally on the rear side.

6. A forehead band for attaching to a head band of an interior fitting assembly of a protective helmet, the forehead band comprising: a strip-shaped support having a front side and a rear side opposite the front side, the front side facing away from the head band; a holder for releasably fixing the forehead band to the head band, the holder comprising a plurality of connectors, the plurality of connectors being integrally formed on the rear side of the support, the plurality of connectors for non-positively or positively engaging a respective plurality of fitting openings disposed in the head band, each connector of the plurality of connectors comprising a substantially tubular shape; and an overlay disposed over the support on the front side, the overlay comprising a sweat-absorbing material for absorbing sweat; wherein the overlay comprises a textile blank; wherein the overlay is disposed additionally on the rear side; wherein the overlay comprises a first longitudinal edge and a second longitudinal edge, each longitudinal edge comprising a corrugation having at least one wave crest, the first longitudinal edge being corrugated complementarily relative to the second longitudinal edge, the at least one wave crests comprising an overlay opening for receiving one of the plurality of connectors.

7. The forehead band according to claim 6, wherein each longitudinal edge comprises a pair of end portions; wherein each holder comprises two pins for protruding into a recess of the support, the pins for fixing the respective pair of end portions of the first longitudinal edge and the second longitudinal edge on each end of the support.

8. The forehead band according to claim 1, wherein the support comprises a plastic material for elastic flexibility of the support.

9. A protective helmet, the helmet comprising: interior fitting assembly comprising a head band; and a forehead band for attaching to the head band, the forehead band comprising a strip-shaped support having a front side and a rear side opposite the front side, the front side facing away from the head band; a plurality of connectors for releasably fixing the forehead band to the head band by non-positively or positively engaging a respective plurality of fitting openings disposed in the head band, the plurality of connectors being formed integrally with the support, each connector having a base joined to the rear side and a free end distal from the base and the rear side, each connector of the plurality of connectors comprising a substantially tubular shape and extending away from the rear side; and an overlay disposed over the support on the front side, the overlay comprising a sweat-absorbing material for absorbing sweat.

10. The helmet according to claim 9, wherein the free end of a respective connector comprises an outwardly protruding snap tab, the respective connector being elastically resilient at the free end.

11. The helmet according to claim 10, wherein the support comprises an air aperture, the air aperture being aligned with one of the fixing openings of the head band between the free ends.

12. The helmet according to claim 9, wherein the overlay comprises a textile blank.

13. The helmet according to claim 12, wherein the overlay is disposed additionally on the rear side.

14. The helmet of claim 13, wherein the overlay comprises a first longitudinal edge and a second longitudinal edge, each longitudinal edge comprising a corrugation having at least one wave crest, the first longitudinal edge being corrugated complementarily relative to the second longitudinal edge, the at least one wave crests comprising an overlay opening for receiving one of the plurality of connectors.

15. The helmet according to claim 14, wherein each longitudinal edge comprises a pair of end portions; further comprising two pins for protruding into a recess of the support, the pins for fixing the respective pair of end portions of the first longitudinal edge and the second longitudinal edge on each end of the support.

16. The helmet according to claim 9, wherein the support comprises plastic for elastic flexibility.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiments of the invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a forehead band according to the invention in a front view,

(3) FIG. 2 shows the forehead band according to FIG. 1 in a rear view,

(4) FIG. 3 shows the forehead band in the same view as in FIG. 2, however, with the overlay halfway unbuttoned,

(5) FIG. 4 shows the overlay according to FIG. 3 in a fully unbuttoned state in a top view and without a support of the overlay partly visible in FIG. 3,

(6) FIG. 5 shows the support as a detail in a front view,

(7) FIG. 6 shows the support according to FIG. 5 in a rear view,

(8) FIG. 7 shows the support according to FIG. 6 in a perspective illustration,

(9) FIG. 8 shows the support in a partial longitudinal sectional view along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 5,

(10) FIG. 9 shows the support in a cross-sectional view along the line IX-IX in FIG. 5, and

(11) FIG. 10 shows a known interior fitting assembly of a protective helmet in a perspective view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(12) In FIG. 1, a forehead band according to the invention is shown in a plan view and, as a whole, designated by 20. The forehead band 20 is intended to be attached to a head band of an interior fitting assembly as shown, for example, in FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, the interior fitting assembly is designated by 40, and the head band is designated by 44. The forehead band 20 comprises a strip-shaped support 30. FIG. 5 shows the support 30 of the forehead band 20 as a detail in a plan view on its front side. FIG. 6 shows the support 30 in a rear view. The support 30 is provided with a holder 50 for releasably fixing the forehead band 20 on a head band such as the head band 44. The support 30 is covered by an overlay 40 made of a sweat-absorbing material at least on its front side 32 visible in FIG. 5. However, in the embodiment of the forehead band 20 according to the invention shown in the drawings the overlay 40 is dimensioned so that it covers the support 30 on all sides. This support 30 covered by the overlay 40 on all sides is shown in a front view in FIG. 1 and in a rear view in FIG. 2. In FIG. 3 the overlay 40 is shown halfway uncoiled from the support 30. FIG. 4 shows a complete uncoilment of the overlay 40 without the support 30.

(13) The holder 50 comprises five tubular supporting connection pieces 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d and 51e which are integrally formed on a rear face 34 of the support 30 which is the side of the support which can be brought in contact with the head band. In FIG. 8 which shows a partial longitudinal sectional view of the support 30 along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 5, and in FIG. 9, which shows the support 30 in of a cross sectional view along the line IX-IX in FIG. 5, the tubular supporting connection pieces 51a-51e forming the holder 50 can be seen the best. The supporting connection pieces 51a-51e are designed to non-positively or positively engage in openings of the head band. In the forehead band 20 shown as an embodiment here the supporting connection pieces 51a-51e are designed to positively engage in openings of the head band. For this purpose, the supporting connection pieces 51a-51e are respectively designed so as to be elastically resilient at their free end and respectively provided with at least one snap tab 52 and 54 protruding to the outside. In the embodiment of the forehead band 20 shown here each supporting connection piece 51a-51e comprises two snap tabs 52, 54 protruding to the outside. The tubular supporting connection pieces 51a-51e are rectangular in the cross section. The snap tabs 52, 54 are integrally formed on the opposing longitudinal sides of the cross section of each supporting connection piece. The tubular supporting connection pieces 51a-51e have a height H respectively dimensioned so that, taking into account the thickness of the overlay 40 on the rear face 34, if the supporting connection pieces are inserted into openings complementary to their cross section formed in the head band all the way to the stop, i.e. the support 30 abuts to the head band with the rear face 34 via the overlay 40, the snap tabs 52, 54 of each supporting connection piece rest adjacent to the associated opening on the opposite side of the head band. This latched position of each supporting connection piece is releasable by compressing it with the fingers or with a tool to the extent that the snap tabs 52, 54 will be released from the front side of the head band so that the support 30 can be pulled off the head band.

(14) The support 30 is respectively provided with an air aperture 36a, 36b, 36c or 36d between two of the supporting connection pieces 51a-51e. Each of these air apertures 36a-36d is provided with a central bridge for reasons of stability as can be seen in FIGS. 5-7. Each of the air apertures 36a-36d can be aligned with one of the openings of the head band.

(15) The overlay 40 comprises a textile blank shown in its entirety in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4 it can further be seen that the overlay 40 comprises longitudinal edges 42a, 42b corrugated complementarily relative to each other. Corrugated complementarily relative to each other means that each wave crest of the longitudinal edge 42a is opposed by a wave trough of the longitudinal edge 42b and vice versa. Each wave crest is provided with an opening 44 for receiving one of the supporting connection pieces 51a-51e. Further, the overlay 40 is provided with two holes 45a, 45b or 46a, 46b on each end adjacent to the longitudinal edges 42a, 42b. The holder 50 comprises two pins 39a, 39b or 39c, 39d protruding into a recess 38a, 38b of the support 30 for fixing the ends of the corrugated longitudinal edges 42a, 42b of the overlay 40 at each end of the support 30. For fixation, the pins 39a, 39b are inserted into the holes 46a, 46b, and the pins 39c, 39d are inserted into the holes 45a, 45b of the overlay 40 as can be seen in FIG. 2 showing the fixed state.

(16) For fixing the overlay 40 on the support 30 it is buttoned to the supporting connection pieces 51b to 51d at its longitudinal edge 42b according to the illustration shown in FIG. 3. The pins 39b and 39d of the support 30 are accommodated in the holes 46b or 45b. Then the overlay 40 is brought in a position shown in FIG. 2 in which the openings 44 are buttoned into the supporting connection pieces 51a, 51c and 51d in the wave crests of the longitudinal edges 42a.

(17) Finally, the pins 39a, 39c of the support 30 are inserted into the holes 46a or 45a so that the overlay 40 is fixed to the support 30 in the position shown in FIG. 2. In this state the forehead band 20 can be put into the washing machine for cleaning. However, the overlay 40 may also be removed from the support 30 and put into the washing machine as a separate part as shown in FIG. 4.

(18) The overlay 40 consists of a textile material perforated by a plurality of small openings to render an air stream through the air apertures 36a-36d possible. In addition, the textile material is selected so that it has a good sweat absorbing capacity.

(19) The support 30 is a flexible formed component made of a plastic material. In this way it is ensured that the support 30 can adapt to the curvature of the head band and that the tubular supporting connection pieces 51a-51e are, as such, sufficiently elastically flexible to render the engagement of the supporting connection pieces on the head band by means of the snap tabs 52, 54 possible.

LIST OF NUMERALS

(20) 20 forehead band 20 forehead band 30 support 32 front side 34 rear face 36a air aperture 36b air aperture 36c air aperture 36d air aperture 38a recess 38b recess 40 interior fitting assembly 40 overlay 42 support cage 42a longitudinal edge 42b longitudinal edge 44 opening 44 head band 45a hole 45b hole 46 neck band 46a hole 46b hole 50 holder 51a supporting connection piece 51b supporting connection piece 51c supporting connection piece 51d supporting connection piece 52 snap tab 54 snap tab 56 joint H height