Helmet

Abstract

 Helmet (1) provided with a shell (10) and a visor (11) connected to it in a given manner so as to movable with respect to the shell (10), said visor (11) comprising a first transparent element (13) for protecting the eyes and a second element (18) of the type which is movable with respect to the shell (10) and can be connected to the latter in a selectively stable manner on lateral front portions (16) of the said shell (10) symmetrical with respect to each other, for protecting the chin. For this purpose, the second element (18) has a resistance greater than that of the visor (11) and substantially identical to that of the shell (10), the first and the second elements (13, 18) being rigidly connected together so that they are operationally movable as a single body (20).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a helmet which can be effectively used in the sports sector, or in a working context, where it is required to provide users with the possibility of opening the said helmet frontally as well as ensure easy use and uniform mechanical characteristics as regards impact resistance.

[0002] In the sector of helmets intended for sporting or working use, for some time helmets are known where a shell is provided for covering the head, leaving the front part open, said helmets normally being known as "jet" or open-face helmets; also known are helmets where the shell has, formed as one piece therewith, an element for protecting the user's chin, i.e. a chin-piece, said helmets therefore being commonly known as full-face helmets. These helmets may or may not be provided with a flip-up visor which is able to protect the eyes from air currents and prevent insects or flying bodies from entering the user's eyes. During more recent years, a large proportion of the public have expressed a preference for hybrid helmets, these helmets having features which are mixture of jet helmets and full-face helmets. Among the hybrid helmets having a design which is closer to that of jet helmets, there are combinations of open shells and flip-up visors normally associated with full-face helmets, while among those helmets having a design more similar to that of full-face helmets, there are helmets provided with a movable chin-piece. This chin-piece may be selectively mounted by means of connecting elements or may be pivotable about the axis of rotation of the visor, so as to be more easily arranged in place and opened when stopped, as required, depending on the particular temperature, or where permitted by the type of activity being performed at a particular moment.

[0003] These latter helmets, which include the particularly well-known helmets of the opening type with a pivotable chin-piece, manufactured by Airoh, Bieffe and BMW, provide a degree of safety which is midway between that of jet helmets and full-face helmets, but are particularly preferred by the owners of motor-scooters because of their more practical nature, in keeping with the nature of the vehicle used by said persons. In this case, the chin-piece has, on either side, connecting arms which are substantially L-shaped such that they can be hingeably mounted or joined onto the shell along the axis of rotation of the visor. This chin-piece may be kept in the closed position by an engaging device which comprises at least one pressure-operated button by means of which it is possible to switch the chin-piece between the locked position, where the chin-piece is kept in rigid contact with the shell, and a free position.

[0004] It must in fact be noted that the huge popularity of scooters has widened the range of users of this motorcycle, resulting in the inclusion, within this sector, of users for whom the motorcycle is basically a working tool which helps save time when travelling around town, but who are not interested in the special clothing or accessories particularly important for motorcycle enthusiasts or those who regard the motorcycle as a sporting pastime and like travelling at high speed. For this category of users, the scooter is a sort of compromise between a car and a motorcycle, which is used through necessity, since their requirement is merely that of getting from one place to another as quickly as possible, avoiding long queues of traffic, and they would be more than willing to dispense with the helmet, travelling exactly as if in a car. For these users ease of use is of fundamental importance and the maximum degree of safety offered by a closed helmet of the full-face type is not a priority.

[0005] In these types of helmets it is necessary to provide a mechanism for pivoting the chin-piece. The solution normally adopted is that of connecting the chin-piece to the same pins used for rotation of visor, the latter being shaped so as to have a bottom edge which matches a top portion of the chin-piece so that the bottom edge comes into contact against the chin-piece and, when the visor and the chin-piece are in the respective lowered position, this assembly seals the shell at the front.

[0006] It can be easily understood that, as regards that described above, the helmets with a pivotable chin-piece have frontal dimensions which are greater than those of the jet helmets with a visor or the full-face helmets, from which they are derived, owing to the extra volume due to the hinging mechanism, even where the shell has the same front cross-section. This obviously constitutes a drawback even without mentioning the increase in the costs, due to the fact that a larger frontal volume results in a larger front cross-section and therefore, assuming the same speed of penetration, the resistance to forward movement is greater, as is therefore also the power required to overcome this increased resistance to forward movement. Therefore, the helmet has a poor efficiency from an aerodynamic point of view, and thus produces more turbulence than a full-face helmet. It is therefore noisier, a feature which diminishes its quality. This helmet, since it offers the user a limited degree of comfort, will be more likely to be rejected by a person who requires a helmet for essentially casual use, even assuming the same robustness and impact resistance, and is therefore a risky investment for the manufacturer involved and associated designer.

[0007] Moreover, these helmets have the further drawback that it is difficult to lift the visor, in particular if thermal gloves - which are normally padded - are worn, since the bottom edge of the visor adheres to the top part of the chin-piece and cannot be easily operated by the user's hands. It is known to overcome this drawback by using the chin-piece to lift the visor since the visor in fact rests on the said chin-piece. Once the visor has been raised and if it is required to protect to a certain degree at least a portion of the user's face, it is possible to lower the chin-piece with one hand, while keeping the visor raised with the other hand. It can be easily understood that this series of operations may be too laborious for many users and in particular for those persons who use a motorcycle through necessity and not by choice. In order to overcome this problem, the visor is in some cases equipped at the bottom with a projection which can be easily located even when wearing gloves and allows the said visor to be raised. However, when the helmet is acted on by an air stream, this projection causes turbulence, such that the helmet has a poor efficiency from an aerodynamic point of view compared to a full-face helmet and therefore, since it produces noise during travel, the result is that the helmet is of limited interest.

[0008] Moreover, these helmets have a further drawback consisting in the fact that, when the chin-piece is raised into the open position, the user's face is left completely without protection, so that the degree of safety offered by these helmets is substantially identical to that of jet helmets from which the respective shell is adopted.

[0009] In fact, in the motorcycling world, the widely held view is that a helmet is all the more safe the more easily it may be regarded as forming part of oneself; consequently, for scooter riders, a helmet is all the more safe when, for the same impact resistance during use, it can be more simply adapted to one's own requirements and to the way in which the motorcycle is used. A helmet which is safe but too complicated to use is likely to try the patience of a user who will prefer, instead of this helmet, a helmet which is less safe, but easier to adapt to his/her particular requirements in given situations. Such situations include in particular waiting, on a hot day, at a set of traffic lights in the middle of traffic while having to keep one's helmet on and not being able to allow fresh air circulate for a few moments, owing to the impossibility of changing the helmet quickly from a closed configuration to an open configuration or, vice versa, in order to restore the characteristic safe conditions present before stopping.

[0010] Being able to combine ease of use with the impact resistance of a known helmet of the opening type is certainly at the moment the most widely felt need of motorcycle users and in particular scooter riders and a feature which would ensure the success of a new design of helmet.

[0011] The object of the present invention is to provide a helmet which overcomes the drawbacks described above and which combines ease of use with the impact resistance of a known helmet of the opening type which, when stopped, allows easy and fast conversion from a closed-helmet configuration to an open-helmet configuration, so as to allow total fast opening using only one hand and, in equally rapid succession, closing, so as to allow the safe conditions to be readily restored.

[0012] A further object of the present invention is to provide a helmet of the opening type which has means for gripping it which are flush with the surface delimiting the outside of the shell so that the helmet itself is aerodynamically efficient and silent like a full-face helmet and so that the visor gripping means can be easily taken hold of and gripped even when wearing padded gloves.

[0013] A further object of the present invention is that of taking into account purchase-related factors which are not catered for in the helmet market and satisfying the increasingly pressing need to combine practicality and safety, also in order to boost the sale of products intended for a given sector of the public, for example, but not exclusively, scooter riders, and thereby be able to meet a series of requirements which at present are still outstanding, and thus provide a new and original source of economic activity able to modify the present market of helmets.

[0014] The present invention provides a helmet, the characteristic features of which are described in Claim 1.

[0015] The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a non-limiting example of embodiment thereof in which:

• Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a helmet according to the present invention in a first preferred operating position;
• Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view, on a larger scale, of a first detail taken from Figure 1;
• Figure 3 is a schematic perspective detail of the helmet according to Figure 1 in a second preferred operating position; and
• Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view, on a larger scale, of a bottom lateral portion of the Figure 3 along the line IV-IV.

[0016] In Figure 1, 1 denotes in its entirety a helmet provided with a shell 10 and a visor 11 joined to it in a given manner so as to be movable with a rotational movement relative to the shell 10 about at least one axis 12 of rotation between a lowered closed position and a raised open position. The visor 11 comprises a first element 13 provided with a transparent sheet 14 for protecting the eyes, which is geometrically formed as a substantially torus-like surface so as to be suitable for transmitting light rays in a neutral manner. The visor 11 embraces at the front the shell 10 and is delimited at the bottom by a bottom edge 15 which has, in turn, a torus shape and forms part of the sheet 14. The shell 10 has, at the front, a pair of lateral front portions 16, or cheeks, which extend symmetrically along the sides of. the mouth so as to cover substantially a user's cheeks and leave only the chin portion uncovered. The helmet 1 comprises, moreover, a second element 18 which can be connected laterally to the latter in a given manner by means of any locking mechanism which selectively joins the second element 18 integrally with the two lateral portions of the shell 10, and in particular with the cheeks 16.

[0017] It has been decided not to describe the details of this locking mechanism for the sake of brevity, since in order to implement the invention, it is sufficient to use any one of the mechanisms which have been known for many years and are present on the market, as used in the products manufactured by companies such as Airoh, Bieffe and BMW, and other manufacturers, and also so as not to side-track the reader from the subject of the invention, which is something else. In any case, each known and not illustrated locking mechanism comprises at least one pressure-operated button by means of which it is possible to switch the second element 18 between the fixed position, where the chin-piece is kept in a lowered position, in rigid contact with the shell 10, and the free position, into which the second element 18 is movable by means of a rotational movement with respect to the shell 12 about the axis 12.

[0018] It should be noted that the second element 18, together with the two cheeks 16, is able to define, when the visor 11 is lowered, and therefore when the helmet 1 is in the respective closed position, a composite member 19 which is able to protect the bottom front part of a user's face, similar to that which occurs in the case of full-face helmets, and in helmets of the opening-type which can be normally found on the market, where this function is performed by the pivotable chin-piece. Therefore, here and below the composite member 19 will be preferably indicated by the term "chin-piece" which comprises the assembly consisting of the second element 18 and the cheeks 16, whereby the second element 18 constitutes the central portion, and, below, this chin-piece will for this reason be indicated by this term and by the said reference number.

[0019] The central portion 18 is formed in a similar manner to the cheeks 16 and, more generally, to the shell 10, so as to provide the chin-piece 19 with an impact resistance similar to that of the shell 10. Therefore, the chin-piece 19 has as a whole an impact resistance substantially identical to that of the shell 10 both owing to its physical form and the fact that it is able to be rigidly connected to these parts, when the helmet is closed, and therefore contributes, with its resistance, to the overall strength of the said helmet 1. In this connection, the element 18, since it must have mechanical characteristics similar to those of the shell 10, is typically made of polycarbonate, glass fibre, carbon fibre or other similar material and with a substantially identical thickness. It should be noted that the visor 11 and the second element 18 are connected together in a given manner and in any case so as to produce a single body which can be operationally employed during use of the said helmet 1. For the sake of convenience of the description, and also to ensure consistency with that described above, this single body is assigned the reference number 20. Therefore, the single body 20 has a visor 11 delimited at the bottom by the toroidal edge 15 and a portion of greater thickness defined by the central portion 18 which is able to define, together with the cheeks 16, the chin-piece 19 which can be arranged facing a bottom portion of a user's face and is able to withstand impacts in a similar manner to the shell 10.

[0020] The central portion 18 has at the top an element 40 for joining/connection to the first element 13 or to the sheet 14. This element 40 has laterally two wings 41 which are symmetrical with respect to the central portion 18 and each of which is shaped so as to match the corresponding cheek 16 so that, when the visor 11 is in the respective lowered closed position, the wing 41 is able to cover an upper portion of the cheek 16 so as to provide a typical labyrinth-type fluid sealing system 42. By way of a non-limiting example, Figure 4 shows how this sealing system 42 is formed, with which system it may or may not be possible to associate a seal 43 which is visible solely in Figure 4 and normally made of rubber material.

[0021] The central portion 18 moreover is delimited peripherally by an edge 44 which is substantially U-shaped and is provided with respective lateral sections 45. Each lateral section 45 is formed so as to match a corresponding lateral edge 46 of the respective cheek 16 so that the central portion 18 is able to come into contact against the two cheeks 16 and in particular against the respective edges 46 so as to act as a bridge between the two lateral portions 16 of the shell 10, when the visor 11 is in the respective lowered closed position. In this way, the single body 20 closes frontally the shell 10 and improves the impact resistance of the helmet 1 as a whole.

[0022] Therefore, the present invention could also include a version of the helmet 1 (not shown) in which each cheek 16, by means of its top edge 46, would remain separated from the respective wing 41 and the aperture between the two elements would be closed by means of a seal able to prevent the through-flow of air currents and any particles of water.

[0023] With particular reference to Figure 2, this connecting element 40 is tapered at its ends so as to terminate with a zero height on the visor 11 at the location of the axis 12, in order to minimize the overall mass of the central portion 18. The edge 44 comprises a bottom section 48 which ideally forms a continuation of the bottom edge 49 of the shell 10 so as to define, when the shell 1 is closed, a single closed contour formed as a continuous ring, a portion of which is visible in Figure 3 alone.

[0024] It must be noted at this point that the central portion 18 of the chin-piece 19 may be gripped by means of the respective section 48 so as to perform rotation of the visor 11 about the respective axis 12. Therefore, this central portion 18 constitutes a member for gripping the single body 20, able to cause rotation thereof about the axis 12 so as to switch the helmet 1 between the respective open and closed positions. Moreover, this central portion 18, together with the visor 11, is delimited by a concave surface 21 which is adapted to match the surface 22 of the shell 10 in such a way that the surfaces 21 and 22, when the single body 20 is in the lowered closed position, are a continuation of each other so as to define an overall surface 23 of the helmet 1 which is substantially continuous. This surface 21, moreover, is delimited at the bottom by the section 48.

[0025] The use of the helmet 1 can be easily understood from that described above and does not require further explanations.

[0026] In any case, it should be noted that that which is described above is independent of the fact whether the single body 20 is such originally, or whether the visor 11 and the central portion 18 are assembled during any step of the respective production process, or always remain separable so as to meet fully the user's requirements. What counts is that the combination of the two component elements, and therefore the visor 11 and central portion 18, should have the mechanical characteristics described above.

[0027] From that described above it emerges clearly how the helmet 1 solves the technical problems described above and how it combines ease of use with the capacity to withstand impacts. Moreover, incorporating together the visor 11 and the central portion 18 of the chin-piece 19, the respective lateral portions 16 of which permanently protect the side portions of the user's face, results in lightening of the chin-piece as conventionally defined in open helmets and allows a reduction in the eccentric mass of the helmet 1 in the open configuration, also during travel conditions, and maximizes the capacity of the helmet 1 to protect the user's face in the open configuration.

[0028] Therefore, it can be concluded, among other things, that use of the helmet 1 allows a reduction in the load acting on the neck muscles when the helmet is worn, both when stopped and during travel. Moreover, it can be easily understood that, when at a standstill, the central portion 18 can be really used as a small-size gripping member so that the helmet 1 can be easily and quickly switched from a closed configuration to an open configuration so as to allow rapid opening with one hand only and, in equally rapid succession, closing so as to allow safety conditions to be readily restored.

[0029] As a result of formation of this gripping member of the visor 11 by means of the central portion 18 of the chin-piece 19 and the design of the single body 20 so as to be flush with the surface 22 delimiting externally the shell 10, the helmet 1 is moreover as aerodynamically efficient and silent as a full-face helmet and can be easily operated even when wearing padded gloves.

[0030] At this point, it is possible to conclude that a helmet constructed as the helmet 1 is able to take into account purchase-related factors which are currently not satisfied by the products available on the market and satisfy the increasingly pressing need to combine practicality and safety, being able to meet a series of requirements which are currently still outstanding. It is therefore able to provide a novel approach to the product for the manufacturer in question as well as suggest an original way of interpreting the helmet for motorcycles and/or uses of varying nature, being suitable for expanding the present-day market of helmets.

[0031] Finally, it is obvious that the helmet 1 described and illustrated here may be subject to modifications and variations without thereby departing from the protective scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. Helmet (1) provided with a shell (10) and a visor (11) connected thereto in a given manner so as to be movable with respect to the said shell (10), said visor (11) comprising a first transparent element (13) for protecting the eyes and a second element (18) of the type which is movable with respect to the shell (10) and can be connected to the latter in a selectively stable manner on lateral front portions (16) of the said shell (10) symmetrical with respect to each other, for protecting a bottom portion of the face, whereby the said second element (18) has a resistance greater than that of the visor (11) and substantially identical to that of the shell (10), the said helmet being characterized in that the said first and the said second elements (13, 18) are rigidly connected together so that they are operationally movable at the same time, so as to form a single body (20).

2. Helmet according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said visor (11) is joined to the said shell (10) about at least one respective axis (12) of rotation so as to be able to pivot between a raised open position and a lowered closed position, the said first element (13) comprising a substantially torus-like transparent sheet (14) able to transmit light rays in a neutral manner and to embrace frontally the said shell (10), the said sheet (14) being delimited at the bottom by a torus-shaped bottom edge (15) which separates it from the said second element (18).

3. Helmet according to Claim 2, characterized in that the said second element (18) defines, considered individually, a gripping member (18) which can be used to perform pivoting of the said visor (11).

4. Helmet according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises, when the visor (11) is in the lowered closed position, a composite chin-piece (19) which comprises the said lateral front portions (16) of the said shell (10) and the said second element (18), defining a central portion (18) of the said chin-piece (19), and which is able to act as a bridge between the said lateral front portions (16), so as to close frontally the said shell (10) and improve the resistance to frontal impacts.

5. Helmet according to Claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the said second element (18) has at the top a connecting element (40) able to connect the said second element (18) to the said sheet (14), the said second element (18) also being delimited peripherally by a substantially U-shaped edge (44) provided with respective lateral sections (45), each of which being shaped so as to match a corresponding lateral front portion (16) of the said shell (10) so that the said second element (18) is able, with the visor (11) in use in the closed position, to act as a bridge between the said lateral front portions (16).

6. Helmet according to Claim 5, characterized in that the substantially U-shaped edge (44) comprises a bottom edge (48) able to define, with a bottom edge (49) of the said shell (10), a closed annular contour.

7. Helmet according to Claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the said connecting element (40) is tapered at the ends so as to terminate with a zero height on the said visor (11) at the location of the said axis (12), so as to minimize the mass of the said second element (18).

8. Helmet according to any one of Claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the said connecting element (40) has laterally two wings (41), each of which being shaped so as to match the corresponding lateral front portion (16) so that, during use, when the visor (11) is in the respective lowered closed position, the said wing (41) is able to cover an upper portion of the relative said lateral front portion (16), so to provide a labyrinth-type fluid sealing system (42).

9. Helmet according to Claim 8, characterized in that the said sealing system (42) comprises a seal (43) made of a given material.

10. Gripping member (18) for a visor of a helmet substantially identical to the helmet described with reference to Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it is delimited at the top by the said visor (11) from which it is separated by a substantially toroidal edge (15) and has a portion of greater thickness (18) with mechanical characteristics similar to those of the said shell (10), so as to define, together with lateral front portions (16) of the said shell, a central portion (18) of a chin-piece (19) capable of resisting impacts and able to be arranged facing a bottom portion of the user's face.

11. Member according to Claim 10, characterized in that the said central portion (18) of the said chin-piece (19) can be used to perform rotation of the said visor (110 about at least one respective axis (12) of rotation and in that it is delimited by a substantially concave surface (21) which is adapted to match a surface (22) delimiting the said shell (10) so that, when the said visor (11) is in a respective lowered position, the said surface (21) is arranged flush with the surface (22) delimiting the said shell (10), said substantially concave surface (21) being delimited at the bottom by an edge (48) adapted to match a bottom edge (49) of the said shell (10).

12. Shell (10) for a helmet, characterized in that it comprises a pair of front lateral portions (16) which project at the front so as to cover symmetrical front portions of the user's face and leave the sole portion of the chin exposed.

13. Shell (10) for a helmet substantially identical to the helmet described with reference to any one of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises a pair of front lateral portions able to cover symmetrical front portions of the user's face.

14. Helmet as described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying figures.

15. Gripping member as described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying figures.

16. Shell as described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying figures.

Drawing