U.S. patent application number 10/137349 was filed with the patent office on 2002-12-19 for toothed-belt fastening, in particular for chin-straps of helmets, protective headgear and the like.
This patent application is currently assigned to BAUER ITALIA S.p.A.. Invention is credited to Annovi, Giuseppe, Gallina, Simone.
Application Number | 20020189056 10/137349 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 11452392 |
Filed Date | 2002-12-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020189056 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gallina, Simone ; et
al. |
December 19, 2002 |
Toothed-belt fastening, in particular for chin-straps of helmets,
protective headgear and the like
Abstract
A toothed-belt fastening, in particular for chin-straps of
helmets, protective headgear and the like, comprises a base on
which the toothed belt can be slidably engaged, a first and a
second pawl which are mounted in an oscillating manner on the base
and can in turn be engaged with a toothing of the belt. The first
pawl forms a member for unidirectionally locking the toothed belt
with respect to the base and is disengageable from the toothing so
as to slacken the fastening, while the second pawl is engageable
with the toothing so as to tension the fastening and is hinged on
the base coaxially with the first pawl.
Inventors: |
Gallina, Simone; (Maser,
IT) ; Annovi, Giuseppe; (Montebelluna, IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FITZPATRICK CELLA HARPER & SCINTO
30 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA
NEW YORK
NY
10112
US
|
Assignee: |
BAUER ITALIA S.p.A.
Via Feltrina Sud, 172
Montebelluna - Treviso
IT
31044
|
Family ID: |
11452392 |
Appl. No.: |
10/137349 |
Filed: |
May 3, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
24/68R ;
24/68SK |
Current CPC
Class: |
A42B 3/08 20130101; A44B
11/12 20130101; Y10T 24/2183 20150115; Y10T 24/21 20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
24/68.00R ;
24/68.0SK |
International
Class: |
A43C 011/00; A44B
021/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 19, 2001 |
IT |
PD2001A000151 |
Claims
1. Toothed-belt fastening, in particular for chin-straps of
helmets, protective headgear and the like, comprising a base with
which said toothed belt can be slidably engaged, a first and a
second pawl which are mounted in an oscillating manner on the base
and can in turn be engaged with a toothing of said belt, said first
pawl forming a member for unidirectionally locking the toothed belt
with respect to the base and being disengageable from the toothing
so as to slacken said fastening, said second pawl being engageable
with the toothing so as to tension said fastening, characterized in
that said pawls are hinged coaxially on said base.
2. Fastening according to claim 1, in which both said pawls are
pivotably mounted on the same pin.
3. Fastening according to claim 2, in which both said pawls have
operating lugs co-extending on the same side with respect to said
pin.
4. Fastening according to claim 2 or 3, in which said first pawl
has a pair of spaced tines by means of which it is hinged with said
pin, said second pawl being hinged with said pin between said
tines.
5. Fastening according to one or more of the preceding claims, in
which both said pawls and associated operating lugs have a unitary
structure.
6. Fastening according to claim 5, in which said operating lugs of
said pawls are normally arranged superimposed on each other.
7. Fastening according to one or more of the preceding claims, in
which said first pawl is resiliently biased into engagement with
said toothing by first resilient means active between the latter
and said base, said second pawl being biased into disengagement
from said toothing by second resilient means active between the
latter and said first pawl.
8. Fastening according to claim 7, in which said second resilient
means have a constant elasticity smaller than that of said first
resilient means.
9. Fastening according to one or more of the preceding claims, in
which said first pawl can be oscillated in a limited manner with
respect to said base such that, within the oscillation limits of
said first pawl, said second pawl is disengaged from said
toothing.
10. Fastening according to one or more of claims 2 to 9, in which
said second pawl is hinged in a displaceable manner on said pin.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a toothed-belt fastening,
in particular but not exclusively for tightening the belt which
passes underneath the chin, otherwise known as chin-strap, in
helmets, protective headgear and the like. Although the use
described is the preferred use, this fastening is more generally
intended for rapidly tightening and releasing two fastening
elements and is therefore suitable for widely varying uses in
sports equipment and accessories.
TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
[0002] Within the specific technical sector it is known to use
rapid-release and rapid-engagement fastenings which allow the
fastening to be operated rapidly in all circumstances. However,
there is a need to supplement these known fastenings with the
possibility of tightening the chin-strap as required in order to
improve the effectiveness of the helmet which, as is known, may be
impaired--even to a significant degree--if the chin-strap were not
properly tightened.
[0003] The fastenings known hitherto, which are operationally
designed to perform both the functions indicated above, have
however undesirably large dimensions such that their use is
unsuitable for fastening chin-straps of helmets. Moreover, in most
cases, they have projecting parts which are likely to cause
discomfort for the user around the chin or throat.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The problem underlying the present invention is that of
providing a novel fastening which is structurally and functionally
designed so as to satisfy the particular requirements related to
its use in helmets and protective headgear, avoiding at the same
time the drawbacks mentioned with reference to the cited prior
art.
[0005] This problem is solved by the invention by means of a
fastening which is provided in accordance with the claims
below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The characteristic features and advantages of the invention
will emerge more clearly from the detailed description of a
preferred example of embodiment thereof illustrated by way of a
non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toothed-belt fastening
provided in accordance with the invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the fastening according to
FIG. 1;
[0009] FIGS. 3 and 4 are side elevation and partially sectioned
views of the fastening according to FIG. 1 in two different
operating conditions.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0010] In the Figures, 1 denotes overall a fastening including a
first and second fastening element 2, 3 which can be fixed to the
respective ends 4, 5 of a chin-strap of a helmet or other article
which requires adjustable closing.
[0011] The first fastening element 2 comprises a toothed belt 6
with sawtooth toothing 7 having, pivotably mounted at one end, a
buckle 8 with which the end 4 of the chin-strap can be adjustably
engaged in a manner known per se.
[0012] The second fastening element 3 comprises a base 10 with two
parallel spaced flanges 11a,b and with a bridge-piece 12 around
which the second end 5 of the chin-strap is closed in a loop and
stitched.
[0013] A single pin 13 is mounted between the flanges 11a,b and a
first and a second pawl 14, 15 are hinged thereon. The first pawl
14 acts as a member for unidirectionally locking the toothed belt
with respect to the base so as to allow it to slide in the
direction of the arrow F, but oppose displacement thereof in the
opposite direction. It comprises a lever-type operating lug 16
which is hinged on the pin 13 by means of two parallel spaced tines
17a,b which have through-holes 18 passing through them. At least
one tooth 19 (preferably two teeth 19) is formed in the vicinity of
the hinging end, next to the tines 17a,b. The pawl is resiliently
biased by a helical spring 20 which is constrained on the one hand
inside a recess 21 of the lever 16 and on the other hand by a
contact surface 22 of the base 10, with the teeth 19 engaged in the
toothing 7 of the belt 6, and can be disengaged from the toothing
so as to slacken the fastening, by operating the end of the lever
16 and oscillating it relative to the base 10. The aforementioned
oscillating movement is limited by the bearing contact between two
lugs 123 projecting from the top of the flanges 11a, b and the
bottom of two corresponding recesses 24 formed in the opposite
sidewalls of the lever 16. The limiting action is such that, when
the first pawl 14 is completely raised from the base 10, the second
pawl 15 is not yet engaged in the toothing 7 of the belt 6 (see
FIG. 3).
[0014] The second pawl 15 acts a member for moving the toothed belt
6 with respect to the base 10 in the direction of the arrow F, in
order to tension the fastening 1. It comprises a lever-type
operating lug 26 which is hinged on the pin 13 by means of its
through-hole 28 with an elliptical cross-section. At least one
tooth 29 (preferably two teeth 29) is formed in the vicinity of the
hinging end and, like the first pawl 14, it is resiliently biased
by a helical spring 30 which is constrained on the one hand inside
a blind hole 31 of the lever 16 and on the other hand by a groove
32 in the lever 26, next to the teeth 29.
[0015] The function of the spring 30 is that of keeping the lever
26 in a non-operative position, adjacent to and partially
superimposed on the lever 16, with the teeth 29 disengaged from the
toothing 7 of the belt 6. The pawl 15 can be engaged in the
toothing 7 so as to tension the fastening by operating the end of
the lever 26 and causing it to oscillate relative to the base 10.
The elliptical form of the hole 28 allows displacement of the pawl
15 so as to allow adjustment of its axis of rotation depending on
the angle of oscillation thereof and so as to allow its return
movement biased by the spring 30 without the teeth 29 interfering
with the toothing 7.
[0016] It should be noted that the resilient properties of the
spring 30 are chosen so that the latter imparts a reactive force
opposing its oscillation about the pin 13 which is smaller than
that imparted by the spring 20 of the first pawl such that, when
the second pawl 15 is oscillated, no corresponding (appreciable)
oscillation of the first pawl 14 occurs (see FIG. 4).
[0017] With the structural arrangements of the present invention it
is therefore possible to provide a lever-type fastening which is
composed of only two single-piece pawls both hinged on a same pin,
reducing to a minimum the number of components of the fastening
which can therefore easily be assembled at a low cost.
[0018] The fastening thus obtained is advantageously compact and
can be manufactured with particularly small dimensions, as is
required for use on helmets and protective headgear, without
dispensing with easy operation of the pawls.
* * * * *