U.S. patent application number 09/930635 was filed with the patent office on 2003-07-24 for welder helmet with fixed and movable face shields.
Invention is credited to Wang-Lee, Min-Young.
Application Number | 20030135911 09/930635 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25459553 |
Filed Date | 2003-07-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030135911 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang-Lee, Min-Young |
July 24, 2003 |
WELDER HELMET WITH FIXED AND MOVABLE FACE SHIELDS
Abstract
A welder helmet includes a shield holder. A head set is disposed
rearwardly of and is pivoted to left and right ends of the shield
holder. A fixed face shield extends downwardly from the shield
holder. A movable face shield is disposed frontwardly of the fixed
face shield. A coupler unit couples the movable face shield on the
shield holder to permit turning of the movable face shield away
from the fixed face shield when the welder wishes to check a welded
spot.
Inventors: |
Wang-Lee, Min-Young;
(Yung-kang City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MERCHANT & GOULD P.C.
P.O. BOX 2903
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55402-0903
|
Family ID: |
25459553 |
Appl. No.: |
09/930635 |
Filed: |
August 15, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/169 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F 9/064 20130101;
A42B 3/225 20130101; A42B 3/226 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/169 |
International
Class: |
A41D 019/02 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A welder helmet comprising: a curved shield holder defining
front and rear sides, and having horizontally spaced apart left and
right ends; a head set disposed rearwardly of said shield holder
and mounted pivotally to said left and right ends; a fixed face
shield extending downwardly from said shield holder; a movable face
shield disposed frontwardly of said fixed face shield, and having
an upper edge disposed adjacent to said shield holder; and a
coupler unit coupling said movable face shield on said shield
holder, and including a pivotal member in the form of a hollow body
that is fixed on and that extends outwardly and frontwardly from
said front side of said shield holder to define a chamber therein,
and that has a front end stopper and that is formed with a pair of
diametrically opposing slots extending rearwardly from said front
end stopper, a bracket which is fixed on said upper edge of said
movable face shield and which includes a looped portion that is
hung on said hollow body and that has an engaging portion extending
into said chamber and spanning said slots so as to permit turning
of said movable face shield relative to said hollow body, and a
spring-biased limiting unit which is mounted within said chamber
and which is disposed rearwardly of said engaging portion for
urging said engaging portion to abut against said front end
stopper, thereby arresting unforced rotation of said movable face
shield relative to said hollow body.
2. The welder helmet as defined in claim 1, wherein said engaging
portion has a generally rectangular cross-section, and defines
front and rear abutment faces which extend in a direction
transverse to a length of said hollow body and which respectively
abut against said front end stopper of said hollow body and said
spring-biased limiting unit when said movable face shield is
disposed at a first position parallel to said fixed face shield,
and top and bottom abutment faces which interconnect said front and
rear abutment faces and which respectively abut against said
spring-biased limiting unit and said front end stopper when said
movable face shield is turned against urging action of said
spring-biased limiting unit from said first position to a second
position perpendicular to said fixed face shield.
3. The welder helmet as defined in claim 2, wherein said coupler
unit further includes a mounting seat fixed on said front side of
said shield holder, said hollow body threadedly engaging said
mounting seat to confine said chamber therebetween.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a welder helmet, more particularly
to a welder helmet which is provided with fixed and movable face
shields.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] A conventional welder helmet generally includes a head set
that is adapted to be worn around the head of a welder, and a
dark-colored face protective shield pivoted to the head set in such
a manner that the face protective shield is disposed frontwardly of
the welder in use, and is movable relative to the head set so as to
be pivoted away from the welder's face when the welder wishes to
check a welded spot.
[0005] It is noted that the face protective shield in the aforesaid
conventional welder helmet is heavy due to a relatively large size
requirement for covering an area from the forehead to the chin of
the welder's face during use. As such, a relatively large force
must be exerted in order to lift the protective shield away from
the welder's face.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Therefore, the object of this invention is to provide a
welder helmet with a simple structure and that can overcome the
aforementioned disadvantage associated with the conventional welder
helmet.
[0007] Accordingly, a welder helmet of the present invention
includes a curved shield holder, a head set, a fixed face shield, a
movable face shield, and a coupler unit. The curved shield holder
defines front and rear sides, and has horizontally spaced apart
left and right ends. The head set is disposed rearwardly of the
shield holder, and is mounted pivotally to the left and right ends
of the shield holder. The fixed face shield extends downwardly from
the shield holder. The movable face shield is disposed frontwardly
of the fixed face shield, and has an upper edge disposed adjacent
to the shield holder. The coupler unit couples the movable face
shield on the shield holder, and includes a pivotal member, a
bracket, and a spring-biased limiting unit. The pivotal member is
in the form of a hollow body that is fixed on and that extends
outwardly and frontwardly from the front side of the shield holder
to define a chamber therein, that has a front end stopper, and that
is formed with a pair of diametrically opposing slots which extend
rearwardly from the front end stopper. The bracket is fixed on the
upper edge of the movable face shield and includes a looped portion
that is hung on the hollow body and that has an engaging portion
extending into the chamber and spanning the slots so as to permit
turning of the movable face shield relative to the hollow body. The
spring-biased limiting unit is mounted within the chamber, and is
disposed rearwardly of the engaging portion for urging the engaging
portion to abut against the front end stopper, thereby arresting
unforced rotation of the movable face shield relative to the hollow
body.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Other features and advantages of this invention will become
more apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment of this invention, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a
welder helmet according to the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the preferred
embodiment taken along lines II-II in FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view
illustrating how a movable face shield is mounted relative to a
fixed face shield in the preferred embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the preferred embodiment
during use;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional side view of the preferred
embodiment, illustrating a coupling unit that couples the movable
face shield relative to the fixed face shield;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the preferred embodiment,
illustrating how the movable face shield is moved relative to the
fixed face shield from a first position to a second position;
and
[0015] FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of the preferred embodiment,
illustrating how the movable face shield is moved relative to the
fixed face shield from the second position to a third position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0016] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the preferred embodiment of a
welder helmet 1 according to the present invention is shown to
include a curved shield holder 11, a head set 13, a transparent
fixed face shield 2, a movable face shield 3, and a coupler unit 4
which couples the movable face shield 3 to the shield holder
11.
[0017] As illustrated, the curved shield holder 11 defines front
and rear sides, and has horizontally spaced apart left and right
ends 111, and two clamping plates 112 between which a
shield-retention groove 113 is defined.
[0018] The head set 13 is disposed rearwardly of the shield holder
11, and is mounted pivotally to the left and right ends 111 of the
shield holder 11.
[0019] The fixed face shield 2 has an upper portion 21 fittingly
inserted into the shield-retention groove 113 of the shield holder
11, and a lower portion 23 which extends downwardly from the shield
holder 11.
[0020] The movable face shield 3 is generally dark-colored and is
disposed frontwardly of the fixed face shield 2, and has an upper
edge disposed adjacent to the shield holder 11.
[0021] The coupler unit 4 includes a pivotal member 42, a bracket
41, a spring-biased limiting unit 43. The pivotal member 42, in the
form of a hollow body 422, is fixed on and extends outwardly and
frontwardly from the front side of the shield holder 11 to define a
chamber 423 therein. The hollow body 422 has a front end stopper
421 and is formed with a pair of diametrically opposing slots 425
which extend rearwardly from the front end stopper 421. The bracket
41 has a lower part 411 fixed on the upper edge of the movable face
shield 3, and includes a looped portion 413 that is hung on the
hollow body 422 and that has an engaging portion 414 extending into
the chamber 423 and spanning the slots 425 SO as to permit turning
of the movable face shield 3 relative to the hollow body 422. The
spring-biased limiting unit 43 is mounted within the chamber 423
and is disposed rearwardly of the engaging portion 414 for urging
the latter to abut against the front end stopper 421 of the hollow
body 422, thereby arresting unforced rotation of the movable face
shield 3 relative to the hollow body 422.
[0022] The engaging portion 414 has a generally rectangular
cross-section, and has front and rear abutment faces 418,416 which
extend in a direction transverse to a length of the hollow body 422
and which respectively abut against the front end stopper 421 of
the hollow body 422 and the spring-biased limiting unit 43 when the
movable face shield 3 is disposed at a first position parallel to
the fixed face shield 2, as best shown in FIG. 4, and top and
bottom abutment faces 417,415 which interconnect the front and rear
abutment faces 418,416 and which respectively abut against the
spring-biased limiting unit 43 and the front end stopper 421 when
the movable face shield 3 is turned against urging action of the
spring-biased limiting unit 43 from the first position of FIG. 4 to
a second position perpendicular to the fixed face shield 2, as best
shown in FIG. 6.
[0023] The movable face shield 3 can be further turned against
urging action of the spring-biased limiting unit 43 from the second
position of FIG. 6 to a third position shown in FIG. 7, during
which the engaging portion 414 rotates in the slots 425 such that
the front and rear abutment faces 418,416 respectively abut against
the spring-biased limiting unit 43 and the front end stopper 421 of
the hollow body 422.
[0024] The coupler unit 4 further includes a mounting seat 45 fixed
on the front side of the shield holder 1 via a screw 46. The hollow
body 422 has a distal threaded portion 424 threadedly engaging the
mounting seat 45 to confine the chamber 423 therebetween.
[0025] The head set 13 includes a flexible ring-shaped band 130
that has first and second free end sections which overlap and which
are movable toward and away from each other so as to adjust the
size thereof, and two head straddling straps 131 which extend
upwardly and inwardly from the ring-shaped band 130 and which have
distal strap sections that are disposed in an overlapping manner
and that are movable toward and away from each other. Since the
features of the present invention does not reside in the particular
configuration of the head set 13, a detailed description of the
same is omitted herein for the sake of brevity.
[0026] Preferably, the bracket 41 includes a projection 412 which
extends frontwardly from the lower part 411 to facilitate turning
of the looped portion 413 on the hollow body 422.
[0027] Note that the movable face shield 3 has a relatively small
size as compared to the fixed face shield 2 and is adapted to cover
only the upper part of the welder's face. As such, the movable face
shield 3 is relatively light in weight. Accordingly, only a
relatively small force is required to lift the movable face shield
3 away from the fixed face shield 2 when the welder wishes to check
a welded spot.
[0028] With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that
numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing
from the scope and spirit of this invention. It is therefore
intended that this invention be limited only as indicated in the
appended claims.
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