U.S. patent application number 11/208344 was filed with the patent office on 2007-03-08 for welder's helmet with respirator.
Invention is credited to Steven Charles.
Application Number | 20070050892 11/208344 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37828681 |
Filed Date | 2007-03-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070050892 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Charles; Steven |
March 8, 2007 |
Welder's helmet with respirator
Abstract
A welder's helmet is provided including a welder's mask having a
sight window and at least one opening in the mask for accommodating
a filter cartridge of a respirator mask. The respirator mask is
independently strapped to the user's head to assure proper airtight
fit to the user's face. A foam mounting structure is formed from a
plurality of spacer strips that allow the user to customize the
spacing between the welder's mask and respirator mask to fit their
individual size requirements. A pair of respirator cartridges can
be utilized to extend from the sides of the welder's helmet so as
not to provide an obstruction in front of the user's face.
Inventors: |
Charles; Steven; (Oxford,
MI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HARNESS, DICKEY & PIERCE, P.L.C.
P.O. BOX 828
BLOOMFIELD HILLS
MI
48303
US
|
Family ID: |
37828681 |
Appl. No.: |
11/208344 |
Filed: |
August 19, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/410 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F 9/06 20130101; A62B
18/025 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
002/410 |
International
Class: |
A42B 1/06 20060101
A42B001/06 |
Claims
1. A welder's helmet, comprising: a mask adapted to be worn over a
user's face and including a sight window and at least one opening
in said mask, said mask including a first strap adapted to engage a
user's head for holding the mask in place; and a respirator adapted
to be worn over a user's nose and mouth and including at least one
respirator filter disposed in said at least one opening in said
mask, said respirator including a second strap adapted to be
fastened around a user's head for holding the respirator in
place.
2. The welder's helmet according to claim 1, further comprising at
least one foam strip secured inside of said mask, wherein said
respirator is secured to said at lest one foam strip.
3. The welder's helmet according to claim 2, wherein said at least
one foam strip includes a plurality of foam strips that are
selectively stacked to provide a desired spacing between said mask
and said respirator.
4. The welder's helmet according to claim 2, wherein said
respirator is secured to said at least one foam strip by a
releasable hook and loop fastener.
5. The welder's helmet according to claim 1, wherein said at least
one hole in said mask includes a pair of openings disposed in said
mask and said respirator includes a pair of respirator filters
disposed in said pair of openings.
6. The welder's helmet according to claim 1, wherein said at least
one respirator filter is removably attached to said respirator.
7. The welder's helmet according to claim 1, further comprising a
cover member adapted to be mounted over said at least one opening
in said mask.
8. The welder's helmet according to claim 7, wherein said cover
member is mounted to said mask by a magnet.
9. A welder's helmet, comprising: a mask adapted to be worn over a
user's face and including a sight window and a pair of openings in
said mask; and a respirator adapted to be worn over a user's nose
and mouth and including a pair of respirator filters each disposed
in a respective one of said pair of openings in said mask.
10. The welder's helmet according to claim 9, further comprising at
least one foam strip secured inside of said mask, wherein said
respirator is secured to said at lest one foam strip.
11. The welder's helmet according to claim 10, wherein said at
least one foam strip includes a plurality of foam strips that are
selectively stacked to provide a desired spacing between said mask
and said respirator.
12. The welder's helmet according to claim 9, wherein said
respirator is secured to said at least one foam strip by a
releasable hook and loop fastener.
13. The welder's helmet according to claim 9, wherein said pair of
respirator filters are removably attached to said respirator.
14. The welder's helmet according to claim 9, further comprising a
pair of cover members adapted to be mounted over said pair of
openings in said mask.
15. The welder's helmet according to claim 9, wherein said mask
includes a first strap adapted to engage a user's head for holding
the mask in place and said respirator includes a second strap
adapted to be fastened around a user's head for holding the
respirator in place.
16. A welder's helmet, comprising: a mask adapted to be worn over a
user's face and including a sight window; a respirator adapted to
be worn over a user's nose and mouth; and at least one foam strip
secured inside of said mask, wherein said respirator is secured to
said at least one foam strip.
17. The welder's helmet according to claim 16, wherein said at
least one foam strip includes a plurality of foam strips that are
selectively stacked to provide a desired spacing between said mask
and said respirator.
18. The welder's helmet according to claim 16, wherein said
respirator is secured to said at least one foam strip by a
releasable hook and loop fastener.
19. The welder's helmet according to claim 16, further comprising a
pair of openings in said mask and said respirator including a pair
of respirator filters each disposed in a respective one of said
pair of openings in said mask.
20. The welder's helmet according to claim 19, wherein said mask
includes a first strap adapted to engage a user's head for holding
the mask in place and said respirator includes a second strap
adapted to be fastened around a user's head for holding the
respirator in place.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a welder's helmet and more
particularly to a welders helmet with a respirator.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0002] It has been well known in the welding art for a welder to
wear a helmet in order to protect the welder's face from sparks as
well as providing a tinted sight window to protect the welder
against damage to the eyes due to the intense flash caused by
electric arc welding, and other welding processes. A typical
welder's helmet utilizes a nearly opaque or light radiation
absorbing window to block the intense arc light, but still allow
the welder to view the workpiece on which he is working.
[0003] Accordingly, welding masks have been designed to
sufficiently protect the welder against damage to the eyes and
against sputtering or thrown particles of metal that are otherwise
projected toward the welder's face.
[0004] There are further known welder's helmet designs that include
means for protecting a welder against poisonous or noxious fumes
and gases that are commonly given off by the welding rods. Although
these known welder's helmets with means for protecting a welder
against poisonous or noxious fumes present an advancement in the
welding art for protecting the welder, it is still desirable in the
welding art to provide a welder's helmet with a respirator that is
more suitably adapted to the individual welder's face, provides a
better airtight sealing around the user's nose and mouth, and
provides reduced obstruction to the user's vision.
[0005] Accordingly, the welder's helmet, according to the
principles of the present invention, provides a respirator mask
having an independent strap for ensuring that the respirator mask
is securely fitted to a user's face. In addition, the respirator
mask includes a pair of filters that are received in respective
openings in the welder's mask that are disposed to separate sides
thereof so as to reduce the obstruction of the welder. Finally, a
foam interior mounting structure is provided inside of the helmet
to accommodate for variances in welders' faces. In particular, the
foam interior mounting structure can be adapted by adding
additional layers of foam for mounting the respirator mask within
the welder mask.
[0006] Further areas of applicability of the present invention will
become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter.
It should be understood that the detailed description and specific
examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the
invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are
not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The present invention will become more fully understood from
the detailed description and the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a welder's helmet with
respirator, according to the principles of the present
invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a front plan view of the welder's helmet with
respirator, as shown in FIG. 1, with the respirator portion,
disposed within the helmet, being shown in phantom for illustration
purposes;
[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the various
components utilized in the welder's helmet, according the
principles of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a rear plan view of the welder's helmet
illustrating the foam spacers that are utilized for securing the
respirator within the welder's mask according to one aspect of the
present invention;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a rear plan view of the welder's helmet with the
respirator in place inside the helmet according the principles of
the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cap member utilized for
covering the openings in a welder's helmet when the respirator is
removed;
[0014] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a cap member according to a
second embodiment; and
[0015] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a cap member according to a
third embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is
merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the
invention, its application, or uses.
[0017] With reference to FIG. 1, a welder's helmet 10 according the
principles of the present invention, is shown. The welder's helmet
10 includes a welder's mask 12 including a sight window 14 which
can include a single window or a pair of separate windows for each
eye of the user. A dark, light absorbing panel 16 is pivotally
mounted to the welder's mask 12 and can be moved to an open
position as illustrated in FIG. 1, and moved to a closed position
as illustrated in FIG. 2 for covering the sight window 14. The
welder's mask 12 includes a pair of openings 18 disposed on
opposite sides of the mask as best illustrated in FIG. 2. As
illustrated in FIG. 4, the welder's mask 12 includes a head ring
assembly 20 disposed on the interior of the welder's mask 12 that
is designed to engage a user's head. The head ring assembly 20
includes an adjustment feature 22 to allow the head ring 20 to be
adjusted in diameter to fit different sized user's heads. The head
ring assembly 20 also includes a top head strap 24 which engages
the top of the user's head. The top head strap 24 is also
adjustable for different sized user's heads.
[0018] A respirator mask 30, best shown in FIG. 3, is disposed
within the welder's mask 12 and includes a pair of respirator
filter cartridges 32 disposed on opposite sides thereof and
disposed within the pair of openings 18 provided in the welder's
mask 12. The respirator mask 30 includes two internally threaded
apertures 34 which are engaged by thread portions 36 disposed on
filter cartridges 32. As best shown in FIG. 5, the respirator mask
30 includes a strap including a first strap member 38 and second
strap member 40 which are provided with connector portions 42, 44,
respectively, to allow the strap 38, 40 to be engaged around a
user's head in order to secure the respirator mask 30 to the user
independent of the welder's mask 12. The openings 18 provided in
the welder's mask 12 are slightly larger than the diameter of the
filter cartridges 32 to allow relative movement therebetween.
[0019] With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of differently
sized foam spacer strips 50, 52, 54 are provided for connecting the
respirator mask 30 to the interior surface of the welder's mask 12.
The foam spacer strips 50, 52, 54 are applied as illustrated in
FIG. 4 such that the application of a single or multiple layers of
foam spacers 50, 52, 54 allow the user to "build-up" the mounting
surface within the welder's helmet to which one portion of a
hook-and-loop type fastener 60 can be mounted so as to provide
appropriate spacing for connection with an associated portion 62 of
a hook-and-loop type fastener that is adhesively secured to the
front of the respirator mask 30, as shown in FIG. 3. With the
hook-and-loop fastener 60, 62, the respirator mask 30 can be
removed from the welder's mask 12 so that the welder's mask 12 can
be utilized without the respirator mask 30 if desired.
[0020] The side openings 18 provided in the welder's mask 12 also
allow for the easy accessibility and changing of the respirator
filter cartridges 32 which are easily threaded into and out of the
threaded apertures 34 provided in the respirator mask 30. With each
of the openings 18 being disposed on opposite sides of the mask,
the mask is not required to extend further away from the front of
the user's face, which would otherwise cause an obstruction to the
user's vision. The foam spacers 50, 52, 54 can be provided with
self adhesive layers so that they can be easily applied within the
helmet to adapt the helmet for the individual user.
[0021] When the welder's helmet 10 is utilized without the
respirator mask 30, the openings 18 can be covered with cap members
70, as best shown in FIG. 6. The cap members 70 are preferably made
from the same material and color as the welding helmet itself, and
can include flexible memory clips 72 that engage the opening 18 or
can be provided with other fastening means to allow the cap members
to substantial cover the openings 18.
[0022] As an alternative, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the cap members
170 can be provided with one or more magnets 172 adhered to it. The
magnet could be a magnetic ring or a plurality of spaced magnets,
such as the button-shaped magnets that are shown. The welding
helmet can also be provided with corresponding magnets or metal
surfaces adhered or otherwise secured to it to correspond with the
magnets 172 of cap member 170 for holding the cap members 170 in
place. It should be understood by one having ordinary skill in the
art, that the magnets can be placed on one or both of the cap
member and helmet while the other corresponding mating element can
be either magnetic or metal.
[0023] As still another alternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8,
the caps 270 are provided as a dual layer magnetic cap that can be
utilized when the welding helmet has the filter clearance holes cut
into it, rather than being formed in the helmet molding process.
The cap 270 can be made to accommodate for either multiple button
sized magnets such as illustrated in FIG. 8, or accommodating a
ring magnet. The two layer 272, 274 of the cap are adhered together
by an adhesive. Once this is completed, the magnets 276 are then
adhered into place on the cap 270. The dual layer style cap 270 is
a resultant of the manufacturing process of the helmet. An added
safety ring feature is added to the helmet around the filters
clearance holes in order to protect the welding operator from sharp
edges on the holes that may result due to the holes being cut into
the welding helmet as a retrofit system.
[0024] The description of the invention is merely exemplary in
nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of
the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention.
Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the
spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *