U.S. patent application number 11/326600 was filed with the patent office on 2007-06-07 for motorcycle helmet.
This patent application is currently assigned to HJC Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Kwang-Ho Pyo.
Application Number | 20070124851 11/326600 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37698326 |
Filed Date | 2007-06-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070124851 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pyo; Kwang-Ho |
June 7, 2007 |
Motorcycle helmet
Abstract
A motorcycle helmet having a jaw guard, shield and visor, all of
which can be pivoted with one hinge point, is disclosed. The helmet
comprises a helmet body 10, a jaw guard 20 which protects the jaw
of the wearer by covering part of said opening 11 of said helmet
body 10, a shield 30 which opens and closes the remaining part of
said opening 11 above said jaw guard 20, a visor 40 which
intercepts sunlight incoming into part of said opening 11 in said
helmet body 10, and a fastening screw 50 which is screwed to pivot
holes 12 on both left and right sides of said helmet body 10 so as
to pivotably move all of the hinge portion 22 of said jaw guard 20,
the latch pivot portion 32 of said shield 30, and the lever
mechanisms 42 of said visor 40 by making pivot holes 12 as a hinge
point.
Inventors: |
Pyo; Kwang-Ho; (Yongin-si,
KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
R. Neil Sudol
714 Colorado Avenue
Bridgeport
CT
06605-1601
US
|
Assignee: |
HJC Co., Ltd.
Yongin-si
KR
|
Family ID: |
37698326 |
Appl. No.: |
11/326600 |
Filed: |
January 5, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/424 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A42B 3/326 20130101;
A42B 3/222 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
002/424 |
International
Class: |
A42B 1/08 20060101
A42B001/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 6, 2005 |
KR |
2005-0117926 |
Claims
1. A motorcycle helmet comprising: a helmet body 10 in which an
opening 11 for the face is provided on front and pivot holes 12 are
formed on both left and right sides; a jaw guard 20 which protects
the jaw of the wearer by covering part of said opening 11 of said
helmet body 10 and which can be pivotably moved by hinge portions
22 provided on the extending portions 21 of both left and right
sides as a hinge point; a shield 30 which opens and closes the
remaining part of said opening 11 above said jaw guard 20 and which
can be pivotably moved by latch pivot portions 32 provided on
extending portions 31 on both left and right sides as a hinge
point; a visor 40 which intercepts sunlight incoming into part of
said opening 11 in said helmet body 10 and which can be pivotably
moved by the lever mechanisms 42 on both left and right sides
having control levers 42a as a hinge point; and a fastening screw
50 which is screwed to pivot holes 12 on both left and right sides
of said helmet body 10 so as to pivotably move all of the hinge
portion 22 of said jaw guard 20, the latch pivot portion 32 of said
shield 30, and the lever mechanisms 42 of said visor 40 by making
pivot holes 12 as a hinge point.
2. The motorcycle helmet according to claim 1, wherein said visor
40 is modularized by comprising a visor body 41 including a visor
portion 41a for intercepting sunlight incoming into part of said
opening 11 in said helmet body 10, and extending portions 41d
extended to left and right from said visor portions 41a and having
visor pivot holes 41b and lever inserting holes 41c formed at the
position eccentric with the visor pivot hole 41b; a control lever
42a including a protuberance 42b at one end thereof which is
inserted into the lever inserting hole 41c of the visor body 41,
and a lever pivot hole 42c at the other end thereof; a lever arm
42d which is inserted into the lever pivot hole 42c of the control
lever 42a; a fastening plate 43 which has a visor pivot 43b
inserted into the visor pivot hole 41b of said visor body 41 and a
lever pivot 43a inserted into the lever pivot hole 42c of said
control lever 42a, and which can fix these on the inside of said
helmet body 10; a guide flap 42f which is fixed at one end of the
lever arm 42d of said control lever 42a to be introduced within a
predetermined range of movement according to the rotation of the
lever arm 42d; and an adjusting knob 42e which is joined to the
lever arm 42d of said control lever 42a by passing through said
guide flap 42f and moves within a predetermined range along an arc
hole 13 formed on the side of said helmet body 10.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a motorcycle helmet, and
more specifically to a motorcycle helmet wherein a shield, visor
and jaw guard are configured so as to be rotated with one hinge
point to make it easy to assemble and use, while the operation and
structure of the visor are modularized into one to reduce cost and
improve productivity.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Motorcycle riders must wear a safety helmet to protect the
head and the front of helmet should have a shield installed to
prevent sight obstruction and breathing difficulty due to winds
blowing from front.
[0005] And to protect the jaw of the wearer, a jaw guard is
provided at the bottom of the helmet in the jaw portion. Both ends
of this jaw guard are pivotably mounted on hinge portions installed
on both left and right sides of the helmet body, so as to be
adjusted suitably according to the shape of the face of the
wearer.
[0006] Also, a visor can be provided to intercept sunlight coming
directly into the eye in daytime. Such a visor is also pivotably
mounted on the hinge portions installed on both left and right
sides for use by moving up or down as necessary.
[0007] As described above, the conventional helmet has components
that need to be opened or closed as necessary, such as the jaw
guard, shield and visor, but conventionally there were no helmets
in which these three components can be opened and closed around one
shaft.
[0008] In the visor of the conventional helmet, the visor portion
that can be opened or closed, the pivot for opening and closing
this visor, and the operating lever are configured individually as
separate parts and they are in such a structure that makes it very
difficult to assemble these together with the shield and jaw guard,
so it is not suitable for mass production.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a motorcycle helmet having a jaw guard, shield and visor,
all of which can be pivoted around one pivot shaft.
[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
motorcycle helmet wherein all the modules can be easily assembled
in one place after the modularized visor parts of an opening and
closing structure are produced separately in another production
place.
[0011] In accordance with the present invention, there is provided
a motorcycle helmet comprising: a helmet body in which an opening
for the face is provided on front and pivot holes are formed on
both left and right sides; a jaw guard which protects the jaw of
the wearer by covering part of the opening of the helmet body and
which can be pivotably moved by hinge portions provided on the
extending portions of both left and right sides as a hinge point; a
shield which opens and closes the remaining part of the opening
above the jaw guard and which can be pivotably moved by latch pivot
portions provided on extending portions on both left and right
sides as a hinge point; a visor which intercepts sunlight incoming
into part of the opening in the helmet body and which can be
pivotably moved by the lever mechanisms on both left and right
sides having control levers as a hinge point; and a fastening screw
which is screwed to pivot holes on both left and right sides of the
helmet body so as to pivotably move all of the hinge portion of the
jaw guard, the latch pivot portion of the shield, and the lever
mechanisms of the visor by making pivot holes as a hinge point.
[0012] Preferably, the visor is modularized by comprising a visor
body including a visor portion for intercepting sunlight incoming
into part of the opening in the helmet body, and extending portions
extended to left and right from the visor portions and having visor
pivot holes and lever inserting holes formed at the position
eccentric with the visor pivot hole; a control lever including a
protuberance at one end thereof which is inserted into the lever
inserting hole of the visor body, and a lever pivot hole at the
other end thereof; a lever arm which is inserted into the lever
pivot hole of the control lever; a fastening plate which has a
visor pivot inserted into the visor pivot hole of the visor body
and a lever pivot inserted into the lever pivot hole of the control
lever, and which can fix these on the inside of the helmet body; a
guide flap which is fixed at one end of the lever arm of the
control lever to be introduced within a predetermined range of
movement according to the rotation of the lever arm; and an
adjusting knob which is joined to the lever arm of the control
lever by passing through the guide flap and moves within a
predetermined range along an arc hole formed on the side of the
helmet body.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] Other objects and aspects of the present invention will
become apparent from the following description of embodiments with
reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a helmet according to
the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the helmet
according to the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a partially sectional view showing the assembly
structure of the helmet according to the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a lateral view showing the operation state of a
jaw guard of the helmet according to the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a lateral view showing the operation state of a
shield of the helmet according to the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a lateral view showing the operation state of a
visor of the helmet according to the present invention; and
[0020] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a visor according to
the present invention in a modularized state.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Below will be described in more detail a motorcycle helmet
according to the present invention with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
[0022] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a helmet according to
the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view
showing the helmet according to the present invention.
[0023] As shown in these drawings, the helmet according to the
present invention includes a jaw guard 20 for covering the opening
11 in a helmet body 10, a shield 30 and a visor 40. These parts are
provided all on one pivot shaft for each to operate pivotably.
[0024] For this, on both left and right sides of the helmet body 10
are formed pivot holes 12.
[0025] And, the jaw guard 20 for protecting the jaw of the wearer
by covering part of the opening 11 of the helmet body 10 is
pivotably mounted on the helmet body 10 by hinge portions 22
arranged on both sides of the extending portions 21 of the jaw
guard 20.
[0026] And, the shield 30 that can close or open the remaining part
of the opening 11 above the jaw guard 20 is mounted pivotably on
the helmet body 10 by latch pivot portions 32 formed on both ends
of the extending portions 31 of the shield 30.
[0027] The visor 40 that is arranged over the top of the opening 11
in the helmet body 10 to intercept sunlight is pivotably mounted on
the helmet body 10 by lever mechanisms 42 installed at both ends of
the visor 40. The lever mechanism 42 includes a control lever 42a
for adjusting the angle of the visor 40.
[0028] To assemble, as shown in FIG. 3, the hinge portion 22 of the
jaw guard 20, the latch pivot portion 32 of the shield 30 and the
lever mechanism 42 of the visor 40 are pivotably mounted on both
left and right sides of the helmet body 10 all by a fastening screw
50. The fastening screw 50 passes through the hinge portions 22 and
the latch pivot portion 32 in sequence to be inserted into the
pivot holes 12 formed on the left and right sides of the helmet
body 10 before it is screwed to a fastening plate 43.
[0029] At this time, the jaw guard 20 and the shield 30, as shown
in FIG. 3, are pivotably mounted on the helmet body 10 by the
fastening screw 50 through a mounting plate 23. Also, a spacer 24
is sandwiched between the mounting plate 23 and the fastening screw
50.
[0030] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, a hinge hole 23a, into which
the fastening screw 50 is inserted, is formed in the hinge portion
22 of the jaw guard 20 corresponding to the pivot hole 12, and a
through hole 23b corresponding to the hinge hole 23a is formed in
the mounting plate 23, so that the fastening screw 50 passes
through these hinge holes 23a, through holes 23b and the pivot
holes 12 of the helmet body 10 in sequence to be screwed to the
fastening plate 43.
[0031] The mounting plate 23 is provided with a guide lip 23c and
the spacer 24 is provided with a concave-convex portion 24a
corresponding to the guide lip 23c so as to make it possible to fix
the jaw guard 20 in a desired position. This is roughly similar to
the structure of a conventional motorcycle helmet, so detailed
description of this is omitted.
[0032] Also, in order to adjust and fix the height of the shield 30
at a desired position, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, an arc slot 34
having a latch 33 is formed in the latch pivot portion 32 and a
latch protuberance 23d having elasticity is formed in the mounting
plate 23. Therefore, it is possible to fix the shield 30 by
adjusting the height to a desired position by rotating around the
pivot hole 12 by the latch 33 of the latch pivot portion 32 and the
latch protuberance 23d of the mounting plate 23.
[0033] Meanwhile, the visor 40, as shown in FIGS. 2, 6 and 7, has a
structure entirely different from the conventional one.
[0034] Namely, the visor 40 is modularized with a visor body 41,
the control lever 42a, the fastening plate 43, a guide flap 42f and
an adjusting knob 42 so as to have a structural characteristic for
improving the productivity and assemblability of parts.
[0035] The visor body 41 comprises a visor portion 41a for
intercepting part of the opening 11 in the helmet body 10, and
extending portions 41d extended to the left and right from the
visor portion 41a. In the extending portion 41d of the visor body
41 are formed a visor pivot hole 41b into which the visor pivot 43b
of the fastening plate 43 is inserted and a lever inserting hole
41c for connecting the control lever 42a.
[0036] And, the control lever 42a includes a protuberance 42b at
one end thereof which is inserted into the lever inserting hole 41c
of the visor body 41, and a lever pivot hole 42c at the other end
thereof. A lever arm 42d is inserted into the lever pivot hole 42c
of the control lever 42a.
[0037] The fastening plate 43 has a visor pivot 43b which is
inserted into the visor pivot hole 41b of the visor body 41, and a
lever pivot 43a which is inserted into the lever pivot hole 42c of
the control lever 42a, and which can fix these on the inside of the
helmet body 10.
[0038] Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the control lever 42a has a guide
flap 42f which is fixed at the end of the lever arm 42d. When the
end of the lever arm 42 pivots, this guide flap 42f allows it be
introduced along a predetermined range of motion. And, at the end
of the lever arm 42d is joined the adjusting knob 42e after passing
through the guide flap 42f. This adjusting knob 42e rotates the
lever arm 42d, when the height of the visor 40 is to be adjusted
using the control lever 42a. The lever arm 42d can be moved by the
adjusting knob 42e within a predetermined range along an arch hole
13 formed on the side of the helmet body 10.
[0039] And, on the inside of the arc hole 13 are formed a plurality
of catch slots 13a in which the protruded portion of the adjusting
knob 42e is inserted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible
to fix the visor 40 in a desired ascent or descent position by
matching the adjusting knob 42e with any one of these catch slots
13a.
[0040] Accordingly, when the helmet wearer holds the adjusting knob
42e and moves along the arc hole 13, the lever arm 42d moves
pivotably in the lever pivot hole 42c as a hinge point. Since the
visor body 41 is moved up or down with the visor pivot hole 41b as
a hinge point according as the control lever 42a is moved, the
visor 40 can be accurately moved into the position of the wearer's
field of vision.
[0041] Because the protruded portion of the adjusting knob 42e is
inserted in the catch slot 13a in a state operated like this, it is
possible to maintain the moved position as it is, even after the
adjusting knob 42e is moved to a desired position.
[0042] As described above, it is possible to enhance productivity
by reducing cost and assembly time by reducing the related parts,
because the present invention has made the jaw guard, shield and
visor move pivotably centering on one hinge point. Also, since the
wearer is provided with all of the jaw guard, shield and visor, he
can use each element easily when necessary.
[0043] Furthermore, because it was made possible to produce the
visor separately in another production place by modularizing the
parts of its opening and closing structure, the productivity and
assemblability for all the modules are improved.
[0044] Although the present invention has been described in
connection with the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the
drawings, it is only illustrative. It will be understood by those
skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalents can
be made to the present invention. Therefore, the true technical
scope of the present invention should be defined by the appended
claims.
* * * * *