U.S. patent application number 13/296485 was filed with the patent office on 2013-01-10 for helmet.
Invention is credited to MICHIO ARAI.
Application Number | 20130007950 13/296485 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45346219 |
Filed Date | 2013-01-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130007950 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ARAI; MICHIO |
January 10, 2013 |
HELMET
Abstract
A helmet includes a helmet shell configuring the outermost layer
of the helmet, an impact absorbing liner provided on the inner side
surface of the helmet shell, and a detachable cushion body provided
inside the impact absorbing liner, wherein the cushion body
includes a basic cushion member configuring a wearer side part and
an adjusting cushion members detachably provided so as to overlap
the basic cushion member, and a covers for preventing the shift
between the adjusting cushion members and the basic cushion member
are provided outside the cushion body such that the covers are
located outside the portion where the adjusting cushion members
overlap the basic cushion member, and an opening section for
inserting or removing the adjusting cushion members is provided
between the covers and the basic cushion member.
Inventors: |
ARAI; MICHIO; (Saitama-shi,
JP) |
Family ID: |
45346219 |
Appl. No.: |
13/296485 |
Filed: |
November 15, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/414 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A42B 3/127 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/414 |
International
Class: |
A42B 3/12 20060101
A42B003/12 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 8, 2011 |
JP |
2011-152228 |
Claims
1. A helmet comprising: a helmet shell configuring the outermost
layer of a helmet; an impact absorbing liner provided on the inner
side surface of said helmet shell; and a detachable cushion body
provided inside said impact absorbing liner, wherein said cushion
body includes a basic cushion member configuring a wearer side part
and an adjusting cushion member detachably provided so as to
overlap said basic cushion member, and a cover for preventing the
shift between said adjusting cushion member and said basic cushion
member is provided outside said cushion body such that the cover is
located outside the portion where said adjusting cushion member
overlaps said basic cushion member, and an opening section for
inserting or removing said adjusting cushion member is provided
between said cover and said basic cushion member.
2. The helmet according to claim 1, wherein said adjusting cushion
member is provided on said impact absorbing liner side and/or the
wearer side.
3. The helmet according to claim 1, wherein said adjusting cushion
member and/or said basic cushion member is configured such that the
shift of adjusting cushion member is prevented by friction
resistance.
4. The helmet according to claim 1, wherein said adjusting cushion
member and/or said basic cushion member has mutually peelable
adherence.
5. The helmet according to claim 1, wherein said adjusting cushion
member and/or said basic cushion member includes a mutually
peelable adhesive member.
6. The helmet according to claim 1, wherein the opening width of
said opening section is configured to be narrower than the total
width of said adjusting cushion member.
7. The helmet according to of claim 1, wherein said opening section
is configured to be openable and closable.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a helmet for drives various
types of vehicles such as automobiles and motor bikes, vessels such
as motor boats, as well as moving tools such as bicycles and so
forth.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] There is known a helmet, which removably includes a head
cushion member to give a comfortable wear feeling to the wearer
when wearing the helmet. The head cushion member described in the
patent literature 1 listed below is configured such that a side
head part cushion member, a crown part cushion member, a front head
part cushion member, and a rear head part cushion member, which are
formed with a cushion member covered with fabric, are joined
together along the inner surface of the helmet.
[0003] Further, the head cushion member is configured such that a
pocket-shaped folding back part is formed by folding back the one
end part of the neck part of a rear head part cushion member and an
adjusting cushion member is provided insertably into or removably
from this cover, and by inserting or removing this adjusting
cushion member into or from the cover, the thickness in the neck
part of rear head part cushion member can be adjusted.
PATENT LITERATURE
[0004] [PATENT LITERATURE 1] Laid-open patent publication
2000-160424
SUBJECTS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION
[0005] According to the related art shown in the patent literature
1, the insertion or removal of the adjusting cushion member into or
from the cover makes it possible to easily adjust the thickness in
the neck part of the rear head part cushion member, and thus a
desired wear feeling can be obtained when wearing the helmet.
[0006] However, according to the related art shown in the patent
literature 1, since the width of entrance of the cover is equal to
the width of the adjusting cushion member, the adjusting cushion
member easily gets out from the cover, thus shift easily occurs in
the getting out direction when attaching the head part cushion
member to the helmet.
[0007] The objects of the present invention are to make it possible
to provide an adjusting cushion member so as to correspond to the
individually different shape of the head part and cheek part of an
wearer, to improve the holding capability of adjusting cushion
member, and to reliably obtain a desired wear feeling by improving
the holding capability of adjusting cushion member, and so
forth.
[0008] In order to achieve such objects, the helmet according to
the present invention is provided with at least the following
configuration.
[0009] The present invention provides a helmet. The helmet includes
a helmet shell configuring the outermost layer of a helmet, an
impact absorbing liner provided on the inner side surface of the
helmet shell and a detachable cushion body provided inside the
impact absorbing liner, wherein the cushion body includes a basic
cushion member configuring a wearer side part and an adjusting
cushion member detachably provided so as to overlap the basic
cushion member, and a cover for preventing the shift between the
adjusting cushion member and the basic cushion member is provided
outside the cushion body such that the cover is located outside the
portion where the adjusting cushion member overlaps the basic
cushion member, and an opening section for inserting or removing
the adjusting cushion member is provided between the cover and the
basic cushion member.
[0010] It is preferable that the adjusting cushion member is
provided on the impact absorbing liner side and/or the wearer
side.
[0011] It is preferable that the adjusting cushion member and/or
the basic cushion member is configured such that the shift of
adjusting cushion member is prevented by friction resistance.
[0012] It is preferable that the adjusting cushion member and/or
the basic cushion member has mutually peelable adherence the
adjusting cushion member and/or the basic cushion member includes a
mutually peelable adhesive member.
[0013] It is preferable that the opening width of the opening
section is configured to be narrower than the total width of the
adjusting cushion member.
[0014] It is preferable that the opening section is configured to
be openable and closable.
ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
[0015] With such aspects, the present invention offers the
following advantages. That is, the shift of an adjusting cushion
member is prevented by a cover and the adjusting cushion member is
configured to be insertable and removable into and from a cushion
body, thereby making it possible to provide an adjusting cushion
member so as to correspond to individually different shape of the
head part or cheek part of the wearer, while making it possible to
improve the holding capability of the adjusting cushion member. By
improving the holding capability of the adjusting cushion member, a
desired wear feeling can be reliably obtained.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a helmet according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line
(2)-(2) of FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a side view of the head cushion member of FIG.
1;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line
(4)-(4) of FIG. 3;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a helmet illustrating
another embodiment of the placement positions of the adjusting
cushion member;
[0021] FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an embodiment wherein the
adjusting cushion member is attached to the cheek part cushion
member: FIG. 6(a) is a partially cut out side view of the cheek
part cushion member, FIG. 6 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken
along the line (b)-(b) of FIG. 6 (a), and FIG. 6(C) is a
cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the adjusting
cushion member is attached to the cushion component without the
exterior members;
[0022] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another
embodiment of the cover;
[0023] FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the adjusting cushion
member, wherein FIG. 8(a) is an enlarged view of the essential part
of the adjusting cushion member the surface of which is configured
to form fine concavity and convexity so as to generate friction
resistance, FIG. 8(b) is an enlarged view of the essential part of
the adjusting cushion member wherein a fabric with rough weave
patterns or knitted stitches is bonded to the surface of the
adjusting cushion member so as to generate friction resistance;
and
[0024] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an embodiment
wherein the opening section of the cover is configured to be
openable and closable.
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION
[0025] The helmet described below includes an open face helmet.
[0026] Further, a helmet for both open-face and full-face use is
included, wherein, as shown in the Japanese laid-open patent
publication H07-126908, the front open part of the helmet body of
an open face type is covered with a shield which is rotatably
supported about an axis on both the right and left sides of a
helmet shell, and a chin guard is rotatably and fixably attached to
the supporting axis part of the shield, crossing over the front
open part between both the right and left sides of the helmet
shell.
[0027] The basic cushion member described hereinafter includes a
head cushion member provided on the inner surface of the head part
of helmet, and a cheek part cushion member provided on the inner
surface of the side part of helmet.
[0028] The head part cushion member described hereinafter is
provided on the inner surface of the head part of helmet including
those which are configured to join the side head part cushion
member, the crown part cushion member, the front head part cushion
member, and the rear head part cushion member along the inner
surface of the head part of the helmet.
[0029] Here, peelable adherence is defined as the adherence which
does not cause damage to an adjusting cushion member and a basic
cushion member when the adjusting cushion member is removed from
the basic cushion member.
[0030] Hereinafter, a helmet according to an embodiment of the
present invention is described with reference to the drawings. The
helmet shown in this embodiment as an example is a full-face helmet
and the basic cushion member to which the adjusting cushion member
is detachably attached is a head part cushion member. FIG. 1 and
FIG. 2 are configuration views of a helmet A, while FIG. 3 and FIG.
4 are configuration views of a head part cushion member 1.
[0031] The helmet A includes a helmet shell A1 configuring the
outermost layer of the helmet A, an impact absorbing liner A2
provided on the inner surface of the helmet shell A1, a cushion
body B provided on the inner surface of the impact absorbing liner
A2 and the inner side of the helmet shell A1, and a shield A3 which
is supported about an axis on both the right and left outer sides
of the helmet shell A1 rotatably in the direction to open and close
the front open part A10 of the helmet shell A1.
[0032] The cushion body B, which configures a wearer side part,
includes a basic cushion member C having a head part cushion member
1 provided on the head part inner side of the impact absorbing
liner A2 and cheek part cushion members A4L, A4R provided on the
inner side of the right and left side part of the helmet shell A1;
and adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R which are provided on the side
of the impact absorbing liner A2 in the side head part cushion
members 2L, 2R of the head part cushion member 1 in the basic
cushion member C.
[0033] The helmet shell A1 is molded in the shape of a full face
helmet by using a reinforced fiber resin material (GFRP, CFRA, and
so forth) which is made by impregnating a reinforced fiber material
(glass fiber, carbon fiber, and so forth) with a thermoset resin
material (epoxy resin material, phenol resin material, and so
forth), or a thermoplastic resin (polycarbonate, and so forth).
[0034] The impact absorbing liner A2 is molded in the shape
corresponding to the protection region of head part (crown part,
front head part, rear head part, side head part) on the inner
surface side of the helmet shell A1, which is defined by various
national standards, by using a material with shock-absorbing
performance (for example, expanded polystyrene material) or an
alternative material with the same shock-absorbing performance as
this material.
[0035] The cheek part cushion members A4L, A4R are configured by
enveloping a buffer material 40 molded by using the same or similar
material as the impact absorbing liner A2 and a cushion component
41 molded by using urethane material and so forth with an exterior
member 42 which is made of a flexible material such as fabric (see
FIG. 2).
[0036] The cheek part cushion members A4L, A4R are detachably
attached to the helmet shell A1 via a fixing member (not
shown).
[0037] The head part cushion member 1 is configured by joining the
aforementioned side head part cushion members 2L, 2R, crown part
cushion member 3, front head part cushion member 4, and rear head
part cushion member 5 along the head part inner surface of the
impact absorbing liner A2.
[0038] The side head part cushion members 2L, 2R, the crown part
cushion member 3, the front head part cushion member 4, and the
rear head part cushion member 5 are configured by enveloping with
an exterior member 12a a cushion component 11 which is made of the
same material as the cushion component used for the cheek part
cushion members A4L, A4R or has the similar cushion capability
thereto.
[0039] The head part cushion member is detachably attached to the
impact absorbing liner A2 via a fixing member (not shown) such that
the cushion member can be replaced by a head part cushion member
the size of which corresponds to the head part size of a
wearer.
[0040] The side head part cushion members 2L, 2R are provided at
the position corresponding to the side head part of a wearer, and
adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R which adjust the thickness of the
side head part cushion members 2L, 2R are detachably provided on
the side of the impact absorbing liner A2 so as to overlap the side
head part cushion members 2L, 2R. Further, the side head part
cushion members 2L, 2R include covers 7L, 7R which hold the
adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R from outside the adjusting cushion
members 6L, 6R by sandwiching the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R
between the covers 7L, 7R and the cushion component 11.
[0041] The crown part cushion member 3 is provided at the position
corresponding to the crown part of a wearer, the front head part
cushion member 4 is provided at the position corresponding to the
front head part of a wearer, and the rear head part cushion member
5 is provided at the position corresponding to the rear head part
of a wearer, respectively.
[0042] The adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R are made of the same
material as the cushion component 11 used for the side head part
cushion members 2L, 2R or have the similar cushion capability
thereto, and include an adhesive member 60 which detachably adheres
to the side head part cushion members 2L, 2R.
[0043] The adhesive member 60 is an adhesive tape and so forth
having an adhesive force which does not cause damage to the
adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R and the side head part cushion
members 2L, 2R when removing the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R
from the side head part cushion members 2L, 2R. The adhesive member
60 adheres to the exterior member 12 of the side head part cushion
members 2L, 2R, whereby the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R are
detachably attached to the side head part cushion members 2L,
2R.
[0044] The covers 7L, 7R are provided so as to face the exterior
member 12 and sandwich the cushion component 11 between the covers
7L, 7R and the exterior member 12, thus functioning as part of the
exterior member 12 as well.
[0045] The three side parts except for the upper end part of the
covers 7L, 7R are sewn to or adhered to the exterior member 12,
thus being fixed thereto so as to form an opening section 70 which
allows to insert or remove the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R
through between the non-fixed upper end part and the cushion
component 11, and thus a bag part 71 is configured between the
inner surface of the covers 7L, 7R and the outer surface of the
cushion component 11 such that the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R
are inserted into the bag part 71 from the opening section 70.
[0046] The opening width of the opening section 70 is formed so as
to be narrower than the total width of the adjusting cushion
members 6L, 6R, and thus the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R are
deformed and contracted to allow insertion and removal of the
adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R into and from the bag part 71
through the opening section 70.
[0047] While the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R are inserted into
the bag part 71, the adhesive member 60 is faced to the cushion
component 11 and is bonded to the cushion component 11, whereby the
adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R are held to the cushion component
11. The adhesive member 60 may be faced to the inner side of the
covers 7L, 7R so as to be bonded to the covers 7L, 7R.
[0048] That is, the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R are inserted
into the bag part 71, thereby the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R
are held to the cushion component 11 while the adjusting cushion
members 6L, 6R are prevented by the covers 7L, 7R from coming into
contact with the impact absorbing liner A2, whereby when attaching
the head part cushion member to the helmet A and wearing the helmet
A, the shift of the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R can be
prevented.
[0049] Further, the opening width of the opening section 70 is
formed to be narrower than the total width of the adjusting cushion
members 6L 6R, whereby when attaching the head part cushion member
to the helmet A and wearing the helmet A, the adjusting cushion
members 6L, 6R in the bag part 71 can be prevented from getting out
from the opening section 70.
[0050] Moreover, the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R are held by
the adhesive member 60 which has an adhesive force without causing
damage to the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R and the side head
part cushion members 2L, 2R, whereby the insertion and removal of
the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R are easy and when the adhesive
member 60 is peeled off, the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R and
the side head part cushion members 2L, 2R can be prevented from
being damaged.
[0051] As such, the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R which are
inserted into the bag part 71 are prevented from shifting or
getting out from the opening section 70, whereby the helmet A can
be configured so as to have the high holding capability while
reliably obtaining a desired wear feeling.
[0052] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments
which are shown here as examples, and can be practiced based on the
configuration without departing from the content described in each
of claims. Hereinafter, the configurations on the basis of FIGS. 6
to 9 are described, and the same symbols are applied to the same
parts in the configurations shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, whereby
duplicated descriptions are eliminated.
[0053] In the aforementioned embodiments, the configuration was
shown as the example wherein the covers 7L, 7R are provided only
for the side head part cushion members 2L, 2R. In contrast, as
shown in FIG. 5, in this embodiment, a cover 7U may be provided for
the crown part cushion member 3, a cover 7F may be provided for the
front head part cushion member 4, and a cover 7B may be provided
for the rear head part cushion member 5 such that the bag parts 71
are provided for all the side head part cushion members 2L, 2R, the
crown part cushion member 3, the front head part cushion member 4,
and the rear head part cushion member 5.
[0054] These covers 7L, 7R, 7U, 7F, 7B may be provided on one or
more of the side head part cushion members 2L, 2R, the crown part
cushion member 3, the front head part cushion member 4, and the
rear head part cushion member 5. Further, FIG. 5 shows as an
example that the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R, 6U, 6F, 6B are
inserted in all the bag parts 71. However, the inserting part of
the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R, 6U, 6F, 6B may be determined
according to the preference of a user.
[0055] Further, as shown in FIGS. 6(a) to 6(c), the adjusting
cushion members 6L, 6R may be provided on the cheek part cushion
members A4L, A4R. The cheek part cushion members A4L, A4R according
to this embodiment is configured such that the exterior member 42
is detachable with respect to the cushion component 41. And, the
adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R are applied to the cushion
component 41 which is exposed when the exterior member 42 is
removed therefrom, and then the cushion component 41 to which the
adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R are applied, is covered with the
exterior member 42, whereby the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R
can be inserted into the cheek part cushion members A4L, A4R.
[0056] The adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R are provided on the
wearer side of the cushion component 41 such that the size and wear
feeling can be adjusted on the wearer side.
[0057] The configuration wherein the adjusting cushion members 6L,
6R are provided on the wearer side of the cushion component 41 is
applicable to the aforementioned side head part cushion members
2L,2R, the crown part cushion member 3, the front head part cushion
member 4, and the rear head part cushion member 5 as well.
[0058] The adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R are formed in an
annular shape so as to surround the chin strap through-holes 61
provided on the cheek part cushion members A4L, A4R, thus
preventing the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R from interfering
with the chin strap (not shown) which passes through the chin strap
through-holes 61.
[0059] That is, in this embodiment, the exterior member 42
functions as the cover which holds the adjusting cushion members
6L, 6R provided on the interior member 41 such that the adjusting
cushion members 6L, 6R do not shift, and thus the adjusting cushion
members 6L, 6R can be held so as not to shift in such a
configuration as well.
[0060] Also, as shown in FIG. 7, the covers 7L, 7R which are made
of the flexible fabric similar to that of the exterior member 12,
may be sewn to the outer surface of the side head part cushion
members 2L, 2R which are configured such that the exterior member
12 covers the entire cushion component 11.
[0061] Further, the friction resistance of the adjusting cushion
members 6L, 6R may act to prevent the adjusting cushion members 6L,
6R from shifting. The friction resistance is generated by fine
concavity and convexity 63 formed on the surface of the adjusting
cushion members 6L, 6R as shown in FIG. 8(a), or by bonding a
fabric 64 with rough weave patterns or knitted stitches onto the
surface of the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R as shown in FIG.
8(b). The friction resistance may be generated not only on the
adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R, but also on all the side head
part cushion members 2L, 2R, the cover 7L, 7R, the adjusting
cushion members 6L, 6R, the side head part cushion members 2L, 2R,
and the cover 7L, 7R.
[0062] Further, although the opening width of the opening section
70 shown as an example is configured to be narrower than the total
width of the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R, the opening width of
the opening section 70 may be configured to be greater than or
equal to the total width of the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R
and the opening section 70 may be configured to be openable and
closable by using a surface tape 72 and so forth as shown in FIG.
9, whereby the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R may be held in the
covers 7L, 7R so as not to get out therefrom or shift therein. The
configuration wherein the opening section 70 is configured to be
openable and closable can be applied to the opening section 70 as
shown in the example wherein the opening width is configured to be
narrower than the total width of the adjusting cushion members 6L,
6R.
[0063] Further, although the adhesive member 60 shown in the
example is provided on the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R, the
adhesive member 60 may be provided on the cushion component 11
and/or the inner surface of the covers 7L, 7R (not shown).
[0064] Moreover, the adhesive member 60 may be removed by
configuring the adjusting cushion members 6L, 6R and/or the head
part cushion member or the covers 7L, 7R with an adhesive material,
or by generating the aforementioned friction resistance thereon
(not shown). For example, as the adhesive material, polyurethane
elastomer sheet and so forth are listed.
[0065] Having described specific preferred embodiments of the
invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be
appreciated that the present invention is not limited to those
precise embodiments, and that various changes and modifications can
be effected therein by one of ordinary skill in the art without
departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the
appended claims.
* * * * *