U.S. patent application number 14/283143 was filed with the patent office on 2015-11-26 for hard hat adapter.
This patent application is currently assigned to HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL, INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is Honeywell International, Inc.. Invention is credited to Kevin Beckerdite, Raymond Curci, Wayne Gleason, Brett Pulito.
Application Number | 20150335093 14/283143 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54555111 |
Filed Date | 2015-11-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150335093 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Curci; Raymond ; et
al. |
November 26, 2015 |
HARD HAT ADAPTER
Abstract
An adapter for mounting a face shield on a hard hat self-centers
and aligns itself with respect to the hard hat brim. An arcuate
main body has an arcuate guard portion that extends over the hard
hat brim. A central retention tab engages the front edge of the
hard hat brim. Opposing guide channels engage the side edges of the
hard hat brim and limit rotation of the main body with respect to
the hard hat. Cantilever springs within the guide channels engage
the side edges of the hard hat brim to self-center the brim with
respect to the main body. A retention member extending around the
back of the hard hat secures the main body to the hard hat. A face
shield mounting bracket is pivotally mounted to the main body
portion and supports a face shield. A clutching mechanism helps
control the orientation of the face shield.
Inventors: |
Curci; Raymond; (Smithfield,
RI) ; Gleason; Wayne; (West Greenwich, RI) ;
Pulito; Brett; (Blackstone, MA) ; Beckerdite;
Kevin; (Brookfield, MA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Honeywell International, Inc. |
Morristown |
NJ |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL,
INC.
Morristown
NJ
|
Family ID: |
54555111 |
Appl. No.: |
14/283143 |
Filed: |
May 20, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/424 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A42B 3/225 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A42B 3/22 20060101
A42B003/22 |
Claims
1. An adapter for mounting a face shield on a hard hat, the adapter
comprising: an arcuate main body having a first end and a second
end; an arcuate guard portion extending inwardly from the main
body, the guard portion being configured to extend over a brim of a
hard hat when the main body is mounted on a hard hat, said guard
portion substantially preventing debris from falling between the
main body and the brim of the hard hat; a central retention tab
extending from a lower surface of the main body, said retention tab
being configured and arranged to engage a forward edge of the brim
of the hard hat; an adjustable retention member having a first end
secured to the first end of the main body, and a second end being
secured to the second end of the main body, the retention member
extending around a rear portion of the hard hat when the main body
engages the brim of the hard hat; opposing, inwardly facing guide
channels extending from a lower surface of said main body, opposing
cantilever springs respectively disposed within said opposing guide
channels, each having an anchor end secured within said guide
channel and further having a free moving end extending inwardly
therefrom, said free moving end engaging a side edge of the brim of
the hard hat for frictionally retaining and centering the brim of
the hard hat with respect to the main body; and a face shield
mounting bracket being pivotably coupled to the main body, said
face shield mounting bracket being rotatable between a lowered
orientation and a raised orientation, wherein the face shield
mounting bracket and the main body are configured and arranged so
that there is no gap between the face shield mounting bracket and
the main body when the face shield mounting bracket is in the
lowered orientation, to substantially prevent debris from falling
between the face shield mounting bracket and the main body.
2. The hard hat adapter of claim 1, wherein the retention member is
one of a spring, a rubber band, and a clip.
3. The hard hat adapter of claim 1, wherein the face shield
mounting bracket has an upper mounting bracket portion that extends
over at least a part of the main body when the mounting bracket is
in the lowered orientation.
4. The hard hat adapter of claim 1, wherein the face shield
mounting bracket is pivotably coupled to the main body by a
clutching mechanism.
5. The hard hat adapter of claim 4, wherein the clutching mechanism
is made of metal.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a hard hat adapter that
allows a user to releasably mount a face shield on a hard hat.
[0002] Current head gear products are generally hard hat specific,
meaning they do not universally fit a variety of different size and
shape hard hats. Often, a user must acquire a specific hard hat
adapter that is configured for mounting a face shield on a specific
hard hat.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0003] The present disclosure relates to an improved adapter for
mounting a face shield to a hard hat where the adapter universally
fits to most hard hats. The adapter includes a pivot that allows
the user to pivot the face shield to a lowered position in front of
the user's face and to pivot the face shield to a raised position
away from the user's face. The hard hat adapter is self-centering
and self-aligning with respect to the hard hat.
[0004] A universal hard hat adapter is provided for mounting a face
shield on plurality of commonly used hard hats. The present hard
hat adapter includes a main body that is configured for mounting on
a hard hat. The main body is substantially arcuate to generally
follow the curvature of commonly used hard hat brims, and has a
first end and a second end. The hard hat adapter further includes
an arcuate guard portion that extends inwardly from the main body
and is configured to extend over the brim of the hard hat when the
hard hat adapter is mounted on the hard hat. In this regard, the
arcuate guard portion overlaps with the brim so that the arcuate
guard portion and the brim cooperate to substantially prevent
debris from falling between the main body and the brim of the hard
hat on which the adapter is mounted.
[0005] To secure the hard hat adapter to a hard hat and to help
align the hard hat adapter on the hard hat, a central retention tab
extends from a lower surface of the main body. The central
retention tab is configured and arranged to engage a forward edge
of the brim of the hard hat. The adapter further includes opposing
inwardly facing guide channels that extend inwardly from a lower
surface of the main body. The guide channels receive the hard hat
brim between upper and lower guide channel surfaces, and further
limit rotation of the main body with respect to the hard hat when
the hard hat adapter is mounted on a hard hat.
[0006] To center the hard hat adapter on the hard hat, the adapter
includes opposing cantilever springs secured within the opposing
guide channels of the hard hat adapter. Each cantilever spring has
a free moving end that engages a side edge of the brim of the hard
hat and centers the brim relative to the adapter.
[0007] To further secure the hard hat adapter to the hard hat, a
retention member is provided. In the exemplary embodiment, the
retention member is preferably a spring, such as a coil spring,
that has a first end secured to a first end of the main body and a
second end secured to a second end of the main body. The coil
spring can be extended around the rear of the hard hat, to maintain
sufficiently firm engagement of the hard hat adapter with the hard
hat. Other retention members are possible. For example, the
retention member could be other types of springs, an elastic band,
or a clip.
[0008] The hard hat adapter further includes a pivoting face shield
mounting bracket that supports a face shield in front of a user's
face when a user is wearing the hard hat and adapter. The face
shield is removably mounted on the mounting bracket to permit
replacement of the face shield when needed. The face shield
mounting bracket is rotatably coupled to the main body, and is
pivotable with respect to the main body. More specifically, the
face shield mounting bracket can be pivoted between a lowered
orientation ("down" position) where the face shield is positioned
in front of the user's face, and a raised orientation ("up"
position) where the face shield is positioned up and away from the
user's face.
[0009] The hard hat adapter still further includes a clutching
mechanism that rotatably or pivotably couples the mounting bracket
to the main body. The clutching mechanism includes a plurality of
angularly spaced interlocking detents that enables the mounting
bracket to be conditionally stable in various orientations with
respect to the main body. This allows the mounting bracket to be
releasably fixed in the lowered orientation or the raised
orientation, as well as a plurality of additional angular
positions, until the user causes the mounting bracket to move. The
clutching mechanism may be made of metal or another material.
[0010] The face shield mounting bracket and the main body are
configured so that there is no gap between the face shield mounting
bracket and the main body when the face shield mounting bracket is
in the lowered orientation and the hard hat adapter is viewed from
above. This substantially prevents debris from falling between the
face shield mounting bracket and the main body of the hard hat
adapter. The face shield mounting bracket preferably has an upper
mounting bracket portion that extends over a part of the main body
when the mounting bracket is in the lowered position. This helps to
ensure that there is no gap between the upper mounting bracket and
the main body.
[0011] The hard hat adapter can be provided to a user with a face
shield mounted on the hard hat adapter. Alternatively, the hard hat
adapter can be provided to a user without a face shield, allowing a
user to attach a face shield to the hard hat adapter according to
the user's preferences.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] An exemplary embodiment will now be described further by way
of example with reference to the following examples and figures,
which are intended to be illustrative only and in no way limiting
upon the scope of the disclosure.
[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of
the hard hat adapter and a hard hat;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective of the exemplary hard hat adapter
secured to the hard hat;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view thereof;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the exemplary hard hat
adapter;
[0017] FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view thereof;
[0018] FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of a cantilever spring
within the guide channel;
[0019] FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the hard hat adapter with
the mounting bracket in a lowered orientation;
[0020] FIG. 7B is a perspective view thereof, with the mounting
bracket in a raised orientation; and
[0021] FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view of a clutching mechanism of
the exemplary embodiment of the hard hat adapter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT
[0022] Referring now to the drawings, an exemplary embodiment of
the hard hat adapter of the present disclosure is illustrated and
generally indicated at 10 in FIGS. 1-8. As will hereinafter be more
fully described, the instant hard hat adapter 10 allows a user to
selectively mount a face shield 12 to a hard hat 14 which may have
a range of dimensions.
[0023] The hard hat adapter 10 of the present disclosure has an
arcuate main body 16 that is secured to the hard hat 14 and has a
face shield mounting bracket 18 rotatably coupled to the main body
16 for supporting the face shield 12. A central mounting tab 20 and
opposing guide channels 22A, 22B on the main body 16 of the hard
hat adapter 10 facilitate alignment of the hard hat adapter 10 with
the hard hat 14, so that the face shield 12 secured to the hard hat
adapter 10 is positioned substantially in front of a user's face
when the user wears the hard hat 14. Cantilever springs 24A, 24B on
the hard hat adapter 10 engage the brim 26 of the hard hat 14 and
facilitate alignment and centering of the hard hat adapter 10 with
respect to the hard hat 14.
[0024] The main body 16 of the hard hat adapter 10 is substantially
arcuate having a first end that is configured to extend to one side
of the hard hat 14, and a second end that is configured to extend
to a second side of the hard hat 14. This is best seen in FIGS. 2
and 3, where the adapter 10 has been mounted on the hard hat
14.
[0025] To substantially or entirely prevent debris from falling
between the main body 16 and the brim 26 of the hard hat 14, an
arcuate guard portion 28 formed on the main body 16 extends
inwardly from the main body 16. FIGS. 2 and 3 show how the arcuate
guard portion 28 extends sufficiently horizontally inwardly so that
the hard hat brim 26 is underneath the arcuate guard portion 28
from a point on the left side of the hard hat 14, around the front
of the hard hat 14, and to a point on the right side of the hard
hat 14. The arcuate guard portion 28 does not need to follow a
specific contour of a forward edge of a brim 26 of a hard hat 14
because the arcuate guard portion 28 is configured to extend over
the forward edge of the brim 26 of the hard hat 14.
[0026] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the forward edge of the brim 26
of the hard hat 14 is received in the central mounting tab 20 that
extends from a lower surface of the guard portion 28. The central
mounting tab 20 is configured and arranged to engage a forward edge
of the brim 26 of a typical hard hat so that the central mounting
tab 20 limits movement of the main body 16 with respect to the hard
hat 14. The central mounting tab 20 has a horizontally extending
portion that has an upper surface that is below the hard hat brim
26. The arcuate guard portion 28 of the main body 16 has a lower
surface that is above the hard hat brim 26. Together these surfaces
limit the movement of the hard hat 14 with respect to the main body
16 of the hard hat adapter 10.
[0027] Referring now to FIGS. 4-7B, the adapter further includes
inwardly facing opposing guide channels 22A, 22B which extend
inwardly from a lower surface of the main body 16. Each guide
channel 22A, 22B receives a side edge portion of the hard hat brim
26 to limit rotation of the hard hat adapter 10 with respect to the
hard hat 14.
[0028] To center the hard hat adapter 10 on the hard hat 14, the
adapter 10 includes opposing cantilever springs 24A, 24B secured
within the guide channels 22A, 22B and extending inwardly from the
main body 16 so that, when the user mounts the hard hat adapter 10
to a hard hat 14, the hard hat adapter 10 automatically centers
itself with respect to the hard hat 14. Each cantilever spring 24A,
24B has an anchor end that is secured to a wall of the respective
guide channel 22A, 22B and a free moving end extending inwardly
from the guide channel that engages the side edge of the hard hat
brim. The free moving end of each cantilever spring 24A, 24B
frictionally engages and centers the brim 26 of the hard hat 14
with respect to the main body 16. The deflection of the cantilever
springs 24A, 24B is determined by the outer width of the hard hat
brim 26. Narrower hard hats 14 will cause the cantilever springs
24A, 24B to deflect less, and wider hard hats 14 will cause the
cantilever springs 24A, 24B to deflect more. The left and right
cantilever springs 24a, 24B are configured to have substantially
identical force-deflection characteristics. When the hard hat
adapter 10 is mounted on a hard hat 14, the forces on the left and
right cantilever springs 24A, 24B will substantially balance, so
that the left and right springs 24A, 24B are deflected
substantially the same amount, and the hard hat 14 is therefore
substantially centered with respect to the hard hat adapter 10.
[0029] To mount the hard hat adapter 10 on the hard hat 14, a user
simply slides the hard hat 14 into the central mounting tab 20 of
the main body 16, so the forward edge of the hard hat brim 26 is
entirely under the arcuate guard portion 28 and captured in the
retention tab 20, and then secures a retention member 30 around the
rear of the hard hat 14. The retention member 30 of the exemplary
embodiment is illustrated as a coil spring having first and second
ends, which are respectively secured to first and second ends of
the main body 16. The retention member 30 extends around the rear
of the hard hat 14 to maintain the brim 26 of the hard hat 14 in
secure engagement with the central mounting tab 20. While a coil
spring 30 is illustrated, other types of retention members, such as
other springs, elastic bands or clips, are contemplated without
departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
[0030] As best illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the hard hat adapter
has a face shield mounting bracket 18 that is capable of supporting
a face shield 12 in front of the hard hat 14 to protect the face of
a user wearing the hard hat 14. The face shield mounting bracket 18
is arcuate in shape and is pivotably coupled to the main body by a
clutch mechanism 32. The rotatable clutch mechanism 32 allows the
face shield mounting bracket 18 to be pivoted back and forth
between a lowered orientation (FIGS. 1-3, 7A) and a raised
orientation (FIG. 7B). The face shield mounting bracket 18 and the
main body 16 are configured and arranged so there is no gap between
the face shield mounting bracket 18 and the main body 16. In this
regard, the bracket 18 includes an inwardly extending flange
portion 34 which extends over the guard portion 28. This is evident
when the hard hat adapter 10 is viewed from above (FIG. 2) and the
face shield mounting bracket 18 is in the lowered orientation
(FIGS. 1-5 and 7A). The flange 34 overlaps the guard portion 28 and
substantially prevents debris from falling between the face shield
mounting bracket 18 and the main body 16. FIGS. 5 and 7A best show
how there is no gap between the main body 16 and the mounting
bracket 18 when the mounting bracket 18 is in the lowered
orientation and viewed from above or below.
[0031] The face shield mounting bracket 18 is pivotably coupled to
the main body by a clutching mechanism 32 having a plurality of
angularly spaced interlocking detents 36 (see FIG. 8). The
clutching mechanism 32 thus allows the mounting bracket to be fixed
in more than one position relative to the main body 16. This allows
a user to rotate the mounting bracket 18 up or down to a desired
orientation with respect to the main body 16, and leave it in that
orientation. FIGS. 7A and 7B show the bracket 18 in a lowered
orientation and a raised orientation, respectively. When the user
desires to move the mounting bracket 18 to a specific orientation,
the user simply applies a force to the mounting bracket 18 to
overcome the frictional force of the clutching mechanism 32. The
clutching mechanism 32 is preferably made of metal, but other
materials are within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0032] The face shield 12 is removably mounted on the hard hat
adapter by conventional known interfitting mounting components 38
so that the face shield 12 is interchangeable and replaceable by
the user.
[0033] While there is shown and described herein certain specific
structure embodying the hard hat adapter, it will be manifest to
those skilled in the art that various modifications and
rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the
spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the
same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and
described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended
claims.
* * * * *