Helmet Lock Structure

Abstract

A helmet lock structure is provided for securing a safety helmet to a vehicle such as a motorcycle, snowmobile, or the like. The lock structure includes a flexible metallic cable which loops around a fixed portion of the vehicle and is attached to the helmet by means of a lock mechanism.

Parent Case Text

This is a continuation of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 119,741 filed Mar. 1, 1971 and now abandoned.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Safety helmets have come into common use in connection with operation of open vehicles such as motorcycles and snowmobiles. Such helmets protect the wearer against head injuries in the event of an accident. Safety helmets are manufactured as relatively elaborate devices including a hard outer shell which has an interior padded lining, the hard shell serving as a barrier to direct contact with the head of a hard object encountered during an accident and the padded interior of the helmet serving to absorb shock.

Such helmets are relatively expensive and a theft problem has been encountered in connection therewith. Because of the bulk of the helmet, the wearer frequently does not desire to carry the helmet with him when he leaves the vehicle. However, such open vehicles do not have closed spaces which may be locked to safeguard the helmet. As a consequence of the high cost of the helmets, they have frequently been the object of theft when left unsecured and unattended on open vehicles.

The present invention provides an inexpensive but satisfactory structure for locking the helmet to the open vehicle to thereby prevent theft of the helmet from the vehicle thus permitting the vehicle operator to leave the helmet with the vehicle when he so desires.

Examples of prior structures of the type to which the present invention pertains are disclosed in the following patents:

U. S. 2,395,131 Lukeman U. S. 3,436,936 Locker U. S. 3,529,451 McOsker et al. Swiss Patent No. 367,725

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The helmet lock structure is provided for securing a helmet to a vehicle. The lock structure comprises an elongated flexible cable fabricated of a metallic material which is not easily severable by means of a knife or like manual shearing device. A ring structure is secured to one end of the cable. A latching element is secured to the other end of the cable. A lock mechanism is provided. The lock mechanism is detachably engageable with the latching element. Means are provided in association with the helmet to prevent separation of the lock mechanism and helmet with the latching element in engagement with the lock mechanism. The latching element and cable are of a size to pass through the ring structure and form a loop to surround a fixed portion of the vehicle to thereby permit securement of the cable to a vehicle with the helmet secured to the cable.

IN THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of one embodiment of the helmet lock of the present invention illustratively anchored to the steering post of a motorcycle;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view in perspective of the helmet lock structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of a helmet directly incorporating a latching mechanism forming another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the helmet of FIG. 3 illustrating the latching device.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be noted that the helmet lock mechanism is adapted for use in connection with a conventional helmet structure 10. The helmet structure 10 is of the type worn by drivers of motorcycles, snowmobiles, and like vehicles. The helmet structure 10 includes a hard outer protective shell 12 which is internally lined with padding material to protect the user against shock. The usual chin strap 14 is also provided.

The helmet lock mechanism 16 includes an elongated flexible cable 18 which is composed of a length of stranded flexible steel cable 20 covered with a flexible tube 22 which may be fabricated of, for example, plastic or rubber material. The cable 18 may be fabricated from a metal other thansteel or it may be fabricated of a metallic reinforced fabric. A link chain may be used in place of the stranded cable. It is important that the material of the cable be essentially metallic so that it may not be severed by means of a knife or like manual shearing device.

A metallic ring 24 is secured to one end of the cable 18 by means of a tube 26 which projects therefrom and which receives the end of the cable. The tube may be crimped to the cable to firmly secure the parts together. A latching element 28 is secured to the other end of the cable by means of a metallic tube 30 which extends therefrom and receives the end of the cable and is crimped thereto. The latching element 28 includes an enlarged forward head 32 and a portion 34 of reduced diameter adjacent thereto.

A metallic eyelet 36 is provided for securement in an opening provided in the helmet. As will be noted in FIG. 1, the eyelet 36 is secured in an opening which has been formed in the rear of the helmet structure 10. The eyelet 36 and ring 24 each have an internal diameter sufficient to permit passage of the cable 18 and latching element 28 therethrough. A lock structure generally of the padlock type is provided for locking engagement with the latching element 28. The lock structure 38 includes an opening 40 to receive the latching element 28. The usual detent structure is provided within the lock structure 38 for engagement of the enlarged head 32 of the latching element 28 upon insertion of the latching element into the opening. The lock structure is manipulated by means of a key 42 to release the latching element 28 when desired.

The method of using the helmet lock mechanism 16 is best seen in FIG. 1. As therein shown, the cable 18 is first wound around the steering post 44 of a motorcycle. The latching element 28 is threaded through the ring 24 to thus form a loop in engagement with the post 44. The handlebars 46 prevent removal of the cable from the steering post 44. A resilient clip 48 is provided to maintain the size of the loop formed around the post 44. The latching element 28 is then threaded through the eyelet 36 and then into the opening 40 of the lock structure 38 for engagement with the lock structure. The lock structure, which is considerably larger than the opening through the eyelet 36, prevents removal of the helmet structure from the cable 18. When it is desired to retrieve the helmet, the key 42 is utilized to release the lock structure and thus the helmet from the cable 18.

In attaching the helmet structure 10 to a vehicle, it is only necessary to loop the cable 18 around a fixed structural portion of the vehicle which has associated therewith additional structure to prevent removal of the loop. For example, the bracing structure of a motorcycle may also be used. Additionally, instead of a small loop formed by first threading the cable 18 through the ring 24 and then through the eyelet 36, the cable may first be threaded through the eyelet 36, then through the ring 24 and then into engagement with the lock structure 38 thus forming a larger loop than that shown.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a modified version of the invention. As will be noted, a lock structure 50 is embedded directly into the downwardly depending rearwardly disposed portion of the helmet 52 near the lower edge portion thereof. The lock structure 50 is secured behind the hard shell 54 in the padding material 56 provided on the helmet interior. One opening 58 is provided to receive the latching element of the cable while another opening 60 is provided to receive the key for manipulation of the lock structure 50 for release of the latching element when desired. A second opening with an eyelet 62 is provided adjacent to the lock structure 50 near the lower edge portion of the helmet 52 as illustrated in FIG. 3. The second opening permits fastening of a pair of helmet structures on the same cable, the cable merely being passed through the opening in one of the helmets and latched to the lock mechanism provided, which may be embedded into the helmet as illustrated in FIG. 3 or which may be a loose element as described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2. The advantage of embedding the lock structure 50 directly into the helmet resides in preventing loss thereof which is inherent in the loose type of lock mechanism provided in the FIGS. 1 and 2 embodiment.

Claims

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A helmet and lock structure assembly for a vehicle comprising a helmet having a hard outer protective shell which is internally lined with padding material to protect the user, said helmet having a top portion and a downwardly depending rearwardly disposed portion, with the rearwardly disposed portion having a lower edge portion, an elongated flexible cable fabricated of a metallic material which is not easily severable by means of a knife or like manual shearing device, a ring structure fixedly secured to one end of said cable, said ring structure including a ring-like element and a tubular member, one end of said tubular member abutting and being secured to said ring-like element, said tubular member receiving said one end of said cable, a latching element fixedly secured to the other end of the cable, said latching element including an integral tubular element and latching head, said tubular element receiving the other end of said cable, said latching element and cable being of a size to pass through said ring-like element to form a loop to surround a fixed portion of a vehicle to thereby permit securement of said cable to a vehicle, a resilient clip on said cable to maintain the aforementioned loop, a first opening in the rearwardly disposed portion of said helmet near said lower edge portion, said first opening extending through said shell and said padding material, a lock mechanism fixedly mounted and completely embedded in said first opening in said helmet, said lock mechanism having opening means to detachably receive the latching head on said latching element and a key opening adapted to receive a key for manipulating said lock mechanism, the opening means in said lock mechanism being available exteriorly of said helmet to permit engagement of said latching element with said lock mechanism and to thereby secure said helmet to said cable.

2. The helmet and lock structure assembly of claim 1 wherein a second opening is provided in the rearwardly disposed portion of said helmet near said lower edge portion, said second opening extending through said shell and said padding material, said second opening having a tubular eyelet mounted therein through which said cable and said latching element may extend to permit stringing of the helmet onto said cable with said latching element adapted for engagement with another lock structure of a second helmet to thereby secure a pair of helmets to a vehicle with a single cable.

3. A helmet and lock structure assembly for a vehicle comprising a helmet having a hard outer protective shell which is internally lined with padding material to protect the user, said helmet having a top portion and a downwardly depending rearwardly disposed portion, with the rearwardly disposed portion having a lower edge portion, an elongated flexible cable fabricated of a metallic material which is not easily severable by means of a knife or like manual shearing device, a ring structure fixedly secured to one end of said cable, said ring structure including a ring-like element and a tubular member, one end of said tubular member abutting and being secured to said ring-like element, said tubular member receiving said one end of said cable, a latching element fixedly secured to the other end of the cable, said latching element including an integral tubular element and latching head, said tubular element receiving the other end of said cable, said latching element and cable being of a size to pass through said ring-like element to form a loop to surround a fixed portion of a vehicle to thereby permit securement of said cable to a vehicle, a lock mechanism fixedly mounted on the rearwardly disposed portion of said helmet, said lock mechanism having opening means to detachably receive the latching head on said latching element and a key opening adapted to receive a key for manipulating said lock mechanism, the opening means in said lock mechanism being available exteriorly of said helmet to permit engagement of said latching element with said lock mechanism and to thereby secure said helmet to said cable.

4. The helmet and lock structure assembly of claim 3 wherein a first opening is provided in said rearwardly disposed portion of the helmet near said lower edge portion, said first opening extending through said shell and said padding material, said lock mechanism being embedded in said first opening of the helmet.

5. The helmet and lock structure assembly defined in claim 3 wherein a resilient clip is provided on said cable to maintain said loop.