Chin cup and chin strap for protective headgear

Abstract

This invention relates to a chin cup and strap assembly consisting of a double knit fabric cup assembly and stretchable nylon straps with suitable fasteners for attachment to various occupational protective headgear. By virtue of its unique characteristics and fabrication, the double knit chin cup will conform to the physical shape of the chin of any wearer. The chin cup may have an inner member of impact absorbing material best suited for a particular application. Affixed to each end of the chin cup are stretchable nylon fabric straps having the proper yieldability for the use intended. The yieldability of both the chin cup and the chin straps coact to attain the desired degree of retention of the protective headgear to which they are attached and thereby afford a degree of comfort and safety heretofore not available.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.

1. Field of Invention

This invention is concerned generally with improvements in athletic equipment, protective and safety equipment and more particularly with a chin cup and strap assembly for retaining protective headgear.

2. Description of Prior Art

Various materials and kinds of chin cups and straps have been used previously to hold helmets on the heads of wearers as for football, hockey, policemen, firemen and industrial tradesmen. One such chin strap is a narrow band of leather, others cotton web and nylon web. Some chin cups have been made of leather and others of impregnated fabrics and plastic with none being very adjustable to the physical contour of the chin wearer. The primary deficiencies with previous chin cups and straps have been their non-conforming and non-yielding characteristics thereby rendering them uncomfortable and in some instances harmful to the wearer such as when an upward movement of the helmet causes an impingement of the chin strap on the throat of the wearer.

Chin cups and chin straps, for sports, safety and other like protective headgear, have been previously devised, such prior art devices being generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,867,811.

Applicant's invention of an improved chin cup of double knit fabric with affixed stretchable nylon straps is an improvement over such prior art devices and alleviates the aforementioned difficulties of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.

A general object of this invention is to provide a construction for chin cups and strap assemblies, which attached to helmets such as used by football players, hockey players, policemen, firemen, construction workers and the like will provide an extremely high degree of comfort and safety.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means of incorporating an impact absorbing component within the double knit chin cup which will afford the maximum degree of attenuation of typical impact forces associated with a specific anticipated use.

A further object of the subject invention is to provide a yieldable chin strap which will coact with the associated chin cup so as to retain the helmet on the head of the wearer and protect the chin of the wearer.

Further objects and advantages of subject invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chin cup and strap assembly as constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention shown as it is used with two point attachment to a helmet;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a chin cup and strap assembly as constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention shown as it is used with four point attachment to a helmet;

FIG. 3 is a side view partially in section of the chin strap;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a chin cup with four point attachment chin strap;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a chin cup with two point attachment chin strap;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a chin cup shown inside-out prior to attachment of chin straps;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the above chin cup;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the chin cup after having been turned right-side-out after stitching;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the chin cup without cushioning component as seen from the line 9--9 in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of the chin cup with a cushioning component shown in position.

In accordance with the principles of this invention, the chin cup is to be double knit fabric having the characteristic to stretch further in one direction than in the other. Accordingly, the double knit fabric is die cut so that the greatest stretch will be in the longest dimension of the chin cup. The chin straps also stretch the most in the same direction as the chin cup. Stretching the chin straps when attaching them to the helmet, stretches the chin cup around the chin of the wearer thereby causing it to conform to the physical shape of the chin. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the chin cup is of double knit cotton and dacron which is very comfortable, absorbs perspiration, can be readily washed and remains soft and pliable after washing.

Referring to the drawings and first to FIG. 1, a football helmet 10 is shown as worn by a player 12. The helmet includes male snap fasteners attached to the ear covering portions. A chin cup and strap assembly, designated generally by the numeral 13, is detachably secured to the male snap fasteners on the helmet by means of buckles and female snap fasteners 15.

The helmet, male and female snap fasteners and buckles are of conventional construction with the buckles 15 having slots 17 provided with teeth 18 to resist retraction of the straps.

The chin cup and strap assembly 13 includes a central double cup 14, consisting of front and back sections 22 and 23 formed of double knit fabric, and chin straps 26 as shown in FIG. 5 or chin straps 24 and 25 as shown in FIG. 4. The chin cup portions 22 and 23 must be die cut from a larger fabric piece to shape so that the greatest stretch is in the direction of the largest dimension of the elongated shape of the chin cup. These portions 22 and 23 are then stitched together near the edges with nylon thread stitches 20. The ends 21 of the chin cup are left open until after the above stitched together portions 22 and 23 have been turned inside-out. Yieldable nylon straps 26 in FIG. 5 are inserted between portions 22 and 23, the ends 21 folded inward and the ends of portions 22 and 23 as well as the ends of the straps 26 are stitched together with nylon thread stitches 19. Thus the chin straps 26 are able to coact with the chin cup central portions 22 and 23 when inserted through slots 17 of buckles 15 to attach the chin cup and strap assembly 13 to the helmet body 10.

In a similar manner, chin straps 24 and 25, which are essentially a single strap folded over so that one portion 24 is shorter than the other portion 25, is inserted between central portions 22 and 23, the ends 21 folded inward and stitched together with nylon thread stitches 19.

Attenuation of varying degrees of impact forces is readily accomplished by the insertion of impact absorbing material 28 between chin cup portions 22 and 23. The type of material such as silastic gel, foam plastic, foam rubber etc. would be selected to be most suited for the intended use to which the chin cup and strap assembly would be subjected. The cushioning material 28 could be partially preshaped if desired but would still be capable of maximum conformiture to the physical shape of the chin of the wearer through the coaction of the double knit portions 22 and 23 and the yieldable chin straps when attached to the helmet 10.

The structure of this chin cup and strap assembly when properly adjusted on the buckles, with a loop in each portion of the strap so that a double thickness of the strap passes through female snaps and male studs to the helmet, will retain the helmet in position in a secure manner yet permit the helmet to move upward slightly without transmitting a severe jolt to the wearer as the initial shock of the upward thrust is attenuated by the stretching of the double knit fabric and nylon straps.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A chin cup and strap assembly for a helmet comprising a cup assembly consisting of a pair of sections of double knit fabric positioned in face-to-face engagement and secured at the edges thereof, said sections being stretchable in a plurality of directions so as to be readily conformable to the chin of a wearer, said sections being longer in one direction than in another direction, and stretchable straps secured to said sections so as to extend away therefrom in said longer direction.

2. A chin cup and strap assembly according to claim 1 wherein said sections are cut so that said sections have a greater stretch in said one direction than in said other direction.

3. A chin cup and strap assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said straps are stretchable nylon straps folded over at each end of the chin cup and affixed to form two straps at each end for detachably mounting on a helmet.

4. A chin cup and strap assembly according to claim 1 further including impact absorbing material disposed between said sections.