Improvement to a helmet having resilient bending means in the lower rear portion of the shell thereof

The present invention relates to an improvement for helmet, and more particularly to a helmet with the outer shell includes means for elastic deformations in the part lower back. The helmet is more particularly intended to be carried by for aircraft or helicopter pilots, but not exclusively, since the invention can be used for any type of helmet.

Protective helmets are already known which are used in various fields and worn by various users such as cyclists, motorcyclists, firefighters, skiers and other such as aircraft or helicopter pilots. All of the current helmets, what Whenever used, include a rigid outer shell having the general shape of a sphere, including a facial opening, and whose cavity thus formed comprises stuffing elements of protection and comfort designed to suit the head of the user.

For each type of use, manufacturers have tried to designing helmets with a specific configuration. But if many improvements have been devised, developed and developed, not everything has been done. Indeed, the overall comfort helmets today is, on the whole, satisfactory as a whole, but must notes that the comfort of the helmet at the nape of the user poor, despite the presence in most current helmets of a flexible material padding, or a strap disposed inside the rear part of the shell, adjusting means enough complex and expensive then being provided in order to adapt the padding or strap to the size and shape of the neck the user.

the helmet disclosed for example is known in the patent U.S. US-A-1,660,375 or the neck is protected by a lower part complementary back made of rigid leather, said portion and being positionable in function of the shape of the neck of the 'user.

The present invention aims to eliminate the drawbacks of current devices and systems for keeping and neck comfort and offers a new headset, the rear portion of the shell comprises Simple ways of elastic particularly adaptations. Adapting to the neck of the user by automatically, thus ensuring that the comfort so far never achieved.

Thus the protective helmet according to the invention is defined in claim 1.

According to additional features, the wall of the shell external is plastic, or composite material of the type example constituted by at least one layer of glass fibers and / or carbon and / or aramide or another, impregnated with a resin thermoplastic or thermosetting.

The main outer shell of the helmet of the invention comprises a plurality of wall portions, namely, an upper front portion of wall extended rearwardly by an upper rear wall portion, itself extended downwards by a lower rear portion of wall, limited at the bottom by a lower edge, said portion lower rear wall comprising at least one opening cutting, which advantageously opens downwards on the edge lower.

According to various embodiments, the lower rear portion wall comprises two, three or four or more lateral cuts, having the shape of a slit.

In a preferred embodiment, the helmet includes a neck cushion retained in the shell, partly by the cut-outs Wall.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge the following description in the accompanying drawings which are given by way of non-limiting examples.

FIG 1 is an external side view of a helmet according the invention.

Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the helmet.

Figure 3 is a rear view showing more particularly the invention.

Figure 4 is a partial view in section on IV-IV of Figure 3, but on a larger scale, showing how come the attachment of neck cushion.

Figure 5 is a partial sectional view along VV of Figure 3, illustrating how is made the finish of the bottom border of the shell.

Figures 6 and 7 show the single hull, in a front view (Figure 6) and in a rear view (Figure 7).

8 is a perspective rear view, while Figure 9 shows in the same conditions the neck cushion with its attachment means.

Figures 10 to 18 are rear views similar to Figure 7 representing a different scale and schematically nine variants As to possible execution of instance data.

Figures 19a, 19b are views similar to Figures 8 and 9 illustrating a variant.

Figures 20 and 21 are schematic partial views showing how could be as retaining the neck cushion.

Note that to simplify the drawings, helmet chin strap given by way of example and which is well known per se and which furthermore can be of any type, has deliberately not been shown.

The protective helmet shown by way of example in Figures 1 9, bearing the general reference (1) is especially a helmet pilot, which has a longitudinal plane of general symmetry (P) which comprises in known manner a main outer shell (2) having a front facial opening (3) with an internal padding commonly called foam liner (4).

The main outer shell (2) is constituted by a wall (5) substantially spherical general vertical plane of symmetry (P) which is advantageously made of a composite material including a stacking layers of reinforcing fibers impregnated and bonded together by a resin matrix. The fibers can be glass fibers, aramid, Nylon, polyethylene or carbon fibers, while the matrix can be a thermosetting resin or thermoplastic.

The main outer shell (2) comprises several portions wall, namely, an upper front wall portion (6) extended towards the rear by an upper rear wall portion (7) itself extended downwards by a lower rear wall portion (8), and further comprises two lateral wall portions (9a, 9b). The upper front portion (6) corresponds to the zone occupied by the forehead of the user and is limited by the upper edge (10) of the opening face (3) which, in turn, is limited laterally by two edges side (11a, 11b). The upper rear wall portion (7) corresponds the area occupied by the skull of the user, while the lower rear wall portion (8) corresponds to the zone occupied by neck of the user. Add to this that the wall (5) of the cap is limited downwardly by a lower edge (12) extending in a general plane (Q) inclined with respect to the horizontal plane (H) for extend towards the rear (AR) and upward (HA). The side portions of wall (9a, 9b) correspond to the areas occupied by the ears the user and are limited forwardly by the side edge corresponding (11a, 11b) of the facial opening (3) and downwardly by the front ends of the lower edge (12).

According to the invention, the lower rear wall portion (8) of the outer shell limited downwards by the lower edge (12) includes means for elastic deformations which allow precise fit and helmet comfort in the area of ​​the neck of the user.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 9 and given as For example, the lower rear portion of the hull and includes openings or cutouts (13, 14a, 14b) which preferably open downwards (BA) on the lower edge (12). According to the embodiment illustrated by FIGS 1 to 9, there are provided three openings or cutouts (13, 14a, 14b) having the form of open slits on the lower edge for create two deformable tongues (15a, 15b) and two pieces deformable side wall (16a, 16b). The lower edge (12) thus comprises three longitudinal slots (13, 14a, 14b), a notch central (13) and two lateral notches (14a, 14b), giving the flexibility to the wall of the helmet at the level where the openings are located that is to say at the lower rear wall (8). Note that the axes general symmetry (X1-X'1, X2-X'2, X3-X'3) of the three slots (13, 14a, 14b) extend upwards (HA) and preferably perpendicular to the lower edge (12) over a length (L).

According to a particular arrangement, the helmet includes a peripheral neck cushion (17) disposed within the hull the lower edge (12). This neck cushion (17) is consisting of a foam padding (18) wrapped in a skin fabric (19). According to a preferred construction, the nape cushion (17) is retained within the shell, at least in part, by the notches deformation (13, 14a, 14b). For this purpose, there are provided projections (20, 20a, 20b) integral with the nape cushion (17) which are intended to cooperate with the corresponding notches (13, 14a, 14b) to be retained. Thus, the nape cushion (17) is, for example, extended upwards by a flexible retaining wall (21) on which the three projections are fixed Mounting structure (20, 20a, 20b) each comprising a cylindrical portion (200) whose end has a retaining flange (201), as can be seen more particularly in Figures 4 and 9.

Note also that the central portion (170) of the nape cushion (17) is advantageously extended laterally forward by lateral extensions (171, 172) which are fixed inside the shell to be fixed to the inner face located at the edge lower (12) and side edges (11a, 11b) of the facial opening. Fixing the lateral extensions (171, 172) may be called by any means such as gluing, hanging by auto loop tape, clipping or other.

To give the helmet a better presentation and finishing Overall, there is provided a finishing section (22) more particularly visible in Figures 1, 3, 4 and 5. Said finishing profile (22) having the form U being a flexible plastic material and fitted on the edge lower (12) ensuring continuity with the edge of the three slots (13, 14a, 14b).

Furthermore, the interior lining of the shell (2) consists of the foam liner (4), for example, rigid foam covered with a layer of soft comfort foam and fabric that ensures the internal decoration helmet. Note also that the back of the foam liner is extended by a rear comfort band (26) made of soft foam and under which is engaged the retaining wall (21) of the neck cushion, as This is more particularly in Figure 4.

According to the embodiment shown by way of example, cutouts (13, 14a, 14b) made in the wall (5) of the rear portion lower (8) of the shell (2) are three in number, of the same length and the same width, but it could be, of course, everything else and for example, there could be only one slot (13), as is shown in Figure 10, or both cut-outs (14a, 14b) as shown in Figure 11. It could of course be more than three cuts, as according to the embodiment of Figure 12 wherein there are four cuts (14a, 14'a, 14b, 14'b).

Furthermore, in the previous illustrations, the cuts are of the same length "L" and the same width "l", but it could be otherwise, as schematically illustrated in figures 13, 14, 15 and 16, representing four other possible variants. In both variants of Figures 13 and 14, the blanks (13, 14a, 14b) have different lengths while in the variants of Figure 15, that is their widths which are different.

Note also that the blanks (13, 14a, 14b, 14'a, 14'b) which open on the lower edge (12) are longitudinal slots extending upward from the hull, but it could be otherwise as is, for example, illustrated in Figures 17 and 18 show that two other possible embodiment.

The helmet according to the invention may, it is clear, have one or several face shield pivotable protection such as, for example, illustrated and bearing the reference (50).

Figures 19a and 19b illustrate an alternative embodiment according wherein the retaining of the nape cushion (17) is constituted by projections (20, 20a, 20b) which are engaged in corresponding holes (200, 200a, 200b) made in the wall of the helmet.

Furthermore, note that the finishing profile (22) could participate in the retention of the nape cushion (17) by retaining manner activates the latching projections (20, 20a, 20b). Thus, and as is illustrated in Figure 20, it can be provided retaining projections (220) on the finishing profile (22) for retaining the cylindrical portion (200) of hooking projections (20, 20a, 20b) of the nape cushion (17). Figure 21 represents a variant in which the finishing profile includes a peripheral projection (221) for retaining the flange (201) hooking projections (20, 20a, 20b) the neck cushion.

Of course, the invention is not restricted to the embodiments embodiments described and represented as examples, but includes also all the technical equivalents and their combinations.