Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Protective Helmet
The present invention relates to protective helmets, and in particular to
firefighters'
helmets.
s
Existing firefighters' helmets comprise a protective outer shell made from
impact-
resistant plastics or the like which is intended to protect the wearer from
falling debris
which often is a hazard of burning buildings. To protect the wearer also from
the heat
and sparks emitted from a fire, the helmet includes a visor and neck protector
to
io protect the head, face and neck of the wearer.
There are cases where the full protective effect of a firefighting helmet is
not
required. For example, firefighters may have to provide a rescue service at
other
emergencies in which there is no fire. Then'a large firefighting helmet may be
is inconvenient, but head protection is still necessary. In particular, in the
case of road
traffic accidents, when a firefighter may need to work in a confined space eg.
Within
a damaged vehicle, the large helmet may be an impediment. In these cases, it
is
often found that firefighters will simply remove their helmets, exposing
themselves to
unnecessary danger. The preferred embodiments of this invention seek to
provide a
2o solution to this problem.
Although some two-layer helmets have been proposed to solve this problem it is
awkward to both fit the inner and outer helmets on the wearers head securely
and
provide a wearer friendly mechanism for disengaging the outer helmet.
2s
According to this invention there is provided a firefighters helmet comprising
an inner
protective shell configured to be worn on its own as a helmet, and an outer
protective
shell configured to be fitted over the inner shell and releasably retained
thereon,
comprising a retaining mechanism for retaining the inner shell, in the outer
shell,
~o wherein the retaining mechanism is moveable by a user whilst wearing the
inner
shell between a first position in which the retaining mechanism engages a said
shell
substantially to prevent relative movement between the two shells and a second
position in which the retaining mechanism permits relative movement of the
shells
whereby allowing the donning or doffing of the outer shell by the users.
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Preferably the outer shell has an outwardly extending brim or cape.
The helmet may comprise a spacer for spacing the outer shell from the inner
shell.
The helmet may comprise a visor which is accommodated between the inner and
s outer shells when not in use.
The retaining mechanism may be releasably biased towards the first position.
Preferably the retaining mechanism is moveable by a user whilst wearing the
inner
shell in order to move it from the first to the second position for allowing
the
io introduction or removal of the outer shell onto or off the inner shell. The
retaining
mechanism may be pivotally connected to the helmet. The retaining mechanism
may be pivotally mounted to an attachment mechanism which is connected to the
outer shell, the retaining mechanism thereby being spaced from the outer
shell.
is The inner helmet may comprise a slot which is engageable by the attachment
mechanism such that when the retaining mechanism is in the second position the
attachment mechanism can be moved through the slot whilst when the retaining
mechanism is in the first position the attachment mechanism cannot be moved
through the slot. The retaining mechanism may engage a lower edge of the slot
2o whilst in the first position.
The attachment mechanism may comprise a mounting for an accessory to the
helmet.
2s The retaining mechanism may be disposed on the outer shell, in which case
it may
engage a lower edge of the inner shell.
A helmet as described above may comprise a mounting for attaching at least one
accessory to the helmet.
Embodiments of the invention are now described purely by way of example and
with
reference to the following figures:
Figure 1A shows the outer helmet;
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Figure 1 B shows the inner helmet;
Figures 2A and 2B show front and side views of the helmet shells assembled
together;
Figure 3 shows an inside view of the inner shell locked into the outer helmet
shell;
Figures 4 to 7 show outer helmet shells with provision for various detachable
accessories and ancillary equipment;
Figure 8 shows schematically an exploded view of a second embodiment of an
outer helmet and an inner helmet, having a different attachment mechanism from
that of Figures 1 to 3;
to Figure 9 shows schematically a side perspective view of the attachment
mechanism for securing the helmets shown in Figure 8;
Figure 10 shows schematically a front view of the attachment mechanism of Fig
9;
Figure 11 shows schematically the helmets being attached together;
Figure 12 shows schematically the attachment mechanism in a locked position;
and
is Figure 13 shows schematically the attachment mechanism in an unlocked
position.
Figures 1A and B show a firefighter's helmet comprising separate inner and
outer shells.
The inner shell of Figure 1 B (generally denoted as 10) is wearable on its
ovim as an
impact-resisting helmet. It comprises an outer protective moulding 12 of glass
fibre-
2o reinforced plastics or other impact-resisting plastics within which is a
further impact
resisting layer as known per se. The shell 10 is worn by the user by mechanism
of a net
cap or liner having a headband 14 and chinstrap 16. There is also an ocular
protector 18
to protect the firefighter'seyes when only the inner shell is being worn. The
outer shell of
Figure 1A (generally denoted as 20) comprises a protective moulding 22 of
glass fibre
2s reinforced plastics or other impact-resisting plastics material. It has a
large enough interior
to accommodate the inner shell 10. It also has retaining clips 26 to hold the
outer shell
onto the inner shell. The outer shell has a full visor 24 to protect the
firefighter's face from
flying debris and from radiant heat. The visor 24 is pivotally mounted at the
sides of the
outer shell 20 by mechanism of links 28, 30 pivotally connected to the
moulding 22 and
3o the visor 24. Together with the distances between the pivots on the visor
and between the
pivots on the moulding, the links 28, 30 form a four-bar linkage which enables
the visor to
move between a deployed position in which it covers the wearer's face, and a
stowed
position (fig. 2B) in which it is retracted between the inner and outer
shells. The use of a
four-bar linkage enables the relatively large visor 24 to move along a path
close
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to the surface of the inner helmet. Thereby the outer shell can fit compactly
over it.
The ocular shield 13 may also be pivotable on a four-bar linkage for storage
within
the inner shell. However because the shield is shallower, a single-point pivot
may
suffice.
s
As can be seen from the arrows linking Figures 1 A and 1 B, the outer shell is
fitted
over the inner shell and the retaining clips 26 lock the shells together. The
shells in
their locked-together state are shown in Figures 2A and 2B. Figure 2A shows a
front
view of the shells when locked together. The figure shows the outer shell 20
in
io section and the inner shell 10 in full. Figure 2B shows a side view of the
shells
locked together with the visor 24 of the outer shell 20 in a stowed position
between
the two shells (10,20).
The rim 32 of the inner shell 12 engages pads (not shown) on the inner surface
of
is the outer shell 22 around the greater part of its circumference, except at
the front
where a gap is provided to permit the passage of the visor 24. A further pad
or pads
(not shown) is provided in the comb 34 so that when the outer shell is pulled
down
on to the inner shell and the retaining clip 26 engaged the outer shell is
firmly located
on the inner shell with a gap of approximately 6mm between them.
Referring to figure 3, each retaining clip 26 is disposed in a housing 27 and
biased
outwardly by a spring (not shown). The clip 26 can be pressed into its housing
27 in
order to allow the inner helmet 10 to slide past the clip 26 into the outer
helmet 20.
The clip 26 is tapered in such a way that the sliding of the outer helmet onto
the inner
2s helmet has the effect of pressing the clip in so that it does not need to
be pressed-in
manually when the helmets are fully together, the spring returns the clip 26
to a
protruding position to hold the shells in place, The orientation of the shells
can be
seen via the relative positioning of the ocular protector 18 and the visor 24
(which are
aligned with each other).
Also visible in figure 3 is a net cap 34 forming the suspension of the helmet
on the
wearer's head. The net 34 is adjustable as known per so to fit the helmet
comfortably
to the wearer's head in the correct position. In particular an adjustable nape
pad 36
in combination with the chin strap 16 and an adjustable forehead pad 38
locates the
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helmet-fore-and-aft so that the ocular shield 18 and the visor 24 are properly
positioned.
Figure 4 shows an embodiment of the helmet which has a slot 40 for mounting
s breathing apparatus, and an external lever 41 for moving the visor 24
between its
stowed and deployed positions. Alternatively, if the bottom edge of the visor
24
projects from the outer shell when stowed so as to be graspable by a
firefighter's
gloved hand, the lever 41 can be omitted.
io Figure 5 shows a neck curtain 42 attached to the outer shell 20, to provide
additional
protection against falling ash or embers.
Figure 6 shows an embodiment of the helmet which has a mounting for a torch
44.
is Figure 7 shows a fold out hook loop 46 of the outer shell of the helmet in
use to hang
the helmet.
Provision may instead or in addition be made on the inner helmet for mounting
accessories, and though it may not be possible to fit the outer helmet over it
when
2o the accessories are in place.
Figure 8 shows schematically an exploded view of an outer helmet 50, and inner
helmet 52 which comprises an inner portion 54, adapted to fit a user's head,
and an
outer liner 56 to which a visor 58 is attached. An attachment mechanism 60,
which
2s connects the inner and outer helmets, is shown in more detail in figures 9
and 10.
The attachment mechanism 60, comprises two main portions: a U shaped housing
62 and a lever 64, which is pivotally mounted on the housing at A. A torsion
spring
(not shown) connects the lever 64 to the housing 62 and biases the lever 64 in
a
3o direction which would be clockwise as seen in figure 9. The torsion spring
may,
alternatively, be formed in the body of the lever 64, particularly if the
lever is of a
plastics material.
The lever 64 comprises an upper portion 66 which is generally rectangular,
offset
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from the midline of, and positioned at a slight angle to a lower portion 68 of
the lever
64. The upper portion 66 has a top surface 69. A sloping abutment surface 70
connects one side of the two portions. Due to the biasing of the torsion
spring this
surface is normally in contact with a raised surface 72 of the leg of the
attachment
s mechanism on which the lever is disposed.
The external surface of the leg of the U-shaped housing 62 opposite the lever
64 is
glued to an internal surface of the outer helmet 50. The other leg of the
housing may
be connected to the inner helmet as follows.
io
A slot 74, which is slightly wider than the leg of the U-shaped housing on
which the
lever 64 is disposed, is formed in the inner portion 54 of the inner helmet
52. The
slot is approximately 25 mm long and formed midway between the front and rear
of
the helmet, around halfway up the helmet's side. At the rear of the slot 74 is
a solid
is abutment surface 76, which is as deep as the slot and approximately the
same width
as the top surface of the lever 64.
To connect the helmets the user inserts the lever 64 into the slot, and pulls
the outer
helmet 50 in a generally downward direction. Figure 11 shows the two helmets
2o during the attachment process. As the slot moves upwardly relative to the
attachment mechanism, past the pivot point of the lever 64, because it is so
narrow it
forces the lever to pivot anti-clockwise (as seen in figure 9). When the slot
moves
past the top surface of the lever, its anti-clockwise moment on the lever is
released
and, biased by the spring, the lever snaps back into a position shown in
Figure 12.
2s The top surface of the lever 64 now abuts the solid abutment surface 76 of
the slot
74, locking the two helmets together.
If the user should wish to disengage the helmets, she simply rotates the lower
portion of the lever anti-clockwise, so that the top surface of the lever is
aligned with
so the slot 74, as shown in Figure 13, and lifts the upper helmet off the
lower one.
A second attachment mechanism (not shown) is disposed opposite the first
attachment mechanism and is its mirror image, being appropriately biased. Both
levers must be engaged or disengaged when donning or doffing the helmet.
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Some other features of the attachment mechanism 60 are shown in Figure 10. The
attachment mechanism may have two lugs 80 to which the visor 58, and the liner
56
may be attached, in which case the lowest portion of the leg of the housing to
which
s the lugs are attached may be formed as U-shape to provide a stop for the
visor 58.
A connector 82 for breathing apparatus may be formed on an external surface of
the
housing.
Each feature disclosed in this specification (which term includes the claims)
and/or
io shown in the drawings may be incorporated in the invention independently of
other
disclosed and/or illustrated features. Statements in this specification of the
"objects
of the invention" relate to preferred embodiments of the invention, but not
necessarily
to all embodiments of the invention falling within the claims. The description
of the
invention with reference to the drawings is by way of example only.
is
The text of the abstract filed herewith is hereby deemed to be repeated here
in full as
part of the specification.
A firefighter's helmet comprises an inner protective steel! configured to be
worn on its
20 own as a helmet and an outer protective shell configured to be fitted over
the inner
shell and releasably retained thereon, comprising retaining mechanism for
retaining
the inner shell in the outer shell, wherein the retaining mechanism is
moveable by a
user whilst wearing the inner shell between a first position in which the
retaining
mechanism engages a said shell substantially to prevent relative movement
between
2s the two shells; and a second position in which the retaining mechanism
permits
relative movement of the shells whereby allowing the donning or doffing of the
outer
shell by the user.
Publish figures 1 A and 1 B
