Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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~ ~C~GROU~D ANL) SU~ Y~ F Tll~ -v~N-rI
¦i lrhe present invention i5 conccrned with a safety
!I helmet for motor-cycli.sts that satlsfies the special demands
¦ made upon this type of head year, to an extent never achieveA
before. Sirnple helmets have been in general use for a long
time, and consist essentially of a hard shell covering the ;
Il cranium and the temples reaching just above eye level, and have
¦ a soft padding. These simple helmets may be used, in practicall~
¦¦ the same design for a wide racge of purposes, as crash helmcts, ! - 1`
I! safety helmets, workmen's "hard hc~ts'', etc. There have also bQen,
.j, developed a number of special helmets for particular purposes,
such as helmets for hockey, football or ruyby players, auto
! racing drivers, and a-~iators, to cite ju~t a few examples. All
¦ of these special helmets must meet the particular requirements
¦¦ essential only for their particular intended use. For example, I ,
¦ a special feature of ~ootball and rugby helrnets is that they
l! Inust lcave the f~ce of the player free as much as possible in
1~ order to afford him th~ widest posslble field of vi.sion, as well ¦
as to show his face to the spectators. Less important in such
cases is the consiclerahly time required to put on and fit the
helmet.
! The followiny features satisi~ somc of tile spccidl
requirements of sa~e~ty helmc7~ ior motor-cyclis~s that are no~ ,
! required of any other type of protective hecld ycar. Firs~ of all,
no ot}lex kind o~ heln~.t is ~Yposed to wi3.d velocities o~ al:y~,~hcrc~
near the s~me Ira.J~ltuùo S~ larly, tlle ~L~arcr o tnc hel ot
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¦ faces great danger in case of an accident, due to the high speeds. ,
On the other hand, the wearer does not require an equally wide ¦ ~
field of vision extending to nearly 360, as does a rugby player.l -
For these reasons, it is expedient and warranted to encase
the head of the wearer, including the full face plus the mouth, ;;
nose, cheeks, and chin, in a helmet that is padded all over
¦ and in which only a frontal opening for the face has been left,
this opening being formed by a transparent visor. Protective
helmets of the type that encase the entire head and extend down-
¦ ward so as to cover the chin, are known as "integral helmets"
; I and are gaining increased acceptance because of their excellent
protective features even in very serious accidents against which
other helmets do not offer any protection, or only minimal
protection, although there does exist certain considerable
!~ drawbac~s to these helmets.
These disadvantages have largely to do with thP afore-
mentioned high travel speeds to which a helmet and its wearer ma~¦
be exposed. The velocities tend to make the helmet slip out
¦¦ of place if it is not made to fit the head of the wearer very ,
20 1¦ exactly and ti~htly, thereby causing discomfort to thP wearer.
retofore it has not been fully possible, because of technical
¦ and commercial reasons, to meet this requirement of a close
j fit of the wearers' head not only with respect to size, but
¦ also shape. ~ product of such general usc would be uneconomical
to keep in stock, sincc it requires a complete line of head sizes
and at least four differcnt head shapes ransing from angular and
¦ broad to slim and oval.
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An even greater disadvantage arising from the require-
ment of a perfect fit of an integral helmet lies in the
fact that the helmet that meets this requirement completely
can only be put on and taken off by overcoming the resist-
ance of the elastic padding, since the helmet tapers off
downwardly and forwardly to conform to the anatomy of the -~
human head. While this presents a minor problem for
healthy uninjured persons, it becomes quite difficult in
the case of neck injuries that are unavoidable even with -
the best protective helmet. In such cases, it is highly
important that the helmet be lifted off the head of an
injured person as carefully as possible, and this cannot `
be done with the known integral helmets for the afore-
- mentioned reasons. This difficulty is so serious that for
some time, all ambulances have been equipped with bone
saws, not because`it is necessary to saw off a bone at
the scene of an accident, but solely for the purpose to
remove, wh`ere necessary, an integral helmet from the head
of the accident victim without injury to him. Obviously, !
the task of removing the helmet cannot be left to laymen,
nor even to highly skilled persons, including doctors, if
they are not provided with the necessary special saws. As
a result, valuable time may be lost in many cases before
the medical care of an accident victim can be initiated.
The present invention is concerned with a motor-cycle
helmet that has all the advantages of the known integral
helmets, namely their excellent protection in case of an
accident, but avoids all of the drawbacks that have not ~ `~
been overcome so far.
According to the invention there is provided a safety
helmet comprising an inflatable, interconnected air-cushion
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system wherein the air-cushion system is positioned in
the lower part of an integral helmet, said integral helmet
having a tapered portion extending in a downward direction
below the chin of the wearer, and havlng a frontal opening
for the face, wherein said air cushion system extends from :
the lower edge of said helmet to at least the level of the
ears, but not higher than the level of the temples of a
wearer of the safety helmet; and wherein said air-cushion
system comprises a continuous band of two flexible foils,
means for interconnecting said foils in an air-tight
manner comprising cross-pieces extending between said
foils, in such a way that the foils and the cross-pieces
form two inflatable cheek cushions and one inflatable
neck-cushion, wherein said foils, in the areas between the
neck-cushion and the cheek-cushions are inter-connected
in such a way so that these areas cannot be inflated,
connecting passage-way means between the cheek cushions
and the neck cushion, and throttling passageway means
positioned between the non-inflatable areas and the
inflatable areas.
Thus, the motor-cycle helmet in accordance with the
invention makes possible an exact fitting of the head :
size of the wearer as well as its shape, requiring a
considerably smaller number of helmets to be kept in
stock, and facilitating an easy and gentle removal, never
achieved before, from the head of the wearer. Even in the :
case of serious injuries to the spine, any further harm to
the victim due to the removal of the helmet is positively
prevented.
The advantages in accordance with at least the -
preferred embodiments of the invention are achieved by
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designing a protective helmet, generally familiar, to
enclose the entire head of the wearer, including his face,
and extending downward below the lower edge of the chin,
and provided with a visor type of opening for the face
that tapers off downwardly. ~he inside of the helmet is
padded using a system, the principle of which is known as
such in other contexts, of inflatable air-cushions that
are inter-connected by throttling passage-ways. This
system differs in many respects from the known systems of
air~cushions with inter-connected throttling passage~ways
in design, in the manner of its fastening to the helmet,
and also by its interaction with other padding features
of the helmet.
An essential characteristic of the invention lies in
the fact that, while the air-cushion system encloses and
protects the neck and cheeks of the wearer, it leaves `~ !
free the top of the skull, in contrast to all known safety
helmets that use inflatable air~cushions, and assigns the
protection of the cranium entirely to a familiar padding
with an elastic material such as styropor and/or foam
rubber. This does not impair the protection in the area
of the cranium, but offers the special advantage of
eliminating undesirable and often unavoidable upward pull
on the chin~strap. ~ -
Another advantage achieved by omitting air-cushions
above the cranium consists in avoiding the recoil effect
that occurs after the end part of an impact due to the re~
expansion of the air~cushion.
In accordance with this invention, the air cushions
are arranged in the helmet in such a way that they extend
from the lower edge of the cheek~bones to the uppermost
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tip of the ears, but not as far as the temple.
The air-cushion system with throttling passage-ways
between the various air-cushions, is designed as a con-
tinuous band made up of two foils, which are superimposed
and inter-connected in a gas-tight manner. Similarly, in
accordance with another preferred embodiment of the inven-
tion, cross-pieces, likewise made of elastic gas-tight
material may be mounted on the upper, lower and lateral
edges. This latter embodiment of the invention has the
advantage, compared to the simpler embodiment, that the
air-cushion will not bulge forward when inflated, and
thereby exert an undesirable pressure. The width of these
cross-pieces should amount to not less than half the dif-
ference between the inside diameter of the helmet and the
diameter of the smallest head-size to be fitted, and not
greater than three times the amount of that difference.
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¦ A pre f erred de s ign o f the a i r- cus hi on sys t em con s i s ~s
i of a double-walled gas-tight band with perhaps elastic cross-
i pieces between the walls, and containiny, in the cervical region
! and in the two regions of the cheeks, inflatable air-cushions.
Between the inflatable air cushions are two non-inflatable parts ¦
of the band. The non-inflatable parts of the band have passage- ¦
ways leading to the adjoining inflatable cushion parts. In
addition, throttling passage-ways are provided between each air
I cushion and its adjoining non-inflatable section, said throttlin~
j passage-ways affording a pressure balance between the various air
¦ cushions, but also retarding the air from tlle air cushions. The ¦
intensity of the retarding effect must be regulated rather
! carefully. If it is too weak, the air-cushion system does not
develop sufficient elasticit~ and thus does not provide sufficient
protection; if it is too strong, the fitting of the helmet to the
¦I size and sha~e of the head of the wearer is impaired.
An ideal throttling effect that is neither too weak
nor too strong can be achieved in accordance with a preferred
l embodiment of the invention by affixing labyrinth joints to the
1 throttling passage-ways. These labyrinth joints can be made most
effectively by using some, preferably not more than two, welded
or adhesive ceams that are staggered and placed adjacent to each
other.
Advantageously, the lateral, or cheek, cushions of the
!I system extend no farther ~orward than to the bor~erline bctwecn
l jaw bones and chin, while the chin region of the helmet is lined ¦
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with a familiar non-inflatable pliable cushioning material, for
I instance styropor or foam rubber. In this way, any undesirable
horizontal pull during inflation of the cushion-system is avoided
, The same purpose is served by designing an air-cushion that
protects the neck, e.g., by installing some welded joints so
jj that it will be inflated less than the cheek cushions, when the
system is inflated. .
¦ It is also advantageous to have the neck support
! consist not of an inflatable air-cushion, but of elastic foam
¦ 10 ! material, in the conventional manner.
I ~ The fastening of the air-cushion system within the
. helmet may be done advantageously by placing it inside a pocket
. that is firmly attached to the helmet and preferably, by : ;
! fasteniny the ai.r-cushion system to the pocket fi.rmly, but so
I ! as to be detachable by means of snap fasteners.
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j~ BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DR~WINGS
A preferred embodiment of the invention shall be
! explained in greater detail, schemati.cally and by way of
20 1 example, on the basis of the drawings: ¦
Figure 1 is a view of a vertical section along the
i line 1-1 of Figure 2. In this section, the facial opening 2,
jl located in front of the plane of the section has been drawn for
the sake of clarity;
Figure 2 i5 a vertical section along the line II-II of
Figure 1.
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Figure 3 is an enlargement of the circular area of
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Fiyurc 4 is a view of the system preferably designed
as a band, of air-cushions that are inter-connected by throttling
! passageways, shown in an unfo]ded state; ¦
Figure 5 is the top-view of the band in the direction
of the arrow ~5) of ~igure 4.
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il DETAILED DESCRIP'l`ION OF THE DRAWINGS ;~
~10 ,1 In the Figures, 1 designates the shell of the helmet,
; ! 3 is the styropor padding of the upper part of the helmet,
positioned above the air-cushion paddir.g that is inserted in
accordance with the invention, 4 denotes an additiona~ padding
that is made, e.g., of PVC-foam-coated tissue, or layer, that
~¦ extends not altogether up to the roof of the skull, and that is ~ `
¦¦ applied above the styropor, and 5 designatPs the continuous
system of inflatable air-cushions that is inter-connected by
way of throttling passage-ways and is located in the pocket 6.
I The pock~t 6, as shown in Fiyure 3, consists, for example, of
1 20- 1 a rigid, but sufficiently flexible hard-PVC- foil 7, forming
the rear wall of the pocket that is joined, by way of a se~m
j 8, to a connecting piece ~, and to a front wall 10. The front
¦ wall 10 of the pocket, consists, for exampLe, of tissue coated
with foam mat~rial on the inside.
The pocket 6 is solidly and firmly attached to the
l shell 1 of the helmet, e.g., by means of rivets 11. ~ solid,
¦ fixedly, but ad~lantageously detachably, connection between the ¦ ;
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¦ air-cushion padding 5 and the pocket 6 can be provided, by means
of snap-fastener connections 12.
As may be seen in Figure 2, the air-cushion padding 5
extends only to a point on the helmet corresponding to the
! border-line between the chin and jaw bones, while the chin
il region of the llelmet is padded with another material, e.g., with
foam-rubber coated styropor 13. The air-cushion padding 5 extendc
to a point slightly below where the helmet side portions start
l to curve toward each other. The neck support 14 also has been I -
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¦ developed in a conventional way, viz., not as an air cushion but ¦instead is made of a foam materia. 15 is the fastening device
¦ of the chin strap 16.
Further details of a preferred design of the air-cushion
system may be seen in Figs.-~ and 5. The air-cushion system
¦ comprises two flexible air-tight foils 17 that are inter-
I! connected on all sides by means of seams, preferably welding
; I! seams. In accordance with the particularly preferred design
as shown in Figure 5, the foils 17 are inter-connected on all
sides by means of connecting pieces 18, 19 and 20 which are
arranged on all sides and between the two foils 17. The width
b extending between the foils 17 should amount to not less than
i one half, and preferably to 100~ of the difference between the
inside di~meter of the helmet and the diameter of the smallest
head size to be fitted, and to no more than three times that
difference.
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~ our throttling passageways are shown as labyrinth-
joints, and consist of two welding seams 21 each staggered, but
arranged very closely adjacent eacll other, preferably 5 mm apart
of approximately the same width c, and of a length of a few
centimeters. These seams 21 separate the two cheek-cushions 22
from the ear-patches 24, and likewise, separate .he ear-patches
I 24 from the neck-cushion 23. The seams 21 extend fully between
the side foils 17 so that the passa~e of air is possible only
¦ along the narrow and restricted paths as shown by the arrows 90.
~¦ In the larger part 24a of the area of the ear-patches 24, the
two foils 17 are solidly welded or pasted together, so that that ¦
area cannot be inflated, and only narrow passageways 24b for
the gas remain between the cheek-cushions 22 and the neck-
¦I cushion 23. A few welded joints 25 within the area of the neck- I
j cushion 23 keep them from being inflated by the same air pressure,
similarly to the cheek cushions 22. Numbers 26 are snap-fasten-
ers for attacl~ing the air-cushion system to pocket 6. Number
27 is the valve for inflating~the system as well as for letting
the air out of the helmet so as to facilitate the removal of the ¦
helmet, and 28 is the tube for the air intake.
