Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a helmet.
It has previously been proposed to make helmets
highly visible for the safety of the wearer but such helmets
have so far been conceived mainly for day wear and for very
limited uses.
It is a general object of the present invention to
provide a helmet which is adapted for generally universal
use and safety at any time of the day or night, that is in
daylight or in the dark.
It is a more specific object of the invention to
provide a helmet which is highly visible from any direction
day or night and which includes fail-safe electrical
signaling more particularly in the form of blinking lights.
It is another object of the present invention to
provide a helmet which is adapted to be used in the dark
while alto providing appropriate illumination for reading
and writing without unduly impairing the normal movements
of the wearer.
It is contemplated that the device according to
the prevent invention will find particular utility in the
hollowing applications Police officers on traffic duties,
school brigades, emergency workers public road workers,
forties on their assistants (for easy identification),
Hydra linesmen (Plastic helmet could be used), Hunters
(specially useful when lost in bush), fishermen, Blind
people (so they may be easily be Sweeney H~n~icay~ed I slow
walkers (when crossing highways or streets), Rural residents
(specially when walking on public roads), Snow removing
crews (they usually work at night or in heavy snow storms),
Street cleaners, bicycle riders, security guards, parking
lot attendants, motorcycle riders, tow truck operators,
highway repair crews, etc., etch
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The above and other objects and advantages of
the present invention will be better understood with the
following detailed description of a preferred embodiment
thereof which is illustrated, by way of example, in the
accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a blinking
helmet according to the present invention;
I; Figure 2 is a bottom view of the helmet of Figure
l; and
Figure 3 is a side view of the helmet of the
preceding Figures with part broken away and a light
transmitting lens in exploded view to better describe the
internal elements of the helmet.
The illustrated helmet comprises a helmet body
formed of a central dome portion 1 and a peripheral edge
I portion 2. It it understood that the shape and form of
the helmet may be of the standard construction r type
used with motorcycle, snowmobile, bicycle construction etc.
The outer face of the helmet body is divided into sectors
1 3 and 4 converging toward a common center at the top of the
central dome portion 1. Thus, the sectors 3 and 4 form a
series of face portions serially extending longitudinally
of the peripheral edge of the helmet body. The alternate
sectors 4 are formed with a highly reflective surface
which is also of high color contrast with the sectors 3.
For instance, the sectors 3 may be white, such as the
reflective material use on Fireman's coats, while the
I: sectors 4 are of reflective orange-red color.
I Reflective trim lines 5 delineate the sectors 3
Rand 4 and reflective patches or tapes 6 are fixed on the
peripheral edge portion 2 in laterally spaced apart
relationship along the periphery of the helmet body.
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A pair of electric battery recesses 7 are
integrally formed in the helmet body and upwardly extend
in the peripheral edge portion at the front of the helmet
body. on electric light recess 8 is integrally formed
in the peripheral edge portion intermediate the battery
recesses and forms a concave reflector by a reflective
coating on the inner face thereof. A pair of electric
batteries 9 are recessed upwardly in the electric battery
recesses 7 respectively. An illumination light 10 is upwardly
recessed in the electric light recess 8 to clear the field
of view of the wearer of the helmet. A transparent plate
11 closes the open end of the electric light recess 8 and
thus inward lye confines the illumination light 10. The latter
j is provided to illuminate within a reading distance from the
eyes of the wearer of the helmet. This feature may be
left off some helmets, depending on the application.
, The central dome portion 1 of the helmet body is
t provided with four apertures 12 there through which registerwith the sectors 4 and are thus also spaced apart along
the periphery of the helmet body. A blinking fight 13
registers with each aperture 12 and is confined by a
transparent dome or lens 14. The latter may obviously be
of any light transmitting material such as transparent
or translucent glass or plastic. A scaling ring 15 is
placed between the edges of each transparent dome 14 and
of the corresponding aperture 12.
Each light bulb used in the present invention
is the "thermal" type or "a self contained flasher type",
(such as GUY 407) except of course the front utility
light. The colors of the transparent lenses or domes are
not specified inasmuch as a specific color may be selected
for a specific occupation or use, in accordance with well
establish practice, i.e., red for danger, yellow for caution
etc. The lenses or domes may be ox the screw in type
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,
in order to accomm~d~te~ a fast bulb replacement or the
lens itself.
A central aperture 16 is formed through the central
dome portion 1 of the helmet body at the aforementioned
common center. A top blinking light 17 is mounted in the
aperture 16 and is covered by another transparent dome or
lens 18. Although a total of 5 blinking lights are
illustrated it is to be understood the fewer or more than
this number may he used.
A battery huddling bracket it is fixed at the top
of the internal surface of the central dome portion 1, that
is under the top blinking light 17. This battery holding
bracket is adapted to contain four electric batteries 20
or any other appropriate number of batteries to provide
long-lasting energization of the lights 13 and ~17 which are
serially connected by wires 21.
It has been found that the blinking lights
operate continuously or at least 8 hours using conventional
dry-cell batteries.
The energization of the lighting system maybe
transistorized and ox course, the voltage may be changed
as required. An adapter may be used to connect to the
power source of a motorcycle en automobile. It is also
contemplated that the electrical energy for helmet be
provided by a bicycle with a dynamo without departing
prom the original concept of the invention.
For example, in case of emergency repair to an
automobile, or an accident when assistance is required
or as a warning signal the helmet according to the
invention may be placed on the dash in an operational mode.
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