Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2091106
F1ASHLIGHT HOLDER FOR PROTECTIVE HELMETS, HARDHATS OR THE LIKE
This invention relates generally to safety equipment, and
especially to a flashlight holder for protective helmets,
hardhats and the like, which may be attached to the helmet
by means of standard adaptors or by means of a specially
designed separate adaptor.
Protective helmets used by workmen in various
industries are usually adapted to carry various kinds of
protective equipment, such as earmuffs, face shields and the
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like. To facilitate easy mounting and dismounting Of such
equipment, the helmet in the case of standard construction
helmets is provided with slots on each side just above the
ears of the wearer of the helmet. Other types of protective
helmets require separate adaptors.
There is known Canadian patent 1,093,523 related to a
battery case and lamp assembly detachably engaged with a
pair of clips secured to the front of the helmet. A lower
horizontal rod is attached to the back of the battery case
which allows a lamp assembly to pivot around said rod by
means of a plurality of projecting teeth.
There is also known US patent 4,090,232 related to
illuminating means for the head in which a light is
permanently attached to a hat and adapted to be powered by
one or more electric storage batteries mounted on the hat.
Furthermore there is known US patent 4,516,192 for a lamp
carriage arm, adapted for attachment to a safety hat. The
lamp carriage arm attaches at one end to one side of the
safety hat, and extends downwardly in a space relationship
to the side of the safety hat wearer's head. Conventional
lighting is carried at the other end of the lamp. A small
counterweight is installed on the other side of the helmet.
Those and other known lamp assemblies are not adapted to
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carry a standard self-powered flashlight and need a separate
battery case or an auxiliary source of electric power, which
makes the entire assembly heavier, more expensive and more
difficult in use.
The present invention is directed towards overcoming
the above and other disadvantages of prior light assemblies.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is a flashlight holder
for protective helmets, hardhats or the like comprising:
a carrier element having outer walls and inner walls and
adapted to accommodate within its inner walls a standard
flashlight; wherein said carrier element accommodates said
flashlight across the flashlight's width;
an adjustment means connected to said carrier element and
provided to adjust said carrier holding the flashlight in
any position desired by the protective helmet wearer;
a mounting adaptor means connected to said carrier
element by said adjustment means and provided to releasably
attach said holder to the protective helmet, wherein said
holder is attached directly to a side of the helmet and
wherein said mounting adaptor means is adapted to withstand
an extensive abuse in a heavy industrial environment.
Another object of the present invention is a holder,
wherein said holder is attached to the side of the helmet;
said adjustment means are located at the lower extremity of
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said carrier element, and said adjustment means comprises a
swivel ball-socket arrangement.
Yet another object of the present invention is a holder,
wherein the ball of said ball-socket arrangement is an
integral part of said carrier element, wherein said socket
is incorporated within the upper part of said adaptor means,
and wherein said ball is secured in said socket by
tightening means; said carrier is provided with a size
adaptor, located within the inner walls of said carrier and
provided to fit a flashlight of smaller size.
Still another object of the present invention is a holder,
wherein said holder is made of a non-conductive material;
said adaptor means comprises:
an adaptor provided for mounting earmuffs and
an intermediate adaptor provided to connect said
adaptor to said adjustment means.
And yet another object of the present invention is a
holder, wherein said carrier element having a securing means
provided to secure the flashlight within said carrier; said
adapter means comprises two vertically oriented halves, and
wherein said socket is incorporated within the upper parts
of said halves; said ball is secured in said socket by
tightening means, and a holder, wherein said securing means
comprises a resiliency of the inner wall of said carrier
providing clamping action towards the flashlight
accommodated inside of said carrier.
.
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Still the other embodiment of the present invention
comprises a combination of a protective helmet comprising a
hat and a flashlight holder releasably attached to the side
of said helmet, wherein said holder comprises:
a carrier element having outer walls and inner walls and
adapted to accommodate within its inner walls a standard
flashlight, wherein said carrier element accommodates said
flashlight across the flashlight's width;
an adjustment means connected to said carrier element
and provided to adjust a light of said flashlight under any
desirable angle by the protective helmet wearer,
a mounting adaptor means connected to
said carrier element by said adjustment means and provided
to releasably attach said holder to said protective helmet;
wherein said holder is attached directly to a side of the
helmet and wherein said adaptor means is adapted to withstand
an extensive abuse in a heavy industrial environment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig.l shows a side view on the helmet according to the first
embodiment of the present invention showing disassembled
holder, flashlight and an earmuffs mounted on the hold
Fig. 2 shows a side elevational view of the flashlight
holder of the present invention attached to a safety
helmet.
Fig. 3 shows a fragment of side cross-section taken along
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lines 3-3 showing a pre-fabricated slot for mounting the
adapter.
Fig. 4 is a front view of a carrier element of the holder.
Fig. 5 is a side view of the assembly showing an earmuffs
adaptor and intermediate adaptor.
Fig. 6 shows a side view of the carrier of Fig.4.
Fig. 7 shows a side view of the assembly of Fig.5,
Fig.8 shows a side view of the disassembled adaptors and
carrier of Fig. 4 and 5.
Fig. 9 shows a side view of the left portion of the
intermediate adaptor taken along the lines 9-9 of Fig. 10.
Fig.10 shows a front view of Fig. 9.
Fig. 11 shows a front view of the right portion of the
intermediate adaptor.
Fig. 12 is a side view of Fig. 11 taken along the lines
12-12 of Fig. 11.
Fig. 13 is a side view of an earmuffs adaptor.
Fig. 14 is a front view of Fig. 13.
Fig. 15 is a side view of a tension nut of the intermediate
adaptor.
Fig.16 is disassembled side view showing a second
modification of an earmuffs adaptor and intermediate
adaptor.
Fig. 17 is a front view of the earmuffs adaptor of Fig. 16.
Fig. 18 is a fragment of side cross-sectional view showing
prefabricated slot of the helmet with the mounted earmuffs
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adaptor of Fig.17.
Fig. 19 shows a side view of the third modification of the
holder being attached to the side of the firefighter's
helmet.
Fig. 20 is a fragment of a side cross-sectional view of the
adaptor taken along the lines 20-20 of Fig. 19.
Fig. 21 is a side view of the adaptor of Fig. 20.
Fig. 22 is a top view of Fig. 21 taken along the lines 22-22.
Fig. 23 is a side view of fourth embodiment of the safety
helmet with the holder attached to the side.
Fig. 24 is a fragment of a side cross-section taken along
the lines 24-24 showing the pre-fabricated slot on the helmet
and an adaptor mounted in it.
Fig. 25 shows a side view of an adaptor of the fourth
embodiment of the present invention in disassembled
configuration.
Fig. 26 is a front view of the left half of the adaptor of
Fig. 25 taken along the lines 26-26.
Fig. 27 is a front view of the right half of the adaptor of
Fig. 25 taken along the lines 27-27.
Fig. 28 is a front view of the carrier made according the
second embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of
the present invention will be described. Figs. 1-15 show the
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first embodiment of the invention. The holder 12 comprises
a carrier element 16 provided at its lower extremity with a
ball 18 which is part of an adjustment means provided to
adjust the angle of the flashlight 14 accommodated within
the inner wall of carrier 16. The second part of the
adjustment means or socket 20 is incorporated within an
upper part of an intermediate adaptor 22 which consists of
two identical clamps 24 and 26. Said carrier element 16
together with intermediate adaptor 22 are secured to an
adaptor 28 by means of bolt 34 and tension nut 36 of said
adaptor. In this case carrier 16 is inserted between clamps
24 and 26 of an intermediate adaptor 22 after which pressure
is applied to the ball 18 of carrier 16 by tightening the
tension nut 36 against clamp 26. In turn the adaptor 28 is
detachably mounted directly on the side of a safety helmet
10 by means of a leaf 30 and resilient tong 32 into a slot
provided on each side of the helmet 10. The shape of the
inner walls of the carrier 16 is adapted to fit a standard
self-powered flashlight and in the preferred embodiment has
substantially an 0-shape configuration as shown on Fig. 4.
However the shape of the inner walls is not restricted to
said embodiment and may be modified according to the shape
of future types of standard small flashlights. A thumb nut 17
may be used to secure the flashlight 14 inside carrier 16.
In order to fit a flashlight of smaller size, such as a
penlight size flashlight, there is provided a size adaptor 21,
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which may be snapped inside of carrier 16. Preferably, but
not necessarily, a ball 18 is located at the lowest extremity
of carrier 16, wherein said ball 18 is an integral part of
carrier 16. Said ball-socket arrangement permits adjustment
of the carrier 16 to aim the flashlight beam to wherever
light is required.
However, the present invention is not restricted to a
ball-socket arrangement, thus any other adjustment means
can be used for the same purpose. All parts of holder 12
are made from non-conductive plastic material by means of
injection molding, wherein said material has the strength to
withstand abuse in a heavy industrial environment; this is a
definite advantage for those workers who face the
possibility of contact with electrical apparatus. The
adaptor 28 of the first embodiment is an adaptor which is
manufactured by Mine Safety Appliances Company and may be
also used in combination with earmuffs 13 (see fig 1), face
shield or other equipment, mounted on the same side as the
holder of the invention. Ball-socket arrangement of the
present invention allows to rotate the holder with the
attached flashlight in any direction. This, of course is
very advantageous feature of the present invention. The
complete assembly is very easily attached to the side of the
helmet 10 by means of pre-fabricated slot 23 as shown on
Fig. 3-
Figs. 16-18 show the second embodiment of the invention,
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9A
wherein the same carrier 16 by means of an intermediate
adaptor 22 is mounted on an adaptor 38. This adaptor is also
standard equipment available in the trade and is shown, for
example, in the U.S. patent 4,516,192. As in the first
embodiment, carrier 16 is inserted between clamps 24 and 26
of the intermediate adaptor 22 which are in turn placed on
the bolt 42 of the adaptor 38. Pressure is applied to the
ball of carrier 18 by tightening a tension nut 44 against
clamp 26. Adaptor 38 is mounted to the side of helmet 10 by
means of leaf 40 and a pre-fabricated slot 23 (see Fig. 18).
Figs.19-22 show the third embodiment of the invention
where the carrier 16 is mounted on a specially designed
adaptor 46 to be attached to helmets not provided with
pre-manufactured slots, such as protective helmets used by
firefighters (and construction workers). The side view of
said adaptor 46 shows that its lower end has a hook-shape
configuration corresponding to the configuration of the
helmet's brim 15. Socket 20 of the adjustment means is formed
within the upper part of adaptor 46. The carrier 16 is
inserted in said socket 20 by means of ball 18 and when the
proper position of the carrier is achieved, it is locked
into position by means of two set screws 48. Another set
screw 50 is used to apply pressure between the holder 46 and
the brim of helmet ll. Those set screws 48 and 50 are
standard hexagon head set screws. As show on Fig. 20, the
brim 15 of the helmet 11 is additionally provided with a
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9B
rubber protector 19.
Figs. 23-27 show the fourth modification of the invention
wherein the carrier 16 is mounted on an adaptor 52. This
arrangement is an alternative to the arrangement of Figs. 2
and 18 in which the adaptors are inserted into the slots of
helmet 10 and are locked inside said slots by means of a leaf
or lug formed on the lower part of the said adaptors. The
arrangement of Fig. 23 is such that the adapter 52 is
inserted into the slot 27 of a standard construction helmet
25 and locks outside of the slot. Adaptor 52 comprises two
halves 54 and 56. The socket 20 is formed within the upper
parts of those halves. The carrier 16 is inserted between
halves 54 and 56, wherein half 56 is placed on bolt 58 of
half 54. Pressure is applied to the ball 18 of the carrier 16
by tightening the tension nut 60 against half 56. In this
arrangement adaptor 52 is inserted into a slot of helmet 25
by means of the leaf of half 54 and is locked to the outside
of the slot by means of half 56.
Fig. 28 shows another modification of carrier 29 wherein
the side walls have a lyre-shaped configuration in
cross-section, allowing the insertion of flashlight 14 by
the open top. In this modification, the top portion of the
carrier 29 is shortened and side walls are bent inwardly,
wherein the securing of the flashlight 14 is provided by
means of resiliency or clamping force of the inner walls.
This arrangement would be advantageous for those applications
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where the flashlight is installed and removed from the safety
head holder several times per day, and the clamping action of
the thumbscrew 17 would not be required to firmly hold the
flashlight.
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One of the main advantages of the present invention is the
fact that the carrier can accommodate within its inner walls
a standard flashlight of any size including a penlight size
flashlight, by means of size adapter 21, or any such other
adapter, which can be designed for any flashlight of any
dimension.
Another advantage is that the same type of carrier can be
used for any design of safety helmets, including those
without pre-fabricated slots. Indeedi mounting of the
carrier is provided by means of an intermediate adaptor as
shown in the first and second embodiments, or by means of
specially designed adaptors as shown in the third and fourth
embodiments.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is the use of
light weight non-conductive material which meets required
safety regulations. Another advantage is the full
adjustability of the light beam, providing a powerful light
where it is needed without the need of a -counterweight.
Simplicity of method of manufacture allows for easy
modification of the configuration of the inner walls of the
carrier and its size according to the specification of any
future designs of flashlights, thus eliminating the need of
a size adaptor 21.
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It is also relatively simple to mount on the same adaptor
other types of safety equipment, such as earmuffs or
faceshield.
Since various modifications can be made to my invention as
hereinabove described, and many apparently widely different
embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the
claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it is
intended that all matter contained in the accompanying
specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and
not in a limiting sense.
