Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
W 097/48298 PCT~ ~7/00370
Bicycle helmet
The present invention relates to a helmet, particularly a bicycle helmet,
5 comprising an outer shell for protecting the user's head from impacts.
At present, helmets developed for use by cyclists are known. These
helmets have a light construction but they still protect the cyclist's head
when falling down and in other situations when the head can be sub-
10 jected to impacts. It has been shown that the use of a helmet reducessignificantly injuries of cyclists and reduces the occurrence of serious
lesions. Although cyclists have been informed of the advantages of us-
ing a helmet e.g. via the mass media, there are still many cyclists who
will not wear a helmet. One reason for not wearing it is possibly the fact
15 that the helmet is uncomfortable to wear. In warm weather, the helmet
feels sweaty, particularly a helmet with a closed or almost closed outer
shell. Thus sweat cannot be easily evaporated but is left inside the
helmet. On the other hand, helmets in which sweating is taken into ac-
count by forming air openings or the like in the outer shell, do not pro-
20 tect from rain and cold, wherein the cyclist will prefer to wear headgearwhich nevertheless does not sufficiently protect the head from impacts.
Winter cycling has gained popularity recently, wherein the risks of cy-
cling are multiplied compared to summer conditions. Thus it is even
25 more important to wear a helmet. Nevertheless, presently known hel-
mets are not sufficiently designed for changes in conditions, a factor
discouraging cyclists to wear a helmet.
Canadian patent application CA-2,058,753 presents textile or cor-
30 responding headgear that can be placed on top of the bicycle helmet.The headgear can have a visor as protection from sunbeams, as well
as flaps for protecting the neck and the ears. A disadvantage of the
~ headgear presented in the publication is that the headgear does notnecessarily fit the helmet to be used in an optimal way. Also, the textile
35 headgear can, particularly under windy weather conditions, pass air to
flow between the headgear and the outer shell of the helmet, which will
reduce the warming and wind-protecting effect of the headgear. More-
over, flapping headgear is uncomfortable to wear.
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German patent publication DE-4205842 presents a protective helmet
intended particularly for sports use. This helmet consists of a soft, im-
pact-absorbing inner shell and a hard outer shell composed of two
5 parts. The first part of the outer shell is fixed to the inner shell, and the
second part is arranged to be movable in relation to the inner shell. The
inner shell and the movable outer shell are provided with air openings,
wherein the size of the air openings can be adjusted by moving the
outer shell. The second part of the outer shell is rotatably connected at
10 two connection points on opposite sides of the helmet to the first part of
the outer shell which is arranged to be stationary. This publication pre-
sents primarily a solution for adjusting the size of air openings in a
stepless manner. However, this solution has the disadvantage that the
connection pins or the like, making possible the rotation of the second
15 part of the outer shell, require special measures for maintaining the im-
pact resistance of the helmet particulariy at these pins. On the other
hand, this kind of a solution is not suitable for all applications of protec-
tive helmets, particularly in cases when there is a need to protect the
whole crown. This is particularly due to the fact that the second part of
20 the outer shell is movable, wherein it cannot cover the whole crown si-
multaneously but at least part of the crown is outside the area protected
by the outer shell.
European patent application EP-217996 presents a protective helmet
25 comprising a hard outer shell and an impact-absorbing liner. The hard
outer shell and the impact-absorbing liner are designed to be separate
and attachable to each other. Attachment is made using a band or the
like which is wound through holes or other openings formed in the outer
shell and in the liner. There are usually two or three connection points.
30 Thus, this solution requires that both the outer shell and the liner are
provided with a number of holes at least corresponding to the number
of connection points. Furthermore, the bands must be tied or their loos-
ening must be prevented in another way during use of the helmet. Con-
sequently, the use of the helmet presented in the EP application publi-
35 cation is extremely complicated.
Further, US patent 4,599,752 discloses still another helmet design inwhich an additional cap can be placed on top of the helmet. The at-
CA 022~8807 1998-12-17
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tachment of an additional cap is arranged by means of snaps on both
sides of the helmet and holes in corresponding locations in the cap,
wherein when the interlocking cap is in its place, the snap is inserted
into the hole in the interlocking cap and keeps the cap in its place.
5 When manufacturing such a helmet, especially the structure of the
snaps used as attaching points of the interlocking cap must be taken
into account, because when such a point is subjected to a possible im-
pact, it will easily result in a great stress on the snap and its attachment
point in the protective helmet. On the other hand, the snap cannot be
10 particularly flexible, because the interlocking cap must be kept in place
during use of the helmet.
The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the above-men-
tioned disadvantages to a great extent and to provide a bicycle helmet
15 whose use properties can be adjusted to be as functional and comfort-
able as possible according to the conditions. It is specific to the inven-
tion that an additional cap is arranged to be fixed in connection with the
outer shell, wherein the properties of the bicycle helmet can be ad-
justed according to the use conditions. The invention is based on the
20 idea that an additional cap is placed on top of the outer shell of the
helmet, the cap having preferably the same shape as the outer shell
and being manufactured advantageously of the same material by com-
pressing. Additional caps can be made for different conditions, e.g. by
varying the size and number of air openings. For winter use, it is also
25 possible to manufacture caps with no air openings. By varying the col-
ouring of the additional caps, it is also possible to change the appear-
ance of the helmet. Furthermore, the additional cap can be manu-
factured of a heat insulating material, wherein the additional cap pro-
tects better from cold.
The invention provides significant advantages to the bicycle helmets of
prior art. The helmet according to the invention can be used under
varying conditions by placing an additional cap suitable for the condi-
tions on top of the outer shell of the helmet. Further, the visibility of the
35 cyclist can be improved with the helmet of the invention, for example
with a colourful or reflecting additional cap, which improves safety of
cycling.
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In the following, the invention will be described more closely with refer-
ence to the appended drawings, in which
Fig. 1 shows a bicycle helmet according to the invention in a per-
spective view,
Fig. 2 shows an additional cap for a bicycle helmet according to
the invention in a perspective view, and
~0 Fig. 3 shows a cross-section of the helmet of Fig. 2 along the
line ll~lll.
The outer shell 2 of the bicycle helmet 1 according to Fig. 1 is manu-
factured of an impact-resistant material, such as reinforced plastic, ad-
15 vantageously by compression moulding. The outer shell 2 can also bemanufactured by injection moulding or casting into a mould. The outer
shell 2 is provided with air openings 3, wherein the moisture and heat
rele~sed from the cyclist's head is discharged from the intemal vol-
ume 4 of the helmet (Fig. 3).
The bicycle helmet 1 comprises also support means 5 which are fixed
to the outer shell 2 and by means of which the~helmet can be placed
onto the user's head. The support means 5 are advantageously adjust-
able, wherein the helmet 1 can be adjusted according to each user. At
25 least some of the support means 5 are cushioned or manufactured of a
resilient (soft) material, which will further absorb impacts onto the outer
shell of the helmet. The structure and desi~n of the support means 5
can vary e.g accordi"g to the material they are made of. The support
means 5 of the bicycle helmet 1 of Fig. 1 comprise an inner shell 5a
30 made of e.g. polystyrene, and support pieces5b which are placed
against the cyclist's head. The support pieces 5b are attached to the
inner shell 5a advantageously by adhesive tapes, wherein the attach-
ment points and sizes of the support pieces 5b can be changed in order
to achieve optimal fitting to the head.
The bicycle helmet 1 comprises stiil a jaw band 6 for securing the at-
tachment of the helmet to the head. The jaw band 6 is provided with
adjusting means (not shown) for adjusting the tightness of the jaw band
.
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so that the helmet is kept on the head but it is not too tight. In the jaw
band 6, it is possible to use durable and substantially inextensible and
inflexible bands known as such.
5 Figure 2 shows an additional cap 7 according to an advantageous em-
bodiment according to the invention. The additional cap is designed to
have a shape substantially identical with the outer shell 2, wherein the
additional cap 7 can be easily and steadily placed on top of the outer
shell 2. In Figure 2, the air openings 8 of the additional shell are fo,l"ecl
10 at locations substantially corresponding to the air openings 3 of the
outer shell, but in this embodiment the air openings 8 of the additional
cap are smaller than the air openings 3 of the outer shell. Thus the
additional cap 7 of Fig. 2 is intended particularly for rainy and windy
cycling conditions. For winter use, it is possible to eliminate all the air
15 openings8 of the additional cap and to manufacture the additional
cap 7 at least partly of a material with therrnal insulation properties.
The additional cap 7 can be coated with different colours, and it is also
possible to use a reflective coating, wherein the visibility of the cyclist is
20 improved significantly, particularly in poor conditions of visibility, such
as in dark and rainy weather.
The additional cap 7 according to the invention can be attached to the
bicycle helmet for example with a flexible attac~")ent band 9 which is
25 arranged in a circular shape and placed around the outer shell 2, ad-
vantageously close to the lower edge of the outer shell 2. The attach-
ment band 9 is, at its surface to be placed against the surface of the
outer shell 2, advantageously provided with an attachment groove
(Fig. 3), wherein the additional cap 7, its outer edge, is provided with a
30 lip 11 interlocking with the aKachment groove 10. This can be made
advantageously at the stage of manufacturing the additional cap. The
additional cap 7 is placed on top of the outer shell 2, after which the
dtlac~""ent band 9 is fixed so that the lip 11 of the additional cap 7 is
placed in the attachment groove 10. The removal of the additional
35 cap7 can be made e.g. by first removing the attachment band9,
wherein the additional cap 7 can be lifted from top of the outer shell 2.
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The bicycle helmet 1 is preferably designed so that the impact resis-
tance of the bicycle helmet 1 is sufficient without the additional cap 7,
wherein there is no need to be concerned about the impact resistance
properties of the additional cap 7.
The invention is not limited solely to the embodiments presented above
but it can be changed within the scope of the appended claims.
.
