LOCATELLI, Antonio (Via Ospedale 17, Almenno San Salvatore, I-24031, IT)
CLAIMS
1. A crash helmet, particularly for motoring and sports use in general, comprising a shell, an internal padding and at least one sun visor which is pivoted to said shell and has at least two positions: a raised position, in which it is contained substantially in a space formed between the internal surface of said shell and said internal padding, and a lowered position, in which said sun visor occupies at least partially a front opening of said shell enough to be arranged in front of the eyes of the user who is wearing the helmet, characterized in that it comprises an articulated mechanism for actuating said sun visor by means of an actuation member which can be actuated manually and is arranged at a side of said shell.
2. The helmet according to claim 1 , characterized in that said articulated mechanism comprises a lever which is pivoted to said shell and acts on a rod which is mechanically associated with said sun visor.
3. The helmet according to claim 2, characterized in that said lever comprises a lower arm and an upper arm, which are mutually blended in a central region which is pivoted to said shell in a hinge point, said lower arm being associated rigidly with said actuation member, said lower arm being shorter than the upper arm and the angle between said arms being such that a relatively short movement in a horizontal direction of said actuation member is matched by a relatively broad movement of the end of said upper arm in a substantially vertical direction; said end of said upper arm being pivoted to the lower end of said rod, said rod having a transverse upper pin which is inserted in a seat formed in said sun visor.
4. The helmet according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said lower arm of said lever comprises a slot which is suitable to accommodate a pivot which is rigidly coupled to said shell and acts as a stroke limiter and guiding member for the movement of said lever.
5. The helmet according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said actuation member is arranged on the lateral lower edge of said shell. |
CRASH HELMET PARTICULARLY FOR MOTORING AND SPORTS USE IN GENERAL
The present invention relates to a crash helmet particularly for motoring and sports use in general.
As it is known, crash helmets of the type for motorcycling and other sports and non- sports activities include a shell provided with a front opening equipped with an openable visor.
Fixed or tilting visors are also used with so-called open-face helmets, i.e., helmets without a chin guard.
Full-face and open-face helmets are also known which are provided with a second sun visor which can move between a lowered position, in front of the eyes, and a raised position, in which the sun visor is arranged in a space comprised between the shell and the internal padding.
The sun visor, which is arranged inside the main visor, can be lowered when the light is too strong and raised again when the ambient light decreases. The sun visor is extremely advantageous, because it avoids replacing the main visor when lighting conditions change and avoids the use of sunglasses, which can be put on and removed only when one is stationary.
Known types of sun visor are generally actuated by means of a slider which is rigidly coupled to the visor itself and protrudes outside the shell in the front part. Actuating the sun visor therefore entails lifting one's arm in order to place a hand in front of the helmet in order to be able to act on the slider.
This operation is uncomfortable and also relatively dangerous.
The aerodynamic drag opposed by the arm and hand, raised so high, makes the action tiring and laborious, taking into account the fact that one is driving a relatively fast vehicle and any distraction can be dangerous.
The driving position of certain motorcycles and the clothing can make this action even more difficult.
Also, the hand brought to the front part of the shell interferes with viewing, especially when the actuation slider is at the center of the shell. This interference, even just for a brief moment, is certainly dangerous when one is driving a motorcycle or other fast
vehicle.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a helmet provided with a sun visor which overcomes the drawbacks of the cited prior art.
An object of the invention is to provide a helmet equipped with a mechanism which allows faster and easier actuation of the sun visor.
Another object to the invention is to provide a helmet equipped with a reliable and safe mechanism for actuating the sun visor.
Another object is to provide a helmet with a device, for actuating the sun visor, which contributes positively to active safety. This aim and these and other objects, which will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a crash helmet, particularly for motoring and sports use in general, comprising a shell, an internal padding and at least one sun visor which is pivoted to said shell and has at least two positions: a raised position, in which it is contained substantially in a space formed between the internal surface of said shell and said internal padding, and a lowered position, in which said sun visor occupies at least partially a front opening of said shell enough to be arranged in front of the eyes of the user who is wearing the helmet, characterized in that it comprises an articulated mechanism for actuating said sun visor by means of an actuation member which can be actuated manually and is arranged at a side of said shell. Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of preferred but not exclusive embodiments thereof, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a side view of an openable full-face helmet, shown with the sun visor in the lowered position;
Figure 2 is a view, similar to Figure 1 , but showing the helmet with the sun visor in the raised position;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the openable full-face helmet of the preceding figures, showing in broken lines the lowered position of the sun visor; Figure 4 is a side view of an open-face helmet provided with a sun visor according to
the present invention;
Figure 5 is a partially sectional side view of the mechanism for actuating the sun visor, in the raised position;
Figure 6 is a partially sectional side view, similar to Figure 5, of the actuation mechanism of the sun visor in the lowered position;
Figure 7 is a side view of a helmet provided with a mechanism for actuating the sun visor with an actuation member arranged on the side of the shell;
Figure 8 is a side view, similar to Figure 7, of two of the possible positions of the actuation member of the sun visor with the control member arranged on the side of the shell.
With reference to the cited figures, a helmet according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 1 , comprises a shell 2 having a front opening 3 which is normally provided with an external visor 4.
The external visor 4 is normally pivoted laterally so that it can be raised in order to free the opening 3.
In the case of a full-face helmet, shown in Figures 1-3, the external visor 4 is blended with a chin guard 5 when the visor is in the lowered position.
In turn, the chin guard 5 can be lifted, by being pivoted to the shell 2, if the helmet is of the so-called openable full-face type, as in the case shown in Figures 1-3. A second sun visor 6 is pivoted to the shell 2 in the pivoting points 7 and has at least two positions: a raised position, shown in Figures 2 and 5, in which it is contained substantially in a space formed between the internal surface of the shell 2 and the padding 8 of the helmet, and a lowered position, shown in Figures 1 , 4 and 6, in which the sun visor 6 occupies the opening 3 at least partially, enough to be arranged in front of the eyes of the user.
The movement of the sun visor from the raised position to the lowered position and vice versa is actuated by means of an actuation member 9 arranged on the side of the shell.
The actuation member 9 acts on the sun visor 6 by means of an actuation mechanism, generally designated by the reference numeral 1 1 , which is arranged within
the shell 2, preferably in a space formed between the internal surface of the shell 2 and the internal padding.
The actuation mechanism 11 includes a lever 12, which is provided with a lower arm 13 and with an upper arm 14, which are mutually blended in a central region which is pivoted in the shell 2 in the pivoting point 15.
The lower arm 13 is associated with the actuation member 9.
The lower arm 13 is shorter than the upper arm 14 and the angle between the two arms is such that a relatively short movement in the horizontal direction of the actuation member 9 is matched by a relatively large movement in a substantially vertical direction of the end 16 of the upper arm 14.
The end 16 of the upper arm 14 is pivoted to the lower end of a rod 17, which has an upper transverse pin 18 inserted in a seat formed in the sun visor 6 at a certain distance from the pivoting point 7 and in a forward position with respect to it.
In this way, a movement substantially in a vertical direction of the rod 17 is matched by a rotation of the sun visor 6 about the pivoting points 7.
The lower arm 13 of the lever 12 includes a slot 19, which is suitable to accommodate a pivot 20, which is rigidly coupled to the shell 2 and acts as a stroke limiting and guiding member for the movement of the lever 12.
The operation of the helmet according to the present invention is as follows. In the normal position, the sun visor 6 is raised and inserted between the shell and the padding, as shown in Figures 2 and 5; if the user wishes to lower the sun visor, it is sufficient to act on the actuation member 9, pushing it backward, to lower the sun visor, which is arranged in front of the eyes, as shown in Figures 1 , 4, 6, 7 and 8.
To lift the sun visor again it is sufficient to push forward the actuation member 9. The actuation member can be actuated with the thumb of a hand which rests against the lower edge of the helmet without interfering with the view and reducing aerodynamic drag.
The actuation mechanism of the sun visor according to the present invention causes the actuation slider to slide along the lower edge of the shell without retracting or protruding and keeping the same protrusion from one end to the other. This is
advantageous for safety and for greater convenience in use; one must in fact consider that gloves are normally worn when driving a motorcycle and it is far easier to operate a slider.
The actuation member 9 can be arranged in different positions according to requirements.
Figures 7 and 8 illustrate by way of example different possible positions of the actuation member 9, which can be arranged on the side of the shell, in a more or less forward position and more or less spaced from the edge.
The actuation member 9 in this case is connected to the actuation mechanism by means of a pin which passes through a slot formed in the shell.
The actuation member 9 is conveniently tapered so as to not protrude excessively from the contour of the shell so as to not constitute a hindrance and optimize aerodynamic drag.
Further, the mechanism allows to adopt two discrete positions, a completely lowered one and a completely raised one: it is in fact preferable for the sun visor to be unable to stop in intermediate positions, otherwise its edge would interfere with the user's line of sight.
In practice it has been found that the invention achieves the intended aim and objects, providing a helmet with an internal sun visor which can be operated conveniently and easily by means of a control arranged at the base of the shell in a position which can be accessed easily with one finger of the left hand.
The articulated actuation mechanism, which transmits motion from the actuation member to the visor, is reliable and most of all allows to raise and lower the sun visor with a limited stroke of the actuation member. Another advantage of the invention is constituted by the fact that the actuation member protrudes slightly from the contour of the shell and most of all the extent of the protrusion does not change between one position and the other.
The actuation mechanism has an extremely small number of components, to the full benefit of reliability and production cost, which does not affect significantly the overall cost of the helmet.
The helmet according to the invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, within the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims the priority of Italian Patent Application No. MI2006A001774, filed on 18 September 2006, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.