TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a device for fastening a chinstrap in such a helmet as is produced by casting or expanding of a material in a mould cavity, comprising an anchorage portion disposed interiorly in the material of the helmet and having two end portions which extend out from the helmet and serve as anchorage points for the strap.

BACKGROUND ART

A fastening device of the above-mentioned type is described in Swedish Patent Application No. 8703751-1. The device according to this Patent Application includes an arcuate cast-in -portion which has its opposite end portions designed so as to extend outside the material of the helmet proper and serve for the fastening of straps. The cast-in portion has laterally projecting pins whose free ends are supported against the inner defining walls of the moulding tool on production of the helmet so that thereby the cast-in portion will become placed approximately centrally in that material which forms the side walls of the helmet.

The cast-in portion according to the prior art design suffers from serious drawbacks, such that a plurality of different sizes of cast-in portions must be employed when helmets of different sizes are to be manufactured, failing which the anchorage points for the straps would be incorrectly placed.

The above-described pins probably function well as locating devices during the manufacturing process, but can involve serious risks in the event of heavy blows from the side, since they then penetrate through the material of the helmet and can injure the wearer.

The helmet according to this publication is moreover defective in that the material of the helmet must be employed for fastening accessories such as inner padding, outer hard carapaces, shells or the like. When helmets of this type are mass-produced from expanded plastic such as Frigofite®, it will be readily perceived that the only possibility of securing such

accessories involves a gluing process which, because of the foam structure in the material, will only have extremely limited mechanical strength.

PROBLEM STRUCTURE

The present invention has for its object to realize a fastening device of the type mentioned by way of introduction, this fastening device being designed in such a manner as to permit size adaptation to different helmet sizes, to exclude any element of risk to the wearer, to permit fastening of interior accessories such as padding, and moreover to permit fastening of exterior accessories such as, for instance, an outer helmet shell or carapace. Furthermore, the present invention has for its object to realize a fastening device which is simple and economical to manufacture and which affords an extremely high degree of mechanical strength in the helmet.

SOLUTION

The objects forming the basis of the present invention will be attained if the device intimated by way of introduction is characterized in that the anchorage portion has an adjustment portion disposed interiorly in the material of the helmet, this adjustment portion being deformable for modifying the distance and preferably also the angle between the end portions of the anchorage portion extending outside the helmet.

As a result of these characterizing features, one and the same fastening device may readily be adapted to a plurality of different sizes of helmet.

One preferred embodiment of the device according to the present invention is suitably also characterized in that the anchorage portion has mountings projecting outside the helmet, the ends of these mountings being located in or a short distance inside the outer surface of the material of the helmet and being intended for mounting an accessory such as an outer shell on the helmet.

In that the helmet is provided in this manner with mountings, exterior accessories may readily be mounted and secured in place and also replaced when necessary.

The preferred embodiment of the device according to the present invention is further suitably characterized in that the anchorage portion has at least one, but preferably two plates displaced laterally in relation to the inside of the helmet, the inner surfaces of the plates lying flush with the inner surface of the helmet, and the plates being designed for fastening of, for example, padding.

As a result of these characterizing features, the possibility will be afforded of reliable fastening, for example by gluing, of those paddings which the helmet must carry interiorly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in greater detail hereinbelow, with particular reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the device according to the present invention, together with the outer contour of the helmet;

Fig. 2 shows the device according to the present invention seen from the outside of the helmet;

Fig. 3 is a section through the device according to the present invention taken along the section line A-A in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a section taken along the section line B-B in Fig. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In Fig. 1, reference numeral 1 relates to the outer contour of a helmet which is preferably manufactured by expansion of polystyrene or other foamed material in a closed mould cavity. Interiorly in the material of the helmet, preferably approximately in the centre thereof, there is provided on each side of the helmet a fastening device which has a forward end portion 2 and a rear end portion 3 which extend outside the material of the helmet and are intended for fastening a chinstrap which keeps the helmet secure on the wearer's head. The fastening device includes a forward arcuate portion 4,

and a rear arcuate portion 5 which are intended to be fixed interiorly in the material of the helmet. The two arcuate portions 4 and 5 are united via an adjustment portion 6 whose purpose is to allow adjustment of the fastening device so that, on the one hand, the distance between the forward and rear end portions 2 and 3 can be modified to different helmet sizes, and, on the other hand, the angle between the projecting end portions 2 and 3 can also be modified so that their stop plates 7 and 8, respectively, will always lie in the correct position in the material of the helmet. Thus, the adjustment portion 6 is designed so as to permit longitudinal adjustment of the fastening device in the direction of the arrow 9, as well as pivoting of both end portions 4 and 5 in the directions of the two arrows 10 and 11.

In Fig. 1, the fastening device is shown as lying fiat in the plane of the Drawing sheet, .in .reality-however, the fastening device is arched so as to follow the arching in the side wall of the helmet.

Fig. 2 shows the fastening device on a larger scale. It will be apparent from this Drawing figure that both of the arcuate portions 4 and 5 consist of upper and lower arms 12 and 13, respectively. The arms 12 and 13 are arcuate and are disposed in spaced apart relationship, as well as being connected at the adjustment portion 6 via arches 14. At their opposite ends, they are connected to the extensions 15 and 16, respectively, of the end portions 2 and 3, upwardly and into the material of the helmet.

In one practical version, the extensions 15 and 16 may be approximately rectangular or rounded rectangular in cross-section, where the cross- section has a width of approx. 20 mm and a thickness (material thickness) of 2 - 3 mm. These dimensional disclosures also imply that the outer distance between the arcuate arms 12 and 13 substantially corresponds to the width of the extensions 15 and 16, and that the thickness of both of the arms 12 and 13 may lie in the region of 2x2 mm - 3x 3 mm. Rectangular, oval or round cross-sections may also come into consideration here.

The fastening device has at least one, but preferably two plates 17 displaced laterally inwardly towards the inner defining surface 23 of the helmet, the inner surface of the plates lying flush with the inner surface of the helmet so that this surface is exposed towards the interior of the helmet.

These plates 17 extend along the arcuate portions 4 and 5 of the fastening device. The plates 17 serve for mounting interior accessories in the helmet such as, for example, padding, by offering a surface which readily allows gluing with durable mechanical strength. 5

The plates 17 also offer extra safety in that no sharp objects can penetrate in and exercise point loading against the head of the wearer of the helmet.

The plates 17 are connected to the fastening device, preferably both of the 0. arcuate portions 4 and 5 thereof, via obliquely inclined arms 18 which, with their inner ends, are secured in the plates 17 and, with their outer ends,, are secured in the arcuate arms 12 and 13. The obliquely inclined arms 18 make an angle, of the order of magnitude of between 20 and 40°, with normals to the plates 17 and the arcuate portions 4 and 5. Hereby, the 5 plates 17 and the arcuate portions will be substantially parallel with one another.

The oblique inclination of the arms 18 entails, on impact loading against the helmet, that the arms are prevented from being driven into the helmet and in this way injuring the wearer of the helmet. Instead, this oblique inclination will entail that both of the arcuate arms 12 and 13 are forced away from one another while the oblique arms 18 are folded in a lateral direction.

According to the present invention, the fastening device is further provided with mountings 19 extending towards the outside of the helmet, these mountings being provided with outer end surfaces 20 which lie flush with or slightly inside the outer surface 24 of the helmet. These mountings are intended for accommodating outer accessories for the helmet, such as an external hard shell or carapace holding the helmet together, decoration details, sun visors or the like. The mountings 19 are tubular and are produced with their inner ends in one piece with the plates 17, and extend with their longitudinal axis transversely directed in relation to the plane of the plates, but also in relation to the plane of the forward and rear arcuate portions 4 and 5. The mountings 19 further extend through those apertures which are formed in the arcuate portions 4 and 5 in that these are formed by the upper and lower arms 12 and 13.

As will be apparent from Fig. 4, the end wall 20 of the mounting 19 connecting against the outside of the helmet is thin, so as readily to be penetrated by the fastening element by means of which the exterior helmet accessory is fastened. It will also be apparent from -the same figure that the mounting 19 is provided, in the proximity of the end wall 20, with an abutment, extension or barb 21 which is intended for cooperation with the above-mentioned fastening element.

The inner end of the mountings 19 is open towards the interior of the helmet, for which reason it is simple this way to release the fastening element by means of which the exterior helmet accessory is secured.

The design of the mountings 19 with open inner ends also entails that these open ends may, with considerable advantage, be employed for positional fixing of the fastening device proper, but also for fixing of an adjusted position, both in length and angle when the fastening device is cast into a helmet, in that the mould cavity wall is provided with corresponding pins which are inserted in the mountings 19.

It will further be apparent from the Drawings that the outer ends of the mountings 19 are provided with locating pins 22 which are intended to abut against a defining wall in the moulding tool for positionally fixing the device according to the present invention when the material of the helmet is cast or expanded.

It will be apparent from Fig. 3 that the plate 17 lies flush with the inner defining surface of the helmet shown by the broken line 23, and that the free ends of the locating pins 22 are disposed at the outer surface 24 of the helmet.

As was mentioned above, the purpose of the adjustment portion 6 is to permit adjustment of the device according to the invention to different helmet sizes. To this end, the adjustment portion includes two arcuate, angular or otherwise suitably shaped arms 25 whose angular apexes or tops are disposed on the arches facing away from one another and which are secured in the mutually facing ends of the arcuate portions 4 and 5. The arms 25 are flexibly and yieldably secured in the arcuate portions, and their

apexes are further designed in the same manner. This implies that, between the different parts of the arms 25 and their anchorages in the arcuate portions 4 and 5, there are resiliently yieldable, bendable joints 26 which permit the adjustment of the adjustment portion.

The arms 25 in the adjustment portion 6 are located in the same plane as the arcuate portions 4 and 5 on manufacture of the device according to the present invention. However, it might be mentioned that the entire subject matter of the present invention is produced from a semi-hard plastic which permits bending and adaptation to the arching in the side walls of the helmet. This entails that the left-hand fastening device shown in Fig. 2 will be arched in its state mounted in the helmet, whereby both of the end portions 2 and 3 will be located further away from the observer of the Drawing than is the case for the mutually facing ends of the arcuate portions 4 and 5 and the adjustment portion 6. The right-hand fastening device is produced as a mirror image of the left, and will, therefore, be arched in the opposite direction in the mounted position.

DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS

In Fig. 2, the subject matter of the present invention has been shown with four mountings 19, but both fewer and more mountings may, obviously, be employed.

For example, it may possibly be advantageous to provide mountings at the centre of the plates 17 as well.

The above-described design of the adjustment portion 6 is advantageous, but may readily be modified with equally satisfactory function. Thus, it is possible to realize the adjustment portion by a zigzag shaped connection portion between the mutually facing ends of the arcuate portions 4 and 5. As a further alternative, both of the arms 25 may be made in zigzag configuration or meandering shape so that thereby their flexibility will not be concentrated to the joints marked 26, but will be distributed throughout the entire length of the arms.

It is also possible to produce the subject matter of the present invention with an arching which corresponds to or at least approximates the arching which the device according to the present invention will have in the ready- mounted state in the helmet.

if improved fastening of the device according to the present invention in the surrounding foam material were to prove necessary, it is a simple matter to provide the arcuate arms 12 and 13 with downwardly and upwardly extending projections. It is also a simple matter to design these arms with undulating surfaces which provide an efficient engagement into the surrounding foam structure.

Further modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended Claims.