Related applications/Claims of priority

This application is related to and claims priority from provisional application serial number 61/864,207, filed August 9, 2013 and from provisional application serial number 61/919,449, filed December 20, 2013, and both provisional applications are incorporated by reference herein.

Background There are over 100 million users of safety helmet users in the U.S. related to bicycling, equestrian riding, skateboarding, in-line skating, snowboarding and construction use. These helmets are used in all different kinds of weather conditions - (sun, rain, snow, windy, etc.). In many cases, there is limited protection from the sun and weather elements to the eyes. Source: The 2002 National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Attitudes and Behaviors) According to the survey, approximately 57 million people, 27.3 percent of the population age 16 or older, rode a bicycle at least once during the summer of 2002. The survey breaks this down by gender, age, and race/ethnicity.

(Source - Wikipedia) In the USA, about 40% of winter-sports participants regularly wear helmets. Ski helmets come in a variety of sizes and styles for men, women and children. Some helmets can include built-in headphones that are able to connect to a music player, allowing the wearer to listen to music while performing the sport. Other accessories include helmet covers, Bluetooth interfaces, and extra padding for comfort (Source - Wikipedia) A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in workplace environments, such as construction sites, to protect the head from injury by falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, bad weather and electric shock. It also provides a space of approximately 30 mm (1.2 inch) between the helmet's shell and the wearer's head so that if an object strikes the shell, the impact is less likely to be transmitted directly to the skull. Blue-collar workers, especially union shop construction workers, engaged in occupations that require protective equipment are sometimes metonymically referred to as "hard hats". (Source - US Bureau of Labor Statistics) Bicycle Helmet Types (Source - Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute) Summary: Descriptions of typical road, commuter and skate (these are descriptions of the typical helmet in each category).

a. Road. The original bike helmets were made for bicycling on roads and road racing. As they have evolved, they mostly had an elongated shape, always with vents, and are usually made with EPS foam covered by a thin plastic shell. These are the most-used helmets in the world, and millions of them are sold every year.

b. Commuter. The term coined by Bell in 2004 when they introduced their Metro model. It has come to mean a helmet with a rounded shape, rather than the elongated road style. Has vents, and is usually made with EPS foam covered by a thin plastic shell. It sometimes has accessories such as mirrors, winter ear flaps and rear blinkers that are useful for commuting. c. Skate. Skate helmets began as round smooth hard shell helmets in the 1970's, and skateboarders cling to that shape still. It is in fact the best shape for hitting pavement at high speed. The shell is usually hard ABS plastic, and the interior foam can be EPS, EPP or a variation of those types. Skate helmets were once made with squishy butyl nitrile foam that works well in lesser impacts but cannot handle the energy of a full hit from a bicycle, or even some skateboard crashes. Some are still made that way. Skate helmets traditionally have very small round vents that do not move enough air for comfortable bicycle riding. There is an ASTM F 1492 Skateboard helmet standard, but most skate helmets now in the US market are certified only to the CPSC bicycle helmet standard. The best are dual certified to both standards.

Summary of the present invention The present invention provides a sun/weather visor for a safety helmet, and to a method of outfitting a safety helmet with a sun/weather visor.

A sun/weather visor for attachment to a safety helmet comprises a visor and an attachment device connected with the visor and configured to attach the visor to the exterior of the safety helmet, so that the visor extends forward of the front of the safety helmet and provides a sun/weather visor for the safety helmet, and the visor and attachment device are configured such that the visor will deform (e.g. by crushing, collapsing or other form of deforming) or separate from the safety helmet when the visor impacts a solid body, to prevent the visor from interfering with the safety aspect of the safety helmet design.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the safety helmet is a safety helmet for a cyclist.

In a method according to the present invention, a safety helmet that is designed to provide a safety feature for its wearer if the wearer suffers an impact to the helmet, has a sun/weather visor connected to an exterior portion of the safety helmet by an attachment device, such that the visor extends forward of the front of the safety helmet and provides a sun/weather visor for a wearer of the safety helmet, and the visor and attachment device are configured such that the visor will deform or separate from the safety helmet when the visor impacts a solid body, to prevent the visor from interfering with the safety feature of the safety helmet. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the visor is connected to the safety helmet by a pair of straps, e.g. with hook and loop fasteners, at the rear of the visor, such that the straps will separate in the event of impact on the visor from a fall or accident. Thus, in addition to the visor having the capability to deform on impact, the straps are designed to separate on impact, so that the visor will not interfere with the safety feature of the safety helmet.

In addition, the visor has a relatively non slip material on its inside, to resist the visor from sliding on the safety helmet when the visor is providing its sun/weather protection to the helmet wearer.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG 1 is a top view of a sun/weather visor for a safety helmet, according to the present invention;

FIG 2 is a bottom view of the sun/weather visor of FIG 1 , according to the present invention;

FIG 3 is a perspective side view of a sun/weather visor coupled with a safety helmet, according to the present invention;

FIG 4 is a perspective side view of the sun/weather visor and helmet, similar to FIG 3, and showing the directions of forces that the sun/weather visor may encounter and react to, according to the principles of the present invention; FIG 5 is a perspective side view of a sun/weather visor coupled with a safety helmet, and showing the manner in which the sun/weather visor reacts to upward forces, according to the present invention;

FIG 6 is perspective view of a sun/weather visor coupled with a safety helmet, and showing the manner in which the sun/weather visor reacts to downward forces, according to the present invention;

FIG 7 is a perspective view of a sun/weather visor coupled with a safety helmet, and showing the manner in which the sun/weather visor reacts to side forces, according to the present invention; and FIG 8 is a perspective view of a sun/weather visor coupled with a safety helmet, and showing the manner in which the sun/weather visor reacts to front directed forces, according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

As described above, the present invention provides a sun/weather visor for a safety helmet, and to a method of outfitting a safety helmet with a sun/weather visor, that are particularly useful for a safety helmet for a cyclist. The principles of the present invention are described herein in connection with a safety helmet for a cyclist, and from that description the manner in which the present invention can be used with various other types of safety helmets will be clear to those in the art.

As an overview, according to the present invention, a sun/weather visor for attachment to a safety helmet comprises a visor and an attachment device connected with the visor and configured to attach the visor to the exterior of the safety helmet, so that the visor extends forward of the front of the safety helmet and provides a sun/weather visor for the safety helmet, and the visor and attachment device are configured such that the visor will deform or separate from the safety helmet when the visor impacts a solid body, to prevent the visor from interfering with the safety aspect of the safety helmet design.

FIGS 1 and 2 are top and bottom views, respectively, of a sun/weather visor 10 for a safety helmet, according to the present invention. The sun/weather visor 10 comprises a visor like structure comprising a band or strap 12 that is larger than the type of band associated with a visor normally worn about a user's head, and is large enough to fit around the exterior of a safety helmet 14 (see FIGS 3-8). The visor 10 has a brim (also referred to as a beak) 100 that is preferably sewn to the strap 12, extends forward of the helmet 14, and the band 12 would extend about the exterior of the safety helmet 14 and is coupled at the rear of the safety helmet 14. The rear of the strap 12 of the sun/weather visor has hook and loop (e.g. Velcro) fasteners 102 (FIGS 1, 2), that enable the sun/weather visor to be adjusted to fit around the exterior of helmets of various sizes. The hook and loop fasteners, are at the rear of the visor 10, such that the straps will separate in the event of impact on the visor from a fall or accident. Thus, in addition to the visor having the capability to deform on impact, the straps are designed to separate on impact, so that the visor will not interfere with the safety feature of the safety helmet. As shown in FIGS 1 and 2, the inside of the strap 12 has non slip rubber like material 104 that enables the sun/weather visor to stay put about a safety helmet during normal use of the safety helmet but does not interfere with the sun/weather visor deforming or breaking away from the safety helmet in the event the sun/weather visor impacts a solid body (e.g. if a cyclist falls and the sun/weather visor impacts the ground). Thus, the relatively non slip material 104 on the inside of the strap of the visor resists the visor from sliding on the safety helmet when the visor is providing its sun/weather protection to the helmet wearer. As shown in FIGS 3-8, when the sun/weather visor 10 is coupled with a safety helmet 14, the brim 100 portion extends forward from the helmet and provides protection for the user from the sun, from rain and from other elemental conditions.

FIGS 4-8 schematically illustrate an important safety feature of the sun/weather visor 10 of the invention, when attached to the exterior of a safety helmet 14 in the manner described herein. As shown in FIG 4, forces from a solid body on the brim 100 of the visor (e.g. if a cyclist falls from a bicycle), can impact the visor from various directions. The forces can impact the visor from the top, front, bottom or side, as shown in FIG 4. The sun/weather visor of the invention is designed such that the brim 100 will initially deform (e.g. by folding or crushing) in response to the impact, and can (generally if the impact force is great enough) also separate from the helmet, in a manner that would not create any additional risk of injury to the wearer. For example, if the direction of the impact force is upward (FIG 5) the brim 100 will initially fold upward (about the seam 106 by which the brim is sewn to the strap 12), and if the force is great enough, the entire visor will separate from the helmet (e.g. by being forced off the top of the helmet, or by the strap connections separating at the rear of the helmet). Similarly, if the direction of the impact force is downward (FIG 6), from the side (FIG 7) or from the front (FIG 8), the brim will initially fold (or crush) and if the force is great enough, the visor will separate from the helmet (either by being forced off the helmet or by the strap connections separating at the rear of the helmet. Thus, initially the brim will fold or crush on impact with a solid body, and if the impact force is great enough, the sun weather visor 10 may separate either by being forced off the helmet intact, or the hook and loop connections at the rear of the helmet will separate as shown in dashed lines in FIGS 5-8. In either event, the brim folding or crushing, or the visor separating from the helmet, making the visor a non-factor in the case of the impact that the helmet itself is designed to absorb. Thus, the sun/weather visor of the present invention is custom designed to fit around existing US regulated multi-purpose helmets (bike, snow, construction, equestrian and skateboard). Each helmet manufacture's exact size and shape can vary. The sun/weather visor is designed to fit the majority of these helmets. In many cases, the visor can fit multiple brands and sizes due to the product design and adjustable size feature.

The sun/weather visor of the invention is designed to securely fit around bicycle, ski/snowboard, equestrian, construction and skateboard helmets that meet US safety standards (and can be readily modified to meet other territories safety standards). The design allows users to put on the visor without jeopardizing the safety or integrity of the helmet. The design creates a method to help block out or limit sunrays and/or other weather elements (rain, snow, wind, etc.) with the use of an existing helmet. An important element of the design is that the visor does not attach permanently and would come off (separate from the helmet) or deform in the event of a fall or accident, so that it does not interfere with the helmet providing its basic safety function. The custom design, that involves a product that looks in proportion, creates a look that is unique when used in addition to a safety helmet. It should also be noted that the sun/weather visor of the present invention will in most cases be made with florescent safety color fabric.

Thus, the foregoing description shows how a sun/weather visor is designed for attachment to the exterior of the safety helmet, so that the visor provides a sun/weather visor for the safety helmet, and the visor and attachment device are configured such that the visor will deform or separate from the safety helmet when the visor impacts a solid body, to prevent the visor from interfering with the safety aspect of the safety helmet design.