US20020178487A1

US20020178487A1 - Safety helmet with ventilation holes

Info

Publication number: US20020178487A1
Application number: US10/155,934
Authority: US
Inventors: Shiuh-You Lin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-06-01
Filing date: 2002-05-24
Publication date: 2002-12-05
Also published as: JP3090336U

Abstract

A safety helmet includes a shell body adapted to be worn on the head of the user. The shell body has an outer shell surface and an inner shell surface opposite to the outer shell surface. The shell body is formed with a plurality of ventilation holes that extend from the inner shell surface through the outer shell surface. Each ventilation hole has a hole axis that is inclined relative to a horizontal plane. Each ventilation hole is further confined by an upper hole-confining wall portion and a lower hole-confining wall portion that is disposed below the upper hole-confining wall portion relative to the hole axis. Each ventilation hole has an inner hole end proximate to the inner shell surface, and an outer hole end proximate to the outer shell surface. The upper hole-confining wall portion is disposed below the lower hole-confining wall portion relative to the horizontal plane.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a safety helmet, more particularly to a safety helmet with ventilation holes.

2. Description of the Related Art

Safety helmets are used on occasions when head protection is essential, such as when riding on bicycles or motorcycles, playing sports, working in hazardous areas, etc. The main purpose of a safety helmet is to shield the head of the wearer from impact. As such, the safety helmet includes an impact-resistant hard shell body and an air-permeable liner mounted in the shell body for contacting the head of the wearer.

The shell body of a conventional safety helmet is provided with a ventilation mechanism to reduce wearer discomfort due to heat that radiates from the head of the wearer. However, when ventilation holes are formed in the shell body, a shielding mechanism must be associated therewith. Otherwise, raindrops can flow directly into the interior of the shell body through the ventilation holes, and sharp objects can easily penetrate into the interior of the shell body via the ventilation holes.

A conventional safety helmet with both ventilation and shielding mechanisms is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The conventional safety helmet comprises a

shell body

11, a plurality of ventilation pipes 12, and an air-permeable liner 13 mounted in the shell body 11. The shell body 11 has a main body portion 111 that conforms to the shape of a human head, and a shield 112 that is formed on a crown part of the main body portion 111. An air chamber 113 is formed between the main body portion 111 and the shield 112. The main body portion 111 is further formed with a plurality of mounting holes 114 that are communicated with the air chamber 113. Each of the ventilation pipes 12 is disposed in the air chamber 113, is mounted in one of the mounting holes 114 and confines a ventilation hole 121. The shield 112 has an underside 115 formed with a flange 116.

In use, heat radiated from the interior of the

shell body

11 can be vented to the air chamber 113 via the ventilation pipes 12 so as to be subsequently diffused through the air chamber 113. When it rains, the shield 112 will prevent raindrops from flowing into the interior of the shell body 11 via the ventilation holes 121. The flange 116 can prevent the raindrops from reaching the crown part of the shell body 11 to further prevent rain water from flowing into the interior of the shell body 11 via the ventilation holes 121.

Although the aforesaid conventional safety helmet offers the advantages of both waterproofing and air ventilation, the presence of the

shield

112 has an adverse effect on the aesthetic appeal of the safety helmet. In addition, the conventional safety helmet requires numerous components, which complicates the manufacturing process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a safety helmet that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks commonly associated with the prior art.

Accordingly, a safety helmet of this invention comprises a shell body adapted to be worn on the head of the user. The shell body has an outer shell surface and an inner shell surface opposite to the outer shell surface. The shell body is formed with a plurality of ventilation holes that extend from the inner shell surface through the outer shell surface. Each of the ventilation holes has a hole axis that is inclined relative to a horizontal plane. Each of the ventilation holes is further confined by an upper hole-confining wall portion and a lower hole-confining wall portion that is disposed below the upper hole-confining wall portion relative to the hole axis. Each of the ventilation holes further has an inner hole end proximate to the inner shell surface, and an outer hole end proximate to the outer shell surface. The upper hole-confining wall portion at the outer hole end is disposed below the lower hole-confining wall portion at the inner hole end relative to the horizontal plane.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: [0011]
FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a conventional safety helmet; [0012]
FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the conventional safety helmet of FIG. 1; [0013]
FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the first preferred embodiment of a safety helmet with ventilation holes according to the present invention in a state of use; [0014]
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment; [0015]
FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating a ventilation hole of the first preferred embodiment; and [0016]
FIG. 6 is a schematic top view showing the second preferred embodiment of a safety helmet according to the present invention.[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the first preferred embodiment of a safety helmet according to the present invention is shown to comprise a [0018] shell body 2, an air-permeable liner 3 mounted in the shell body 2, and a fastening device 4 for securing the safety helmet to the head of the wearer.
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the [0019] shell body 2 has an outer shell surface 22 and an inner shell surface 21 opposite to the outer shell surface 22. The shell body 2 is formed with a plurality of ventilation holes 23 that extend from the inner shell surface 21 through the outer shell surface 22 and that are arranged so as to surround a vertical axis of the shell body 2. Each of the ventilation holes 23 has a hole axis (A) that is inclined relative to a horizontal plane (P) and a circular cross-section transverse to the hole axis (A). Each of the ventilation holes 23 is confined by an upper hole-confining wall portion 233 and a lower hole-confining wall portion 234 that is disposed below the upper hole-confining wall portion 233 relative to the hole axis (A). Each of the ventilation holes 23 further has an inner hole end 232 proximate to the inner shell surface 21, and an outer hole end 231 proximate to the outer shell surface 22. The upper hole-confining wall portion 233 at the outer hole end 231 is disposed below the lower hole-confining wall portion 234 at the inner hole end 232 relative to the horizontal plane (P).
In the preferred embodiment, the [0020] inner shell surface 21 of the shell body 2 is formed with a plurality of wedge projections 211. Each of the wedge projections 211 has an end face 212 that extends downwardly from the inner shell surface 21. Each of the ventilation holes 23 is formed through a respective one of the wedge projections 211 such that the inner hole end 232 is disposed at the end face 212 of the respective one of the wedge projections 211.
The air-[0021] permeable liner 3 is made of a soft material and is disposed to contact the head of the wearer. The air-permeable liner 3 includes a hood portion 31 that conforms to the shape of the head of the wearer, a head strap 32 adjustable in length to encircle the head of the wearer, and a plurality of connecting straps 33 that interconnect the head strap 32 to the hood portion 31. When the air-permeable liner 3 is mounted in the shell body 2, the hood portion 31 is surrounded by the inner shell surface 21, and is disposed below the lower hole-confining wall portion 234 at the inner hole end 232 of each ventilation hole 23. The fastening device 4 is attached to the bottom edge of the shell body 2 to secure the safety helmet to the head of the wearer. Since the exact configurations of the air-permeable liner 3 and the fastening device 4 are known in the art, a detailed description of the same will be omitted herein for the sake of brevity.
When the safety helmet of this invention is in use, the [0022] hood portion 31 of the air-permeable liner 3 is in close contact with the head of the wearer. As the wearer moves against the wind, cool air can flow into the interior of the shell body 2 via the front ventilation holes 23, and hot air can be expelled from the shell body 2 via the rear ventilation holes 23. When it rains, due to the fact that the upper hole-confining wall portion 233 at the outer hole end 231 of each ventilation hole 23 is disposed below the lower hole-confining wall portion 234 at the inner hole end 232 relative to the horizontal plane (P), rain water will not easily reach the interior of the shell body 2 via the ventilation holes 23.
Furthermore, due to the fact that the hole axis (A) of each of the [0023] ventilation holes 23 is inclined relative to the horizontal plane (P) and that the lower hole-confining wall portion 234 at the inner hole end 232 of each of the ventilation holes 23 is disposed above the hood portion 31 of the air-permeable liner 3, even if a sharp object has successfully penetrated into the interior of the shell body 2 through one of the ventilation holes 23, it will only reach the space between the inner shell surface 21 of the shell body 2 and the hood portion 31 of the air-permeable liner 3, and will not touch the head of the wearer.
Referring to FIG. 6, the second preferred embodiment of a safety helmet according to this invention is shown to differ from the previous embodiment mainly in the shape of the ventilation holes. Unlike the previous embodiment, each of the [0024] ventilation holes 23′ has a rectangular cross-section transverse to the hole axis.
It has thus been shown that the safety helmet of this invention offers the advantages of both waterproofing and air ventilation without any adverse affect on its aesthetic appeal and without requiring numerous components that would complicate the manufacturing process. [0025]
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. [0026]

Claims

I claim:

1. A safety helmet comprising:

a shell body adapted to be worn on the head of the user, said shell body having an outer shell surface and an inner shell surface opposite to said outer shell surface, said shell body being formed with a plurality of ventilation holes that extend from said inner shell surface through said outer shell surface, each of said ventilation holes having a hole axis that is inclined relative to a horizontal plane, each of said ventilation holes being confined by an upper hole-confining wall portion and a lower hole-confining wall portion that is disposed below said upper hole-confining wall portion relative to the hole axis, each of said ventilation holes further having an inner hole end proximate to said inner shell surface and an outer hole end proximate to said outer shell surface, said upper hole-confining wall portion at said outer hole end being disposed below said lower hole-confining wall portion at said inner hole end relative to the horizontal plane.

2. The safety helmet as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner shell surface is formed with a plurality of wedge projections, each of said wedge projections having an end face, each of said ventilation holes being formed through a respective one of said wedge projections such that said inner hole end is disposed at said end face of the respective one of said wedge projections.

3. The safety helmet as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said ventilation holes has a circular cross-section transverse to the hole axis.

4. The safety helmet as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said ventilation holes has a rectangular cross-section transverse to the hole axis.

5. The safety helmet as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an air-permeable liner mounted in said shell body.

6. The safety helmet as claimed in claim 5, wherein said air-permeable liner is surrounded by said inner shell surface and is disposed below said lower hole-confining wall portion at said inner hole end of each of said ventilation holes.