US20130191975A1

US20130191975A1 - Protective helmet and device for drying and storing the same

Info

Publication number: US20130191975A1
Application number: US13/637,507
Authority: US
Inventors: Peter Wirthenstätter
Original assignee: Head Technology GmbH
Current assignee: Head Technology GmbH
Priority date: 2010-03-27
Filing date: 2011-03-25
Publication date: 2013-08-01
Also published as: EP2485615A1; DE102010013183A1; WO2011124330A1; EP2485615B1

Abstract

A protective helmet (1, 31) is designed to be mounted on a device for drying and storing protective helmets (1, 31). For this purpose, it has a ventilating opening (5, 32) through which hot air can be blown from the helmet-drying and -storing device into the interior of the helmet by means of a nozzle (11, 32).

Description

The invention relates to a protective helmet, in particular a winter sports helmet, and a device for drying and storing the helmet.
Due to the rapid technical development and increasing variety of winter sports equipment and accessories therefor, there is a constantly increasing trend to rent winter sports equipment, for example skis, snowboards, luges, or accessories thereof, for example boots. These accessories also include protective helmets for winter sports.
Whereas for the rental of, for example, ski boots racks are commercially available, on the heated shelves of which the boots are stored and dried, there are no known devices for the rental of winter sports helmets, in which the latter can be stored in a neatly arranged manner and dried simultaneously.
Due to the occasional bustling activity in renting agencies, for the rental of helmets fast access is as important as fast drying of the helmets, which have to be disinfected and dried after each rental.
It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a device by means of which protective helmets, in particular winter sports helmets, can be stored in a neatly arranged manner and dried simultaneously.
In accordance with the invention, this is achieved by providing the winter sports helmet according to claim 1 and the device for drying and storing the helmet according to claim 9. Preferred embodiments of the protective helmet according to the invention and/or the device according to the invention are described in sub-claims 2 to 8 and/or 10 to 21.
According to the invention, the protective helmet is designed to be mounted on a device for drying and storing the helmet and provided with a ventilating opening through which hot air can be blown from the helmet-drying and -storing device into the interior of the helmet by means of a nozzle.
The ventilating opening may be one of several ventilating openings, with which sports helmets are typically provided.
Especially in winter sports helmets, the ventilating openings are preferably provided at a place of the helmet and designed such that the air is capable of escaping from the interior of the helmet, but the cold head wind does not blow through the ventilating openings into the interior of the helmet, thus in the longitudinal direction of the helmet in the middle area and in the occipital area but not in the forehead area. For example in summer sports helmets, e.g. for cyclists, the ventilating openings are, in comparison, preferably provided at the front, i.e. on the face side.
Usually, the helmet preferably has an external shell, e.g. of hard plastic or polycarbonate, and a core, preferably of foamed material, e.g. of polystyrene. The foam core may be provided with a lining, preferably of an air-permeable textile material, for example a coarse-meshed or soft fabric for the absorption of sweat, as well as pads to adjust the helmet to the head size. The lining and the pads may, for example, be connected to the foam core by means of a hook-and-loop fastener. The ventilating opening through which hot, dry air is blown from the helmet-drying and -storing device into the interior of the helmet by means of a nozzle is formed by means of an opening in the external shell preferably communicating with channels in the core through which the hot air is blown into the interior of the helmet.
In case of a winter sports helmet, the ventilating opening through which the hot air is blown into the interior of the helmet is preferably provided in the occipital area of the helmet, for example in the lower half of the occipital area of the head, preferably in the transverse direction in the middle of the helmet, but it might also be located at any other place on the helmet.
In general, winter sports helmets are provided with earmuffs having a more or less thick padding and usually protrude downwards far beyond the external shell of the helmet. Due to the earmuffs, the winter sports helmet thus occupies a substantial additional volume, which is an obstacle to the limited space available in, for example, renting agencies of winter sports equipment.
In order to clearly reduce the space required for the winter sports helmet, the two earmuffs of the helmet are, according to the invention, preferably designed in such a way that they can be folded inwards towards each other to the respectively opposite side of the helmet and detachably connected to each other in the folded state.
For this purpose, the earmuffs are hinged to the helmet. For a detachable connection, a hook-and-loop connection, a plug-in connection, for example on the chin-cup strap of the winter sports helmet, a snap-fastener connection, a magnetic connection or the like may be provided.
Preferably, the ventilating opening, through which the hot air is blown into the helmet, may also serve to mount the protective helmet, namely by being designed such that the nozzle through which the hot air of the helmet-drying and -storing device can be blown may be inserted.
In addition, the nozzle preferably engages with a recess in the helmet in order that the nozzle inserted into the ventilating opening of the external shell does not merely touch the edge of the opening of the external shell and the mounted helmet is thus caused to swing. This recess may be an opening in the foam core aligned with the opening in the external shell. Preferably, however, it is formed by a recess in the foam core on the side of the foam core facing the external shell, with said recess preferably extending in the longitudinal direction of the helmet, thus from behind in the direction of the forehead area of the helmet. The length of the nozzle section extending through the opening in the external shell to the recess may, for example, be 3 to 20 centimetres.
The nozzle for the insertion into the ventilating opening may be arranged horizontally in order to hold the helmet mounted thereon. Preferably, however, the nozzles, which are inserted into the ventilating opening, project obliquely or vertically upwards.
In the event that the helmet has further ventilating openings in addition to the ventilating opening for blowing in the hot air, the ventilating opening through which the hot air is blown can be connected to the remaining ventilating openings of the helmet via channels, for example between the external shell and the foam core, in order to communicate with each other. It is thus ensured that the hot air supplied through the nozzle is distributed to the individual ventilating openings and hence blown into the interior of the helmet via a plurality of ventilating openings for drying.
Preferably, a closing plate is provided between the external shell and the foam core, with said closing plate being closable between an open position slid towards the front, thus in the direction of the forehead area of the helmet, in which the ventilating openings are open, and a closed position slid backwards, i.e. towards the occipital area, in which the ventilating openings are closed. In the closed position, the rear edge of the closing plate is preferably arranged at the opening in the external shell through which the nozzle is inserted such that the closing plate is moved to the open position by the nozzle when the latter is inserted into the opening in the external shell.
It is thus ensured that, for drying the helmet, all ventilating openings are open, that is to say a maximum air passage from the interior to the outside during the drying process is provided for.
For adjusting the width of the ventilating openings when wearing the helmet, the closing plate is connected to a handle, for example a grip protruding from the external shell to the outside, which is connected to the closing plate by means of a slot in the external shell extending in the longitudinal direction of the helmet.
According to a further embodiment, the protective helmet has at least one part made of ferromagnetic material in order to mount the protective helmet on the helmet-drying and -storing device, which, for this purpose, is provided with at least one magnet, preferably a permanent magnet. Of course, the at least one part of ferromagnetic material can also be formed by a permanent magnet.
In order that the helmet mounted on the the helmet-drying and -storing device is secured against twisting, preferably at least two parts of ferromagnetic material spaced from each other are provided on the helmet, preferably two parts of ferromagnetic material on both sides of the ventilating openings of the helmet.
The helmet-drying and -storing device according to the invention is preferably formed by a stand, a rack or the like having a plurality of nozzles for supplying hot air, i.e. preferably dry air heated above ambient temperature, in order to simultaneously store and dry a large number of winter sports helmets, for example in a renting agency.
The nozzles are connected to each other by means of a line, for example a flexible tube or a duct through which the hot, dry air is supplied.
Preferably, the rack or stand has a plurality of lines arranged one above the other and provided with a plurality of adjacently arranged nozzles for supplying the hot, dry air. The hot air is thus distributed to the individual nozzles via said lines.
In case of the protective helmets where the ventilating opening for mounting the protective helmet is designed to insert the nozzle, the nozzles for attaching the helmets may extend from the lines in the horizontal direction; preferably, however, they extend upwards. Preferably, the length of the nozzles is dimensioned such that the helmet mounted thereon rests with the occipital area of the external shell on the line or any other stop. As a result, the helmets mounted on the nozzles are largely secured.
The helmet-drying and -storing device, which is provided with at least one part of a ferromagnetic material for mounting the helmets, has at least one magnet attracting the at least one part of ferromagnetic material at the protective helmet.
The at least one magnet is arranged on the nozzle. Preferably, it is resiliently mounted on the latter such that it lies flat against the at least one part of ferromagnetic material of the protective helmet. It is thereby avoided that the helmet attached to the helmet-drying and -storing device loosens in case of a tilting or oscillating movement and thus falls down, for example, when being pushed accidentally.
For the resilient mounting of the at least one magnet on the nozzle, the magnet may be connected to the nozzle by means of a rubbery-elastic body.
In case of protective helmets provided with a part of ferromagnetic material on both sides of the ventilating opening, the helmet-drying and -storing device has two magnets which are preferably connected to each other by means of a bridge.
The bridge may be formed by a connecting piece, with the ventilating opening of the protective helmet being arranged between the two magnets when the protective helmet is clamped on the helmet-drying and -storing device.
The connecting piece is provided with the nozzle through which the hot air is blown into the helmet. The nozzle of the connecting piece is connectable to the line for supplying the hot air, which is provided, for example, on the rack or stand.
The connecting piece has a sealing lip arranged around the nozzle and hermetically sealing the ventilating opening of the protective helmet in protective helmets held by the two magnets. For this purpose, the two magnets with the sealing lip must either be flush with the sealing lip or the sealing lip must protrude beyond the two magnets.
Preferably, the connecting piece consists of rubbery-elastic material. It may be formed as an integrally moulded part. The connecting piece may, however, also be designed as an articulated multi-part component. In another possible embodiment variant, a stable bridge for receiving two magnets is attached to a flexible strap, thus allowing an oscillating movement, which, in turn, prevents an unintentional loosening of the magnetic connection.
The magnets on the helmet-drying and -storing device may, for example, be formed cylindrically or conically. The magnets may be attached to the connecting piece by a frictional connection, a tight fit, screwing, locking or the like. The magnets may also be injected into the connecting piece.
Preferably, the part of ferromagnetic material is formed by a plate inserted into an opening in the external shell of the helmet. For the attachment of the plate, the latter may have a flange engaging behind the opening in the external shell and, for example, being bonded therewith.
The helmet according to the invention and the helmet-drying and -storing device according to the invention will be described in more detail below by way of example with reference to the enclosed drawings. In the drawings is shown schematically:

FIG. 1 a and FIG. 2 a a perspective view of a winter sports helmet according to a first embodiment of the invention, namely with open and/or closed ventilating openings;

FIG. 1 b and FIG. 2 b a longitudinal section through the helmet according to FIG. 1 a and/or FIG. 1 b;

FIG. 3 a stand including a plurality of nozzles for attaching winter sports helmets for drying and storing the helmets;

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b a longitudinal section through the helmet according to FIG. 1 b and FIG. 2 b during the attachment to a nozzle of the stand according to FIG. 3 and/or in the attached state;

FIG. 5 a perspective view of a winter sports helmet according to a further embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 a perspective view of a connecting piece for mounting the helmet according to FIG. 5 for drying and storing the helmet;

FIG. 7 a lateral view of a plurality of helmets according to FIG. 5 lined up in succession along a pipeline section of a helmet-drying and -storing device, each being held by a connecting piece according to FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 a cross section through an earmuff of the helmet according to Figure la along the line VIII-VIII.

According to FIG 1 a and FIG. 2 a, a winter sports helmet 1 has a plurality of ventilating openings 2 to 7.
The chin-cup strap of the helmet 1 is identified by reference numeral 8 and the face opening of the helmet 1 by reference numeral 9.
According to FIG. 4 a and FIG. 4 b, the ventilating opening 5 in the occipital area of the helmet 1 is designed so as to insert a nozzle 11 for supplying hot air according to the arrow 12 and for mounting the helmet 1 on a stand 13 for drying and storing a plurality of helmets 1 (FIG. 3).
The ventilating openings 2, 3 and 4 are arranged in the middle area of the helmet and designed such that, when wearing the helmet, the moist air can escape from the interior of the helmet 1, but the cold head wind cannot blow through the ventilating openings 2 to 4 into the interior of the helmet 1.
The helmet 1 has a hard external shell 14 and a foam core 15.
As illustrated by the ventilating openings 2 to 5, the ventilating openings are formed by openings 16 to 18 in the external shell 14 and openings 19 to 21 in the foam core 15, which communicate and/or are aligned with the openings 16 to 18 in the external shell 14.
The ventilating opening 5 for inserting the nozzle 11 for supplying hot, dry air 12 and for mounting the helmet 1 on the stand 13 is provided in the longitudinal direction of the helmet in the centre of the occipital area of the helmet 1.
In order to secure the helmet 1 attached to the nozzle 11, a recess 22 extending upwards and forwards in the longitudinal direction of the helmet from the opening 18 on the side of the foam core 15 facing the external shell 14 is provided in the foam core.
Between the external shell 14 and the foam core 15, a closing plate 23 is arranged, which is slidable between an open front position shown in FIG. 1 a and FIG. 1 b, in which the ventilating openings 2 to 4 are open, and a closed rear position shown in FIG. 2 a and FIG. 2 b, in which the ventilating openings 2 to 4 are closed.
As can be seen from FIG. 4 a, the rear edge 24 of the closing plate 23 is arranged at the opening 18 in the external shell 14 of the ventilating opening 5 in such a way that, as illustrated in FIG. 4 b, the closing plate 23 is moved to the open position by the nozzle 11 when the nozzle 11 is inserted.
For moving the closing plate 23, a grip or another handle 28 of that kind as well as a slot 25 extending in the longitudinal direction of the external shell 14 of the helmet 1, via which the handle 28 is connected to the closing plate 23, are provided on the outer face of the external shell 14 (cf. FIGS. 1 a and 2 a).
According to FIG. 3, the stand 13 has a plurality of lines 26 arranged one above the other through which the hot air is supplied to the nozzles 11 adjacently arranged at the lines 26 and substantially extending vertically upwards. In this way, the helmets 1 are neatly arranged on the stand 13, for example with the interior facing the viewer as illustrated.
Thus, the ventilating opening 5 has three functions. That is to say, on the one hand, it serves—like the remaining ventilating openings 2 to 4 as well as 6 and 7—as an outlet for moist air during skiing or any other winter sports and, on the other hand, hot, dry air flows into the interior of the helmet 1 via the ventilating opening 5 according to the arrows 27 (FIG. 4 b); finally, it serves to securely fix the helmet to the stand 13.
The lines 26 of the stand 13 may be formed by pipelines and the nozzles 11 by pipe sockets connected to the pipelines, which, as shown in FIGS. 4 a and 4 b, may also be formed angularly.
The helmet 31 according to FIG. 5 mainly differs from the helmet 1 according to FIGS. 1 a, 1 b, 2 a, 2 b as well as 4 a and 4 b in that, in case of the helmet according to FIG. 5, a part 33 a, 33 b of ferromagnetic material is attached to the occipital area of the helmet 31 on both sides of the ventilating opening 32 for mounting the helmet 31 on a helmet-drying and -storing device instead of the ventilating opening 5 designed to insert a nozzle 11.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, the helmet-drying and -storing device has two magnets 34 a, 34 b for each helmet 31, with the magnets 34 a, 34 b magnetically attracting the ferromagnetic parts 33 a, 33 b on the helmet 31, as shown by the double-headed arrows 35 a, 35 b, and thus holding the helmet 31 on the helmet-drying and -storing device.
The magnets 34 a, 34 b, which are marked by dashed lines in FIG. 6, are arranged on both sides of a nozzle 36 likewise marked by dashed lines through which hot, dry air is blown into the ventilating opening 32 of the helmet 31 as illustrated by the arrow 37, with the hot, dry air being supplied to the nozzle 36 via the pipeline 38, which is provided for this purpose with corresponding openings 40 (cf. also FIG. 7).
The magnets 34 a, 34 b are resiliently mounted on the nozzle 36 such that the magnets 34 a, 34 b lie flat against the ferromagnetic parts 33 a, 33 b formed by small plates.
In order to achieve the necessary degrees of freedom for a flat abutment on the ferromagnetic parts 33 a, 33 b, the magnets 34 a, 34 b may, however, also be mounted in another manner, for example by flexible traction mechanisms such as cords or straps.
According to FIG. 6, the flat abutment of the magnets 33 a, 33 b on the ferromagnetic parts 33 a, 33 b of the helmet is achieved by means of a connecting piece 39 of a rubbery-elastic plastic material.
The connecting piece 39 has a sleeve 41, into which the pipeline 38 is inserted, with the latter having openings 40 for supplying the hot, dry air to the nozzle 36, as shown in FIG. 7 by way of example.
Furthermore, the connecting piece 39 has a bridge 42, in which the two magnets 34 a, 34 b are mounted, as well as a section 43 connecting the corresponding opening 40 in the pipeline 38 to the nozzle 39.
In addition, two arms 44 a, 44 b extending from the sleeve 41 to the one and/or the other end of the bridge 42 are provided for stabilisation purposes.
In order to increase its flexibility, slots 45 are also provided in the arms 44 a, 44 b and the section 43 of the connecting piece 39 made of a rubbery-elastic material.
On the side facing the helmet 31, the bridge 42 is provided with a sealing lip 46, which hermetically seals the ventilating opening 32 in the helmet 31 in case of the helmet 31 held by the two magnets 34 a, 34 b.
In order that the two magnets 34 a, 34 b are capable of contacting the ferromagnetic parts 33 a, 33 b on the helmet 31, the magnets 34 a, 34 b are either flush with the sealing lip 46 at the bottom or the rubbery-elastic sealing lip 46 slightly protrudes downwards beyond the two magnets 34 a, 34 b.
As can be seen from FIG. 7, a plurality of helmets 31 may neatly be arranged in a space-saving manner on a pipeline 38 of a helmet-drying and -storing device, for example on a rack or a stand of a renting agency, with the connecting piece on the right side of the pipeline being omitted in FIG. 7 so that the opening 40 is visible.
In the event that a helmet 31 is removed, all that has to be done is to close the nozzle 36 in the connecting piece 39, for example by means of a stopper.
It can also be seen from FIG. 7 that, for a space-saving arrangement of the helmets 31, the helmets 31 should take up as little space as possible in the horizontal direction. For this reason, the ferromagnetic parts 33 a, 33 b on the helmet 31 are arranged in the lower half 47 of the occipital area 48 of the helmet 31.
The winter sports helmets 1, 31 are provided with padded earmuffs 48 a, 48 b, wherein the earmuff 48 b arranged on the other side of the helmet is not visible in the drawing and indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1 a.
The two earmuffs 48 a, 48 b can be folded inwards towards each other, as illustrated by the arrow 49 in FIG. 1 a with respect to the earmuff 48 a, and detachably connected to each other in the folded state (FIG. 7).
In order to be able to fold them inwards or swivel them, a swivelling axis 51 is provided. The swivelling axis 51 can, for example, be formed by a film hinge as illustrated in FIG. 8.
Accordingly, the earmuff 48 a (as well as the earmuff 48 b), which is, for example, attached to the external shell 14 of the helmet 1 by rivets 55, comprises a padding 52 surrounded by an outer skin 53 and an inner skin 54, for example a fabric. In the area of the swivelling axis 51, the padding 52 is omitted and the outer skin 53 and the inner skin 54 are connected to each other, for example welded or sewed.
For a detachable connection of the two earmuffs 48 a, 48 b folded inwards, a hook-and-loop fastener may be provided, for example a hook-and-loop tape 56 a at the one earmuff 48 a and, for example, a hook-and-loop tape 56 b on the outer face of the chin-cup strap 8, which is attached to the other earmuff 48 a as illustrated in FIG. 1 a. By turning the chin-cup strap 8 inwards about its longitudinal axis, the hook-and-loop tape 56 b can be fixed to the hook-and-loop tape 56 a.
According to FIG. 7, significant additional space is saved for the helmets 31 on the pipeline 38 of the helmet-drying and -storing device due to the earmuffs 48 a and 48 b folded inwards and fixed about the swivelling axes 51.

Claims

1. A protective helmet, characterized in that the helmet is designed to be mounted on a device for drying and storing of protective helmets and has a ventilating opening (5, 32) to blow hot air from the helmet-drying and -storing device into the interior of the helmet by means of a nozzle (11, 36).

2. A protective helmet according to claim 1, characterized by an external shell (14) and a core (15) on the inner face of the external shell (14), wherein the ventilating opening (5, 32) is formed by an opening in the external shell (14) communicating with channels in the core (15) through which the hot air is blown into the interior of the helmet.

3. A protective helmet according to claim 1, characterized in that the ventilating opening (5, 32) through which the hot air is blown into the interior of the helmet is provided in the occipital area (48) of the helmet (1, 31).

4. A protective helmet according to claim 1, characterized in that the protective helmet (31) has earmuffs (48 a, 48 b) which can be folded inwards towards each other and detachably connected to each other in the folded state.

5. A protective helmet according to claim 1, characterized in that the ventilating opening (5) is designed to mount the protective helmet (1) and simultaneously insert the nozzle (11) through which the hot air is blown from the helmet-drying and -storing device into the interior of the helmet.

6. A protective helmet according to claim 5, characterized in that a recess (22) for inserting the nozzle (11) extends from the ventilating opening (5) in the external shell (14) on the side of the core (15) facing the external shell (14).

7. A protective helmet according to claim 1, characterized in that the protective helmet (31) has at least one part (33 a, 33 b) made of ferromagnetic material in order to mount the protective helmet (31) on the helmet-drying and -storing device, which is provided with at least one magnet (34 a, 34 b).

8. A protective helmet according to claim 7, characterized in that a part (33 a, 33 b) of ferromagnetic material is provided on both sides of the ventilating opening (32).

9. A device for drying and storing a protective helmet, characterized by at least one nozzle (11, 36) for supplying hot air to a ventilating opening (5, 32) of the protective helmet (1, 31).

10. A device according to claim 9, characterized by a plurality of nozzles (11, 36) for supplying hot air to a plurality of protective helmets (1, 31).

11. A device according to claim 10, characterized by at least one line (26, 38) by which hot air can be supplied to a plurality of protective helmets (1, 31) via the nozzles (11, 36) for drying.

12. A device according to claim 9, characterized in that the at least one nozzle (11) is designed to mount the protective helmet (1).

13. A device according to claim 9, characterized by at least one magnet (34 a, 34 b) configured to attract at least one part (33 a, 33 b) of ferromagnetic material of a protective helmet (31) for mounting the protective helmet (31) on the nozzle (36).

14. A device according to claim 13, characterized in that at least one magnet (34 a, 34 b) is resiliently mounted on the nozzle (36) such that the at least one magnet (34 a, 34 b) lies flat against the at least one part (33 a, 33 b) of ferromagnetic material when mounting the protective helmet to the device.

15. A device according to claim 14, characterized in that a rubbery-elastic body is provided to resiliently mount the at least one magnet (34 a, 34 b) on the nozzle (36).

16. A device according to claim 13, characterized by two magnets (34 a, 34 b) configured to attract parts (33 a, 33 b) of ferromagnetic material on both sides of a ventilating opening (32) of the protective helmet (31), the parts (33 a, 33 b) of ferromagnetic material are connected to each other by means of a bridge (42).

17. A device according to claim 16, characterized in that the bridge (42) is formed by a connecting piece (39), wherein the nozzle (36) for supplying hot air to the ventilating opening (32) of the protective helmet (319 is arranged between the two magnets (34 a, 34 b).

18. A device according to claim 17, characterized in that the nozzle (36) in the connecting piece (39) is connectable to the line (38) for supplying the hot air.

19. A device according to claim 17, characterized the connecting piece (39) has a sealing lip (46) arranged around the nozzle (36) and enclosing the ventilating opening (32) of the protective helmet (31) in a protective helmet (32) held by the two magnets (34 a, 34 b).

20. A device according to claim 19, characterized by one of the two magnets (34 a, 34 b) are flush with the sealing lip (46) and the sealing lip (46) protrudes beyond the two magnets (34 a, 34 b).

21. A device according to claim 17, characterized in that the connecting piece (39) is made of rubbery-elastic material and formed as a single piece.