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  Drop-down eye protection for safety helmetsUSPTO Application #: 20060236438Title: Drop-down eye protection for safety helmets Abstract: Hinged receivers are provided in the space above the wearer's ears on either side of a helmet, and protective eyewear received within the receivers is accommodated for stowage in a space toward or at the front of the helmet. (end of abstract) Agent: Goodwin Procter LLP Patent Administrator - Boston, MA, US Inventors: David C. Rogers, Edward R. Hall, Joseph E. Patterson USPTO Applicaton #: 20060236438 - Class: 002006700 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Apparel, Guard Or Protector, For Wearer's Head, Soldier`s (i.e., Ground Based Trooper) Helmet, Having Eye Shield The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060236438. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims priority to and the benefits of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/650,147, filed on Feb. 7, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0003] This invention relates to safety helmets, in particular a device to provide integrated eye protection which may be used by the helmet wearer or optionally stowed in a protected area. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] Helmets for head protection are worn in a variety of environments and for various purposes. While some helmets provide full-face protection by means of a transparent face shield, other helmets are open-faced. In open-face helmets, if eye protection is desired, it may be added by the wearer optionally wearing eyeglasses or goggles. In either case there are disadvantages. For example, the fit of the helmet around the temples may interfere with the eyeglass frames, making it difficult or uncomfortable for the eyeglasses to slide back and over the ears. The elastic strap or the frames of goggles may also interfere with the helmet shell or other accessories on the helmet. Even when glasses or goggles are properly adapted to a helmet, sometimes by special designs, often they must be stowed in a separate area when they are not needed. As a result, eyeglasses or goggles may be lost or damaged while not in use. Additionally, the need to stow the eye protection in a separate area can result in delay or difficulty in locating and adjusting it when the need arises. A need therefore exists for attaching commercially available eyewear to a protective helmet such that it can be readily deployed or stowed according to the user's need, and optionally removed from the helmet for stand-alone use. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0005] In accordance with the present invention, hinged tubular receivers are provided in the space above the wearer's ears on either side of a helmet, and the protective eyewear is accommodated for stowage in a space toward or at the front of the helmet. The receivers may be attached to the helmet, the liner, or components of the suspension system such as a headband that circumscribes the head. Protective eyewear having substantially straight arms is manually inserted into the receivers. The eyewear may be adjusted for proper fit by sliding the arms within the tubes of the receivers, which may, in some embodiments, engage the arms of the eyewear frictionally to maintain position following wearer adjustment of the eyewear to properly sit on the bridge of the nose. [0006] The receivers themselves may be attached by a rotating, hinged or otherwise pivotable element, typically at a point rearward of the wearer's ear, for wearer adjustment as well as for rotating the eyewear upward to a stowed position. Space is provided within the helmet (e.g., between the shell and the impact liner and suspension components at the front of the helmet) to accommodate protective stowage of the eyewear between the wearer's head and the outer shell of the helmet. Means for securing the eyewear in the stowed position and allowing it to be deployed easily may include, for example, a flexible clip attached to the headband or the helmet shell within the stowage area and extending downward so that it is accessible to the wearer. When the eyewear is placed in the up position, the flexible clip mechanically engages it to resist the eyewear inadvertently dropping down. When the wearer wants to deploy the eyewear, the flexible clip is pulled, thereby releasing the eyewear so that it can be manually pulled down and adjusted to fit the wearer's face. Alternatively or in addition, the stowage area can be lined with a compressible foam sized so that the eyewear is frictionally engaged between the compressible foam and the impact liner (or suspension components at the front of the helmet) when the eyewear is pushed up for stowage by the wearer. [0007] The present invention thereby provides protected and readily available stowage for the eyewear when not in use, and allows the use of many standard eyewear products that easily can be fitted to the helmet without the need for tools. [0008] Accordingly, in a first aspect, the invention comprises a pivoting assembly facilitating stowage and withdrawal of protective eyewear with respect to a helmet. The assembly comprises a pair of receivers for receiving the eyewear and means facilitating rotation of the receivers between a stowage position, with the eyewear within the helmet shell, and an operational position in front of a wearer's eyes. In general, the eyewear comprises a pair of arms and the receivers frictionally engage the arms. [0009] In a second aspect, the invention comprises a safety helmet including a shell and, within the shell, a pivoting assembly facilitating stowage and withdrawal of protective eyewear. The pivoting assembly comprises a pair of receivers for receiving the eyewear, and means facilitating rotation of the receivers between a stowage position, with the eyewear within the helmet shell, and an operational position in front of a wearer's eyes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0010] In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following drawings, in which: [0011] FIG. 1 shows the right side of a helmet with protective eyewear in the down position; [0012] FIG. 2 shows the right side of a helmet with protective eyewear indicated in the stowed position. [0013] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of one of the receivers, in this case the receiver on the right side of the helmet. [0014] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of an alternate embodiment of one of the receivers. [0015] FIG. 5 is a bottom view of a helmet with protective eyewear in accordance with the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0016] With reference to FIG. 1, a helmet shell 51 is shown from the right side of the wearer's head (the left side has symmetrical features). Protective eyewear 53 is shown in its normally worn position on the wearer's face with arms 55 inserted into the receivers 57 of the present invention, as further described below. A stowage space 60, described in greater detail in connection with FIG. 5, is located inside the front of helmet shell 51. FIG. 2 shows the eyewear 53 in the stowed position in the stowage space 60. In the stowed position, the eyewear 53 is within the envelope of the helmet shell. [0017] The helmet 51 is secured to the wearer's head by a conventional chin-strap 61. In a preferred embodiment, a pair of pull-tabs 63 (the right tab being shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) slide along the downward portion of chin-strap 61 and are attached to the receivers 57 by a draw line 69. To lower the eyewear from the stowage space 60, the wearer pulls downward on the pull-tabs 63 on left and right sides of the helmet 51. This pulling action is transmitted via the draw line 69 to the receivers 57, causing the receivers to rotate about a pivot 72 until the eyewear 53 descends from the stowage space 60. Additional adjustment by the wearer to fit the eyewear 53 precisely onto the bridge of the wearer's nose may be accomplished by sliding the arms 55 of the eyewear 53 longitudinally within the receivers 57. [0018] One embodiment of the receivers 57 (in this case the receiver on the right side of the helmet 51) is shown in FIG. 3. The receiver 57 is preferably fabricated from a semi-flexible material (e.g., ABS or polyethylene plastic) to form an elongated tubular shape. The opening 75 at the front of the receiver is sized to allow the arms 55 of eyewear frames to be inserted and to flex the material of the receiver 57 as necessary to provide a frictional engagement therewith. The receiver 57 also has a mounting hole 72, which fits over a post 78 on an interior element--e.g., the headband 81--of the helmet. The receiver 57 can be retained on the post 78, while remaining free to rotate, by any suitable expedient; the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 3 uses a pair of cut-outs 84a, 84b, which fit over complementary tabs 87a, 87b of retention post 78. When the receiver 57 is first mounted onto the headband 81, it is oriented such that the cut-outs 84a, 84b align with and pass over the tabs 87a, 87b. The angular displacement between cut-outs 84a, 84b and the tabs 87a, 87b is such that receiver 57 may be rotated through its normal range of positions without aligning the tabs and the cut-outs, thereby ensuring retention of receiver 57 on post 78. [0019] Also shown in FIG. 3 is the pull-tab 63 attached by means of draw line 69 to a connecting area 90 of the receiver 57. The draw line 69 can be made of plastic (e.g., nylon or polyester) or natural fibers such as cotton, woven or monofilament, and may be secured to the pull-tab 63 and connecting area 90 by a knot, loop, welding or other means conventional in the art. The length of the draw line 69 is chosen so that when the receiver 57 is rotated to the uppermost position for stowage, the pull-tab 63 is still accessible below the edge of the helmet shell 51. Continue reading... Full patent description for Drop-down eye protection for safety helmets Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Drop-down eye protection for safety helmets patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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