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  Fan-based cooler for head-protection gearUSPTO Application #: 20070061946Title: Fan-based cooler for head-protection gear Abstract: A cooler accessory for use with a hard hat or other head-protecting gear having a protective shell with a rim, the accessory including a housing that is attachable to the protective shell, flexible and pliable tubing that extends from the rigid housing in a manner that allows for user control over position and orientation of the tubing, and airflow supply means (e.g., an electric fan assembly) for supplying a flow of air that passes through the tubing and exits therefrom. During use, a portion of the tubing is disposed below the rim of the protective shell for directing the flow of air supplied by the airflow supply means under the rim for injection toward space adjacent the user's body, thereby cooling the user's body. Preferably, the tubing is positioned such that airflow is injected into an air gap between the user's head and the protective shell and over the user's head, thereby actively cooling the user's head. In another aspect, parts of the active cooling device (e.g., the housing or portions thereof) can be integrally formed with the protective shell and rim of the hard hat or other type of head-protection gear. (end of abstract) Agent: Gordon & Jacobson, P.C. - Stamford, CT, US Inventor: Nicholas J. Webb USPTO Applicaton #: 20070061946 - Class: 002410000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Apparel, Guard Or Protector, For Wearer's Head The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070061946. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] This invention relates broadly to hard hats for protecting the heads of users in dangerous environments, such as construction sites, mines, industrial environments (e.g., chemical plants, assembly plants, steel mills, lumber mills), forestry and other tree cutting and pruning environments, military helmets, motorcycle helmets, helmets for alpine skiing and/or snowboarding, and other head-protection gear that employ a rigid head-protecting shell. More particularly, the invention relates to mechanisms that are secured to (or part of) the protective shell of a hard hat and operate to cool the user. [0003] 2. State of the Art [0004] Environments involving high temperatures, radiant heat sources, high humidity, direct physical contact with hot objects, or strenuous physical activities have a high potential for inducing heat stress in individuals that work in such environments. Such environments include iron and steel foundries, brick-firing and ceramic plants, glass products facilities, rubber products facilities, electrical utilities (particularly boiler rooms), bakeries, confectioneries, commercial kitchens, laundries, food canneries, chemical plants, mining sites, smelters and steam tunnels. [0005] Outdoor operations conducted in hot weather, such as construction, forestry and lumber mills, refining, asbestos removal, and hazardous waste site activities, especially those that require workers to wear semi-permeable or impermeable clothing are also likely to cause heat stress among exposed workers. [0006] In many of these environments, workers wear hard hats that protect the users' heads from falling debris and other potential hazards. However, in hot weather, hard hats provide a "greenhouse" effect where the humidity caused by body perspiration about the head and neck builds up under the hard hat, thereby thwarting the body's own evaporative cooling system. Some leading hard hat manufactures have introduced small air vents similar to the concept disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,090 to Minor. However, these small vents provide minimal to no cooling effect. There have been many hard hat designs that actively cool the user by blowing air over the head. Such a design takes advantage of the body's own evaporative cooling system and enhances it with the cooling properties of wind chill. See U.S. Pat. No. Re. 36,242 to Apisdorf, U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,696 to Yeager, U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,198 to Waters, U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,478 to Rosendahl et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,815 to Hirsch et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,356 to Waters, U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,862 to Flores, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,773 to Katz, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,760,925 to Maxwell. However, these designs are disadvantageous in that they require modification (e.g., thru-holes) to the protective shell of the hard hat and thus risk compromising the structural integrity of the protective shell. Some standards bodies such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) also forbid modification of the hard hat by drilling holes. Moreover, the designs suffer from other limitations including high costs, the inability to remove the active cooling mechanism from the hard hat, the inability to secure the active cooling mechanism to hard hats of varying size, the use of materials that are unsuitable for rugged high-impact environments, and the lack of effective user control over the active cooling function. [0007] Thus, there remains a need in the art to provide an active cooling device for use with a hard hat that does not require modification to the protective shell of the hard hat (and thus does not risk compromising the structural integrity of the hard hat). Moreover, there remains a need in the art for such an active cooling device that is inexpensive, preferably removable from the hard hat, capable of being added to hard hats of varying size, uses materials that are suitable for rugged high-impact environments, and affords effective user control over the active cooling function. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an active cooling device for use with a hard hat that does not require modification to the protective shell of the hard hat (and thus does not risk compromising the structural integrity of the hard hat). [0009] It is another object of the invention to provide such an active cooling device that is inexpensive. [0010] It is a further object of the invention to provide such an active cooling device that is removable from the hard hat. [0011] It is also an object of the invention to provide such an active cooling device that is capable of being added to hard hats of varying size. [0012] It is an additional object of the invention to provide such an active cooling device that is realized from materials that are suitable for rugged high-impact environments. [0013] It is still another object of the invention to provide such an active cooling device that affords effective user control over the cool function of the device. [0014] In accord with these objects, which will be discussed in detail below, an active cooler accessory is provided for use with a hard hat or other head-protecting gear having a protective shell with a rim. The accessory includes a housing that is attachable to the protective shell, flexible and pliable tubing that extends from the housing in a manner that allows for user control over position and orientation of the tubing, and airflow supply means (e.g., an electric fan assembly) for supplying a flow of air that passes through the tubing and exits therefrom. During use, a portion of the tubing is disposed below the rim of the protective shell for directing the flow of air supplied by the airflow supply means under the rim for injection toward space adjacent the user's body, thereby cooling the user's body. Preferably, the tubing is positioned such that airflow is injected into an air gap between the user's head and the protective shell and over the user's head, thereby actively cooling the user's head. Preferably, the housing supports a battery compartment and at least one user-manipulated switch and associated control circuitry that operate to selectively couple at least one battery held within the battery compartment to the electric fan assembly in response to user manipulation of the at least one switch. [0015] It will be appreciated that the cooling airflow provided by the accessory device can be directed such that it flows over the user's head, which works in conjunction with the body's own evaporative cooling system to significantly reduce the heat and humidity experienced by the user and thus results in a significant increase in the comfort of the user. Such cooling also reduces the exposure to work related heat exhaustion, potential serious heatstroke and reduced productivity. [0016] According to one embodiment of the invention, a first switch (e.g., 3-position switch) cooperates with control circuitry to operate in each one of the following modes: i) a first mode wherein airflow supply means is powered off; ii) a second mode wherein the airflow supply means is automatically cycled on/off for predetermined on/off time periods; and iii) a third mode wherein the airflow supply means is continuously powered on. A second switch (e.g., larger size push button switch) cooperates with the control circuitry to operate in a fourth mode wherein the airflow supply means is automatically powered on for a predetermined time period, with the fourth mode overriding the operations of the first and second modes. [0017] According to another embodiment of the invention, the housing supports one or more connectors that connect to external power source(s) (e.g., external AC/DC power converter (outlet charger), external DC/DC power converter (automobile cigarette lighter charger), external solar-cell power converter) for charging the battery(ies) that are held in the battery compartment of the housing, and possibly for powering the airflow supply means of the device for use. [0018] According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the housing includes a curved base that generally follows the contour of an exterior portion of the protective shell with a flexible insert cushion fixed thereto. The tubing is extendible along its length. These features allow the accessory to be secured to hard hats of varying size and shape. [0019] In another aspect of the present invention, parts of the active cooling device (e.g., the housing or portions thereof can be integrally formed with the protective shell and rim of the hard hat. [0020] Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the detailed description taken in conjunction with the provided figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooling accessory secured to a hard hat in accordance with the present invention. Continue reading... Full patent description for Fan-based cooler for head-protection gear Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Fan-based cooler for head-protection gear 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. 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