Patent Application
20180084857
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates to chin guards for use with helmets. More particularly, the present invention relates to straps for securing chin guards. The present invention also relates to an adapter for use therewith.
Protective helmets to minimize head injuries have been known and used for many years. For example, football helmet shells have been produced from injection molded ABS, or polycarbonate plastic. Helmets intended for youth usage have usually been produced from ABS plastic, and helmets for adult usage have usually been produced from polycarbonate plastic. ABS plastic is significantly less expensive than polycarbonate, but ABS plastic is not as structurally rigid as polycarbonate. As the level of intensity of contact in youth football is significantly lower than that as the adult level, ABS has been accepted as a satisfactory material for use at the youth level. For adult helmets, however, the structural rigidity of the polycarbonate material is essential to minimize the flex and deformation of the shell under extreme impact conditions. The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) has been responsible for setting minimum performance criteria for football helmets. Through the continuous testing of NOCSAE, it has been established that the rigidity of polycarbonate shells, in comparison to ABS shells, leads to significantly lower IS results. From these tests, it is believed that there is a correlation between the rigidity of the shell material and improved safety performance.
Protection is also improved by the addition of a face mask attached to the helmet. For example, football helmets are usually equipped over the exposed face area with a vinyl coated wire or other metal structure, or an injection molded plastic face mask. The obvious purpose of the face mask is to protect the face of the player from injury, while not obstructing the player's vision unnecessarily. The addition of a face mask can also increase the rigidity of the shell which improves performance. Face masks have been mounted to the exterior surface of the helmet shell behind the front edge of the helmet face opening. Helmet shells are specifically designated with smooth spherical surfaces to allow the shells to glance and slide on impact.
Protective helmets usually include a chin strap to retain the helmet, particularly during impact. In the past, chin straps were frequently constructed using a molded plastic cup made of compression or injection-molded plastic material. A pad, usually of a felt or foam material, was bonded or otherwise attached to the plastic cup. This cup construction is preferable to non-padded chin straps which have been standard equipment on football helmets. Non-padded chin straps do not offer any impact protection to the chin area and only serve to secure the helmet to the player's head. Padded chin cups provide an added measure of protection to the chin from impacts, in addition to securing the helmet to the player's head. Improvement in the impact absorption performance of padded chin straps is desirable. Most molded plastic chin cups currently used are molded in a manner which allows the formed cup to flex to a degree upon impact. An improved construction is a rigid material which does not flex on impact to an undesirable degree, thus distributing the impact force over a larger area of the chin.
One of the problems with existing chin guard assemblies is the relationship between the strap and the chin guard. Certain chin guards have adjustable straps whereby the position of the strap relative to the chin guard can be directly adjusted at the chin guard. Unfortunately, during the strong impacts of football play, the chin guard can slip and move relative to the strap. As a result, the chin guard will be in an undesirable and unsafe location. As such, a need has developed so as to provide a chin guard whereby the strap is positioned in a fixed relationship relative to chin guard. The strap should be suitably affixed in a safe and convenient manner.
In the past, various patents have issued relating to adjustable chin guard assemblies. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,368, issued on Mar. 3, 1987 to Infusino et al, shows an adjustable chin strap assembly that has a flexible piece of material which forms a chin cup, a pair of support straps slideably attached to the chin cup, two adjustment pieces through the support straps slideably intersect, and a set of four slidable snaps which releasably fasten the support straps to an athletic helmet. The attitude of the flexible chin cup can be adjusted by sliding the adjustment piece along the lengths of the support straps to each side of the chin cup thereby allowing for maximum user comfort.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,274 issued on Aug. 18, 1998 to N. Kraemer, teaches a chin protector for a helmet. This chin protector has an inner member and an outer member. A suspension arrangement is provided for at least partially suspending a portion of the outer member in spaced relationship to a central portion of an inner member. This forms a gap between the inner and outer members.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,932 issued on Jul. 4, 2000 to N. Kraemer, describes a chin strap assembly for use with an athletic helmet. This chin strap assembly has a chin cup member having a flexible strap on each side of the chin cup member. A flexible strap passes through a plurality of slots formed in the chin cup member. In particular, this strap is threaded through the slots of the cup and is adjustably maintained relative to the cup.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,024, issued on Nov. 19, 2002 to S. P. Grant, shows a protective chin strap device for securing a helmet to a wearer's head. The chin strap includes a hard outer shell, an inner member made of a self-supporting, cushioned material, and straps attached to the outer shell for securing the chin strap to a helmet. The inner member is secured with respect to the outer shell so as to contact the outer shell adjacent to wearer's chin.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,735,160 issued on Jun. 15, 2010, to the present inventor, provides a chin guard apparatus that has a shell with a cup suitable for fitting upon a human chin, a resilient layer received within the cup of the shell and having a periphery overlying the outer peripheral edge of the shell, a first strap affixed to one side of the shell and extending outwardly therefrom, and a second strap affixed to an opposite side of the shell and extending outwardly therefrom. A bladder is affixed to a surface of the resilient layer opposite the shell.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,370, issued on Feb. 15, 2011 to M. M. Winningham, provides a protective chin pad assembly that has an outer shell of a plastic material and straps attached thereto. An inner cushion member is attached to the shell independently of the straps. The shell has an outer surface and an inner surface providing a pocket with a pair of openings formed in the shell between the inner and outer surfaces. The inner cushion member is received in the pocket of the shell. An attachment mechanism has a pair of elongate members extending from an outer surface of the cushion member. Each of the elongate members is received through a separate one of the openings in the shell and coupled outwardly from the outer surface of the shell to releasably attach the cushion member to the shell independently of the straps.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,921,475, issued on Apr. 12, 2011 to Nascimento et al, discloses an impact-attenuating chin protector. The chin protector has a hard outer shell and a narrowed central area. An inner foam member is affixed to the shell. The foam member includes a series of alternating foam columns and recesses with perforations at controlled locations. The inner surface of the foam member is configured so that almost the entire interior surface contacts the wearer's chin. The columns and recesses are configured so that the recesses are located around two pressure points on the chin.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,006,322, issued on Aug. 30, 2011 to the present inventor, teaches a chin guard that has a shell with a cup suitable for fitting upon a human chin and a resilient layer received within the cup of the shell. The resilient layer has a periphery overlying the outer peripheral edge of the shell. The resilient layer has a support layer in surface-to-surface contact with the surface of the shell. A plurality of padded sections are integrally formed with the support layer.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D606,707, issued on Dec. 22, 2009 to the present inventor, shows a chin guard design in which a foam resilient layer has a plurality of bumps formed on the surface thereof.
Chin guards produced by the present inventor are preferred by many athletes. It is believed that the present inventor supplies approximately 25% of chin guards used by players in the National Football League, for example.
Certain football helmets on the market today include a recess or opening formed on a surface thereof. This recess is intended to receive various appliances therein. One type of appliance has been utilized in such a recess has been a ratchet mechanism. This item is referred to as a “ratchet hook-up” that can be used with chin straps so as to fix a position of the chin strap relative to the helmet. The ratchet mechanism is removably received within this recess in the helmet in a lower position adjacent to the jaw of the wearer. Unfortunately, this ratchet mechanism and ratchet-type chin strap have proven to be problematic during use. For example, the ratchet mechanism may attach the chin guard too tightly to the chin of the wearer. This can be uncomfortable and distracting. In other circumstances, a tight chin strap can become dislodged during play and can be lodged over the chin or neck of the wearer. It can become very difficult to move or detach the chin guard from the neck back on to the chin. In certain circumstances, the tight strap could possible a choke the wearer. As such, need has developed so as to avoid the use of such a ratchet mechanism on football helmets.
In the past, one approach that has been taken is to replace this ratchet mechanism is to drill holes through the helmet to receive the male threaded screw of a traditional snap post. This is a poor solution because additional holes in a helmet can compromise the integrity of the structure. Additionally, the removal of the ratchet mechanism creates an unsightly gap or irregularity on the surface of the helmet.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an adapter that allows a chin guard to be affixed to a helmet.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an adapter that can be utilized in association with an existing opening or recess in a helmet.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an adapter that avoids drilling holes in the helmet.
It is further object of the present invention to provide an adapter that securely mounts a snap post to the helmet.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an adapter that is easy and fast to install.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an adapter that is inexpensive and easy to manufacture.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an adapter that better retains the strap onto the helmet.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an adapter that reduces the torque effects to the helmet.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an adapter that provides a large area of surface-to-surface contact with the surface of the helmet.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an adapter that presents a smooth and aesthetically pleasing appearance on the surface of the helmet.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.
The present invention is an adapter for attaching a chin strap to a helmet. The adapter comprises a body and a post affixed to the body. The body has a first face and a second face in generally parallel relation. The body has a forward edge and a rearward edge. The body includes an outwardly extending portion projecting outwardly of a portion of the second face. A threaded receptacle is formed or affixed to the body. The threaded receptacle opens at the first face and opens at an outer surface of the outwardly extending portion. The post is affixed to the first face of the body. The post is adapted to receive a buckle of the chin strap.
In the present invention, an attachment wheel has a screw extending therefrom. The screw is removably received in the threaded receptacle of the body at the outwardly extending portion.
The body has a generally rectangular configuration with a radiused edge extending between the first face and the forward edge of the body and another radiused edge extending between the first face of the body and the rearward edge of the body. The post is positioned adjacent to the rearward edge of the body. The post has a threaded member extending therefrom. The threaded member is received by the threaded receptacle of the body. The outwardly extending portion is adjacent to the rearward edge of the body. The body is formed of a polymeric material. The outwardly extending portion is generally square or rectangular.
The threaded member of the snap post has a tool-receiving head facing outwardly therefrom. The post includes a metallic ring. The tool-receiving head is positioned centrally of the metallic ring.
The present invention is also an assembly that comprises a helmet having a recess formed on a surface thereof, a body received in the recess of the helmet, and a post affixed to the body. The body has a first face and a second face in generally parallel relation. The body has a forward edge and a rearward edge. The body has an outwardly extending portion projecting outwardly of the portion of the second face. A threaded receptacle is affixed or formed on or in the body. The threaded receptacle opens at the first face and opens at the outer surface of the outwardly extending portion.
The recess of the helmet includes a first recess of a first depth, and a second recess formed within the first recess and having a second depth extending from a bottom of the first recess. The outwardly extending portion is received in the second recess. The second face abuts a surface of the first recess. The first surface of the body is flush with the surface of the helmet. The outwardly extending portion has a thickness approximately equal to the second depth of the second recess.
The assembly further includes an attachment wheel having a screw extending therefrom. The screw is removably received in the threaded receptacle of the body at the outwardly extending portion. The second recess has a hole formed therethrough. The screw of the attachment wheel extends into the hole.
The body has a generally rectangular configuration with a radiused edge extending between the first face and the forward edge and another radiused edge extending between the first face and the rearward edge. The snap post is positioned adjacent to the rearward edge of the body. The outwardly extending portion is adjacent to the rearward edge of the body.
The foregoing Section is intended to describe, with particularity, the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It is understood that modifications to these preferred embodiments can be made within the scope of the present claims. As such, the Section should not be construed, in any way, as limiting of the broad scope of the present invention. The present invention should only be limited by the following claims and their legal equivalents.
Referring to
In
The snap post 45 is affixed to the first surface 36 of the body 31. As can be seen in
An attachment wheel 44 has a screw 46 extending therefrom. The screw 46 is removably received in the threaded receptacle 40 of the body 31 at the outwardly extending portion 38. In particular, the head of the attachment wheel 44 will cause the surface of the football helmet 48 to be sandwiched between the head of the attachment wheel 44 and the outwardly extending portion 38 of the body 31. As such, the adapter 30 is securely mounted within the recess 43 of the helmet 48.
The body 31 has a generally rectangular configuration. There is a radiused edge extending between the forward edge 33 and the first face 36. Another radiused edge extends between the rearward edge 34 and the first face 36. These radiused edges prevent any sharp areas of contact on the outer surfaces of the adapter 30. This further works to minimize potential for injury when the adapter 30 is applied to the football helmet 48. The body 31 is formed of a polymeric material. The outwardly extending portion 38 (as further shown in
The recess 43 includes a first recessed area 51 and a second recessed area 53. The first recessed area 51 has a first depth. The second recessed area 53 has a second depth extending from the bottom surface of the first recess 51. The outwardly extending portion 38 is received in the second recess. The second face 41 of the body 31 is juxtaposed against the bottom surface of the first recess 51. As such, the first face 36 will be generally flush with the outer surface of the football helmet 48. Once again, since the first face 36 of the body 31 is flush with the outer surface of the football helmet 48, there are no outwardly projecting surfaces which could potentially cause injury. This flush-mounting further enhances the aesthetic appearance of the adapter 30 with respect to the football helmet.
The outwardly extending portion 38 has a thickness approximately equal to the second depth of the second recess 53. A hole through a hole 55 exists in the wall of the second recess 53. This hole 53 allows the screw 46 of the attachment wheel 44 to extend into the threaded receptacle 40. It can be seen that the threaded receptacle 40 both receives the tool-receiving head 39 used to secure the snap post 45 and also serves to receive the screw 46 of the attachment wheel 44.
The adapter 30 is easily mounted within the recess 43. First, any appliance that previously existed within the recess 43 is removed. The adapter 30 is placed within the recess 43 so that the outwardly extending portion 38 resides in the second recess 53 and such that the body 31 resides in the first recess 51. The attachment wheel 44 can then be positioned on the opposite side of the helmet 48. The screw 46 will extend into the threaded receptacle 40 and rotated until the head of the attachment wheel 44 abuts the surface of the football helmet 44. This will securely mount the body 31 in its proper position within the recess 43. After attachment, the snap post buckle 24 can be snapped on to the snap post 45 such that the chin strap 16 is secured to the football helmet 48.
Importantly, in the present invention, the adapter 30 actually positions the snap post 45 and the outwardly extending portion 38 in a rearward position. As such, the forwardly extending portions of the adapter 30 serve to provide further resistance against any torquing effects that can be applied to the helmet and/or to the chin strap. When a pulling force is applied to the snap post 45, the forwardly extending surfaces of the adapter 30 create a cantilever-effect on the adapter 30 so as to resist these forces. Since all of the surfaces of the adapter 30 are relatively smooth and since the adapter 30 extends generally flush with the outer surface of the helmet 48, any potential damaging contact between sharp edges of the adapter 30 are avoided.
The assembly includes rings 52 and 54 in place of conventional bottom straps. The rings 52 and 54 can be of any suitable shape, however
The configuration of
The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof. Various changes in the details of the illustrated construction can be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the true spirit of the invention. The present invention should only be limited by the following claims and their legal equivalents.
The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/398,921, filed on Sep. 23, 2016, and entitled “Universal Chin Guard and Strap Assembly and Adapter for Use Therewith”.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62398921 | Sep 2016 | US |
