CHINSTRAP FOR HELMET

Abstract

A chinstrap for a helmet. The chinstrap includes a chin cup to receive a helmet wearer's chin and a protective structure for supporting the chin cup. The chinstrap also includes an attachment assembly to secure the chin cup to straps used to secure the chinstrap to the helmet.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to a chinstrap for use with a helmet that is more secure and provides more comfort.

2. Description of the Related Art

There are numerous chinstraps that have been developed for use with helmets used in contact sports. The various developed chinstraps have varying benefits and shortcomings. They have various fastening mechanisms used to secure chinstraps to the helmets. They incorporate various padding and structural features. With all of these various types of chinstraps there are deficiencies in how secure they are and the comfort they provide.

Accordingly, there is a need for a chinstrap that can increase how securely the chinstrap is mounted to straps of a helmet and still be extremely comfortable for the wearer.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is directed to a chinstrap for a helmet. The chinstrap includes a chin cup to receive a helmet wearer's chin and a protective structure for supporting the chin cup. The chinstrap also includes an attachment assembly to secure the chin cup to straps used to secure the chinstrap to the helmet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are various views of one embodiment of a chinstrap constructed in accordance with the present disclosure and shown in use with a helmet.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are exploded views of the chinstrap constructed in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the chinstrap constructed in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another portion of the chinstrap constructed in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of yet another portion of the chinstrap constructed in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 6A is a side-elevation view of the chinstrap in a first position and constructed in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 6B is a side-elevation view of the chinstrap in a second position and constructed in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIGS. 7a and 7B are cross-sectional views of a piece of the chinstrap constructed in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of the chinstrap in the first position and constructed in accordance with the present disclosure.

8B is a cross-sectional view of the chinstrap in the second position and constructed in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Referring now to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the present disclosure is related to a chinstrap 10 for a helmet 12 used in contact sports, or any other activity where helmets are used, to protect a chin of a helmet wearer 14 and help keep the helmet 12 in a desired position on the wearer 14. The chinstrap 12 can also include jaw portions 16 to protect parts of the wearer's jaw and/or jawbone. The helmet 12 can also include a facemask 18 to protect other portion of the wearer's face. The chinstrap 10 can be secured to the helmet 12 via straps 20 that are securely attached to the chinstrap at various points and selectively securable to the helmet 12. The straps 20 can be selectively securable to the helmet 12 via any manner known in the art such as buckles, snaps, and the like.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A-5, the chinstrap 10 includes a chin cup 22 for directly receiving the chin of a helmet wearer 14, a protective structure 24 for providing an outer impact resistant component and an attachment assembly 26 for securing the chin cup 22 to the straps 20 and thus, the helmet 12. The chin cup 22 can have an inside portion 28 that receives the chin of the wearer 14 and an outer portion 30 for attachment to and support of the protective structure 24. The chinstrap 10 can also include extended supports 32 that extend from the outer portion 30 of the chinstrap 10 to engage (be inserted therein) holes 34 disposed on an inside part 36 of the protective structure 24. The inside part 36 of the protective structure 24 is the side of the protective structure 24 that the outside portion 30 of the chinstrap 10 is disposed adjacent thereto. The extended supports 32 can have an embedded part 38 buried, or internally co-molded, in the chin cup 22 and an extended part 40 that extend from the outside 30 of the chin cup 22. The extended parts 40 of the extended supports 32 can have openings 42 therein to cooperate with other parts of the chinstrap 10 to maintain attachment of the chin cup 22 and the protective structure 24.

The chinstrap 10 can include locking pins 44 that can extend into lateral openings 46 in the protective structure 24 and through the openings 42 in the extended parts 40 of the extended supports 32 that extend from the chin cup 22 when the extended supports 32 of the chin cup 22 extend into the holes of the support structure 24. Therefore, the openings 42 in the extended supports 32 are in alignment with the lateral openings 46 of the protective structure 24 so that the locking pins 44 can be inserted through the lateral openings 46 in the protective structure 24 and into the openings 42 of the extended parts 40 of the extended supports 32. An adhesive could be used with the locking pins 44 to help secure the engagement of the locking pins 44 in place and thus, the chin cup 22 to the protective structure 24. The locking pins 44 could also have a tab (not shown) that would secure the locking pins 44 in place once they were moved so far into their engagement with the openings 42 in the extended supports 32.

The protective structure 24 can be made of an internal part 48 that can be padded and engages with the chin cup 22 and has the lateral openings 46 disposed therein and an external part 50, or vent plate, made of a harder material to better withstand impacts during use of the helmet 12 and chinstrap 10. The internal part 48 and the external part 50 can include extension members that make up the jaw portions 16 that extend down the jawline of the helmet wearer 14 to provide protection to the user's jawline.

The attachment assembly 26 is used to secure the chinstrap 10 to the straps 20. The attachment assembly 26 can include pockets 52 cut into parts of the chin cup 22 to receive sleeve members 54. The sleeve members 54 are designed to provide stability and structure to the chin cup 22 where the straps 20 are accepted and attached. The attachment assembly 26 can also include binding posts 55 that can extend through parts of the sleeve members 54, the straps 20 and the chin cup 22 to secure the straps 20 to the chin cup 22. The pockets 52 can have an aperture 56 in the outside part 30 of the chin cup 22 and a slot 58 cut in the inside 28 of the chin cup 22. In one embodiment, each slot 58 can have a bulbous part 60 and a neck part 62. The binding posts 55 can have a male end 55a that can be threaded into a female end 55b. The binding posts 55 can have flange ends 57 that are wider than the openings in the various parts of the chinstrap 10 to prevent the binding posts 55 from being disengaged with the chin cup 22.

The sleeve members 54 are made of a more rigid and stronger material than the chin cup 22 to be able to better withstand the stresses and strains placed on the chinstrap 10. The sleeve members 54 can have an outer part 64 with a hole 66 disposed therein that is generally in alignment with the aperture 56 in the outside part 30 of the chin cup 22 when the sleeve member 54 is inserted into the pocket 52. Similarly, the sleeve member 54 includes an inner side 68 with a channel 70 disposed therein generally aligned with the slot 58 disposed in the inside 28 of the chin cup 22 when the sleeve member 54 is inserted into the pocket 52. The strap 20 includes a hole 72 disposed therein that the binding post 55 extend therethrough when the strap 20 has been inserted into the pocket 52 and sleeve 54.

Each male end 55a of each binding post 55 can be secured to the corresponding female end 55b of each binding post 55 and extend through the aperture 56 and slot 58 in each pocket 52 and the hole 66 and channel 70 in each sleeve member 54. The chin cup 22 can have any number of pockets 52 such that the chinstrap 10 can properly function to keep the helmet 12 securely attached to the wearer 14 and protect the wearer's chin and other parts of the wearer's face. In one embodiment, the chin cup 22 could have four pockets 52 and each pocket could be located at the four corners of the chin cup 22.

Referring now to FIGS. 6A-6B, the chinstrap 10 is designed such that the straps 20 can rotate relative to the chin cup 22 a certain amount without wrenching the straps 20. This allows the straps 20 to remain flatly disposed relative to the face of the wearer. FIG. 6A shows the strap 20 rotated downward without wrenching the strap 20. Conversely, FIG. 6B shows the strap 20 rotated upward without distorting the shape of the strap 20 when the strap 20 is rotated.

As described herein, the hole 72 in the strap 20 receives the binding post 55, which creates a rotational relationship between the strap 20 and the binding post 55 (and thus a rotational relationship relative to the chin cup 22 as well. The chinstrap 10 can be designed such that the strap 20 can rotate any desired amount relative to the sleeve 54 and the chin cup 22. In one embodiment, the strap 20 could rotate as much as 30 degrees. This permitted rotation is achieved by the unique design of sleeve 54 as shown in more detail in FIGS. 7A and 7B. The sleeve 54 includes an inlet 74 that receives the strap 20. The inlet 74 has a length and a width wherein the length is the wider part of the inlet 74. To facilitate the rotational relationship between the straps 20 and the other parts of the chinstrap 10 (e.g., the chin cup 22), the length of the inlet 74 is wider than the width of the strap 20 inserted into the sleeve 54.

The inside of the sleeve 54 can include a first shoulder 76 that provides a limit to how far the strap 20 can rotate in the sleeve 54 in a first direction and a second shoulder that provides a limit to how far the strap 20 can rotate in a second direction. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 7A, the distance between the first shoulder 76 and the second shoulder 78 is substantially the same for the length of the shoulders 76 and 78. In another embodiment shown in FIGS. 7B-8B, the distance between the first shoulder 76 and the second shoulder 78 decreases as the shoulders 76 and 78 extend from the inlet 74.

From the above description, it is clear that the present disclosure is well-adapted to carry out the objectives and to attain the advantages mentioned herein as well as those inherent in the disclosure. While presently preferred embodiments have been described herein, it will be understood that numerous changes may be made which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and which are accomplished within the spirit of the disclosure and claims.

Claims

1. A chinstrap for a helmet, the chinstrap comprising: a chin cup to receive a helmet wearer's chin;a protective structure for supporting the chin cup; andan attachment assembly to secure the chin cup to straps used to secure the chinstrap to the helmet.

2. The chinstrap of claim 1 wherein the protective structure includes an internal part that engages the chin cup and an external part positioned adjacent to the internal part and made of a harder material to withstand impacts during activities where helmets are used.

3. The chinstrap of claim 2 further comprising jaw portions that extend from the protective structure in a direction such that the jaw portions are in general alignment with a helmet wearer's jawline.

4. The chinstrap of claim 3 wherein the chin cup includes extended supports that protrude from an outside part of the chin cup to engage the protective structure.

5. The chinstrap of claim 4 wherein the protective structure has holes disposed therein for receiving the extended supports of the chin cup.

6. The chinstrap of claim 5 wherein the extended supports include an embedded part that is disposed in the chin cup and an extended part that protrudes from the chin cup.

7. The chinstrap of claim 6 wherein each extended part of the extended supports includes an opening disposed therein.

8. The chinstrap of claim 7 further comprising locking pins that can extend into and through lateral openings in the protective structure and into the openings in the extended part of the extended supports.

9. The chinstrap of claim 8 wherein the lateral openings of the protective structure are disposed in the internal part of the protective structure.

10. The chinstrap of claim 1 wherein the attachment assembly includes pockets in certain parts of the chin cup wherein each pocket is designed to receive a strap.

11. The chinstrap of claim 10 wherein a sleeve is disposed in each pocket to provide structural reinforcement to the pocket to withstand the forces applied to the chip cup during use.

12. The chinstrap of claim 11 wherein the pocket has an aperture in an outside part of the chin cup and a slot cut into an inside part of the chin cup.

13. The chinstrap of claim 12 wherein the slot has a bulbous portion and a neck portion.

14. The chinstrap of claim 13 wherein each sleeve includes a hole disposed therein in an outer part of the sleeve in general alignment with the aperture in the outside part of the pocket of the chin cup and a channel disposed in an inner side of the sleeve in general alignment with the slot in the inside part of pocket of the chin cup.

15. The chinstrap of claim 14 further includes binding posts wherein a portion of the binding post extend through the aperture of the pocket of the chin cup, a hole in the strap, and the hole in the sleeve disposed in the pocket.

16. The chinstrap of claim 10 wherein the chin cup includes pockets positioned in at least two locations on the chin cup.

17. The chinstrap of claim 10 wherein the chin cup includes pockets positioned at four corners of the chin cup.

18. The chinstrap of claim 1 wherein the straps are rotatable relative to the chin cup without distortion of the straps.

19. The chinstrap of claim 11 wherein the sleeve has an inlet for receiving the strap and the inlet is wider than a width of the strap to permit rotation of the strap relative to the chin cup with distortion of the strap, the sleeve having a first shoulder and a second shoulder therein to define the limits the strap can rotate without distortion.

20. The chinstrap of claim 19 wherein a distance between the first shoulder and the second shoulder in the sleeve decreases as the first and second shoulder extend from the inlet.