Aspects of this document relate generally to mountain biking helmets.
Enduro mountain biking is a relatively new mountain biking racing format. The format includes multiple stages including timed downhills and untimed uphills. The competitor with the lowest overall time wins. Currently, many of the riders wear full-face helmets meaning the helmet has a chin bar.
Because enduro mountain biking is not as technically demanding as a pure downhill event and the downhill portions are a little less treacherous, a downhill certified helmet is not required. However, many riders choose to wear a downhill certified or full-face helmet because of the added safety features, in particular, a chin bar, which is found on all downhill certified helmets. As a general rule, downhill certified helmets are heavier than bike/mountain bike certified helmets. In addition to the added weight of a downhill certified helmet, they generally are hotter to wear because of the reduced number of ventilation ports and full-face enclosure.
Downhill certified helmets can be a tremendous burden when a rider is going uphill. Weight and heat build-up can tax a rider's energy and speed when climbing. Even though the uphill portions of an enduro are not timed, the rider still has to get to the top of the downhill ahead of a cut-off time and has to have the endurance to meet the physical and mental demands of the downhill. If a rider has to burn a lot of energy to get to the top/start of a timed portion, there won't be much left in the “tank” for the part that matters to overall placing.
In addition to getting down the timed portion as quickly as possible, a rider wants to have the confidence to know they'll arrive safely at the finish. Downhills are tricky and accidents happen. Riders want to be safe in the event of an accident. Having a chin bar affords an additional element of protection, which gives a rider confidence.
For the foregoing reasons, a number of helmet designs have been created on the market to include a removable chin bar that allows a rider to ride with the same helmet, with or without the chin bar, depending on the circumstances and conditions anticipated or encountered by the rider. For example, one helmet includes a bolt on chin bar that is attachable or detachably removed from the helmet with a tool, such as a screwdriver, Allen wrench, or other driving instrument, that secures the chin bar to the helmet. Bolt-on chin bars can be time intensive and unwieldy for users to attach or remove from the helmet, and can require more time to remove and replace the chin bar than with other detachable chin bar designs, such as the tool-less plastic connections.
Another mounting biking helmet includes a chin bar that attaches or plugs into the top portion of the helmet from below without the use of a tool. The attachable/detachable chin bar attaches to the helmet with a tab or flange that is inserted into a socket or sleeve configured to receive the tab or flange. The chin bar can be removed or released from the helmet by pressing or engaging two flexible tabs or buttons. Upon pressing the tabs, the chin bar can be slid downwards away from the helmet. Another biking helmet includes a chin bar that plugs into the helmet from below, and can be released from the helmet by engaging two buttons.
These helmet designs, while allowing for their respective chin bars to be attached and detached, depend primarily on plastic connections. The use of Vertical alignment features for attachment of chin bars to these helmet designs can make it difficult for a user to align the chin bar with the plastic connections on the helmet to allow the chin bar to be attached or detached, especially when the user is wearing the helmet. Due to the nature of enduro racing and a rider's need to attach and detach the chin bar for different points of a race, such as during uphill and downhill portions of a race, the difficulty of aligning the chin bar with the helmet for these helmets is inconvenient and undesirable for a rider. Additionally, these conventional removable chin bar helmet designs provide chin bars that have limited resistance to impacts that are not head-on impacts, such as impacts with a side portion or lower portion of the helmet and chin bar.
In one aspect, a mountain biking helmet system may comprise a helmet and a chin bar removably coupled to the helmet and wrapped circumferentially around a portion of the helmet.
One or more particular embodiments of a mountain biking helmet system may comprise one or more of the following features. The chin bar may be wrapped circumferentially around a bottom portion of the helmet and the chin bar comprises a rear coupling configured to tighten the chin bar circumferentially around the helmet. The rear coupling may comprise a rear buckle. The chin bar may be wrapped circumferentially around a bottom portion of the helmet and the chin bar comprises two opposing side couplings configured to couple the chin bar circumferentially around the helmet. The two opposing side couplings may comprise two opposing side buckles, and wherein a portion of each of the two opposing side buckles engages a different one of two side recesses on the helmet when the respective buckle is in a closed position to couple the chin bar circumferentially around the helmet. The helmet may further comprise two front receivers and each of the two opposing side buckles further comprises a hook that engages with a different front receiver of the two front receivers on the helmet when the respective buckle is in the closed position. The chin bar further comprises two alignment protrusions engaged with two alignment recesses on the helmet. The helmet may further comprise two in-molded thermoplastic lower components, each of the two in-molded thermoplastic lower components surrounding a different one of the two side recesses of and a different one of the two alignment recesses.
In another aspect, a chin bar for a mountain biking helmet may comprise a front portion configured to cover a portion of an open front of a mountain biking helmet, a back portion configured to cover a portion of the mountain biking helmet, and one or more couplings configured to couple the chin bar to the mountain biking helmet such that the chin bar forms a continuous loop when the one or more couplings couple the chin bar to the mountain biking helmet and the chin bar wraps circumferentially around the mountain biking helmet.
One or more particular embodiments of a chin bar for a mountain biking helmet may comprise one or more of the following features. The one or more couplings may comprise at least a rear coupling on the back portion of the chin bar, the rear coupling operable between an open position and a closed position that reduces the circumference of the chin bar. The rear coupling may comprise a rear buckle. The one or more couplings may further comprise two side couplings, each one of the two side couplings configured to engage with a different side recess on the mountain biking helmet. The two side couplings may comprise two side buckles, each one of the two side buckles comprising a base configured to engage with a different side recess, a lever operable between an open position and a closed position, and a hook operably coupled to the lever such that movement of the lever from the open position to the closed position draws the hook closer to the base, the hook being configured to engage a front receiver on the mountain biking helmet when the lever is in the closed position. Two alignment protrusions on the back portion of the chin bar, the alignment protrusions being positioned and configured to engage with two alignment recesses on the mountain biking helmet.
In another aspect, a mountain biking helmet system may comprise a helmet comprising an outer surface, two side recesses, and two alignment recesses, and two in-molded thermoplastic lower components on the outer surface of the helmet, each of the two in-molded thermoplastic lower components surrounding a different one of the two side recesses and a different one of the two alignment recesses.
One or more particular embodiments of a mountain biking helmet system may comprise one or more of the following features. A chin bar configured to removably couple to the helmet and wrap circumferentially around a portion of the helmet. The chin bar may be wrapped circumferentially around a bottom portion of the helmet and the chin bar comprises a rear buckle configured to tighten the chin bar circumferentially around the helmet. Two opposing side buckles, wherein a base of each of the two opposing side buckles may engage a different one of the two side recesses when the respective buckle is in a closed position and the chin bar is coupled circumferentially around the helmet. The helmet may further comprise two front receivers and each of the two opposing side buckles further comprises a hook that engages with a different one of the two front receivers on the helmet when the respective buckle is in the closed position. The chin bar may further comprise two alignment protrusions positioned to engage with the two alignment recesses when the chin bar is coupled circumferentially around the helmet.
The foregoing and other aspects, features, and advantages will be apparent to those artisans of ordinary skill in the art from the DESCRIPTION and DRAWINGS, and from the CLAIMS.
The invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, where like designations denote like elements, and:
This disclosure, its aspects and implementations, are not limited to the specific components or assembly procedures disclosed herein. Many additional components and assembly procedures known in the art consistent with the intended operation and/or assembly procedures for an enduro mountain biking chin bar will become apparent for use with implementations of enduro mountain biking chin bars from this disclosure. Accordingly, for example, although particular helmets and chin bars are disclosed, such helmets and chin bars and implementing components may comprise any shape, size, style, type, model, version, measurement, concentration, material, quantity, and/or the like as is known in the art for such helmets and enduro mountain biking chin bars and implementing components, consistent with the intended operation of an enduro mountain biking chin bar.
A removable chin bar is disclosed herein that overcomes many of the drawbacks and hazards in enduro mountain biking that arise both from riding with a downhill certified helmet with its associated chin bar and from riding without a chin bar at all. In addition, embodiments of the removable chin bar disclosed herein improves upon conventional removable chin bar helmets.
In some embodiments, a removable chin bar 20 is a stand-alone component that can be adapted for use with bike certified helmets. In more particular embodiments, a removable chin bar 20 includes a helmet 4 that is specifically intended for use with removable chin bar 20 of the present disclosure. Such a helmet is preferably a bike certified helmet or a mountain bike certified helmet. According to some aspects, a helmet 4 comprises a plurality of vent holes 8 positioned around the helmet 4 and extending through the helmet 4. The vent holes 8 may be surrounded by an angled edge on an outer surface 10 of the helmet 4. In some embodiments, amongst the plurality of vent holes 8 may be one or more side vents and one or more alignment vents (shown in
In one or more embodiments, a removable chin bar 20 removably couples circumferentially around a helmet 4. In more particular embodiments, such as the non-limiting embodiment depicted in
In one or more embodiments, a removable chin bar 20 comprises at least one rear coupling configured to reduce the circumference of the removable chin bar. In the non-limiting embodiment depicted in
By circumferentially wrapping a chin bar 20 around a helmet 4, the chin bar is more resistant to deformation, and is more robust in terms of energy absorption and energy management than those designs previously used for removable chin bars that simply clip into a side portion of the helmet. Significantly, a force or side impact acting on a helmet is better absorbed and managed thereby offering better protection to the helmet wearer because the securely attached chin guard reduces rotation and movement of the chin bar with respect to the helmet.
According to some aspects, a chin bar 20 further comprises one or more side couplings. More particularly, a chin bar 20 may comprise one or more side buckles 26, as depicted in the non-limiting embodiment of
In addition to using buckles or other movable mechanical fasteners for securing a chin bar 20 to a helmet 4, other features, such as one or more alignment protrusions 38 or details may be utilized.
Returning now to
In alternative embodiments, a circumference-reducing rear buckle 32 is not required. Instead, any device that secures a hoop-shaped chin bar to a helmet 4 could be utilized such that the chin bar 20 wraps circumferentially around the helmet 4 instead of merely plugging into the helmet as previously known in the art.
A chin bar 20 according to the present disclosure also provides a ventilation system for the user that is an improvement to the downhill certified helmets described in the background section above. In some implementations, the removable chin bar 20, like the helmet itself, has a plurality of vent holes 40 (shown in
With respect to vent holes 40 in a chin bar 20, vent holes 40 may be formed on both sides of the removable chin bar 20 and on the front end of the front portion 22 of the removable chin bar 20 such that they are directly in front of the user's face during use. However, they are preferably adjacent each other, one on top of the other. This configuration provides a taller chin bar 20 in front of the user's face while maintaining the ventilation system. In addition or alternative, some embodiments of a removable chin bar 20 comprise two vent holes 40 on each side.
Other embodiments of a mountain biking helmet system 2 may comprise additional or alternative buckles or couplings to secure a chin bar 20 to other parts of a helmet 20. For example, as depicted in
According to some aspects one or more side recesses 16 on a helmet 4 are configured to receive a buckle base 41 of a side buckle 26. A size, shape, and volume of the side recesses 16 may be sized to substantially or completely contain a volume of the side buckle 26 such that an aesthetic of the helmet 4 is not altered and an outer profile of the helmet 4 is not expanded to include protrusions extending from the helmet 4 which could interfere with helmet aerodynamics, wearability, or functionality of the helmet 4. Alternatively, a size of the side buckle 26 can be designed to fit substantially or completely within the side recess 16.
One or more embodiments of a helmet 50 comprise an in-molded thermoplastic lower component 52 configured to provide added structure or a reinforced portion of the helmet 50. According to some aspects, the thermoplastic lower component 52 is positioned to surround one or more of the plurality of vent holes 8. More particularly, a thermoplastic lower component 52 may be positioned on an outer surface 10 of a helmet to surround a side recess 16 and an alignment recess 14 of the plurality of vent holes 8.
As shown in
According to some aspects, a plurality of tooth receivers 54 are positioned in a helmet 4 proximate a side recess 16. More particularly a helmet 50 may comprise a front tooth receiver, a rear tooth receiver, and two side tooth receivers. A base 41 of a side buckle 26, as shown in
Additionally, a side buckle 26, as well as variations thereof, can also be beneficially employed for releasably coupling any desired article or accessory to the helmet, such as a camera mount, light, or other feature. By embedding a buckle within a helmet vent hole 8 or other similar aperture, articles and devices can be attached to the helmet with a minimal change or no aesthetic change to helmet. For example, when a chin bar 20 of a helmet 50 is off or is not attached, the aesthetic of the helmet 50 is substantially identical to a helmet that is not configured to receive a chin bar 20 using the buckles described herein. Similarly, when an accessory such as a chin bar 20 is attached to a helmet 50, an aesthetic of the helmet 50 is likewise not substantially affected because much, if not all, of the latching or attachment mechanism is submerged or contained within the side recess 16 of the helmet.
According to some aspects, a lever 30 may comprise two protrusions 43 that push against two corresponding flexible beams 45 when the lever 30 is in its closed position (shown in
By using a method similar to that employed by the side buckle 26, a helmet accessory, such as a chin bar 20 or other device, can be easily and reliably releasably coupled to the helmet. Additionally, the addition or removal of the accessory can be done using buckles and hooks without the additional time and effort required with obtaining and using tools as previously required.
Many of the various concepts and detailed descriptions provided herein do not include the full descriptions of the various components, so as to not obfuscate the disclosed inventions. Unless otherwise explained and excluded herein, it is intended that the embodiments and implementations disclosed herein may be used in combination with any relevant embodiments and implementations that would be known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
This document is a continuation of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 16/365,564, filed Mar. 26, 2019, entitled “ENDURO MOUNTAIN BIKING CHIN BAR”, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/642,287, filed Mar. 9, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,238,165, issued Mar. 26, 2019, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/949,534, filed Mar. 7, 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
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Parent | 16365564 | Mar 2019 | US |
Child | 17408254 | US | |
Parent | 14642287 | Mar 2015 | US |
Child | 16365564 | US |