This application is a § 371 national stage entry of International Application No. PCT/KR2019/001707, filed on Feb. 12, 2019, which claims priority to South Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0050627, filed on May 2, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a helmet adaptable to different head shapes.
There has been an increasing necessity to wear safety helmets to protect the head in leisure and sports activities where high speeds are involved. For example, riders of two-wheeled vehicles are required to wear safety helmets to protect their heads.
A safety helmet disclosed in Patent Document 1 has an openable/closable portion in front of a wearer's face. The wearer can secure his/her front field of view through the front openable/closable portion. A selectively openable/closable shield may be provided in the front openable/closable portion to block wind and dust from entering through the facial portion during riding. The prior art helmet includes a hard shell for safety, a liner for shock absorption, and a pad for improving the tightness between the liner and the wearer's head and the wearability of the helmet. However, it is very nearly impossible to design the liner that fits the shapes of all wearers' heads.
Helmets are usually divided into four sizes: small, medium, large, and extra (X) large. This division is generally based on the head circumference dimensions. The internal shapes of helmets are designed based on dimensions approximating those of standard helmets. However, people have different head shapes (prominent forehead and back, prominent left and right sides, prominent top, and flat top of the head) depending on their race, gender, and individual characteristics despite their identical head circumference. For example, a person who has prominent left and right sides of the head and whose head circumference corresponds to a medium size helmet needs to wear a large size helmet to avoid the application of pressure to the left and right sides of the head. The large size helmet fits the left and right sides of the wearer's head but is loose in portions except the left and right sides of the wearers' head. That is, the helmet is larger than its regular size.
In an attempt to solve the problems associated with size, a helmet is lined with sponge pads in portions larger than the head. However, this attempt incurs an additional cost and fails to achieve perfect tightness and wearability.
The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems of the prior art and one aspect of the present invention is directed to a helmet adaptable to different head shapes in which a regulator is arranged between a first absorber and a second absorber in a shell to change the distance between the first absorber and the second absorber so that the internal space for helmet wearing can be deformed.
A helmet adaptable to different head shapes according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a first absorber arranged in the interior of a shell, a second absorber arranged in the interior of the first absorber, and a regulator arranged between the first absorber and the second absorber wherein when a force acts on the first absorber or the second absorber, the regulator changes the distance between the first absorber and the second absorber.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the regulator has a lower modulus of elasticity than the first absorber and the second absorber.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the regulator is made of a material that is deformable in a direction of the force.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the regulator is made of a reversibly deformable elastomer.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the regulator includes a housing having an internal empty space and a fluid accommodated in the empty space of the housing.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the regulator is made of a sponge.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the regulator has a predetermined thickness and is deformed in the thickness direction to change the distance between the first absorber and the second absorber when a force acts on the second absorber.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the first absorber and the second absorber are made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) or expanded polypropylene (EPP).
The helmet adaptable to different head shapes further includes a guide adapted to guide movement of the second absorber relative to the first absorber.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the guide guides movement of the second absorber in a direction parallel to the direction of a force applied to the second absorber.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the guide physically fixes the first absorber and the second absorber to prevent the first absorber and the second absorber from being separated from each other.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the guide is a rod-like pin inserted into a first hole formed in the first absorber, a second hole formed in the regulator, and a third hole formed in the second absorber.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the first absorber has a depressed portion in which the regulator and the second absorber are arranged.
The helmet adaptable to different head shapes further includes a slide adapted to allow the second absorber to slide relative to the first absorber wherein the slide is disposed on a side wall of the depressed portion and/or a side surface of the second absorber facing the side wall of the depressed portion.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the slide includes a first sliding part disposed on either the side wall of the depressed portion or the side surface of the second absorber and a second sliding part disposed on the remainder of the side wall of the depressed portion and the side surface of the second absorber.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the first sliding part has groove and the second sliding part has a protrusion.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the protrusion is inserted into the groove.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, a sliding member is arranged between the first sliding part and the second sliding part and is bent corresponding to the groove and the protrusion.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the first sliding part is formed separately from one of the side wall of the depressed portion and the side surface of the second absorber and the second sliding part is formed separately from the remainder of the side wall of the depressed portion and the side surface of the second absorber.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the slide includes a processed area formed on the side wall of the depressed portion and/or the side surface of the second absorber facing the side wall of the depressed portion to reduce the coefficient of friction between the side wall of the depressed portion and the side surface of the second absorber.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the side wall of the depressed portion is spaced a distance from the side surface of the second absorber.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the second absorber is arranged in a portion corresponding to the temple of a wearer's head.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the second absorber is arranged in a portion corresponding to a wearer's forehead.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the second absorber is arranged in a portion corresponding to the top of a wearer's head.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the second absorber is arranged in a portion corresponding to the back of a wearer's head.
In the helmet adaptable to different head shapes, the regulator absorbs external shocks.
The features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below with reference to the appended drawings.
Prior to the detailed description of the invention, it should be understood that the terms and words used in the specification and claims are not to be construed as having common and dictionary meanings, but are construed as having meanings and concepts corresponding to the spirit of the invention in view of the principle that the inventor can define properly the concept of the terms and words in order to describe his/her invention with the best method.
According to the present invention, the regulator arranged between the first absorber and the second absorber in the shell changes the distance between the first absorber and the second absorber. With this arrangement, the overall relative location between the first and second absorbers as liners is changed, and as a result, the internal space for helmet wearing can be deformed such that the helmet is adapted to different wearers' head shapes to effectively prevent the wearer from feeling inconvenienced.
Due to its inherent elasticity, the regulator arranged between the first absorber and the second absorber is deformable in the thickness direction to more effectively absorb shocks.
The objects, certain advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, wherever possible, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals even though they are depicted in different drawings. Although the terms “first”, “second”, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. In the description of the present invention, certain detailed explanations of related art are omitted when it is deemed that they may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the invention.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As illustrated in
The helmet essentially includes a shell 100, a first absorber 200, second absorbers 300, and pads 500, as illustrated in
The first absorber 200 arranged in the interior of the shell 100 has a predetermined thickness and, together with the second absorbers 300, can absorb shocks. The first absorber 200 has a shape corresponding to that of the shell 100 as a whole. The outer lateral surface of the first absorber 200 may be in contact with the shell 100. Specifically, the first absorber 200 consists of a first part 200a surrounding the upper portion of the wearer's head and a second part 200b surrounding the wearer's chin (see
The second absorbers 300 (see
When a force acts on the first absorber 200 or one of the second absorbers 300, the corresponding regulator 400 serves to change the distance between the first absorber 200 and the second absorber 300. Here, the regulators 400 are arranged between the first absorber 200 and the second absorbers 300. Specifically, each of the regulators 400 may be in the form of a plate with a predetermined thickness. As illustrated in
For example, when one or more predetermined portions of the wearer's head are especially more prominent, as illustrated in
Specifically, when the temples of the wearer's head are more prominent, as illustrated in
When the top of the wearer's head is more prominent, as illustrated in
In conclusion, the arrangement of the regulators 400 between the first absorber 200 and the second absorbers 300 changes the overall relative locations between the first and second absorbers (liners) 200 and 300, and as a result, the internal space for helmet wearing is deformed such that the helmet is adapted to different wearers' head shapes.
As illustrated in
The regulator 400 may be arranged corresponding to the second absorber 300 (see
Any material that has a lower modulus of elasticity than the first and second absorbers 200 and 300 may be used without particular limitation for the regulators 400. For example, the regulators 400 may be made of a reversibly deformable elastomer. More specifically, the regulators 400 may be made of sponges. Alternatively, each of the regulators 400 may include a housing 410 having an internal empty space and a fluid 420 accommodated in the empty space of the housing 410, as illustrated in
In the embodiment, although the second absorbers 300 and the regulators 400 are provided in plural, the scope of the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. The present invention can be embodied with a single second absorber 300 and regulator 400.
As illustrated in
By the one end (head 315) of the pin 310 fixed to the second absorber 300, the guide physically fixes the first absorber 200 and the second absorber 300 to prevent the first absorber 200 and the second absorber 300 from being separated from each other.
As illustrated in
In the case where the second absorber 300 is arranged in the depressed portion 210 formed in the first absorber 200, a slide may be provided to allow the second absorber 300 to slide relative to the first absorber 200, as illustrated in
The first sliding part 320 having the groove 323 and the second sliding part 325 having the protrusion 327 may be integrally formed with the side wall of the depressed portion 210 or the side surface of the second absorber 300, but the structure of the slide is not necessarily limited thereto. As exemplified in
In addition, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
The guide and the slide are merely illustrative and are not limited to the above structures and various modifications can be made thereto. For example, the guide and the slide may be formed simultaneously.
The present invention has been described in detail with reference to its specific embodiments. These embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and improvements are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Simple modifications and changes of the present invention belong to the scope of the present invention, and the specific scope of the present invention will be clearly defined by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
10-2018-0050627 | May 2018 | KR | national |
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---|---|---|---|
PCT/KR2019/001707 | 2/12/2019 | WO |
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---|---|---|---|
WO2019/212133 | 11/7/2019 | WO | A |
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