Patent Application
20110072562
This invention in one or more embodiments relates to a headgear bracket, and more particularly to a helmet bracket for a mount for night vision goggles.
Night vision goggles are commonly used by military personnel for conducting operations in low light or night conditions. Assemblies for mounting night vision goggles to a helmet or other headgear are well known in the art. These mounting assemblies allow a user's hands to remain free while viewing a scene through the night vision goggles.
A mounting bracket adapted to receive a mount for night vision goggles may be attached to headgear. Often, the mounting bracket includes at least one opening through which an attachment means, such as a screw, is insertable to securely attach the mounting bracket to the headgear. Since the attachment means must also be inserted through the headgear, the headgear may also contain an opening to accommodate the attachment means.
The headgear worn by military personnel is designed for combat and is able to prevent a bullet shot from a pistol, such as a 9 mm, a .357 Magnum or an MP5 submachine gun, from penetrating the headgear. However, when bullets that would ordinarily be stopped and or sufficiently contained by the headgear encounter an opening in the helmet or the mounting bracket attachment means inserted through such opening, the force of the bullet impacts the weakened structural integrity of the headgear caused by the opening. As such, the bullet may penetrate the headgear and/or the attachment means may be pushed through the headgear and potentially into the wearer's head, posing serious danger to the wearer. It is desired to have a headgear bracket capable of preventing a bullet from penetrating the headgear and capable of preventing a mounting bracket attachment means from further penetrating the headgear and into a wearer's head.
Additionally, a hot shoe assembly may be mounted to headgear to provide an electrical connection to a battery pack or other power source for the night vision goggles. More specifically, the hot shoe assembly may be mounted to a hot shoe bracket which is then attached to headgear by attachment means similarly to the headgear bracket described above. Since an opening is created to allow the hot shoe bracket attachment means to penetrate the headgear, the portion of the helmet having the opening is vulnerable to being penetrated by a bullet. As such, it is desirable to provide a hot shoe bracket capable of preventing penetration by a bullet.
Moreover, it is generally desirable to provide a means to prevent a bullet or other ammunition from penetrating an opening or other structural weakness created in headgear, thus increasing safety for the headgear wearer.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a headgear bracket for mounting night vision goggles is provided including a base having a headgear-facing surface. The headgear-facing surface may include a pocket defined by a pocket wall and a pair of flanges adapted to contact a headgear surface. The headgear bracket may further include an opening in the base adapted to receive an attachment means and a ballistic slug removably inserted into the pocket. The ballistic slug may have an opening adapted to receive the attachment means. A surface of the ballistic slug may be adapted to contact and conform substantially to the headgear surface.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a helmet on which night vision goggles are mountable is provided including an attachment means opening and a bracket having a bracket opening aligned with the attachment means opening. The bracket may include a helmet-facing surface having a pocket defined by a pocket wall and a ballistic slug removably inserted into the pocket. The ballistic slug may include a ballistic slug opening and a surface contacting and conforming substantially to a helmet surface. An attachment means may be inserted through the attachment means opening, the bracket opening and the ballistic slug opening to attach the bracket to the helmet.
In yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a hot shoe bracket is provided including a base having a nut plate recess and a nut plate opening. At least one U-shaped member may extend from the base and is adapted to fit over a headgear rim. A nut plate is slidable within the nut plate recess and may protrude from the nut plate opening. A hot shoe assembly may include a block insulator having a plurality of electrical contacts and a hot shoe cover to cover the block insulator. A support plate may be located between the nut plate and the hot shoe assembly, the support plate having an opening through which the block insulator protrudes. The support plate may comprise titanium.
Referring to
With reference now to
The helmet bracket 12 further contains a pair of strap or cable openings 32 above the shoulder 26 through which a strap or cable (
Referring now to
Additionally, a pair of support flanges 42 protrude from the helmet-facing surface 34 around a perimeter of the helmet facing surface 34 proximal the cable openings 32 to provide additional contact between the helmet bracket 12 and the helmet 10. The support flanges 42 include a contact portion 44 shaped to match substantially the contour of the helmet 10 which ensures a greater contact area between the helmet bracket 12 and the helmet. The support flanges 42 provide additional resistance to prevent a bullet from penetrating the helmet bracket opening 30 by absorbing the impact of the bullet and dispersing the energy of the impact over the surface of the helmet 10. Further, the support flanges 42 provide greater resistance to rotation and may prevent a portion of the helmet bracket 12 from fracturing due to force applied to a top half of the bracket. As shown in
With reference now also to
In one exemplary embodiment, a thickness of the ballistic slug 40 increasingly tapers from a first end 52 to a second end 54 while the helmet-facing surface 48 is slightly concave or bowl-shaped to correspond to the helmet surface. For example, a thickness of the first end 52 may be at least about 0.03 inch and a thickness of the second end 54 may be at least about 0.08 inch. In an alternate exemplary embodiment, the ballistic slug may have substantially parallel sides extending from a first end to a second end.
Further, when the ballistic slug 40 is inserted into the pocket 36, in one exemplary embodiment, the ballistic slug is flush with or protrudes slightly past the pocket wall 38. Accordingly, when the helmet bracket 12 is mounted onto the helmet 10, the ballistic slug 40 makes contact with the exterior surface 16 of the helmet 10. The contoured helmet-facing surface 48 allows maximum surface contact between the ballistic slug 40 and the helmet 10, allowing the slug to absorb as much impact as possible from a bullet and to distribute the force of the impact along the surface of the helmet.
The ballistic slug 40 includes an opening 50 generally corresponding to the attachment means opening 30 in the helmet bracket, the opening 50 adapted to receive an attachment means 20 as described in more detail below. In one exemplary embodiment, the opening 50 is generally oval to allow adjustment of the ballistic slug 40 with respect to a circular opening 14 on the helmet 10. However, it will be understood that the opening 50 may be of various shapes and sizes in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
In one exemplary embodiment, the ballistic slug 40 is substantially oval. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the ballistic slug 40 may be any one of a variety of shapes, such as, for example, circular, rectangular, or hexagonal. Additionally, the size, and therefore, the surface area, of the ballistic slug 40 may vary. In one exemplary embodiment, the surface area of the ballistic slug is about 0.32 square inch, but may be as small as about 0.20 square inch. It is noted that a thicker and/or larger ballistic slug 40 will generally be more effective than a smaller, thinner slug comprising the same material. However, due to the importance of weight considerations of equipment carried by military personnel, a lighter ballistic slug which effectively prevents penetration of a bullet may be more desirable than a heavier one.
In one exemplary embodiment, the ballistic slug 40 comprises a rigid material such as metal. The ballistic slug 40 may comprise, for example, aluminum, such as 6061 or 7075 aluminum, stainless steel, such as 17-4 heat treated steel, 300-series stainless steel or 12L14 soft steel, titanium, or various alloys or other combinations of metals. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that any sufficiently rigid or high tensile strength material may be used for the ballistic slug 40. For example, certain bullet resistant composite or woven materials may be used.
With reference now to
In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, as shown in
With reference now to
The hot shoe bracket 66 may comprise a plurality of feet 72 having a substantially U-shaped cross-section adapted to secure the hot shoe bracket 66 to the helmet rim 11. As shown in
A block insulator 86 comprising a plurality of contacts 88 and covered by a hot shoe cover 90 having a block insulator opening 91 may abut the nut plate base 82 to slidably secure the floating nut plate 80 within the nut plate recess 76 while allowing the block insulator 86 and contacts 88 to remain exposed. In one exemplary embodiment, the contacts 88 are electrically connected to the cable 70 which extends to the helmet bracket 12.
A support plate 92 may be attached between the hot shoe bracket 66 and the hot shoe cover 90, the support plate having a tail section 94 extending along part of the bracket base 74. The support plate 92 may include a hot shoe opening 96 corresponding to the opening 91 on the hot shoe cover 90 through which the block insulator 86 protrudes. Hot shoe attachment means 98, such as screws, may be inserted through attachment holes 99 in the hot shoe cover 90, support plate 92 and hot shoe bracket 66 to attach the components together.
Similarly to the helmet bracket 12 described above, the nut plate opening 78 and the rear opening 64 in the helmet create a more vulnerable region of the helmet 10 which may be susceptible to penetration by a bullet. Accordingly, in one exemplary embodiment, the support plate 92 and the nut plate base 82 are made from a rigid or high tensile strength material of a sufficient thickness to prevent penetration by a bullet. For example, the support plate 92 and the nut plate base 82 may be made from titanium, and specifically, Grade 5 titanium. In one exemplary embodiment, the thickness of the support plate 92 is at least about 0.06 inch and the thickness of the nut plate base 82 is at least about 0.05 inch.
As shown in
Although the present invention has been described through the use of exemplary embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that various modifications may be made to the described embodiments that fall within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the claims and their equivalents appended hereto.
