Patent Application
20180092426
The disclosed embodiments relate generally to mandible guard systems for helmets, and more specifically to systems and methods for moving the mandible guard with respect to the helmet.
A soldier, first responder, or law enforcement officer may wear protective headgear such as a helmet. Such a helmet may mount various accessories to aid and/or protect the helmet wearer for a specific activity or environment. For example, a mandible guard may be mounted to the helmet to provide jaw and face protection.
According to one embodiment, a helmet assembly includes a helmet, a mandible guard having a mouth covering portion, a first attachment arm arranged to removably secure a first side of the mandible guard to the helmet, the first attachment arm extending from a helmet connection region to a mandible guard connection region, and a second attachment arm arranged to removably secure a second side of the mandible guard to the helmet, the second attachment arm extending from a helmet connection region to a mandible guard connection region. When the mandible guard is secured to the helmet with the first and second attachment arms, the mouth covering portion maintains a protection position in which the mouth covering portion is aligned with a midline of the helmet, and movement of the mandible guard in a direction from a front of the helmet to a back of the helmet is prevented by the helmet assembly. When the second attachment arm is detached from the helmet and the first attachment arm remains secured to the helmet, the mandible guard is movable out of the protection position.
According to another embodiment, a method includes removably securing a first side of a mandible guard to a helmet via a first attachment arm, the first attachment arm extending from a helmet connection region to a mandible guard connection region, and removably securing a second side of the mandible guard to the helmet via a second attachment arm extending from a helmet connection region to a mandible guard connection region, wherein, the mandible guard has a mouth covering portion, and wherein when the mandible guard is secured to the helmet with the first and second attachment arms, the mouth covering portion is aligned with a midline of the helmet, and movement of the mandible guard in a direction from a front of the helmet to a back of the helmet is prevented. The method also includes detaching the second attachment arm from the helmet and moving the mandible guard out of the protection position while the first attachment arm remains secured to the helmet.
According to a further embodiment, a mandible guard assembly includes a mandible guard having a mouth covering portion. A first attachment arm is pivotally attached to the mandible guard and has a first attachment arm mount to removably secure a first side of the mandible guard to a helmet. The assembly also includes a second attachment arm pivotally attached to the mandible guard, the second attachment arm having a second attachment arm mount to removably secure a second side of the mandible guard to a helmet. The first and second attachment arms are pivotable toward each other until each attachment arm reaches a respective stop position at which the first and second attachment arm mounts are oriented for attachment to a helmet, and further pivoting of the first and second attachment arms toward each other is prevented. The first attachment arm is pivotally attached to the mandible guard such that a first pivot axis is oriented at an angle of sixty degrees or less relative to horizontal when the helmet is oriented in an upright position, and the second attachment arm is pivotally attached to the mandible guard such that a second pivot axis is oriented at an angle of sixty degrees or less relative to horizontal when the helmet is oriented in an upright position.
It should be appreciated that the foregoing concepts, and additional concepts discussed below, may be arranged in any suitable combination, as the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.
The foregoing and other aspects, embodiments, and features of the present teachings can be more fully understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:
It should be understood that aspects of the invention are described herein with reference to certain illustrative embodiments and the figures. The illustrative embodiments described herein are not necessarily intended to show all aspects of the invention, but rather are used to describe a few illustrative embodiments. Thus, aspects of the invention are not intended to be construed narrowly in view of the illustrative embodiments. In addition, it should be understood that aspects of the invention may be used alone or in any suitable combination with other aspects of the invention.
Various embodiments are described in connection with a helmet assembly, such as a military combat helmet. However, the invention is not necessarily so limited, and may be employed with other types of helmets, particularly helmets suitable for high impact activities. For ease of understanding, the helmet assembly is described in connection with a military combat helmet, which may be a ballistic or non-ballistic helmet.
Typically, mandible guards are permanently or removably mounted to a helmet to provide a wearer jaw and face protection from projectiles, impacts or other dangers. Although an important piece of protective apparel, when worn, the mandible guard may restrict air flow and/or may restrict normal activities by the wearer, such as, for example, eating and/or drinking. Applicant has recognized that the ability to partially or fully remove the mandible guard to enable access of the lower half of the face and/or to quickly reattach the mandible guard thereafter, may be helpful for comfort and for safety in high-risk environments. For example, such a mandible guard may permit a wearer to take a sip of water by accessing only a portion of the face, and then to quickly reattach the mandible guard.
Applicant has also recognized that such functionality may be achieved with an attachment system that allows the mandible guard to remain secured to one side of the helmet while allowing the other side of the mandible guard to be detached. For example, the wearer may detach the mandible guard from one side of the helmet and then move the mandible guard away from the wearer's face. In some embodiments, the attachment systems disclosed herein may permit a wearer to efficiently attach, secure, unsecure, detach, and/or remove a mandible guard from one side of the helmet using only one hand, while allowing the mandible guard to still be attached to the helmet. As will be appreciated, such attachment systems may permit the wearer to avoid having to put down objects from his or her other hand while detaching the mandible guard. In some embodiments, such attachment systems provide the wearer full access to the mouth area, which enables activities such as eating, drinking, and spitting, without entirely removing the mandible guard.
According to one aspect, a helmet system includes a helmet, a mandible guard, and an accessory attachment member that removably attaches and secures the mandible guard to the helmet. As will be appreciated, the accessory attachment member may be mounted to the helmet either directly or indirectly through other components associated with the helmet (e.g., a helmet mount). According to some embodiments, the mandible guard is arranged to move outwardly and away from the face of the wearer while one side of the mandible guard remains secured to the helmet. For example, the mandible guard may pivot away from a first side of the helmet while the mandible guard remains secured to a second side of the helmet.
In some embodiments, the mandible guard may be attached and secured to the helmet via accessory attachment members that include an attachment arm. In some embodiments, the attachment arm may extend between a connection region on the helmet and a connection region on the mandible guard. For example, the attachment arm may extend between an accessory attachment member mount (e.g., a slidable insert having a finger-actuatable lock) that engages with a helmet mount (e.g., an elongated slot), and a mandible guard mount that is attachable to the mandible. In one such example, the attachment arm may include a rigid piece that extends between the accessory attachment mount and the mandible guard mount.
The mandible guard may be initially attached to the helmet but not yet securely affixed thereto in some embodiments. For example, the attachment accessory member may engage with the helmet mount by sliding a block within an elongated slot such that the mandible guard may be placed in a desired position relative to the helmet. As will be appreciated, in this attached position, it may be possible for the block to be intentionally removed from the elongate slot, or for the block to disengage from the slot due to gravity or inertia when the helmet is positioned or moved in various ways. Once the attachment accessory member is secured to the helmet mount, however, the block is prevented from being removed from the slot, and the mandible guard will remain affixed to the helmet at least until the block is unsecured. In some embodiments, securing and removing the mandible guard from the helmet may be done without the use of a tool.
In some embodiments, when the mandible guard is secured to the helmet via the accessory attachment members, the mandible guard is maintained in a protection position. For purposes herein, a protection position of the mandible guard means that the mandible guard is positioned in front of a portion of a wearer's face, such as in front of the wearer's mouth and/or jaw. As will be appreciated, in such a protection position, the mandible guard need not contact the wearer's face. For example, the mandible guard may be spaced from the wearer's face in the protection position. In other embodiments, the mandible guard may contact the wearer's face in the protection position. For example, an interior portion of the mandible guard may include a padded cushion, which may rest up against a wearer's chin.
In some embodiments, when the mandible guard is secured to the helmet, the mandible guard may be maintained in a fixed position relative to the helmet. For example, when the mandible guard is secured to the helmet via the accessory attachment members and is in the protection position, the attachment arms may not pivot relative to the helmet. As will be appreciated, in such an example, the mandible guard also does not pivot relative to the helmet. The mandible guard may be rigidly connected to the helmet. In such embodiments, the mandible guard may be configured such that it maintains a distance from the wearer's face when forces are applied to the mandible guard. For example, when the mandible guard is secured to the helmet, the mandible guard does not pivot inwardly from the protection position.
In some embodiments, the accessory attachment members are configured such that one of the attachment arms remains secured to the helmet while the other attachment arm is detached from the helmet. In such embodiments, when a first attachment arms is detached from a first side of the helmet, the mandible guard may pivot relative to a second attachment arm attached to a second side of the helmet, and move outwardly and away from the wearer's face. In such embodiments, the mandible guard may pivot with respect to the second attachment arm. For example, in some embodiments, the mandible guard mount may be hingedly connected to the attachment arm, such as via a hinge with a hinge pin defining an axis of rotation, though other hinge arrangements may be used. For purposes herein, pivoting of the mandible guard includes pivoting, rotating, turning, swiveling or otherwise moving in other than a purely translational movement. In some embodiments, the hinge may have more than one pin, such as two pins that define two axes of rotation about which the mandible guard may rotate.
According to some embodiments disclosed herein, an attachment arrangement is provided whereby a wearer can easily attach and secure an accessory attachment member to a helmet mount. The attachment accessory member is initially attached to the helmet mount by engaging a helmet accessory attachment member mount with the helmet mount. For example, the accessory attachment member may include a slidable block that is inserted into an elongate slot of the helmet mount to initially attach the accessory attachment member to the helmet. A finger-actuatable lock may be used to secure the slidable block within the elongate slot. The structure of the lock may be such that unintentional disengagement of the lock is unlikely. The lock may include a pivot arm which allows for straightforward, finger-actuatable unlocking so that the wearer, without the use of a tool, can easily unlock the accessory attachment arm and remove the attachment accessory member from the slot to release the accessory attachment arm from the helmet mount.
In some embodiments, the accessory attachment member mount includes a slidable insert, such as a slidable block that engages with an elongate slot in the helmet mount, such as a rail attached to the helmet. In some embodiments, the elongate slot may be any structure that includes an opening and a receiving area to receive a portion of the accessory attachment member. For example, the elongate slot may include any suitably shaped recess or cutout sized to accept and retain a portion of a periphery of the movable member.
In some embodiments, the lock includes a protrusion with a first blocking surface. When the lock is in a disengaged position, the accessory attachment member mount is movable relative to the helmet mount. When the accessory attachment member mount is engaged with the helmet mount and the lock is in the locked position, the first blocking surface of the protrusion interacts with a second block surface of the helmet mount to prevent movement of the accessory attachment member relative to the helmet mount. In some embodiments, the second blocking surface is a restraint, a barrier, a narrowing channel, or other impediment which prevents motion of the accessory attachment member mount (such as the slidable block) toward the slot opening where the accessory attachment member mount may be released from the helmet mount.
The first blocking surface of the lock may be fixed to a lock actuator, and the blocking surface may be movable to a locked position in which the blocking surface protrudes from an underside of the slidable block in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the locking actuator is a pivot arm that moves the lock between the locked and unlocked positions without the use of a tool. For the sake of clarity, the embodiments herein are described with reference to a pivot arm, though other configurations of a lock actuator are contemplated.
When the pivot arm is initially in the unlocked position, the pivot arm may be biased toward the unlocked position for a first part of the rotation and toward the locked portion for a second part of the rotation. When the pivot arm is initially in the locked position, the pivot arm may be biased toward the locked position for part of the rotation and toward the unlocked position for a second part of the rotation. Such an arrangement may help keep the pivot arm in its existing state until the wearer intentionally moves the arm to the other state. For example, the pivot arm may be biased toward the locked position by a biasing element such as a spring, a cantilever, or other suitable device capable of applying a force to the pivoting member. In some embodiments, the pivoting member may not be biased. In some embodiments, the pivot arm is not biased throughout an entire rotation, but instead encounters a protrusion or other impediment that requires a threshold force on the pivot arm to overcome.
When it is desired to mount the mandible guard (or other accessory) to a helmet, a wearer positions the accessory attachment member mount, such as a slidable insert, in the opening of the elongate slot on the helmet mount. The slidable insert is then moved into the elongate slot away from the opening until a blocking portion engages with the helmet mount to prevent further sliding inwardly. Once the blocking portion abuts the mount, the user may rotate the pivot arm toward the locked position.
When the pivot arm is in the locked position, the first blocking surface of the lock engages with a corresponding groove in the elongate slot, and a blocking surface of the groove constrains the slidable block's movement within the slot. This constraint secures the accessory attachment member to the helmet mount and locks it into position.
To remove the accessory attachment member from the helmet mount, the user pulls the pivot arm toward the unlocked position. Due to a biasing element or other resistance, rotation of the pivot arm is resisted until a threshold force is achieved and/or a certain amount of rotation occurs. When the blocking surface is disengaged from the corresponding groove in the elongate slot, the slidable block may be slid toward the opening of the elongate slot and removed from the elongate slot. In some embodiments, this system permits a user to attach and remove the accessory attachment member from the helmet mount using a single hand.
Turning now to the figures,
In some embodiments, each accessory attachment member 106a, 106b includes an attachment arm 108a, 108b that extends from an accessory attachment member mount 110a, 110b to a mandible guard mount 112a, 112b. In such embodiments, the accessory attachment mount 110a, 110b engages with a respective helmet mount 114a, 114b on the helmet, and the mandible guard mount 112a, 112b is coupled to the mandible guard 104.
In one embodiment, as shown in
In some embodiments, when the mandible guard is in the protection position, the mandible guard is spaced from at least a portion of the face (e.g., the mouth and nose, to allow the wearer to breath). As will be appreciated, the mandible guard may be arranged to be completely spaced from the wearer's face so that the mandible guard does not contact the wearer 120. The mandible guard also may be arranged to contact at least a portion of the wearer. For example, a lower interior portion of the mandible guard (not shown) may have a padded cushion portion to cradle the wearer's chin and/or the bottom of a wearer's jaw.
As will be further appreciated, the mandible guard also may be arranged such that the position of the mandible guard with respect to the wearer's face may be adjusted when the mandible guard is attached to the helmet. For example, a wearer with a smaller face may be able to move the positon of the mandible guard closer to his or her face. In some embodiments, a position adjustment may require a multiple action process, such as a two or three action process. That is, a first action may include unsecuring a component, a second action may include adjusting the position and/or angle of the mandible guard, and a third action may include re-securing the component. In this manner, while in the protection position, the mandible guard may be maintained in a non-pivotal and non-movable configuration. When the wearer desires to adjust the mandible guard, a component may be loosened or otherwise unsecured to allow adjustment. For example, in some embodiments, one or more screws may be loosened to allowing pivoting of the mandible guard relative to the attachment arms. In some embodiments, a tool-less adjustment arrangement may be used, such as the arrangement shown in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0135417, which is hereby incorporated by reference. With this approach, the wearer may perform two actions—pressing on a pawl release mechanism and pivoting the mandible guard.
Accordingly, the mandible guard positioning may be adjusted by unsecuring a component and adjusting the mandible guard. However, to pivot the mandible guard away from the protection region, for example, about an axis that ultimately positions the mandible guard more to the left or right side of the helmet, the accessory attachment arm is detached from the helmet mount.
In some embodiments, when the mandible guard is secured to the helmet in the protection position and no adjustment components have been unsecured, the mandible guard does not pivot relative to the helmet when a force is applied to the mandible guard. In such embodiments, the attachment arms also may not pivot relative to the helmet when the mandible guard is secured to the helmet when a force is applied to the outer surface of the mandible guard. For example, the attachment arm 108a, 108b may include a rigid member made of a suitable material such as steel that does not deform when the mandible guard is in the protection position. In such embodiments, the mandible guard is arranged to not pivot or otherwise move inwardly.
According to some embodiments herein, the mandible guard is arranged to be moveable out of the protection position to permit access of at least a portion of the wearer's face. As shown in
The accessory attachment members 106a, 106b may then be fully secured to the helmet mounts by pivoting the pivot arms 116a, 116b downwardly until their respective lock protrusions are inserted into corresponding grooves in the rails 107 (see the arrow labeled C in
In the illustrated embodiment, two grooves 123b are arranged on each rail 117b to correspond to two lock protrusions on the corresponding accessory attachment member. Each groove 117 includes a respective blocking surface 127b that prevents movement of the corresponding lock protrusion toward the opening of the elongate slot 109. In some embodiments, a single groove and a single lock protrusion may be used. In other embodiments, three or more grooves and corresponding lock protrusions may be used. The one or more blocking surfaces of the helmet mount do not necessarily need to be formed within a groove, but may instead be positioned on a protrusion. Other embodiments of the accessory attachment system are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/284,454, filed Oct. 3, 2016 and entitled “Helmet Accessory Attachment System,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
As will be appreciated from the above, to remove one or both sides of the mandible guard, the previously-described steps may be performed in reverse. For example, the pivot arm 115a, 115b may be pivoted upwardly (in a direction opposed to the arrow labeled C) to remove the lock protrusions from the grooves in the rails. Next, the sliding insert 115a, 115b may be removed from the elongate slot 109 of the rails 107 (in a direction opposite the arrow labeled B).
As will be appreciated, although
As shown in
According to another aspect, a method of wearing a helmet assembly is disclosed. In some embodiments, the method includes placing a helmet on a wearer's head and attaching a mandible guard to the helmet for protecting the wearer's face, such as the wearer's mouth, nose and/or jaw. In some embodiments, attaching the mandible guard includes attaching and securing an accessory attachment member mount, such as a sliding insert, to a helmet mount, such as an elongate slot in a rail on the helmet. In some embodiments, when the mandible guard is secured to the helmet, the mandible guard is placed in a protection position over the wearer's face. In some embodiments, when the mandible guard is secured to the helmet, the mandible guard does not pivot relative to the helmet. In some embodiments, the helmet assembly includes an attachment arm extending between the accessory attachment member mount and a mandible guard mount affixed to the mandible guard. In such embodiments, the attachment arm may be pivotally connected to the mandible guard mount. When the mandible guard is secured to the helmet, the accessory arm also may not pivot with respect to the helmet.
In some embodiments, a method of accessing at least a portion of the wearer's face while the helmet is worn is disclosed. The method may include detaching a first accessory attachment member mount from a first helmet mount on a first side of the helmet. The method further includes moving the mandible guard outwardly and away from the wearer. In such an embodiment, the mandible guard may pivot with respect to the second attachment arm. In some embodiments, the mandible guard mount is hingedly connected to the attachment arm via a hinge. In some embodiments, the hinge has one pin defining a first axis of rotation about which the mandible guard pivots. In some embodiments, the hinge has two pins defining first and second axes of rotation about which the mandible guard rotates. When the mandible guard is in the outward position it may be placed adjacent to the attachment arm.
While the present teachings have been described in conjunction with various embodiments and examples, it is not intended that the present teachings be limited to such embodiments or examples. On the contrary, the present teachings encompass various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.
Various aspects of the present invention may be used alone, in combination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussed in the embodiments described in the foregoing and is therefore not limited in its application to the details and arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings. For example, aspects described in one embodiment may be combined in any manner with aspects described in other embodiments.
Also, the invention may be embodied as a method, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.
Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.
Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.
