Patent Application
20240148097
In military or other situations involving extreme danger, where there might be an elevated risk of projectiles hitting the face causing life changing facial disfigurement, it is desirable to have a face shield to protect the wearer of the helmet. Often times, the face shield adds considerable heat, weight or other discomfort to the wearer. In many situations, the wearer needs to be acutely aware of their surroundings, so visibility is important, even peripheral vision. What is needed is a transparent face protector which provides visibility at least from the wearer's perspective, yet is durable and strong enough to resist impacts that might be encountered in the field.
In a preferred aspect, the present disclosure sets forth a face protector to shield a face of a wearer. The face protector includes a transparent lower face covering portion, the portion being: an ambidextrous hinge release permitting opening of the facial protection system from either side to access the mouth and nose; opposed vertically adjustable attachment arms configured to position the face covering; an adaptor on one end of each vertical attachment arm configured to engage with a corresponding attachment rail; a horizontal adjustment arm configured to position the face covering to ensure sufficient clearance from the user's face; and a horizontal adjustment arm configured to position the face covering to ensure sufficient clearance from the user's face when wearing a tactical respirator. The lower face covering portion is adjustably fixed to the approximate vertical attachment arms by an attachment means permitting movement of the transparent lower face covering portion through a swivelling motion.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed, unless otherwise stated. In the present specification and claims, the word “comprising” and its derivatives including “comprises” and “comprise” include each of the stated integers, but does not exclude the inclusion of one or more further integers. The claims as filed with this application are hereby incorporated by reference in the description.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of one or more forms of the invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Generally vertical attachment arms 104 and generally horizontal attachment arms are preferably made of a heat resistant plastic or hybrid material, such as a carbon fibre-impregnated material, to optimise strength while remaining lightweight.
One vertical attachment arm 104 and one horizontal attachment arm may be positioned on each side of the face protector 100 as shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Face protector 100 may be moulded into different shapes to suit different applications, such as a motorcycle helmet, or to integrate with a respirator or filter system to be worn concurrently. For military applications, face protector 100 may include a concave indent 112 (shown in
As shown in
Referring to
The transparent material may be between 2 to 5 millimetres in thickness. The height of lower face covering portion 102 between a bottom (chin) to top (covering nose) may be in a range between 7 to 12 cm. It will be appreciated that the dimensions may be varied depending upon the intended wearer size.
The transparent material provides a level of protection without obstructing, minimising or occluding the direct field of view at the lower limit of maximum eye rotation (up to 40° below a horizontal plane projecting central to the wearer's eye). The transparent material is see-through from the wearer's side and may also be see-through from the outside. Alternatively, the face protector may be slightly opaque or translucent, or mirror-like from the observer's view to partially or completely obscure the wearer's identity if desired. The transparent material is preferably scratch-proof. It may be fitted with tear-away clear protective sheets on the outer surface to further protect from scratches, and prolong the life of the transparent face protector. The transparent material preferably has anti-fogging properties, which may include air flow channels or vents to physically prevent fogging.
Either side of lower face covering portion 102 of the face protector may be openable with clasp and clip assembly 106, that preferably incorporates a hinge, and the opposing side of the lower face covering portion 102 of the face protector may be secured with assembly 106 to enable horizontal opening of the face protector to provide unobstructed access to the nose and mouth to enable clear speech and not interfere with eating. This dual clasp, hinge, and clip mechanism advantageously enables one handed opening from either the left or the right side.
The foregoing description is by way of example only, and may be varied considerably without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The features described with respect to one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments, or combined with or interchanged with the features of other embodiments, as appropriate, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
The present disclosure in a preferred form provides the advantage of being lightweight whilst still highly protective. The present disclosure in a preferred form provides the advantage of being interchangeable between helmets, to suit helmets worn by different users, for different activities. This means the face protector may be used more often than if it was permanently affixed to a helmet designed for a one-sized user, or for one specific purpose (e.g., combat or motorcycle riding). The present disclosure in a preferred form also provides the advantages of anti-scratch and anti-fog properties which are beneficial when the covering portion is transparent. In addition, the present disclosure in a preferred form provides the advantage of being adjustable and moveable, to facilitate clear speech and ability of the user to eat while wearing the helmet. In addition, the present disclosure in a preferred form provides the advantage of being able to be operated by the left or right side by one hand and is therefore suited to both left and right-handed users.
Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of forms of the embodiments disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021902673 | Aug 2021 | AU | national |
This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/297,600, filed Apr. 8, 2023, which is a Continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2022/050973, filed Aug. 24, 2022, which claims the benefit of and priority to Australian Patent Application No. 2021902673, filed Aug. 24, 2021, the contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 18297600 | Apr 2023 | US |
| Child | 18416876 | US | |
| Parent | PCT/AU2022/050973 | Aug 2022 | US |
| Child | 18297600 | US |
