Patent Application
20250049166
The invention generally relates to a visor assembly. The invention may also relate to a visor, an add-on component for a visor assembly, a method of manufacturing a visor, and a kit of parts comprising a visor and an add-on.
The visors and visor assemblies of the invention are particularly useful for personal protection equipment for facial and eye protection. Examples of preferred personal protection equipment include motorbike helmets, motorbike style helmets such as quad-bike, snowmobile, racing car and skiing helmets; heavy-duty protective visors, for example, ballistic face shields which may be used in riot helmets and visors for use by the emergency services; and/or goggles such as underwater diving goggles, motorcycle goggles or skiing goggles.
Visor assemblies comprising a visor with a lens releasably attached thereto by mechanical fastenings, are known.
In such visor assemblies the visor is more substantial than the lens and acts as a shield. In the case of motorbike style helmets the visor acts to protect a user's face from wind, rain, dirt and grit; and in the case of ballistic visors it acts to protect the user's face from more substantial projectiles and blows. Visors tend to extend over the eyes and that part of face adjacent the eyes. The visor may have different functions depending on usage. For example, for diving, the visor is arranged to aid underwater vision, motorcycle visors are used to protect a user's eyes from projectiles and dirt, and ballistic visors are used to protect a user's eyes from more substantial projectiles.
Visors may be provided in 1-dimensional (1-D) form, that is occupying a single plane so as to be flat; 2-dimensional (2-D) form, that is curved in one direction; or 3-dimensional (3-D) form, that is curved in two directions so as to be bowled. Lenses may be provided in appropriate shapes to fit to the surfaces of these various visor forms. In this respect, lenses may also be 1-D, 2-D or 3-D. 1-D lenses are used with 1-D visors; 1-D and 2-D lenses are used with 2-D visors; and 3-D lenses are used with 3-D visors. Also, a 2-D lens may be provided to a 3-D visor. The lens may then assume the shape of the 3-D visor over time.
The lens is typically utilized to provide an improved viewing window for the visor wearer. For example, the lens may be adapted to have an anti-condensation function to prevent misting-up of the viewing area. The lens may also or alternatively be provided with tinting to give improved viewing in varying light conditions. The viewing area of the visor and/or the lens is the area through which the user looks.
To attach the lens to the visor, use is often made of separate mechanical fastening means such as rivets which are placed in and extend through premade, e.g. drilled, holes in the visor, which rivets engage with the lens lateral sides. This arrangement can be disadvantageous because it may require an extra production step of drilling holes through the visor, which may affect its structural integrity, lead to additional production flaws and have a negative effect on the tolerances of the assembly.
An example of a known helmet visor assembly is provided in WO96/16563, which discloses an anti-condensation visor which comprises an outer visor comprising a retaining means having a blind rivet, around which a plastic bush is fitted. The blind rivet is fitted on the outer visor through an opening in the outer visor. The mechanical retaining means grips the inner visor to secure it in the visor assembly.
Another example is provided in US2013/0129449A1, which discloses a mounting structure comprising a plurality of seat parts which is rotatably fitted into a support hole in the shield. This mounting structure is provided with an eccentric shaft which may rotate through 180° between an unlock position and a lock position to allow the placement of the anti-fog sheet. A wrench or a spanner is required to rotate a retaining member such that the mounting structure provides the unlocked and locked positions.
A further example is provided in EP1095577A2, which discloses a visor for a helmet having an outer section of injection-moulded plastics. The outer shield of the visor comprises two inwardly extending projections which are injection-moulded in one piece with the outer shield of the visor. While this example does not require an additional processing step to fabricate a hole for the attachment of a separate mechanical fastening means, it diminishes the variability of different lenses that can be provided to the visor assembly.
It is therefore desirable to provide a visor assembly with an improved attachment for a lens, such as an anti-condensation lens, that has benefits and/or overcomes one or more disadvantages in the prior art assemblies. Exemplary benefits may be achievement of an improved flexibility of the visor variability, preferably while also providing a more efficient production process and improved structural integrity and optical characteristics.
The present invention addresses these problems by providing a visor assembly comprising: an injection moulded visor; and a lens coupled to the visor; wherein the visor comprises at least two protrusions extending from a surface of the visor, said protrusions being integrally formed with the visor; at least one add-on component attached, preferably releasably attached, to one of the at least two protrusions; said add-on component providing an outer abutment surface arranged to engage with a lateral side of the lens; and the lens is coupled to the visor by engagement with the abutment surface of the at least one add-on component, preferably wherein the lens is compressed between the at least two protrusions or is held is tension by the two protrusions.
By virtue of providing such a visor assembly, there is no need to drill a hole through the visor after manufacturing. This can assist in simplifying the production process, potentially leading to higher efficiency and higher precision since a manual step is removed.
An alternative to the provision of drilled holes may be to provide an injection-moulded visor with injection-moulded holes in which a rivet may be housed. This may provide acceptable results in some contexts, however, injection moulding a visor with holes would require that the mould be provided with sliders to get the visor out of the mould. Such sliders could result in aesthetically unpleasing lines in the surface, which may also affect the structural integrity of the visor, and/or visibility therethrough.
A visor is often coated with an anti-scratch coating. As such, if a hole is injection-moulded, such a coating leaves a residue in the hole, which influences the hole size. As such, even if an injection-moulded hole would be viable from a production perspective, it is disadvantageous as it alters the tolerances of the hole size of the visor.
By integrally injection-moulding at least two protrusions to which the lens may be attached, no hole is necessary. This may lead to an increased structural integrity, an increased manufacturing efficiency, and an increased aesthetic appearance.
Furthermore, by providing at least one protrusion with at least one add-on component, the visor assembly may be easily adjusted to a particular lens or a particular user requirement. For example, the size of the add-on component may be adjusted overtime to tighten the fit of the lens provided on a surface of the visor. It is possible that a lens partly shrinks overtime, causing the engagement of the visor to loosen. In such an event, the provision of a replaceable add-on component provides the option to re-tighten the engagement of the lens with the visor. This may be done by replacing the add-on component with a larger add-on component. In other embodiments, the shape of the add-on component may be adjusted so that it has a variable width with respect to the protrusion of the visor. In this manner, the variable placement of the add-on component may be adjusted to suit a particular need of the user or the lens.
In a preferred embodiment, the add-on components are releasably attached to the protrusions. In an embodiment, the protrusions are provided at an edge-region of the visor, preferably at opposing lateral edge regions of the visor. By providing the protrusions at edge regions of the visor, the protrusions may engage with the lens outside of a viewing region of a user.
In an embodiment, the protrusions are provided on an inner surface of the visor. The inner surface of the visor is understood to be the surface facing the user during the use of the visor in e.g. a helmet. The outer surface of the visor is the surface facing the external environment.
In addition, by providing the inner surface of the visor with injection-moulded protrusions, the outer surface of the visor remains uninterrupted. That is, no hole or other mechanical fastening means are necessary on the outer surface of the visor to attach a lens on the inner surface of the visor. Having an uninterrupted, or continuous outer surface of the visor may provide reductions in wind noise as the visor assembly is used in e.g. motorcycle helmets. Furthermore, if a coating such as an anti-scratch coating is provided to the visor, such a coating is distributed over the entire surface of the visor. The absence of holes may improve the durability of such coatings.
In an additional or alternative embodiment, the protrusions may be provided on an outer surface of the visor, preferably at opposing lateral edge regions of the outers surface of the visor. In this case, the protrusions may be utilized to receive laminated removable lenses. In such an embodiment, the provision of at least one add-on component is preferred but not required. In this embodiment, there is provided a visor comprising at least two protrusions extending from an outer surface of the visor, said protrusions being integrally formed with the visor, said protrusions being arranged to be received in holes defined in at least one removable lens. In a preferred embodiment, the protrusions are arranged to releasably receive at least one add-on component defining an abutment surface arranged to engage with the holes in the at least one removable lens. In a preferred embodiment, said protrusions or said at least one add-on component are arranged to engage with a plurality of laminated removable lenses.
In an embodiment, the protrusions extend substantially orthogonal to the surface of the visor. By having the protrusions extend substantially orthogonal to the surface of the visor, their angle with the lens in the assembly is sufficiently acute to maintain a tight position of the lens with respect to the visor. In other embodiments, the protrusions may define an angle of between about 300 and 90°, preferably of between about 500 and 90°, more preferably of between about 700 and 90°. In an embodiment, the protrusions on either side of the visor may extend substantially parallel. In this embodiment, the angle of the protrusion with the surface of the visor is dependent on the curvature of the visor itself. Having two protrusions extend substantially parallel from the surface of the visor assembly is advantageous during manufacturing as there is no requirement of deforming the visor to retrieve the visor, and in particular the protrusions, from the mould.
In an embodiment, a lateral cross-section of the protrusions defines an oval shape, preferably a circular shape.
In an embodiment, a lateral cross-section of the protrusions defines a non-circular shape, preferably wherein the lateral cross-section of the protrusions defines a shape which is rectangular, square, star-shaped, or triangular.
In an embodiment, the add-on component comprises an opening arranged to receive the protrusion, preferably wherein the opening has a shape corresponding to a cross-sectional shape of the protrusion.
The provision of such a lateral cross-section of the protrusions defining a non-circular shape may allow various positioning options of the add-on component having a correspondingly shaped opening. In particular, having e.g. a square cross-sectional shape, allows for four distinct positioning options of the add-on component. The add-on component may have a shape defined such that the distance from the opening to its periphery is not constant. In such an embodiment, different positioning of the add-on component may be used to adjust the distance from the abutment surface to the opening of the add-on component. If a lens is not engaged with the abutment surface tightly enough, the add-on component may be provided in a different position to increase the pressure between the abutment surface and the lens. An advantage of having an opening defining a non-circular shape is that e.g. pressure of the lens or vibrations cannot alter the positioning of the add-on component. In the embodiment where the opening of the add-on component defines a circular shape, the add-on component may be pushed back into a less tensioned position due to e.g. the pressure of the lens or vibrations during use.
In an embodiment, an add-on component is releasably attached to each of the at least two protrusions.
In an embodiment, the abutment surface extends at least partly around a periphery of the add-on component, said periphery defining a shape which is non-circular, preferably wherein the shape is oval, rectangular, square, star-shaped, or triangular.
By providing an abutment surface extending at least partly around a non-circular periphery of the add-on component, the distance from the opening defined in the add-on component is made variable. This allows for re-positioning of the add-on component and thus adjusting the tension on the lens. In an embodiment where the opening of the add-on component is circular, such adjustment is gradual. In an embodiment where the opening of the add-on component is non-circular, such adjustment is incremental. In an alternative embodiment, wherein such adjustment of the distance between the periphery and the opening is not necessary, the periphery may be circular.
In an embodiment, the opening of the add-on component is provided away from a centre of the periphery so that the periphery defines an eccentric shape in relation to the opening.
The provision of an eccentric add-on component is another way in which the distance between the lens and the protrusion may be adjusted. If the rotational position of the add-on component is changed with respect to the protrusion, the distance between the lens and the protrusion is also adjusted, thereby providing the possibility of adjusting the tension on the lens. This may be achieved by providing an eccentric shape of the add-on component. In such an embodiment, the periphery may define any desirable shape such as e.g. circular, oval, rectangular, square, triangular, or star-shaped. The centre of the periphery is defined as the geometrical centre-point of the shape defined by the periphery.
In an embodiment, the material of the add-on component is one of polycarbonate, nylon, or an elastic material having a Shore A hardness of 50-95, preferably 60-90, more preferably 65-80, most preferably of about 70.
In an embodiment, the abutment surface comprises an elastically deformable material having a Shore A hardness of 50-95, preferably 60-90, more preferably 65-80, most preferably of about 70.
The Shore A scale is used to measure the hardness of elastomers, rubber-like materials, and elastomer materials like polyurethane. The method of Shore A hardness measurement is one using a durometer as described in standard ISO 7619-1:2010.
A visor assembly wherein the abutment surface comprises an elastically deformable material provides increased stability of the lens and limits the detrimental effects of vibrations of the lens in the visor assembly. The possibility of changing the add-on component allows for flexibility in providing different degrees of elasticity to meet the requirements of particular usages of the visor assembly. In an embodiment, an engagement member is provided on the inner side of the opening in the add-on component. Such an engagement member may comprise an elastic material, such as a rubber ring.
In an embodiment, the protrusions comprise attachments arranged to engage with the add-on component, wherein preferably the attachments comprise hooks, barbs, a roughened surface, a local thickening, or an elastic surface.
The attachments may be advantageous to keep the add-on component engaged with the protrusions, even under e.g. vibrating conditions. This is particularly advantageous in embodiments wherein the protrusions are provided under a less acute angle with respect to the visor, such that the lens may provide a force leading to potential disengagement of the add-on component from the protrusion. The provision of an additional attachment to the protrusions may increase the stability of the add-on component. In an alternative or additional embodiment, the attachments may be provided in the opening of the add-on component.
In an embodiment, the lens comprises two notches, arranged to laterally receive the add-on component and/or the protrusion. In an embodiment, the notches are elongated such that they allow for movement of the add-on component in the notches such that the lens may be moved in an upward or downward direction once it is coupled to the visor.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an injection moulded visor, comprising at least two protrusions extending from a surface of the visor, said protrusions being integrally formed with the visor, and wherein the at least two protrusions are arranged to receive at least one add-on component, said add-on component defining an abutment surface arranged to engage with a lateral side of a lens, preferably wherein at least one of said two protrusions is provided with said add-on.
In an embodiment, the protrusions are provided at an edge-region of the visor, preferably at opposing lateral edge regions of the visor.
In an embodiment, the protrusions are provided on an inner surface of the visor. In an embodiment, the protrusions extend substantially orthogonal to the surface of the visor.
In an embodiment, a lateral cross-section of the protrusions defines a circular shape.
In an embodiment, a lateral cross-section of the protrusions defines a non-circular shape, preferably wherein the lateral cross-section of the protrusions defines a shape which is oval, rectangular, square, star-shaped, or triangular.
In an embodiment, the protrusions comprise attachments arranged to engage with the add-on component, wherein preferably the attachments comprise hooks, barbs, a roughened surface, a local thickening, or an elastic surface.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an add-on component comprising an opening arranged to receive a protrusion of a visor, said add-on component defining an abutment surface extending at least partly around a periphery of the add-on component, said abutment surface being arranged to engage with a lateral side of a lens.
In an embodiment, said periphery defines a shape which is circular, oval, rectangular, square, star-shaped, or triangular. In an embodiment, the opening is provided away from a centre of the periphery so that the periphery defines an eccentric shape in relation to the opening. In an embodiment, the opening defines a circular shape.
In an embodiment, the opening defines a non-circular shape, preferably wherein the opening defines a shape which is oval, rectangular, square, star-shaped, or triangular.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a visor according to any of the embodiments described hereinbefore, comprising the steps of: providing a mould defining the shape of a visor having two protrusions being integrally formed with the visor; injecting pressurized liquid material at a first temperature into the mould; cooling the mould to a temperature lower than the first temperature; and extracting the visor from the mould.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a kit of parts comprising: a visor according to any of the embodiments described hereinbefore; and at least one add-on component according to any of the embodiments described hereinbefore.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a helmet, the helmet comprising a visor assembly according to any of the embodiments described herein. In an embodiment, the helmet comprises a visor assembly comprising: an injection moulded visor; and a lens coupled to the visor; wherein the visor comprises at least two protrusions extending from a surface of the visor, said protrusions being integrally formed with the visor; at least one add-on component attached, preferably releasably attached, to one of the at least two protrusions; said add-on component providing an outer abutment surface arranged to engage with a lateral side of the lens; and the lens is coupled to the visor by engagement with the abutment surface of the at least one add-on component, preferably wherein the lens is compressed between the at least two protrusions or is held is tension by the two protrusions.
The features and advantages of the invention will be appreciated upon reference to the following drawings, in which:
The following is a description of certain embodiments of the invention, given by way of example only and with reference to the drawings. Referring to
The visor 2 comprises a concave surface and comprises two protrusions 5. In
In the shown embodiment, the height of the add-on component 4 is low, relative to e.g. the embodiment of
Furthermore, the opening 6 and the protrusion 5 may be of different shapes to the triangular shapes shown in the
The opening 6 and the protrusion 5 may also define a round shape, which leads to a analogue, non-discrete positioning of the add-on component 4 on the protrusion 5. That is, the add-on component 4 may be rotated about the protrusion 5 and take any position, dependent on the user requirements. In this embodiment, the add-on component 4 does not need to be lifted from the protrusion 5 but may rather be turned while remaining attached to the protrusion 5.
The lens 3 is kept in place by the tension provided to a lateral side 31 of the lens by the add-on component 4. On the other side, not shown, the lens 3 may be kept in place by tension provided by the protrusion 5 or an add-on component 4, attached to the protrusion 5.
In the shown embodiment, the lens 3 comprises a notch 8, which is arranged to laterally receive the add-on component 4. The notch 8 in
If the lens 3 changes in size by e.g. shrinking or expanding, the add-on component 4 may be replaced or rotated to attain a different distance between the protrusion 5 and the lens 3. As a result, the tension on the lens 3 may be maintained, even if the lens 3 is changed in size. Furthermore, if a different lens 3 is provided to the visor 2 altogether, the different lens 3 having a different shape than the previous lens, the add-on components 4 may be similarly interchanged or rotated to adjust the distance between the protrusions 5 and the lens 3. As such, the lenses 3 do not need to be exactly the same shape to be fitted into the visor 2 and the same visor 2 may be used, even if the lenses 3 differ in size. As such, the visor 2 may be maintained coupled to the helmet 1 if the user wishes to use a different lens 3.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the add-on component 4 may be replaced, but with a different orientation. As shown in
Referring now to
The add-on component 4 comprises an outer abutment surface 41, which is arranged to engage with a lateral side 31 of the lens 3. The pressure between the outer abutment surface 41 and the lens 3 provides the tension on the lens 3 to keep it under tension and coupled to the visor 2. In a preferred embodiment, the abutment surface 41 is concave, limiting the movement of the lens 3 along the height of the add-on component 4. That is, by providing the abutment surface with a concave surface, the lens 3 has a balanced position in the middle of the height of the add-on component 4. This limits the possibilities of the lens 3 vibrating upwards, and thus limits the possibility of the lens 3 disengaging with the visor 2. In the shown embodiment of
The lens 3 further comprises a peripheral gasket 7, provided around a peripheral region of the lens 3. The gasket 7 provides a seal between the lens 3 and the visor 2 to prevent the ingress of moisture and/or dirt. The height of the gasket 7, in part, determines the required height of the add-on component 4 on the protrusion 5.
As shown in
Referring now to
Referring now to
Thus, the invention has been described by reference to certain embodiments discussed above. It will be recognized that these embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms well known to those of skill in the art. For example, the openings 6 of the add-on components 4 may be varied to attain certain positions of the add-on component relative to the visor 2, thus adjusting the tension to the lens 3 in different manners. Further, the peripheral shape of the add-on components 4 may be varied such that the combination of the peripheral shape of the add-on components 4 and the shape and location of the opening 6 tension the lens 3 in different manners.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a kit of parts comprising: a visor 2 according to any of the embodiments described hereinbefore and at least one add-on component 4 according to any of the embodiments described hereinbefore. In particular, the kit of parts may comprise any of the add-on components 4 as provided in the example embodiments of
Further modifications in addition to those described above may be made to the structures and techniques described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, although specific embodiments have been described, these are examples only and are not limiting upon the scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2030153 | Dec 2021 | NL | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2022/086311 | 12/16/2022 | WO |
