Hard hat with double protection face shield

Abstract

A hard hat comprises a body (2) having a rigid outer shell (3) adapted to protect the head of a user with which there is associated a movable face shield (8) adapted to protect the face of a user; said face shield (8) can be extended on the face of the user.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a hard hat according to the preamble of the main claim.

[0002] The hard hat of the present invention is of the type adapted to be used both for carrying out work activities (in a factory, on electrical power lines, in electrical power distribution cabinets, in construction worksites or the like) and for carrying out public service activities like the ones carried out by firefighters or civil protection operators. A such hard hat will be indicated in the present document as "hard hat" to differentiate it from a motorcycle helmet or the like.

[0003] A hard hat of the type mentioned above comprises an outer rigid shell adapted to protect the head of the person wearing the hard hat from external knocks or impacts. Such rigid shell may cover the head even up to protecting the ears of such person.

[0004] At a front part thereof, the hard hat carries a movable or fixed face visor or shield adapted to cover the face of the person mentioned above when needed. Such face shield may be of the type adapted to cover the face of the user so as to mainly protect the eyes thereof or it can be of the type adapted to fully cover the face of the user, up to and beyond the chin thereof.

[0005] The different type of face shield obviously depends on the intended use of the hard hat. For example, the face shield which fully covers the face of the person wearing the hard hat is compulsory when the user is working in an environment where there is electric current and where there may be electric arcs which could affect the lower parts of the face of the user.

[0006] Usually, the hard hats of the type mentioned above are therefore made with full-face shields (that is which fully cover the face of the user) or partial shields (that is which cover only part of the face of the person wearing the hard hat, in particular protecting the eyes). This forces the manufacturers of hard hats to diversify their range of products, while still maintaining available both types of hard hats or better maintaining various types of face shields or visors to be applied to their visors always available. At the same time, the users must always have at their disposal the two types of hard hats (with full or partial face shield) depending on the tasks to be carried out. This can be cumbersome or entails higher costs for the user in any case.

[0007] US9456649 describes a protective helmet comprising a shell, a support element mounted on the shell, on the outer side thereof and above the face opening, and at least one first visor mounted rotatable with respect to the shell around a pin axis, between a lowered use position and a high retracted position. Between the support element and the shell there is provided for an articulation means which allows said support element to rotate with respect to the shell around a transversal axis located in proximity of the support element, between a lowered use position, in which said support element covers a portion of the shell, and a raised position. Furthermore, there is provided for a locking means for locking the support element in the lowered position.

[0008] US5467480 describes a system for supporting at least one visor on a helmet, the visor being movable om a slide between an operative position and a receded position. The system according to the invention comprises, on each side of the hard hat, a support and guide part comprising the slide, and retained on the hard hat firstly by a fastening device, and secondly by a retention device which prevents the part from exiting from the hard hat. In the release position, the fastening device fully releases the part. However, the part remains fastened to the hard hat using the retention device so as to allow the movement thereof in the position from which the visor can be removed from the slide without impacting against the shell of the hard hat.

[0009] US3721994 describes a safety helmet open on the face, comprising a coloured outer visor and a transparent inner visor, fixed between the arched guide on both sides of the opening on the face. In an inoperative position, both visors are retracted at the rear of the shell which is located at the front part of the headgear. Both visors can be extended along the area of the eyes of the face opening by combining a locking knob fixed on the outer visor which extends through an opening in the shell and fins formed on the upper edge of the outer visor so as to be hooked to the upper edge of the inner visor. The position of the outer visor is determined by the position of the knob in the opening, while the inner visor is simply held in position by friction bearings.

[0010] US3585638A described a safety helmet comprising: a shell adapted to receive the head of the wearer; a first and a second eye protection or visor; guide means fixed to the shell and which receive the edges of both eye protections for the guided movement of each eye protection or visor between a protection position in front of the eyes of the user and a retracted position above the front part of the shell. There is also provided for a covering plate which extends through and in spaced relation to the front part of said shell and delimits therewith a recess which opens downwards to receive the eye protections in retracted position.

[0011] An object of the present invention is to provide a hard hat that has increased functionalities with respect to the prior art hard hats.

[0012] Another object is to provide a hard hat of the type mentioned above that is multifunctional or for multipurpose use.

[0013] A further object is to provide a hard hat that allows to reduce the costs borne by the users to purchase the hard hats with different face shields to be used for carrying out different tasks.

[0014] Another object is to provide a hard hat which allows the manufacturers to reduce the manufacturing costs and spaces for storing hard hats adapted to be used for work purposes or for different interventions.

[0015] These and other objects which shall be apparent to the person skilled in the art are attained by a hard hat according to the attached claims.

[0016] For a better understanding of the present invention, the following drawings are attached hereto, purely by way of non-limiting example, wherein: figure 1 shows a perspective view of a hard hat according to the invention in a first embodiment; figure 2 shows a lateral view of the hard hat of figure 1; figure 3 shows a front view of the hard hat of figure 1; figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view according to line 4-4 of figure 3; figure 5 shows an enlarged view of the detail indicated with A in figure 2; figure 6 shows an enlarged view of the detail indicated with B in figure 4; figure 7 shows a perspective view of the hard hat of figure 1 in a different embodiment; figure 8 shows a lateral view of the hard hat of figure 7; figure 9 shows a front view of the hard hat of figure 7; figure 10 shows a cross-sectional view according to line 10-10 of figure 9; figure 11 shows a perspective view of the hard hat of figure 1 in a further different embodiment; and figure 12 shows a section according to line 12-12 of figure 11.

[0017] With reference to the figures mentioned above, a hard hat is generally indicated with 1 and it comprises a body 2 having a rigid shell 3 adapted to protect the head of a user wearing it. The rigid shell 3 may have different embodiments: in the example, it is adapted to protect the head and its rear part, but not the ears of the user. Obviously, such conformation is provided solely by way of example and the rigid shell 3 that is the body 2 of the hard hat may have any conformation.

[0018] The rigid shell 3 may have possible ventilation holes 5, usual ribs 6 on an outer surface thereof 3K and a front opening 7 adapted to delimit the face of the user. At such front opening 7 there is present a face shield or visor 8 which is preferably of the movable type with respect to the rigid shell 3. Therefore, said face shield is described hereinafter.

[0019] In the embodiment of the figures, the face shield 8 is adapted to be "raised" from the use position above the face of the user, by sliding in the rigid shell 3 along guides 10 arranged on the opposite sides 3A and 3B of the shell 3 and therein. To this end, an inner wall 13 of the rigid shell 3 supports, at as short distance therefrom, each guide 10 along which there may slide a corresponding prior art slider 15 carried by a first end 16 of the face shield 8. The latter may therefore be positioned at such inner wall 13, in the hard hat 1, when raised from the face of the user.

[0020] Obviously, the present invention also applies to hard hats where the face shield 8 is externally hinged to the sides 3A and 3B of the rigid shell 3, which can therefore be raised above the body 2 of the hard hat 1.

[0021] The face shield 8 comprises a first portion 20 having, when present, the aforementioned slider 15 carried at the front part 16 thereof, and a second portion 21 which is slidably associated with the first portion 20. In an embodiment shown in the figures, such second portion 21 is arranged externally to the first portion. Such position is advantageous for the ease and comfort of use of the hard, for occupying the space and for the movement of the face shield; however, the scope of the present invention also includes the variant according to which the second portion 21 is arranged between the face of the user and the first portion 20 that is the solution according to which the second portion slides inside the first portion 20. It should be observed that "inner" and "internally" and "outer" or "externally" referring to the second portion 21, shall be understood to refer to the position of such portion 26 with respect to the shell 3: "inner" or "internally" shall be understood closer to the shell 3; "outer" or "externally" shall be understood farther than the shell 3 (with respect to the first portion 20).

[0022] In the embodiment of the figures, the second portion 21, arranged above the first portion 20, has a part 25 which can be moved with respect to a second end 26 of the first portion 20 with respect to which it can be superimposed.

[0023] From each side of such part 25 there extend wings 28 superimposed to the first portion 20 and carrying pins 29 adapted to slide in a guided manner in slots or elongated through holes 30 obtained in such first portion 20, said slots 30 being however covered by said wings 28 so as to appropriately protect the face of the user. Such pins and slots form guide means for the sliding of the second portion 21 on the first 20.

[0024] Therefore, the second portion 21 of the face shield 8 may slide on the first portion 20 and take two operative positions: in a first position (figures 1-6), the part 25 of the second portion 21 is superimposed with respect to the second end 26 of the first portion 20 (see figure 4). In this case, the face shield 8 partially covers the face of the user, for example at least the eyes thereof.

[0025] In the second operative position (figures 7-10), instead, the part 25 of the second portion 21 protrudes from the second end 26 and the face shield 8 fully covers the face of the user.

[0026] This is obtained by sliding the pins 29 in the slots 30 and carrying such pins from a proximal position and a first end 30A of such slots to a position proximal to the second end 30B of such slots.

[0027] Such pins 29 are integrally joined with the bodies 34 with high coefficient of friction adapted to prevent any unwanted movement of the second portion 21 of the face shield 8 with respect to the first portion, a movement that the user generates by forcing the sliding of such body 34 along the slots 30. This for the purposes of safety of the user of the hard hat 1.

[0028] The bodies 34 define locking means adapted to prevent an unwanted movement of the second portion 21 with respect to the first portion 20. This allows to maintain such portions 20 and 21 in the positions that the user selects without having a relative movement thereof which unintentionally moves them away from such positions.

[0029] The locking means can also be of different type and provide for coupling members, screw members, pressure members adapted to lock the second portion 21 on the first portion 20 and to allow the movement thereof only when desired by the user.

[0030] The hard hat according to the invention combines in itself two types of protection hard hats, one adapted for the partial protection of the face, for example, useful to a user working in environments with potential hazard for the eyes and adapted to fully protect the face of the user, for example, for a user which operates in environments with potential hazard for the face (e.g. in an electric transformation cabinet).

[0031] This provides significant versatility to the product which is multifunctional, this being beneficial both to the end user and the manufacturer.

[0032] Solutions in which the face shield can be raised and movable with respect to the hard hat have been described and mentioned above. However, even hard hats with fixed face shield can be obtained with the characteristics of the invention that is having a fixed part and a slidable part thereon, as described above. These characteristics are however defined by the claims that follow.

Claims

1. Hard hat comprising a body (2) having a rigid shell (3) adapted to protect the head of a user, with said rigid shell (3) there being associated a face shield (8) adapted to be positioned frontally with respect to the face of the user, said face shield (8) comprising a first and a second portion (20, 21) slidably associated with each other and adapted to allow to modify the extension of such face shield, there being provided for guide means (29, 30) for the movement of the second portion (21) on the first (20) and locking means (34) adapted to prevent the relative free sliding of such parts with respect to each other, with said second portion (21) of the face shield there being associated pins (29) slidable in guides (30) provided for in the first portion (20) of the face shield, said pins (29) and said guides (30) being provided for laterally on said portions (20, 21), characterised in that the locking means are bodies (34) with high coefficient of friction associated with said guide means and cooperating with such guide means, said bodies (34) with high coefficient of friction being associated with the pins (29) and cooperating with a corresponding guide (30).

2. Hard hat according to claim 1, characterised in that said pins (29) are associated with wings (28) of the second portion (21) of the face shield (8) adapted to always cover the guides (30) provided for in the first portion (20) of the face shield.

3. Hard hat according to claim 1, characterised in that said face shield (8) is movable with respect to the rigid shell (3).

4. Hard hat according to claim 3, characterised in that said face shield (8) is alternatively hinged to the rigid shell (3) or it is slidably associated therewith.

5. Hard hat according to claim 1, characterised in that the second portion (21) of the face shield has a part (25) adapted to be superimposed to an end part (26) of the first portion (20) of the face shield in a first operative position of said face shield, in a second operative position of said face shield, such part (25) of the second portion (21) mentioned above being arranged beyond the end part (26) of said first portion (20) of the face shield.

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