Helmet

Abstract

To provide a helmet that uses an impact absorbing liner that keeps an impact absorbing body in contact with an inner surface of a cap body, suppresses an expansion and contraction of a leg part when subjected to an external impact, and makes it difficult for a connection part to come off.SOLUTION: A helmet of the present invention has a cap body, a headband, and a hammock, and is provided with an impact absorbing liner for absorbing an external impact within the cap body, in which the impact absorbing liner has a plurality of impact absorbing parts for absorbing an impact, a leg part having a predetermined longitudinal direction, and a connecting engagement part that connects a tip of the leg part to the cap body, and the leg part has a leg correction part that is elastic and urges the leg part outward while absorbing longitudinal expansion and contraction due to the external impact.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an impact absorbing liner for a helmet, which is provided with leg correction portions in the leg portions. [Background technology]

[0002] Previously, safety helmets have had impact-absorbing liners made of styrene material. While styrene liners are effective in absorbing impact to a certain extent, they tend to trap heat in the summer, and in recent years, helmets have been developed that have impact absorbers made of resin protrusions inside the helmet body, as shown in Patent Document 1. Meanwhile, as shown in Patent Document 2, helmets have also been developed that maintain protrusions away from the helmet body to limit external impacts. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5591984 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6883337 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the prior art described in Patent Document 2, the protrusions are separated from the cap body, which does not provide a sense of security to the user, and it is thought that the deformation of the cap body will vary depending on the position and magnitude of the impact. Therefore, it is preferable that the shock absorbing body maintains contact with the inner surface of the cap body. In addition, there is a concern that the cap body will deform due to an external impact, causing the legs of the shock absorbing liner to expand and contract, resulting in the connection to the cap body becoming detached.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention provides a helmet using an impact absorbing liner equipped with an impact absorber, which maintains contact of the impact absorber with the inner surface of the cap body while suppressing expansion and contraction of the legs when subjected to an external impact, making it difficult for the connection points to come loose. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the helmet of the present invention has a shell, a headband, and a hammock, and is equipped with an impact absorbing liner for absorbing external impacts within the shell, wherein the impact absorbing liner has a plurality of impact absorbing sections for absorbing impacts, legs having a predetermined longitudinal direction, and connecting engagement sections that connect to the shell at the tips of the legs, and the legs have leg correction sections that absorb longitudinal expansion and contraction due to external impacts while biasing the legs outward.

[0007] It is also preferable that the leg correction portion has an outwardly protruding shape.

[0008] Furthermore, the leg portion comprises a leg correction portion, a base leg that is the base end side of the leg correction portion, and a tip leg that is the tip end side of the leg correction portion, and the base leg has a base leg protrusion that protrudes outward, and the tip leg has a tip leg protrusion that protrudes outward, and it is preferable that the protruding ends of the base leg protrusion and the tip leg protrusion are located outward from the protruding end of the leg correction portion.

[0009] Furthermore, it is preferable that the connecting engagement portions at the tips of the legs are engaged with and connected to engagement walls of a pair of left and right receiving portions formed on the cap body for attaching the connecting portions of the hammock. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the invention of claim 1, by providing the leg correction parts made of elastic material in the leg parts, the leg parts themselves can absorb the longitudinal expansion and contraction in the event of an external impact, thereby suppressing deformation of the cap body. In addition, by the leg correction parts biasing the base end and tip end outward, the shock absorbing body provided in the shock absorbing liner can be kept in contact with the inner surface of the cap body.

[0011] The invention described in claim 2 has a simple configuration that can absorb the expansion and contraction of the legs due to external impacts, and by biasing the base end and tip end outward, the impact absorbing body can be kept in contact with the inner surface of the helmet.

[0012] According to the invention described in claim 3, the leg correction part is disposed between the base end leg protrusion and the tip end leg protrusion, thereby securing space for the leg correction part to move and securing an area for deformation when absorbing impact. Furthermore, by having both protrusions contact the inner surface of the helmet body at the base end and tip end of the leg correction part, it is possible to further bias the impact absorbing part and connecting engagement part located at the base end and tip end side outward.

[0013] According to the invention described in claim 4, the leg correction section can be connected to the cap body at the connecting engagement section located at the tip side, and the headband can be connected to the same receiving section. This allows the connection to be made with a single member, and makes it possible to prevent direct contact between the headband and the impact absorbing liner. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a helmet according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a state in which the headband and string members are removed from the state shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a bottom view of the helmet with the headband and string members removed. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a development view of the impact absorbing liner according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an impact absorbing liner according to the present embodiment in an installed state. [Figure 6] 1A and 1B are enlarged perspective views showing an example of the impact absorbing section according to the present embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is an enlarged perspective view of a central impact absorbing section, and FIG. 1B is an enlarged perspective view of a front impact absorbing section. [Figure 7] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 4. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a connection state of the legs according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this description, the outside of the cap body refers to the direction from the inside of the cap body to the outside, and the inside of the cap body refers to the direction opposite to the outside.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the helmet 1 comprises a shell 2, a headband 3, a hammock 4, an impact absorbing liner 5, and a string member 6. The shell 2 is hat-shaped and made of a hard material. The headband 3 is positioned around the forehead of the wearer and is arranged circumferentially below the shell 2. The hammock 4 is positioned higher than the headband 3 and fits over the wearer's head, and in this embodiment, is arranged so that a portion of the hammock 4 is connected to the headband 3. The impact absorbing liner 5 is located in the space between the hammock 4 and the shell 2, and is positioned so that the tips of impact absorbers 30, 30, which will be described later, come into contact with the inner surface of the shell 2. The string member 6 is a string-like member that is passed around the wearer's chin.

[0017] The connection state of each component will be described below with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3. In the helmet 1 of this embodiment, receiving portions 7, 7 are formed on the inner surface of the shell 2 to which the headband 3 and the impact absorbing liner 5 are attached without direct interference, as will be described later. The hammock 4 is attached to the receiving portion 7 from below, and the impact absorbing liner 5 is engaged from above, thereby connecting the two components with one receiving portion without directly joining them. The receiving portions 7, 7 are arranged in four locations on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the shell 2 (see Figure 3), and string member attachment portions 8, 8 for attaching the string member 6 are formed slightly below the receiving portions 7, 7.

[0018] The impact absorbing liner 5 will now be described. As described above, the impact absorbing liner 5 is located on the inner surface of the cap body 2, and is located above the hammock 4. Since the wearer wears the hammock 4 by placing it over their head, the impact absorbing liner 5 does not come into direct contact with the wearer, but does come into direct contact with the inner surface of the cap body 2.

[0019] Fig. 4 shows the impact absorbing liner 5 unfolded in a flat state, and Fig. 5 shows the state in which it is placed inside the cap body 2. The impact absorbing liner 5 has a diamond-shaped central portion 10 located in the center, a front extension portion 11 extending forward from the central portion 10, a rear extension portion 12 extending rearward from the central portion 10, and lateral extension portions 13, 13 extending laterally from the central portion 10. The central portion 10, the front extension portion 11, the rear extension portion 12, and the lateral extension portions 13, 13 are all thin plate-like members made of resin.

[0020] A plurality of impact absorbers are arranged protruding upward from each thin plate portion of the impact absorbing liner 5. The central portion 10 has central impact absorbing portions 20, 20 each consisting of a group of four impact absorbers arranged at the end positions of both side extensions 13, 13. A front impact absorbing portion 21 each consisting of a group of six tubular structures is arranged at the tip of the front extension 11, a rear impact absorbing portion 22 each consisting of a group of six tubular structures is arranged at the tip of the rear extension 12, and side impact absorbing portions 23, 23 each consisting of a group of four tubular structures is arranged at the tip of the side extensions 13, 13. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the tips of these impact absorbing parts abut against the inner surface of the cap body 2, with the central impact absorbing parts 20, 20 absorbing impacts from the direction of the crown of the wearer's head, the front impact absorbing part 21 the front of the wearer's head, the rear impact absorbing part 22 the back of the wearer's head, and the side impact absorbing parts 23, 23 the sides of the wearer's head, thereby protecting the human body from direct impact.

[0021] The specific configuration of the impact absorbing sections 20, 21, 22, and 23 will now be described. In this embodiment, the impact absorbing sections 20, 21, 22, and 23 are formed as a group by arranging multiple cylindrical impact absorbers 30. FIG. 6 (a) illustrates the side impact absorbing section 23, and (b) illustrates the front impact absorbing section 21, but the central impact absorbing section 20 and the rear impact absorbing section 22 also have the same configuration. Each individual impact absorber 30 has a hollow cylindrical shape and is connected to form a group by a connecting plate 31. The impact absorber 30 has a wall portion 32 that forms the cylindrical peripheral wall and a bottom portion 33 that forms the lower surface. The bottom portion 33 is curved so as to be convex downward from the connecting plate 31 (see FIGS. 2 and 7). The top surface of the impact absorber 30 is open, and when the impact absorbing liner 5 is attached to the cap body 2, this top surface abuts against the inner surface of the cap body 2.

[0022] The inside of the wall 32 of the shock absorber 30 is hollow and has a cylindrical shape with an open top. Three ribs 33a, 33b, and 33b are arranged inside the wall 32 in the longitudinal direction (up-down direction). In this embodiment, the three ribs are not arranged at equal intervals, but rather one rib 33a and two ribs 33b, 33b are arranged separately. That is, in a plan view, the two ribs 33b, 33b are arranged at positions opposite one rib 33a on the inner circumferential surface. Furthermore, the two ribs 33b, 33b are formed inside a group of shock absorbing portions, and one rib 33a is arranged outside them. Since the ribs 33a and 33b are formed inside the shock absorber 30 in this way, the shock absorber 30 is not only configured to withstand external impacts but also configured to more reliably withstand impacts near the center of the group of shock absorbing portions.

[0023] 1, 2, and 6(b), the front impact absorbing section 21 and the rear impact absorbing section 22 are configured such that a group of impact absorbers 30, 30 are connected by a connecting wall 34. In this embodiment, the front impact absorbing section 21 and the rear impact absorbing section 22 have six impact absorbers 30, 30 arranged in a circle, and the impact absorbers 30, 30 are connected by a connecting wall 34. Additionally, the impact absorbing sections 20, 21, 22, 23 are connected as a group of impact absorbing sections by a connecting plate 31, but the connecting plate 31 may have an opening 35 formed in part to ensure breathability.

[0024] Next, we will explain the legs 14, 14 extending radially from the central portion 10. As shown in Fig. 4, the legs 14, 14 extend radially from slightly toward the tip of the center of each side of the diamond-shaped central portion 10, and four of them are formed, one between the front impact absorbing portion 21 and each of the side impact absorbing portions 23, 23, and one between the rear impact absorbing portion 22 and each of the side impact absorbing portions 23, 23.

[0025] The leg portions 14 are strip-shaped members having a longitudinal direction, and are made of resin like the central portion 10. They have a connecting engagement portion 50 at the tip, and a leg correction portion 60 at the center of the longitudinal direction, slightly toward the tip. The connecting engagement portion 50 is a member that connects to the receiving portion 7 described above, and the leg correction portion 60 absorbs impacts applied in the longitudinal direction of the leg portions 14, and keeps each of the impact absorbing portions 20, 21, 22, and 23 in contact with the inner surface of the cap body 2.

[0026] First, the receiving portions 7 of the cap body 2 for connecting with the connecting engagement portions 50 of the leg portions 14 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 3, four receiving portions 7, 7 are formed on the lower inside of the cap body 2, at the right front, left front, right rear, and left rear, respectively. As shown in FIG. 8, the receiving portion 7 is composed of a pair of left and right main walls 7a, 7a. The main wall 7a is substantially L-shaped, consisting of a protruding wall having a predetermined length in the vertical direction and protruding inward from the inner surface of the cap body 2, and a curved wall that extends from the protruding position of the protruding wall toward the opposing protruding wall. The upper surfaces of the main walls 7a, 7a are provided with engaging walls 7b, 7b that cover the protruding wall and the curved wall as a rectangular surface with two long and short sides, and the engaging walls 7b, 7b are engageable with the connecting engagement portions 50 of the leg portions 14. The lower portions of the receiving portions 7, 7 where the engaging walls 7b, 7b are not present are open, allowing the band connecting portion of the headband to be connected from below between the opposing main walls 7a, 7a.

[0027] The connecting and engaging portion 50 of the leg 14 has a central piece 51 in the center that widens from the leg 14 and side pieces 52, 52 on either side of the central piece 51, with openings 53, 53 formed between the central piece 51 and the side pieces 52, 52. The tip of the central piece 51 has engaging portions 51a, 51a that protrude in a hook-like shape toward both sides, and the lateral length of the openings 53, 53 between the central piece 51 and the side pieces 52, 52 is the same as the lateral length of the engaging walls 7b of the receiving part 7. When this connecting and engaging portion 50 is connected to the receiving part 7 from above, the central piece 51 is inserted between the main walls 7a, 7a of the receiving part 7, and the side pieces 52, 52 are positioned along the outer sides of the main walls 7a, 7a. At this time, the engaging portions 51a, 51a formed at the tip of the central piece 51 engage with the engaging walls 7b, 7b, preventing the connected leg 14 from coming loose. In this embodiment, extended open portions 53a, 53a are formed on the rear side of the open portions 53, 53 toward the central piece 51, partially extending the open state. By providing such extended open portions 53a, 53a, when engaging the connecting engagement part 50, the side pieces 52, 52 are easily deformed outward and the central piece 51 is also easily deformed left and right, which makes the connection of the connecting engagement part 50 smoother.

[0028] As described above, the receiving portion 7 of the cap body 2 can be connected by engaging the connecting engagement portion 50 of the leg portion 14 with the engagement walls 7b, 7b from above. Although not shown, it is also possible to connect the headband by inserting the band connecting portion of the headband 3 from below into the open space between the opposing main walls 7a, 7a. This makes it possible to connect two components, the leg portion 14 of the impact absorbing liner 5 and the headband, with a single component. In this case, the impact absorbing liner 5 and the headband do not come into direct contact with each other.

[0029] The leg correction portion 60 formed on the leg portion 14 of the impact absorbing liner 5 will now be described. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the leg correction portion 60 is located at the longitudinal center of the leg portion 14 and forms a curved convex shape so that the band-like leg portion is convex outward. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the leg correction portion 60 connects the base end leg 14a on the central portion 10 side to the tip end leg 14b on the connecting and engaging portion 50 side, with the base end leg side edge 60a and the tip end leg side edge 60b connecting in a curved manner, and each extends outward and connects in a curved manner at the apex 60c. This shape allows the leg correction portion 60 to function as a spring. When an impact is applied to each impact absorbing portion 20, 21, 22, and 23 and the cap body is deformed, even if a force pulling up or down on the leg portion 14 is applied, the force can be absorbed and the engaging state of the connecting and engaging portion 50 at the tip can be maintained. This also makes it possible to suppress downward deformation of the cap body 2 due to the force pulling up or down on the leg portion 14.

[0030] The following describes how the impact absorbing liner 5 of the leg correction section 60 maintains contact with the inner surface of the cap body 2. The impact absorbing liner 5 is formed as a whole in a flat shape as shown in FIG. 4, and is attached to the cap body 2 in a curved shape with the central section 10 at the top, like a human head, as shown in FIG. 5. At this time, the leg section 14 also curves to fit the inner surface shape of the cap body 2. Because the leg correction section 60 has a curved convex shape that is convex outward, the proximal leg side edge 60a and the distal leg side edge 60b of the leg correction section 60 are attached to the inside of the cap body while contracting. The restoring force of the proximal leg side edge 60a and the distal leg side edge 60b of the leg correction section 60 acts, and a force is applied that presses the proximal leg 14a and the distal leg 14b outward (towards the inner surface of the cap body). In this embodiment, four legs 14, 14 are provided, each with a leg correction portion 60, 60, so that the entire impact absorbing liner 5 can be pressed against the inner surface of the helmet body, and each of the provided impact absorbing portions 20, 21, 22, 23 can be maintained in contact with the inner surface of the helmet body. Also, by pressing the tip legs 14b against the inner surface of the helmet body, the engagement of the tip connecting engagement portion 50 can be performed on the inner surface side of the helmet body of the receiving portion 7, and the headband 3 and the impact absorbing liner 5 can be attached to each other using a single receiving portion 7 while preventing direct contact between them.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 9 , a base-end leg protrusion 61 that protrudes outward is disposed on the base-end leg 14a near and along the base-end leg side edge 60a of the leg correction portion 60. The base-end leg protrusion 61 has substantially the same shape as the shock absorber 30. Meanwhile, a tip-end leg protrusion 62 that protrudes outward is disposed on the tip-end leg 14b near and along the tip-end leg side edge 60b of the leg correction portion 60. Unlike the base-end leg protrusion 61, the tip-end leg protrusion 62 is a protruding member that has an inverted U-shape with a notch cut out at the tip, and the curved portion of the U is disposed near and along the tip-end leg side edge 60b. The tip-end leg 14b on which the tip-end leg protrusion 62 is disposed gradually slopes outward from the tip-end leg side edge 60b and becomes horizontal, like the base-end leg 14a, at a position that is approximately the same as or slightly outward from the base-end leg protrusions 61 and 62. In accordance with this inclined portion, the distal leg protrusion 62 has a straight portion continuing from the curved portion, the protruding height of which gradually decreases from the base end side to the distal end side.

[0032] The above is the shape of the leg correction part 60 and the protrusions 61, 62 on both sides according to this embodiment, but it is not limited to this embodiment. It may be a shape with multiple small convex shapes, a shape that is wavy when viewed from the side, or a bent shape instead of a curved shape. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1...helmet, 2...shell, 3...headband, 4...hammock, 5...impact absorbing liner, 7...receiving portion, 7a...main wall, 7b...engaging wall, 10...central portion, 14...leg portion, 14a...base end leg, 14b...tip leg, 20...central impact absorbing portion, 21...front impact absorbing portion, 22...rear impact absorbing portion, 23...side impact absorbing portion, 30...impact absorber, 50...connecting engagement portion, 60...leg correction portion, 61...base end leg protrusion, 62...tip leg protrusion.

Claims

1. A helmet having a shell, a headband, and a hammock, and equipped with an impact absorbing liner for absorbing external impacts within the shell, The impact absorbing liner has a plurality of impact absorbing portions for absorbing impacts, leg portions having a predetermined longitudinal direction, and connecting engagement portions that connect to the cap body at the tips of the leg portions, The helmet is characterized in that the leg portions have leg correction portions that bias the leg portions outward while absorbing longitudinal expansion and contraction caused by external impact.

2. 2. The helmet according to claim 1, wherein the leg correction portion has an outwardly protruding shape.

3. The leg portion includes a leg correction portion, a base leg that is a base end side of the leg correction portion, and a tip leg that is a tip end side of the leg correction portion, The base leg has a base leg protrusion that protrudes outward, and the tip leg has a tip leg protrusion that protrudes outward, The helmet according to claim 2, wherein the protruding ends of the base leg protruding portion and the distal leg protruding portion are positioned outward from the protruding ends of the leg correction portions.

4. 4. The helmet according to claim 3, wherein the connecting engagement portions at the tips of the legs engage with and connect to engaging walls of a pair of left and right receiving portions formed on the helmet body for attaching the connecting portions of the hammock.

Images