Sports Helmet Visor Coupling for Compact Pivot and Detachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional protective helmets with folding visors have large hinge mechanisms that are visually distracting and difficult to detach completely, and existing solutions do not provide a reliable, compact, and inconspicuous mechanism for adjusting the visor between closed and open positions.
Innovation Solution
A protective helmet design featuring coupling receptacles and extensions on the helmet shell and visor, allowing the visor to be mounted, adjusted between positions, and detached via a compact, integrated mechanism, utilizing a displacement and pivot system with guided movement and magnetic or latching security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional hinge mechanism is used to mount the visor to the helmet shell, then the visor can be adjusted between closed and open positions, but the hinge mechanism occupies excessive space and is visually distracting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the traditional hinge mechanism entirely and replaces it with a snap-fit coupling system. The visor is attached to the helmet shell through coupling extensions that engage with coupling receptacles, eliminating the need for a separate hinge component. This extraction of the hinge function resolves the contradiction by providing visor adjustment capability without the visual and spatial burden of a conventional hinge mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling extension integrates multiple functions into a single component: it provides the attachment mechanism, the pivot axis for rotation, and the displacement path for adjustment. By merging these functions into the coupling extension itself rather than using separate hinge components, the patent achieves visor adjustability with minimal volume and no visual distraction.
2Reliability
If the visor is rigidly mounted to the helmet shell, then the attachment is secure and reliable, but the visor cannot be adjusted between closed and open positions
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling extension is designed to be dynamically movable within the coupling receptacle along a displacement path and can pivot about a pivot axis. This dynamic capability allows the visor to adjust between closed and open positions while maintaining secure attachment through the snap-fit engagement, resolving the contradiction between reliability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling extension is received within the coupling receptacle, with the extension fitting into the receptacle's cavity. This nesting arrangement provides secure containment and reliable attachment while allowing the extension to move within the receptacle's boundaries, enabling both security and adjustability.
3Shape
If the visor is completely detached from the helmet shell, then the helmet has a cleaner appearance and reduced weight, but the visor may unintentionally detach during activity
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling extension is designed with a snap-fit engagement mechanism that automatically secures the visor to the helmet shell when attached. The preliminary design of the coupling geometry ensures that once the extension is inserted into the receptacle, it automatically engages with reliable retention, preventing unintentional detachment while maintaining the option for complete removal when desired.
Data Source
AI summary
In a protective helmet, in particular a sports helmet, with a shock-absorbing helmet shell and a visor, on each of two opposite sides of the protective helmet, a coupling section of the helmet shell and a coupling section of the visor are formed, one of which is configured as a coupling receptacle and the other as a coupling extension and in such a way that, the coupling extension may engage in the coupling receptacle in order to connect the visor to the helmet shell. The coupling extension is displaceable in the coupling receptacle along a displacement path between an initial position and an advance position and is pivotable about a pivot axis between the advance position and an open position.