WO2007093348A1

WO2007093348A1 - Protective head covering

Info

Publication number: WO2007093348A1
Application number: PCT/EP2007/001188
Authority: WO
Inventors: Franz Brückl
Original assignee: Brueckl Franz
Priority date: 2006-02-12
Filing date: 2007-02-12
Publication date: 2007-08-23

Abstract

The invention relates to a protective head covering for cyclists, skiers, cross-country skiers, roller skaters or inline skaters, with a protective structure (12) formed from stiffened portions (14) spaced apart from one another, and with at least one illumination device (20, 32) which, as seen in the wearing direction, is held in each case on the front and rear of the head covering (10). In this case, the illumination devices used are LED lamps (20, 32) of which at least one is arranged in recesses and/or openings (18) provided between the stiffened portions (14) of the protective structure (12).

Description

Protective headgear

The invention relates to a protective headgear for cyclists, skiers, cross-country skiers, roller skate or inline skaters, with a protective structure formed from spaced stiffeners and at least one illumination device held in front of and at the headgear in the direction of wear.

A headgear of the type mentioned is known from DE 203 19 126.9 U1. This headgear is a rigid helmet, on the outside of several lamps are attached as lighting devices.

This known protective helmet is suitable, for example, for skiers who are traveling in bad weather conditions, such as fog or heavy snowfall, and for whom lighting is particularly important from the point of view of better mutual recognition of great importance. For cyclists, the well-known protective helmet is particularly suitable, because on the one hand they are legally obliged to equip their bicycles with suitable lighting devices, which on the one hand allow cyclists to recognize obstacles in time and without doubt and on the other hand to other road users, for example Motorists, make it easier to capture a cyclist in the dark in time. The same applies to rollerskaters and inline skaters who move on public transport. For mountain bikes as well as for off-road wheels or road racing bikes, there are often a lack of suitable lighting equipment due to the design. Thus, in mountain bikes Dynamos for operating the lighting device due to the coarse tire profile often can not be used. For skiers, scooters and Iniineskatern, however, there is no possibility to provide suitable lighting equipment. This is where the invention described in DE 203 19 126 U1 begins. Cyclists, mountain bikers, roller-skaters, in-line skaters and skiers, for example, are seeing an ever increasing number of wearers wearing protective headgear during their sporting activities. The combination of head cover and lighting device provides a simple and elegant way to simultaneously perform two functions, namely to provide adequate protection and to provide suitable lighting.

Based on this prior art, it is an object of the invention to provide a protective headgear, which is improved compared to the known headgear and in particular ensures even better protection for the user.

This object is achieved by a headgear having the features according to claim 1 and in particular by the fact that the lighting devices are LED lamps and that at least one of the LED lamps is arranged in recesses and / or openings provided between the stiffeners of the protective structure.

In the case of the headgear according to the invention, LED lamps (LED = light-emitting diode) are used as the illumination device. According to the invention, the LED lamp is understood in particular to be a LED accommodated in a housing, with or without its own power supply. Such LED lamps are characterized by a comparatively high illuminance with the lowest power consumption, while at the same time having an extremely low weight and thus also an extremely low volume compared to conventional lighting devices. It is precisely these properties of LED lamps, namely the high power density, the low weight and the low construction volume are essential criteria for the invention. Thus, it is possible by the high power density, low weight and low volume, the lighting equipment in the protective structure the headgear in which the LED lamps are positioned in the recesses and / or openings formed between the stiffeners of the protective structure.

In this context, protective headgear is understood as meaning both rigid protective helmets with a rigid helmet structure formed from stiff stiffening ribs and elastic headgear, for example protective covers for cyclists. In the case of the latter, the stiffeners of the protective structure are formed by correspondingly reinforced and padded sections which divert forces acting on the headgear and in this way prevent a punctiform force acting on the head of the wearer.

By arranging the LED lamps in recesses and / or openings between the stiffeners of the protective structure, the LED lamps do not project beyond the contour of the headgear determined by the protective structure. As a result, on the one hand prevents the LED lamps are damaged or demolished, for example, in a fall, on the other hand prevents the LED lamps are pressed into the interior of the protective headgear.

Further advantageous developments will become apparent from the description, the dependent claims and the drawings.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the LED lamps are attached to the stiffeners of the protective structure. This is particularly advantageous if the stiffeners in turn have a high rigidity, so if the headgear is designed as a protective helmet. The then stiff stiffeners provide sufficient stability for attachment, which can be done for example by riveting or gluing. It is particularly advantageous in this embodiment, when the LED lamps are releasably secured, for example by screwing or by clamping, to the stiffeners. In this way, a very simple replacement of the LED bulbs, for example in Maintenance case, possible. In addition, results in a correspondingly high flexibility in manufacturing. Thus, headgear can be provided, which are provided with appropriate receptacles for the LED lamps, without LED lamps are mounted. These can, for example, be acquired later as a retrofit kit.

It is also particularly advantageous in the previously described embodiment if at least one of the LED lamps, preferably the front LED lamp arranged in the direction of support, is movably attached to the stiffeners of the protective structure. In this way, the LED lamp can be adjusted by the user in the desired manner. For example, a cyclist can adjust the front mounted LED lamp on his headgear so that the cone of light radiates over the steering wheel and illuminates the area immediately in front of its front wheel. For example, a skier may tilt the LED lamp provided at the rear, which preferably shines red, towards the horizontal, so that it is clearly visible to other skiers in the area from behind.

In an alternative embodiment of the headgear the LED lamps are held on a common support net which is to be fastened to the headgear and mounted on the headgear such that the LED lamps are arranged in the recesses and / or openings of the protective structure and are defined in these. This embodiment offers the particular advantage that the LED lamps can be mounted on the headgear, for example, only at nightfall or even in bad weather conditions, on the other hand be carried protected when not in use. Furthermore, in this way subsequent retrofitting corresponding to this inventively designed headgear possible.

Particularly preferably, the headgear is designed as a protective helmet, in which the protective structure is a solid helmet structure formed from a plurality of stiffening ribs. The helmet structure is preferably made of a suitable plastic material, wherein in addition to the inside of the rigid helmet structure correspondingly softer plastic materials, such as polymer foams, polystyrene and the like, are provided so that the user on the one hand has a comfortable fit and on the other hand forces occurring during a fall are effectively damped. The stiffening ribs are preferably stiffened with embedded in the material of the protective helmet stiffening elements, such as fiberglass rods, plastic rods or metal inserts. If the LED lamps are fastened to the stiffeners, it is also proposed to provide, for example, threads or openings on the stiffening elements introduced into the stiffeners, to which the housings of the LED lamps can be fastened in a simple manner.

Furthermore, it is proposed in the embodiment described above as a further development to provide correspondingly formed receptacles on the helmet structure into which the LED lamps are detachably inserted. This development of headgear is particularly suitable when the LED lamps are held on a common support network. Preferably, the LED lamps are clamped by appropriately provided latching noses or clamping edges in the receptacles prepared for this purpose. If the LED lamps are movable, they are movably mounted on a base, which in turn is held in the receptacle, for example by jamming.

If an accessory can be detachably fastened to the helmet structure of the headgear designed as a protective helmet, then a privacy screen to be fastened in the front, such as a sunshade, is proposed to equip the accessory with at least one LED lamp.

In general, it is of particular advantage if each LED lamp is equipped with its own power supply. This makes it possible to operate the LED lamps independently. This is an advantage, for example, for skiers who, in poor visibility, only If you want to activate red LED lights, but you do not want to use the front LED lights, so as not to affect your own vision.

Preferably, the self-powered LED lamps are designed to weigh less than 50 grams. In this way, it is ensured that the wearing comfort of the headgear is not impaired despite provided LED lamps. Due to the low weight of the LED lamps, the weight gain of the protective helmet is insignificant and barely detectable.

Furthermore, it is possible to connect at least two LED lamps to a common voltage supply. For example, the power supply, such as a rechargeable battery or a battery, may be carried by the user on his or her clothing, such as the belt, and connected by cable to a header provided on the headgear to which the LED lamps are connected. Alternatively, the power supply can also be integrated into the headgear. Furthermore, a combined use of LED lamps with their own power supply and LED lamps with central power supply is proposed. So it is particularly advantageous if several white-lit LED lamps are provided on the front of the headgear, which can be powered by a common power supply and switched on and off together, while the rear provided on the headgear LED lamp over has its own power supply.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to two exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawing. It shows:

Figure 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of a protective helmet according to the invention, in which three front integrated in the helmet structure, pivotally mounted, white-emitting LED lamps are shown. 2 shows a rear view of the protective helmet according to FIG. 1, in which a red-shining LED lamp integrated in the rear of the helmet structure is shown;

3 shows a sectional view of a section along the longitudinal axis of symmetry through the protective helmet according to FIGS. 1 and 2;

4 shows an enlarged side view of one of the front of the protective helmet pivotally mounted LED lamps with base;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the LED lamp shown in FIG. 4; FIG. and

Fig. 6 is a side view of a second embodiment of a protective helmet with a held on a pivotable console LED lamp.

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a protective helmet 10 according to the invention. The protective helmet 10 has a rigid helmet structure 12, which is formed from a plurality of stiffening ribs 14 extending from the front to the rear. The stiffening ribs 14 are arranged at a distance from one another such that recesses 16 and through openings 18 are formed on the helmet structure 12. Three of the openings 18 serve in the illustrated protective helmet 10 as ventilation openings and at the same time as receptacles for three LED lamps 20, as shown in FIG. 3.

The LED lamps 20 are equipped with white LEDs and have their own power supply.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, one of the three LED lamps 20 is shown enlarged. The front side and the jacket of each LED lamp 20 is formed by a sleeve 22 (not shown) provided with a female thread 22, which is screwed onto a hollow cylindrical housing 24 of the LED lamp 20. In the housing 24, a button cell (not shown) is received as a power supply, while in the sleeve 22, a light source, in this case an LED, is held. To activate the LED, only the sleeve 22 must be screwed onto the housing 24 so far that the LED comes into contact with the contact points supplied with power from the button cell. If the LED is to be switched off again, the sleeve 22 only has to be loosened until the LED no longer touches the contact points. By a likewise not shown seal, which is arranged between the sleeve 22 and the housing 24, the penetration of water or moisture into the LED lamp 20 is prevented.

The housing 24 is received in a socket 26, which in turn is pivotally mounted by an axis 28 to two stiffening ribs 14, which define the opening 18 in which the LED lamp 20 is received. The LED lamps 20 are held in the openings 18 so that their radiation axes intersect at a central pivot position in a common point.

So that the LED lamp 20 is held on the one hand damped in the helmet structure 12, the LED lamp on the other hand remains in the set pivot position, both sides of the base 26 to the stiffening ribs 14 two perforated in the middle, elastic discs 30 glued to the base 26th hold with low bias between the two stiffening ribs 14, wherein the axis 28 is mounted with their ends in the centrally perforated discs 30. The elastic material of the discs 30 causes sufficient preload on the one hand. On the other hand, the elastic material of the discs 30 has such a high coefficient of friction that the LED lamp 20 remains in the respective adjusted pivot position.

2, a rear view of the protective helmet 10 is shown. In the lower third of the protective helmet 10, a further rear LED lamp 32 is centrally provided. The LED lamp 32 is formed in a similar manner as the LED lamps 20 described above, but has a red-emitting LED. As shown in FIG. 3, the rear LED lamp 32 with its housing is in a passage opening. held 34 which is enclosed by a pulled apart in the region of the passage opening 34 stiffening rib 14. In order to prevent rotation of the rear LED lamp 32, the housing is provided with a rectangular cross section, with which the LED lamp 32 is held in the through hole 34.

In use, the user may activate or deactivate the front LED lamps 20 and the rear LED lamp 32 by rotating the sleeves 22. Furthermore, the user has the possibility of pivoting the front LED lamps 20 relative to the protective helmet 10 in order to be able to illuminate a desired area in front of the protective housing 10.

FIG. 6 shows a second exemplary embodiment of a protective helmet 40 according to the invention for skiers. The protective helmet 40 has a stiffening rib 42 which extends rearward over the top of the protective helmet 40 and, similar to the stiffening rib 14 shown in FIG. 2 in the first exemplary embodiment, delimits a receptacle 44 in which a red LED lamp 46 is clamped.

Furthermore, a pivotal bracket 48 is releasably attached to the ski helmet 40 to which a forward-facing LED lamp 50 is held to illuminate the front area.

With the headgear invention, a number of advantages can be achieved. The adjustable and individually adjustable lighting, especially at the rear, creates a high level of safety. For example, the ski helmet with lighting. In fog especially children and beginners of skiing, or groups are early to recognize. As a result, serious collisions on the ski slope can be avoided.

Due to the particularly light weight of the LED lamps weight gain of the headgear of the invention is insignificant and hardly noticeable. The safety of having a bicycle helmet with built-in lights can, in many cases, be life-saving on high-speed downhill runs. Thus, the headgear invention is particularly important for the users of mountain bikes and off-road wheels of great importance. A dynamo is often not applicable for technical reasons because of the coarse tire profiles in such types of bicycles. When using the headgear of the invention, the cyclist, if he unexpectedly, gets into a lot of reasons during a bike ride in the dark, activate his lighting and avoid subsequent heavy falls, especially in inaccessible terrain.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10 safety helmet

12 helmet structure

14 stiffening ribs 16 recesses

18 openings

20 front LED lamps

22 sleeve

24 housing 26 socket

28 axis

30 slices

32 rear LED lamp

34 passage opening

40 safety helmet

42 stiffening rib

44 recording

46 rear LED lamp

48 console 50 front LED lamp

Claims

claims

1. Protective headgear for cyclists, skiers, cross-country skiers, roller skate or inline skaters, with a protective structure (12) formed from spaced-apart stiffeners (14; 42) and at least one seen in the direction of support respectively front and rear of the headgear (10; ), characterized in that the lighting devices are LED lamps (20, 32, 46, 50) and that at least one of the LED lamps (20, 32, 46, 50) in between the stiffeners (14; 42) of the protective structure (12) provided recesses (44) and / or openings (18) is arranged.

2. Headgear according to claim 1, characterized in that the LED lamps (20, 32, 46, 50) on the stiffeners (14, 42) of the protective structure (12), preferably releasably secured.

3. Headgear according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one of the LED lamps (20; 50), preferably the front in the direction of support seen arranged LED lamp (20; 50), movably on the stiffeners (14; 42) the protective structure (12) is attached.

4. Headgear according to claim 1, characterized in that the LED lamps are held on a common support net, which is to be fastened to the headgear and raised on the headgear that the LED lamps in the recesses and / or openings of the protective structure (12) are arranged and held defined in these.

5. Headgear according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the headgear is a protective helmet (10; 40) and that the protective Structure is a solid helmet structure (12) formed of a plurality of stiffening ribs (14; 42).

6. Headgear according to claim 5, characterized in that the LED lamps (46) are releasably held in receptacles (44) provided for this purpose, preferably clamped.

7. Headgear according to claim 6, characterized in that on the helmet structure, an accessory (48) is releasably attached, vorzμgsweise a front in the direction of support to be attached sunscreen, and that the accessory (48) is equipped with an LED lamp (50).

8. Headgear according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the LED lamps (20, 32, 46, 50) is equipped with its own power supply.

9. Headgear according to claim 8, characterized in that the LED lamp (20, 32; 46, 50) weighs less than 50 grams with its own power supply.

10. Headgear according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least two LED lamps are connected to a common power supply, and that the power supply is preferably integrated in the headgear.

11. Headgear according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one LED lamp (20; 50) arranged in front in the direction of support is movably adjustable such that the LED lamp (20; 50) illuminates a predetermined area during operation ,