HELMET COMPRISING A BASIC BODY, AN INFLATOR AND AN AIRBAG

Abstract

A helmet comprising a basic body having an outer surface, and an airbag being connected to the basic body at least indirectly, wherein at least two main sections of the un-deployed airbag extend along the outer surface of the basic body. In order to allow the airbag a complete deployment, an extra packaging length for the un-deployed airbag is provided. This extra packaging length is generated by providing the basic body with at least one groove extending from the outer surface into the basic body and folding an intermediate section of the un-deployed airbag being located between two neighbored main sections into the groove.

Description

The invention relates to a helmet according to the preamble of claim 1.

Helmets of the generic type are widespread and predominantly used by motorcycle riders and bicycle riders. Such a helmet comprises a basic body covering at least a part of the head of the rider.

The basic body usually comprises a main body, a cushioning inside the main body and an outer shell on the outside of the main body. The main body is usually relatively thick (several cm) and made of an inherently stable, foamed and shock-absorbing material like Styrofoam. The outer surface of the main body is covered by the rigid outer shell which is usually made of a hard material like a polycarbonate or a fiber reinforced plastic material. A visor can be attached to the basic body, especially in case of a so-called full helmet.

Such a helmet, especially in form of a full helmet, gives good protection to the user's head in case of an accident.

From generic WO 2021/160817 A1 it is known to provide an inflator and an airbag being in fluid communication with the inflator, wherein both, the inflator and the airbag are attached to the basic body of the helmet. The airbag is attached to the basic body at the forehead area of the basic body and the inflator is attached to the basic body at the rear end of the basic body. Further, a rigid pipe connecting the inflator and the airbag is provided in such a way that gas from the inflator flows through the pipe into the gas space enclosed by the airbag such that the airbag expands and gives additional protection to the forehead of the driver.

This follows from the following concept: It turned out that in case that the motorcycle (or other vehicles which is used by the person wearing the helmet) comes to a stop because of a frontal crash, it happens often that the forehead area of the helmet hits an object (for example another vehicle) at a high speed. So, the deceleration is in this case often tremendously high, such that it is likely that the user is seriously of even deadly injured even if the helmet as such remains intact, especially because the neck of the user is subjected to extremely high forces. So, the risk for the user can be lowered by providing a cushion (namely the protection section of the airbag) only in the area of the forehead such that an extra distance for the deceleration is provided.

Starting from this prior art, it is an object of the invention to further improve a helmet of the generic type.

This task is solved by a helmet having the features of claim 1.

As the helmet described in generic WO 2021/160817A1, the helmet according to the invention comprises an inflator being attached to the basic body and an airbag being in fluid communication to the inflator and also being attached to the basic body such that at least a section of the airbag deploys to the outside of the basic body when filled with gas. In order to keep the deployed airbag in a defined position relative to the main body, the airbag must be connected to the main body at least indirectly at least two positions, for example at a rear end of the airbag (here for example via the inflator) and at a front end of the airbag.

It turned out that at least in some applications it can be advantageous to use an airbag with a large and especially long protection section such that the airbag does not deploy in front of the forehead only. This makes it necessary that the expandable part of the airbag (also referred to as the protection section) extends along a relatively long length on the outer surface of the basic body, wherein it is preferred that the airbag only needs little packing space, especially little packaging height (in the radial direction). So, from this point of view it would be ideal to simply place the airbag tightly onto the outer surface of the basic body and connect its rear end and its front end to the basic body. But, when doing so, the airbag could not fully deploy without de-attaching at least one connection,. So, according to the invention, at least one groove is provided in the basic body that accommodates a section of the airbag that is folded into this grove. In other words: The un-deployed airbag comprises at least two main sections that extend along the outer surface of the basic body and at least one intermediate section being located between two neighbored main sections and being folded into the groove. By this measure, an “extra packaging length” is provided between the two connections of the airbag to the basic body such that the airbag can deploy completely.

In order to make the mounting process and especially the folding of the intermediate section of the airbag into the grove easy and in order to ensure a proper deployment process, it is often preferred that the groove extends substantially perpendicular to the area of the outer surface from which it extends.

Usually it is preferred that the groove has a relatively small width in a width direction such that the intermediate section of the airbag is slightly clamped in the groove. By this, the defined positioning of the undeployed airbag is enhanced.

Since the depth of the groove is limited, it is usually preferred to provide a plurality of grooves in order to reach the necessary “extra packaging length”. In this case an intermediate section of the airbag is located in each groove, such that main sections of the airbag extending along the outer surface of the basic body and intermediate sections of the airbag alternate. In this case it is further preferred that the length directions of all grooves are parallel to one another.

The invention works best when each intermediate section of the airbag is located inside its allocated groove along its complete width.

The invention is especially suitable for a substantially hose-shaped airbag that extends in a longitudinal direction from a first end to a second end.

The “extra packaging length” is best used if the airbag is permanently connected to the protective main body only at or near its first end and at or near its second end.

Like a traditional helmet, the protective basic body of the helmet according to the invention comprises a foamed main body and a rigid outer shell with a smooth surface, into which the grooves extend. Like with traditional helmets, the main body of the basic body of the helmet usually consists of a foamed plastic material like Styrofoam and the outer shell usually consists of a hard plastic material, for example a fiber-reinforced plastic, but also non-fiber-reinforced plastics like ABS can be used.

In order to protect the undeployed airbag, an additional covering that covers at least a part of the airbag (usually the whole undeployed airbag) can be provided. This additional covering is opened or removed by the deploying airbag.

In order to avoid that the undeployed airbag extends from a main area of the outer surface of the basic body of the helmet, it can be preferred to provide a recessed accommodation area for the airbag in which the at least one groove is located.

The invention will now be described in detail by means of preferred embodiments in view of the figures. The figures show:

FIG. 1 a basic body of a helmet according to the invention in a cross-sectional view,

FIG. 2 the basic body of FIG. 1 in a plan view from direction R1 in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 a sectional view along plane A-A in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 an airbag adapted for being mounted to the basic body of FIGS. 1 and 2 and an inflator adapted for filling this airbag,

FIG. 5 the basic body of FIG. 1 and the airbag and the inflator of FIG. 4 being mounted to the basic body,

FIG. 6 what is shown in FIG. 5 in a plan view from direction R2 in FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 the detail D in FIG. 5,

FIGS. 8a-d a mounting element,

FIG. 9a a sectional view taken along plane B-B in FIG. 6 and the mounting element in a representation according to FIG. 8b,

FIG. 9b the items shown in FIG. 19a after the locking cross-piece of the mounting element has been pushed through the opening in the airbag and the mounting hole in the outer shell,

FIG. 9c what is shown in FIG. 9b after the mounting element has been turned 90° such that it is in a locked position,

FIG. 10 what is shown in FIG. 6 after an additional covering has been attached to the outer shell and thus the completely assembled helmet,

FIG. 11 the helmet in a representation according to FIG. 5 after the inflator has been triggered such that the airbag is in its deployed state,

FIG. 12 a second embodiment of the basic body in a view from the side,

FIG. 13 a helmet according to the prior art in a view from the side, and

FIG. 14 the helmet of FIG. 13 in a sectional view according to FIG. 1.

With a view to FIGS. 13 and 14, a helmet 5 of the prior art is described. The shown helmet 5 is a full-helmet, which is the most important type of a helmet for drivers of motorcycles, quads trikes, etc. This helmet has a basic body 10 and can additionally comprise a visor (which is not shown in the drawings). The basic body 10 extends in a first direction (X-direction) from a rear end to a front end and in a second direction (Z-direction) from a lower end (which forms a rim) to an upper end. The terms “rear”, “front”, “lower”, “upper” refer to state in which the helmet is commonly worn by the driver. The basic body 10 comprises a main body 20, a cushioning 22 being located on the inner surface of the main body 20, and an outer shell 24 outside the main body. The main body 20 is usually made of a foamed and thus shock-absorbing material like Styrofoam and the rigid outer shell 24 covering the outer surface of the main body 20 can for example consist of a fiber reinforced plastic material. In advanced helmets, the main body 20 can again comprise more than one layer. As has been mentioned, the helmet 5 is a full-helmet such that the basic body 10 comprises a chin area forming the lower front area. An opening is located between this chin area 15 and a forehead area. This opening 17 is located in front of the user's face when the helmet is worn.

The first embodiment of the invention is now described in view of FIGS. 1 to 11. This embodiment of the helmet according to the invention has a basic body 10 whose shape is very similar to the shape of the basic body of the prior art helmet described in view of FIGS. 13 and 14. So, the basic body of the helmet of the described embodiment also defines a full helmet (which is an important application of the invention), but it needs to be mentioned, that the inventive concept can also be applied to other types of helmets having a basic body, for example to helmets for bicycle riders.

As the basic body of the helmet of the prior art, the basic body of the described embodiment comprises a main body 20 (usually made of a foamed material), a cushioning 22 on the inside of the main body 20 and an outer shell 24 located on the outer surface of the main body 20. Those three elements can be made from the same material as is known from the prior art. The difference to the helmet of the prior art is, that the basic body 10 comprises a recessed accommodation area 12 for accommodating an airbag and an inflator for inflating this airbag. This recessed accommodation area 12 has an inflator section 13 at the rear end of the basic body 10 and an airbag section 14 extending from this inflator section 13 substantially to the front end (above the opening of the basic body 10). The shape of this recessed accommodation area 12 is at least in the airbag section 14 (preferably completely) defined by the shape of the outer shell 24, but—since the outer shell 24 should be in close connection to the main body 20—the main body 20 follows the shape of the outer shell 24 which has a substantially constant thickness. But, for the effect which will be described later, only the shape of the outer surface 10a of the basic body 10 is relevant. So, the invention could also be applied to a helmet which is only made of one or two layers.

As can directly be seen from FIGS. 1 and 3, at least the airbag section 14 of the recessed accommodation area 12 is relatively shallow and has a substantially uniformed width. So, this airbag section 14 of the recessed accommodation area 12 is adapted for accommodating an undeployed airbag which has a protection section which substantially forms a rectangle (such an airbag will be described later in view of FIG. 4).

As can also be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the basic body comprises a plurality of grooves 16 in the airbag section 14 of the recessed accommodation area 12, which extend substantially perpendicular to the areas of the outer surface 14a adjacent to each groove 16. The grooves 16 extend along the whole width of the airbag section 14 of the recessed accommodation area 12 in Y-direction, such that the edges of the grooves are parallel to one another (and extend in Y-direction). This direction is also referred to as the length direction of the grooves. In the embodiment shown, the all grooves have the same length L in this length direction of the grooves. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 11, five grooves 16 are provided, but of course more or less grooves could be present. The width W of the grooves in is less than their length L in Y-direction wherein the width is preferably less than one centimeter. The use and advantage of those grooves 16 will be described later in view of the FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 11.

As can also be seen from FIG. 2, the outer shell 24 comprises mounting holes 26 at the front end of the airbag section 14 of the recessed accommodation area 12.

FIG. 4 shows an airbag adapted for being mounted to the basic body 10 that has just been described. Further, an inflator 30 and a control element 32 for this inflator are schematically shown in this Figure. The airbag 40 encloses a gas space 43 and has a filling section 41 and a protection section 42. The protection section 42 has substantially the shape of a rectangle. This airbag 10 can be manufactured from two layers which are connected to each other by a seam or a bonding, or it could also be manufactured in a so called one-piece woven technique as is known in the airbag technology. The airbag 40 further comprises a border 44 and in the front area of this border 44 openings 46 matching to the mounting holes 26 in the outer shell are provided.

FIG. 5 shows the basic body shown in FIG. 1, the inflator 30 and the airbag 40 shown in FIG. 4 being mounted to it. The filling section 41 of the airbag is tightly connected to the inflator 30 and the inflator 30 is connected to the basic body, such that the rear end of the airbag 40 is indirectly—namely via the inflator 30—connected to the basic body 10. The front end of the airbag 40 is connected to the basic body 10 by means of the openings 46 as will be described later in detail. The airbag 40 is completely located in the recessed accommodation area 12, such that it does not protrude from the outer surface of the basic body outside the recessed accommodation area 12. As can be seen from FIGS. 5 to 7, sections of the airbag 40, namely of the protection section 42, are folded into the grooves 16; those sections are referred to as intermediate sections 42b which are, as can best be seen from FIG. 7, U-shaped in the mounted and undeployed state. In this connection it needs to be mentioned that these U-shaped intermediate sections 42b are only generated when the airbag is mounted to the basic body of the helmet; they are no elements of the airbag “as such” prior to the mounting process. Because of this folding of the intermediate sections 42b into the grooves 16, one can look at the protection section 42 of the airbag 40 as being comprised of main sections 42a and intermediate sections 42b, each being located between a main section 42a. The main sections 42a extend substantially parallel to the outer surface areas of the basic body 10 and the intermediate sections 42b extend substantially perpendicular to this. By means of this, the protection section 42 of the airbag 40 can be (and must be) longer than the airbag section 14 of the recessed accommodation area 12. The use of this will be described later in view of FIG. 11.

But before turning to FIG. 11, the connection of the front end of the airbag 40 to the basic body 10 will be described in detail in view to FIGS. 8a to 9c.

As can for example be seen from FIG. 2, the mounting holes 26 are provided in the outer shell 24 at the positions of the openings 46 in the border of the airbag 40. These mounting holes 26 have an oblong shape with a length exceeding the width.

FIGS. 8a to 8d show a mounting element designed for mounting the airbag 40 to the outer shell by using an opening 46 in the airbag and a mounting hole 26 in the outer shell 24. Since in this embodiment two pairs of openings 46/mounting holes 26 are present, of course also two mounting elements 60 are needed.

FIG. 8b is a side view from direction R3 in FIG. 8a, FIG. 8c is a bottom view from direction R5 in FIG. 8a and FIG. 8d is a top view from direction R4 in FIG. 8a. The mounting element 60 comprises a head 62 with a circular lower surface, a shaft 64 extending from the lower surface and a locking cross-piece 66 at the end of the shaft 64. The length of this locking cross-piece 66 is a little smaller than the length of a mounting hole 26 and the width of the locking cross-piece 66 is a little smaller than the width of a mounting hole 26. Further, the length of the locking cross-piece exceeds the width of a mounting hole 26. A slit 63 is arranged in the upper surface of the head 62 such that the mounting element can be rotated with the aid of a screw driver. FIGS. 9a to 9c show how a section of the border 44 of the airbag 40 is mounted to the outer shell 24 by means of the just described mounting element 60. The airbag 40 is placed in the recessed accommodation area 12 of the outer shell 24 in such a way that the openings 46 essentially flush with the mounting holes 46. The openings 46 can essentially have the same shape as the mounting holes 26. Then the locking crosspiece of a mounting element 60 is pushed through the opening 46 and the mounting hole 26. It is to be noted that the main body 20 comprises a hollow under each mounting hole 52 such that the locking cross-piece does not interfere with the main body 20. Finally, the mounting element 54 is turned by 90° (FIG. 9c) such that it secures the border 44 of the airbag to the outer shell 24. These steps are of course performed for each pair of openings/mounting holes.

In order to protect the airbag from the environment and in order to enhance the optical appearance, an additional covering 70 that covers the airbag 40 and the inflator 30 can be attached to the outer shell 24 (FIG. 10). This covering can comprise split-lines and/or hinges to allow at least parts of it to be moved by the deploying airbag such that the airbag can deploy from the basic body. As an alternative, the additional covering could completely disengage from the outer shell when the airbag deploys.

FIG. 11 shows substantially what is shown in FIG. 5 (plus the additional covering of FIG. 10) in a state in which the airbag 40 is completely deployed. Because of the deployment of the airbag, the intermediate sections 42b are pulled out of the grooves 16, but the airbag is still held between its rear end connection (via the inflator) and its front end connection (via the mounting elements 60). The additional length that is provided by the intermediate sections 42b allow the airbag to deploy such that its surface pointing away from the basic body 10 extends from the outer surface of the basic body. Without the extra length given by the intermediate sections 42b this would not be possible for geometrical reasons. So, by means of providing the grooves 16 and folding intermediate sections of the airbag 40 into that grooves, the airbag can be packed tightly to the basic body 10 without losing the ability to fully deploy. Additionally, the airbag has a clearly defined position relative to the basic body in its undeployed state.

FIG. 12 shows a basic body of a second embodiment. Here, the recessed accommodation area extends basically circumferentially around an upper area of the basic body.

In most applications it will be preferred to provide a recessed accommodation area from which the grooves extend, such that the main sections of the airbag are located in this recessed accommodation area, but the inventive principle of folding intermediate sections into grooves could also be used if no such recessed accommodation area is provided.

Finally it is to be mentioned that the folding of intermediate sections of the airbag into grooves of a basic body can be applied to any type of helmets, not only to a full helmet as has been shown in the described embodiments.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

• • 5 helmet
  • 10 basic body
  • 10a outer surface of basic body
  • 12 recessed accommodation area of basic body body
  • 13 inflator section
  • 14 airbag section
  • 14a outer surface of airbag section of recessed accommodation area
  • 16 groove in airbag section of accommodation area
  • 20 main body
  • 21 hollow
  • 22 cushioning
  • 24 outer shell
  • 26 mounting hole in outer shell
  • 30 inflator
  • 32 control element
  • 40 airbag
  • 41 filling section
  • 42 protection section
  • 42a main section
  • 42b intermediate section
  • 43 gas space
  • 44 border
  • 46 opening in border
  • 60 mounting element
  • 62 head
  • 63 slit in head
  • 64 shaft
  • 66 locking cross-piece
  • 70 additional covering

Claims

1-12. (canceled)

13. A helmet comprising:

a basic body having an outer surface, and

an airbag being connected to the basic body at least indirectly, wherein at least two main sections of the un-deployed airbag extend along the outer surface of the basic body,

wherein

the basic body comprises at least one groove extending from the outer surface into the basic body, and

at least one intermediate section of the un-deployed airbag being located between two neighbored main sections is folded into the groove.

14. The helmet of claim 13, wherein the groove extends substantially perpendicular to the area of the outer surface from which it extends.

15. The helmet of claim 13, wherein the groove has a length in a length direction and a width in a width direction, wherein the length exceeds the width.

16. The helmet of claim 13, wherein the basic body comprises a plurality of grooves and in each groove an intermediate section of the airbag is located, such that main sections of the airbag extending along the outer surface of the basic body and intermediate sections of the airbag, each being located in a groove, alternate.

17. The helmet of claim 16, wherein each groove has a length in a length direction and a width in a width direction, wherein the length exceeds the width and the length directions of all grooves are parallel to one another.

18. The helmet of claim 13, wherein each intermediate section of the airbag is located inside its allocated groove along its complete width.

19. The helmet of claim 13, wherein the airbag is substantially hose-shaped and extends from a first end to a second end.

20. The helmet of claim 19, wherein the length of the airbag exceeds its width.

21. The helmet of claim 13, wherein the airbag is permanently connected to the protective main body only at or near its first end and at or near its second end.

22. The helmet of claim 21, wherein the length of the airbag exceeds its width.

23. The helmet of claim 13, wherein the basic body comprises a main body and an outer shell.

24. The helmet of claim 23, wherein the helmet further comprises an additional covering that covers at least a part of the airbag, such that at least this part of the airbag is located between the outer shell and the additional covering.

25. The helmet of claim 13, wherein the at least one groove is located inside a recessed accommodation area for the airbag.