Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A42—HEADWEAR
  • A42B—HATS; HEAD COVERINGS
  • A42B3/00—Helmets; Helmet covers ; Other protective head coverings
  • A42B3/04—Parts, details or accessories of helmets
  • A42B3/06—Impact-absorbing shells, e.g. of crash helmets
  • A42B3/061—External coatings, e.g. with light reflective material

Definitions

• the present invention generally concerns a coating for helmet, a coated helmet and a method of manufacturing the coated helmet
• the present invention concerns a coating for a motorcyclist helmet, the respective coated helmet and the method of manufacturing the coated helmet
• Prior art
• Helmets for instance motorcyclist helmets, in general, and especially helmets comprising an external coating, are well known.
• Patent Application US 2005/0028253A1 discloses a protective helmet comp ⁇ sing an internal shell or cap of rigid material, such as KEVLAR, and an external shell secured to the internal shell
• the external shell of the known helmet is rigid, it is moulded from plastic or polymeric mate ⁇ al and it has an outer shape corresponding to that of a conventional hat Substantially, the known coated helmet appears as a conventional hat to an observer
• a first problem with such kind of helmet is that the coating is ⁇ gid and formed in advance and it cannot be adapted to changes in the helmet size Moreover, the known coating, being rigid, affords only a limited improvement in the safety capability of the helmet
• helmets in particular motorcyclist helmets, where the cap is coated, wholly or in part, by a fabric directly glued to the cap are also known
• a known helmet of such kind is for instance helmet model "Borsahno" produced by company New Max S r 1
• a first problem with such kind of helmet is that the fabric, being directly in contact with a rigid surface, is subject to damages such as tears, abrasions etc in case of fortuitous impacts with objects
• the object is achieved by the helmet coating and the coated helmet having the features set forth in the appended claims.
• the present invention also concerns a method of manufacturing a coated helmet.
• the coating for a helmet cap includes a layer of resilient material having a first surface arranged to be secured to the helmet cap, and a second surface secured to an external coating layer.
• the layer of resilient material is made of polyurethane foams.
• the coating layer is made of one or more materials chosen out of the group comprising natural and/or synthetic fabric, natural and/or synthetic skin, fabric and/or skin patches.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic cross sectional view of a coating for helmet cap in which the different components are kept separated;
• FIG. 2 is a schematic cross sectional view of an assembled coating for helmet cap
• FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a coated helmet according to the invention. Description of preferred embodiments
• a coated helmet 10 includes at least one rigid cap 12, e.g. the cap of a motorcyclist helmet, a layer 14 of resilient material having a first surface 14a secured, e.g. glued, to a surface 12a of cap 12, in particular an external surface, and a coating layer 15, having an internal surface 15a in turn secured, e.g. glued, to a second surface 14b of resilient material 14 and an exposed external surface 15b.
• a coated helmet 10 includes at least one rigid cap 12, e.g. the cap of a motorcyclist helmet, a layer 14 of resilient material having a first surface 14a secured, e.g. glued, to a surface 12a of cap 12, in particular an external surface, and a coating layer 15, having an internal surface 15a in turn secured, e.g. glued, to a second surface 14b of resilient material 14 and an exposed external surface 15b.
• layer 14 of resilient material and coating layer 15 form coating 45 of cap 12 of helmet 10.
• Rigid cap 12 e.g. made of composite fibres of carbon, glass etc., may internally have a padding 21 (Fig. 3), of known type, equipped with possible accessories corresponding, for instance, to those of a conventional motorcyclist helmet.
• external surface 12a (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3) of cap 12 can be a finished or a rough surface of a helmet cap.
• the layer (sheet) of resilient material 14 is preferably made of soft polyurethane foams, in particular foams of known type usually employed for making paddings.
• a polyurethane layer/sheet 1 to 10 mm thick is used, having an adhesive film of known type on a first surface 14a or on first and second surfaces 14a and 14b, respectively.
• polyurethane foams may be replaced by other materials having resiliency characteristics similar to polyurethane and being suitable e.g. for making paddings.
• Coating layer 15 is made for instance of natural or synthetic fabrics or natural or synthetic skins. Coating layer 15 can also be made of fabric or skin patches 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, 16e, as shown in Fig. 3, sewed together along their edges.
• coating layer 15 can be made of any material, preferably a material having a limited thickness and a high degree of adaptability.
• the method of manufacturing helmet 10 comprises the following steps: - applying a layer/sheet of resilient material 14 onto cap 12;
• - securing fabric 15 to sheet 14 by means of the adhesive layer provided on external surface 14b of sheet 14; - cutting fabric 15 in correspondence of the cap edges so as to provide an excess band to be folded over inside the cap and glued, for instance by using a water-based glue; such step could also include making one or more seams or applying a band to be folded over having one or more seams in correspondence of the edges of cap 12; as it can be readily appreciated by a skilled in the art, the seam or the band to be folded over can facilitate the step of folding over the fabric inside the cap.
• a glue to cap 12 for instance a water-based glue; such as glue "aquagum/im” of company Frabo;
• a glue for instance a water-based glue; of the same type as that mentioned above, to surface 14b of sheet 14; - gluing fabric 15 by making surface 15b of fabric 15 adhere to external surface 14b of sheet 14.
• step of cutting fabric 15 in correspondence of the cap edges so as to provide an excess band to be folded over is replaced by the steps of:
• the steps of applying and securing sheet 14 to cap 12 are for instance replaced by the steps of: - securing fabric 15 to sheet 14, for instance by gluing and/or sewing fabric 15 to sheet 14 so as to form coating 45;
• coating 45 independently of cap 12 or helmet 10 and to apply the complete coating 45, obtained by joining sheet 14 with fabric 15, to cap 12 and/or helmet 10.
• the helmet coating described above has the clear advantage that it is not damaged by small entity impacts.
• the coating according to the invention comprising a layer of a material having a certain resiliency, is capable of absorbing shocks caused by fortuitous events such as helmet fall from a moving vehicle, impact against objects of various kinds during transportation, etc.
• the helmet coating described above also allows improving the safety afforded by the helmet, by increasing its capacity of absorbing shocks, also upon a fall or an accident of the wearer.
• helmet coating 45 described above has the further advantage that coating layer 15 secured to layer 14 of resilient material maintains the characteristics typical of the material it is made of.
• layer 14 of resilient material described above ensures that coating layer 15, whether it is made of natural or synthetic material, maintains its characteristics of softness, adaptability, resiliency etc. Therefore, the person using the coated helmet according to the invention has a tactile and visual perception similar to that attainable by handling the material coating layer 15 is made of.

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• Helmets And Other Head Coverings (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=40299939

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (1)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 2007
  • 2007-08-09 IT ITTO20070596 patent/ITTO20070596A1/it unknown
• 2008
  • 2008-08-08 WO PCT/IB2008/053195 patent/WO2009019667A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2008-08-08 EP EP08789586A patent/EP2180801A1/en not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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