Patent ID: 9474651
Filing Date: 2016-10-25
CPC Classification: A61F

Claim Text:
1. A protective welding helmet comprising: a) an over-the-head component including substantially enclosing top and side portions, the over-the-head component being configured to be worn by a user and to protect the top and sides of the user's head; b) a face plate component having an eye-protective section, said face plate component being detachable from and reattachable to said over-the-head component, c) said face plate having a handle, such that when detached, said face plate, when held by said handle, is separate from said over-the-head component to allow the user to alternatively look through said eye-protective section and continue to perform a weld and to hold said face plate aside of the user's eyes to allow a direct line of sight to said weld, wherein: the handle is secured to the face plate component using a flexible connector, the handle having a convex surface and an opposing concave surface forming a holding trough for holding at least one of a handle of a welding torch and a line extension of the welding torch, the convex surface of the handle is configured to face toward the user's body when the face plate component covers the user's face and the concave surface of the trough is configured to face away from the user's body when the face plate component covers the user's face, and the flexible connector includes a first end directly coupled to the face plate component and a second end directly coupled to the handle, and the flexible connector is bendable so as to allow adjustment of an angle and orientation of the face plate component with respect to the handle.