Abstract:
A shielding device for a helmet installed so as to secure a sufficient field of vision as well as protect the face portion of the helmet wearer is disclosed. The shielding device for a helmet comprises a shield  10  to cover the opened portion of the helmet body  1 ; a sun visor  20  which is placed on the inside of the shield  10  to shut off sunlight; a visor  30  which is placed between the shield  10  and the sun visor  20  to block the inflow of rainwater; a hinge joining means  40  which pivotably supports both ends of the shield  10  and sun visor  30  so that they can pivot up and down in one body and/or individually; and a rotation interruption means  50  which obstructs the shield  10 , sun visor  20  and visor  30  from descending due to self weight as well as makes the shield  10  be pivoted intermittently with respect to the visor  30.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a helmet, and more specifically to a shielding device for a helmet installed so as to secure a sufficient field of vision as well as protect the face portion of the helmet wearer.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     During the driving of a motorcycle, a helmet is worn for the safety reason of protecting the head of the wearer. And in general, such a helmet is provided with a shielding means for ensuring normal breathing as well as securing the field of vision of the wearer by intercepting wind blowing from front and sunlight.  
         [0005]     And, the conventional shield device provided for the helmet is represented by a shield of a transparent or semi-transparent material, and such a shield, in general, is provided with a structure which can be opened or closed up and down. But the conventional shield has a problem of deteriorating the wearing feeling such as making the wearer feel stuffy in hot summertime because it is in such a size as to cover the whole face of the wearer. Meanwhile, there is a helmet which adopts a sun visor in place of such a shield. The sun visor can prevent dazzling of sunlight but cannot shut out wind during driving, so it is not sufficient as a means of shielding.  
         [0006]     Therefore, there is a need for a shielding device which can be functioned as a sun visor as well as a conventional shield or in which the function of the sun visor can be optionally used.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shield device for a helmet which can enhance the convenience of use by having a plurality of shielding devices comprising a shield, sun visor and visor having different functions such that they are easy to attach and detach and can be optionally used.  
         [0008]     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a shielding device for a helmet comprising: a shield to cover the opened portion of the helmet body; a sun visor which is placed on the inside of the shield to shut off sunlight; a visor which is placed between the shield and the sun visor to block the inflow of rainwater; a hinge joining means which pivotably supports both ends of the shield and sun visor so that they can pivot up and down in one body and/or individually; and a rotation interruption means which obstructs the shield, sun visor and visor from descending due to self weight as well as makes the shield be pivoted intermittently with respect to the visor.  
         [0009]     According to a first embodiment of the present invention, the hinge joining means includes a fastening screw which passes through first to third through holes in sequence formed at either end portion of the shield, sun visor and visor.  
         [0010]     And, the rotation interruption means includes a first toothed wheel mounted on the inside of either end of the shield, and a second toothed wheel mounted on the outside of either end of the visor.  
         [0011]     Preferably, the shielding device further comprises belt-formed sealing members attached on the front of the visor in contact with the inside of the shield.  
         [0012]     According to a second embodiment of the present invention, the hinge joining means includes a first screw which passes through in sequence a first through hole formed at either end portion of the shield, a third through hole formed at either end portion of the visor and a second through hole formed at either end portion of the sun visor to screwed to the side of the helmet; and a second screw which passes through a fourth through hole formed at a predetermined distance away from the third through hole of the visor to be fixed on the helmet body.  
         [0013]     And, the rotation interruption means includes a first protuberance formed at either end of the shield, a second protuberance formed at either end of the sun visor, and, a third protuberance around the third through hole  31  of either end portion of the visor which is inserted into a slot provided on the first adjacent protuberances  12  and the second adjacent protuberances  22 , respectively to support the rotation of these.  
         [0014]     Preferably, the third protuberance of the visor has elastic force to obstruct or allow the movement of the first and second protuberances, and the thickness W of the third protuberance is formed greater than the thickness V of the visor so that the inside portion of the third protuberance adjacent to the body of the helmet comes into frictional contact with the second protuberance of the sun visor placed between the body and the visor and the outside portion of the third protuberance comes into frictional contact with the first protuberance of the shield placed on the outside of the visor. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     Other objects and aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a shielding device for a helmet according to a first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a lateral view showing how the shield shown in  FIG. 1  is being used;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a lateral view showing how the shield and sun visor shown in  FIG. 1  are being operated simultaneously;  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the hinge joining means shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of a shielding device for a helmet according to a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is a drawing showing how the shield shown in  FIG. 5  is being used;  
         [0022]      FIG. 7  is a drawing showing how the shield and sun visor shown in  FIG. 5  are being used;  
         [0023]      FIG. 8  is a sectional view showing the configuration of the rotation interruption means shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0024]     Below will be described in detail a shield device for helmet according to the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0025]     The helmet of the present invention comprises a shield  10 , a sun visor  20  and a visor  30  as main components, and these are called collectively a shielding device in the present invention.  
         [0026]     Of these, the shield  10  shuts out the driving wind coming into the portion of the face of the helmet wearer from ahead of the helmet during the driving of motorcycle, for example. The sun visor  20  placed on the inside of the shield  10  is made in such a size that can shield the upper half of the face of the helmet wearer so as to intercept dazzling due to sun light.  
         [0027]     And, the visor  30  placed between the shield  10  and the sun visor  20  is for preventing rainwater from flowing into the helmet in case of rain, and is made in a shape of a short visor.  
         [0028]     First Embodiment  
         [0029]      FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view showing a shielding device for a helmet according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0030]     In the first embodiment of the present invention, the shield  10 , sun visor  20  and visor  30  are assembled together by a hinge joining means  40  in each end portion of both sides. The hinge joining means  40  is mounted on each of both sides of the helmet by screw joining such that the shield  10  and sun visor  30  can pivot up and down in one body or individually.  
         [0031]     The hinge joining means  40  shown in  FIG. 1  has, for example, first to third circular through holes  11 ,  21  and  31  formed at each end of both sides of the shield  10 , sun visor  20  and visor  30 . A fastening screw  41  passes through these through holes  11 ,  21  and  31 , and screws with a nut  42 .  
         [0032]     According as the both end portions of the shield  10 , sun visor  20  and visor  30  are tightened by the fastening screw  41  and nut  42  of the hinge joining means  40 , the helmet wearer can pivot the shield  10  and the sun visor  20  simultaneously or individually.  
         [0033]     Also, at wearer&#39;s convenience, the fastening screw  41  of the hinge joining means  40  can be unfastened to separate any one of the shield  10 , sun visor  20  and visor  30  from the helmet or mount only one to the helmet optionally.  
         [0034]     In addition to such a configuration, it can have a rotation interruption means  50  including a first toothed wheel  51  mounted on the inside of each end of the shield  10  and a second toothed wheel  52  mounted on the outside of each end of the visor  30 .  
         [0035]     Namely, since the first toothed wheel  51  are mounted on the inside of either end of the shield  10  and the second toothed wheel  52  which meshes with the first toothed wheel  51  are mounted also on the outside of either end, the shield  10  is pivoted intermittently according as the first and second toothed wheels  51  and  52  rotate, when the shield  10  is pivoted up and down.  
         [0036]     Here, it is preferable that the fastening screw  41  of the hinge joining means  40  is installed passing through the rotation interruption means  50 .  
         [0037]     On the front of the visor  30  in contact with the inside of the shield  10  can be attached sealing members  33  in a belt form. The sealing members  33  is made of, for example, a rubber material, to prevent water leakage into the gap between the visor  30  and the shield  10 .  
         [0038]     And, the extended portion of the side end of the visor  30  can have snaps  35  for joining with the side portion of the helmet. By using the snaps  35 , the assembly of the shield  10 , sun visor  20  and visor  30  can be attached to or detached from the fixing members (not shown) formed on the helmet.  
         [0039]     Next will be described the principle of operation of the shielding device according to the first embodiment.  
         [0040]     First, among the shield  10 , sun visor  20  and visor  30 , to use only the shield  10  without using the sun visor  20 , the sun visor  20  is pivoted upward to position it in the top end portion of the shield  10 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . Accordingly, the shield  10  is positioned ahead of the helmet so as to shield the face portion of the helmet wearer.  
         [0041]     At this time, to adjust the angle of the shield  10  up or down, the shield  10  is pivoted slightly up or down. Namely, because the first and second toothed wheels  51  and  52  of the rotation interruption means  50  provided in the shield  10  and the visor  30  shown in  FIG. 1  rotate in meshed state, the shield  10  and the visor  30  can be prevented from going down freely by self-weight.  
         [0042]     Next, to use the shield  10  and sun visor  20  simultaneously, only the sun visor  20  is pivoted downward to position it in front of the field of vision of the helmet wearer.  
         [0043]     And, to use only the sun visor  20  without using the shield  10 , only the shield  10  is pivoted upward with the sun visor  20  down to its original position, as shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0044]     At this time, the pivoted shield  10  can have the angle adjusted properly. Namely, since the first and second toothed wheels  51  and  52  of the rotation interruption means  50  rotate in meshed state as described above, the helmet wearer can pivot the shield  10  at a desired angle to a stop, with the shield  10  interrupted from going down freely by self-weight.  
         [0045]     Like this, it is possible to pivot the shield  10  and the sun visor  20  simultaneously in one body or individually one by one. Because both of the end portions of the shield  10 , sun visor  20  and visor  30  are tightened each other by the fastening screw  41  of the hinge joining means  40 , the helmet wearer can pivot by holding by hand the element he wants to pivot.  
         [0046]     Meanwhile, to choose only the desired one out of the shield  10  and the sun visor  20  to mount it on the helmet, the fastening screw  41  of the hinge joining means  40  is unfastened to disassemble and then reassemble it.  
         [0047]     Second Embodiment  
         [0048]      FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view showing a shielding device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0049]     In the second embodiment, the configuration of the hinge joining means  40  and the rotation interruption means  50  is different from the first embodiment.  
         [0050]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , a hinge joining means  40  exemplified in the second embodiment includes a first through hole  11  formed at either end portion of the shield  10 , a third through hole  31  formed at either end portion of the visor  30 , a second through hole  21  formed at either end portion of the sun visor  20 , and a first screw  41  which passes through these through holes  11 ,  31  and  21  in sequence and screwed to the side of the helmet; and a second screw  43  which is fixed on the helmet body  1  through a fourth through hole  36  formed at a predetermined distance away from the third through hole  31  of the visor  30 .  
         [0051]     And, the rotation interruption means  50  of the hinge joining means  40 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , includes a first protuberance  12  formed at either end of the shield  10 , a second protuberance  22  formed at either end of the sun visor  20 , and a third protuberance  32  which is formed around the third through hole  31  at either end potion of the visor  30  and has a predetermined elastic force. Here, the third protuberance  32  of the visor  30  formed in the direction of the circumference around the through hole  31  has self elastic force, so it obstructs the movement of the first and second protuberances  12  and  22 .  
         [0052]     When the third protuberance  32  formed at either end of the visor  30  is inserted into the slot provided on the first adjacent protuberances  12  and the second adjacent protuberances  22 , respectively, the pivoting of the shield  10  and the sun visor  20  is obstructed by the third protuberance  32 . On the other hand, if the wearer moves by hand the shield  10  or the sun visor  20  up or down, the first and second protuberances  12  and  22  press the third protuberance  32  to release the caught condition. Accordingly, the wearer can move the shield  10  or the sun visor  20  at a desired angle. When the movement of the shield  10  or the sun visor  20  is completed, the third protuberance  32  is restored to the original form by self elastic force, while it is inserted into the slot provided on the first adjacent protuberances  12  and the second adjacent protuberances  22 , respectively, to obstruct the pivoting by self weight of the shield  10  and the sun visor  20 .  
         [0053]     Here, the thickness W of the third protuberance  32  is formed greater than the thickness V of the visor  30 . Therefore, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the inside portion of the third protuberance  32  adjacent to the helmet body  1  comes into frictional contact with the second protuberance  22  of the sun visor  20  placed between the body  1  and the visor  30 , and the outside portion of the third protuberance  32  comes into frictional contact with the first protuberance  12  of the shield  10  placed on the outside of the visor  30 .  
         [0054]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , around the first and second protuberances  11  and  22  of the shield  10  and the sun visor  20  are formed the first and second long holes  13  and  23  into which a stopper  61  protruded in the head portion of a decoration washer  60  is inserted. Therefore, the shield  10  and the sun visor  20  have the pivot angle restricted within the length of these long holes by the stopper  61  inserted into the first and second long holes  13  and  23 .  
         [0055]     Operation of the shielding device in the second embodiment is almost identical with that in the first embodiment.  
         [0056]     First, in the shield  10  and the sun visor  20 , to use only the shield  10  without using the sun visor  20 , as shown in  FIG. 6 , the sun visor  20  is pivoted upward to be turned up, then the sun visor  20  only is pivoted upward with the visor  30  fixed and it is positioned in the top end portion of the shield  10 . At this time, the shield  10  may be positioned in front of the helmet to shield the face portion of the wearer. In this condition, the third protuberance  32  of the visor  30  is inserted and caught into the slot provided on the first adjacent protuberances  12  of either end of the shield  10  to obstruct its going down due to its self weight, so the shield  10  continues to maintain the condition.  
         [0057]     Next, when the shield  10  and the sun visor  20  are not used simultaneously, as shown in  FIG. 7 , both the shield  10  and the sun visor  20  are pivoted upward so that they are not positioned in front the field of vision of the helmet wearer.  
         [0058]     And, to use only the sun visor  20  without using the shield  10 , only the sun visor  10  is pivoted upward with the sun visor  20  put in a desired position.  
         [0059]     The shield  10  and the sun visor  20 , during the pivoting of each, have the pivot angle restricted within the length of the first and second long holes  13  and  23  by the stopper  61  of the decoration washer  60  inserted in the these long holes, so the shield  10  and the sun visor  20  are prevented from excessive pivoting.  
         [0060]     Like this, the shield  10  and the sun visor  20  can be pivoted both in the same time or individually one by one. Namely, because both ends of the shield  10 , the sun visor  20  or the visor  30  are joined together by the hinge joining means  40 , the helmet wearer can pivot the desired element just by holding it by hand.  
         [0061]     As described above, the shielding device according to the present invention has all of the shield, sun visor and visor with different functions each other which can be used optionally as necessary and can be easily attached and detached, so it can greatly improve the convenience of the helmet user.  
         [0062]     Although the present invention has been described in connection with the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, it is only illustrative. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalents can be made to the present invention. Therefore, the true technical scope of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims.