Abstract:
A helmet, such as used by firefighters, includes a compass mounted on the inside of the helmet in a location that will be easily visible to the wearer when necessary but will be positioned so it will not distract the wearer at other times.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the general art of headgear, and to the particular field of helmets. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     Many fires require firemen to enter a burning building. Many modern fires generate a great deal of smoke and vision-impairing debris due to the materials found in many buildings. As is well known, smoke inhalation is just as dangerous, if not more so, than the other dangers associated with fires. Accordingly, most, if not all, firefighters wear helmets and other forms of headgear when entering a building during a fire emergency. 
     While the helmets are indispensable and life-preserving, they sometimes may hinder the wearer in some respects. A helmet may reduce the wearer&#39;s vision somewhat, if for no other reason than the wearer&#39;s peripheral vision may be reduced or impaired by the helmet. Even if the helmet has a large face-covering portion, most people have a peripheral vision capability that will be reduced or impaired by even large face-covering portions. Thus, for example, if visibility is reduced due to smoke or the like, the wearer will want as much of his or her vision capability as possible and their peripheral vision will certainly help the wearer orient himself or herself. Any reduction in the peripheral vision by a helmet may not be desirable if the wearer must orient himself or herself in a very low-visibility environment. Often, a building that is being entered by firefighters has the electricity cut off and may not have any means for providing artificial light. This lack of artificial light exacerbates the visibility reduction already caused by smoke and the like. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a fireman&#39;s helmet that will enhance the safety of the wearer. 
     More specifically, when visibility is severely reduced or nearly eliminated by smoke or the like, the firefighter may become disoriented and lose his or her way. This may cause the firefighter to move in the wrong direction, which may be extremely dangerous. However, without clear visibility, this situation is very likely, especially when the firefighter may be concentrating on things other than his or her direction of movement or orientation. This situation is exacerbated if the firefighter&#39;s helmet reduces their ability to visually orient themselves. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a fireman&#39;s helmet that will permit the wearer to orient himself or herself even in vision-impairing environmental conditions. 
     More specifically, there is a need for a fireman&#39;s helmet that will permit the wearer to determine directions even if visibility is reduced or eliminated by environmental conditions. 
     However, in order to provide directional information to a helmet wearer, the information must be provided in a manner that will not interfere with the wearer&#39;s vision or distract them in any way. Distraction or vision interference may be more than merely undesirable, especially in extremely dangerous situations. However, directional information is very important, and thus a balance must be made regarding the provision of directional information and the provision of such information in a manner that may distract the helmet wearer or even impair his or her vision. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a fireman&#39;s helmet that can provide direction to the wearer even if the wearer&#39;s vision is impaired by environmental conditions but will not interfere with the wearer&#39;s concentration or vision. 
     PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a main object of the present invention to provide a fireman&#39;s helmet that will enhance the safety of the wearer. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a fireman&#39;s helmet that can provide direction to the wearer even if the wearer&#39;s vision is impaired by environmental conditions. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a fireman&#39;s helmet that can provide direction to the wearer even if the wearer&#39;s vision is impaired by environmental conditions but will not distract the wearer. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a fireman&#39;s helmet that can provide direction to the wearer even if the wearer&#39;s vision is impaired by environmental conditions but will not interfere with the wearer&#39;s concentration or vision. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     These, and other, objects are achieved by a fireman&#39;s helmet that includes a compass mounted inside the helmet. The compass is located where the wearer can easily see the compass when necessary but is located where it will not interfere with the wearer&#39;s vision or distract the wearer and the wearer must exercise a conscious effort to view the compass. In this manner, the compass will be readily visible to the wearer when desired, but will not be located to interfere with the wearer&#39;s vision and will be located so the wearer must exercise a conscious effort to view the compass. Thus, the compass will not distract the wearer. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a fireman&#39;s helmet that includes a compass located to provide direction information without distracting the wearer. 
     FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the fireman&#39;s helmet embodying the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
     Referring to the accompanying FIGS. 1 and 2, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in a fireman&#39;s helmet  10  which comprises a head covering section  12  which includes a forehead cover  14  which covers a wearer&#39;s forehead above the wearer&#39;s eyes when the head covering section  12  is worn, and which extends between the wearer&#39;s right temple section and the wearer&#39;s left temple section. The forehead cover  14  is formed of opaque material and has an inside edge  16  and an outside edge  18 , with the inside edge  16  being located adjacent to the wearer&#39;s eyes. The head covering section  12  further includes a right-cheek cover  20  which when the head covering section  12  is worn, covers a right cheek section of the wearer&#39;s face and which extends from the wearer&#39;s right temple section to near the chin area of the wearer. The right-cheek cover  20  is formed of opaque material and has an inside edge  22  and an outside edge  24  with the inside edge  22  of the right-cheek cover  20  being located adjacent to the wearer&#39;s face. The head covering section  12  further includes a left-cheek cover  30  which, when the head covering section is worn, covers a left cheek section of the wearer&#39;s face and which extends from the wearer&#39;s left temple section to near the chin area of the wearer. The left-cheek cover  30  is formed of opaque material and has an inside edge  36  and an outside edge  34  with the inside edge  36  of the left-cheek cover  30  being located adjacent to the wearer&#39;s face on the side of the wearer&#39;s face and opposite to the right-cheek  20  such that the wearer&#39;s face is located between the right-cheek cover  20  and the left-cheek cover  30  and adjacent to the forehead cover  14  when the head covering section  12  is worn. 
     A chin cover  40  is located adjacent to the chin area of a wearer between the wearer&#39;s mouth area and the neck area of the wearer when the head covering section  12  is worn. The chin cover  40  is formed of opaque material and has an inside edge  42  located adjacent to the wearer&#39;s mouth and an outside area  44  located near the neck section of the wearer. 
     The inside edges of the forehead cover  14 , the right-cheek cover  20 , the left-cheek cover  30 , and the chin cover  40  intersect each other and define a continuous inner periphery  46  surrounding the face area of a wearer when the head covering section  12  is worn. A top right corner  48  is defined at the intersection of the inside edges of the forehead cover  14  and the right-cheek cover  20 , a top left corner  50  is defined at the intersection of the inside edges of the forehead cover  14  and the left-cheek cover  30 , a bottom right corner  52  is defined at the intersection of the inside edges of the right-cheek cover  20  and the chin cover  40 , and a bottom left corner  53  is defined at the intersection of the inside edges of the left-cheek cover  30  and the chin cover  40 . 
     The head covering section further  12  includes a face shield  54  is mounted on the inside edges of the forehead cover  14 , the right-cheek cover  20 , the left-cheek cover  30  and the chin cover  40 . The face shield  54  is formed of transparent material which is impervious to smoke and air and has an inside surface  56  located near the wearer&#39;s face and an outside surface  58  which is exposed to the environment when the head covering section  12  is worn. 
     The head covering section  12  further includes a strap system  60  that secures the head covering section  12  to the wearer. Strap system  60  includes a rear head support  64  that abuts the rear of a wearer&#39;s head when the head covering section  12  is worn and which includes an outer peripheral edge  66 . The strap system  60  further includes a top strap  68  which connects the outside edge  18  of the forehead cover  14  to the outer peripheral edge  66  of the rear head support  64 , a top right strap  70  located near the forehead cover  14  and which connects the outside edge  24  of the right-cheek cover  20  to the outer peripheral edge  66  of the rear head support  64 , a bottom right strap  72  located near the chin cover  40  and which connects the outside edge  24  of the right-cheek cover  20  to the outer peripheral edge  66  of the rear head support  64 , a top left strap  76  located near the forehead cover  14  and which connects the left-cheek cover  30  to the outer peripheral edge  66  of the rear head support  64 , and a bottom left strap  78  located near the chin cover  40  and which connects the left-cheek cover  30  to the outer peripheral edge  66  of the rear head support  64 . 
     An air filter unit  80  is attached to the chin section  40  and to the right-cheek cover  20  and to the left-cheek cover  30  and includes an air vent  82  located in the chin section  40  and which is in fluid communication with the wearer when the head covering section  12  is worn to locate inhalable air adjacent to the wearer&#39;s face and to remove exhaled air from adjacent the wearer&#39;s face. The air filter unit  80  includes an air filter system that is usual to such helmets and filters air entering and leaving the head covering section  12 . 
     The helmet  10  of the present invention includes a directional magnetic compass  90  mounted on the inside surface  56  of the face shield  54  adjacent to the bottom right corner  52 . The compass includes a face  92  having direction indicators  94  thereon and a compass pointer  96 . Compass  90  is located to be visible to a wearer when the wearer looks down and to the right but will not be visible when the wearer looks directly ahead. In this manner, the compass  90  will be visible when desired but will not distract the wearer at other times. Therefore, when a wearer needs directions, he or she can simply look down at the compass  90  by making a conscious effort to look at the compass  90 . By locating the compass  90  in a position that requires a conscious effort to view it, the compass  90  will be available to the wearer when he or she needs it, but will not distract the wearer at other times. 
     It is understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts described and shown.