Badge-mounting device for protective helmet

A protective helmet of a type worn by a firefighter or by an emergency worker, wherein the protective helmet is equipped with a mounting device, by which a badge having a front face bearing indicia is mounted to the protective helmet. The mounting device comprises a fitment, which is mounted to the protective helmet and which has a recess opening downwardly and receiving an upper portion of the badge, the upper portion comprising an upper end of the badge. The mounting device comprises a blade, which is mounted to the protective helmet and which has a portion extending upwardly along a back face of the badge as far as the upper edge of the badge, or farther. The badge may be predominantly made of leather. The blade is a leaf spring, which biases the badge frontwardly.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to a protective helmet of a type worn by a firefighter or by an emergency worker, as equipped with a mounting device, by which a badge is mounted to the protective helmet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Heretofore, it has been known to equip a protective helmet of the type noted above with a mounting device, by which a badge having a front face bearing indicia is mounted to the protective helmet. It has been known for the badge, which may be also called a shield, to be predominantly made of leather.

Moreover, it has been known for the mounting device to comprise a fitment, which is mounted to the protective helmet and which has a recess opening downwardly and receiving an upper portion of the badge, and a blade, which is mounted to the protective helmet and which has a portion extending upwardly along a back face of the badge, toward but not as far as the upper portion of the badge. If the blade is a leaf spring, as has been known, the upwardly extending portion of the blade biases the badge frontwardly.

Because the blade portion extending upwardly along the back face of the badge does not extend as far as the upper portion of the badge, it has been possible for a foreign object, such as a wire, inadvertently to enter the recess from the front face of the badge, to bend the upper portion of the badge backwardly, over an upper end of the blade, and to be thus caught in the recess. It is distracting for a wearer of the protective helmet to have to dislodge a foreign object caught in the recess.

For further background, a protective helmet of the type noted above, as equipped with a mounting device mounting a leather shield to the protective helmet, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,889,537.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides a protective helmet of a type worn by a firefighter or by an emergency worker, as equipped with a mounting device, by which a badge is mounted to the protective helmet. The badge may be predominantly made of leather.

The mounting device comprises a fitment, which is mounted to the protective helmet and which has a recess opening downwardly and receiving an upper portion of the badge, and a blade, which is mounted to the protective helmet and which has a portion extending upwardly along a back face of the badge. The upper portion of the badge includes an upper edge of the badge. If the blade is a leaf spring, the upwardly extending portion of the blade biases the badge frontwardly.

As contemplated by this invention, the blade portion extending upwardly along the back face of the badge extends as far as the upper edge of the badge, or farther. Thus, the upper portion of the badge cannot be backwardly bent over an upper end of the upwardly extending portion of the blade, by a foreign object, such as a wire, attempting to enter the recess from the front face of the badge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

As illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2, a protective helmet10of the type noted above has an outer shell12and is equipped with a mounting device20, by which a badge30made predominantly of leather, having a front face32bearing indicia, and having a back face34is mounted to the protective helmet10. A brace36made of sheet metal is riveted to the badge30so as to extend laterally along the back face34. The badge30has a lower portion38, which is riveted to the outer shell12of the helmet10, and an upper portion40, which includes an upper edge42of the badge30.

Moreover, the mounting device20comprise a fitment50, which is stylized to resemble an eagle, which is mounted to the protective helmet10via rivets52, and which has a recess54opening downwardly and receiving the upper portion40of the badge30. Furthermore, the mounting device20comprises a blade60, which is a leaf spring and which is mounted to the protective helmet10, via the fitment50. The blade60has a front portion62extending upwardly along the back face34of the badge30, between the brace36and the back face34of the badge30, toward but not as far as the upper portion40of the badge30. Because the blade60is a leaf spring, the front portion62of the blade60biases the badge30frontwardly. The blade60has a back portion64extending into a channel56, which is formed in the fitment50.

Because the front portion62extending upwardly along the back face34of the badge30does not extend as far as the upper portion40of the badge30, it has been possible for a foreign object, such as a wire W, inadvertently to enter the recess54from the front face32of the badge30, to bend the upper portion40of the badge30backwardly, over an upper end66of the front portion62of the blade30, and to be thus caught in the recess54. It is distracting for a wearer of the protective helmet10to have to dislodge a foreign object caught in the recess54.

As illustrated inFIGS. 3,4, and5, in which the protective helmet10and the fitment50of the mounting device20are illustrated again, the mounting device20comprises a blade70, which is a leaf spring and which is mounted to the protective helmet10, via the fitment50, but which differs from the blade60. The blade70has a front portion72extending upwardly along the back face34of the badge30, between the brace36and the back face34of the badge30, essentially as far as the upper edge42of the badge30, or farther. Because the blade70is a leaf spring, the front portion72of the blade60biases the badge30frontwardly. The blade70has a back portion74extending into the channel56, which is formed in the fitment50.

Because the front portion72extending upwardly along the back face34of the badge30extends essentially as far as the upper portion40of the badge30, or farther, it is not possible for a foreign object, such as a wire W, inadvertently to enter the recess54from the front face32of the badge30, to bend the upper portion40of the badge30backwardly, over an upper end76of the front portion72of the blade30, and to be thus caught in the recess54. Because the front portion72of the blade70biases the badge30frontwardly, the recess54tends to remain closed at the front face32of the badge30, as illustrated inFIG. 5, whereby in many instances to prevent such an object from entering the recess54inadvertently.