Abstract:
A signal device is provided for identifying and communicating a location or hazard, concealed within a housing on a hard hat having a pocket. Further provided is a detachable housing to be placed in the pocket. Embodiments incorporate a speaker for audible identification, a light emitting diode (LED) for visual identification and a global positioning sensor (GPS) for identifying the wearer&#39;s location and various circuits and systems that utilize the invention.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/448,209 filed Jun. 7, 2006, entitled “Recognition Award, Personnel Identification Holder and/or Personnel Unit for Attachment to Hardhats, Protective Helmets or the Like” and thereby to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/688,157 filed on Jun. 7, 2005. 
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to protective helmets and more particularly to a recognition award and/or personnel identification holder and recognition award and/or personnel identification unit for attachment to hardhats, protective helmets or the like. 
     BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     Hardhats, safety helmets and protective helmets are common articles that are worn at construction sites. Furthermore, hardhats and protective helmets have a pocket slot so that accessories can be attached to the hardhats easily. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,294 to Henry discloses a hard hat mounted flashlight holder for use with the conventional hardhat to releasably receive a flashlight. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,989 to Bourgeois discloses a pair of strap retainers being mounted on opposite sides of a safety helmet for securing safety goggles in a storage position. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,904,147 to Lenz discloses a hard hat mount assembly for mounting a speaker device on the hardhat. 
     In the prior art, recognition for individuals was usually accomplished by placing paper or plastic stickers with a backing of adhesive on the hard hat or protective helmet. The stickers are very inexpensive and do not necessarily show the appreciation or recognition for the user of the hard hat or protective helmet. Additionally, the stickers can be easily damaged and do not provide a lasting and a professional appearance to recognize the performance of the user. Furthermore, the stickers cannot be removed or updated without replacing the hard hat or protective helmet. 
     Alternatively, many companies use high quality awards such as label pins to recognize employees for superior performance, milestone time periods of service, milestone time periods of safe work etc. Particularly in industrial and construction applications, it is difficult to provide employees with recognition awards that they can wear daily. Metal awards can be unsafe if worn in the workplace and easily damaged or destroyed by conditions in the workplace. ANSI standards to not allow attachment pins or other metal items to be placed on hard hats and protective helmets. Metal items worn on the head invite electrical shock hazards. Furthermore, the prior art does not provide for easily removable or replaceable modular safety or warning devices for protective helmets. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a method and detachability connected holder for attaching recognition awards and or personnel identifiers such as a RFID chip or the like to hard hats and protective elements utilizing an accessory slot or pocket on the hard hats and helmets and for removing the holder, and for the recognition award/personnel identification unit that is retained within the holder. Additional embodiments of the device incorporate a speaker for audible identification, a light emitting diode (LED) for visual identification, a global positioning sensor (GPS) for identifying the wearer&#39;s location, and a personal dosimeter for timely detection of harmful radiation. 
     The recognition award/personnel ID holder is nonconductive and allows the user to attach a variety of awards so that the user of the hardhat would be recognized for years of service, time work safely and other matters of performance. 
     The recognition award/personal identification unit can be made from plastic, metal, or other materials and can be stamped, engraved, painted or have other similar surfaces for customization. The unit can be installed with or without a clear plastic lens. 
     Another use for the user of the hardhat would be a detachable connected holder for identification, locating, tracking or finding the user utilizing a chip including a transmitter, microprocessor or other device which allows other individuals to track the user of the hardhat or protective helmet. 
     The present invention can be used with differing shapes, sizes and coloration in order to customize it for different company and industry needs. 
     The LED may function as a visual aid to the wearer or as a means of locating the wearer from a distance. Further, the LED may serve as a forward looking light to aid visual perception of the wearer&#39;s surroundings in dark situations. 
     The speaker provides a warning or identification capability by emitting a predetermined sound when activated. 
     The GPS allows tracking the location of the wearer presently or the path travelled by the wearer throughout the day. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention may be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which, like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the detachedly connected holder of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the side of the dome shape crown and detachedly connected holder; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the top of the detachedly connected holder; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a perspective view of the front of the detachedly connected holder; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the front of the recognition award and/or personnel identification unit; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the side of the personnel unit; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the personnel unit; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a perspective view of another embodiment of the personnel unit; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the detachedly connected holder; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the dome shape crown, the detachedly connected holder and the personnel unit; 
         FIG. 11  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the top of the detachedly connected holder; 
         FIG. 12  illustrates an exploded perspective view of the detachedly connected holder and recognition award and/or personnel identification unit; 
         FIG. 13  illustrates a cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the detachedly connected holder of the present invention; 
         FIG. 14  illustrates a cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the detachedly connected holder and the dome shape crown; 
         FIG. 15  illustrates a cross-sectional view of a hardhat with a pocket; 
         FIG. 16  illustrates a perspective rear view of another embodiment of the detachedly connected holder; 
         FIG. 17  illustrates a perspective view of the front side of an alternate embodiment of the detachedly connected holder; 
         FIG. 18  illustrates a perspective cutaway view of the front side of an alternate embodiment of the detachedly connected holder; 
         FIG. 19  illustrates a perspective view of the back side of an alternate embodiment of the detachedly connected holder having an LED and speaker assembly located within. 
         FIG. 20  illustrates a perspective view of the back side of an alternate embodiment of the detachedly connected holder having a GPS transponder located within. 
         FIG. 21  illustrates a perspective view of the back side of an alternate embodiment of the detachably connected holder including forward and rearward looking LEDs and controlling circuits. 
         FIG. 22  illustrates a perspective view of the back side of an alternate embodiment of the detachably connected holder including a personal dosimeter. 
         FIG. 23  illustrates a perspective view of the back side of an alternate embodiment of the detachably connected holder including an internal facing light source. 
         FIG. 24  illustrates a cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the detachably connected holder using clipping. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As shown in  FIG. 15 , safety helmets, protective hats or hardhats  10  are usually formed as a one-piece molded shell  11  of durable, high-impact material having a dome-shaped crown  12  which transitions into a radially-flared rim  14 . A portion of the rim  14  is extended forwardly to define a protective visor  18 . The visor  18  projects outwardly from the crown  12  for a substantially greater distance than from the side and back portions of the rim  14 . 
     The pocket  20  or accessory slot is formed in the shell  11  on opposite sides of the helmet for receiving a detachedly connected holder  30 . The pocket  20  may be bounded on one side by the shell  11  and on the other side by bracket panel  32 . The bracket panel  32  is provided with a lower edge  36  and an upper edge  38  which define latching surfaces for interlocking engagement with the detachedly connected holder  30 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the detachedly connected holder  30  is provided with resilient guiding arms  40 ,  42  which project in a spaced relation from an elongated body member  45  to guide the guiding arms  40 ,  42  into the pocket  20  and is provided with an engaging arm  44  to engage and hold the detachedly connected holder  30  into the helmet. A depression  46  is formed in the elongated body member  45  and extends through the end of the elongated body member  45  which opposes the guiding arms  40 ,  42  and the engaging arm  44 . A pair of open slots  48  is formed along the depression  46  of the body member  45 . The engaging arm  44  includes an outwardly projecting retention catch  52  to engage the lower edge  36  of the pocket  20 . The open slots  48  extend the length of the depression  46  in the longitudinal direction. The open slots  48  and the depression  46  accept an award or personnel unit  78  which may include indicia  74  for an award or personnel identification. The elongated body member  45  includes a centrally located detention slot  54  for accepting an outwardly projecting tab  76  positioned on the personnel unit  78  in order to retain the personnel unit  78  in the depression  46 . Subsequently, the personnel unit  78  can be released from the detention slot  54  so that the personnel unit  78  can be replaced by a new personnel unit  78 . Consequently, the personal unit  78  is detachedly connected to the detachedly connected holder  30 . The engaging arm  44  deflects inwardly towards the hard hat  10  to provide spring pressure so that the detachedly connected holder  30  is retained within the pocket  20 . The engaging arm  44  additionally includes an outwardly extending retention catch  52  to engage the lower edge  36  of the hard hat  10 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a side view of the dome shape crown  12 , the pocket  20 , the guiding arms  40 ,  42 , the retention  52  and the engaging arm  44 . The engaging arm of  44  is shown angled towards the dome shape crown  12  and the retention catch  52  positioned under the lower edge  36  of the pocket  20 .  FIG. 2  additionally shows that the front side of the detachable connected holder  30  is substantially flat, but the back side of the detachedly connected holder  30  is concavely curved to approximately correspond to the convexly curved surface of the dome shape crown  12 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a top view of the detachedly connected holder  30  which shows the open slots  48  on the sides of the depression  46  to accept the personnel holder  78 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a perspective view of the front side of the detachedly connected holder  30 . The engaging arm  44  is shown angled with respect to the guiding arms  40 ,  42 . Additionally, the interior of the detention slot  54  is illustrated within the depression  46 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the front side of the personnel unit  78  which may be positioned within depression  46  of the detachedly connected holder  30 . The vertical edges  70  of the personnel unit  78  have been reduced in dimension in order to more easily slide into the open slots  48  of the elongated body member  44 .  FIG. 5  additionally illustrates in phantom line the outwardly projecting tab  76  to engage the detention slot  54 . The personnel unit  78  could include an identification chip  80  so that the location of the personnel unit  78  could be determined. Additionally, the personnel unit  78  could be marked with indicia  74  to indicate a safety award or other type of recognition that would be personal to the user of the personnel unit  78 . 
       FIG. 6  shows a cross-sectional view of the side of the personnel unit  78 , shows the vertical edges  70  and shows the outwardly projecting tab  76 .  FIG. 6  shows the vertical edges  70  approximately in the center of the side of the personnel holder  78  extending from the top of the personnel holder  78  to the bottom of the personnel holder  78 . 
       FIG. 7  shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the top of the personnel unit  78 . The vertical edges  70  are positioned towards the back side of the personnel unit  78  in order to project the personnel unit  78  towards the front side of the elongated body member  44 .  FIG. 7  additionally shows that the outwardly projecting tab  76  is positioned on the back side of the personnel unit  78 . 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a perspective view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 7  and illustrates indicia  74  on the front side of the personnel unit  78 . 
       FIG. 9  illustrates a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the personnel unit  78  is positioned in approximately the center of the elongated body member  45  in order to the present the personnel unit  78  in a frame like environment. In this embodiment, the elongated body member  45  includes an aperture  94  which extends from the back of the elongated body member  45  to the front of the elongated body member  45 . The elongated body member  45  includes a retention channel  90  which extends around the periphery of the aperture  94  and an inwardly projecting element  92  which extend from the retention channel  90  to hold the personnel holder  78  within the aperture  94 . The aperture  94  may be covered by clear cover positioned on the front side of the elongated body member  44  in order to protect the personnel holder  78 . 
       FIG. 10  illustrates a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the dome shape crown  12  with the detachedly connected holder  30  and a personnel unit  78 . The vertical edges  70  are positioned within the retention channel  90 , and the inwardly projecting elements  92  are retaining the vertical edges  70 . 
     The engaging arm  44  is illustrated at an angle with respect to the guiding arms  40 ,  42  to provide spring pressure when inserted into the pocket  20 , and the retention catch  52  latches the bottom edge  36  of the pocket  20 . The back side of the detachedly connected holder  30  is concavely curved to approximately conform to the dome shape crown  12  which is convexly curved. 
       FIG. 11  illustrates a top view of the detachedly connected holder  30  in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. The personnel unit  78  is positioned by the vertical edges  70  positioned in the retention channel  90  and held by the inwardly projecting elements  92 . 
       FIG. 12  illustrates a exploded perspective view and an alternate embodiment of the detachedly connected holder  30  and the personnel unit  78  with indicia  74 . The detachedly connected holder  30  includes the guiding arms  40 ,  42  and the engaging arm  44  to detachedly connect the detachedly connected holder  30  in the pocket  20  of the hard hat  10 . The elongated body member  45  includes inward projecting elements  92  to hold the personnel unit  78 . 
       FIG. 13  illustrates a cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Similarly to  FIG. 1 , the elongated body member  45  includes a depression  46  a detention slot  54 , the open slot  48 . Additionally, the elongated body member  45  illustrated in  FIG. 9  could equally be incorporated into the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 13 . The elongated body member  45  is mounted on a elongated body base  132  which may be formed from plastic, wood, metal and which may be a substantially solid housing for connection to the pocket  20  by virtue of attachment base  136 . The elongated body base  132  is connected to the attachment base  136  by one or more fastening devices which may be screws, bolts, nuts, adhesive, Velcro or any other suitable device. The attachment base  136  may be positioned under the pocket  20  and positioned against the lower edge  36  of the pocket  20  while the elongated body member  45  is positioned against the upper edge  38  of the pocket  20 . 
       FIG. 14  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the detachedly connected holder  30  that has been connected to the dome shaped crown  12  by virtue of the pocket  20 . The elongated body base  132  is connected to the attachment base  136  by virtue of fastening device  134 . The embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 14  should with more securely attach the detachedly connected holder  30  but may necessitate the use of tools in order to connect the fastening device  134 . 
     The personnel unit  78  and the detachedly connected holder  30  may be constructed a non-conductive plastics and these are molded using injection methods. The detachedly connected holder  30  is inserted into a pocket  20  provided on hardhats  10  as described hereinabove which allows for quick attachment and removal of the detachedly connected holder  30 . The personnel unit  78  slides into a depression  46  in the elongated body member  45  or may be attached into the aperture  94  of the elongated body member  45 . The personnel unit  78  may include indicia  74  in the form of a recognition award or may include chip  80  to broadcast a signal so that the location of the user can be identified. 
       FIG. 16  illustrates a rear perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the detachedly connected holder  1630  which includes a curved elongated body member  1645 . The curved elongated body member includes an aperture  1694  positioned approximately in the center of the front side  1696  of the curved elongated body member  1645  to provide an adhesive ledge for retaining the award/identification unit in the rearview. A side edge  1698 , a top edge  1697  and a bottom edge  1699  define the front side  1696  which defines the periphery of the aperture  1694 . 
       FIG. 17  shows a perspective front view of the curved elongated body member of  1645  including the front side  1696 , the top edge  1697  and the side edge  1698 . 
       FIG. 18  shows a cutaway view of the detachedly connected holder  1630  with a protective lens  1880  which may be formed of clear plastic and attached to the detachedly connected holder  1630  with adhesive. The protective lens  1880  is positioned against the front side  1696 . The personnel unit  1882  is positioned behind the protective lens  1880  and secured in place with adhesive. 
       FIG. 19  shows a clip assembly including an LED and speaker. In the preferred embodiment, the clip  1630  is essentially hollow on the back surface. This allows sufficient room to place the components required to produce the light and sound. Speaker vents  1950  allow sound to escape the body of clip  1630 . The components are fixed in place with a backfill of epoxy resin. 
     LED  1900  is in electrical contact with PC board  1920 . LED  1900  may be mounted on any of the sides or the front surface of the clip body. Additionally, LED  1900  may incorporate circuitry causing it to flash on and off. LED cover  1910  is positioned over LED  1900 , so that light from LED  1900  exits through LED cover  1910 . LED cover  1910  may be a lens to focus the light of LED  1900  or a diffuser to spread the light. Switch  1960  is electrically connected between battery  1940  and the other components. Thus, LED  1900  and speaker  1930  are activated when switch  1960  is in the “on” position. Switch  1960  may exist on any side, the front or the rear of clip  1630 . 
     In one embodiment, switch  1960  is position to extend through the lower portion of clip  1630  and contacts upper edge  38  (of  FIG. 15 ). Switch is positioned to be engaged when clip  1630  is locked into position in hardhat  10 . This results in speaker  1930  and LED  1900  being active until clip  1630  is removed from hard hat  10 . 
     Mechanical switches or Hall effect switches are alternate embodiments which function well. Other switches as known in the art may also be employed. Hall effect switches have the advantage of allowing the housing to be sealed when in use. In this embodiment, a small metal artifact is embedded in the hard hat adjacent the switch in the housing and is positioned to activate the switch when the catch engages the rim of the hard hat. 
       FIG. 21  shows an alternate position for placement of LEDs. In this embodiment forward looking LED  2150  is a white, high-intensity LED and is positioned to face forward and project a beam of light in front of the wearer. Rearward looking LED  2100  is a red, high-intensity LED and is positioned in the opposite side of clip  1630  and faces the back of the hardhat when in use. LED  2100  and LED  2150  draw power from battery  2110  and are activated by switch  2130  and are connected to control circuit  2140 . Control  2140  includes circuitry to blink rear looking LED  2100  as a safety feature. In a preferred embodiment, the control circuit includes a simple RC network operating as a timer. However, other timing circuits as know in the art may be employed with equal success. A preferred embodiment LED  2150  may be part number BLMW711AEGS08 available from Vishay. Rear looking LED may be part number BLMR71AAAC-GS08, also available from Vishay. 
       FIG. 23  shows an alternate embodiment of clip  1630 . In this embodiment, LED  2310  is placed inside translucent housing  2315 . LED  2310  is mounted adjacent to controller  2305  which also includes a sealed battery (not shown). In this embodiment, the housing is backfilled with a translucent epoxy filling. Hall effect sensor  2320  is included adjacent controller  2305 . 
     In use, when clip  1630  is in position on the hard hat, Hall effect sensor  2320  is positioned adjacent a sensor or metallic artifact in the hard hat. The Hall effect sensor activates  2305  which in turn illuminates LED  2310 . LED  2310  in turn illuminates the entirety of translucent housing  2315  and the translucent epoxy backfill for increased visibility of clip  1630  and the wearer. 
     In alternate embodiments, LED  1900 , LEDs  2100  and  2150 , and LED  2310  may all emit infrared or ultraviolet radiation for detection of warning or security breach signals emitted by the clip. In these embodiments, infrared or ultraviolet cameras can be used to detect a signal from the clip without alerting the wearer that a signal has been communicated. 
     Returning to  FIG. 19 , speaker  1930  is connected to control circuit  2140  (of  FIG. 21 ). In a preferred embodiment, the control circuit includes a motion dwell circuit that functions as a “dead man” alarm. The control circuit comprises a motion-activated switch, such as a sealed mercury switch, connected to a timing circuit. If no motion is detected for a certain period of time, the circuit activates an alarm waveform generator. The signal generated is sent to the speaker to produce an audible alarm. The alarm indicates a lack of motion and presumably a “man down” condition. 
     In an alternate embodiment, the alarm waveform generator is connected to an accelerometer circuit. In this embodiment, the accelerometer activates the waveform generator when an impact is detected. A sudden impact presumably indicates a fall of the wearer and again indicates a “man down” condition. 
     Alternatively, the LED and audible alarm circuit are activated by manual activation of the switch and remain active until switched off. The light and sound would allow rescuers to locate an injured worker, for example. 
     An alternate embodiment, LED cover  1910  is a lens that focuses light from LED  1900  in a chosen direction. LED cover  1910  is directional so that the focus of the LED can be rotated to a desired position. 
     In an alternate embodiment, clip  1630  includes protective lens  1880 , as shown in  FIG. 18 . A message is placed behind protective lens  1880 . An LED is positioned to illuminate the message. Thus, the design is backlit causing the message to be accentuated. 
     In another alternate embodiment, protective lens  1880 , includes a highly reflective material or is placed behind protective lens  1880 . In addition to being reflective, the material may also be luminescent or phosphorescent. Thus, clip  1630  provides protection for wearers in direct light and no light situations. The material may be formed into a design, phrase or number. 
       FIG. 20  shows a GPS (global positioning system) transponder or tracking assembly located in the hollow back portion of clip  1630 . GPS and AGPS (assisted global positioning system) are well known. 
     A tracking assembly is composed of transponder  2000 , a battery  1940  and an antenna  2010 . Transponder  2000  generates a signal on a specified frequency that can be tracked by the satellite system. Transponder  2000  is electrically connected to battery  1940 , switch  1960  and antenna  2010  through circuit board  2020 . Antenna  2010  increases the range of transponder  2000  by increasing the power of the signal. 
     Circuit board  2020  connects the major components as well as providing any additional functions or circuits required to increase functionality, for example buffering or amplification of the signal. Among the additional circuits are circuits to activate an alarm if the GPS transponder indicates any “out of bound” condition. The circuit board may also incorporate a switch which communicates an “on” condition when the clip is attached to the hard hat by the engagement of the catch with the bottom rim of the hard hat. An example is shown in  FIG. 19  as switch  1960 . 
     In  FIG. 22 , an alternate embodiment is shown which includes multi-purpose module  2200  mounted on the inside of clip  1630 . Multi-purpose module  2200  in the preferred embodiment includes a personal dosimeter such as the NVLAB accredited Panasonic UD-802A thermoluminescent dosimeter which is designed for monitoring radiation exposure from x-ray, gamma, beta radiation, as well as other forms of known energy. The badge measures radiation doses at several tissue depths which correspond to the deep, shallow and “eye” doses required by federal regulations and industrial radiation environments. 
     In an alternate embodiment, still shown in  FIG. 22 , multi-purpose module  2200  can include an RFID (radio frequency identification) tag for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Multi-purpose module  2200  in this case includes an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and de-modulating a radio frequency. Multi-purpose module  2200  also includes an antenna for receiving and transmitting a radio signal. In this preferred embodiment, an appropriate RFID tag is manufactured by Alien Technology of Morgan Hill, Calif. 
     An RFID tag may include a “kill command” that erases the information stored in the tag. A signal and a power supply are required to initiate the kill command. An alternate embodiment combines the switch  2130  and the battery  2110  from  figure 21  with the multipurpose module  2200  of  FIG. 22 . Switch  2130 , battery  2110 , and multipurpose module  2200  are connected via circuit board  2020 . After clip  1630  is inserted into pocket  20  (not shown), switch  2130  is depressed. When clip  1630  is removed, switch  2130  is released executing the kill command and erasing the information stored in multipurpose module  2200 . As the RFID tag cannot be removed without damage, escaping tracking becomes more difficult. 
     Another method of disabling RFID tags is known as “clipping.” Clipping is the destruction of the antenna of a RFID tag, thus limiting its range to approximately an inch. As a result of clipping the RFID tag no longer functions as an identification and tracking system. One benefit of clipping is that it does not require a power supply. 
       FIG. 24  shows a cross section of an alternate embodiment of the invention that uses clipping. Antenna  2400  is communicatively connected with multipurpose module  2200 . Antenna  2400  incorporates adhesive backing  2450 . After clip  1630  is inserted into pocket  20  (not shown), adhesive backing  2450  attaches to dome-shaped crown  12 . Adhesive backing  2450  attaches firmly enough that antenna  2400  is separated from multipurpose module  2200  when clip  1630  is removed. Thus, the RFID tag is clipped and effectively blocked from long range RFID scanners. 
     While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed.