Abstract:
There is provided a removable optical assembly for a helmet. The removable optical assembly includes an optical device retention system and an optical device attachment assembly. The optical device retention system is adapted to couple to the helmet and has an optical device receiving portion. The optical device attachment assembly has a latching mechanism. The latching mechanism is adapted to releasably latch the optical device attachment assembly to the optical device receiving portion. The optical device retention system further has a deflection flange adjacent the optical device receiving portion for deflecting extraneous elements over the optical device receiving portion and the latching mechanism.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention generally relates to helmets and, more particularly, to a removable optical assembly for a helmet. The removable optical assembly may include, but is not limited to, visor assemblies (having one or more visors), and mounts for optical devices such as Night Vision Goggles (NVGs), and thermal imaging devices.  
         [0003]     2. Background of the Invention  
         [0004]     Various helmet visor assemblies are known in the prior art. Such helmet visor assemblies include bungee visors, tracked visors, and rotational visors. Some of the helmet visor assemblies have been implemented to include a single visor and others to include a dual visor. However, no such helmet visor assemblies exist that are capable of withstanding high wind forces up to and exceeding 600 knots and that also allow for the visor portion to be interchanged or swapped out for replacement by a mount, e.g., to receive a Night Vision Goggle (NVG) or a thermal imaging device.  
         [0005]     Accordingly, it would be desirable and highly advantageous to have an optical assembly that at least overcomes the above-described problems of the prior art.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The problems stated above, as well as other related problems of the prior art, are solved by the present invention, a removable optical assembly for a helmet.  
         [0007]     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a removable dual visor kit for a helmet. The removable dual visor kit includes two retaining assemblies and a visor assembly. The two retaining assemblies are each adapted to couple to the helmet and have a latch-receiving portion. The visor assembly has two visors and two latches. Each of the two latches is adapted to couple to and release from the latch-receiving portion of one of the two retaining assemblies. Each of the two latches is further adapted to allow one-handed raising and lowering of a respective one of the two visors.  
         [0008]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a removable optical assembly for a helmet. The removable optical assembly includes an optical device retention system and an optical device attachment assembly. The optical device retention system is adapted to couple to the helmet and has an optical device receiving portion. The optical device attachment assembly has a latching mechanism. The latching mechanism is adapted to releasably latch the optical device attachment assembly to the optical device receiving portion. The optical device retention system further has a deflection flange adjacent the optical device receiving portion for deflecting extraneous elements over the optical device receiving portion and the latching mechanism.  
         [0009]     According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a removable visor kit for retrofitting to an existing non-visored helmet. The removable visor kit includes an optical device retention system and a visor assembly. The optical device retention system is adapted for retrofitting to the existing non-visored helmet. The optical device retention system has an optical device receiving portion. The visor assembly has a latching mechanism adapted to manually couple and release the visor assembly to and from the optical device receiving portion.  
         [0010]     According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a removable optical assembly for a helmet. The removable optical assembly includes an optical device mounting system and a tool-less latching system. The optical device mounting system is adapted to couple to the helmet and to provide at least one mounting base for an optical device on an exterior of the helmet. The tool-less latching system is adapted to couple and release the optical device to and from the at least one mounting base of the optical device mounting system manually without tools. The optical device mounting system further has a deflection flange adjacent the at least one mounting base for deflecting extraneous elements over the at least one mounting base and the tool-less latching system.  
         [0011]     According to an additional aspect of the present invention, there is provided a removable optical assembly mounting kit for retrofitting to an existing non-optically enhanced helmet. The removable optical assembly mounting kit includes an optical device mounting system and a tool-less latching system. The optical device mounting system is adapted to couple to the helmet and to provide at least one mounting base for an optical device on an exterior of the helmet. The tool-less latching system is adapted to couple and release the optical device to and from the at least one mounting base of the optical device mounting system manually without tools. The optical device mounting system further has a deflection flange for deflecting extraneous elements over the optical device mounting system and the tool-less latching system.  
         [0012]     These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIGS. 1-3  are diagrams illustrating a removable Dual Visor Kit (DVK)  100  for a helmet, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIGS. 4-7  are diagrams further illustrating various aspects of the visor assembly  106 , according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0015]      FIG. 8  is a diagram illustrating a bar mount  700  for a Night Vision Goggle (NVG), according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0016]     The present invention is directed to a removable optical assembly for a helmet. Advantageously, the present invention allows a helmet wearer to readily switch between different optical devices so as to allow the wearer to adapt to different missions or different mission conditions. The optical devices include, but are not limited to, visor assemblies (having one or more visors), Night Vision Goggles (NVGs), and thermal imaging devices. The present invention provides secure mounts on the helmet for the different optical devices, and allows for one-handed removal and installation of each side of an optical device from the mounts. Moreover, the present invention allows for one-handed actuation of the optical devices so that, for example, a user may raise or lower one of two visors in a dual visor assembly using only one hand or the user may raise or lower an NVG with respect to a position directly in front of the eyes of the user. Further, it is to be appreciated that the present invention may be incorporated into a helmet at the time of manufacture of the helmet or may be retrofitted to an existing helmet. These and many other attendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the related art, given the teachings of the present invention provided herein.  
         [0017]     For illustrative purposes, the present invention is more fully described hereinafter with respect to a visor assembly having two visors (hereinafter also referred to as a removable “Dual Visor Kit” (DVK)). However, as noted above, the present invention is not limited to solely visor assemblies and may be implemented with respect to any optical device that may be needed by a helmet wearer for a variety of mission scenarios.  
         [0018]     Advantageously, the removable DVK allows for a helmet to be fitted (or retrofitted) with an inner visor and an outer visor. The mounting arrangement of the DVK allows the DVK to withstand high velocity windblasts up to and exceeding 600 Knots. Moreover, the entire mounting platform of the DVK is rigid, thereby providing a superior mounting platform.  
         [0019]     Further, since the actual mounting platform of the DVK is removable, other devices (e.g., Night Vision Goggles (NVGs), thermal imaging devices, etc.) can be mounted at substantially the same location on the helmet. It is to be appreciated that the design of the DVK allows for one-handed installation and removal of each side of the visor assembly (i.e., one side at a time using only one hard) formed by the inner and outer visors, to allow a wearer to easily swap-out any assembly (e.g., Night Vision Goggle (NVG), thermal imaging device, etc.) attached to the helmet that uses the mounting arrangement of the present invention.  
         [0020]     Moreover, the removable DVK advantageously allows for selective, single-handed raising and lowering of any of the visors. In this way, the user may easily and single-handedly invoke or withdraw any of the functions represented by the visors (e.g., laser shield, sun shield, etc.). Advantageously, the visors may be (friction) “locked” in whatever position a user desires, thereby providing flexibility in the possible positions of the visors.  
         [0021]     It is to be appreciated that the two different visors provided by the present invention allow for a variety of conditions to be addressed. For example, any one of the inner visor or outer visor may be a laser visor, a dust visor, a ballistic visor, a sun visor, and so forth. In fact, the inner visor may be used to protect against lasers of a pre-determined wavelength or range of wavelengths, and the outer visor may be used to protect against lasers of a different pre-determined wavelength or range of wavelengths.  
         [0022]      FIGS. 1-3  are diagrams illustrating a removable Dual Visor Kit (DVK)  100  for a helmet, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0023]     The removable DVK  100  includes a first retaining assembly  102 , a second retaining assembly  104 , and a visor assembly  106 . The visor assembly  106  is coupled to the helmet via the first retaining assembly  102  and the second retaining assembly  104 .  
         [0024]     The first retaining assembly  102  and the second retaining assembly  104  are attached to the helmet using one or more connecting devices (not shown). The connecting devices include, but are not limited to, screws, rivets, and so forth.  
         [0025]     Each of the first retaining assembly  102  and the second retaining assembly  104  include a track portion  120  and a latch-receiving portion  122 .  
         [0026]     It is to be appreciated that the first retaining assembly  102  and the second retaining assembly  104  are both adapted to have a non-snagging profile with respect to the outer circumference of the helmet. In this way, parachute lines and other items are prevented from snagging onto any portion of the first retaining assembly  102  and the second retaining assembly  104  (as well as the corresponding first  151  and second latches  152  described hereinafter).  
         [0027]     The visor assembly  106  includes a first latch  151  and a second latch  152 . The first latch  151  and the second latch  152  couple to the latch-receiving portions  122  of the first retaining assembly  102  and the second retaining assembly  104 , respectively. The latch-receiving portions  122  are adapted to provide a positive connection point for the latches  151  and  152 . The latch-receiving portions  122  each include a slot  130  for receiving portions of the visor assembly  106 , as further described herein below with respect to  FIG. 2 .  
         [0028]     The visor assembly  106  also includes a first visor (also interchangeably referred to herein as “inner visor”)  198  and a second visor (also interchangeably referred to herein as “outer visor”)  199 . The visor assembly  106 , when coupled to the first retaining assembly  102  and the second retaining assembly  104 , is adapted to allow the first visor  198  and the second visor  199  to be raised and lowered as desired. That is, the wearer is afforded an infinite adjustment of the positions of the first visor  198  and the second visor  199 , as opposed to a full-up or full-down approach.  
         [0029]      FIGS. 4-7  are diagrams further illustrating various aspects of the visor assembly  106 , according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0030]     The first latch  151  and the second latch  152  each include an outer portion  202 , an intermediate portion  204 , and an inner portion  206 .  
         [0031]     Each of the outer portions  202  respectively controls one of the first visor  198  or the second visor  199  to allow one-handed operation thereof, as explained in further detail herein below.  
         [0032]     Each of the intermediate portions  204  includes a tab  204 A for releasing the visor assembly  106  from the first retaining assembly  102  and the second retaining assembly  104 . The tabs  204 A are biased to remain in a locked position, which may be overcome by a wearer depressing the tabs  204 A.  
         [0033]     Each of the inner portions  206  is adapted to fit within the slot  130  of one of the latch-receiving portions  122 . The recess  206 A engages the land  122 B in the center of the slot  130 . That is, each of the inner portions  206  is adapted to engage a corresponding one of the slots  130  so as to engage the overall visor assembly  106  to the first retaining assembly  102  and the second retaining assembly  104 . Once the inner portions  206  are engaged to the slots  130 , the intermediate portions  204  are rotated until the tabs  204 A of the intermediate portions  204  snap into the locked position within a recess  122 A disposed in each of the latch receiving portions  122  of retaining assemblies  102  and  104 . In this way, the visor assembly  106  is locked to the first retaining assembly  102  and the second retaining assembly  104  until a wearer decides to remove the visor assembly  106  (by depressing the tab  204 A and rotating the intermediate portions  204  until the inner portions  206  are capable of being removed from the slots  130 ).  
         [0034]     Each of the inner portions  206  also includes a plurality of ball bearing and spring sets  206 D for providing a “friction lock” to maintain a user selected position of the visors. Each of the outer portions  202  further includes a plurality of projections  202 A that are respectively disposed in between the ball bearing and spring sets  206 D for locking and unlocking the friction lock. To allow a user to move a corresponding visor to a desired position, the user must first slightly rotate the corresponding outer portion  202 , so that the corresponding projections  202 A disengage the corresponding friction lock (relating to the plurality of ball bearing and spring sets  206 D), at which point the user may further rotate the corresponding outer portion  202  to move the visor to the actual desired position. It is to be appreciated that the unlocking of the friction lock and the positioning of the corresponding visor can all be performed using only one hand, and actuating only one element (i.e., the outer portion  202 ). Various aspects of these elements and the operations thereof are further described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,661, entitled “Helmet Visor Operating Mechanism”, issued on Mar. 14, 1995, assigned to the assignee herein, and incorporated herein by reference thereto.  
         [0035]     The first (or inner) visor  198  is attached to a first visor attachment  151 A and a second visor attachment  151 B. The second (or outer) visor  199  is attached to a first visor attachment  152 A and a second visor attachment  152 B. The first visor attachment  151 A has an end  299  and the second visor attachment  151 B has an end  298 . The second visor attachment  152 B has an end  298  and the second visor attachment  152 A has an end  299 . Note that the ends  298  and  299  are arranged on opposite sides for each visor. The ends  298  have an aperture  298 A with a pre-specified shape at their respective centers. The ends  299  have a substantially circular aperture  299 A at their respective centers.  
         [0036]     The first visor  198  and the second visor  199  are separated by a washer  260 , and are all coupled together and to the outer portions  202 , the intermediate portions  204  and the inner portions  206 , via screws  370 , corresponding washers  371  and  372 , and cap portions  297 , to form the visor assembly  106 . The cap portions  297  are circular in shape and each includes a projection  297   a  of the same pre-specified shape as that of the apertures of the ends  298 . Each of the inner portions  206  includes a cutout  206 B, also of the pre-specified shape, and substantially centrally located, for mating with the projections  297   a  of the cap portions  297 .  
         [0037]     Since each of the two visors is operatively coupled to a corresponding one of the inner portions  206  (via the apertures  298 A of ends  298 , the projections  297 A of the cap portions  297 , and the cutouts  206 B of the inner portions  206 , the rotation of any of the inner portions  206  also raises or lowers a corresponding one of the two visors. As noted above, the outer portion  202  of the corresponding visor has to be rotated slightly to disengage the corresponding friction lock formed from the plurality of ball bearings and spring sets  206 D in the corresponding inner portion  206 , so that the visor can then be rotated by further rotation of the outer portion  202 . In this way, a wearer may simply use one hand to raise or lower any one of the two visors.  
         [0038]     It is to be appreciated that while the present invention is described with respect to a dual visor assembly, the present invention may also be implemented with respect to a single visor assembly. Moreover, the first and second retaining assemblies  102 ,  104  and the first and second latches  151 ,  152  may be utilized with respect to any other optical device including, but not limited to, Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) and thermal imaging devices. In this way, a helmet wearer may be assigned a single helmet with multiple optical devices (e.g., single and/or dual visor assemblies, an NVG, a thermal imaging device, etc.), and may easily and readily remove one optical device (e.g., sun/laser dual visor) for replacement by another optical device (e.g., NVG). Accordingly, the present invention allows the helmet wearer to adapt his or her optical capabilities to changing missions and mission environments.  
         [0039]     It is to be appreciated that in some embodiments of the present invention, a separate pair of the first and second latches  151 ,  152  may be included in each optical device (e.g., one pair of latches  151 ,  152  for a dual visor assembly and another pair of latches  151 ,  152  for an NVG). It is to be further appreciated that in other embodiments of the present invention, the first and second latches  151 ,  152  may be implemented such that only one set is issued with the single helmet, and the latches would then attached to the current optical device to be attached to the helmet. That is, the first and second latches  151 ,  152  would be reused for a plurality of optical devices so that only one helmet equipped with one set (pair) of latches is assigned to a particular user. One of ordinary skill in the related art can readily contemplate many ways in which the latches can be implemented so as to couple to the helmet and also to the optical devices themselves, thereby providing further modularity and reuse of existing parts. In such a case, it is preferable but not mandatory that the latches are adapted to couple to the optical device without tools, just as the latches are adapted to couple to the helmet without tools, so as to allow a user to readily configure and re-configure their helmet on an as-needed basis without tools and undue complexity.  
         [0040]     Moreover, it is to be further appreciated that while the present invention is described with respect to latches capable of providing rotary motion to adjust the position of the optical devices (e.g., visors), other embodiments of the present invention may include latches that do not rotate when coupled to the latch-receiving portions on the helmet. For example, an NVG may be coupled to the latch-receiving portions using a bar mount with latches that do not rotate, so that the bar mount has a fixed position once it is mounted to the latch-receiving portions. To allow the NVG to rotate out of the line of sight of the helmet wearer, a pivoting joint or a mount capable of accepting a pivoting joint already disposed on the NVG is provided on the bar mount. As is readily contemplated by one of ordinary skill in the related art, the rotational elements included in the latches may be omitted so as to remove the rotating capability, while still providing the capability of switching between multiple optical devices, all while maintaining the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0041]      FIG. 8  is a diagram illustrating a bar mount  700  for a Night Vision Goggle (NVG), according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The bar mount  700  has a first end  701  and a second end  702 . A first non-rotating latch  751  is coupled to the first end  701  of the bar mount  700 , and a second non-rotating latch  752  is coupled to the second end  702  of the bar mount  700 . The bar mount  700  includes an NVG mount receiving portion  799  for providing a location on the bar mount  700  for coupling a pivoting joint (not shown) thereto. The pivoting joint is also coupled to the NVG (not shown) to allow the NVG to pivot in and out of the line of sight of the helmet wearer. It is to be appreciated that the first non-rotating latch  751  advantageously couples to the first retaining assembly  102  and the second non-rotating latch  752  couples to the second retaining assembly  104  (in particular, the latch-receiving portions  122  of the assemblies  102  and  104 ), thereby providing the capability of readily switching between, e.g., a dual visor assembly (e.g., as shown in  FIG. 1 ) or an NVG assembly, using the same helmet mounts (e.g., the first retaining assembly  102  and the second retaining assembly  104  on the same helmet).  
         [0042]     Although the illustrative embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be effected therein by one of ordinary skill in the related art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.