Patent Publication Number: US-2009222978-A1

Title: Buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a buckle strap adjustment assembly, especially to a buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     For safely riding bicycles, users wear special safety helmets for bicycles. A conventional safety helmet generally includes a buckle strap for fixing the safety helmet on a user&#39;s head. However, conventional buckle straps cannot effectively fix safety helmets on users&#39; heads so that the safety helmets easily moves back and forth or from side to side and always aren&#39;t located in a proper position, which causes that the safety helmets cannot be worn comfortably and safely. 
     Accordingly, there are all kinds of buckle strap lacing and locking assemblies on the market, which can prevent safety helmets from moving back and forth or from side to side. Furthermore, some buckle strap lacing and locking assemblies have an adjustment function so that users can adjust tightness/looseness of the buckle strap lacing and locking assemblies to ensure that safety helmets fit users&#39; heads and provide comfort and safety for users. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , a conventional buckle strap lacing and locking assembly  700   a  for safety helmets includes a fixing piece  71   a , an annular strap  72   a  and two adjustment elements  73   a . The fixing piece  71   a  has through-hole portions  771   a  arranged in a lower portion and a higher portion of each of left and right sides thereof, which are shaped like elongated slots, and a serrated portion  712   a  protruding from a central thereof. 
     The annular strap  72   a  is mounted in the safety helmet  800   a , and two adjustment elements  73   a  are disposed on two rear end portions of the annular strap  72   a  and engage with the serrated portion  712   a  of the fixing piece  71   a . Basing on the engagement between the two adjustment elements  73   a  and the serrated portion  712   a , the buckle strap lacing and locking assembly can be used to adjust tightness/looseness of the annular strap  72   a . A buckle strap  810   a  of the safety helmet  800   a  has a rear strap  812   a . One end of the rear strap  812   a  passes through two of the through-hole portions  771   a  of the fixing piece  71   a  to be directly fixed on a rear portion of the safety helmet  800   a , and the other end of the rear strap  812   a  passes through the other through-hole portions  771   a  of the fixing piece  71   a  to be fixed. When users need to adjust tightness/looseness of the annular strap  72   a  up and down, users can move the fixing piece  71   a  up and down along the rear strap  812   a  to achieve the adjustment object. 
     However, during use, the buckle strap lacing and locking assembly  700   a  will become loose after adjusted. Because two rear straps  812   a  directly pass through the through-hole portions  711   a  of the fixing piece  71   a  and then are directly fixed on the safety helmet  800   a , the fixing piece  71   a  easily directly slips up and down along the two rear straps  812   a  and cannot be effectively located, which causes that the safety helmet  800   a  cannot be firmly attached to a user&#39;s head to protect the user. 
     Hence, the inventors of the present invention believe that the shortcomings described above are able to be improved and finally suggest the present invention which is of a reasonable design and is an effective improvement based on deep research and thought. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets which can effectively avoid that safety helmets slip up and down. 
     To achieve the above-mentioned object, a buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets in accordance with the present invention is provided. The buckle strap adjustment assembly which is installed in a safety helmet with a buckle strap includes two positioning elements, one end of each positioning element fixed in the safety helmet; and a fixing element detachably combined with the other end of each positioning element; wherein the fixing element has a body portion which has two left-to-right adjacent first through-holes in each of two sides thereof for the buckle strap passing through. 
     The efficacy of the present invention is as follows: the fixing element of the present invention has the body portion which the buckle strap can pass through, so that the present invention can effectively and directly fix the buckle strap, and comparing with the prior art, the present invention can effectively avoid that the safety helmet slips up and down during use to ensure that the safety helmet can be firmly attached to a user&#39;s head. 
     To further understand features and technical contents of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings related the present invention. However, the drawings are only to be used as references and explanations, not to limit the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional buckle strap lacing and locking assembly for safety helmets; 
         FIG. 2  is an assembled perspective view of the conventional buckle strap lacing and locking assembly and a safety helmet; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of a buckle strap adjustment assembly according to the present invention and a safety helmet; 
         FIG. 4  is an assembled perspective view of the buckle strap adjustment assembly according to the present invention and the safety helmet; 
         FIG. 5  is an assembled perspective view of another embodiment of the buckle strap adjustment assembly according to the present invention and the safety helmet; and 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the buckle strap adjustment assembly according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , a buckle strap adjustment assembly  100  for safety helmets according to the present invention is adapted for being installed in a safety helmet  800  with a buckle strap  810 . The safety helmet  800  is a special helmet for bicycles. The buckle strap adjustment assembly  100  includes two positioning elements  10  and a fixing element  20 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3 , each positioning element  10  is made of a material with slight elasticity, such as plastic and the like. Each positioning element  10  includes a sheet portion  11 , an embedded portion  12  protruding out of an end portion (top end portion) of the sheet portion  11 , and a first fastening portion  13  formed in the other end portion (bottom end portion) of the sheet portion  11 , relative to the embedded portion  12 , which may consist of a plurality of fastening holes. 
     The fixing element  20  also is made of a material with slight elasticity, such as plastic and the like. The fixing element  20  includes a body portion  21  and two protruding pieces  22  extending out of a top lateral edge of the body portion  21 . Each protruding piece  22  has a second fastening portion  23  formed thereon, which may consist of a plurality of fastening pins. Basing on ergonomics, the body portion  21  is designed to have a right side and a left side slightly bent frontward, thereby forming a flat sheetlike body in curved shape. Two left-to-right adjacent first through-holes  24   a ,  24   b  are formed in a lower edge of each of the right and the left sides of the body portion  21 . 
     The buckle strap adjustment assembly  100  of the present invention is mounted in a rear side of the safety helmet  800 . One end of each positioning element  10  is fixed in the rear side of the safety helmet  800 , and the other end may be detachably combined with the fixing element  20 . In the embodiment of the present invention, the embedded portions  12  of the two positioning elements  10  may be respectively embedded in the safety helmet  800  in advance so as to fix the two positioning elements  10  in the safety helmet  800 , and the fixing element  20  is combined with the two positioning elements  10  through an engagement between the two second fastening portions  23  of the protruding pieces  22  and the two first fastening portions  13  of the positioning elements  10 , that is, each fastening pin may be fastened into a corresponding fastening hole to be located. The first fastening portions  13  and the second fastening portions  23  may have different structures from that of the embodiment to achieve the above object, for example, the first fastening portions  13  may be designed to be a plurality of fastening pins, and the second fastening portions  23  may be designed to be a plurality of fastening holes engaging with the fastening pins. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the buckle strap  810  has two front straps  811  and at least one rear strap  812 . After passing through the safety helmet  800 , each of the two front straps  811  may be connected with a locating element (not shown) which may abut against the safety helmet  800 , so that the two front straps may be fixed on a frond end portion of the safety helmet  800 . The rear strap  812  of the buckle strap  810  passes through the first through-holes  24   a ,  24   b  of the body portion  21  of the fixing element  20  to be firmly combined in the safety helmet  800 . Further, fastening pieces  813 ,  814  are disposed between the two front straps  811  and the rear strap  812  to fasten each other. 
     Accordingly, the fixing element  20  and the two positioning elements  10  of the present invention may be mounted at a rear portion inside the safety helmet  800 , the two front straps  811  of the buckle strap  810  may be fixed at a front portion inside the safety helmet  800 , and the rear strap  812  may be mounted on the fixing element  20  via passing through the first through-holes  24   a ,  24   b , so that the body portion  21  of the fixing element  20  can elastically abut against a back portion of a user&#39;s head when the user wears the safety helmet  800 . Thus, the fixing element  20  and the two front straps  811  may form a three-site fixation structure in the safety helmet  800  to prevent the safety helmet  800  from moving back and forth or from side to side and provide optimum comfort and safety for the user. Additionally, since the rear strap  812  of the buckle strap  810  directly passes through the first through-holes  24   a ,  24   b  of the fixing element  20 , when the user needs to adjust the buckle strap  810  up and down, he may directly draw and move the rear strap  812  to adjust the buckle strap  810  in a proper position. Thereby the safety helmet  800  can be adjusted to fit the user&#39;s head and firmly worn by the user to avoid moving up and down. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , another embodiment of the present invention is shown. The difference between this embodiment and the above embodiment is that this embodiment may further include an annular strap  30  and a lacing and locking mechanism  40 . 
     The annular strap  30  is made of a material with slight elasticity, such as plastic and the like. The annular strap  30  includes two end portions  31   a ,  31   b , and each end portion  31   a  or  31   b  forms a slot  32   a  or  32   b  in an extremity thereof. The slot  32   a  has a serrated portion  33   a  on one inner wall thereof, the slot  32   b  has a serrated portion  33   b  on one inner wall thereof, and the two serrated portions  33   a ,  33   b  correspond to each other. 
     The lacing and locking mechanism  40  includes a base  41 , a driven element  42 , an adjustment wheel  43 , a connecting board  44  and a fixing assembly  45 , and may further include a pair of panels  46 . A circular groove  411  is defined in a center of the base  41 , and a plurality of continuous locking teeth  412  protrude from a side wall of the circular groove  411  and a pivot pin  413  protrudes out of a bottom wall of the circular groove  411 . The base  41  has a second through-hole  414  extending through the pivot pin  413  and the base  41 , and two openings  415  connected with the circular groove  411 . 
     The driven element  42  includes a main body  421 , a gear  422  protruding out of an inner end surface of the main body  421 , a plurality of elastic arms  423  respectively extending from lateral edges of the main body  421 , and a plurality of locking portions  424  respectively formed on outside edges of the elastic arms  423 . Furthermore, the driven element  42  further includes a pivot hole  425  which extends through the main body  421  and the gear  422 . An end of each elastic arm  423  is bent and extended towards the main body  421  to form a blocking arm  426 . 
     The adjustment wheel  43  is a circular wheel of which an outer edge has a slip prevention surface  431  with concavities and convexities in order that the adjustment wheel  43  can be driven to turn. The adjustment wheel  43  has a shaft portion  432  and a plurality of guiding pins  433  which protrude from a center of an inner concave surface of the adjustment wheel  43 . A locking hole  434  is defined in a center of the shaft portion  432 . The connecting board  44  has a third through-hole  441 . The fixing assembly  45  may be a screw. The two panels  46  may have particular characters, patterns or symbols formed thereon. 
     The annular strap  30  is mounted in the safety helmet  800 , the two end portions  31   a ,  31   b  of the annular strap  30  corresponding to the fixing element  20 . The connecting board  44  is located on the fixing element  20 , and further, the connecting board  44  may be integrally connected with the body portion  21  of the fixing element  20 . Of course, the connecting board  44  and the fixing element  20  also may be separate components, and the connecting board  44  is mounted on the body portion  21  of the fixing element  20  via joint etc. 
     The two end portions  31   a ,  31   b  of the annular strap  30  respectively pass through the two openings  415  of the base  41  and overlap each other in the base  41 , and the pivot pin  413  of the base  41  passes through the slots  32   a ,  32   b  in the two end portions  31   a ,  31   b . The driven element  42  is received in the circular groove  411  of the base  41 , and the pivot pin  413  of the base  41  pivotally engages with the pivot hole  425  of the driven element  42 . At the same time, the locking portion  424  on each elastic arm  423  abuts against a corresponding locking tooth  412 , and the gear  422  extends into the slots  32   a ,  32   b  of the two end portions  31   a ,  31   b  and engages with the two serrated portions  33   a ,  33   b.    
     The shaft portion  432  of the adjustment wheel  43  is pivotally inserted into the second through-hole  414  of the base  41 , so that the adjustment wheel  43  is pivotally mounted on the base  41 . Each guiding pin  433  of the adjustment wheel  43  is inserted into a corresponding space defined by an corresponding elastic arm  423 , a corresponding blocking arm  426  and the main body  421  and may move in the corresponding space, thereby the adjustment wheel  43  drives the driven element  43  to turn. The two panels are detachably and relatively mounted on both sides of the circular groove  411  of the base  41  to provide an effect of character display. The fixing assembly  45  may pass through the third through-hole  441  of the connecting board  44  and the second through-hole  414  of the base  41 , and further extend into the locking hole  434  of the adjustment wheel  43 , whereby to locate the adjustment wheel  43  and mount the base  41  on an outside edge of the connecting board  44 . 
     In this embodiment, the driven element  42  is driven to turn via turning the adjustment wheel  43 , so that the gear  422  drives the serrated portions  33   a ,  33   b  of the two end portions  31   a ,  31   b  of the annular strap  30 , which leads the two end portions  31   a ,  31   b  of the annular strap  30  to move towards or away from each other thereby adjusting the size of the loop formed by the annular strap  30 . Accordingly, the user can adjust tightness/looseness of the annular strap  30  of the safety helmet  800  to ensure that the safety helmet  800  fits the user&#39;s head and is firmly worn. 
     When the adjustment wheel  43  is turned clockwise, since each guiding pin  433  may abut against an inner side of the corresponding blocking arm  426  of the driven element  42 , the adjustment wheel  43  may drive the driven element  42  to turn. At the same time, the locking teeth  412  in the circular groove  411  may abut against the locking portion  424 , so each elastic arm  423  generates elastic deformation towards the main body  421 , which leads each locking portion  424  to cross the adjacent locking tooth  412  and enter a trough of a next locking tooth  412 . Under the action of the elastic force from each elastic arm  423 , each locking portion  424  abuts against the trough to be fixed. However, if the adjustment wheel  43  is continuously turned clockwise, then the locking portions  424  of the driven element  42  will abut against the locking teeth  412  in the circular groove  411  in turn, till the adjustment is completed and the locking portions  424  of the driven element  42  are fixed in corresponding troughs of the corresponding locking teeth  424 . Based on the above adjustment, the annular strap  30  can move inwards by a proper distance (the maximum distance is the distance between the slot  32   a  and the slot  32   b ) to be tightened. 
     Additionally, when the adjustment wheel  43  is turned anticlockwise, since each guiding pin  433  abuts against an inner side between each elastic arm  423  and the main body  421 , the driven element  42  may be driven to turn anticlockwise. At the same time, each elastic arm  423  undergoes elastic deformation towards the main body  421 , so that each locking portion  424  crosses the adjacent locking tooth  412  and enters a trough of a next locking tooth  412 . Under the action of the elastic force from each elastic arm  423 , each locking portion  424  will abut against the trough to be fixed. Also, when the continuously anticlockwise adjustment is completed, the locking portions  424  of the driven element  42  are fixed in corresponding troughs of the corresponding locking teeth  424 . The difference is that the annular strap  30  can move outwards for a proper distance to be loosed. 
     Thus, because the end portion of the buckle strap  810  can pass through the body portion  21  of the fixing element  20  of the present invention, the present invention can effectively and directly fix the two rear straps  812  of the buckle strap  810 . Comparing with the prior art, the present invention can effectively avoid that the safety helmet  800  slips up and down during use so as to ensure that the safety helmet  800  can be firmly attached to a user&#39;s head. Furthermore, basing on the structural design of the fixing element  20  and the positioning elements  10 , the present invention can freely replace the fixing element  20 . 
     Secondly, the present invention may further include the annular strap  30  and the lacing and locking mechanism  40  to provide a function of left-to-right adjustment for the safety helmet  800 . Accordingly, the present invention can be adjusted to ensure that the safety helmet  800  fits the user&#39;s head and provide optimum comfort and safety for users. 
     What are disclosed above are only the specification and the drawings of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and it is therefore not intended that the present invention be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various equivalent changes may be made depending on the specification and the drawings of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention.