Patent Abstract:
A motorcycle safety helmet shell with one or more light emitting diodes molded or embedded therein. The motorcycle helmet shell is designed and arranged in a manner to provide visual recognition and/or identification of the wearer. The LED safety lighting system may be powered by a battery, or any other electrochemical device, i.e., dry cell or lithium-ion battery combination, mounted within or without the helmet shell; and may be manually and/or automatically activated. One or more lenses may cover one or more of the light emitting diodes.

Full Description:
FIELD OF INVENTIONS 
     This invention pertains to a lighting system to be molded into the shell of a safety helmet to facilitate the immediate recognition and/or identification of the wearer. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Prior art include safety lights mounted of parts of a user&#39;s body, including head coverings such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,458. The device and object in this invention presents and illustrates a safety helmet containing a lighting device in its shell which lights up automatically or on command by pressing the on/off switch. A copper trace/lead trace board is attached that receives an electrical current from two 1.5 volt double A batteries found in the battery holder. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention provides a fire wire/LED (light emitting diodes) wherein an electrical current is sent throughout a copper trace/lead trace circuit board printed helmet shell from a nine volt pull tab battery holder that house two 1.5 volt double A batteries. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       FIG.  1 A—is an out perspective view of the helmet shell where LED light arrangements are embedded inside of the helmet shell. 
       FIG.  1 B—is an outer perspective view of the back of the helmet shell where LED lights are embedded. 
       FIG.  1 C—is an outer perspective view of the front of the helmet shell where LED lights are embedded inside of the helmet shell. 
       FIG.  1 D—is an inside perspective view of the inner shell where electronic competence are molded inside of the helmet shell. 
         FIG. 2A  illustrates an elevation view of one embodiment of a motorcycle helmet shell. 
         FIG. 2B  illustrates a detail partial perspective view of one embodiment of a motorcycle helmet shell showing a light emitting diode. 
         FIG. 3A  illustrates a partially broken away view of one embodiment of a motorcycle helmet shell. 
         FIG. 3B  illustrates a detail perspective view of one embodiment of a motorcycle helmet shell. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a partially exploded view of one embodiment of a motorcycle helmet shell. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a diagram of an embodiment of a wiring layout for one embodiment of a motorcycle helmet shell. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a diagram of an embodiment of a wiring layout for one embodiment of a motorcycle helmet shell. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1A  shows an outer perspective view of a motorcycle helmet shell where the light emitting diodes  6  (LED) are embedded inside of the helmet shell.  FIGS. 1B and 1C  show these light emitting diodes  6  are systematically arranged around the upper facial part of the shell. In some embodiments, four light emitting diodes  6  are in the back of the shell and three light emitting diodes  6  are at the chin bar of the shell.  FIG. 1D  shows the inside perspective view of the inner components of the shell. In some embodiments a battery holder  1  engages a battery housing  2  on the motorcycle helmet shell. The battery holder&#39;s form is of a nine volt battery and, in one embodiment, has two 1.5 volt double A batteries in it and the battery holder  1  can be located in the battery housing  2  which is located at the middle/back area of the shell and near the bottom of the shell. The on/off switch  3  is molded at the back of the helmet and it is of the push button style. When the on/off switch  3  is pushed to the on position, then an electrical current protrudes to the copper trace/lead trace, or electrically conductive connector  4  which is then passed to the three resistors  5 . The three resistors  5  are used as a protection for the batteries by not allowing a great amount of usage to be supplied by the batteries. The three resistors  5  are systematically arranged inside of the shell with one resistor  5  at the positive side of the battery housing. The negative side of the battery housing  2  is in the wall side of the copper trace which keeps the batteries from overloading and over heating the light system. The opposite end of the resistor  5  is hooked onto the power line of the switch  3 . The other two resistors  5  are connected to the light emitting diodes  6  which enables the light emitting diodes  6  to produce light. The light emitting diodes  6  can be replaced by fire wires  7 . In some embodiments, one or more lenses  8  cover one or more of the light emitting diodes  6 . These lenses  8  are waterproof, located on the outside of the shell and will have various colors in some embodiments. 
     Referring further to the drawings,  FIG. 2A  generally illustrates an embodiment of an illuminated motorcycle helmet shell  10 . The motorcycle helmet shell  10  includes a front  26  and a back  24 . The front  26  in one embodiment includes a chin bar  42 . The motorcycle helmet shell  10  includes an exterior shell surface  16 . In one embodiment, exterior shell surface  16  defines an exterior surface of a motorcycle helmet constructed using motorcycle helmet shell  10 . The motorcycle helmet shell  10  in some embodiments includes one or more light emitting diodes  6  embedded in the motorcycle helmet shell  10 . As seen in one embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2B , each light emitting diode  6  is embedded in a mounting hole  12  defined in the motorcycle helmet shell  10 . Mounting hole  12  extends through motorcycle helmet shell  10 . Each mounting hole  12  can be formed in one embodiment by drilling a hole in a motorcycle helmet shell  10  at each desired light emitting diode location. In another embodiment, each mounting hole  12  can be formed by molding the helmet shell  10  to include a mounting hole  12  at each desired light emitting diode location. In a further embodiment, each light emitting diode  6  is molded into motorcycle helmet shell  10 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3A , the motorcycle helmet shell  10  includes a plurality of light emitting diodes  6  rigidly embedded directly into the helmet shell  10 . In one embodiment, light emitting diode  6  can be rigidly embedded in shell  10  by securing light emitting diode  6  in place with an adhesive. Generally, one light emitting diode  6  is inserted through each hole  12  from the interior of the motorcycle helmet shell  10 , as seen in  FIG. 3A . Each light emitting diode  6  includes a positive terminal end  44  and a negative terminal end  46 , seen in  FIG. 2B . Each terminal end  44 ,  46  protrudes from light emitting diode  6  toward the interior of the motorcycle helmet shell  10  when light emitting diode  6  is inserted into mounting hole  12 . 
     Also seen in  FIG. 3A , in some embodiments, motorcycle helmet shell  10  includes a power supply housing, or battery housing  2  integrally formed in motorcycle helmet shell  10 . Battery housing  2  in some embodiments is shaped to receive one or more battery holders  1 , seen in  FIG. 1D , for providing electrical power to each light emitting diode  6 . Also seen in  FIG. 3A , in one embodiment, an on/off switch  3  is disposed on the motorcycle helmet shell  10 . In some embodiments, switch  3  and the power supply housing  2  are positioned nearer the back  24  of the motorcycle helmet shell  10 . Switch  3  in some embodiments includes a push-button style mechanical switch. In other embodiments, switch  3  is a rocker switch. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , in one embodiment of a motorcycle helmet shell  10 , a plurality of light emitting diodes  6  are embedded in motorcycle helmet shell  10 . In some embodiments, one or more lenses  8  cover one or more light emitting diodes  6 . Light generally passes from the light emitting diode  6  through the lens  8 . In some embodiments, one or more lenses  8  are positioned on the exterior surface  16  of the motorcycle helmet shell  10 , as seen in  FIG. 4 . A first lens  8   a  in some embodiments is disposed on the exterior surface  16  of motorcycle helmet shell  10  covering a first light emitting diode  6   a . First lens  8   a  includes a first color. A second lens  8   b  is also disposed on the exterior surface  16  of the motorcycle helmet shell  10 . Second lens  8   b  covers a second light emitting diode  6   b  embedded in motorcycle helmet shell  10 . Second lens  8   b  includes a second color different than the first color. In some embodiments, each lens  36  provides a waterproof cover for one or more light emitting diodes  6 . 
     Referring further to  FIG. 4 , a power supply located on the motorcycle helmet shell  10  in some embodiments includes a battery pack  30  configured to be inserted into battery housing  2 . Battery pack  30  includes one or more batteries  32  and a pull tab  34  extending from battery pack  30 . Pull tab  34  allows the user to manually remove the battery pack  30  from the battery housing  2 . In one embodiment the battery pack  30  is configured to accommodate a nine volt battery. In yet other embodiments, battery pack  30  is configured to accommodate one or more 1.5 volt AA-type or AAA-type batteries, or various other battery types not shown. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , an embodiment of a wiring layout of a circuit  60  for powering light emitting diodes  6  embedded in motorcycle helmet shell  10  is generally illustrated. Battery pack  30  includes first terminal  50  and second terminal  52 . In some embodiments first terminal  50  is a positive terminal and second terminal  52  is a negative terminal. In one embodiment, a first resistor  5  is connected in series between first terminal  50  and switch  3 . A plurality of light emitting diodes  6  are electrically connected in parallel between switch  3  and second terminal  52 . In one embodiment, each component including first resistor  38 , switch  3  and light emitting diodes  6  are electrically connected by an electrically conductive connector positioned on the interior shell surface  18  of motorcycle helmet shell  10 . In yet another embodiment, an electrically conductive connector, or conductive trace, is printed directly onto interior shell surface  18  of motorcycle helmet shell  10 . Also seen in  FIG. 5 , in some embodiments, second and third resistors  56 ,  58  can be positioned between light emitting diodes  6  to control the power consumption of the light emitting diodes  6  and for increasing battery life. The first, second and third resistors  38 ,  56 ,  58  in some embodiments also prevent the circuit  60  from overheating. 
     The present disclosure also provides a method of manufacturing an illuminated motorcycle helmet. The method includes the steps of: (a) providing a plastic motorcycle helmet shell having an interior shell surface and an exterior shell surface; (b) forming at least one hole in the helmet shell; (c) inserting a light emitting diode into the mounting hole; and (d) electrically connecting the light emitting diode to a power supply positioned on the helmet. In some embodiments, the method includes the additional step of (e) electrically connecting a resistor in series between the power supply and the light emitting diode. 
     In some embodiments, a method of producing a motorcycle helmet shell includes a first step of removing the inner material of a motorcycle helmet to reveal just the helmet shell. Holes can be drilled in the helmet shell in a desired pattern. A light emitting diode is inserted into each hole. Glue, or adhesive, can be used as a sealer to secure the light emitting diode into the hole. In one embodiment, super glue, or crazy glue, works for this purpose. In this configuration, each light emitting diode includes positive and negative diode terminals. A first connector wire can be soldered to each positive diode terminal, and a second connector wire can be soldered to each negative diode terminal. In other embodiments, other types of electrical connections can be used to electrically connect each light emitting diode to the first and second connector wires. A switch mounting hole  48  can be drilled in the motorcycle helmet shell  10  for accommodating a switch  3 , as seen in  FIG. 4 . In another embodiment, the switch  3  is molded on the motorcycle helmet shell  10 . The switch can be secured in place using an adhesive. In some embodiments, the switch is electrically connected in series between the power supply and the first connector wire. In some embodiments, an internal layer can be positioned over the connector wires and electronic components on the interior surface of the motorcycle helmet shell. The internal layer in some embodiments includes tape. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , in one embodiment a motorcycle helmet shell includes a plurality of light emitting diodes  6  electrically connected in parallel to form a circuit  60 . Each light emitting diode  6  includes a positive diode terminal  64  and a negative diode terminal  66 . Each positive diode terminal  64  is generally aligned on the same side, and each negative diode terminal  66  is generally aligned on the opposite side. The positive diode terminals  64  of the light emitting diodes are electrically connected by a first connector wire  68 , and the negative diode terminals  66  are electrically connected by a second connector wire  70 . In one embodiment, seen in  FIG. 6 , a solar panel  62  is electrically connected to power supply  30 . The solar panel  62  in one embodiment is disposed between switch  3  and power supply  30  for providing electrical power to light emitting diodes  6 . 
     Thus, although there have been described particular embodiments of the present invention of a new and useful Illuminated Motorcycle Helmet Shell, it is not intended that such references be construed as limitations upon the scope of this invention except as set forth in the following claims. 
     It should be understood by all involved that some changes and variations can be made in the lighting system of this helmet-shell invention without voiding the scope of the original invention as defined by the claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8