Abstract:
A welding helmet comprising: a face portion defined by a wall about the perimeter of the face portion, extending toward the interior of the welding helmet; a flange extending from the interior end of the wall; a sloped outer portion about the exterior perimeter of the face portion; and at least one opening in the flange adjacent a first portion of the wall, the at least one opening having a protrusion therein protruding parallel to the flange. The welding helmet may also comprise a plurality of channels in a second portion of the wall. The welding helmet may also include a face plate for covering the face portion of the welding helmet comprising a bezel and an interior groove about the perimeter of the bezel.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a welding helmet. Particularly, the present invention is directed to a welding helmet and a face plate for a welding helmet. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Welding helmets are commonly used in the art as an aid to protecting the wearer from dangers such as sparks, heat, or flashes of light, specifically ultraviolet and infrared light. Typical welding helmets cover the front and/or sides of the head and include a relatively transparent front portion to see through. It is well known that the intense brightness and heat associated with welding activity can damage the eye, including possibly causing blindness. The transparent portion, therefore, may be a specially designed glass or plastic material to protect the user&#39;s eyes from intense heat and light generated by the welding activity. The transparent portion operates by filtering out harmful light and/or dimming visible light and harmful portions of the ultraviolet and infrared spectra. 
     Many welding helmets consist of a helmet body and a separate face plate that snaps into the front of the helmet. Although popular, many of these helmets suffer from the disadvantage of not creating an adequate seal between the face plate and the helmet. Consequently, light may seep through the helmet at the perimeter of the face plate where it is connected to the helmet. This is especially dangerous if there is a sudden burst of intense light. Under that circumstance, the welding helmet may not sufficiently protect the user&#39;s eyes from damaging, and possibly blinding, light. 
     There thus remains a need for an efficient and economic welding helmet that reduces seepage of light into the helmet. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The purpose and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in and apparent from the description that follows, as well as will be learned by practice of the invention. Additional advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the methods and systems particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof, as well as from the appended drawings. 
     A feature of an embodiment of the present invention is a welding helmet comprising a face portion defined by a wall about the perimeter of the face portion, extending toward the interior of the welding helmet. Yet another feature of an embodiment of the present invention is a flange extending from the interior end of the wall towards the center of the face portion. A further feature of an embodiment of the present invention is a sloped outer portion about the exterior perimeter of the face portion. Another feature of an embodiment of the present invention is a pair of openings in the flange adjacent the top portion of the wall, the openings each having a protrusion therein protruding parallel to the flange. Yet a further feature of an embodiment of the present invention is a plurality of channels in the bottom portion of the wall. An advantage of the present invention is that a face portion is created that can be completely covered by a face plate to reduce seepage of harmful light. 
     Yet another feature in an embodiment of the present invention is a face plate for covering a face portion of a welding helmet comprising a bezel including a plurality of barbs extending therefrom. Another feature of an embodiment of the face plate according to the present invention is a pair of tabs having holes therein, extending from the interior side of the bezel. Another feature of an embodiment according to the present invention is an interior groove about the perimeter of the bezel. An advantage of an embodiment of the present invention is that connections between the face plate and the helmet are in the interior of the helmet to reduce seepage of harmful light. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention claimed. 
     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitutes part of this specification, are included to illustrate and provide a further understanding of the method and system of the invention. Together with the description, the drawings serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an elevated perspective view of an embodiment of a welding helmet in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a front elevated view of view of an embodiment of a welding helmet in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 3 is an elevated side view of an embodiment of a welding helmet in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 4 is an elevated perspective view of an embodiment of a face plate in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a rear elevated view of an embodiment of a face plate in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 6 is an elevated perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The present embodiments of the invention will be described in conjunction with the detailed description that follows. 
     For purpose of explanation and illustration, and not limitation, an exemplary embodiment of the system in accordance with the invention is shown in FIGS. 1-6. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1-3, an embodiment of the invention includes a welding helmet  10 . In the preferred embodiment, the helmet  10  is made of plastic or a high density polyester material, although other suitable materials may be known in the art. Although the embodiments shown with respect to the present invention include various designs and ornamentation, it should be apparent to one skilled in the art, and it is intended that the present invention can be practiced with any type, shape or design of welding helmet. For example, the present invention may be embodied in the welding helmet  10  having a large side and neck portions, or in welding helmets largely comprising only a front portion with minimal or no side, top or neck portions. In addition, it should be apparent that the ornamentation for the welding helmet  10  is purely a design choice and is not germane to the present invention. 
     The welding helmet  10  of the present embodiment has a solid structure comprising an interior and exterior, and comprises a face portion, designated generally at  12  opening into the interior of the helmet  10 . In operation, the face portion  12  is located at the front of helmet  10  and generally allows for the placement of a transparent shield to allow viewing. In many welding helmets, the transparent shield is made of a treated glass or plastic, such as a polarized pane of glass or plastic, to filter brightness and minimize the user&#39;s exposure to intense light as a result of the welding activity. In addition, it is well known in the art to provide electronic shielding lenses which automatically darken in the presence of light. The face portion  12  of the present embodiment is enlarged for maximum viewing comfort. However, the present invention is not so limited, and the face portion  12  can be sized according to any design preference sufficient to allow viewing. 
     As most clearly seen in FIG. 3, the helmet  10  further comprises a sloped outer portion  18  about the entire exterior perimeter of the face portion  12 . In the present embodiment, the sloped outer portion  18  comprises a thin surface extending all along its length in a plane parallel to, but slightly offset from, the surface of the welding helmet  10  at the contour of the face portion  12 . The sloped outer portion  18  offset from the welding helmet  10  at the contour of the face portion  12  creates a trough  26 . In other embodiments of the present invention, the sloped outer portion  18  may protrude along some other plane, or may be of a variable width about its length. 
     The face portion  12  of the present embodiment is defined by a wall  14  which extends from the distal end of the sloped outer portion  18  towards the interior of the helmet  10 . The wall  14  comprises top  14   a , two side  14   b ,  14   d , and bottom  14   c  portions. 
     A flange  16  extends from the interior end of the wall  14 . In the preferred embodiment, the flange  16  extends perpendicularly to the wall  14 . However, the present invention is not so limited, and the flange  16  may extend at other angles relative to the wall  14  without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, the flange  16  may be of any suitable width to allow the presence of any securing means thereon, such as the openings  20  described below. 
     The bottom portion  14   c  of the wall  14  contains a plurality of channels  24 . In the present embodiment, the helmet  10  is provided with two sets of three channels  24 . In the preferred embodiment, blinders  28  are provided along side each set of channels  24  to prevent light from seeping in from the sides. However, the present invention may be practiced according to innumerable embodiments with respect to the channels, including without limitation, any number of sets of channels (including a single set) such that the bottom portion  14   c  contains a plurality of channels. Moreover, the present invention is not limited to embodiments having channels along the bottom portion  14   c . For example, the channels  24  may be placed anywhere along the wall  16 . 
     The flange  16  according to the present embodiment comprises a pair of openings  20  adjacent the top portion  14   a  of the wall  14 . Each opening  20  has a protrusion  22  therein which protrudes at least partially into the opening  20  parallel to the flange  16 . Although the present embodiment is practice with a pair of openings  20 , other embodiments may include a single opening, or more openings, depending upon the design choice and the amount of openings sufficient to secure a face plate to the helmet  10 . In addition, alternative embodiments of the present invention may include openings  20  along other portions of the flange  16  apart from the position adjacent the top portion  14   a  of the wall  14 . In the preferred embodiment, the openings  20  are placed opposite the channels  24 . However, the present invention is not intended to be so limited. For example, alternative embodiments may include sets of tabs without barbs and channels. Alternatively, embodiments may include barbs without tabs. 
     Another aspect of the present invention includes a face plate, such as the face plate  11  embodied in FIGS. 4 and 5. The face plate  11  according to the present embodiment comprises a bezel  21  having a generally curved and sloped contour. As best seen in FIG. 6, the face plate  11  is adapted to fit over the face portion  12 , to overlap and cover the sloped outer portion  18  of the face portion. The face plate  11  includes a plurality of barbs  13  adapted to fit into the channels  24 . 
     The insertion of the barbs  13  into the channels  24  provides one means for securing the face plate  11  to the face portion  12  of the welding helmet. In addition, the positioning of the barbs  13  completely behind the bezel  21  and the placement of the channels  24  along the wall  14  towards the interior of the helmet  10  ensures that gaps created at the point of connection of the face plate  11  to the helmet  10  are shielded by the bezel  21 . Thus, the present embodiment of the welding helmet according to the present invention minimizes leakage of intense, harmful light into the interior of the welding helmet  10  where such intense light could potentially do damage to a user&#39;s eyes and skin. 
     The face plate  11  further comprises a pair of tabs  15  having holes thereon  17 , extending from the interior of the bezel  21 . The tabs  15  are adapted to fit into the openings  20 , and the protrusions  22  snap into the holes  17  to lock the face plate  11  to the welding helmet  10 , and thus provide yet another means for securing the face plate  11  to the welding helmet  10 . In the preferred embodiment, the tabs  15  and protrusions  22  are made of a resilient material such that the tabs can be bent upwards to disengage the protrusions  22  from the holes  17  and remove the face plate  11  from the helmet  10 . 
     The face plate  11  of the present embodiment further comprises an interior groove  19  about the perimeter of the bezel  21 . In the present embodiment, the groove  19  is formed with a rib  23  along the interior of the bezel  21 . Preferably, the rib  23  is a continuous and uninterrupted about the interior of the bezel  21 . As the face plate  11  is placed over the face portion  12  of the helmet  10 , the groove  19  receives the sloped outer portion  18  of the face portion  12 . The distal end of the bezel  21  abuts the trough  26  created by the offset of the sloped outer portion  18  from the helmet  10 . Thus, all of the connections between the face plate  11  and helmet  10  are obscured by the bezel  21 . Moreover, the sloped outer portion  18  functions as a flange behind the abutting edges of the bezel  21  and trough  26  to further minimize leakage of harmful light through or around the face portion  11 . 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the disclosed embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention include modifications and variations that are within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.