Ballistic and Impact Protective System for Military Helmet Assembly

• US 20110113519A1
• Filed: 09/02/2010
• Published: 05/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Galvion Ltd. (Galvion Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Revision Military Incorporated (Revision Military)
• Inventors: Lebel, Stéphane, Gendron, Marie-Pierre, Bélanger, Martin, Coomber, Richard, Morency, Stephan
• Granted Patent: US 9,848,665 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 2/2.5
• CPC Class Codes: A42B 3/04 Parts, details or accessories of helmets
• CPC Class Codes: A42B 3/221 Attaching visors to helmet shells, e.g. on motorcycle helmets
• CPC Class Codes: A42B 3/326 Helmets with movable or separable chin or jaw guard
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 1/04 Protection helmets crash helmets A42B3/00
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 11/04 Aerial barrages
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 2202/04 Lenses comprising decentered structures
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 3/02 Arrangements for supporting by headgear
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/022 Ophthalmic lenses having special refractive features achieved by special materials or material structures G02C7/049 takes precedence

Abstract

A helmet attachment system is usable to attach a mandible or face or mouth guard. The helmet attachment system also comprises a pair of attachment bases, each arranged on a side of the helmet near to an ear covering of the helmet. The attachment bases each include a metal base plate covered by an attached body block. Each attachment base provides provisions for attaching opposite ends of a mandible to the bases. The metal base plate includes hooks for engaging an edge of the helmet. A pair of strap assemblies is provided, each strap assembly connected to one attachment base. The strap assemblies extend rearward and are connected to the back rail by a buckle member on the end of each strap assembly. The back rail includes a pair of buckle member-receiving slots. The straps assemblies and the hooks provided on the attachment bases secure the attachment bases to the helmet.

Claims

1. An accessory attachment assembly for a helmet, comprising:

a pair of anchor support locations configured to be spaced apart and connected to a front portion of the helmet;

a mandible comprising a pair of anchors, at least one pair of brim engagement member, the mandible having a deployed position, and a raised position;

the anchors are each configured to engage one of the anchor supports, the brim engagement members are configure to engage a brim of a helmet when the mandible is in the deployed position; and

when the anchors are engaged with the anchor supports, the mandible is pivotable about the anchors between the deployed position and a raised position.

2. The assembly of claim 1, comprising:

a pair of mandible straps and a pair of mandible strap anchors, the strap anchors are configured to be attached to a rearward portion of the helmet; and

wherein the mandible comprises strap slots on opposite lateral sides of the mandible;

a first end of each strap is connected to one of the strap slots;

a second end of each strap is releasably attachable to the strap anchors to secure the mandible in the deployed position.

3. The assembly of claim 1, comprising:

two side rails configured to be mounted to opposite sides of a helmet, each side rail having a first end and a second end;

at least one back rail configured to be mounted to the back of a helmet;

a front rail that comprises the anchor support locations;

the first end of each side rail is connected to the front rail;

the second end of each side rail is connected the back rail.

4. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the side rails each comprise an elastic cord for attaching an accessory to the side rails.

5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the anchors are pins and wherein the anchor support locations are positioned within anchor channels.

6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the pins each have a head and a shaft, the channels each comprise a wide region configured to receive the head of a pin and a narrow region configured to receive the shaft of a pin.

7. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the channels are generally orientated open in the upward direction.

8. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the anchors are hook anchors.

9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the anchors are hook anchors, the hook anchors are forwardly orientated so that the hook opening of the hook anchor opens in the forward direction and the anchor support locations open rearwardly to receive the hook anchors.

10. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the pair of anchor support locations are located spaced apart on a front rail, the front rail configured to be connected to a front portion of the helmet.

11. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the mandible comprises a mandible position adjustment mechanism configured to adjust location of the deployed position.

12. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the mandible position adjustment mechanism is configured to adjust location of the deployed position about the anchor support locations.

13. The assembly of claim 11, wherein mandible position adjustment mechanism comprises a pair of brim engagement members each comprising a movable engagement plate configured to engage a lower surface of the helmet brim and a locking mechanism configured to support the engagement plate in a user selected position.

14. The assembly of claim 13, wherein the locking mechanism comprises a nut fixed to the mandible and a movable stud threaded though the nut, an end of the stud is positioned against the engagement plate, the vertical position of the engagement plate relative to the mandible is determined by the position of the stud relative to the nut.

15. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the stud is moveable through the nut within a predefined range and wherein a front portion of the mandible is in a lower position when the stud has a majority of its length below the nut and the front portion of the mandible is in a higher position when the stud has a majority of its length higher than the nut.

16. An accessory attachment assembly for a helmet, comprising:

a visor mount configured to connect over a central front portion of a helmet

a visor position mechanism connectable to the visor mount, the position mechanism configured to guide the visor mount between more than one position along a position path;

the visor mount has a deployed position where an upper portion of the visor is supported by the brim of the helmet;

a mandible attachment mechanism configured to removably secure a mandible against the brim of the helmet.

17. The assembly of claim 16, wherein the visor mount comprises mount supports configured to contact the front brim of the helmet when the visor is in the deployed position.

18. The assembly of claim 17, wherein the mount supports are positioned opposite lateral ends of the visor mount.

19. The assembly of claim 17, wherein the mount supports comprise at least a long support and a short support, the long support being positioned on the visor mount at a position farther from the lateral midpoint of the visor than the short support.

20. The assembly of claim 17, wherein the visor mount extends laterally to receive an entire upper edge of a visor.

21. A helmet and mandible combination, comprising:

a helmet having a brim with a lower edge;

left and right attachment bases carried by the helmet on opposite sides of the helmet;

a mandible having an attachment to each of the attachment bases, wherein the mandible comprises one selected from the group consisting of;

a solid rigid guard, a rigid guard mounted to the helmet and carrying a removable ballistic resistant fabric to extend protection below the guard, a rigid wireframe guard, a wireframe guard having a ballistic resistant fabric applied over the guard, a lower semi-flexible frame, a lower semi-flexible frame with a ballistic resistant fabric to extend protection below the frame.

22. The helmet and mandible combination according to claim 21, wherein the attachment bases each comprise a metal base plate and a polymer body block attached to the base plate, the block providing an attachment for a strap to stabilize the mandible on the helmet.

23. The helmet and mandible combination according to claim 22 wherein the attachment bases are pivotally attached to the helmet at tops thereof and are braced on lower ends thereof against the helmet brim.

24. The helmet and mandible combination according to claim 23, wherein the attachment bases are braced against the brim by at least one hook and by a strap that connects the two attachment bases around a back of the helmet and urges the hook against the brim.

25. The helmet and mandible combination according to claim 23, wherein the attachment bases are braced against the brim by a set screw and by a strap that connects the two attachment bases around a back of the helmet and urges the set screw against the brim.