HELMET-CHIN MOUNT FOR ACCESSORIES, INCLUDING CAMERAS

• US 20150282548A1
• Filed: 03/26/2015
• Published: 10/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sopro Mounts Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sopro Mounts Inc.
• Inventors: Tulley, Eric Brock
• Granted Patent: US 10,021,931 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A42B 3/04 Parts, details or accessories of helmets
• CPC Class Codes: A42B 3/042 Optical devices night vision goggles G02B23/12
• CPC Class Codes: A42B 3/306 Audio entertainment systems

Abstract

The conventional surveillance angle, in which activities are observed from a helmet camera mounted at the top, separates a participant of an activity, such as sports, from his immediate experience. A different point of view can be taken from the camera when it is mounted via the Y-shaped accessory mount over the apogee of the helmet chin bar. This point of view is a sousveillance in which the observation is down at a human level so as to allow a consumer of the recorded contents of the sousveillance to connect with the sportsman by vicariously undergoing the immediacy of his sporting experience.

Claims

1. A system useful for improving cinematography technology, comprising:

a helmet having a helmet chin bar with an apogee;

a Y-shaped accessory mount being fastened to the helmet chin bar by a first removable fastener to cover the apogee; and

a camera being fastened to the Y-shaped accessory mount by a second removable fastener.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the helmet is a full face helmet.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the helmet is an off-road helmet or a motocross helmet.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the helmet is a modular helmet or a flip-up helmet or a convertible helmet or a flip-face helmet.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first removable fastener is a strap.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the second removable fastener is a quick-release buckle.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the camera is a camera in a smart phone.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein, instead of the camera, a flashlight is fastened to the Y-shaped accessory mount by the second removable fastener.

9. A Y-shaped accessory mount comprising:

a body on which a female member of a quick-release buckle is fastened;

first and second wings, which are flexible, connected to the body; and

a tail having first and second rudders, which are flexible, connected to the body.

10. The Y-shaped accessory mount of claim 9, wherein the body includes a first slit, a second slit, and a third slit, the first slit facilitating a first loop of fabric fastened to the body to protrude through the first slit to catch a first chape of a first tension lock buckle, the second slit facilitating a second loop of fabric fastened to the body to protrude through the second slit to catch a second chape of a second tension lock buckle, the Y-shaped accessory mount further comprising a strap, the first terminus of which is held by the first tension lock buckle and the second terminus of which is held by the second tension lock buckle after the strap winds through the third slit.

11. The Y-shaped accessory mount of claim 10, wherein the strap has a width of about ¾

of an inch.

12. The Y-shaped accessory mount of claim 9, wherein the Y-shaped accessory mount is manufactured from aircraft grade aluminum.

13. The Y-shaped accessory mount of claim 9, wherein the Y-shaped accessory mount has a thickness of about 0.01 to 0.035 inch.

14. The Y-shaped accessory mount of claim 9, wherein the Y-shaped accessory mount is covered with a foam.

15. The Y-shaped accessory mount of claim 13, wherein the foam has a thickness of about 1/16 of an inch to ⅛

of an inch.

16. A system comprising:

a helmet having a chin bar with a first and second portion connected to an apogee;

a Y-shaped accessory mount having a body on which a female member of a quick-release buckle is fastened;

first and second wings, which are flexible, connected to the body;

a tail having first and second rudders, which are flexible, connected to the body; and

a strap which is capable of strapping the Y-shaped accessory mount to the first and second portions of the chin bar to cover the apogee; and

an accessory hingedly coupled to a male member of the quick-release buckle.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the accessory is a camera, a video recorder, a video camera, a smart phone, or a flashlight.

18. The Y-shaped accessory mount of claim 16, wherein the body includes a first slit, a second slit, and a third slit, the first slit facilitating a first loop of fabric fastened to the body to protrude through the first slit to catch a first chape of a first tension lock buckle, the second slit facilitating a second loop of fabric fastened to the body to protrude through the second slit to catch a second chape of a second tension lock buckle, the first terminus of the strap being held by the first tension lock buckle, which straps the Y-shaped accessory mount to the first portion of the chin bar, winds through the third slit, and straps the second portion of the chin bar so that the Y-shaped accessory mount covers the apogee, after which the second terminus of the strap is held by the second tension lock buckle.

19. The Y-shaped accessory mount of claim 16, wherein the Y-shaped accessory mount is manufactured from aircraft grade aluminum.

20. The Y-shaped accessory mount of claim 16, wherein the Y-shaped accessory mount is covered with a piece of foam.