Night vision goggle headgear

• US 4,703,879 A
• Filed: 12/12/1985
• Issued: 11/03/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Varo, Inc. (Northrop Grumman Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Varo, Inc. (Northrop Grumman Corporation)
• Inventors: Kastendieck, William A., Hart, Richard T.
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Assistant Examiner(s): Petrik, Robert M.
• Application Number:
  US06/808,152
• Time in Patent Office: 691 Days
• Field of Search: 224/181, 224/909, 224/908, 2/6, 2/418, 2/419, 2/420, 2/422, 350/143, 351/245, D 2/231, D 2/230, D 2/233
• US Class Current: 2/422
• 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 3/14 Suspension devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/027 Straps; Buckles; Attachment of headbands
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 11/048 adapted to forward-backward translation movement
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 13/00 Other supports for positioning apparatus or articles heads thereof F16M11/02 ; undercarriages thereof F16M11/20 ; adapted to be stuck in the ground A45F3/44 ; sockets or holders for poles or posts E04H12/22; Means for steadying hand-held apparatus or articles supports for measuring instruments G01D11/30; supports for casings of remote control switching devices H01H9/025
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 13/04 for supporting on, or holding steady relative to, a person, e.g. by chains , e.g. rifle butt or pistol grip supports, supports attached to the chest or head apparatus or arrangements for taking photographs or for projecting or viewing them G03B
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 23/125 head-mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 3/02 Arrangements for supporting by headgear
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 224/93 Attached to animate bearer

Abstract

A headgear (10) for supporting a night vision goggle (12) to the head of a wearer. A flexible temporal strip (18) is joined to a flexible crown strip (20) in the forehead region, at which juncture a pair of integral rails (74, 76) suspend the goggle (12) therefrom. The temporal strip (18) and crown strip (20) include free ends which are directed toward the posterior of the cranium (22) and are connected by straps (36, 46, 48) to a webbed pad (38) which engages the occipital protuberance to prevent forward rotation of the headgear (10) due to the weight of the goggle (12). Lower girth straps (68, 69) maintain attachment of the headgear (10) to the cranium (22) and further aid in antirotational movement.

Claims

1. A lightweight headgear device attachable to a wearer'"'"'s head so as to leave the face of the wearer substantially unobstructed and accommodate the concurrent use of a gas mask, or the like, and adapted for suspending vision equipment proximate the wearer'"'"'s eyes, comprising:

a cranial frame having a strip of material at least partially encircling the crown of the wearer'"'"'s head above the wearer'"'"'s ears, said strip having a pair of free ends which are angled downwardly behind the wearer'"'"'s ears near the cranial posterior;

a vison equipment support member engageable with a frontal part of said frame; and

head engaging means engageable with the cranial occipital protuberance of the wearer'"'"'s head, said head engaging means being connected between the free ends of the cranial frame so as to be disposed adjacent the cranial occipital protuberance and such that movement of the headgear occasioned by the weight of the vision equipment is counteracted by the engagement of the head engaging means with the cranial occipital protuberance.

2. The headgear device of claim 1 further including a crown strip integral with said cranial frame and engageable with the crown of the cranium, and including strap means connected thereto and to the free ends of said cranial frame.

3. The headgear device of claim 2, wherein said crown strip includes a branched end, and said strap means comprises two straps, each strap connected between one branched end of said crown strip and one free end of said cranial frame.

4. The headgear device of claim 2 wherein said strap means includes a Y-shaped strap connecting the free ends of said cranial frame to said crown strip.

5. The headgear device of claim 1 further including cheek rest means integral with said cranial frame and depending downwardly therefrom so as to be disposed proximate the cheeks of the wearer'"'"'s head.

6. The headgear device of claim 5 wherein the cheek rest means are disposed in front of the wearer'"'"'s ears, and the free ends of said cranial frame are disposed essentially behind the wearer'"'"'s ears.

7. The headgear device of claim 1 further including fastening strap means connected to said head engaging means and engageable with the wearer'"'"'s chin to thereby stabilize the head engaging means in contact with said occipital protuberance.

8. The headgear device of claim 5 further including strap means connected to said head engaging means and to said cheek rest means and engageable with the wearer'"'"'s chin.

27. The cranial headgear of claim 1 wherein the thickness of said temporal strip and said crown strip is greater at the juncture than at said ends.

28. The cranial headgear of claim 27 Wherein said thickness gradually decreases from said juncture to the ends.

9. A lightweight compact headgear device adapted for supporting vision equipment proximate the eyes of a wearer, and adapted for engaging the top portion of the wearer'"'"'s head so that the face of the wearer is free from the headgear device such that the wearer can also concurrently wear a gas mask, or the like, comprising:

a thin cranial frame having a crown strip and left and right temporal strips, each said strip converging and connected together at a juncture proximate the forehead of the wearer, each said strip having a free end terminating near the posterior of the cranium, each said temporal strip having said free ends extending downwardly and substantially behind the wearer'"'"'s ears, said cranial frame being formed so as to rest on the wearer'"'"'s head in a position generally above the wearer'"'"'s ears;

means for mounting the vision equipment to the juncture of said strips, said mounting means being molded integral with said strips at said juncture;

first strap mens for connecting the free end of said crown strip to the free end of said left and right temporal strips; and

second strap means for connecting the downwardly angled free end of said left temporal strip to the downwardly angled free end of said right temporal strip so that said second strap means is disposed in a position so as to be engageable with a posterior portion of the wearer'"'"'s cranium.

10. The headgear of claim 9 further including a pad attached centrally to said second strap means, said pad for engaging the occipital protuberance.

11. The headgear of claim 10 wherein said pad includes a loop through which said second strap means is inserted.

12. The headgear of claim 10 wherein the free end of said left and right temporal strips includes fastening means for fastening said second strap means so that said second strap means is angled somewhat downwardly and rearwardly toward said occipital protuberance.

13. The headgear of claim 12 wherein said fastening means comprises a slot in the free end of each said left and right temporal strip, each said slot being at an angle with respect to a vertical axis.

14. The headgear of claim 13 wherein said slot is angled at about 45 degrees.

15. The headgear of claim 12 wherein said fastening means includes an anchor bracket fastened to said second strap means and bonded to said cranial frame.

16. The headgear of claim 15 wherein said anchor bracket and said frame include location defining means for locating said bracket to said frame at a predefined location.

17. The headgear of claim 10 wherein said pad is generally rectangular in shape, the second strap means is connected adjacent a top corner thereof, and further including chin strap means engagable with the chin of the wearer and fastened to a bottom corner of said pad.

18. The headgear of claim 17 further including a pair of cheek rests integral with a respective said temporal strip and depending downwardly therefrom and terminating adjacent the cheeks of the wearer, and including strap means for connecting each said cheek rest to said chin strap means.

19. The headgear of claim 9 further including a pair of cheek rests, each integral with a respective said temporal strip and depending downwardly therefrom terminating adjacent a cheek of the wearer.

20. The headgear of claim 9 wherein the crown strip and left and right temporal strips are formed with a thickness that decreases from the juncture thereof to the free ends.

21. The headgear of claim 9 further including a padding adhered to the undersurfaces of said crown strip and left and right temporal strips, said padding including recesses at predetermined locations for conforming to the shape of the cranium.

22. The headgear of claim 9 further including a vision equipment frame fixed to said cranial frame at the juncture of said strips, said vision equipment frame including means for fastening thereto said vision equipment.

23. The headgear of claim 22 wherein said vision equipment frame is molded integral with said cranial frame.

24. The headgear of claim 23 wherein said cranial frame includes a support rib for preventing torsional twisting of the cranial frame due to the weight of the vision equipment.

25. The headgear of claim 24 wherein said cranial frame includes cheek rest means integral thereto, and said support rib is disposed about a forehead area of the cranial frame and onto said cheek rest means.

26. The headgear of claim 9 wherein said crown strip includes a compound curve near the juncture thereof and extending to the temporal strips, said compound curve being slightly cupped to generally conform to a cranium.

29. A lightweight cranial headgear adapted for supporting thereon vision equipment, and adapted for attachment to a wearer'"'"'s head so as to leave the facial area of the wearer substantially unobstructed such that gas mask equipment, or the like, can also be worn, comprising:

a flexible temporal strip with ends, and formed to at least partially encircle the temporal area above the ears of a wearer'"'"'s head, and each said free end being angled downwardly behind the wearer'"'"'s ears;

a flexible crown strip joined to the center of the temporal strip, and with an end directed rearwardly;

means fixed to said temporal strip for supporting thereon the vision equipment;

a first adjustable strap formed in a Y and connecting the ends of the temporal strip and the end of the crown strip;

a second strap engageable with the occipital protuberance of the wearer'"'"'s cranium such that movement of the headgear occasioned by the weight of the vision equipment is counteracted by the engagement of said second strap with the cranial occipital protuberance;

means for fastening the second strap between the downwardly angled ends of said temporal strip so that said second strap is disposed adjacent said occipital protuberance; and

third strap means for securing the temporal strip and said crown strip snugly about the wearer'"'"'s cranium.

30. The cranial headgear of claim 29 wherein said temporal strip is formed in a circular shape conforming generally to a human cranium, and said crown strip includes a compound curved area also conforming generally to the curvature of the cranium.

31. The cranial headgear of claim 29 wherein the ends of the temporal strip are angled inwardly so as to conform to the general lateral curvature of a wearer'"'"'s head.