Time trial bicycle helmet with ear shield

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10188167-B2
Application number	US-201615187500-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 20, 2016
Priority date	Jun 18, 2015
Publication date	Jan 29, 2019
Grant date	Jan 29, 2019

Abstract

A helmet can include a helmet body and a shield. The helmet body can include a front portion and a tail portion, and the shield can include two ear portions connected by a brow portion. The shield can be releasably coupled to the helmet body. The ears of a helmet user can be exposed with respect to the helmet body and covered with respect to the shield. The brow portion of the shield can extend across the front portion of the helmet. The tail portion of the helmet can be tapered and the front portion of the helmet can have a rounded leading edge, such that the helmet body has a tear drop form factor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A helmet, comprising:
an aerodynamic helmet body comprising a front portion, an opposite a tail portion, and an opening configured to receive a wearer's head, the tail portion comprising two side portions each having a lower edge curving downward behind an ear of a wearer when the helmet body is worn by the wearer; and
a shield comprising two ear shield portions connected to each other adjacent the front portion of the helmet body by a brow portion;
wherein the shield is releasably coupled to the helmet body through magnetic coupling when the shield is connected to the helmet body, the magnetic coupling occurring between at least one shield magnet coupled to the shield and aligned with at least one body magnet in the helmet body; and
wherein the helmet body is configured to leave a majority of the ear of the wearer exposed with respect to the helmet body, and the ear shield portions extend rearward from the brow portion of the shield aligned with the front portion of the helmet body to respective front edges of the two side portions of the tail portion and align aerodynamically with the two side portions of the tail portion and cover at least a portion of the ears of the wearer when connected to the helmet body adjacent to the front portion.

2. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the brow portion of the shield is recessed with respect to an outer surface of the front portion of the helmet body such that at least part of the helmet body overhangs the brow portion of the shield; and wherein the two ear portions of the shield are in direct contact with the two side portions of the tail portion of the helmet body.

3. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein the at least one body magnet is encased within the helmet body.

4. The helmet of claim 1 , further comprising a shield vent at a top edge of the brow portion of the shield that is separated from a corresponding portion of the front portion of the helmet body to leave an opening between the brow portion of the shield and the front portion of the helmet body when the shield is connected to the helmet body;
wherein the helmet body comprises at least one interior channel to direct air passing through the at least one brow vent into the helmet.

5. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein the front portion of the helmet body comprising a maximum thickness in a range of 40-50 mm, the tail portion of the helmet body comprising a maximum thickness greater than the maximum thickness of the front portion.

6. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein each ear portion of the shield comprises at least one ear vent extending through the ear portion of the shield.

7. The helmet of claim 1 , wherein the brow portion of the shield comprises an eye shield that extends downward from the brow portion and is configured to cover at least the eyes of the helmet wearer.

8. A helmet, comprising:
an aerodynamic helmet body comprising a front portion, an opposite a tail portion, and an opening configured to receive a wearer's head, the tail portion having a lower edge curving downward and forming two side portions that leave a majority of ears of a wearer of the helmet body exposed with respect to the helmet body when the helmet body is worn by the wearer; and
a shield comprising two ear portions connected by a brow portion adjacent the front portion of the helmet body;
wherein the shield is magnetically coupled to the helmet body through magnetic coupling when the shield is connected to the helmet body, the magnetic coupling occurring between at least one shield magnet coupled to the shield and aligned with at least one body magnet recessed into at least one of the two side portions of the helmet body;
wherein the helmet body is configured to avoid covering ears of a wearer of the helmet body when the helmet body is worn to leave a majority of the ear of the wearer exposed with respect to the helmet body, and the two ear portions of the shield are configured to extend rearward from the brow portion of the shield, aligned with the front portion of the helmet body, across and covering a majority of the ears of the wearer when the shield is worn, and to contact the two side portions of the tail portion to aerodynamically align with the two side portions of the tail portion when the shield is worn; and
wherein the tail portion is tapered and the front portion has a rounded leading edge, such that the helmet body has a tear drop form factor.

9. The helmet of claim 8 , wherein an outer surface of the brow portion of the shield is recessed with respect to an outer surface of the front portion of the helmet body such that at least part of the helmet body overhangs the brow portion of the shield, and wherein both outer surfaces of the two ear portions of the shield are substantially flush with an outer surface of the two side portions of the tail portion of the helmet body.

10. The helmet of claim 8 , further comprising at least one indentation set in a lip of the helmet body, the at least one body magnet encased within the helmet body near the at least one indentation, and the at least one shield magnet coupled to the shield and sized to fit within the at least one indentation.

11. The helmet of claim 8 , further comprising a shield vent at a top edge of the brow portion of the shield that is separated from a corresponding portion of the front portion of the helmet body to leave an opening between the brow portion of the shield and the front portion of the helmet body when the shield is connected to the helmet body;
wherein the helmet body comprises at least one interior channel to direct air passing through the at least one brow vent into the helmet.

12. The helmet of claim 8 , wherein the front portion of the helmet body comprising a maximum thickness in a range of 40-50 mm, the tail portion of the helmet body comprising a maximum thickness greater than the maximum thickness of the front portion.

13. The helmet of claim 8 , wherein each ear portion of the shield comprises at least one ear vent extending through the ear portion of the shield.

14. The helmet of claim 8 , wherein the brow portion of the shield comprises an eye shield that extends downward from the brow portion and is configured to cover at least the eyes of the helmet wearer.

15. A helmet, comprising: a helmet body comprising a front portion, an opposite tail portion, an opening configured to receive a wearer's head, and a plurality of body magnets, the tail portion having a lower edge curving downward behind ears of a wearer of the helmet when the helmet is worn and the tail portion comprising at least one of the plurality of magnets on the tail portion behind a majority of the ears of the wearer when the helmet is worn; and
a shield comprising a plurality of shield magnets and two ear portions connected by a brow portion adjacent the front portion, each of the two ear portions comprising at least one of the plurality of magnets;
wherein the shield is releasably coupled to the helmet body by magnetic attraction between the plurality of body magnets and the plurality of shield magnets, the plurality of body magnets aligned with the plurality of shield magnets when the shield is coupled to the helmet body; and
wherein the helmet body is configured to avoid covering ears of a wearer of the helmet body when the helmet body is worn to leave a majority of the ears exposed with respect to the helmet body, and the two ear portions of the shield are configured to extend rearward from the brow portion aligned with the front portion of the helmet body to the tail portion, covering a majority of the ears of the wearer, and align with the

Assignees

• Bell Sports Inc

Inventors

• Kass Samuel
• Wesson Robert

Classifications

• A42B3/283

  Air inlets or outlets, with or without closure shutters · CPC title

• A42B3/221

  Attaching visors to helmet shells, e.g. on motorcycle helmets · CPC title

• A42B3/0493 Primary

  Aerodynamic helmets; Air guiding means therefor · CPC title

• A42B3/163

  Wind or noise deflectors · CPC title

• A42B3/066

  specially adapted for cycling helmets, e.g. for soft shelled helmets · CPC title