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US 5,396,661 AGranted
Helmet visor operating mechanism
AssigneeGentex Corporation
InventorsBrad L. Sutter, Francis J. Kuna, John B. Arnaiz
Life of this patent
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AssigneeGentex Corporation
InventorsBrad L. Sutter, Francis J. Kuna, John B. Arnaiz
Estimating the term…
A helmet visor operating mechanism in which springs urge the rolling elements of respective pairs of rolling elements toward relatively smaller radial dimension spaces between a brake ring carried by the visor and an axle carried by the helmet shell to lock the visor against movement toward its raised position and against movement toward its lowered position. Respective actuators mounted for rotary movement on the axle have pairs of tangs extending into the space between the axle and the ring and between the rolling elements of the respective pairs. Outwardly extending tabs can be squeezed together to cause the tangs to move the rolling elements of the pairs away from each other against the action of the springs to unlock the visor and permit it to be raised or lowered by subsequent movement of the tabs in the same direction.
A helmet and visor assembly including in combination a helmet shell, a visor, means mounting said visor on said shell for rotary movement around an axis between a raised position and a lowered position, first means for locking said visor against movement toward said lowered position, second means for locking said visor against movement toward said raised position and means comprising respective arms mounted for rotary movement around said axis for concomitantly releasing said first and second locking means, said locking means comprising means for biasing said arms to positions at which said arms are relatively remote from each other, said locking means being released in response to movement of said arms from said relatively remote positions to relatively adjacent positions.
A helmet and visor assembly including in combination a helmet shell, an axle on said shell, means mounting said visor on said axle for movement in one direction to a raised position and in the opposite direction to a lowered position, said mounting means comprising a brake ring carried by said visor and surrounding said axle, said axle and said ring being configured to provide first spaces therebetween having a relatively larger radial dimension and adjacent second spaces therebetween having a relatively smaller radial dimension when said ring is generally coaxial with said axle, a pair of rolling elements disposed between said ring and said axle, each of said rolling elements having a diameter less than said larger radial dimension and greater than said smaller radial dimension, first means for urging one of said rolling elements away from one of said larger dimension spaces and toward one of said smaller dimension spaces to lock said visor against movement in the direction opposite to said one direction, second means for urging the other of said rolling elements from another of said larger dimension spaces to another of said smaller dimension spaces to lock said visor against movement in said one direction, a first actuator for moving said one rolling element away from said one smaller dimension space and towards said one larger diameter space and a second actuator for moving the other of said rolling elements from said other smaller dimension space to said other larger dimension space.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.