Light shielding helmet system

A light shielding helmet system comprising:

• a helmet shell configured for placement on the head of a user, said helmet shell having an opening therein at a front of the shell for providing said user with a field of vision beyond the helmet, and a rim around the shell opening;
• a first lens holder having a first lens-holding configuration for holding a first set of one or more lens plates, said first lens holder being releasably mountable on the helmet shell in a working position in which the first lens holder engages the rim of the helmet shell, in which the first lens holder is disposed in front of the shell opening, and in which the one or more lens plates held by the first lens holder are generally aligned with the shell opening;
• and
• a second lens holder having a second lens-holding configuration different from said first lens-holding configuration of the first lens holder for holding a second set of one or more lens plates, said second lens holder being releasably mountable on the helmet shell in a working position in which the second lens holder engages the rim of the helmet shell, in which the second lens holder is disposed in front of the shell opening, and in which the one or more lens plates held by the second lens holder are generally aligned with said shell opening;
• each of said first and second lens holders having a mounting system which enables the lens holder to be releasably mounted on said helmet shell so that the first and second lens holders can be used interchangeably with the same helmet shell, and wherein said first lens-holding configuration is a fixed-front configuration sized for holding one or more lens plates of a first size in length and width, and said second lens-holding configuration is a fixed-front configuration sized for holding one or more lens plates of a second size in length and width different from said first size.

A lens system for use with a single light shielding helmet shell configured for placement on the head of a user, said helmet shell having an opening therein at a front of the shell for providing said user with a field of vision beyond the helmet, and a rim around the shell opening, said lens system comprising:

• a first lens holder having a first lens-holding configuration for holding a first set of one or more lens plates, said first lens holder being releasably mountable on the helmet shell in a working position in which the first lens holder engages the rim of the helmet shell, in which the first lens holder is disposed in front of the shell opening, and in which the one or more lens plates of the first set are generally aligned with said shell opening;
• a second lens holder having a second lens-holding configuration different from said first lens-holding configuration for holding a second set of one or more lens plates, said second lens holder being releasably mountable on the helmet shell in a working position in which the second lens holder engages the rim of the helmet shell, in which the second lens holder is disposed in front of the shell opening, and in which the one or more lens plates of the second set are generally aligned with said shell opening;
• and
• a mounting system on said first and second lens holders and said helmet shell which enables each lens holder to be releasably mounted on said helmet shell so that the first and second lens holders can be used interchangeably with the same helmet shell, said mounting system comprising one or more snap-fastening elements on each of said first and second lens holders which are cooperable with one or more snap-fastening elements on said helmet shell to releasably fasten either one of said lens holders in its said working position on the helmet shell.

A lens system for use with a single light shielding helmet shell configured for placement on the head of a user, said helmet shell having an opening therein at a front of the shell for providing said user with a field of vision beyond the helmet, and a rim around the shell opening, said lens system comprising:

• a first lens holder having a first lens-holding configuration for holding a first set of one or more lens plates, said first lens holder being releasably mountable on the helmet shell in a working position in which the first lens holder engages the rim of the helmet shell, in which the first lens holder is disposed in front of the shell opening, and in which the one or more lens plates of the first set are generally aligned with said shell opening;
• and
• a second lens holder having a second lens-holding configuration different from said first lens-holding configuration for holding a second set of one or more lens plates, said second lens holder being releasably mountable on the helmet shell in a working position in which the second lens holder engages the rim of the helmet shell, in which the second lens holder is disposed in front of the shell opening, and in which the one or more lens plates of the second set are generally aligned with said shell opening;
• each of said first and second lens holders having a mounting system which enables the lens holder to be releasably mounted on said helmet shell so that the first and second lens holders can be used interchangeably with the same helmet shell, and wherein said first lens-holding configuration is a fixed-front configuration sized for holding one or more lens plates of a first size in length and width, and said second lens-holding configuration is a fixed-front configuration sized for holding one or more lens plates of a second size in length and width different from said first size.

A light shielding helmet comprising:

• a moulded plastic helmet shell configured for placement on the head of a user, said helmet shell having a front, top, opposite sides and an exterior surface, an opening in the front of the shell for providing the user with a field of vision beyond the helmet, and a rim projecting forward from the front of the shell around the shell opening, said rim having a top exterior surface and opposite side exterior surfaces recessed relative to the exterior surface of the helmet shell;
• first and second lens plates;
• a lens holder for holding the first and second lens plates generally parallel to one another with one plate behind the other, and
• a mounting system for releasably mounting the lens holder on the helmet shell in a working position in which the lens holder has a close fit with the rim of the helmet shell substantially to prevent the passage of light therepast, in which the lens holder is disposed in front of the opening in the helmet shell, and in which the lens plates held by the lens holder are generally aligned with the shell opening;
• said lens holder comprising a front panel having top, opposite sides and a bottom, and a peripheral skirt extending rearward from the front panel along its top and opposite sides, said front panel and skirt being formed as a moulded plastic unit, the skirt having an exterior surface;
• the skirt of the lens holder being configured to be inserted over the top and opposite sides of the forwardly projecting rim of the helmet shell to mount the lens holder in its said working position, the skirt of the lens holder further being configured to have an overlapping telescoping fit with the exterior surface of the rim so that the exterior surface of the skirt has a substantially flush fit with the exterior surface of the helmet shell to provide a smooth joint between the shell and the rim along the top and opposite sides of the rim.

A method of changing lens plates in a light shielding helmet, said helmet comprising a helmet shell configured for placement on the head of a user and having an opening at a front of the shell for providing said user with a field of vision beyond the helmet, a rim around the shell opening, and a first lens holder having a first lens-holding configuration releasably mounted in a working position on the shell in front of the opening in the helmet shell in which the first lens holder engages the rim of the shell, said lens holder holding a first set of one or more lens plates in general alignment with the opening in the helmet shell, said lens holder and helmet shell having cooperable snap-fastening elements for releasably mounting the lens holder on the helmet shell, said method comprising the steps of:

• removing the first lens holder from the helmet shell by releasing said cooperable snap-fastening elements on the first lens holder and shell and then moving the lens holder away from the shell and off the rim;
• selecting a second lens holder having a second lens-holding configuration different from said first lens-holding configuration of the first lens holder for holding a second set of one or more lens plates, said second lens holder having snap-fastening elements cooperable with said elements on the helmet shell;
• and
• mounting the second lens holder on the helmet shell in said working position and fastening the cooperable snap-fastening elements so that the second lens holder is disposed in front of the opening In the helmet shell and the one or more lens plates of the second set of lens plates are generally aligned with the opening in the helmet shell.

A light shielding helmet comprising:

• a helmet shell configured for placement on the head of a user, said helmet shell having an opening therein at a front of the shell for providing said user with a field of vision beyond the helmet;
• a lens holder comprising a panel releasably mounted on the helmet shell at the front of the shell and having an opening therein aligned with the opening in the helmet shell, and a frame mounted at the front of the panel for holding a filter lens plate;
• a pair of laterally spaced bearings on the panel mounting the frame for pivotal movement about a pivot axis between a filtering position in which the filter lens plate is aligned with the openings in the helmet shell and panel, and a non-filtering position in which the filter lens plate is pivoted away from said openings, said frame having a shaft rotatable in each of said bearings, each bearing comprising a first bearing part affixed to the panel and a second bearing part affixed to a removable part of the panel movable from a closed position in which it is secured to the panel and an open position in which it is away from the panel, said first and second bearing parts being cooperable when the removable part of the panel is in said closed position to form said bearings;
• and
• a leaf spring mechanism comprising at least one leaf spring mounted on one of the panel and the frame and at least one cam mounted on the other of the panel and the frame, said cam and leaf spring being engageable with one another as the frame is pivoted between said filtering and non-filtering position to urge the frame toward said filtering position when the frame is adjacent said filtering position and toward said non-filtering position when the frame is adjacent said non-filtering position.