GB2341227A

GB2341227A - Helmet mounted light system

Info

Publication number: GB2341227A
Application number: GB9819144A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Edward Rodbourne
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-09-02
Filing date: 1998-09-02
Publication date: 2000-03-08
Also published as: GB9819144D0

Abstract

A motorcycle helmet or an attachment 1 for a motorcycle helmet 6 which is adapted to be fixed to the rear of the helmet, comprises at least one light, the light being provided so as to be connectable to the electrical system of the motorbike. Lights may be brake, indicator or rear lights and may be formed from L.E.D's. The lights may be connected to the electrical system by easy break connectors. An alarm to sound if the lights are connected and the ignition is off may be included. A terminal box comprising easy break connectors is also disclosed.

Description

HELMET MOUNTED LIGHT SYSTEM T Lhe present invention relates generally to

the field o,l'-' helmets for users of vehicles such as motorbikes, trikes and g---carts or the like. More specifically, the invent-on relates to a helmet mounted light system.

One proh,'en faced by motorcycle users is that because their rear lights are positioned so as to span ic cnIv a verv srnall area which is positioned relatively cult sometimes for o4-her road -ear the arcund,.t is diff1-sers t-, see the.m. For example, it is difficult for a ---ar dr--,-er tc see the lichts of a motorcvcle when there ioned between the driver an- the En,:---'-er car pcs"t On.e '-nown prLor art solution to this prc enn h as -n t-j rrc.--'de an attachment to the rear c-' a -,;"-i-h comr)r'ses a liaht and assoca-ed -ncre.ses the visibili-v of the m--tc-cyc'ist Th-S it iS eas-er for other drivers to see a lic-nt pcs-t---ed at th-JS vertical level. However, 1.1 has the that the light does nct tell o-'--ier users abou- the in-ended or ac-ual acons of t-e L L - --- The presenn invention seeks to alleviate this probler., by providing an attachment for a MOLorc7cle I; said attachment adapted to be fxed to the rear helinet of the helmet and comprising at least one light and means for connecting said light to the electrical system of a inc--or'-ike.

Alternatively, the invention can provide a 3E) r.c:tor--ycle helmet comprising at least one lig'--it and means saJLd light to the electrical system of a to e the attachiment or helmet comprises one or r-,,--re off a lef- indicator liaht, a right indicator !--unt, a rear and a brake liGht.

the licht (or lichts) is (or are) fcrr-ied fron, one or more LEDs. -C -:-i the at-tac:hir,.ent cr helme' cap, be tc, the e_ecirical using a wIre -err-,at-7e!v, a IJi.7,k be -sed.

r-; or in- he further des::r--be-J, b, way example reference 21- - - t,. 1 s'- --,. _z;---;- -- --;-= - t fo r a r e= -me 'L i - he L ----7. - - i --r. e -- -,,; - t h i' a - - a:: h_ - e n t F--g. 3 shows a side view and front view of a second e,--bcci-'me--l- c,' the -'i-ve-:-.tJ:.on, in which a irictorcycle helmetis provided with one or more lights; Ficr. 4 shows a sche7,ar'c arrangen.ent of a biker-:,ounted terminal box in accc,rdan:e with the present Fig. 5 shows a sche.Tat-'c arrangement of a helmet- set in ac-crdance with the presen- 3E mounted t-J-hL nve-ticn.

In a J'J -st errbodirp.e-,_ of the invention shown in Fig. 1, an at-tacliment 1 for a motorcycle helmet is provided 51 w---ch comprises a plurality of lights 2, 3, 4, S. The a,zach_men,i I is adapted to be placed on the rear of the helmet 6 (as shown in Fic. 2) and has easily accessible easy-break connectors 7 formed on its outer surface for connectio- to the motorbike electrical system. In this --tachment I comprises a left indicat 13 em_hadfme-_, the at Lor 2, a right indicator light 3, a rear light 5 and a hra,-e lia,t -.

-I-,'e a-_tach:r.en!- 1 is carried in its nory-nal s-a--e an-4 I I: resilfen, s-- t.nat when attached to the he!--r.et 6 i-- grips he he--me-_ 6 by virtue of its resilience. The inner surface c-f the attachment 1 is provided wi-:h a layer of a cc:7,plfant ma--erial such as neoprene to accccirz-,,odate in 'nelmet shape. The attach_me-, T-,,,v be fixet the hel.-Lie,: 6 tv known adhesives or kncwn releasa-cle rLl e= a n s.

Each of these lights is connected ir, parallel to a I_, Jstor 8 as shown in Figure S.

7-,t gro,=.J line via a res-, --he resistor mav not be necessary if other light emitting devices than LED's are used. In this embodiment, the lights comprise four LEDs each. The rear and brake light It LEDs are red w'--ilst the left and right indicator LEDs are aT.r-b e r. Each of the LEDs for each light are connected in se=ries to a different easy-break connector 77. Easy-break connectors allow the connections to be removed without damaae in the event of a sudden force on the wire. Thev form par- of the known art and as such will -nct be described here in detail.

Corresponding easy-bre-;k connectors 9 are provided on a terminal box 10 as shown in Figure 4.

These are then connected to the Motorcycle electrical -fl-,.-ng leads 11. 1-- buzzer 12 is provided in the term_nal box to warn, the motorcyclist when the lead is c7,n-ecl-e-J but the i=nition 14 is turned off. This re-r.'nds the ir.--t--rcyclistL to remove the lead 13 before dis7.---,nt-'nc. The buzzer may be set to automatically c-it cf-E after a preset time, e.g. five seconds.

separate easy-break connectors will s-n---',e cc7,nectcr niece which the lead 13 of the -nver-ti---n is shown in identical t-G the first except for the fact that there is ric helmet a in n stead the lights 2, 3, 4, E are provided the helmet. E itself It is possible in rs 7 he that the eEE-,--1--rea. connec-Lc.

_nside the t sc tha-- the wire the 6 --c te cculd be fed c-' th-s invent-on are desianed to avoid any problems associated with rain water ingress and as such -he attachment of the first embodiment is ',e to the MCtorcvcle helrr.e- in a sealed fasnor..

C-a na--- - - it is nct necessarv for the work-ni of this inve.--.t-on that the attachment or helmet is physically, c=nected to the motorcycle electrical system.

an in-f-rared or rad-'c link could be used. In this case, the a-L-Laci--re7.-- or helmet wc-u-d have its own source of 3r- power the form of batteries and the radio or infrared -s- link would be used to control the indicator, rear and trake lights.

Alsc, the bike-mounted terminal box of Figure 4 S could additionally comprise check indicators which show when the lead to the helmet is properly connected and operating. This is useful because it is hard to see when wearing the helmet if the lights are working properly and are rherefore properly connected. These indicators could ic themselves be in the form of LEDs or other visual means. in may also be desirable to provide a high intensity lighi as a fog lamp using higher intensity LEDs S

Claims

CLAIMS for a ntctcrc,,.7--le helmet; said ada:::)ted to be fixed to the

rear of the helmet at least one light and mean.s for cE:-nec---nc said 1--,ght to the electrical system of a 2. 74. mc--crcycle helmet comprising at least one light and means fcr ccnnec.

1 tinz said l.Qht to the electrica1 1 or a helmet -air. il --- L - -! - ca-:7, 2 where-M sai--' or helmet an d a tr a ke Ii ght- G - - a rear 2. 7--- to cain 1 or 3 or a he':7,et L - - - J- : - 1:: - _ - - -- 1 1 - ---tC c-a-:7,, or, 'wherein said (or ! - c:, 7) S -- cr cne Er i-,.cre -.

5. ac-c--d--nc- tc c-a--i,[ ', - or 4)r a to claim 2, --- or 4 further ccnnec'-:rs c,.n,.:-,ected to said cr C. An atta--nrent accordina to claim 1, 3, 4 or 5 or a he-rn.e-L according to claim 2, 3, 4 or 5 further comuri-sing ---hereas,--'--reak co-inec:-Lcrs cc--inec±ed t-- said eas,,-hreak 3C connectors by a wire, said other easy-break cornec--crs being further connected to a =torcycle wiring system.

An attachment ai:cord.-ng to clair, 1, 3 or 4 or a according to claim 2, 3 or 4 further comp--'sJna a -ad.o lr.k or infra-ed 'in',, co---ine-inc sad liah- (or L - - - - lig'-ts) to the electrical system of a motorbike.

E. lir. a-t-ac:,=,e-I'L accordino to claim 1 or any one of claims 3-7 or a helmet accord-ing to any one of claims 27, further comprising audible alarm means which is to s:)-jnd when said light (or lights) is (or are) c=nected to the Motorcycle electrical system when the i'j-J'LJL07,, is not on.

ic) A terminal box adapted to be mounted on a motobike eas.v-break connectors each attached to means C- - c=necting to a motorbike electrical EVS-Ler...

b-jx accodina to claim 9 further aul-ible alarm means.

nctcrl---ke comnrising the terminal L---x of c-a- 2 C accordinj to claim 11 further compri-sing an according to any one of claims 1 and 3-2-1, or to any one of claims 2-5.

An attac--ment or helmet constructed and arrancied s,-i]--stant.la-'-'y as hereinbefore described with reference tc Figs. 1-5 of the accompanying drawings.

14. A terminal box constructed and arranced substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to 3C FiQs. 1-5 of the accompanying drawings.

15. A motorbike constructed and arranged subs'Lantia-l-v as hereinbe'ore described with reference to Figs. 1--5 of the accompanying drawings.

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