A full-face-type helmet neck cover as described above is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,343B1. The neck cover described in this patent reference includes a substantially U-shaped elastic to-be-attached member which serves as an elastic shape holding member, a substantially U-shaped flexible cover member which is attached to the elastic to-be-attached member and made of urethane foam, and a pair of left and right locking means which are attached to the left and right front ends of the flexible cover member. The pair of left and right locking means are used to lock the distal ends of the left and right front ends of the flexible cover member with cheek inside members, a head inside member, or an outer shell while the left and right ends are bent upward to extend substantially in L-letter shapes from the lower end face to the front end face of the cheek inside member. When the neck cover is to be attached to a full-face-type helmet, the elastic to-be-attached member is inserted between the outer shell, and the head inside member and cheek inside members. Thus, the flexible cover member is disposed to cover the rear portion and left and right side portions of the neck of the helmet wearer. The pair of left and right locking members are locked by the cheek inside members, the head inside member, or the outer shell.
When a helmet wearer puts the full-face-type helmet with the neck cover obtained in this manner on his or her head and rides a motorbike, a traveling wind is prevented by the neck cover to a certain degree from entering the head accommodating space of the helmet through the gap between the lower ends of the head inside member and cheek inside members of the helmet, and around the neck of the helmet wearer. Also, a sound which is generated by the traveling wind as it is caught in the ventilator, stabilizer, or the like of the helmet is prevented to a certain degree from entering the head accommodating space in the same manner.
A full-face-type helmet chin cover which is configured to be attached to a full-face-type helmet to cover the vicinity of the chin of the helmet wearer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,810. The chin cover described in this patent reference is formed of an elastic to-be-attached member which serves as an elastic shape holding member, and a flexible cover member which is made of mesh cloth and attached to the elastic to-be-attached member. When the chin cover is to be attached to the full-face-type helmet, the elastic to-be-attached member is inserted between an outer shell and an impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing liner. Thus, the flexible cover member is disposed to cover the vicinity of the chin of the helmet wearer from below.
When the helmet wearer puts the full-face-type helmet with the chin cover obtained in this manner on his or her head and rides a motorbike, a traveling wind which blows the chest of the helmet wearer and is directed toward the chin is prevented by the flexible cover member to a considerable degree. Hence, the traveling wind is prevented to a certain degree from entering the head accommodating space of the helmet through the gap between the lower end of the chin cover of the helmet and the chin of the helmet wearer. Also, a sound which is generated by the traveling wind as it is caught in the ventilator, the stabilizer, or the like of the helmet is prevented to a certain degree from entering the head accommodating space through the gap between the lower end of the inside member of the helmet and around the neck of the helmet wearer.
Recently, the structure of an air supply ventilator, an air exhaust ventilator, or an air supply/exhaust ventilator, an air flow straightening stabilizer, or the like attached to the outer shell of a full-face-type helmet has become complicated and bulky. Accordingly, the volume of the sound which is generated by a traveling wind as it is caught in such a ventilator or a stabilizer has become particularly large. The sound of the caught-in traveling wind is heard as large noise even to the helmet wearer who wears the known full-face-type helmet with the neck cover on his head.
In particular, urethane foam which is used as the material of the flexible cover member of the known full-face-type helmet with the neck cover is basically formed of open cell bodies for the sake of flexibility and accordingly has comparably large permeability. When the sound of the caught-in traveling wind is particularly large, it is heard as loud noise to the helmet wearer partly because the urethane foam is comparatively thin.
The present inventor thought out forming a full-face-type helmet with a chin cover/neck cover by attaching the chin cover of the known full-face-type helmet with the chin cover as described above to the known full-face-type helmet with the neck cover as described above. Even with the full-face-type helmet with the chin cover/neck cover, the caught-in traveling wind is heard as particularly loud noise to the helmet wearer in the same manner as with the known full-face-type helmet with the neck cover.
In view of this, the present inventor attempted to change the material of the flexible cover member of the chin cover of the full-face-type helmet with the chin cover/neck cover from mesh cloth having good permeability to a flexible foamed synthetic resin which does not have good permeability. With the full-face-type helmet with the chin cover/neck cover made of the flexible foamed synthetic resin, a traveling wind which blows the chest of the helmet wearer and is directed toward the chin of the helmet wearer and other traveling winds are interrupted to a considerable degree by the flexible cover member of the chin cover and the flexible cover member of the neck cover. Then, the inner surface of the shield plate tends to be fogged easily, and the helmet wearer can hardly hear the external voice and sound.
The present invention aims at effectively correcting the above drawbacks of the known full-face-type helmet with the neck cover and the two types of full-face-type helmets with the chin cover/neck cover as described above with a comparatively simple structure.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds