GB2031375A - Crash-helmet Wire Bag - Google Patents

Abstract

A container for a motor cycle crash helmet is formed from multi- strand flexible metal wire (33) resistant to severance in the form of a net assembled by the use of a peg board jig. Points of contact (30) throughout the net are secured together by crimped on metal sleeves. The net forms a bag having only one opening large enough to receive the helmet and bordered by loops (22). The loops (22) are drawn together by a separate wire draw string (37) with looped ends (38) which can be padlocked together after the wire has been passed round part of the motor cycle. A covering (36) of sheet material can be provided. This can be arranged so that the container can be folded to a small size when not in use. An inner bag and foam sheet (34) protect the helmet. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Security Containers Description of Invention This invention relates to security containers.

Although the invention may be of more general application, it was particularly devised in view of problems encountered at present by motor cyclists in respect of their crash helmets.

Crash helmets are relatively bulky and hence it is undesirable for a motor cyclist, having left his cycle, to need to carry the helment around with him. On the other hand, there has not hitherto been an entirely satisfactory means for ensuring that, if he leaves the helment with the cycle, it will not be stolen.

Various possibilities available at present include the use of large lockable boxes, mounted behind the saddle on the rear carrier of the machine. These lockable boxes are usually of glass fibre reinforced plastics and are relatively expensive. They are also bulky and take up a lot of carrying space on the rear carrier. When the cycle is being ridden, such a box tends to cause wind drag.

The helment can be chained or padlocked via its strap or through the face visor to the cycle. If one chains the strap, it can be released by opening the strap. If one chains the helmet through a hole formed in the strap, it can still be released by simply cutting the strap. In some instances, if helmets have been chained through the face visor, this visor has been smashed by thieves in order to remove the helmet.

Furthermore, the use of chains and padlocks is open to difficulties because a thief can usually cut such a chain quite readily by means of conventional wire cutters.

Additionally, if one secures a crash helmet to a motor cycle other than enclosed in a box of the type referred to above, one may have problems of water getting into the helmet in wet weather.

With these presently encountered drawbacks and difficulties in view, the present invention has as its object the provision of a security container which is inexpensive, secure and which, when not in use, can be reduced to a very small size.

Certain embodiments of the invention have further advantages which will become apparent from the following description.

According to the invention I provide a security container for an article such as a crash helmet for example, the container comprising one or more elongate members of flexible filamentary material having substantial resistance to severance (as herein defined) the member or members being permanently secured at a plurality of connection points to provide a net having only one opening of a size large enough to recieve said article, and the periphery of this opening being provided with closure and attachment means capable of simultaneously closing said periphery to prevent removal of the article contained, and securing the container and article to or about a structure.

The expression "substantial resistance to severance" is defined as resistance to severance by, for example, tensile breakage, burning through or cutting through, which is adequate to enable the contents of the container to be safeguarded against unauthorised removal without recourse to specialised equipment such as bolt cutters, flame cutters and the like.

The closure and attachment means may comprise, in combination, a plurality of closed loops of the net about the periphery of the openings and a separate length of such filamentary material passing through said loops, the end portions of the separate length being adapted to be secured to or about the structure.

The filamentary material may comprise metal or plastics wire, strand or strip, woven, plaited, or twisted metal or plastics filaments, chains or the like, provided that the substantial resistance to severance referred to above can be achieved.

For example, multi-stranded steel wire having between approximately 50 and 1 50 strands in total and having an external diameter of between two millimetres and four millimetres may be used.

A preferred wire of this type is 2.5 millimetres or 3 millimetres in diameter and is formed of seven groups of 19 strands each formed in galvanised steel, the groups of strands being twisted together in a conventional manner. This wire is extremely flexible and strong. However, it is believed that a wire having seven groups of seven strands and a similar overall diameter may prove satisfactory although it is less flexible.

The wire may be sheathed in plastics material or dip-coated to provide a smooth surface, an attractive appearance and possibly to enlarge the diameter sufficiently to prevent use of wire cutters on the wire.

The net may be provided with a cover and/or a lining of any sheet material or combination of sheet materials.

For example, a lining of plastics foam sheet material may be provided within the net to protect the article contained against accidental minor damage or scratching by the net. Within this foam lining, an inner cloth or plastics sheet lining may be provided to conceal the foam and to provide a smooth surface.

An outer waterproof cloth or plastics cover may be provided to enclose the net and prevent water penetration. Advantageously the outer cover may be of a material having an attractive or highly visible appearance for example a fluorescent or metallic finished plastics material.

The lining and/or the cover may include means capable of enclosing the net and its associated closure and attachment means in a compact form when no article is contained therein. For example, a flap may be provided on the outer cover within which the remainder of the security container and its attachment means can be rolled, the flap being provided with snap or other quick acting fasteners.

The invention also provides a method of making a security container for an article such as a crash helmet, the method comprising taking one or more elongate members of filamentary material having substantial resistance to severance as herein defined; assembling said member or members in a jig so as to define a flat net form having a plurality of points of contact and including a plurality of closed loops along one edge portion thereof; applying permanent securing means to said points of contact; removing the thus secured flat net form from the jig and applying further permanent securing means to a pair of oppossd edges thereof other than said one edge to convert the flat net form to a net having only one opening of a size large enough to recieve the article, defined by the edge having said closed loops; and passing a separate length of such filamentary material through the loops.

The closed loops may be lined by rigid metal eyes while the net form tis in the jig. Further eyes may be provided at the end portion of the separate lengths of filamentary material.

Preferably this is done after it has been passed through the loops, the further eyes being sufficiently large to prevent withdrawal of the filamentary material from the loops thereby rendering it captive.

A lining and/or a cover of the same or different laminar materials may be secured to line and/or enclose the net by stitching, heat welding or the like.

My invention includes any novel feature or features taken singly or in combination which are contained in this description.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 diagrammatically illustrates the layout of a flat net form in the manufacture of the invention, Figure 2 diagrammatically illustrates a security container embodying the invention, Figure 3 is a scrap sectional view of part of the container ringed on Figure 2.

Referring firstly to Figure 1 of the drawings, this illustrates the formation of a flat net form in the first stage of manufacture of a security container embodying the invention. A single length of wire is laid out in the form shown in a suitable jig which may comprise a flat base having a plurality of pegs defining the angles about which the wire is bent.

A first end 10 of the wire is looped around a first peg 11 so as to provide a first run 12. The wire continues into a second run 13 and around a second peg 14 to emerge as a third run 1 5 which lies at an obtuse angle to the run 1 3. It is then reversed in direction about a further peg 1 6 to form a fourth run 17, and about a still further peg 18 to form a fifth run 19.

The direction of the wire is then sharply reversed by passing it between a pair of pegs 20 and 21 and around a rigid metal eye which defines a small loop 22. The wire then continues about succeeding pegs (not shown for clarity) to afford further runs 23, 24, 25 and 26.

The wire is then passed again around the first peg 11 and continues, in line with the first end 10, to form a first top run 27.

It will thus be seen that the wire has been laid out in the form of a large zig-zag loop having a small loop 22 at its lower end.

This process is repeated using further pegs of the jig which are not shown for clarity until five such large zig-zag loops having five corresponding small loops are formed. Each adjacent loop has points of contact between the wires and those of the neighbouring loop, where the wires are passed side by side between pegs such as the second peg 14 and the peg indicated at 28 for example.

Finally, the second end of the wire 29 emerges in line with the first end 10.

Considering the layout shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, the wire has now taken on a flat net like form on the jig, the top edge of the net being defined by the straight wires of the first run 12, the first top run 27 and subsequent top runs 27a, 27b, and so on.

At the opposite edge of the flat net form there are five small loops 22, 22a, 22b etc., each of which is lined with a rigid metal eye.

The flat net form is then permanently secured together by means of sleeves which are passed around each of the points of contact, for example the point 30, and then swaged to grip and embed into the surface texture of the wire. Thus, the sleeves prevent the wire not only from separating at the points of contact but also from sliding through the sleeves.

It will be seen that the points of contact are not regularly spaced throughout the flat net form.

Each of the top runs 27, 27a etc. is of equal length, my preferred length being 8 centimetres.

The second run 13 and the run 26 and all the similarly placed runs of the wire are slightly shorter, 6 centimetres being a suitable length. The runs 15, 17, 19, 23, 24, 25 and the similar runs are all of a longer length, typically 14 centimetres.

The overall depth of the small loops 22, 22a etc is 2 centimetres.

When the points of contact of the wires have all been secured by means of swaged-on sleeves, the resulting secured flat net form can be removed from the jig. It is then formed into a tubular flexible net by securing together the first and second ends 10 and 29 of the wire by means of a suitable crimped sleeve, securing together the points 31 and 31 a, and securing together the ponts 32 and 32a.

The resultant tubular net will normally adopt a tapering shape since the top runs 27, 27a and so on are only 8 centimetres in length whereas it is possible to stretch the remainder of the net widthways so that for example the lower end carrying the loops can extend to a peripheral length of up to 140 centimetres.

This will enable a crash helmet to be inserted through the periphery of the resulting net which is surrounded by the loops 22, 22a and so on, but none of the remaining openings in the net is sufficiently large to allow the crash helmet to be removed, either through the side or through the opposite end of the net.

The lined loops 22 subsequently have a length of wire threaded through them and this may advantageously also be provided with rigid metal eyes secured to its ends after it has been inserted through all the loops in turn. The eyes are sufficiently large to prevent withdrawal of this length of wire which, together with the loops, forms the closure and attachment means for the security container.

The finished container is shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, having been provided with inner linings and an outer cover shown in detail in Figure 3. The wire is indicated at 33 and, within this, a sheet of thin foamed plastics material 34 is provided, completely lining the wire net. The foam is intended to prevent a crash helmet which may i be quite elaborately decorated in some instances, from being scratched by the wires 33 or the swaged fixings. Within the foam 34, a cloth or plastics lining material is provided at 35 to conceal the foam.

A further plastics or cloth bag is disposed outside the net to form a cover 36. This cover is preferably waterproof to prevent rainwater getting into the container in use. It may additionally or alternatively provide an attractive appearance for the finished article, suitable materials including fluorescent coloured or metallised plastics, patterned cloth and so on. The cover can be used by the rider to carry stick-on labels and badges for example.

The eyes which line the loops 22 are also shown in Figure 2. The cover and linings preferably extend down to and cover these eyes, allowing access only for the attachment wire 37 referred to above. The looped ends 38 of the wire 37 can be seen.

It will be appreciated that the lining and cover, where provided, are shaped as a complete bag and cover all the openings of the net, including the top opening, with the exception of the main opening to recieve the crash helmet.

The way in which the security container is used is that the crash helmet is inserted through the open end with the attachment wire 37 loose within the loops. The attachment wire is then drawn up tight so that the helmet is contained effectively within a bag reinforced by the metal wire net. The attachment wire is then tied in a single overhand knot to take up the slack and the whole thing is then secured to the motorcycle.

The preferred way of doing this is to place the assembly with the helmet upright on the seat of the motorcycle so that the mouth of the bag faces downwardly to reduce the risk of water penetration. The looped ends 38 of the attachment wire are then passed around a suitable abutment on the motorcycle and secured by means of a padlock. Preferably, the looped ends pass through the rear wheel of the cycle so that the device additionally prevents the cycle from being stolen, since it cannot be ridden or wheeled away.

Naturally, the type of filamentary material used in forming the security container is therefore critical. It is essential that it cannot be severed either by exerting tensile force, by burning through or by cutting with readily available cutting equipment such as wire cutters.

To this end, the preferred type of filamentary material is a galvanised steel multi-filament stranded wire having a diameter of 2.5 or 3 millimetres and having seven groups each of 1 9 strands, twisted together in a conventional "rope" formation. This wire is extremely strong, having a breaking strain of the order of one ton and additionally, it is extremely resistant to attack by wire cutters. The fact there are large numbers of separate wire strands (133 in all) enables the wire to be extremely flexible. It may additionally be coated with plastics material by dipping or other means to increase the diameter and hence to make it difficult to get wire cutters around the wire.Of course, where a cover and an inner lining are additionally provided, access to the wire net is difficult throughout the body of the container and in any case, cutting of one of the wires of the net would not produce a large enough opening to remove the crash helmet, due to the positioning of the wires described above.

Where a cloth or plastics outer cover 36 is provided, this may include a flap having, for example a pair of press-studs, so that, when the crash helmet is removed from the container, the entire container can be rolled up into the flap and sealed into a package by means of the pressstuds. The package can be attached to a suitable strut of the motorcycle or can be put in the rider's pocket. It is for this reason that the extremely flexible wire described above is particularly preferred although a less expensive and slightly less flexible wire may prove satisfactory in use.

It is envisaged that other materials than the above described wire might prove suitable for carrying out the invention, for example wire strip, specially formed wire chain impervious to wire cutters, plaited, woven or twisted tapes of metal or plastics filaments and the like. The filamentary material must have substantial resistance to severance as hereinbefore defined to make it useful in the present invention.

It is envisaged that other means for securing the mouth of the container could be devised and in particular it may not be necessary to use an attachment wire. For example, the loops 22, 22a etc. can be gathered together on a hinged bar forming part of a padlocking arrangement incorporated in the structure of the motorcycle or indeed separate from the cycle but padlocked to it. Other alternatives may be used within the scope of the invention to secure the container in place over the crash helmet and secure the crash helmet to the motorcycle.

It will be appreciated that, where water penetration is considered unlikely and/or a cheaper finished article is required, the covering and lining described above can be omitted completely.

Claims (24)

Claims

1. A security container for an article, the container comprising one or more elongate members of flexible filamentary material having substantial resistance to severance (as herein defined) the member or members being permanently secured at a plurality of connection points to provide a net having only one opening of a size large enough to receive said particle and the periphery of this opening being provided with closure and attachment means capable simultaneously of closing said periphery to prevent removal of the article contained and securing the container and article to or about a structure.

2. A container according to Claim 1 wherein the closure and attachment means comprise, in combination, a plurality of closed loops of the net about the periphery of the openings and a separate length of such filamentary material passing through said loops, the end portions of the separate length being adapted to be secured to or about the structure.

3. A container according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the filamentary material is of wire strand or strip.

4. A container according to Claim 3 wherein the wire strand or strip is woven, plaited or twisted.

5. A container according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the filamentary material comprises one or more chains.

6. A container according to any one of Claims 3 to 5 wherein the filamentary material is of metal.

7. A container according to any one of Claims 3 to 5 wherein the filamentary material is of synthetic plastics.

8. A container according to any one of Claims 1 to 6 wherein the filamentary material comprises a multi-stranded twisted steel wire cable.

9. A container according to Claim 8 wherein the cable has a total of between 50 and 1 50 strands approximately.

10. A container according to Claim 8 wherein the external diameter of said fiiamentary material is between 2 millimetre and 4 millimetre.

11. A container according to Claim 10 wherein the filamentary material has an external diameter of 2.5 millimetre approximately and comprises 7 groups each of 1 9 strands twisted together to form said cable.

12. A container according to Claim 11 wherein each strand of the filamentary material is formed of galvanized steel.

13. A container according to any one of Claims 3 to 6 or 8 to 12 and wherein the filamentarymaterial is sheathed or coated in a flexible synthetic plastics material.

14. A container according to any preceding claim wherein the net is provided with a cover of sheet material.

1 5. A container according to Claim 14 wherein said cover comprises a waterproof sheet material.

1 6. A container according to Claim 14 or Claim 1 5 wherein the cover includes enclosure means capable of enclosing the net and its associated closure and attachment means in a compact form, when no article is contained therein.

1 7. A container according to any one of Claims 2 to 16 wherein adjustment means are provided for adjusting the length of said separate length of filamentary material whereby the container can be closed and secured tightly about said structure.

18. A method of making a security container for an article, the method comprising taking one or more elongate members of filamentary material having substantial resistance to severance (as herein defined); assembling said member or members in a jig so as to define a flat net form having a plurality of points of contact and including a plurality of closed loops along one edge portion thereof; applying a permanent securing means to said points of contact; removing the thus secured flat net form from the jig and applying further permanent securing means to a pair of opposed edges thereof other than said one edge to convert the flat net form to a net having only one opening of a size large enough to receive the article, defined by said one edge having the closed loops; and passing a separate length of filamentary material through the loops.

19. A method according to Claim 18 wherein rigid metal eyes are inserted into the closed loops and liners, while the net form is in the jig.

20. A method according to Claim 18 or Claim 1 9 wherein said separate length of filamentary material is provided with a fixing loop at each end, lined with a rigid metal eye.

21. A method according to Claim 20 wherein said fixing loops and eyes are provided on the separate length after this has been passed through the loops of the net, said fixing loops and eyes being sufficiently large to prevent withdrawal of the separate length of filamentary material from the loops of the net.

22. A method according to any one of Claims 1 8 to 21 wherein a cover of sheet material is secured to or encloses the net.

23. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

24. A method of making a container according to Claim 1 8 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.