US2511234A - Adjustable headband - Google Patents

Description

June 13, 1950 M, N, ANDERs'oN 2,511,234

ADJUSTABLE HEADBAND Filed May 11, 1945 Patented June 13, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

This application relates to adjustable heada bands, more particularly tocontinuously adjusts able headbandsfor weldersi-helmets. and the like, and itis an object of the invention to provide. an improved headband of the character indicated,

Headbands for supporting welders. helmets and the like generally comprise. a flexible. band which is. adapted tov surround. the head of the wearer andv to which thehelmetor other protecte ingshield is. attached. The flexible. bandis. made adjustable so. that the same helmetmay be used by persons of different headisizes: and so-that the band may be worn tightly or loosely on. the. same personfs head. Commonly the adjustable feature is incorporated into. the band by over-l lapping the ends thereof, placing a tubular CaSr. ing around the overlapping ends and mounting an adjusting knob on the casing for shifting the ends of the band relative to each other to vary its size. The ends of the band are provided with slots; having gear racks associated therewith which are brought into juxtaposition inside of the tubular casing, and a pinion gear also. in-.. sideoi the tubular casing is arranged to engage the gear racks, the pinion gear being attached to the adjusting knob for shifting the band. ends. Spring detentmeans. are associated; with the tubular casing and the adjusting knob. whereby the adjustingknob. is held in its. adjusted. position.

In, assembling suchadjustable bands the band ends. must be inserted into the tubular casing and the slots and gear racks must be brought into. operative position. Along with this portion of the assembling procedure the pinion gear must be placed in. engagement. with the gearracks, the adjusting knob must be-attached to the pinion gear and to the. assembly as a whole by some means, such as a rivetextending from. the inside of the tubular casing. This; assembling procedure is difficult and time consuming. Accordingly, it i a r her ob e of. h invent onto pr Vide an d s abl headba d. of. the h racter indica ed h ch s. ec no ic l. o make. easyt as ble. a h s r a ve y ew p s;-v

It, is a further object of the invention to pro. d a a iust b e he d an o he chara sifndicated in which the operating means are carried solely by the band-ends.

In carrying out the inventionin one form an adjustable headband comprising a, flexible band adapted to be worn around: a users head is pro-. video. e flexible b d has t end overlam p ns a other and h of he. e a ein ends includesa toothed rack. Constrainingmeans ineluding depending flanges are provided for the overlapping band ends along with operating means for adjusting thelength of the adjustable band; the operating means including gear means associated with the. racks. Resilient means are arranged between the operating. means and the band ends to. bear against one. of the-band ends and. the operating means for restraining movement of the operating means. The depending flanges on the constraining member are adapted to contact the resilient means to prevent movement of the resilient means during adjustment of the band.

Fora more complete understanding of the invention, reference should. now be had to the accompanying" drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear perspective view of a welders helmet band embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along thelines 2..-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3. is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines 3.-3: of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the relative positions of various elementsv of the adjustable band;

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of amodified form of a welders helmet band embodying the invention; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along lines 66 of Fig. 5;

Referring more particularly to the drawing in which the same reference characters are used. to denote corresponding parts in the different figures, the invention is embodied in a headband l0 mounted inside of a welders helmet or the like I l. The welders helmet is shown in broken lines and: includes a windowv for protecting the users eyes while still permitting suincient illuminae tion to be transmitted for the user to properly envision his work. The headband l0' comprises a flexible band I2; which is relatively circular in formto fit around the users head and includes a cushioning pad 13, acrossband l4, and means f a s n he iz o th h nd i Th cr ss: band i4 is attached to the flexible-band 2 ;a.t each side thereof; by well known means, such: asrivets 0! examp e. and ex nds up ardly from; h flexible band I2= to form a member which crosses over the head of the user tokeep the headband from sliding downwardly too far over the users head. Adiacent the pointswhere the crossband Hi is attached to the flexible band 12, ears. l5 a e at c edto the cr s nd l4 ndarespaced therefrom at; one end as shown. Holes are for-medin the spaced away portions of the ears l through which holes bolts |6 are received for attaching the helmet II or other protecting shield to the headband Ill.

The flexible band [2 is a strap of suitable material which, for example, may be metal, fiber, or the like, and is bent into a relatively circular form having the overlapping ends l1 and |8. The overlapping ends I I and H! are provided with slots l9 and 20, respectively, the lower edge of the slot l9 being provided with a, toothed rack 2| and the upper edge of the slot 20 being provided with a toothed rack 22. In the assembled position of the headband the overlapping ends I! and |8 lie fiat against each other thereby bringing the slots into registry and consequently bringing the toothed racks into position facing each other. A gear 23 is received in the slots I9 and 20 and engages the racks 2| and 22 so that upon rotation of said gear the Overlapping ends I1 and I8 will be shifted back and forth relative to each other for adjusting the size of the band. The width of the slots l9 and 20 is substantially the same as the diameter of the gear 23 so that the edges of the slots opposite the gear racks are virtually in contact with the gear 23 thereby preventing relative edgewise movement of the ends l1 and I8. The ends I! and I8 are held flat against each other by a washer 34 bearing against the rear side of the end l8 and by the spring 3'! bearing against the front side of the end H and the adjusting knob 33, the assembly being held together by the bolt 35 and the nut 36 as shown.

Associated with the band l2 to keep the band ends l1 and I8 as well as the head of the bolt 35 and the washer 34 out of contact with the users head is the constraining member or guide 24. The constraining member 24 is curved to fit the users head, is sufliciently flexible to permit its bending a small amount when the headband is adjusted in size but also is sufliciently rigid to maintain the generally curved shape of the band, and includes a backing or supporting portion 25 from which extend the lateral edges 26 and the depending flanges 21 and 28. The backing member 25 is somewhat wider than the band l2 so that the band ends I1 and 8 fit loosely between the lateral edges 26, and the lateral edges 26 are wider than the thickness of the combined ends I! and I8 and the washer 34 so that the band ends fit loosely between the backing member 25 and the depending flanges 21 and 28. In the assembled position with the backing member 25 adjacent the rear face of the band end l8, the depending flanges 21 and 28 extend over or embrace a portion of the edges of the band end I! thereby forming guide for the band ends in their movement relative to each other. Any tendency on the part of the band ends to become askew by pivoting about the gear 23 is prevented by the lateral edges 26. At the center of the constraining member 24 the flanges 21 and 28 are removed leaving the edges 29, 30, 3| and 32 (Figs. 1 and 5) for a purpose to be described.

The band ends I! and I8 are shifted relative to each other by turning the adjusting knob 33 which is connected to the pinion gear 23 as shown most clearly in Figs. 2 and 4 and are held in an adjusted position by preventing rotation of the adjusting knob 33 as will be made clear. The adjusting knob 33 has a front portion on which the embossments 38 are formed so that a suitable grip thereon may be obtained, and formed at the rear surface of the adjusting knob is a shoulder or boss 49 in which is formed a series of 4 radially extending notches or recesses 39 which define a series of protuberances 39a. The notches are arranged to form a complete circle and receive the protuberances or detents on the spring 31 for holding the adjusting knob in any position. The tops of the protuberances 39a are spaced inwardly of the outer extent of the shoulder or boss 49 forming thereby a flange 50. Also extending from the rear of the adjusting knob is the shoulder from which extends the pinion gear 23 and extending through the pinion gear and the adjusting knob proper is a hole through which the bolt 35 isreceived, the rear portion of the hole being conical in form to receive a similar conical portion in the washer 34 for a purpose to be described. While the gear 23 is shown as being an integral portion of the adjusting knob 33 it will be clear that the gear may be separately formed and attached to the adjusting knob.

The spring member 31 is interposed between the band end l1 and the adjusting knob 33 for providing some support for the adjusting knob as well as for restraining rotation thereof. It includes two end members 40 and 4| and a body portion 43. The end members 40 and 4| are each provided with lugs 42 at the ends thereof and are curved outwardly so that the ends adjacent the lugs 42 are the only points of contact of the end members with the band (Figs. 2 and 6) thereby reducing the area of frictional contact to a minimum. The end members 40 and 4| are of sufiicient length between the lugs 42 to loosely fit into the interrupted ortion of the flanges 21 and 28, and the width of the spring 31 between the end members 40 and 4| is such that the members 40 and 4| are received between the interrupted flanges with the lugs 42 lying adjacent the edges 29, 30, 3| and 32. Between the end members 40 and 4| of the spring 31 is the body portion 43 which has reduced portions at its junction with the end members and has an enlarged portion extending from the junctions, the maximum dimension of the enlarged portion being somewhat smaller than the inside diameter of the flange 50. The enlarged portion is curved outwardly from its junction with the end members, and midway between the end members at the position of maximum outward curvature the protuberances or detents 44 and 45 are formed at points diametrically opposite each other. The protuberances 44 and 45 are adapted to lie in the notches 39 between the radial projections 39a in the adjusting knob 33 and thereby engage the radial projections 39a to resist or restrain movement of the adjusting knob for retaining the adjustment of the band I2. The curved end portions 40 and 4| are resilient and the curved body 43 is resilient. The curved body 43 joins the curved ends at their point of maximum curvature and hence the two curvatures combine to eflect a greater resilience in the spring 31 for urging the detents into holding position. The spring member 31 is provided with a central opening 46 somewhat larger in diameter than the diameter of the shoulder 48 through which the gear member 23 is adapted to pass and the detents 44 and 45 are spaced relatively far apart so as to provide support for the adjusting knob.

The described elements are assembled for op eration substantially as follows: Assuming that the flexible band |2 is bent into a substantially circular form with the crossband l4 attached thereto, the end member I8 is inserted into the constraining member 24 from one end with the bolt 35 having the washer 34 assembled thereto extending through the slot '20 of the band end 18 and between the flanges-Hand '28. The end H is now inserted into the constraining member 24 from the-opposite end so that it lies outwardly of the end is and is brought out from the constraining member between the edges 29 and and 31 and 32 of the interrupted portion of the flanges 21 and 28 to extend a sufficient distance so that the bolt will pass underneath the end to extend through theslot l9. After this the end i! is pushed back to lie between the edges 29 and 30 and 3| and 32 and the end I! is then pushed further through the constraining member -24 until itoccupies the position shown in Fig. 1. The parts are now arranged so that the bolt 35 lies approximately centrally between the edges 29, 3B, 31 and 32 and the end edges of the band ends I"! and [3 are approximately equally spaced from the bolt 35. The spring 37 is then placed so that the spring ends 49 and 4| are received between the interrupted portions of the flanges 21 and 28 with the bolt 35 extending through the opening :36 in the spring. The adjusting knob 33 with the operating gear 23 is assembled to the structure by pushing the adjusting knob 33 onto the extending bolt 35 whereupon the gear 23 passes through the superimposed slots l9 and 25, the teeth of the gear 23 engage the gear racks 2| and 2 2, the detents 44 and are received in the spaces 3?! between the protuberances 3911, the shoulder d3 of the adjusting knob is received in the opening 45 and the edge of the body member 43 adjacent the pr'otuberances is received within the flange 59. To complete the assembly lock washer 4! is placed over the bolt 35 and the nut 35 is screwed thereto. The head of the bolt 35 is conical in iorm so as to be received in nesting relationship in the conical portion of the washer 34 and the conical portion of the washer is received in the conical portion of the hole through the gear '23. The head of the bolt is also curved in form as shown so that in the assembled position the head of the bolt protrudes outwardly from the rear surface of the washer. The workman assembling 'the band by pressing against the rear surface 25 of the constraining member 24 presses against the head of the bolt and produces sufficient friction to keep the bolt from turning so that the nut 36 can be joined to the bolt in a satisfactory manner without having the bolt slip. The band ends I! and I8 are loosely received in the constraining member 24 and the operating structure including the gear 23, the adjusting knob 33, the spring 31, the washer 34 and the bolt and nut 35 and 35 are supported by the band ends.

In order to adjust the band l2 to any desired size the adjusting knob 39 is turned thereby turning the gear 23 which through engagement with the racks 21 and 22 moves the band ends outwardl-y or inwardly. Any effort to turn the knob 33 tends .to rotate the spring 6-! since the detent members 44 and '45 are engaged by the protuberances 39a. Rotating movement of thespring 3] beyond "the slight "initial rotation as well as translational movement is prevented since the lugs 42 engage the edges 3!! and 31 or 29 and '32, depending on the direction of rotation of the knob 33 whereupon rotating the adjusting knob forces the detents 44 and 45 out of the spaces 39 between the protuberances 39a, Preventing translation of the spring 31 causes the adjusting knob 33 to remain in its centered position between the edges 28, 35, .31 and 32 since translational movement of the adjusting knob brings 6 the shoulder 48 into contact with the edge of the hole '46. The resiliency 'of the spring 31 keeps the detents 44 and 45 in the recesses 39 at all times so that the adjusting knob is held in its adjusted position until force'is exerted thereon to turn it.

In Figs. 5 and 6 in which the same reference characters are used as in Figs. 1-4 for corresponding elements, a modified form of the invention is shown in which one of the band ends is stationary and the adjusting is produced by moving the other band end. Two band ends 51 and '52 of a Jiiexible band corresponding to the flexible band i-Z are brought into overlapping relationship with each other inside of the constraining mer'nber M. The band end 52 is similar to the band end 1-! in that it includes a slot 53 having gear rack 54 arranged at one edge of the slot; The bandend 5| differs from the band end [B in having a series of three circular holes 55 which are of a slightly larger diameter than the gear 23. In other particulars the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is similar to those of the embodiment of Figs. 1-4. The second embodiment is assembled in substantially the same manner as the first embodiment so that the gear 23 is received in one of the circular holes '55 in the band end 5! and thereby fixing it in a stationary position. Fixing the band end 5! as described produces the general head size desired. That is if a large head size is desired the gear 23 is fitted into the hole adjacent the end of the band and if -a small head size is desired the gear 23 is placed in the hole farthest from the end. After the desired head size has been seiected the headband is adjusted by rotating the adjusting knob 33 whereby the band end 52 is moved while the band end 5! remains stationary.

By providing aseries of spaced holes 55 in the headband-another advantage isattained, namely, that of allowing the band to be shifted in the event of wearing out of the teeth of rack 55 engaged with pinion-or gear 23, :so as to present another portion of the rack for engagement with the said gear. The life of the helmet is thus increased.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown it will be understood, of course, that the-invention is not limited thereto since many modifications may be made, and it is, therefore, contemplated by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be worn around a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, each of said overlapping ends including a toothed rack, guide means for said overlappingends, operating means including gear means associated with said toothed racks for adjusting the length of said band, and resilient means for restraining movement of said operating means, abutting means integral with said guide means for engagement by said resilient means to prevent rotation of said resilient means, said resilient means and said operating means being carried by said overlapping ends independently of said guide means.

2. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be worn around a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, each of said overlapping ends including a toothed rack, constraining means including depending flanges for said overlapping ends, operating means including gear means associated with said racks for adjusting the length of said band, and resilient means bearing against one of said bands and said operating means for restraining movement of said operating means, said depending flanges being adapted to contact said resilient means to prevent movement of said resilient means during adjustment of said band.

3. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be worn around a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, each of said overlapping ends including a toothed rack, constraining means for said band ends having a backing member adapted to lie adjacent the band ends on the inside thereof and flanges depending from said backing member and overlying said band ends on the outside thereof, operating means including gear means for adjusting the length of said band, and resilient means bearing against one of said bands having projections engaging said operating means for restraining movement thereof, said resilient means having edges adapted to bear against said depending flanges for preventing rotation of said resilient means during adjustment of said band.

4. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be worn around a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, each of said overlapping ends including a toothed rack, constraining means for said band ends having a backing member adapted to lie adjacent the band ends on the inside thereof and flanges depending from said backing member and adapted to overlie said band ends on the outside thereof, said depending flanges including interrupted portions, operating means including gear means for adjusting the length of said band, and resilient means having protuberances engaging said operating means, said resilient means including a plurality of bearing members received between said interrupted flanges and bearing against one of said band ends.

5. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be worn around a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, at least one of said overlapping ends including a toothed rack, constraining means including depending flanges for said overlapping ends, operating means including gear means associated with said rack for adjusting the length of said band, and resilient means bearing against one of said bands and said operating means for restraining movement of said operating means, said depending flanges being adapted to contact said resilient means to prevent movement of said resilient means during adjustment of said band.

6. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be Worn around a users head having ends overlapping each other whereby one of said ends lies outwardly of the other, at least one of said overlapping ends including a toothed rack, guide means for said overlapping ends, operating means including gear means associated with said toothed rack for adjusting the length of said band, said guide means having exposed edges adjacent said operating means, and resilient means bearing against said outwardly lying one of said overlapping ends and said operating means for restraining movement of said operating means, said exposed edges being adapted to contact said resilient means to prevent rotational movement of said resilient means during adjustment of. said band.

7. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be worn around a users head having a pair of ends overlapping each other, one of said ends including a toothed rack and the other of said ends including an opening, guide means for said overlapping ends, gear means extending through said opening and engaging said toothed rack, operating means for said gear means, said guide means having exposed edges adjacent said operating means, and resilient means bearing against one of said bands and said operating means for restraining movement of said operating means, said exposed edges being adapted to contact said resilient means to prevent rotational movement of said resilient means during adjustment of said band.

8. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be worn around a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, one of said ends including a toothed rack and the other of said ends including an opening, constraining means for said band ends having a backing member adapted to lie adjacent the band ends on the inside thereof and flanges depending from said backing member, and adapted to overlie said band ends on the outside thereof, said depending flanges including interrupted portions, operating means including gear means extending through said opening and engaging said rack for adjusting the length of said band, and resilient means having protuberances engaging said operating means, said resilient means including a plurality of bearing members received between said interrupted flanges and bearing against one of said band ends.

9. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be worn around a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, one of said ends including a toothed rack and the other of said ends including a series of openings, constraining means for said band ends having a backing member adapted to lie adjacent the band ends on the inside thereof and flanges depending from said backing member and adapted to overlie said band ends on the outside thereof, said depending flanges including interrupted portions, operating means including gear means extending through one of said series of said openings and engaging said rack for adjusting the length of said band, and resilient means having protuberances engaging said operating means, said resilient means including a plurality of bearing members received between said interrupted flanges and bearing against one of said band ends.

10. An adjustable band forming a closed loop comprising a flexible band having a pair of overlapping ends, at least one of said overlapping ends including a toothed rack, guide means for said overlapping ends, operating means including gear means associated with said toothed rack for adjusting the length of said band, and resilient means for restraining movement of said operating means, abutting means integral with said guide means for engagement by said resilient means to prevent rotation of said resilient means, said resilient means and said operating means being carried by said overlapping ends independently of said guide means.

'11. An adjustable band forming a closed loop comprising a flexible band having a pair of overlapping ends, each of said overlapping ends including a toothed rack, guide means for said overlapping ends, an operating knob for adjusting the length of said band, gear means extend- 10 ing from the rear Of said knob and movable there- REFERENCES CITED with, said gear means extending past said overlapping ends andhaving the gear means in m The foliowing references are of record in the gagement with said toothed racks, means atfile of thls patent: tached to said knob engaging the inside surfaee 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS of the inside one of said overlapping ends, and Number Name Date spring means having one part engaging said 2 205 741 Bowers June 25 1940 kmb and having amther Pm engaging and 212051742 Bowers III: June 25: 1940 erting a constant force against the outer surface of the outer one of said bands, said attached 10 means and said spring means providing lateral support of said knob.

MARSHALL N. ANDERSON.

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