WO2021016396A1

WO2021016396A1 - Helmet cleaning system

Info

Publication number: WO2021016396A1
Application number: PCT/US2020/043147
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tyler Liebowitz
Original assignee: Tyler Liebowitz
Priority date: 2019-07-22
Filing date: 2020-07-22
Publication date: 2021-01-28

Abstract

The present device is a helmet cleaning system for decontaminating an interior of a helmet and includes a compressed air dispenser with one or more nozzles positioned to direct air toward the interior of the helmet, an ultraviolet lamp positioned to direct ultraviolet light toward the interior of the helmet and a mechanical form for holding the helmet.

Description

HELMET CLEANING SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND

Rental helmets must be sanitized in order to be shared. Rental helmets may have hair oils and sweat when returned. They may also have hair preparations, Rogaine, sunscreen, head lice or nits and bacteria, inside or outside. Cleaning with the normal mild soap and water will remove some of that, but not all. Methicillin resistant staph infection (MRSI's) have become serious problem in medicine including emergency rooms and in pediatric medicine, and therefore a concern because they can be spread by skin-to-skin contact including objects such as towels and lockers. Because MRSIs can be transmitted by skin contact and into hair follicles and into or from small skin wounds, it is a particular issue for the sharing of helmets.

Devices for drying or sanitizing personal items such as helmets and gloves are known. Korean Patent Publication Nos. 20160109597A and 1020170003313A for example disclose devices for disinfecting a helmet by using ultraviolet rays in which helmets are placed in an enclosure. US Patent No. 9557106 discloses an alternative apparatus for disinfecting and/or drying headgear such as motorcycle helmets. There remains a need, however, for improved devices for sanitizing headgear.

SUMMARY

The present device is a helmet cleaning system for decontaminating an interior of a helmet and includes a compressed air dispenser with one or more nozzles positioned to direct air toward the interior of the helmet, an ultraviolet lamp positioned to direct ultraviolet light (such as UV-C light) toward the interior of the helmet and a mechanical form for holding the helmet. The mechanical form has passages to allow air and light to pass therethrough, and its outer surface can include a bacteriostatic material. The compressed air dispenser and the ultraviolet lamp are preferably mechanically connected to a housing that further comprises a shock absorber for connecting the helmet cleaning system to a vehicle. The shock absorber can be one or more coiled helical springs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of the main components of the present device.

FIG. 2 is sectional illustration of an embodiment of the present device with a helmet disposed thereon.

FIG. 3 is side view of a scooter having the helmet and device of Figure 2 placed thereon. The reference numbers in the figures have the following meanings:

DESCRIPTION

The present device is a self-contained commercial helmet cleaning system that utilizes ultraviolet light, preferably UV-C light (the medical grade wavelength of ultraviolet light used by hospitals and medical professionals to sanitize items) and compressed air blasts to dry and decontaminate helmets, and to help provide a premium guest experience for users of helmets, in particular helmets that are publicly shared such as through a rental system. Optionally, the outer portion of the device {mechanical form 1) can he coated with a bacteriostatic material, which can be a nanotech coating.

This hygienic and eco-friendly system offers an effective and modular solution for decontamination and drying of all helmets. This includes any helmet that is primarily worn on a user’s head and is used consecutively by different individuals. The present system is in particular designed for use with helmets used commercially with a high- volume of traffic, including collapsible, folding, and/or disposable helmets. The system can be used with any such helmet and addresses the cleaning, decontamination and odor issues that occur when multiple people use the same, shared helmets. This system preferably eradicates 99% of bacteria, viruses and fungi in a short time cycle. The illustrated embodiments treat one helmet at a time, but multiple units can be combined for use in treating any number of helmets at one time.

As used herein, the term“helmet” refers to a protective head covering having a hard shell (generally the exterior of the head covering) and sometimes a padded interior. The interior of a helmet is shaped and configured to receive a human head. The present device 10, illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, comprises a mechanical form 1 having the general shape of a head or half-moon in order to receive and preferably fit within a helmet 30 to be treated, so that it retains the helmet stably during treatment.

After each use of a helmet 30, a user or anyone maintaining the present system can place the helmets on the preferably head- or half-moon shaped mechanical form 1. The form 1 can be a standalone unit, optionally paired with several other units within a modular solution such as at desired locations (go kart locations, amusement parks, etc.). The form 1 can in one embodiment be housed within a secure housing or locker 4 that can be paired with other units within a modular system, such as a locker system that is connected to bicycle or scooter sharing programs.

In another embodiment, the present device 10 can be placed on an electric or human powered vehicle 50. Such an embodiment is shown for example in Figure 3, in which the device 10 is affixed to a structural component of a scooter. In this embodiment, the device 10 should be secured to a vehicle so as not to impair driving of the vehicle, such as under or behind the seat of a moped or other motorized vehicle. The device 10 in this embodiment is preferably provided with a cover 6, so that the form is thereby completely enclosed within a housing 4, which thereby forms a secure locker, though other locking mechanisms fixed to a vehicle can be used. Such secure lockers 4 can be attached to electric or human powered vehicles 50 and are designed to maximize easy pick-up and drop off.

The present device 10 (which may be inside a locker) further includes decontamination and drying components below or within the form 1. It is to be understood that terms of relative dimension such as“below” and“within” are relative and not absolute terms, and are in reference to other components of the present device or to other structures or devices. The components inside the forms 1 include one or more ultraviolet lights 2, preferably UV-C lights and a device for delivering a compressed air blast 3 having one or more spraying nozzles 5 that collectively dry and decontaminate the interior of a helmet. UV-C or UVC refers to ultraviolet light with wavelengths between 200 - 280 nanometers (nm), which is particularly useful in sterilizing items. UVC light is widely used in industrial, medical (hospitals), laboratory, and home applications. UVC germicidal light disrupts the DNA of infectious pathogens and microbes, killing them and/or destroying their ability to reproduce. UVC light is chemical free and does not create germ mutations or antibiotic -resistant super bugs.

The UVC light bulbs 2 and compressed air dispenser 3 are disposed beneath the mechanical form 1 (i.e., away from the exterior surface of the form 1 where a helmet 30 is placed). The compressed air dispenser 3 is directed upwardly, i.e. so that air is dispensed toward the interior of the helmet 30, and can be in communication with a source of electricity in order to compress and dispense air. Alternatively, compressed air can be stored in the present device and replenished. The bulbs of the UVC lamp(s) 2 are preferably configured to mimic the curvature of the form 1 to optimize proximity to the inner portion of the helmet that is placed over the form for decontamination and drying, though other shapes of UVC lamps or bulbs can be used. The UVC bulbs are connected to one or more sockets 7 which are in communication with a source of electricity, such as a battery. Preferably the UVC bulbs are disposed above the compressed air dispenser 3, in which case the UVC bulbs likewise do not fully block the flow of air from the compressed air dispenser 3 toward a helmet 30.

The mechanical forms must be air- and light-permeable in order to allow for the internal components including the UVC light bulb system 2 and drying air burst spraying nozzles 3, 5 to dispense light and air outwardly towards the inside of any helmet 30 which sits closely and optimally atop the mechanical form 1 to decontaminate and dry. The mechanical form can comprise a mesh or other surface having openings and passages therethrough for air and light, and in one embodiment can be made from a material that allows the passage of UVC light therethrough, such as an appropriate polymer material. The form 1 should be made from a material which is suitably rigid or semi-rigid, i.e. sufficiently rigid to support the weight of a helmet placed thereon. The upper surface of the mechanical form 1 optionally can be formed from or coated with a material which is bacteriostatic or otherwise is disinfectant toward bacteria, fungi, or other pathogens or organisms.

The present device and system 10 can be attached to an electric or human powered vehicle, in which case it may be powered by a battery contained within or associated with the device 10 or by the battery of an electric vehicle. Alternatively, the present device may use a generator that harnesses energy from the spinning wheels (kinetic energy) of any human powered or other vehicle.

UVC light bulbs are generally fragile, so when the present device 10 is attached to a vehicle, as shown in Figure 3, it is preferred that one or more shock absorbers 9 be used to mechanically connect the vehicle 50 to the portion of the present device 10 that houses the UVC lamps. The shock absorber 9 can comprise any of a number of known shock absorbing mechanisms and materials, such as coiled springs, polymer foam, gel, etc. The shock absorber 9 stabilizes the components of the present device which may be jarred during transit of the human or electric powered vehicle such as those of the UV lamp 2.

When used in a public setting, the present system can be used with lockers 4, which optionally may secure helmets in addition to the components of the present device. Such lockers can be fixed to bikes, scooters and other human powered or electric vehicles. The helmets 30 can have some type of tracking device, such as one with GPS and wireless connectivity, which can transmit their approximate location and may incorporate an inexpensive GPS, wireless, motion sensor and forward-looking cameras. These technologies enable the system to detect if the helmet is being used and the user can use a mobile app to notify the system if that helmet rental was returned in the locker 4 with the electric or human powered vehicle rental which it is connect with. These helmet rentals may be tied to a credit card, cash deposit, bitcoin, and/or driver’s license that is provided at the time of rental. Helmets may be released from the locker 4 via any electronic communication with an app or the system who owns the electric or human powered vehicle. The locker 4 may secure the helmet within the locker 4 upon completion of the rental via any electronic communication with the app or system who owns the electric vehicle or human powered vehicle.

Once a user places a helmet 30 on the mechanical form 1, which may be inside a secured locker 4 and/or attached to an electric or human powered vehicle, the helmet can be decontaminated. A manual switch can be used to begin a decontamination cycle, but preferably a trigger mechanism automatically notifies the system to begin

decontamination and potentially drying of the helmet, preferably in a 10-300 second cycle. While the cycle is in progress, a red light preferably notifies the user it is in process, and once the cycle completes a green light can notify the following user that the cycle was completed. The lights can be fixed to standalone units or they can be fixed outside of secured lockers which may be attached to any electric or human powered vehicle. Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments are possible. The steps disclosed for the present methods, for example, are not intended to be limiting nor are they intended to indicate that each step is necessarily essential to the method, but instead are exemplary steps only. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of preferred embodiments contained in this disclosure.

Recitation of value ranges herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method for referring individually to each separate value falling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All references cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A helmet cleaning system for decontaminating an interior of a helmet, comprising:

a compressed air dispenser comprising one or more nozzles, wherein the nozzles are positioned to direct air toward the interior of the helmet;

an ultraviolet lamp positioned to direct ultraviolet light toward the interior of the helmet; and

a mechanical form for receiving the helmet, wherein the mechanical form has passages to allow air and light to pass therethrough

2. The helmet cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the compressed air dispenser and the ultraviolet lamp are mechanically connected to a housing, and wherein the housing further comprises a shock absorber for connecting the helmet cleaning system to a vehicle.

3. The helmet cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the shock absorber comprises one or more coiled springs.

4. The helmet cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the ultraviolet lamp emits UV-C light.

5. The helmet cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the mechanical form comprises a bacteriostatic material.