E.d. Bullard Company

Eric Bielefeld

Mark Ferguson

Richard Alan Oleson

A brow pad for the headband of a protective helmet or similar headgear is ultrasonically welded or similarly joined to itself through openings defined through the headband. By joining the brow pad to itself through the headband, the brow pad remains secured to the headband even after extensive usage. Furthermore, the openings defined through the headband provide some measure of ventilation and evacuation of accumulated moisture from the brow pad. Finally, by joining the brow pad to itself and through the headband, there are pockets of air that are trapped between the joined portions of the brow pad, which serve as air-filled 'pillows,' providing some measure of comfort to the wearer.

Brow pad for the headband of protective headgear

A ratchet mechanism for the headband of a protective helmet or other headgear minimizes the number of components while ensuring precise, reliable operation of the rack and pinion arrangement of the ratchet mechanism. A headband of a protective helmet or similar headgear generally has overlapping rear end portions which are enclosed in a housing. The ratchet mechanism includes a rotational element, which in this case is a unitary body that includes an adjustment knob portion which is positioned on an exterior side of the outer housing section and a pinion portion which is positioned on an interior side of the outer housing section is adapted to mate with and engage the respective rack gears of the overlapping rear end portions of the headband.

Ratchet mechanism with unitary knob and pinion construction

A ratchet mechanism for the headband of a protective helmet or other headgear allows for adjustment of the size and fit of the headband. The headband has overlapping rear end portions which are enclosed in a housing, which is comprised of an outer substantially arc-shaped housing section joined to a inner substantially arc-shaped housing section. Also contained with the housing sections is an adjustment mechanism adapted to cause lateral movement of the overlapping rear end portions of said headband with respect to one another. The outer and inner housing sections are substantially segmented into multiple discrete portions such that the respective housing sections are flexible along defined boundaries between the discrete portions to provide for a better and more comfortable fit.

Flexible ratchet mechanism for the headband of protective headgear

A portable thermal imager has a shock-absorbing lens mount that minimizes the transfer of the impact forces to the fragile lens. The lens of the portable thermal imager is encased within a circumferential grommet and then received in a cavity defined by the housing such that the lens is essentially suspended within the cavity. Since the lens is essentially suspended, little or no force is translated to the lens if the thermal imager is dropped or otherwise impacted.

Portable thermal imager with a shock-absorbing lens mount

Portable thermal imager

A protective helmet includes: a shell, a headband with an absorbent brow pad, and a suspension. A key is secured to each end of each of the straps of the suspension for insertion into respective key sockets spaced about the periphery of the shell of the protective helmet along its lower edge. Of particular importance to the protective helmet of the present invention, many (if not all) of the keys are molded directly to and around a strap, rather than sewn to the strap. In the method of the present invention, lengths of strap material are positioned in a mold, and plastic is injected into the mold cavity to encapsulate the straps and form the plastic component, e.g., a key for the suspension of the protective helmet. A trimming die is used to trim any webbing scrap between parts or other extraneous materials resulting from the molding of the plastic component to the straps.

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Lexington, KY, United States of America

Eric Bielefeld