P/00101 1 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: Safety helmet The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 1 Safety helmet Field of the invention This invention relates to a safety helmet. In particular, this invention relates to an occupational protective helmet, also called a hard hat, used for protecting a wearer's 5 head from falling objects in environments typically related to building and construction, quarrying, ship building, forestry and other occupations with similar hazards. Background of the invention; Industrial and construction sites present various hazards for people working at or visiting such sites. In order to mitigate the risks associated with hazards, workers or 10 visitors to sites are usually required to wear certain personal safety equipment. For example, one particular hazard associated with many labour intensive environments is objects falling onto a worker's head or various other types of impacts to a worker's head. Safety helmets are worn to provide protection from such impacts to the head. Typical safety helmets are made from a strong material and have an internal head 15 harness which secures the helmet to the head of a wearer. The internal head harness allows for a space between the helmet shell and the head of the wearer thereby to minimise the risk of an impact with the helmet translating directly to a wearer's head. In order to ensure that safety helmets are able to provide the necessary protection to wearers, helmets are subjected to stringent testing requirements. In Australia, most 20 safety helmets are tested under standards such as AS/NZS 1801:1997, which specify the construction and materials of the helmet shell and the head harness, as well as the mechanical strength of the shell and finish of the harness. Many helmets are made from strong materials such as polycarbonate or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and are brightly coloured to attract attention. Helmets also 25 have a peak that extends horizontally from the front portion of the shell designed to provide protection to a wearer's face.
2 Unfortunately, the peak of a typical safety helmet provides a visual obstruction when a wearer looks up. This may be irritating for wearers, especially as there is often a need to see objects blocked by the peak. Additionally, the peak may increase the risk of a helmet falling off, as it is typically necessary to tilt the head back in order to have a clear 5 visual line with objects located above the wearer. As a result, many workers have taken to wearing their helmets backwards with the peak positioned toward the back of their heads, while the harness is turned around, so that they can easily see above them. This however leaves the wearer's face vulnerable to injury, especially when their head is tilted back. 10 As such there is a need for a safety helmet which protects the head and face of wearers but still allows wearers to have a clear view of things above them. Alternatively or in addition, it would be useful to have an alternative to existing safety helmets. Summary of the invention According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a safety helmet including: 15 a shell member for protecting a head of a wearer, an inner surface of the shell member including harness connection points for connecting to a six point head harness; a transparent peak projecting outwardly from the shell member in use to extend above and protect the face of the wearer; a six point harness; and 20 a cushioned portion positioned to, in use, contact a forehead of a wearer. The shell member and the peak are formed from transparent polycarbonate. The polycarbonate may be of an optical quality. The polycarbonate may be UV stabilised by a UV absorber selected from the group consisting of hydroxyphenyl benzotriazole, cyanoacrylate, hydroxyphenyl triazine and combinations thereof. The 25 polycarbonate may include a light filter selected from the group consisting of anthraquinone, monoazo, perinone, quinophthalone, pyrazolone and combinations thereof. The shell and peak may be integrally formed.
3 Brief description of the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a safety helmet in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 2 is a bottom view of the safety helmet of Figure 1. 5 Detailed description of the embodiments Referring to Figure 1, a safety helmet 100 is shown to comprise of a shell member 102 and a peak 104. The shell member 102 defines a hollow interior and is shaped to cover, in use, the head of a wearer. In this embodiment, the peak extends substantially horizontally from the front portion 10 106 of the shell member 102 and above the wearer's eyes. The peak 104 is thus shaped to protect the face, e.g. by projecting outwardly and away from the front 106 of the shell member 102 by approximately 4cm. Advantageously, the peak 104 is transparent, resulting in objects being visible through the peak. This allows a wearer to see objects above their heads without necessarily tilting their heads back. 15 In the embodiment shown in the Figures, the peak 104 is integrally formed with the shell member 102 from a transparent material, such as a high grade polycarbonate which is of an optical quality. To ensure suitable strength and exposure resistance of the helmet, the high grade polycarbonate is also heat and cold resistant and has been UV stabilised. For example, the transparent material can be UV stabilised by a UV absorber 20 selected from the group consisting of hydroxyphenyl benzotriazole, cyanoacrylate, hydroxyphenyl triazine and combinations thereof. The UV absorber absorbs UV light and thereby protecting the user from harmful UV rays. For example, the UV absorber may cause the helmet to block substantially all light with wavelengths up to 400nm, thereby allowing the helmet to gain a UV400 rating. 25 In order to produce a peak and safety helmet of an optical quality, moulding tools used in the manufacture of the helmet are highly polished. Once a tool has been polished to the required extent, a very high gloss or shiny finish is provided to the moulded peak 4 and/or helmet. The integral safety helmet, in particular the peak, may be further polished to improve the optical quality of the polycarbonate. The shell member 102 and peak 104 may be tinted to reduce glare. This may be beneficial especially as a wearer would typically look up and towards a light source 5 when looking through the peak. Additionally, the shell member 102 and peak 104 may be clear orange, yellow, green or red coloured, which colouring would have the benefit of attracting attention to the wearer. In particular, the transparent material may include a light filter selected from the group consisting of anthraquinone, monoazo, perinone, quinophthalone, pyrazolone and combinations thereof. 10 Referring now to both Figures 1 and 2, the safety helmet is shown to include a suspension system 108 for suspending the shell member 102 above the wearer's head and thereby spreading any impact to the shell member 102 over a large area. In this embodiment, the suspension system 108 has two parts, namely; a harness 110 and a headband 112. Each part is discussed in more detail below. 15 The harness 110 provides an uppermost restraint for the wearer's head and thereby creates a space between the top of the head and the shell member 102. The harness 110 shown is a 'six point harness' comprising three strips 114 of durable fabric extending between the interior of the shell member 102. The harness 110 cradles the wearer's head while harness connectors 116 connect the harness 110 to the interior of 20 the helmet 100. To spread the load over a large area to the head, the strips 114 are positioned in a six point star shape, with the centres of the strip overlapping at an approximate central point. The ends of the strips 114 extend towards opposing connection points 118 positioned around the periphery of the shell member 102. As mentioned, the strips 114 are held in position inside the shell member 102 by the 25 connectors 116. To achieve this, each end of a strip 114 is received by a loop defined in the harness connector 116, while the connector 116 is in turn secured to the connection points 118, e.g. by snap fit, sliding or other suitable locking arrangement. The headband 112 is adapted to connect the helmet 100 securely and comfortably to the wearer's head. To provide the secure connection, the headband 112 has a nape 5 strap 122 (see Figure 2) allowing the wearer to adapt the length of the headband 112 to their individual head size to thereby create a snug fit. The headband 112 is in turn connected to the shell member 102 by threading the harness connectors 118 through apertures 120 in the form of narrow slits defined in the headband 112. This arrangement 5 prevents relative rotation of the wearer's head and the shell member 102. Although in the illustrated embodiment of Figures 1 and 2 all three strips are shown to pass through the headband 112, it will be appreciated that the safety helmet 100 may be adapted to only allow the strips that terminate to the front and rear of the helmet to pass through and connect the headband to the shell member 102. 10 To improve comfort, the headband 112 includes a cushioned portion 124, provided by a soft foam covering positioned to contact the forehead of the wearer. The foam acts to cushion the skin and also to absorb sweat. The shell member 102 includes a reinforcement ridge 126 which extends from the front 106 to the back 128 of the shell member 102 and is used to strengthen the shell 15 member 102. In addition, the shell member 102 has ventilation apertures 130 which allow air to flow to the interior of the helmet when in use, thereby to assist with cooling the head of a user. The safety helmet of the present invention addresses shortcomings of existing safety helmets. With the peak of the helmet being transparent, of an optical quality and 20 providing minimal visual distraction, a wearer of the helmet is able to look through the peak at objects positioned above the wearer. This solution accordingly obviates any need of wearing the safety helmet back to front while the harness is turned around inside the helmet. The safety helmet with the transparent peak and six point harness thus provides the wearer with the necessary protection against injury. 25 It will be appreciated that safety helmets can be formed in various shapes and sizes. It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined in this specification extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.