US3013273A - Protective shield for a fireman's hood - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 19, 1961 J. E. KAMPERIN PROTECTIVE SHIELD FOR A FIREMAN'S noon 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 20, 1959 IN V EN TOR. Jail/V 4-. KIMPERI/V BY M; ATTORNEYS Filed Oct. 20, 1959 J. E. KAMPERIN 3,013,273

PROTECTIVE SHIELD FOR A FIRE MAN'S HOOD 2 SheetsSheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

JOHN E. A44MPER/IV BY United States Patent 1 3,013,273 PROTECTIVE SHIELD FOR A FIREMANS HOOD John E. Kamperin, Salina, Pa., assignor to George H. Stonack Filed Get. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 847,544 3 Claims. (Cl. 2-5) The present invention relates to a protective shield for use with a conventional head-enclosing hood worn by fire fighting and rescue personnel. The invention is of particular advantage under conditions in which the fire extinguishing agents, such as foam type extinguishers used for putting out oil and gasoline fires, are likely to be deposited on the viewing window of the hood and deprive the wearer of effective sight, and where rescue operations under such conditions will admit of no delay, as in crash landings of airplanes at airports and on carners.

The conventional protective hood used in such emergencies is a head supported unit of heat reflecting and insulating material and provided with a fixed transparent viewing member or window, which is curved transversely, so as to be outwardly convex, to afford a wide angle of view. Personnel using this type of hood in the vicinity of foam-type fire extinguishing agents ejected from hoses frequently find their view is completely obstructed by foam deposits on the outside of the viewing window. This is particularly true of persons engaged in rescue work, who must dash through a smother of foam to reach the occupants of a burning plane. The foam deposits are not easily wiped off, especially when ones hands and arms are also covered with foam.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide a protective shield that will protect the viewing window or opening of the hood under the foregoing or similar conditions and will permit the wearer to obtain a clear view through such opening instantly when needed.

A further object of this invention is to provide such a protective shield that can be conveniently attached to a conventional protective hood, that will be easy and inexpensive to manufacture, and that will be reliable in operation.

Additional objects will be apparent from the following description of the invention in connection with the attached drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a conventional fire fighting hood, with the protective shield of this invention mounted in operative position thereon;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the hood and shield of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section along the line IIIIII of FIG. 1, with the protective shield raised to its nonoperative position;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section along the line IVIV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal section along the line VV of FIG. 2, showing the pivoted mounting of the protective shield on the hood; and

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section along the line VI-VI of FIG. 4, showing the latch for holding the protective shield.

In accordance with this invention, the protective shield is designed to be used with a head-enclosing hood having a transversely curved transparent viewing member, the curve. being convex outward. The shield includes a second transparent viewing member and means for hingedly supporting it so as to be swingable from a first position spaced in front of the hood viewing member to a second position upward and away from said member, and closure means between the top of the shield and the hood to prevent ingress of foreign material over the top of the shield.

3,013,273 Patented Dec. 19, 1961 Referring to the drawings, a conventional protective hood 1 is provided with a head-support helmet 2 and a more or less rigid mask or frame 3 attached to the sides of the helmet. The front of the frame 3 is transversely curved with its convex side facing outwardly and provided with an opening 4 of rectangular shape (as projected on a vertical plane). This opening is covered with a transparent viewing member or window 5, usually of plastic. A fireproof fabric 6 is draped over and attached to the helmet and frame, forming a shroud. The latter is generally provided with a reflective coating on the outside and is adapted to cover the entire head, neck, and shoulders of the wearer, except in front of the viewing window.

The present invention is designed to be attached to the above conventional hood, or to a hood of similar type. The protective shield, generally indicated by the numeral 7, includes a transparent viewing member 8 that is preferably curved to conform to the curvature of the window 5 and the sides of the hood. The viewing member 8 is preferably made of plasticand may be provided with reinforcing elements 9 of suitable material around its outer edge. This viewing member 8 is' hingedly mounted on frame 3 of the hood but is desirably spaced therefrom, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The specific mounting shown in FIG. 5 includes a bolt 10 extending between the frame 3 and the shield and retained by a nut 10a. The shield is spaced from the hood by a coil spring 11 around the bolt and by washers 12. There is one of these pivotal supports on each side of the hood, so that the protective shield can be disposed in a first position directly in front of the opening in the hood and can be swung to a second position (shown in FIG. 3), where it is raised upwardly and away from the front of the hood.

To close the curved space between the top edge 13 of the shield and the upper edge 14 of the opening in the hood, there is provided a closure member 15, which may be of the same type of fabric as that used for the shroud of the hood. The lower front edge 16 of this fabric is secured to the upper edge 13 of the shield in any suitable manner. The upper back edge 17 of the fabric is preferably bound around an elastic band or spring 18, the ends 19 of which are twisted around the bolts 10 (see FIG. 5), which support the shield on the hood. Because of the tension of spring 19, the back edge of the closure member is drawn tightly against the top of the hood, regardless of whether the shield is in its lowered or raised position, and effectively seals the space between the top of the shield and the front of the hood.

A latch 20 is provided primarily for holding the shield in its raised position. This latch may take a variety of forms, one of which is shown in FIG. 6. It includes a short tube 21 attached to the frame on each side of the hood and provided with a spring urged button 22. When the shield is in its closed position (see FIG. 4), the buttons are depressed by the shield within their tubes. When the shield is manually raised to the position shown in FIG. 3, the buttons are released and protrude beyond the edges of the shield to keep it from falling down. The shield is sufliciently flexible to permit its outer edges to be forced apart enough to project beyond the extended buttons for lowering the shield into its protective position. A flange 23 at the base of the button cooperates with an inwardly turned flange 24 at the end of the tube to limit outward movement of the button.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims,

the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A protective hood comprising a head-supported member, a rigid facepiece mounted on the head-supported member and curved transversely with its convex side facing forwardly and having a generally rectangular facial opening therein, a transversely curved transparent viewing window mounted in said opening, a shroud of flexible protective material secured to the edges of the facepiece and overlying the head-supported member and adapted to envelop completely at least the head and neck of the wearer, a transparent viewing member of generally rectangular shape curved transversely to conform to the curvature of the facepiece and the viewing window, means for hingedly supporting the viewing member on opposite sides of the head-supported member behind the viewing window for supporting the viewing member to be swingable from a first position directly in front of the viewing window to a second position upwardly and away from that window, and a closure member of flexible material secured to the top edge of the viewing member in continuous sealing engagement therewith and having a rear portion adapted to fit in continuous sealing engagement with the shroud.

2. A protective shield for use with a head-enclosing firemans hood having a transversely and outwardly convex transparent front and side viewing window, said shield comprising a transparent viewing member curved transversely to conform generally to the curvature of the hood viewing window, mounting means secured to the sides of the viewing member at points adjacent the upper rear corners thereof and adapted to be connected to opposite sides of the hood for supporting the viewing member on the hood to be swingable from a first position directly in front of and spaced from the hood viewing window to a second position upwardly and away from that window,

and a closure member of flexible material secured to the top edge of the viewing member in continuous sealing engagement therewith and having a rear edge adapted to fit in sealing engagement with the top of the hood.

3. A protective shield for use with a head-enclosing firemans hood having a transversely and outwardly convex front and side viewing window in the form of a semicylindrical transparent sheet, said shield comprising, in combination with said hood, a transparent viewing member curved to conform generally to the curvature of the hood viewing window and extending rearwardly at least as far as that window, pivot means connecting opposite sides of the viewing member at points adjacent the upper rear corners thereof to corresponding opposite sides of the hood behind the viewing window for pivotally supporting the viewing member on the hood to be swingable from a first position directly in front of and spaced from the hood viewing window to a second position upwardly and away from that window, a closure member of flexible material secured to the top edge of the viewing member in continuous sealing engagement therewith and having a rear edge in sealing engagement with the top of the hood, and releasable means for holding the viewing member in its raised second position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 968,232 Bentz Aug. 23, 1910 2,354,50 Cockrill et a1. July 25, 1944 2,485,117 Settle Oct. 18, 1949 2,517,600 Ruhl .d Aug. 8, 1950 2,759,187 Woodard Aug. 21, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 273,040 Germany Apr. 16, 1914

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