Snowmobile Helmet

Abstract

A helmet has a fan forcing air into a ducting channel to provide air circulation within the helmet for distributing the exhaust air over a faceplate linked to the helmet for eliminating moisture and frost from the faceplate's interior surface. A heating element warms the circulating air for warmth in extremely cold weather. A wiper is installed above the faceplate for clearing moisture from the faceplate's surface. The faceplate is coated with a photochromic material for causing the lightening and darkening of the faceplate dependent upon the ambient light. A pair of lights are mounted on the front and rear of the helmet for safety. A pair of audio headphones, a microphone, and a transceiver are mounted within the helmet for communication with a cellular telephone. A battery provides power for powering the fan heating elements, the wiper, and the lights.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A helmet comprising:
 a helmet shell configured for providing safety and comfort for a person wearing the helmet;   a faceplate attached to the helmet shell for protecting the person's vision wearing the helmet while allowing the person to see a view in front of the helmet;   an intake ducting channel for circulating air within the helmet shell;   a fan placed at a distal end of the intake ducting channel and configured for receiving air from the intake ducting channel;   a heating element attached to the intake ducting channel for warming the circulating air;   a battery configured for powering the fan for circulating the air and configured for powering heating elements for heating the circulating air within the helmet shell;   an output ducting channel having a first end coupled to receive exhaust air from the fan and having a second end configured to distribute the exhaust air over a faceplate linked to the helmet for eliminating moisture and frost from the faceplate's interior surface;   
     
     
         2 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein the helmet is a snowmobile helmet. 
     
     
         3 . The helmet of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a first rheostat connected between the fan and the battery for controlling a speed of the fan; and 
 at least one second rheostat connected between the heating elements and the battery for controlling heat provided by the heating elements. 
 
     
     
         4 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein the intake and output ducting channel is configured as a feature of a mold in an injection molded helmet shell. 
     
     
         5 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein the intake and output ducting channel is formed separately from the helmet shell and then adhered to the interior or exterior of the helmet shell. 
     
     
         6 . The helmet of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a wiper apparatus for removal of moisture or water from the faceplate's surface, comprising:
 wiper motor mounted above the faceplate and adhered to the helmet shell, 
 a wiper arm connected to a shaft of the wiper motor, 
 a wiper blade attached to the wiper arm and configured for removing the moisture or water from the faceplate surface; 
 power wiring connected within the helmet shell between the battery and the wiper motor for transferring power from the battery and the wiper motor; 
 a switch configured to be attached to the power wiring for controlling a transfer of the power from the battery to the wiper motor. 
 
 
     
     
         7 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein the faceplate is coated with a photochromic material for causing the lightening and darkening of the faceplate dependent upon the ambient light. 
     
     
         8 . The helmet of  claim 1  further comprising a communication apparatus comprising:
 a pair of wireless headphones mounted within the helmet shell and configured for receiving a wireless transmission and converting it to sound for being listened to; 
 a wireless microphone mounted within the helmet shell and configured for wirelessly transmitting voice signals; 
 a wireless transceiver mounted to the helmet shell and configured for receiving the transmitted voice signals and transmitting them to a cellular telephone and receiving transmitted signals from the cellular telephone and relaying the transmitted signal to the wireless headphones 
 
     
     
         9 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein the helmet shell is formed of thermoplastics such as ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), polycarbonate, or blends of the two thermoplastics. 
     
     
         10 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein the helmet shell is formed of composite materials made of fiberglass, Kevlar, carbon fiber, and other composite blends of fibers and resin. 
     
     
         11 . The helmet of  claim 4  wherein the features of the mold forming the helmet shell have features for creating channels in the helmet's shell for forming a passage for electrical wiring connected to heating elements for heating the helmet. 
     
     
         12 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein the battery is rechargeable and placed at the rear of the helmet shell in a compartment formed in an area isolated from a protective foam that protects the wearer's head. 
     
     
         13 . The helmet of  claim 12  wherein the rechargeable battery is connected to a battery charger residing in the compartment with the rechargeable battery. 
     
     
         14 . The helmet of  claim 13  wherein the battery charger is connected to a connector connected to an external power source for providing power to charge the battery. 
     
     
         15 . The helmet of  claim 14  wherein the battery charger is external to the helmet at integrally attached to the connector connected to the external power source. 
     
     
         16 . The helmet of  claim 1  wherein features formed in the mold are channels with openings to the helmet's exterior for allowing the circulated air to be exhausted from the helmet. 
     
     
         17 . The helmet of  claim 1  further comprising;
 a red rear safety light; 
 a white front light for illumination in reduced lighting situations; and 
 a switch mounted to the side of the helmet shell and selectively connecting the red rear safety light and the white front light to the battery. 
 
     
     
         18 . A method for creating a helmet comprising the steps of:
 forming a helmet shell configured for providing safety and comfort a person wearing the helmet;   attaching a faceplate to the helmet shell to protect the person's vision while wearing the helmet while allowing the person to see the forward of the helmet.   shaping an intake ducting channel for circulating air within the helmet shell;   placing a fan at a distal end of the intake ducting channel and configured for receiving air from the intake ducting channel;   attaching a heating element to the intake ducting channel for warming the circulating air;   installing a battery for powering the fan for circulating the air and for powering heating elements for heating the circulating air within the helmet shell;   forming an output ducting channel having a first end coupled to receive exhaust air from the fan and having a second end configured to distributed the exhaust air over a faceplate linked to the helmet for eliminating moisture and frost from the faceplate's interior surface;   
     
     
         19 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 18  wherein the helmet is a snowmobile helmet. 
     
     
         20 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 18  wherein installing a battery for powering the fan and for powering heating elements comprises the steps of:
 connecting a first rheostat connected between the fan and the battery for controlling a speed of the fan; and 
 connecting at least one second rheostat connected between the heating elements and the battery for controlling heat provided by the heating elements. 
 
     
     
         21 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 18  wherein forming the intake and output ducting channel comprises the step of: configuring the input and output ducting channel within the helmet shell as a feature of a mold in an injection molded helmet shell. 
     
     
         22 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 17  wherein forming the intake and output ducting channel comprises the steps of:
 forming the intake and output ducting channel separately from the helmet shell; and 
 adhering the intake and output ducting channel to the interior or exterior of the helmet shell. 
 
     
     
         23 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 17  further comprising the steps of:
 creating a wiper apparatus for removal of moisture or water from the faceplate's surface, wherein creating the wiper apparatus comprises the steps of:
 mounting a wiper motor above the faceplate and adhered to the helmet shell, 
 connecting a wiper arm to a shaft of the wiper motor, 
 attaching a wiper blade to the wiper arm, wherein the wiper blade is configured for removing the moisture or water from the faceplate surface; 
 connecting power wiring connected within the helmet shell between the battery and the wiper motor for transferring power from the battery and the wiper motor; 
 attaching a switch in the power wiring for controlling the transfer of the power from the battery to the wiper motor. 
 
 
     
     
         24 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 18  wherein the faceplate is formed by the step of coating the faceplate with a photochromic material for causing the lightening and darkening of the faceplate dependent upon the ambient light. 
     
     
         25 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 18  further comprising the steps of constructing a communication apparatus by the steps of:
 mounting a pair of wireless headphones within the helmet shell and configuring the pair of wireless headphones for receiving a wireless transmission and converting the wireless transmission to sound for being listened to; 
 mounting a wireless microphone within the helmet shell and configuring the wireless microphone for wirelessly transmitting voice signals; 
 mounting a wireless transceiver to the helmet shell and configuring the wireless transceiver for receiving the transmitted voice signals and transmitting them to a cellular telephone and receiving transmitted signals from the cellular telephone and relaying the transmitted signal to the wireless headphones 
 
     
     
         26 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 18  wherein the helmet shell is formed of thermoplastics such as ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), polycarbonate, or blends of the two thermoplastics. 
     
     
         27 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 18  wherein the helmet shell is formed of composite materials made of fiberglass, Kevlar, carbon fiber, and other composite blends of fibers and resin. 
     
     
         28 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 21  wherein configuring the features of the mold forming the helmet shell further comprises the steps of: forming features for creating ducting channels in the helmet's shell for forming passages for electrical wiring connected to heating elements for heating the helmet. 
     
     
         29 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 18  wherein the battery is a rechargeable battery and installing the battery by the step of: placing the battery at the rear of the helmet shell in a compartment formed in an area isolated from a protective foam that protects the wearer's head. 
     
     
         30 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 29  wherein installing the rechargeable battery comprises the step of: connecting the rechargeable battery to a battery charger residing in the compartment with the rechargeable battery. 
     
     
         31 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 30  wherein connecting the rechargeable battery to the battery charger comprises the step of: connecting the battery charger to a connector connected to an external power source for power to charge the battery. 
     
     
         32 . The method for creating the helmet of  claim 31  wherein the connecting the rechargeable battery to the battery charger comprises the step of: attaching battery charger externally to the helmet integrally to the connector connected to the external power source. 
     
     
         33 . The method for creating a helmet of  claim 18  wherein forming features in the mold comprises forming ducting channels with openings to the helmet's exterior for allowing the circulated air to be exhausted from the helmet. 
     
     
         34 . The method for creating a helmet of  claim 18  further comprising the steps of:
 installing a red rear safety light to the rear of the helmet; 
 installing a white front light to the front of the helmet for illumination in reduced lighting situations; and 
 mounting a switch to the helmet shell's side for selectively connecting the red rear safety light and the white front light to the battery.