Hard Hat Attachment System and Safety Equipment

Abstract

A hard hat attachment system is described with front, back, and side mounts to support various accessories. Mounts of hard hat receive slots of a bracket that fit around the ridges. Auxiliary ridges receive clips within ports. The user customizes the hard hat for the particular task with the preferred accessories used to complete the job. For example, lamps, face-shields, reflectors, tool carriers, and eyeglass holders are interchangeably releasably coupled to mounting and/or auxiliary ridges on the hard hat. In this way, the hard hat is customized and/or modified to support a wide variety of accessories that are securely and releasably attached to mounting and/or auxiliary ridges without destructive alterations to the hard hat. Brackets couple to mounts and clips couple to ports to secure and/or lock various accessories in place during operation and prevent accidental knocks or jarring the accessory loose.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A hard hat, comprising:
 an outer shell comprising:
 an exterior surface; 
 an interior surface defining a cavity; and 
 a lower circumference extending along the exterior surface of the outer shell; and 
   a side accessory ridge positioned on a lateral side of the exterior surface and extending along the lower circumference, the side accessory ridge comprising:
 a forward rim; 
 a rear rim; and 
 a plurality of ports positioned between the forward rim and the rear rim. 
   
     
     
         2 . The hard hat of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of ports comprise a first accessory port with a first length and a second accessory port with a second length. 
     
     
         3 . The hard hat of  claim 2 , wherein the second length is different from the first length. 
     
     
         4 . The hard hat of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of ports further comprise a third accessory port with a third length, wherein the third length is the same as the first length, and wherein the second port is between the first port and the third port in a circumferential direction. 
     
     
         5 . The hard hat of  claim 1 , further comprising a brim extending radially outward and away from a portion of the lower circumference. 
     
     
         6 . The hard hat of  claim 1 , further comprising an opposite side accessory ridge, the opposite side accessory ridge comprising:
 a forward rim;   a rear rim; and   a plurality of ports positioned between the forward rim and the rear rim.   
     
     
         7 . The hard hat of  claim 6 , wherein the side accessory ridge and the opposite side accessory ridge extend around opposite lateral sides of the exterior surface along the lower circumference of the outer shell. 
     
     
         8 . The hard hat of  claim 1 , further comprising an accessory coupled to the side accessory ridge, wherein the accessory is selected from a reflector, a magnetic tool carrier, a face-shield, earmuffs, and an eyeglass holder. 
     
     
         9 . The hard hat of  claim 1 , further comprising a mount on at least one of a front portion and a rear portion of the exterior surface, wherein the mount and the side accessory ridge each support and couple an accessory to the hard hat. 
     
     
         10 . The hard hat of  claim 9 , wherein the same accessory engages both the mount and the side accessory ridge. 
     
     
         11 . A hard hat, comprising:
 an outer shell comprising:
 an exterior surface; 
 an interior surface defining a cavity; and 
 a crown segment, wherein a bottom portion of the crown segment defines a lower circumference along the exterior surface of the outer shell; and 
   a side accessory ridge located at the bottom portion of the crown segment, the side accessory ridge comprising:
 a first port with a first dimension defined between the bottom portion of the crown segment and an inner rim; 
 a second port with a second dimension defined between the bottom portion of the crown segment and the inner rim; and 
 a third port with a third dimension defined between the bottom portion of the crown segment and the inner rim. 
   
     
     
         12 . The hard hat of  claim 11 , wherein the first dimension, the second dimension, and the third dimension are defined in a radial direction from the exterior surface. 
     
     
         13 . The hard hat of  claim 11 , wherein the first dimension is the same as the second dimension and the third dimension. 
     
     
         14 . The hard hat of  claim 11 , wherein the side accessory ridge extends entirely along the bottom portion of the crown segment. 
     
     
         15 . The hard hat of  claim 11 , further comprising an opposite side accessory ridge, the opposite side accessory ridge comprising:
 a first port with a first dimension defined between the bottom portion of the crown segment and an inner rim of the opposite side accessory ridge;   a second port with a second dimension defined between the bottom portion of the crown segment and the inner rim of the opposite side accessory ridge; and   a third port with a third dimension defined between the bottom portion of the crown segment and the inner rim of the opposite side accessory ridge.   
     
     
         16 . The hard hat of  claim 15 , further comprising a front mount extending outward from the outer shell, a rear mount extending outward from the outer shell, and wherein the side accessory ridge and the opposite side accessory ridge extend along the bottom portion of the crown segment. 
     
     
         17 . A hard hat, comprising:
 an outer shell comprising:
 a lateral outer surface; 
 an interior surface defining a cavity; and 
 a crown segment, wherein a bottom portion of the crown segment defines a lower circumference of the outer shell; and 
   a side accessory ridge located on the lateral outer surface of the outer shell and extending along the lower circumference, the side accessory ridge comprising:
 a forward rim; 
 a rear rim; 
 an inner rim; and 
 an accessory port defined between the forward rim, the rear rim, and the inner rim. 
   
     
     
         18 . The hard hat of  claim 17 , wherein a length of the accessory port is defined between the forward rim and the rear rim, and wherein a width of the accessory port is defined between the lower circumference and the inner rim. 
     
     
         19 . The hard hat of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a front mount positioned on the outer shell, the front mount comprising:
 a left edge protruding outwardly from the front mount; 
 a right edge opposite the left edge, the right edge protruding outwardly from the front mount; and 
 a detent positioned between the left edge and the right edge. 
   
     
     
         20 . The hard hat of  claim 19 , wherein the front mount and the accessory port each support an accessory.