HELMET-ATTACHABLE PLUG RETENTION PLATE

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/677,676, filed on Jul. 31, 2024, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to implementations of a plug retention plate configured for attachment to a helmet.

BACKGROUND

Helmet-mounted electronic devices, such as night-vision goggles, cameras, illumination systems, and communication equipment, are increasingly used by both professional and commercial users. These devices often rely on electrical plugs and cables. When not connected, secure retention of these electrical plugs helps protect the electrical contacts from physical damage and environmental exposure, including contamination by foreign debris.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is to be understood that this summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. This summary is exemplary and not restrictive, and it is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor delineate the scope thereof. The sole purpose of this summary is to explain and exemplify certain concepts of the disclosure as an introduction to the following complete and extensive detailed description.

Disclosed are implementations of a plug retention plate configured for attachment to a helmet. The plug retention plate includes at least one plug receptacle configured to receive and mechanically retain a plug.

In one implementation, the plug retention plate includes a front side and a rear side opposite the front side, with the rear side configured for attachment to a helmet. At least one plug receptacle is disposed on the front side, and includes a depression defined by a raised sidewall and at least one cantilever arm. The at least one cantilever arm is configured to deflect upon insertion of a compatible plug and has a distal end configured to mechanically retain the compatible plug within the plug receptacle.

In another implementation, the plug retention plate includes a front side and a rear side opposite the front side, with the rear side configured for attachment to a helmet. A first plug receptacle is disposed on the front side, and comprises a depression defined by a raised sidewall and a pair of opposing cantilever arms. The pair of opposing cantilever arms is configured to deflect upon insertion of a first compatible plug, each having a distal end configured to mechanically retain the first compatible plug within the first plug receptacle. A second plug receptacle is also disposed on the front side and comprises a depression defined by a raised sidewall and a pair of opposing cantilever arms. The pair of opposing cantilever arms is configured to deflect upon insertion of a second compatible plug, each having a distal end configured to mechanically retain the second compatible plug within the second plug receptacle.

It should be appreciated that any feature described herein can be claimed in combination with any other feature(s) described herein, regardless of whether the features originate from the same described implementation.

The details of one or more aspects of the disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the techniques described in this disclosure will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

Numerous additional features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the implementation descriptions provided below.

Additional features and advantages are described herein and will be apparent from the following description and figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a plug retention plate according to the principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the plug retention plate shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the plug retention plate shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is another side view of the plug retention plate shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of two plugs being retained by the plug receptacles of the plug retention plate shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the plug retention plate and two plugs shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the plug retention plate and plugs shown in FIG. 5, with the plug retention plate attached to a helmet.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the helmet, plug retention plate, and plugs shown in FIG. 7.

Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-4 illustrate a plug retention plate 100 in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the plug retention plate 100 holding two plugs 102, 104. FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the plug retention plate 100 attached to a helmet 106.

The plug retention plate 100 is configured for attachment to a helmet 106 and includes two plug receptacles 112, 114, each configured to receive and mechanically retain a plug (102 or 104). In other implementations, the plug retention plate 100 may be configured to include only one plug receptacle (112 or 114) or more than two plug receptacles.

The plug retention plate 100 has a front side 116 on which the plug receptacles 112, 114 are positioned, and a rear side 118 configured for attachment to the exterior of the helmet 106. The rear side 118 of the plug retention plate 100 is positioned opposite the front side 116. In some implementations, the rear side 118 is a concave surface shaped to fit against the exterior of the helmet 106.

The plug retention plate 100 includes hook material on the rear side 118 that is compatible with loop material on the exterior of the helmet 106. This configuration allows the plug retention plate 100 to be quickly attached, detached, and oriented according to user preferences. In some implementations, the positions of the hook and loop materials may be reversed. For example, the rear side 118 of the plug retention plate 100 may include loop material, and the helmet 106 may include hook material. In other implementations, the rear side 118 of the plug retention plate 100 may be configured for attachment to an OPS-CORE® ARC rail, a Team Wendy® EXFIL rail, or an M-LOK® rail.

As shown best in FIGS. 5 and 6, each plug receptacle (112, 114) of the plug retention plate 100 is configured to receive and retain a different type of plug (102 or 104). However, in some implementations, both plug receptacles 112, 114 can be configured to receive and retain the same type of plug without departing from the scope of the present invention. Each plug receptacle 112, 114 may also be configured to protect the contact(s) of the compatible plug 102, 104.

One of the plug receptacles 112 may be an L-shaped depression on the front side 116 of the plug retention plate 100 (see, e.g., FIG. 2). This L-shaped depression is defined by a raised sidewall 120 configured to receive therein a portion of the compatible plug 102 (see, e.g., FIG. 5). Adjacent to one end of the L-shaped depression is an arch-shaped structure 122 that defines an opening 124 configured to receive the conductive portion 103 of the compatible plug 102. The other end of the L-shaped depression includes a pair of cantilever arms 126 positioned opposite each other. Each cantilever arm 126 is flexible and includes a hook on its distal end (see FIG. 4). The cantilever arms 126 have a rectangular cross-section, although in some implementations, the cantilever arms 126 may have different geometric cross-sections. The cantilever arms 126 are configured to deflect during the insertion of the compatible plug 102. The arch-shaped structure 122 and the pair of cantilever arms 126 cooperate to secure the compatible plug 102 in the plug receptacle 112.

The other plug receptacle 114 may be a depression on the front side 116 of the plug retention plate 100 (see, e.g., FIG. 1). This depression is defined by a raised sidewall 130 configured to receive therein a portion of the compatible plug 104 (see, e.g., FIG. 5), particularly the side of the plug 104 that includes any contacts. The plug receptacle 114 includes two cantilever arms 136 positioned on opposite sides and a third cantilever arm 136 positioned at one end. Each cantilever arm 136 is flexible and includes a hook on its distal end (see FIGS. 3 and 4). The cantilever arms 136 have a rectangular cross-section, although in some implementations, the cantilever arms 136 may have different geometric cross-sections. The cantilever arms 136 are configured to deflect during the insertion of the compatible plug 104. The three cantilever arms 136 cooperate to secure the compatible plug 104 in the plug receptacle 114.

Although not shown, in some implementations, the third cantilever arm 136 of the plug receptacle 114 may instead be a rigid lug that is not flexible. In such an implementation, the compatible plug 104 would be rocked into position within the plug receptacle 114.

While the first plug receptacle 112 and the second plug receptacle 114 of the plug retention plate 100 are configured to receive and retain an AN/PVS-31D compatible plug 102 and an AN/PAS-29B compatible plug 104, respectively, the plug receptacles 112, 114 of the plug retention plate 100 can be configured to receive and retain other plugs associated with helmet-mounted electronic accessories, such as battery packs and visual augmentation devices, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The plug retention plate 100 is made of a non-conductive polymer such as Nylon 12. In some implementations, the plug retention plate 100 may instead be made of another suitable material or combination of materials that are durable, lightweight, and impact-resistant, such as polycarbonate or another polymer. The plug retention plate 100 may be manufactured using additive manufacturing, injection molding, machining, or any suitable combination of these techniques.

The foregoing description of the invention is intended to be illustrative; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the claims to the precise forms disclosed. Those skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the foregoing description and associated drawings.

Reference throughout this specification to an “embodiment,” “implementation,” or words of similar import indicates that a particular described feature, structure, or characteristic is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, the phrase “in some implementations,” or a phrase of similar import, as used throughout this specification, does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the above description, numerous specific details are provided for a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations may not be shown or described in detail.