CN117615685A

CN117615685A - Protective clothing for motorcyclist

Info

Publication number: CN117615685A
Application number: CN202280044904.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吉尔瓦尼·马扎罗洛; 托马索·巴奇伽鲁普
Original assignee: Alps Star Research Co
Current assignee: Alps Star Research Co
Priority date: 2021-06-18
Filing date: 2022-06-15
Publication date: 2024-02-27
Also published as: IT202100016022A1; EP4355156A1; WO2022264049A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a protective garment (10) for a motorcyclist, comprising a front portion (14) designed to extend over the chest of a user. The front portion (14) includes a right front portion (14 a) and a left front portion (14 b) that are separated from each other to define a front opening (15). The right front portion (14 a) and the left front portion (14 b) are configured to be removably fastened together by a zipper (16). According to the invention, the protective suit (10) comprises at least one fastening means (23) separate and independent from the zip fastener (16) and positioned at a predetermined area (M) of the front portion (14). At least one fastening means (23) is designed to move from a released state to a closed state and vice versa. In the closed state, the at least one fastening means (23) is designed to selectively and removably move two opposite sections of the right front portion (14 a) and the left front portion (14 a) closer together.

Description

Protective clothing for motorcyclist

Technical Field

The present invention relates to protective apparel for motorcyclists.

Background

Generally, protective clothing for motorcyclists is provided with a front opening to make it more convenient to wear the protective clothing.

Such openings are typically closed by a zipper having the function of fastening opposing portions of the protective garment.

As is known, a slide fastener consists of two rows of metal or plastic teeth arranged on either side of the opening to be closed.

The teeth are designed to be removably interlocked with one another by a sliding pull tab having two channels therein.

When the sliding tab is pulled up or down, the teeth slide along the channel and are pushed into each other, firmly connecting the portions to which they are applied.

These closure devices are particularly convenient due to their ease of operation. However, if used in combination with protective apparel for motorcyclists, the sliding tab needs to reach the upper stop of the zipper, i.e. a stop on the zipper that has the function of preventing the sliding tab from moving past the uppermost position, in order to ensure a firm connection between the fabric portions to be closed.

In fact, if the sliding tab does not reach its end position, or if the motorcyclist forgets to properly close the closure to its end position, so that the opening is not completely closed, the high speed of the motorcycle can cause air to enter under the neck of the rider during use of the protective garment, thereby inflating the protective garment.

Generally, slide fasteners are provided with a locking mechanism designed to prevent the sliding tab from sliding downward.

However, the strong forces created by the air entering the protective garment and acting on the zipper overcome the resistance provided by the locking mechanism of the zipper.

Similar considerations apply to the protective strips that are commonly applied near the upper stop of the zipper. Such a protective tape has a function of covering and protecting the slide tab.

However, such straps are not effective in preventing air from passing under the rider's neck, entering the protective suit and expanding from the inside of the protective suit. Thus, there is a risk of the zipper loosening during use of the protective garment.

This is easily solved if the zipper is used to close a typical garment, but in the case of protective clothing for motorcyclists, the risk is high.

In fact, the rider must stop to reclose his protective garment, since in case of accident, although protective garments are generally made of wear-resistant leather, if the opening is not completely closed, the rider will inevitably be at risk.

Even in the event of a zipper failure, a similar dangerous situation may occur whether the zipper is properly closed or not.

Also in this case, if the teeth of the slide fastener are not firmly closed, air may enter the inside of the protective suit, thereby causing the slide fastener to be closed loose, resulting in the same problems as described above.

Finally, protective apparel for motorcyclists is typically made from leather or leather-like materials. These materials are effective in protecting the rider from friction and ground impacts, but they are also stiffer relative to textile materials.

As a result, in some cases, particularly if the protective garment is held against the user's body, the user may experience difficulty in closing the zipper because the edges of the opening resist the resistance to closing and fastening by sliding the pull tab.

As a result, in this case, the rider may take some time to close the opening of his protective suit.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a protective garment for motorcyclists which at least partially solves the above problems and drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a protective garment for motorcyclists which is adapted to ensure that the zip fastener provided at the front opening of the protective garment becomes loose in case of failure or incorrect closure during use of the protective garment.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a protective garment for motorcyclists which is adapted to more easily close the zipper provided at the front opening of the protective garment.

These and other objects and aims are achieved by a protective garment according to claim 1.

Drawings

The advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of the protective garment, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 shows a front view of a first embodiment of a protective suit according to the invention in a first operating configuration;

figure 2 shows the protective suit of figure 1 in a second operating configuration;

figure 3 shows a front view of a second embodiment of the protective suit according to the invention in a first operating configuration;

figure 4 shows the protective suit of figure 3 in a second operating configuration;

figure 5 shows a schematic enlarged view of a detail of a protective garment according to the invention;

fig. 6 shows a schematic enlarged cross-section of a different embodiment of the detail of fig. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, but relating to a different embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but relating to a different embodiment;

figure 9 shows a detail of figure 8 in a different operating configuration;

fig. 10 and 11 are diagrams similar to fig. 3 and 4, respectively, but relating to different embodiments.

Detailed Description

Referring to the drawings, an example of a protective garment for motorcyclists in accordance with the present invention is indicated as a whole by reference numeral 10. The protective suit 10 may also be used for activities similar to riding a motorcycle.

The protective garment may be manufactured as a jacket (see fig. 1-2) or as a coverall (see fig. 3-4 and 10-11).

Alternatively, the protective garment 10 can be manufactured as a vest.

Preferably, protective garment 10 is at least partially made of a wear resistant material (e.g., leather or leather-like material).

The protective garment 10 may also include a resilient insert 11 having the function of enhancing the comfort of the protective garment, such resilient insert 11 may be in the form of a hand-folded leather resilient insert (accordion leather stretch insert).

Advantageously, the protective suit 10 may include a rigid impact protector 12.

In the embodiment of fig. 1-2, the rigid impact protector 12 is positioned at a portion of the protective garment 10 that is designed to be superimposed over the user's shoulders and elbows in use.

In the embodiments of fig. 3-4 and 10-11, the rigid impact protector 12 is also positioned in the portion of the protective suit 10 that is designed to be superimposed over the user's knee and front lower limb.

The protective garment 10 may also be provided with inflatable protection devices designed to provide additional protection to specific body areas of the user.

As shown in the figures, the protective suit 10 includes a front portion 14 designed to extend over the chest of a user. The front portion 14 includes a right front portion 14a and a left front portion 14b, the right front portion 14a and the left front portion 14b being separated from each other to define a front opening 15. Such front opening 15 has a function of making the protective suit 10 easy to wear.

The right front portion 14a and the left front portion 14b are designed to be removably fastened together by a zipper 16.

Advantageously, the zipper 16 may comprise two rows of teeth 18a, 18b; the first row of teeth 18a is coupled to an edge of the right front portion 14a and the second row of teeth 18b is coupled to an edge of the left front portion 14 b.

The zipper 16 also includes a sliding tab 20 that is designed to slide up or down over the teeth 18a, 18b to interlock or release the teeth 18a, 18b from each other to close or open the front opening 15 as desired by the user.

According to the invention, the protective suit 10 comprises at least one fastening device 23, which fastening device 23 is separate and independent from the slide fastener 16 and is positioned at a predetermined area M of the front portion 14. The fastening means 23 are designed to move from a released state (see e.g. fig. 1, 3 and 10) to a closed state (see e.g. fig. 2, 4 and 11) and from the closed state to the released state. Preferably, the fastening means 23 are manually actuated by the user.

In the closed state, the fastening means 23 are designed to selectively and removably move the two opposite sections of the right front portion 14a and the left front portion 14b closer together. In other words, the fastening means 23 is able to locally move the right front portion 14a and the left front portion 14b closer together independently of the slide fastener 15 (see fig. 2, 4).

Preferably, the fastening means 23 are positioned in a central intermediate area of the front portion 14.

In the following description, as a "central intermediate region" of the front portion 14, a central region of the front portion 14 defined by the first limit M1 and the second limit M2 will be indicated; the first limit M1 is suitably spaced apart from the upper stop 21 of the zipper 16, for example by at least 10cm, and the second limit M2 is spaced apart from the lower stop 22 of the zipper 16, for example by at least 20cm (see fig. 1).

Thus, in the case of a 50cm length zipper, the fastening device 23 may be positioned anywhere in the area of the front portion, for example, 20cm in length, having two limits spaced from the upper stop of the zipper, which is typically positioned near the neck portion of the protective garment, and the lower stop of the zipper, which is typically positioned near the waist portion of the protective garment.

Meanwhile, in the following description of "moving closer", it will be indicated that the distance between the right front portion 14a and the left front portion 14b decreases when the fastening device 23 is moved from its released state to its closed state. Preferably, the distance between the right front portion 14a and the left front portion 14a is not more than 10cm in the case where the fastening means 23 is brought into the closed state.

It is apparent that when the slide fastener 15 is closed, the left front portion 14b is connected with the right front portion 14 a.

Preferably, the fastening means 23 comprise at least one strap 24 (see fig. 7-9) designed to selectively and removably move the section of the right front portion 14a close to the facing section of the left front portion 14 b.

Preferably, at least one strap 24 has a first end fixedly attached near the edge of the right front portion 14a, such as by seam 40, and a second free end provided with releasable fastening members 26, 26 a.

To move the fastening means 23 to the closed condition, the second end of the strap is designed to engage inside a slit 28, which slit 28 is connected near the facing edge of the left front portion 14b (see fig. 8). The strap 24 may be folded onto itself after engaging the slit 28 to then be closed by the fastening member 26 (see fig. 9).

The fastening member 26 may comprise a press fit closure member or a hook and loop fastener.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 7, to move the fastening device 23 to the closed state, the releasable fastening member 26a provided at the second end of the strap 24 may be directly connected to the corresponding fastening member 26b provided near the facing edge of the left front portion 14 b.

In fig. 7-9, the strap 24 is schematically shown secured at the right front portion 14 a. A similar comment is still valid if the strap 24 is fixed at the left front portion 14b and the slit 28 or releasable fastening member 26b is provided near the edge of the right front portion 14 a.

In a further embodiment, the fastening means 23 comprises a first strip 28a and a second strip 28b (see fig. 5-6) designed to be removably connected to each other when the fastening means 23 is moved to the closed state.

The first strap 28a has a first end fixedly attached near the edge of the right front portion 14a, such as by a seam 40, and a free second end.

Similarly, the second strap 28b has a first end fixedly attached near the edge of the left front portion 14b, such as by seam 40, and a free second end.

The second end of the first strap 28a and the second end of the second strap 28b are each provided with a corresponding closure member 30 designed to removably connect the first strap 28a to the second strap 28b.

In a first embodiment, such a closure member 30 may be constituted by a buckle having a receiving portion or female buckle element 31 connected to the first strap 28a (or the second strap 28 b) and an insertion portion or male buckle element 32 connected to the second strap 28b (or the first strap 28 a). The receiving portion 31 is designed to interlock with the insertion portion 32 of the buckle in order to connect the first and second straps 28a,28b to each other and move the fastening device to a closed state (see fig. 5).

The receiving portion 31 and/or the insertion portion 32 may be a magnetic element, i.e. an element that can be magnetized by a magnet or attracted by a magnet. In other words, the receiving portion 31 and the inserting portion 32 may be magnets, or ferromagnets. In this way, when the receiving portion 31 and the inserting portion 32 are interlocked with each other, an attractive magnetic force is applied between the receiving portion 31 and the inserting portion 32. Such magnetic forces help to reduce the risk of accidental opening of the buckle.

Alternatively, the closure member 30 may be an automatic push button or hook and loop fastening member 30a,30b designed to be stacked on top of each other when the strips 28a,28b need to be connected (see fig. 6).

In the embodiment of fig. 5-9, the strips 24, 28a,28b are preferably made of a textile material.

Preferably, the strips 24, 28a,28b are at least partially made of an elastic material.

Furthermore, the protective suit 10 may be provided with a plurality of fastening means 23, which fastening means 23 are positioned at predetermined areas of the front section 14 in a spaced apart configuration. Preferably, in the case of a plurality of fastening means 23, such means are positioned at the central intermediate zone M of the front portion 14.

Furthermore, as shown in fig. 1-4, the fastening means 23 may be positioned inside the front portion 14 of the protective suit 10, i.e. in a position not visible when the front opening 15 is closed.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 10-11, the fastening means 23 may be positioned outside the front portion 14 of the protective suit 10, i.e. in a position visible when the front opening 15 is open.

In the first case, the fastening means 23 need to be actuated by the user before closing the zip 16.

In the second case, the fastening means 23 may be actuated by the user after closing the zip 16. In any case, also in this embodiment, the fastening means 23 enable the two opposite sections of the front portion 14 to be moved closer together in the event that the slide fastener 16 is opened.

As schematically shown in fig. 2, 4 and 11, the function of the fastening means 23 is to ensure that the right front portion 14a and the left front portion 14b remain close to each other, at least in selected portions of the front portion 14, whether or not the slide fastener 16 is properly closed.

In particular, the function of the fastening means 23 is to reduce the stresses acting on the zip 16 in case the zip 16 is not properly closed, so as to avoid that the air entering the inside of the suit during use of the suit causes the zip to loosen.

At the same time, the fastening means 23 can prevent the right front portion 14a and the left front portion 14b from being rapidly separated in the event of a sudden failure of the zipper, which presents a high risk to the rider.

Furthermore, with the fastening device 23 positioned inside the protective garment, the fastening device 23 may also effectively assist the rider during closing of the front opening of the protective garment by reducing the stress acting on the zipper 16.

For the above-described embodiments of the protective suit 10, the skilled person may modify and/or replace the elements described in order to meet the specific requirements, without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A protective garment (10) for a motorcyclist, comprising:

-a front portion (14) designed to extend over the chest of the user; the front portion (14) comprises a right front portion (14 a) and a left front portion (14 b) separated from each other to define a front opening (15); the right front portion (14 a) and the left front portion (14 b) are configured to be removably fastened together by a zipper (16);

characterized in that it comprises at least one fastening device (23) separate from said zip (16) and independent of said zip (16) and positioned at a predetermined area (M) of said front portion (14); the at least one fastening means (23) is designed to move from a released state to a closed state and from the closed state to the released state; in the closed state, the at least one fastening means (23) is designed to selectively and removably move two opposite sections of the right front portion (14 a) and the left front portion (14 b) closer together.

2. Protective suit (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one fastening means (23) comprises at least one strap (24), said at least one strap (24) having a first end firmly connected near the edge of said right front portion (14 a) or said left front portion (14 b) and a second free end provided with a releasable fastening member (26; 26 a).

3. Protective suit (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that said second free end of said at least one strip (24) is designed to engage inside a slit (28) connected near the facing edge of said right front portion (14 a) or of said left front portion (14 b); the at least one strap (24) is adapted to fold onto itself after engaging the slit (28) to be closed by the releasable fastening member (26).

4. Protective suit (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the releasable fastening member (26 a) provided at the second end of the at least one strap (24) is directly connectable to a corresponding releasable fastening member (26 b) provided near the facing edge of the left front portion (14 b) or the right front portion (14 a).

5. Protective suit (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one fastening means (23) comprises a first strip (28 a) and a second strip (28 b) designed to be removably connected to each other when said at least one fastening means (23) is moved to said closed state.

6. The protective garment (10) of claim 5, wherein the first strap (28 a) has a first end and a free second end fixedly attached near the edge of the right front portion (14 a), and the second strap (28 b) has a first end and a free second end fixedly attached near the edge of the left front portion (14 b); the second end of the first strap (28 a) and the second end of the second strap (28 b) are each provided with a corresponding closure member (30) designed to removably connect the first strap (28 a) and the second strap (28 b).

7. Protective suit (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that said closing member (30) is constituted by a buckle having a receiving portion (31) connected to said first strap (28 a) and an insertion portion (32) connected to said second strap (28 b); the receiving portion (31) is designed to interlock with the insertion portion (32) to connect the first strip (28 a) and the second strip (28 b) and to move the at least one fastening device (23) to a closed state.

8. Protective suit (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that the receiving portion (31) and/or the insertion portion (32) are magnetic elements.

9. Protective suit (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that said closing means (30) comprise automatic push-buttons or hook-and-loop fastening means (30 a,30 b) designed to overlap each other when said first strip (28 a) and said second strip (28 b) need to be connected.

10. The protective garment (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one strap (24, 28a,28 b) is at least partially made of an elastic material.

11. Protective garment (10) according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of fastening means (23).

12. Protective suit (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said at least one fastening means (23) is positioned inside said front portion (14) of the protective suit (10).

13. Protective suit (10) according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that said at least one fastening means (23) is positioned outside said front portion (14) of the suit (10).

14. Protective suit (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one fastening means (23) is positioned at a central intermediate zone of said front portion (14).