WO2005120262A1

WO2005120262A1 - Anti-scorching elements and garment thus provided

Info

Publication number: WO2005120262A1
Application number: PCT/IB2004/002372
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giovanni Mazzarolo
Original assignee: Alpinestars Research Srl
Priority date: 2004-06-08
Filing date: 2004-06-08
Publication date: 2005-12-22
Also published as: ATE542445T1; CN1960649A; EP1758475B1; EP1758475A1

Abstract

In order to protect parts of the body of a motorcyclist from burns caused by friction following falls, the garment or suit is provided with patches which are arranged between the lining and the material forming the outer layer of garment and are made of heat-insulating material, said patched being shaped and arranged so as to match and cover entirely the partis of the body to be protected.

Description

Anti-scorching elements and garment thus provided. DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a garment providing heat-insulating protection, in particular a motorcyclist's suit, and to protective elements which can be used for this purpose.

It is known that the manufacturers of sports clothing, in particular clothing intended for activities which may involve danger for the end users, invest considerable resources in the design of garments with increasingly effective features for protecting the user. In the case of activities on high-speed vehicles - from among which two-wheel vehicles and in particular motorcycles will be considered here - the possibility of accidents, falls or injury is very high.

In addition to injury resulting from impact, other possible situations must also be taken into account. In the event of an accident during which the fuel escaping from the tank may also catch fire (including the more serious case of explosion of the tank), the rider is basically fairly well protected, since the materials of which these garments are generally made, i.e. leather or the like, are not particularly flammable. By way of proof of this, specific regulations relating to the fireproof properties of motorcyclists' garments do not exist. However, suits and garments which are made entirely of fireproof materials are known and are designed for other types of users, such as, for example, racing car drivers, firemen and more generally users who are obliged to work in the presence of naked flames and/or conditions where there is the risk of explosions and fires. The protective garment proposes in this case to prevent direct contact of the user's skin with flames and therefore the risk of burns inevitably resulting therefrom.

One aspect, however, which has been completely neglected is that of abrasive burns. In the case of an accident where a motorcyclist is thrown off the motorcycle, very often as a result of the fall he slides along the road surface in frictional contact therewith. The garments which the motorcyclist wears usually protect him from injury such as wounds caused by abrasion. In fact, precisely for this purpose, often the suit is provided in critical positions with metal plates which are applied externally in order to assist sliding of the motorcyclist on the road surface, preventing somersaults and tumbling which at high speed may result in very serious traumatic injuries.

However, the friction between ground and garment instantaneously generates much heat which from the surface of the garment - which obviously overheats even if the garment does not tear - is transmitted to the underlying skin. The final consequence is that often this overheating caused by friction results in considerable burns or, at least, in major inflammations. Usually the parts which are most exposed to this type of danger are the articulations of the limbs (elbows and knees), the shoulders, the back and the sides.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a garment which solves the abovementioned problem of overheating of the skin caused by friction, preventing the possibility of dangerous burns in the event of a fall. This object is achieved by providing the garment with protective elements made of heat-insulating material, at least along the parts of the body which are most exposed to friction burns.

In the preferred embodiment these protective elements consist of patches which are made of said heat-insulating material and are applied to the internal lining of the garment, so that said patches are arranged between said internal lining and the material forming the outside of the garment, such as leather or fabric.

The present invention also relates to the protective elements defined above. The advantages of the present invention will emerge more clearly from the description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of a preferred example of embodiment of a motorcyclist's garment in the form of a suit, provided by way of a non-limiting example. It is pointed out that in the remainder of this description the term "suit" is understood as meaning also garments comprising an internal lining which is not permanently fixed to the external layer of leather or similar material, but which is detachable (for example by means of buttons or zip fasteners). In this case, the protective elements according to the invention may be fixed to the external surface of the lining permanently (for example by means of stitching) or in the form of proper patches which replace fabric portions of the lining. As a further alternative the lining may be provided with seats or pockets inside which the protective elements may be removably inserted, optionally and preferably divided into several parts. In the drawings: Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a front and rear view of a suit according to invention;

Figure 3 is an enlarged and exploded view of the arm portion of the suit according to Figs. 1 and 2 in a patch zone; and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the patch according to Fig. 3. Figures 1 and 2 show a suit 10 designed to cover the whole of the user's body, except for the head, the hands and the feet. Said suit 10 comprises two leg portions 12, a trunk portion 14 and two sleeves 16. The suit 10 is able to be put on with the aid of an opening 18 in the chest region, which can be closed with buttons or normal zip fasteners, not shown. At the rear, however, the suit 10 does not have openings, ensuring continuous covering of the rear part of the user's body. In the region of the shoulders 20, the sides 22, the elbows 24, the knees 26 and the back 28, said suit 10 is provided with anti-burn protective elements 30 having a shape and extension such as to match and cover entirely the body portion or the articulation to be protected. For example, the protective element 30 which covers the elbow has two portions

31, 32 which extend, respectively, to halfway along the upper arm and halfway along the forearm.

Fig. 3 show an exploded view of a sleeve 16 of the suit 10 in the region of a protective patch indicated overall and generically by the number 50. From the cross-section shown in Fig. 4 it can be seen that, in the region of the patch 50, the two usual layers, namely lining 44 and external layer 40 of leather or similar material normally used for the manufacture of motorcyclists' garments, are replaced by a structure which basically consists of three layers, namely outer layer 40, middle layer 30 or patch of heat-insulating material, and lining 44 intended to come into contact with the skin or an underlying intimate garment worn by the user. In reality, in the embodiment shown, a further layer 42 consisting of a curved piece of rigid material, used very often in order to protect the said parts of the body from knocks, is arranged in between.

It is understood, however, that the present invention does not necessarily envisage the presence of the layer 42.

The heat-insulating layer which forms the patch 30 provides the protection against the burns described above, isolating the user's skin from the intense heat generated as a result of friction between suit 10 and road surface.

The choice of heat-insulating material is very wide and varies from the normal fireproof materials (such as those which are known commercially by the trademarks NOMEX, CARBON-X), cork and resin-based mouldable compositions, glass and/or rock wool, for example in the form of felt, and normal heat-insulating materials based on plastics (such as expanded plastics).

It is also possible to envisage using liquid materials, for example materials which, owing to the action of heat, change state, so that the heat generated by friction of the suit with the road surface is absorbed and used by the liquid in order to change state without a substantial variation in temperature.

In the case of liquid materials it is obvious that they must be enclosed within an impermeable bag to be fixed in turn in position to the lining and/or to the inner surface of the outer layer of leather or the like.

The present invention may be subject to numerous variations. The protective elements or patches 30 may be modified in terms of shape or divided into several parts in order to favour the insertion in suitable seats or pockets provided on the lining of the suit 10 and/or in order to facilitate flexing of the limbs, so as to allow greater ease of use.

It is possible to envisage several layers of heat-insulating material in order to increase the protection of some parts of the body or overlay different types of heat- insulating materials, taking advantage of their different mechanical and/or thermal characteristics.

Finally, it is also possible for whole parts of the garment or even the whole of the garment to be made with the structure described above, namely with an intermediate layer between lining and outer layer of leather or fabric made of heat- insulating materials.

Claims

1. Garment, in particular motorcyclist's garment, characterized in that it comprises protective elements made of heat-insulating material (30), at least along the parts of the body which are exposed to friction burns.

2. Garment according to Claim 1, characterized in that said protective elements consist of patches applied to the inner lining of the garment and arranged between said lining and the material forming the outer layer of the garment.

3. Garment according to Claim 1 and/or 2, characterized in that said protective elements are applied to the shoulder, side, knee, elbow and back portions of the garment.

4. Garment according to Claim 1 and/or 2, characterized in that said heat- insulating material is chosen from among the normal fireproof materials, cork and resin-based mouldable compositions, glass and/or rock wool, preferably in the form of felt, and normal heat-insulating materials based on plastics, such as expanded plastics.

5. Garment according to Claim 1 and/or 2, characterized in that said protective elements are made of several parts.

6. Garment according to Claim 5, characterized in that said protective elements made of several parts can be inserted into special seats or pockets provided in the lining of the garment.

7. Protective element for protecting parts of the body of a motorcyclist wearing a garment, in particular a suit, characterized in that it comprises a layer of heat-insulating material.

8. Protective element according to Claim 7, characterized in that it consists of a patch to be applied to the lining of the garment so as to remain arranged between the lining and the material forming the outer layer of the garment.

9. Protective element according to Claim 7, characterized in that said heat- insulating material is chosen from among the normal fireproof materials, cork and resin based mouldable compositions, glass and/or rock wool, preferably in the form of felt, and normal heat-insulating materials based on plastics, such as expanded plastics.

10. Protective element according to Claim 8, characterized in that said patch has a shape and an extension such as to match and cover entirely the body portion or articulation to be protected.