Apparel – Guard or protector – Leg
Reexamination Certificate
2003-04-29
2004-11-16
Patel, Tejash (Department: 3765)
Apparel
Guard or protector
Leg
Reexamination Certificate
active
06817029
ABSTRACT:
The present invention refers to garments such as sportswear or leisurewear items including suits, trousers, jackets and the like.
In particular, the present invention is directed at those garments in which there are provided rigid or semi-rigid parts, such as knee guards, elbow guards or other protective elements, as well as deformable parts that are intended to facilitate the movements of the body, mainly in connection with the bending of the arms, the legs and the back.
Motor-cycling is a typical field of application in which garments of such a kind are used.
As a matter of fact, the jackets or the trousers that are usually worn by racing drivers or motor-cycling amateurs are made of a thick and resistant material such as leather or the like, sometimes reinforced with rigid plates aimed at withstanding abrasions occurring in the case of falls.
In addition, the garment zones corresponding to articulations of the body, such as the knees or the elbows, are specially protected by knee guards or elbow guards, which are of a rigid construction as well, so that the wearability of the garments of the above cited kind, notwithstanding the afore mentioned deformable parts with which they are provided, turns out to be practically limited
Such parts may be made with the use of inserts of stretch fabric, rubber or the like, as well as any insert of a material configured so as to feature a plurality of pleats in the way of a bellows, so as to be able to freely deform, thereby compensating for the different postures taken by the human body.
An example of motor-cycling suit designed in accordance with these principles is described in the patent application EP-A-0 950 360.
Generally speaking, however, it should be anyway noticed that such deformable parts may bring about some difficulties that reduce the extent of the benefits deriving from the use thereof.
In fact, they turn into weak points in case of a fall, owing to the fact that stretch fabrics or the layers of material of which they are made cannot feature a same strength as the leather of which the suit, the trousers or the jacket in its entirety is made.
On the other hand, it can be readily appreciated that, owing to these portions having to be able to freely deform, no possibility is given for rigid reinforcement inserts to be included within said parts, either.
As a consequence of these circumstances, therefore, it is preferable that the size of such parts be kept as small as possible, so as to limit the extent of the weak points in the related garments.
However, too small a size of such parts does not allow for any adequate freedom of movement, especially if the fact is considered that such garments as motor-cycling suits, trousers and jackets have to fit the body of a person both when he/she is driving and when he/she is standing up, namely under widely differing circumstances.
It should also be duly considered that, when changing from a posture to another one, displacements occur which are due to the natural settling of the suit on the body of the person, and such displacements can actually cause the elastic parts to move out of place with respect to the zone of the body which they are associated with.
In an effort to at least partially solve these problems and meet all these different needs, intermediate solutions are used in the current state of the art, which represent a compromise between the comfortableness of persons wearing the garments and the required level of safety.
However, these solutions may prove fully inadequate in the case of more demanding applications, such as for instance in the case of motor-cycling races.
It is therefore a main object of the present invention to improve this state of things by providing a garment comprising deformable parts, which is particularly, although not solely intended for use in the motor-cycling sector, where it shall ensure a greater freedom of movement to persons wearing it as well as an adequate protection also in correspondence of the above mentioned parts.
Such an object is reached by a garment incorporating the characteristics as recited in the appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1660342 (1928-02-01), Levinson
patent: 3878561 (1975-04-01), Winiecki
patent: 4773100 (1988-09-01), Kuo
patent: 5038408 (1991-08-01), DeBaene
patent: 5052052 (1991-10-01), Gilford et al.
patent: 5649328 (1997-07-01), Martin
patent: 0 950 360 (1999-10-01), None
patent: WO 010254 (2001-02-01), None
Alpinestars Research SRL
Katten Muchin Zavis & Rosenman
Patel Tejash
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