Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
  • A41D13/015—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches with shock-absorbing means
  • A41D13/0153—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches with shock-absorbing means having hinged or separable parts
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
  • A41D13/05—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches protecting only a particular body part
  • A41D13/055—Protector fastening, e.g. on the human body
  • A41D13/0581—Protector fastening, e.g. on the human body with permanent fastening means
  • A41D13/0587—Integral with the garment

Definitions

• the present invention refers to a protective structure for articulations, in particular for use in dynamic sports.
• the protective clothing for dynamic sports provides protections to be used for shielding the body parts at higher risk of trauma in case of fall or impact against an obstacle.
• protective accessories dedicated to the articulations, characteristically shaped as semirigid shells, made integral to the clothing item and apt to cover the anatomical zone at risk of serious injuries.
• object of the present invention is to provide a protective structure for articulations overcoming said drawback by means of the particular arrangement of the protective constituent members thereof, making it particularly effective as a protection, and concomitantly particularly flexible and, hence, extremely comfortable to the wearer.
• the present invention provides a protective structure for articulations, in particular for use in dynamic sports, comprising a first protective member and a second protective member, each apt to protect the limb portion concerned in the articulation, characterized in that it further comprises elastic means for connecting said first member and said second member therebetween, said elastic means being also apt to protect the underlying articulation.
• the particular shape of the structure of the present invention allows to carry out excursions and rotations of the interested articulation in a wholly natural (anatomical) way, though not compromising the inherent safety thereof.
• a detailed description of some preferred embodiments of the present invention will be provided, given by way of a non-limiting example, making reference to the attached drawings, wherein:
• Fig. 1 is a view schematically depicting a clothing item incorporating a plurality of protections for articulations according to the protective structure for articulations of the present invention
• Figs . 2A and 2B are a bottom plan view and a sectional view, respectively, depicting the protective structure of the present invention according to a first embodiment thereof;
• Fig. 2C is a cross-sectional view of the protective structure of Figs. 2A and 2B;
• Figs . 3A and 3B are a bottom plan view and a sectional view, respectively, depicting the protective structure of the present invention according to a second embodiment thereof;
• Fig. 3C is a cross-sectional view of the protective structure of Figs. 3A and 3B;
• Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the structure of Figs. 3A, 3B and 3C in a bent condition;
• Fig. 5A is a bottom plan view showing the concave side of the protective structure of the present invention according to a third embodiment thereof;
• Fig. 5B is a top plan view showing the convex side of the structure of Fig. 5A in a compressed condition
• Fig. 5C is a side longitudinal sectional view of the structure of Fig. 5B;
• Fig. 6 is a side view depicting the structure of
• Figs. 5A, 5B and 5C in a condition bent and inserted on a clothing item
• Fig. 7A is a bottom plan view showing the concave side of the protective structure of the present invention according to a fourth embodiment thereof;
• Fig. 7B is a top plan view showing the concave side of the structure of Fig. 7A in a compressed condition
• Fig. 7C is a side longitudinal sectional view of the structure of Fig. 7B;
• Fig. 8A is a side view depicting the structure of
• Figs. 7A, 7B and 7C in a condition bent and inserted in a clothing item
• Fig. 8B is a side view depicting a further embodiment of the structure of the present invention in a bent condition and arranged on a clothing item.
• a clothing item incorporating a plurality of protections is illustrated.
• the latter typically protect articulations of the upper and lower limbs, and each thereof is made of a protective structure 1 for articulations according to the present invention (better illustrated hereinafter) .
• the protective structure 1 for articulations of the present invention is illustrated.
• the structure 1 has a first member 2 and a second member 3, each apt to protect the limb portion concerned in the articulation.
• the members 2 and 3 are mutually connected by a flexible structure 4 made of a plurality of laminated members 5, each thereof connected to the respective adjacent laminated member 5 by spacers 6 .
• Each spacer 6 is integral to two adjacent laminated members 5. Moreover, the arrangement is such as to implement a structure having the spacers 6 staggered the one with respect to the other.
• the laminated members (segments) 5 are shaped, made of a material having high rigidity in a direction orthogonal to the articulation and high flexibility in a direction substantially tangential thereto.
• the structure 4 thus obtained has optimum features of elasticity provided by the compliance of the assembly of laminated members 5, and, concomitantly, it effectively protects the articulation by virtue of the transversal thickness of the latter. Furthermore, by virtue of the shape of the structure 4, the latter is particularly flexible and apt to follow all the rotations of the underlying articulation, without compromising the protective function thereof.
• the shape and the dimensions of the end members 2 and 3 are unessential features of the invention, as the elasticity of the protection is provided to the latter by the specific shape of the structure 4, whereas for the end members merely the covering of the zones nearby the articulation is required. Hence, the former could also be absent , though the covering of a zone more extended than that concerned in the articulation is generally required.
• FIG. 3A, 3B and 3C a second embodiment of the structure of the present invention is illustrated.
• same components will have same numbers, and a further detailed description thereof will be omitted.
• the entire structure consisting of the end members 2 and 3, connected to the plurality of laminated segments 5 by the spacers 6, can advantageously be piece-formed.
• the flexible structure 4 be made of the assembly of the laminated members 5, each thereof being connected to the respective adjacent one by a pair of spacers 6.
• the spacers 6 are located onto two lines parallel thereamong, however other locations are viable as well.
• the elasticity of the structure 4, as well as that of the assembly 1, is given by the flexural and torsional elasticity of the spacers 6, as it is depicted in Fig. 4.
• the two embodiments of structure as hereto illustrated can be held covering the articulation by suitable self-supporting means, or be inserted in the clothing item, into suitable pockets.
• the protection can be provided integral to the same cloth of the clothing item, so as to simplify the manufacture of the protective clothing and to attain a higher reliability in the protective action.
• Figs. 5A, 5B and 5C a third embodiment of the structure of the present invention is illustrated. In this case as well, for simplicity's sake, same components will have same numbers, and a further detailed description thereof will be omitted.
• the structure 1 is obtained from a mold in which the flexible structure 4 is honeycomb-shaped, and it is integrally obtained therefrom together with the protective members 2 and 3.
• a support 9 made of cloth (or, e.g., of suitably treated leather or the like) is placed, thereby allowing the plastics material to adhere to the support during closed mold injection.
• the product of the molding will consist of the structure as shown in Fig. 5A, the cloth 9, or leather, etc. being made integral to the outer side thereof.
• the structure 1 thus made is axially compressed in order to generate transversal bends 8 as depicted in Figs. 5B and 5C.
• the structure is secured at two sidelines, e.g., by respective seams or bondings 10 and 11.
• the product thus obtained will allow the relative rotation of the two ends 2 and 3, as depicted in Fig. 6 and be easily incorporated in the clothing item with simple seams.
• FIG. 7A, 7B and 7C a fourth embodiment of the protective structure of the present invention is illustrated.
• same components will have same numbers, and a further detailed description thereof will be omitted.
• the present fourth embodiment of the structure 1 is simplified with respect to the preceding embodiment.
• the mold have no member for connecting the laminated members thereamong, as it is the cloth (or the leather) that, upon being made integral thereto, serves as member for connecting the laminated segments 5 and the end members 2 and 3 thereamong.
• FIG. 8A With reference to Fig. 8A, the structure of Figs. 7A, 7B e 7C is illustrated, in a bent condition.
• the suppporting cloth (or leather) 9 be placed onto the mold die facing the inside of the protection 1, so that the latter be applied on the outside of the assembled clothing item.
• the resisting structure is located externally to the item and, upon impacting, also protects the cloth (or leather) .
• the structure 1 as illustrated in the preceding embodiments is apt to protect any sportsperson' s articulation, both of the lower and of the upper limbs. E.g., though it is not shown in the Figs., the structure 1 thus made is also suitable for tinier articulations, like the finger ones.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Professional, Industrial, Or Sporting Protective Garments (AREA)
• Orthopedics, Nursing, And Contraception (AREA)
• Shaping Of Tube Ends By Bending Or Straightening (AREA)
• Materials For Medical Uses (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=11455530

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (1)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 2001
  • 2001-05-17 IT IT2001RM000261A patent/ITRM20010261A1/it unknown
• 2002
  • 2002-05-07 EP EP02735977A patent/EP1387624B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-05-07 AT AT02735977T patent/ATE387864T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2002-05-07 ES ES02735977T patent/ES2302813T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-05-07 DE DE60225436T patent/DE60225436T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-05-07 WO PCT/IT2002/000302 patent/WO2002091867A1/en not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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