WO2005122810A1

WO2005122810A1 - Garment for sporting activity

Info

Publication number: WO2005122810A1
Application number: PCT/EP2004/013096
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gabriele Mazzarolo
Original assignee: Alpinestars Research Srl
Priority date: 2004-06-22
Filing date: 2004-11-18
Publication date: 2005-12-29
Also published as: ITTV20040031U1

Abstract

Garment (10) for sporting activity, in particular worn by a motorcyclist, comprising at least one opening (20) formed at the front in the region of the trunk (14) in order to facilitate bending-over of the rider.

Description

"Garment for sporting activity"

The present invention relates to a garment for sporting activity, in particular for motorcyclists.

In sports or activities involving the riding of a vehicle, the garments which the rider wears must allow maximum freedom of movement. Here the description refers, by way of a non-lhriiting example, to motorcycling, and in particular to a riding suit. It is sufficient to consider that a motorcyclist may assume a position crouched and bent over the motorcycle, for example when travelling along a fast straight section of road, or an upright position on the saddle, or when travelling at a slower speed but needing to control the trajectory of the motorcycle, to realise that the suit which the rider wears must not hinder his/her movements and at the same be able to adapt to a wide range of postures. The suits of known design, for this reason, comprise inserts which are made of elastic or semi-elastic fabric and are situated in zones most subject to bending or tension. Despite this design, it happens that, when the motorcyclist is in the crouched position on the motorcycle, the suit forms folds in the stomach zone since this is clearly the zone most affected by contraction due to the bending movement. These folds create a certain degree of discomfort for the rider. On the other hand, shortening the front part of the suit in order to lessen the discomfort results in problems when the rider assumes an upright position, since he/she must overcome the resistance offered by the fabric of the suit.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a garment which favours ease of movement of the user, in particular allowing him/her to assume comfortably any riding position ranging between one crouched over the motorcycle and the upright position. This object is achieved by said garment when designed in accordance with the contents of the following claims. Another object of the present invention is to provide a garment where ventilation of the rider's body is improved.

These objects are achieved by a garment designed in accordance with the following claims.

In particular, the thstinguishing characteristic feature of the garment according to the present invention is a particular form of the stomach zone which ensures full freedom of movement and moreover optimum ventilation for the rider.

It is clear that, despite the fact that reference has been made hitherto to a suit for motorcyclists, the idea forming the subject of the invention may also be used in any other category of sports or activities where its particular characteristic features are required. It is equally clear that the invention may be applied to a garment which is not a suit.

The characteristic features and the further advantages of the garment will be described more clearly from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, namely a suit. It is understood that this description is provided solely by way of a non- limiting example, and in it reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows a front view of a suit according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows a side view of the suit according to Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a front view of a second suit according to the invention; Fig. 4 shows a side view of the suit according to Fig. 4.

The figures show a suit 10 which covers the whole of the rider's body except for the head, hands and feet. Said suit 10 comprises two leg portions 12, a trunk portion 14 and two sleeves 16. The front part of the trunk portion 14 comprises centrally an oval- shaped opening 20, the greater axis of which extends from one side to the other of the suit 10, while the smaller axis is aligned with a zip-type fastener 18 which, situated above said opening 20, closes two flaps 15, 16, i.e. a right-hand flap and left-hand flap, into which the upper front trunk portion 14 is divided. Underneath the opening 20 another two flaps 25, 26, i.e. a right-hand flap and left-hand flap, which form the lower front part of the trunk portion 14, are joined together by a button-type fastening system 22. Clearly other types of closing systems may be preferred for the flaps 15, 16 and 25, 26, for example full button, automatic or Velcro systems, or other shapes (rectangular, circular, etc.) may be chosen for the opening 20.

The opening 20 is surrounded by a hem 24, in order to prevent fraying and strengthen its perimeter, without however making it excessively rigid. In fact — and this the characteristic feature of the present invention — the front opening 20 must be able to be deformed (i.e. contracted) whenever the rider bends forwards, namely the top and bottom edges of the hem 24 move towards each other.

In respect of that stated above it is clear that fonning a suit with an opening such as that indicated by 20 solves simultaneously the problems 1) of ensuring effective ventilation of the rider and, in particular, 2) of allowing the rider to bend the top part of the body forwards or remain seated upright on the saddle without the suit restricting or preventing his/her movements.

The opening 20 may be formed also without associating the zip 18 and the button- type fastening system 22 with it, for example by using for the suit 10 a single piece of fabric for the front part of the trunk portion 14. Furthermore, the flaps 15, 16, 25, 26 which delimit the opening 20 may consist of a number other than four, for example two flaps, if the system for closing the suit is moved to one side so that the top and bottom edges of the opening 20 belong to the same side of the suit. It is not necessary for there to be only one opening 20, since it is possible to divide the front surface of the trunk, for example into two or more smaller openings. With reference now to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, a variation 100 of the invention is now described as regards the formation of the single opening 20 (the same reference numbers as those in the previous figures denote similar parts). A horizontal zip fastener 50 is applied to two opposite edges of an opening 200 — shown closed in Figs.

3 and 4. When the zip 50 is open the opening 200 is formed and this opening extends as far as edges 124 shown in broken lines in Figs. 3 and 4, more or less in the manner described in Figs. 1 and 2. When the zip is closed - cf. Figs. 3 and 4 - the opening 200 is completely closed and the rider's stomach is covered. In this way the rider is able to choose by means of the position of the zip 50 the configuration of the suit 100 which is most convenient for him or her.

In another variant, a zip may be arranged — see Figs. 3 and 4 again — along the entire edge 124 of the opening 200, with one row of teeth on the edge 124 thereof and the other row along the perimeter of a piece of fabric (not shown) having an extension which corresponds to the opening 200. When the piece of fabric is removed the suit has the appearance shown in Fig. 1; whereas when the piece of fabric is fixed to the suit by means of the zip, the opening 20 of the suit is closed. Instead of the zip fastener it is possible to use other fixing means, such as buttons, Velcro or automatic systems. It is understood that minor variations to the idea proposed by the present invention are nevertheless included within the following claims.

Claims

I. Garment (10) for sporting activity, in particular worn by a motorcyclist, characterized in that it comprises at least one opening (20) formed at the front in the region of the trunk (14) in order to facilitate bending-over of the rider.

2. Garment (10) according to Claim 1, wherein said at least one opening (20) extends from one side to the other of the garment (10).

3. Garment (10) according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said at least one opening (20) extends over the rider's stomach.

4. Garment (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one opening (20) has an oval shape.

5. Garment (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one opening (20) is delimited by flaps (15, 16, 25, 26).

6. Garment (10) according to Claim 5, wherein said flaps (15, 16, 25, 26) may be joined together by means of non-permanent closing means (18, 22).

7. Garment (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one opening (200) may be closed with first non-permanent fixing means (50).

8. Garment (100) according to Claim 7, wherein said first fixing means comprise a zip (50).

9. Garment (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one opening (200) is closed with a piece of fabric fastened to the garment (100) using second non-permanent fixing means.

10. Garment (100) according to Claim 9, wherein said second fixing means comprise a zip (50).

II. Garment (10; 100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said garment (10; 100) is a suit.