METHOD FOR FORMING LEATHER OR FABRIC SUITS, JACKETS OR TROUSERS PROVIDED WITH PROTECTION ELEMENTS, AND ARTICLE OF CLOTHING OBTAINED BY THE METHOD

Abstract: A method for forming suits, jackets or trousers provided with protection elements, characterised by: thermoforming leather (1) or fabric to obtain a portion shaped in accordance with the anatomy of that part of the body to be protected; injecting a foam (3) onto said anatomical portion from the inner side of the leather or fabric.

Description: METHOD FOR FORMING LEATHER OR FABRIC SUITS, JACKETS OR TROUSERS PROVIDED WITH PROTECTION ELEMENTS, AND ARTICLE OF CLOTHING OBTAINED BY THE METHOD This invention relates to a method for forming leather or fabric suits, jackets or trousers provided with protection elements, and an article of clothing obtained by the method. Protection elements for body parts, applied to leather or fabric suits, jackets or trousers for motorcyclists, are known consisting of substantially rigid paddings and/or shields which in the case of a fall absorb impact to protect those parts of the motorcyclist's body most exposed to injury and fracture (shoulders, elbows, knees, shin-bone, etc.). Such elements generally comprise an outer shell constructed of substantially rigid plastic, and a soft inner layer of low-memory rubber of impact absorption. These elements are generally applied to the interior of the suit or jacket lining (in the case of the shoulders) or within suitable pockets provided on the outside of the suit or trousers (in the case of the knees), or within suitable internal pockets of the suit or jacket (for the elbows) or of the suit or trousers (for the shin-bones). These known protection elements have however certain drawbacks, namely: - a difficulty in maintaining correct position during use and in particular in the case of a fall, - unsatisfactory protection in that their heterogeneous construction material does not ensure effective distribution of the protective effect. - in the case of a fall by the motorcyclist, possible laceration of the leather or fabric by the rubbing of the constituent rigid material of the outer shell against the leather or fabric. An object of the invention is to eliminate these drawbacks by providing a suit and/or a jacket and/or trousers comprising protection elements, in which rigorously stable positioning of these elements is ensured. A further object of the invention is to provide a suit and/or a jacket and/or trousers which offer very reliable protection over the entire associated with the protection element. A further object of the invention is to provide a suit and/or a jacket and/or trousers in which the risk of laceration of the leather or fabric in the case of a fall is considerably reduced. These and further objects which will be apparent from the ensuing description are attained according to the invention by a method for forming suits, jackets trousers provided with protection elements as described in claim 1. The invention also provides an article of clothing as described in claim 4. A preferred embodiment of the present invention and a modification thereof are described in detail hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, on which: Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a suit portion provided with protection, Figure 2 shows a modification thereof, and Figure 3 shows a second modification thereof. As can be seen from the figures, the method for forming the suit or jacket or trousers comprises a first stage in which the leather 1 or fabric is wetted so that during drying it shrinks and hence becomes more elastic The leather or fabric is then positioned within the mould of a thermoforming press and locked along its edges The press is then operated to thermoform the leather or fabric such as to form a shoulder, elbow, knee etc according to requirements After being left for a certain period of time the mould is opened and the thermoformed leather or fabric is positioned in a subsequent station in which a perforated plastic shell 2 of suitable shape and dimensions is positioned on the region to be protected The leather or fabric and the shell applied to it are then subjected to the injection of a foam 3 which on one side becomes interposed between the shell and the leather or fabric and on the other side covers the shell in such a manner as to form with it a type of sandwich A fabric 4 consisting of two layers with an interspace of about 3 mm therebetween is then applied to the stratified construction obtained in this manner The piece of leather or fabric, with the protection applied to it, is then sewn along the two edges to form a band which is then sewn externally to hence increase the degree of reliability of the stitching, and make the appearance of the stitching more attractive In the embodiment shown in Figure 3 the plastic shell is not included In this case the protection is more flexible but the foam composition must be appropriate to ensure that the desired level of protection is achieved From the aforegoing it is apparent that the method of the invention offers numerous advantages and in particular - it ensures rigorously stable positioning of the protection relative to the anatomical region to be protected, - it offers a high level of protection given the compactness of the combination and its ability to distribute the effects of an impact over the entire protected region, - it reduces the risk of laceration of the leather in the case of a fall by the elimination of those sewing runs subjected to the highest risk of opening/breakage.

Claims: C L A I M S 1. A method for forming suits, jackets or trousers provided with protection elements, characterised by: - thermoforming leather (1 ) or fabric to obtain a portion shaped in accordance with the anatomy of that part of the body to be protected, - injecting a foam (3) onto said anatomical portion from the inner side of the leather or fabric. 2. A method as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that before injecting the foam (3), a perforated of substantially rigid plastic is applied to the inner side of the leather. 3. A method as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that an interspaced fabric (4) is applied to said foam. 4. A leather or fabric article of clothing obtained by the method of claims 1 to 3, characterised by comprising a portion shaped in accordance with the anatomy of that part of the body to be protected and lined internally with a layer of injected foam (3). 5. An article of clothing as claimed in claim 4, characterised by also comprising a perforated anatomical shell (2) retained by being sandwiched by the foam. 6. An article of clothing as claimed in claim 5, characterised in that the shell (7) is of rigid plastic construction. 7 An article of clothing as claimed in claim 5, characterised in that the foamed layer is lined with an interspaced fabric (4)

Inventors: DAINESE LINO, DAINESE, LINO
Applicants: DAINESE LINO, DAINESE SPA, DAINESE S.P.A., DAINESE, LINO
Application year: 1998
Main classification: A41D13
IPC codes: A41D13