Patent Publication Number: US-7721351-B2

Title: Protective assembly for a limb

Description:
This is a 371 National Stage application of International application no. PCT/FR2003/01836, filed Jun. 17, 2003, which claims priority to French application no. 02/07635, filed Jun. 20, 2002. The entire contents of the above-referenced applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
   The invention relates to a limb protection assembly, in particular a portion which forms an upper of a motorcycle boot which is intended to protect the tibia of a motorcyclist. 
   For reasons of simplification, reference will be made in the following text only to this application, although the invention may also be used to protect the forearm of an alpine skier against impacts with posts or the like. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Protections are known of the type comprising:
         a substantially tubular body which extends in a longitudinal direction and which is intended to be adjusted around said limb and which has an aperture which extends in the longitudinal direction,   a rigid tongue which is intended to cover a front portion of the body which extends at one side and the other of said aperture,   a strap which extends transversely to the longitudinal direction between the edges of the aperture, said strap being connected to the body at one side and the other of the aperture in an adjustable manner in order to adjust the spacing between the edges of the aperture.       

   In order to adapt to the various morphologies of the users, the geometry of the boot must be adaptable with a relatively large adjustment range. Of course it is desirable for maximum protection to be provided for all users. Furthermore, for reasons of weight, ease of use and price, the assembly must be relatively simple. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Since the solutions from the prior art have hardly been satisfactory with regard to all these various points, the invention proposes that the tongue is carried by the strap on which it is mounted so as to slide freely and that the tongue and the body co-operate together in order to automatically centre the tongue relative to the aperture. 
   In this manner, the protection tongues are not displaced towards the inner side (towards each other) when the user has a large calf, nor towards the outer side in the opposite case. Effective protection is therefore provided, independently of the morphological characteristics of the user. Furthermore, this solution is simple and therefore inexpensive and light and does not require any particular care from the user when the boot is tightened. 
   According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the assembly further comprises locking means which have an inactive position in which they allow the tongue to slide freely on the strap and an active position in which they act counter to said sliding, and the locking means are placed in an active position when the tongue is pressed against said front zone. 
   The assembly is thus always easy to use, but the protection tongue also effectively remains in position, even in the case of a violent impact. 
   Advantageously, the locking means comprise:
         grooves which are provided in the strap,   a catch having a shape which complements that of the grooves provided in the strap in order to engage therein, said catch resiliently assuming an inactive position in the absence of any external force and forming a protrusion relative to said tongue in the direction of said front zone when it is in said inactive position.       

   This solution is simple to use and is inexpensive to produce, particularly if the catch is produced by moulding with the tongue. 
   In order to automatically centre the tongue relative to the aperture, the invention proposes that:
         said front portion has a non-circular cross-section, and   said tongue has a cross-sectional shape which complements that of the front portion.       

   It is thus not necessary to provide a complex mechanism in order to produce a centering of the tongue on the front portion of the body. 
   Advantageously, said front zone has a substantially parabolic cross-section. 
   This shape is particularly suitable for producing effective centering and it is also relatively similar to the shape of the tibia and the forearm. 
   In order to easily produce a strong tongue into which the strap extends freely, according to the invention, the tongue comprises two plastics components which are assembled together. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be appreciated even more clearly from the following description, given with reference to the appended drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a side view of a motorcycle boot according to the invention, 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-section along line II-II in  FIG. 1 , 
       FIG. 3  is a view of only the tongue and the straps, sectioned along line III-III in  FIG. 2 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 1 to 3  illustrate a motorcycle boot  1  which comprises a body  2  intended to receive the leg of a motorcyclist and which is articulated relative to a base portion  4  which is intended to receive the foot of the motorcyclist. 
   The body  2  is defined by means of a substantially tubular rigid shell which extends in a longitudinal direction  6 . This body  2  has an aperture  8  which extends in the longitudinal direction  6  over at least the main part of the length of the body  2 . 
   The boot  1  further comprises a rigid protection tongue  10  which also extends in the longitudinal direction  6  and which covers the aperture  8 . This tongue is carried by two straps  12  (an upper and lower strap) which extend transversely to the longitudinal direction  6  and which extend through the tongue  10  whilst allowing the tongue to slide freely on the straps  12 . 
   Each of these straps  12  is connected, at a first end  12   a , to the body  2  by means of a locking lever  14  (which also serves to unlock) and has, at a second end  12   b  which is opposite the first end  12   a , notches  16  which co-operate with a fastening catch  18 . 
   The fastening levers  14  and the fastening catches  18  are arranged at one side and the other of the aperture  8  and are connected to each other by means of the straps  12 . The various notches  16  of the straps allow the width of the aperture  8  to be adjusted, that is to say, the distance between the edges  8   a  and  8   b  of the aperture, by varying the distance between the fastening levers  14  and the fastening catches  18 . 
   The tongues  10  are received by a front portion  22  of the body  2  which extends at one side and the other of the aperture  8 . This front portion  22  has a substantially parabolic cross-section which corresponds to the shape of the calf of a user in the tibial region. 
   The tongues  10  have a cross-section which complements the shape of the front portion  22  on which they are pressed when the boot is tightened using the notches  16 , the fastening catches  18  and the fastening levers  14 . 
   Owing to this complementary shape and the characteristics of the parabolic shape, that is to say, non-circular, with a continually increasing radius of curvature of the edges  8   a ,  8   b  of the aperture towards the transverse ends  22   a ,  22   b  of the front portion  22 , and the free sliding of the tongue  10  on the straps  12 , the tongue  10  is automatically centred on the front portion  22  and on the aperture  8 . 
   The assembly further comprises means for locking the tongue in the centred position. These means comprise grooves which form teeth  24  which are arranged on the straps  12  and a locking catch  26  which has a complementary shape and which is connected to the tongue  10 . This locking catch  26  is resiliently deformable between an inactive position illustrated in  FIG. 3 , in which the catch is remote from the teeth  24 , and an active position in which the catch engages in the teeth  24  in order to prevent the tongue  10  from sliding relative to the straps  12 . 
   In the absence of any external action, the locking catch  26  is positioned in the inactive position and forms a protrusion on the tongue in the direction of the front portion  22 . 
   When the straps  12  are tightened, the tongue  10  is pressed against a surface of the front portion  22  which then comes into contact with the locking catch  26 , thus bringing it into an active position. 
   As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the tongue  10  comprises two plastics components  10   a,    10   b  which are assembled together, in this instance, by means of clipping. They are connected by means of ribs  28  and together define spaces, including two passages  20  intended for receiving the straps  12  which carry the tongue. 
   The locking catch  26  is produced by moulding with the tongue and more precisely in this instance with the plastics component  10   a.    
   Of course, the invention is in no way limited to the embodiment which has been described above by way of non-limiting example. It would thus be possible to replace the rigid body  2  with a flexible sleeve, for example, to protect the forearm.