Abstract:
A back protection shield, which includes at least one anatomic shell-like body made of substantially rigid material and longer than wider, so as to extend longitudinally and cover a substantial portion of user&#39;s backbone. The shield has a concave inner surface designed to face, in use, the user&#39;s back and a convex outer surface and at least one series of spaced stiffening ribs which extend at least partly in a transverse direction.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a back protection shield, particularly for motorcyclists and cyclists. 
     As known, garments designed to protect the backbone in case of falls from motorcycles or bicycles have already been commercially proposed and usually comprise a shield made of semirigid material which extends longitudinally and is so shaped as to cover the entire spinal area of the user&#39;s back. 
     In some kinds of protection device, the shield as a whole comprises two separate sectors which are hinged to one another at the level of the lumbar region by means of a mechanical articulation which allows the two sectors to perform mutual angular strokes about a pivoting axis extending perpendicularly to the shield. The two sectors are constituted, in turn, by a flexible backing layer made of textile material which acts as a support for a plurality of modular elements sequentially assembled on said backing layer. The modular elements partly overlap over one another and are hinged at the lower edge thereof along hinging lines which extend transversely with respect to the flexible backing layer, whereby performing angular raising and lowering movements with respect to said backing layer to make it possible for the shield to yield and follow the natural movements of the user&#39;s back. 
     The shield usually has a linear profile having an increasing width in a longitudinal direction starting from the cervical region down to a maximum value at the lumbar region and then getting narrower again at the sacral region of the user&#39;s backbone. 
     The modular elements forming the shield have different dimensions according to the position they occupy in the overall assembly and comprise a raised portion acting as a protective shell and a recessed flat portion which acts as a sliding surface for a partly overlapping adjacent element. 
     The flexible backing layer is usually covered by a padding to which two shoulder straps are applied. At the lumbar area two lateral bands are provided, the lateral bands having a tear-away closing system at their end and being designed to close around the user&#39;s hips. 
     The back protection shield described above, even though it is a quite valid device for protecting the user&#39;s backbone, has some drawbacks mainly due to complexity of its structure, also in view of the large number of components, e.g. the modular elements, to be assembled. 
     Another drawback of the commercially available model is linked to the fact that it constitutes a barrier for perspiration, since it is usually formed by modular elements filled with plastic material, which stick to the user&#39;s back thereby reducing air circulation and thus causing abundant sweating. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main object of the present invention is to eliminate or substantially reduce the above mentioned drawbacks faced when using currently is commercially available protection devices, by providing a back protection shield which ensures a high cushioning potential upon collision in case of falls, while having a flexible and lightweight structure designed to ensure good perspiration and thus a high level of comfort. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an accessory for sports clothing which can be inserted in sports jackets or suits, thereby ensuring easy wearability and high freedom of movement for the user. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a protective shield of simple construction and reduced overall dimensions, so as to be comfortable to wear and aesthetically agreeable. 
     These and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a back protection shield comprising at least one anatomic shell-like body of substantially rigid material longitudinally extending so as to cover, in use, a substantial portion of a user&#39;s backbone and having a concave inner surface designed to face the user&#39;s back and a convex outer surface, and at least one series of stiffening ribs spaced from one another and at least partly extending in a transverse direction. 
     Advantageously, said shield has a plurality of lightening and perspiration openings. 
     Conveniently, said lightening and perspiration openings are aligned along a longitudinal median portion of said shield. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention is further described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of the simplest embodiment of back protection shield according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 shows a front view of a further embodiment of back protection shield; 
     FIG. 3 illustrates a partial view of a weakening portion between two sectors of the shield of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 shows a cross-section view taken along the line IV—IV of the shield of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a front view of a variant of the protection shield of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 shows a cross-section perspective view of the reinforcement element of the embodiment of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 shows a longitudinal section view of the protection shield of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an impact cushioning pad; and 
     FIG. 9 shows a cross-section view of an impact cushioning pad taken along the line IX—IX of FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the accompanying drawings, identical or similar parts or components have been designated by the same reference numerals. 
     With reference first to FIGS. 1 and 2, a back protection shield according to the invention is constituted by a shell-like body or element  1   a  made of a substantially rigid material which is considerably longer than wider and is designed to protect the spinal region of the user&#39;s back upon impacts due to falls from two-wheeled vehicles. 
     The lateral edges of the element  1   a  have a plurality of ribs  3  which are in relief with respect to the inner surface and recessed with respect to the outer surface thereof. The ribs form, in pairs, transverse reinforced portions  4   a  which are equidistant and alternated with respect to non-reinforced portions  4   b.    
     The ribs  3  provided at the edge of the element  1   a  delimit a series of uniform and equidistant depressions with respect to the outer surface and act as resting points on the user&#39;s back for the element  1   a  and give their lateral edges  2  an undulating profile. 
     Moreover, at the median longitudinal portion of element  1   a , holes  5  are formed having an elliptical configuration whose major axis extends transversely to the element  1   a.    
     Each hole  5  is formed between two reinforced portions  4   a  and its dimensions are preferably directly proportional to the width of the element  1   a  in the section in which it is provided. 
     The element  1   a  can have an anatomic silhouette with a characteristic transverse widening at the scapular portion of the back, thereby protecting a larger portion thereof, since said portion is particularly exposed in case of falls from motorcycles or bicycles. 
     The element  1   b  is a more complex version of the element  1   a , since it comprises two separate sections  6   a  and  6   b  which are joined to one another by means of a hinge-like joint  7  which allows them to perform angular movements about a transverse pivoting axis x—x. 
     The hinge-like joint  7  is obtained e.g. by means of an overinjection molding of rubber-like material that joins longitudinal ends  8   a  and  8   b  of respective sections  6   a  and  6   b.    
     At the hinge-like joint  7 , the profile  2  of the element  1   b  can be tapering at  9  symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis, thereby allowing the sectors  6   a  and  6   b  to perform slight straight or angular movements through various angles even about axes which are incident to the axis x—x. 
     The sector  6   a  of element  1   b  can in turn be divided, in a longitudinal direction, into a sequence of portions  10  made of substantially rigid material which are connected by a weakening portion  11 . 
     Preferably, the weakening regions  11  have slots  12  into which resilient material is injected. The slots are alternated with portions  13  of the same substantially rigid material as that forming the portions  10 . 
     The substantially rigid material, of which the entire element  1   a  and the individual portions  10  of the element  1   b  are made, can be e.g. a plastic material, such as PVC (polyvinilchloride), whereas the flexible material injection-molded in the weakening portions  11  is preferably rubber. 
     Moreover, the weakened transverse portions  11  are mutually spaced from one another so as to allow the upper sector  6   a  of the element  1   b  to yield elastically in order to adapt itself to the bending movements of the user&#39;s backbone. 
     The regions  11  weakened by the provision of slots  12  are formed at the reinforced portions  4   a  in order not to affect the overall rigidity of the element  1   b.    
     At its upper end  14  and at its lower end  15 , element  1   b  has an anatomic transverse end rib  16  which constitutes, in use, an end support, thereby forming an impact cushioning gap between back and element  1   b.    
     The upper end  14  extends beyond the transverse rib  16  with two tabs  17  which diverge with respect to the longitudinal axis of the element  1   b  and on which a cervical rubber pad  18  is fixed, e.g. by electric welding. 
     The rubber pad  18 , besides making the protective device  1   b  more comfortable, is also designed to cushion impacts against the cervical region. 
     Each one of the two tabs  17  can be formed with a hole  19  both whether the element  1   b  is supported by a harness  20  or it is inserted and fixed inside a jacket or a sports suit. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, it is in fact possible to join holes  19  to hooks  21  to which, in turn, the ends  22  of a pair of straps  23  are hooked. 
     The opposite ends  24  of the straps  23  are instead fixed to the lumbar region of the harness  20  by means of a ring  25  which is coupled to a strap  26  sewn directly onto the padding  27 . 
     A substantially triangular rubber flap  28  is attached, e.g. by electric welding, to the lower end  15  of the element  1   b , downstream of the transverse rib  16 , and is flexible, thereby allowing a user to sit comfortably with no inconvenience due to the presence of protection device  1   b , and resilient so as to cushion any impact at the sacrum portion. 
     With reference to FIGS. 5 to  9 , according to another embodiment of the invention, a shield  29  comprises a smooth background  30  which is concave on its side designed to face against the user&#39;s back and has a silhouette which is similar to that of the above-described protection device  1   b.    
     A reinforcement element  31  made of rigid material is superimposed on the background  30  and fixed thereto, e.g. by riveting; said reinforcement element has the same concavity as the background  30  to which it is coupled and has a series of equidistant humps  32  which are arranged transversely and alternated with flat portions  33 . 
     The transverse humps  32  act as cages for locating elongated impact cushioning pads  34  which can contain open-cell polyurethane  35  or simply compressed air. 
     The impact cushioning pads  34  comprise an outer case  36  which is provided with a suitable inflation valve  37  in order to pressurize the interior, so that, in use, they act as cushioning elements for any impacts due to accidental falls in order to protect the backbone. 
     At the flat portions  33  and near to the lateral edges of the reinforcement element  31  there are, in case of coupling by means of riveting, holes  38  in which rivets  39  are inserted. 
     Each flat portion  33  of the reinforcement element  31  can also have a through opening  40  which is formed at the median portion thereof for lightening and perspiration purposes. 
     The entire shield  29  can be supported by a harness  20  provided with lumbar bands  41  designed to be closed around the user&#39;s waist and with shoulder straps  23  which are identical to those described above and required for keeping the shield  29  correctly placed upon the backbone. 
     The invention as described above is susceptible to numerous modifications and variations within the scope defined by the claims. 
     The disclosures in Italian Utility Model Application No. VR99U000048 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.