Leg protector

Abstract

A leg protector sized to fold over the wearer's leg to cover the front side of the wearer's leg while leaving the backside of the wearer's leg exposed for easily placement and removal of the leg protector. Unlike conventional gaiters and half chaps that effectively operate as a second pant leg positioned over the pants, the adjustable strap of the insulated leg protector extends across the rear side of the wearer's leg to retain the leg protector without fully covering the backside of the wearer's leg. The arrangement allows the leg protector to be quickly put on by the wearer by draping the leg protector over the wearer's leg and secured with the adjustable strap. Similarly, the leg protector can also be removed by simply undoing the adjustable strap.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION[0001]The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 775,139 filed Mar. 8, 2013, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention is generally directed to riding clothing for operators of vehicles that are exposed and not enclosed within a vehicle cab. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a leg protector that is strategically positioned to cover forward facing portions of a wearer's leg while being easily removed from the wearer's leg.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Certain transportation devices including self-propelled bicycles or motorized vehicles such as motorcycles, mopeds, scooters, snowmobiles, and all-terrain vehicles are “open type” vehicles in which the rider is exposed to the elements and wind from the moving vehicle. Depending upon temperature and speed of operation, the lack of wind protection often requires that the rider wear specialized rid...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]The present invention is directed to a leg protector having a flexible body including a knee portion, a shaped shin protector and at least one adjustable strap. The leg protector can further comprise a thigh portion including its own adjustable strap. The leg protector is sized to fold over the wearer's leg to cover the front side of the wearer's leg while leaving the backside of the wearer's leg exposed. Unlike conventional gaiters and half chaps that effectively operate as a second pant leg positioned over the pants, the adjustable strap of the insulated leg protector extends across the rear side of the wearer's leg to retain the leg protector without fully covering the backside of the wearer's leg. The arrangement allows the leg protector to be quickly put on by the wearer by draping the leg protector over the wearer's leg and secured with the adjustable strap. Similarly, the leg protector can also be removed by simply undoing the adjustable strap. The leg protector can include a liner or padding to provide to insulate the wearer's leg in a cold environment. In some embodiments, the leg protector can include one or more pockets for storing items such as, for example, money, driver's license, credit cards, notes and the like. In some embodiment, the one or more pockets could include a transparent portion, thereby allowing a light or reflector to be placed into the pocket to increase visibility of wearer at night. The leg protector can be rollable into a storage disposition, wherein the adjustable strap retains the leg protector in a rolled state for storage.

[0009]In certain embodiments, the bottom end of the shin portion can be flared to overlap with the wearer's footwear. Collectively, the knee portion and the shin portion substantially cover the front portion of wearer's leg from the knee to the foot to protect the portions of the wearer's leg that faces forward when the wearer is seated. As the thigh portion of the wearer's leg is substantially horizontal when the wearer is seated, the leg protector does not cover the wearer's thigh as that portion of the wearer's leg is generally not aligned with the path of the wind travelling past the wearer's leg as the vehicle is moving forward. The strategic portions of the wearer's leg protected by the leg protector minimizes the amount of material used to protect the most exposed portions of the wearer's leg, thereby allowing the leg protector to be efficiently stored when not in use. In addition, the knee portion and the shin portion cooperated to provide increased flexibility and mobility to the wearer as compared to currently available chaps and gaiters.

[0010]In certain embodiments, the leg protector can further comprise an outer environmental or wind deflecting layer and an inner comfort or insulating layer. The outer wind deflecting layer can comprise leather, synthetic leather, synthetic woven material, soft shell material or other conventional material capable of preventing wind from penetrating through the wind deflecting layer. Similarly, the inner layer can comprise can comprise fleece, non-woven material, woven material, THINSULATE or other insulating material. In certain embodiments, the deflecting layer and the insulating layer can comprise flexible materials allowing the leg protector to be tightly rolled to allow the leg protector to be more efficiently stored. The leg protector can include one or more pockets for the storage of small items when the leg protector is worn. In some embodiments, the inner insulating layer can be removable such that the insulating effect is minimized when temperatures are highest, for example, during summer months and when the insulating effect is not desired.

Problems solved by technology

Depending upon temperature and speed of operation, the lack of wind protection often requires that the rider wear specialized riding clothing designed to prevent chilling of the rider from the wind generated by the moving vehicle.

While riding clothing offers a number of advantages, there are a number of inconveniences presented by current riding clothing that can cause riders to avoid using such clothing for trips having a short duration such as running errands or short commutes to work and the like.

One disadvantage associated with currently available riding clothing involves the materials and methods used in constructing rider clothing.

Generally, conventional riding clothing is constructed of leather or tightly woven synthetic material that typically cannot be significantly stretched, and therefore restricts the wearer's movements.

In addition, riding clothing is often form fitting to reduce air resistance created by the clothing.

The tight fit of the riding clothing combined with the relatively inflexible material used in riding clothing can significantly limit the wearer's freedom of movement.

Another drawback of presently available riding clothing is the difficulty associated with putting on and taking off riding clothing.

However, the simple act of putting on and removing tight fitting riding clothing can frustrate a rider if they must change between riding clothing and work / recreational clothing at least twice a day for work commutes or even more often when running errands around the home.

Not only can putting on and taking off riding clothing be time consuming, many open-type vehicles have very limited or no storage space for riding clothing.

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