Segmented Protective Garment with Knee Cut-Outs for Motorcyclists
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing protective clothing with inflatable cushions for motorcyclists is cumbersome to put on, often requires replacing regular clothing, and can hinder mobility due to excessive coverage and untimely inflation risks.
Innovation Solution
A protective garment featuring a belt, leg warmers with inflatable cushions strategically positioned around the thighs and calves, a trigger system with sensors, and a design allowing easy donning and doffing over street clothes, ensuring protection without mobility restriction in case of accidental inflation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If protective pants with inflatable cushions are designed to cover a large surface of the user's body to maximize protection, then protection coverage is improved, but mobility is worsened and accidental triggering risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective garment divides the leg protection into separate modular components: leg warmers that can be independently positioned around thighs and calves, rather than a single continuous covering. This segmentation allows protection only where needed while preserving mobility in unprotected areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies protection locally rather than uniformly across the entire leg. Airbags are strategically positioned only at vulnerable areas (thighs and calves) while leaving the knee area unprotected with notches, optimizing the balance between protection and mobility based on local risk assessment.
2Reliability
If airbags are positioned to cover vulnerable areas including the knee, then protection is improved, but mobility is worsened in case of untimely triggering
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the airbag material from the knee area by introducing notches in the intermediate portion of each leg warmer. This removes the potentially harmful element (inflatable cushion at knee level) that would restrict mobility if triggered accidentally, while preserving protection at other vulnerable areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The notches are pre-designed into the garment structure to prevent the harmful effect of knee restriction before it can occur. By anticipating the potential problem of accidental knee bag inflation, the design proactively eliminates this risk through the notch configuration.
3Reliability
If protective garment is designed as a complete outfit replacing original city clothing, then protection is improved, but ease of use is worsened due to difficulty of donning and doffing
Solution Approach 1:
The protective garment is segmented into separate wearable components (leg warmers and belt) that can be independently donned and doffed, rather than a single integrated suit. This allows users to easily put on and remove protection over their regular clothing without complex assembly or disassembly procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The leg warmers are designed to be worn over regular street clothes rather than requiring specialized protective pants. This universal design allows the same garment to function both as everyday clothing and as protective gear, eliminating the need to maintain separate outfits.
4Reliability
If multiple protective strips are positioned to cover extensive body areas, then protection is improved, but time required for donning is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple protective functions into integrated leg warmer units that combine cushioning, airbag inflation capability, and positioning features in single components. This reduces the number of separate items that need to be individually positioned and secured, significantly reducing donning time while maintaining comprehensive protection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The garment provides quick and easy donning, optimized protection for the legs, and minimizes the risk of accidents from untimely inflation, allowing users to retain control and mobility during activities.
Implementation Method 1
The triggering device may comprise a cartridge of compressed air, a supply circuit for the cushions connecting the cushions to the cartridge, and a control unit adapted to control the opening of the cartridge of compressed air.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4c
AI summary
The invention proposes a protective garment comprising: - a waistband (10), suitable for being positioned around the waist of a user (U), - two leg parts (20), each leg part comprising an upper portion (21) intended to be wrapped around a thigh of the user, a lower portion (22) intended to be wrapped around a calf of the user, and an intermediate portion (23) linking the upper and lower portions together, - a plurality of airbags (30), and - a trigger device (40) for inflating the airbags, characterised in that the intermediate portion of each leg part comprises a cut-out that faces the front of the user's knee when the leg part is in position around his or her leg, and in that the upper portion and the lower portion of each leg part each comprise at least one airbag adjacent to the cut-out of the intermediate portion.