MOTORCYCLIST'S SUIT

DESCRIPTION

The present invention refers to a motorcyclist's suit incorporating means for cooling the motorcyclist's body.

During motorcycle competitions or motor vehicle competitive trials, a driver's body is subjected to a great number of stresses, not least those of thermal nature, particularly significant on sunny and/or warm region circuits. Such thermal stresses are considerable and, when not counterbalanced with suitable steps, can compromise the driver's performances, even jeopardizing his/her clearheadedness and therefore his/her safety.

Said problems are also felt, though generally to a lesser extent, in a noncompetitive field.

One of the greatest difficulties in providing a system for cooling the driver's body consists in the fact that the introduction of cooling members into the suit risks to jeopardize the ease of wear, particularly during the competition, and above all the aerodynamic properties of the latter, drawbacks evidently unacceptable in a competitive field. ^λ

Moreover, another problem is the need to select for the active members of the cooling system a location suitable for appropriate heat exchange with the outside.

Hence, the technical problem set and solved by the present invention is that of providing a motorcyclist's suit allowing to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above with reference to the known art.

Such a problem is solved by a motorcyclist's suit according to claim 1 and a cooling system thereof according to claim 36.

Preferred features of the present invention are set forth in the dependent claims thereof.

The present invention provides several relevant advantages. The main advantage lies in the fact that the motorcyclist's suit of the invention allows an effective and substantial cooling of the driver's body.

A further main advantage, associated with the location of the cooling means in correspondence of the substantially hump-like rear aerodynamic appendage of

the suit, consists in the fact that said cooling is obtained without compromising the wearing options and the aerodynamic properties of the suit itself, exploiting dimensions already provided in the latter for the presence just of said aerodynamic appendage. Moreover, the location of the heat exchange means in correspondence of one or both of the driver's shoulders, provided in a preferred embodiment of the invention, allows to exploit the remarkable flow of air concerning this zone during running for the cooling of the means itself, to the advantage of heat exchange effectiveness. Other advantages, features and operation steps of the present invention will be made apparent in the following detailed description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of example and not for limitative purposes. Reference will be made to the figures of the annexed drawings, wherein:

- Figure 1 shows a rear perspective and partially exploded view of a motorcyclist's suit according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

- Figure 2 shows another rear perspective view of the suit of Figure 1 , in an assembled condition;

- Figure 3 shows an exploded and partially sectional side view of part of the cooling system of the suit of Figure 1 ;

- Figure 4 shows a front perspective view of the suit of Figure 1 ;

- Figure 5 shows an exploded perspective view of the cooling system according to a second embodiment thereof; and

- Figures 6A to 6C show respectively a top, bottom and front view of a shaped body, detail of Figure 5.

Referring initially to Figures 1 to 4, a motorcyclist's suit according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is generally denoted by 1.

The suit 1 of the present example is intended for agonistic competitions, and it comprises a rear aerodynamic appendage 10, substantially hump-like and of semirigid type, arranged in correspondence of the driver's back. Such a hump-like configuration is dictated just by aerodynamic considerations.

Said aerodynamic appendage has a convex external shape with a radius of curvature normally ranging from 80 to 190 mm.

Variant embodiments may provide said aerodynamic appendage to have a different location with respect to the above-disclosed one.

Moreover, as already mentioned in the introduction, evidently the suit of the invention may find application also in a non-agonistic field, e.g. touring applications and the like.

In addition, the configuration of the aerodynamic appendage may be different from the one disclosed here, even if the hump-like configuration is specifically suitable for the application of the invention.

According to the invention, the suit 1 comprises a cooling system, generally denoted by 2, to cool the driver's body during running.

The cooling system 2 is made by heat exchange means 3, housed in correspondence of the aerodynamic appendage 10 and connected, via respective ducts 5, to two peripheral cooling members, respectively denoted by 41 and 42.

More in detail, the heat exchange means 3 in turn comprises thermoelectric members, in particular one or more Peltier cells, power-supplied by a battery, preferably of rechargeable type, or by equivalent power-supplying means.

Said thermoelectric members exchange heat with a cooling fluid, in particular water, inlet into a closed circuit that crosses also said peripheral members 41 and 42. The exchange means 3 provide also a pump or equivalent means for determining cooling fluid circulation within said closed circuit.

Lastly, the heat exchange means 3 may provide actuating means, which can be manipulated selectively by the driver or generally by an operator. The components described hereto have not been depicted in the figures, as per se individually known and of operation it also well-known to a person skilled in the art. It will be appreciated that the use of Peltier cells allows reversibility of the system 2, making it suitable to produce, if need be, a heating instead of a cooling of the driver's body.

As shown in greater detail in Figure 3, all components of the above-mentioned heat exchange means 3 are housed in a shaped body 30 constituting part of the appendage 10 itself. In particular, in the present example said appendage 10 comprises a first portion 100 permanently connected to the bodice of the suit 1 and a second portion, removably engageable with the first and constituted by the body 30. The latter is connected or connectible externally to the first portion 100 and contributes to define the general hump-like configuration of the appendage

10. In particular, the body 30 will have a convex external surface with a radius of curvature preferably comprised in a range of 80-190 mm.

To allow said removable connection of the body 30 to the first appendage portion 100, the heat exchange means 3 incorporates just reversible engaging means, which in the present example comprises two quick-release mechanisms, denoted by 61 and 62, respectively, and arranged longitudinally aligned along the body 30. The mechanisms 61 and 62 are apt to engage/disengage each a corresponding mechanism 71 , 72 integral to the suit 1 , and in particular to the first portion 100 of appendage, to allow the connecting/disconnecting of the above-mentioned hydraulic circuit. Said quick-release means is provided with a check valve, so that at disconnection the cooling fluid remains confined into two closed circuits, associated with the body 30 and the portion 100, respectively.

In addition, the reversible engagement between body 30 and portion 100 of the appendage 10 is also made just by a mechanical reversible connecting means, in particular a fastening means which in the present example consists in a bottom tang 63 in turn engageable into a corresponding seat 73 of the appendage portion 100 of the suit 1. The 63 is apt, among other things, to allow a simple removal of the heat exchange means 3 integrally to the body 30.

Moreover, the heat exchange means 3 is further locked onto the bodice of the suit 1 by screws 9 insertable in correspondence of respective seats 91 of the body 30 and of the appendage portion 100 or by equivalent connecting means.

In correspondence of its external portion i.e. that exposed to the environment the body 30 has a heat-exchanging external surface, denoted by 8. The latter has a plurality of members 81 for increasing the useful exchange surface with the environment and therefore for dispersing heat, each projecting from the surface 8 itself and having a substantially hair-shaped configuration.

It will be understood that the arrangement of the heat-exchanging surface 8 allows to exploit the air flow enveloping the driver's body during running.

In order to better exploit the air flows generating during running, it is also possible to make on the suit 1 front air inlets (for simplicity's sake not depicted in the drawings) arranged e.g. at shoulder level, feeding ducts apt to convey said flows in correspondence of the exchanging surface 8.

As it is apparent in Figure 4, in the present example each of the peripheral cooling members 41 and 42 is arranged in correspondence of an anterolateral portion of the torso of the suit-wearing subject, i.e. in correspondence of the latter's chest.

Of course, variant embodiments could provide a different number of peripheral cooling members and/or a different arrangement thereof on different body districts of the driver's body, e.g. in correspondence of the area of armpit, groin, feet, wrists, neck, head or other. Each member 41 , 42 is substantially sac-shaped and comprises a serpentine for exchanging heat with the driver's body, denoted by way of example with 411 for the member 41.

Therefore, according to the preferred embodiment disclosed hereto, the peripheral cooling members 41 , 42 are permanently incorporated into the suit 1 , whereas the heat exchange means 3 is selectively engageable with part of the appendage 10 when required, e.g. under specific testing or competition conditions only.

Variant embodiments may provide also the peripheral cooling members to be removably constrained to the remainder of suit 1.

The ducts 5 may be provided with internal supporting structures, preventing their collapse during typical running-derived stresses.

According to a different preferred embodiment of the invention, the heat exchange means may be arranged in correspondence of one or both shoulders, e.g. in correspondence or in proximity of the protections already provided in this zone.

It will now be better appreciated that the cooling system of the invention is also of reduced dimensions, portable and easily usable during competitions.

In addition, it will be appreciated that the cooling system may be applied also into articles of clothing different from a motorcyclist's suit.

Lastly it will also be understood that the present invention is susceptible of several embodiments and variant embodiments alternative to the hereto-described ones, some of which will briefly be illustrated hereinafter with reference to the sole aspects differentiating them from the hereto-considered embodiments.

Referring to Figure 5, the shaped body 30 may conveniently be made so as not to provide cooling fluid flow therein.

In this case, the cooling system provides the use of supports 6, here two in number, onto which the thermoelectric members 61 , in particular Peltier cells, are housed. The supports 6 allow the connecting of the thermoelectric members with the closed circuit crossing also the peripheral members 41 and 42, only member 41 being integrally reported in figure for simplicity of illustration. Optionally, the supports 6 may also house a pump 7, here however depicted distinct from the

supports 6, in order to define cooling fluid circulation into said closed circuit. Instead, the batteries for power-supplying pumps and Peltier cells, not illustrated in figure, are usually arranged in correspondence of suitable compartments present on the appendage or on the suit itself. Thus, it will be possible to separately make the garment and the cooling system, only subsequently carrying out the assembling thereof.

More precisely, for this purpose, in correspondence of the portion 100 of the appendage 10 there are two ports 101 , each allowing the inserting, and optionally the removing, of a respective peripheral member 41 , 42. The latter are stably connected with the supports 6. Accordingly, there is no risk whatsoever of cooling fluid leaking during garment assembling.

The peripheral members, once into the ports 101, are inserted into suitable pockets of the suit, not illustrated in figure, which allow their housing and are made in correspondence of specific body zones. Therefore, to perform heat exchange with air, the shaped body 30 is applied above the supports 30; accordingly, the former acts as heat exchanger between the Peltier cells and air impinging onto the appendage 10.

In particular, referring to Figures 6A to 6C, the shaped body 30 has a shape similar to the preceding embodiment, however, in this case, it is provided with a plurality of screws 32, fixed along a peripheral frame 33 of the body itself, and a plurality of threaded seats 31.

The supports 6 in turn have a plurality of through holes 62, coincident with said seats 31, so that, through the use of screws, not illustrated in figure, there may be made the connection between shaped body 30 and Peltier cells present on the supports 6.

Therefore, it will thus be possible to easily assemble the cooling system connecting first the supports 6 to the shaped body 30, then inserting the peripheral members into the ports 101 and lastly fastening the shaped body 30 to the portion 100 of the appendage 10, thereby completing the making of the motorcyclist's suit according to the present invention.

To carry out this last step, the screws 32 couple with respective holes 102 made on the portion 100 of appendage 10.

Hence, it will be appreciated that in this embodiment the heat acquired by the Peltier cells is transferred to air by means of the body 30.

In short, this way on the one hand heat exchange is performed between the Peltier cells and the cooling fluid, which thus is cooled; on the other hand, the Peltier cells transfer heat to the body 30 that, in turn, dissipates it into contact with outside air. Thus, the entire cooling fluid circulation system being sealed, absence of cooling fluid leaks will be ensured; concomitantly, said system could be assembled simply, given the modularity of the members constituting the present invention.

The present invention has been hereto described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof. It is understood that other embodiments might exist, all comprised within the protective scope of the claims hereinafter.