Inflatable suit for cyclists

• US 4,059,852 A
• Filed: 05/24/1976
• Issued: 11/29/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Stanley J. Crane
• Original Assignee: Stanley J. Crane
• Inventors: Crane, Stanley J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Schroeder, Werner H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nerbun, Peter
• Application Number:
  US05/689,244
• Time in Patent Office: 554 Days
• Field of Search: 2/2, 2/DIG. 3, 280/730, 280/733, 9/316, 9/319, 9/340
• US Class Current: 2/456
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 13/018 inflatable automatically
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 2600/102 Motorcycling
• CPC Class Codes: B62J 27/20 Airbags specially adapted for motorcycles or the like

Abstract

A protective garment for minimizing impact-caused injury, primarily to the body of a motorcyclist, comprising a body-part-enclosing covering means including an effectively hollow body-part-contoured inflatable bag provided with ingress port means and exterior inflating tube means communicating the ingress port means and pressurized gas supply means and the normally closed ingress valve means relative to fixed portions of a motorcycle for forcible opening actuation of the normally closed ingress valve means upon forced abrupt separation of a motorcyclist'"'"'s body from a motorcycle as a result of an accident, for causing the rapid discharge of compressed gas through the open ingress valve means, inflating tube means, and ingress port means into the inflatable bag whereby to bring about abrupt inflation thereof in a body-protecting manner. In a preferred form, the inflating tube means is provided with controllably manually engageable and disengageable coupling means for allowing selective mounting and dismounting of a motorcyclist relative to a motorcycle without causing forced opening of the ingress valve means and the consequent abrupt inflation of the inflatable bag.

Claims

1. A protective garment for minimizing impact-caused injury to the body of a vehicle rider, the combination of:

a. a suit adapted to be worn by said vehicle rider including an inflatable means which, when inflated will provide impact protection to the vehicle rider;

b. inlet means for introducing gas into said inflatable means;

c. a source of gas under pressure connected to said inlet means;

d. detachable means connected to said source of gas under pressure and to said vehicle, said detachable means including means for permitting separation of said source of gas from said vehicle upon movement of said vehicle rider relative to said vehicle, said source of gas under pressure remaining connected to said inlet means after separation of said source of gas from said vehicle has occurred; and

e. means whereby said valve is opened by said detachable means.

3. A combination as defined in claim 1 in which there are front and rear inlet means, sources of gas under pressure, detachable means, and valves whereby upon movement of the vehicle rider relative to said vehicle either forwardly or rearwardly will open at least one of said valve means whereby gas under pressure will be supplied to said inflatable means.

4. A combination as defined in claim 1 or claim 12 in which said detachable means is provided with controllable manually engageable and disengageable coupling means for allowing selective mounting and dismounting of said vehicle rider from said vehicle without causing said detachable means to be operated or said valve means to be opened.

5. A combination as defined in claim 1 in which said source of gas under pressure consists of a compressed gas receptable having an opening with a valve seated to close said opening whereby the interior of said receptable is in open connection with said inlet means.

2. A protective garment for minimizing impact-caused injury to the body of a vehicle rider, the combination of:

a. a suit adapted to be worn by said vehicle rider including an inflatable means which, when inflated will provide impact protection to the vehicle rider;

b. inlet means for introducing gas into said inflatable means;

c. a source of gas under pressure connected to said inlet means;

d. a valve positioned to control the flow of gas from said source of gas to said inlet; and

e. detachable means connected to said vehicle and said valve said detachable means including means for permitting separation of said valve from said vehicle operable upon movement of the rider relative to said vehicle to open said valve and to detach said valve from said vehicle, said source of gas under pressure and said valve remaining connected to said inlet after separation of said valve from said vehicle.