Patent Application
20090210990
This invention relates in general to wearable protection equipment and more particularly to chainsaw leg protectors or chaps.
Wearable protective equipment has been developed to protect the user in a variety of environments. Depending on the environment and the part of the body requiring protection, the equipment or clothing needs to respond in the appropriate manner. Protective clothing for the leg has typically been designed to protect by using padding and using a variety of materials with appropriate coverage. Prior art protective clothing has been devised to address the some of these issues. For example, Elverskog is the owner of U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,544 which was filed on Apr. 2, 1990 and issued on Mar. 17, 1992. This patent relates to a design of protective chaps to be worn over trousers to protect the user of a chain saw. The chaps are asymmetrical and angled to cover the left side of the user's right leg which is especially susceptible to injury.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,853 was filed on Jul. 1, 1976 and issued on Nov. 15, 1977 to McLane and relates to a legging, for being worn by a person for protection against snake bites as well as bites from other objectionable animals; the leggings including a double mesh, close woven stainless steel, and having a vertical slit along a rear side so as to allow fitting a leg thereinto, the vertical slit being closable by interconnecting strips of resilient hook and loops fastening and straps, the knee portion of the legging having a pad for comfort, and the underside of the legging being open, and including sidewardly crossing straps for passing under a shoe or boot, the forward end of the legging having a rigid, nonpliable toe cap.
Beland is the owner of U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,583 filed on Aug. 29, 2000 and issued on Mar. 17, 2001. This patent relates to an adjustable elbow pad for playing hockey and other similar sporting activities adapted to cover the gap between a protective glove and a shoulder pad and more particularly adapted for use by children in their years of growth. The elbow pad is adjustable in length and diameter to accommodate the increase in size and length of a growing child and also to accommodate varying gaps between protective glove and shoulder pad when one of these two protective equipments is replaced. The adjustable elbow pad comprises an elbow protector and a forearm protector telescopingly joined together, and locking means for locking the forearm protector to the elbow protector at least when worn.
Worden is the owner of U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,034 filed on Jul. 15, 2002 and issued on Oct. 28, 2003. This patent relates to a kneepad which includes a lower leg support adapted to closely engage a lower leg of a user. The lower leg support has an upper portion and a lower portion with the upper portion telescoping with the lower portion to allow the user to adjust the length of the lower leg support. A knee cover conforms to the shape of a knee but is physically separate therefrom. A curved portion connects the lower leg support and the knee cover. A strap is included which is adapted to engage an ankle of a user.
The difficult environment of wild land firefighting however presents challenges that the inventions disclosed in the prior art do not address. Specifically the environment requires very durable leg protectors that can withstand the environment yet are comfortable to wear and easy to maintain, are light weight and can be donned quickly while providing the maximum protection from chainsaw injuries. Furthermore leg protectors should be able to accommodate or store first aid equipment and tools without compromising safety.
Traditionally the adjustability of leg protectors has been achieved by using complicated system of straps and buckles that are not easy to adjust to the desired setting and often require multiple adjustments. Furthermore strings, zippers, Velcro™, metal hook and loops have been used but have presented problems in that they get caught in the environment or tools or get clogged with debris that renders them useless.
Thus protective clothing namely leg protectors for the chainsaw environment which have improved coverage in the clothing to reduce the chance of injury, a design structure that fits ninety-nine percent of the population (one size fits all), and is easy and quick to adjust is desirable.
An object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved design for chainsaw leg protectors.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided chainsaw leg protectors having first and second leg members. Each leg member may be adapted to fit over a leg of a user. Each leg member may have a first portion and a second portion wherein the first portion is elastically and telescopically connected to the second portion.
Conveniently, the first and second portions may elastically and telescopically expand to adjust to the user's height thereby accommodating both men and women and ninety-nine percent of the population.
Preferably, the first and second leg members include protective material to protect the user's leg from injury. Furthermore the chainsaw leg protectors cover the user's leg down to upper foot and ankle and then up to the user's waist.
Advantages of the present invention are: chainsaw leg protectors that are comfortable to wear and light weight, fit up to ninety-nine percent of the population, have a wide range of adjustable lengths and widths, have a streamlined design so as to not catch on obstacles, do not interfere with a chainsaw, protect the user's ankles and upper feet, manufactured from tough protective material to withstand the work environment, includes the ability to store first aid and tools, and constructed in accordance with National Standards.
A detailed description of the preferred embodiment is provided herein below by way of example only and with reference to the following drawings, in which:
In the drawings, preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the purpose of illustration and as an aid to understanding, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.
Referring to
The first portion 16 may elastically and telescopically move to and from the second portion 18 to a maximum of five feet for the total length each leg member 12 and 14. This allows for the leg protectors 10 to fit a wide variety of men and women, namely ninety-nine percent of the population.
The first and second portion 16 and 18 may be further defined as a combination of protective material 20 encased in an outer shell 22. The protective material 20 may be further defined as ballistic nylon 21 encased in an outer shell 22 made out of Cordura™ 23 by way of example only. The protective material 20 or ballistic nylon 21 allows for the protection of the user's leg. More specifically the leg protectors 10 include ballistic nylon 21 from the waist to the bottom of the leg protectors 10 that cover the user's ankles and upper feet. The use of a durable outer shell 22 allows for the leg protectors 10 to be utilized in a wide range of environments while providing protection from a wide variety of elements including but not limited to high heat, inclement weather, dense brush by way of example only. The leg protectors 10 may further include a stretch knee portion 32 located in the knee part of the leg protector 10 that allows the user to bend or kneel in the leg protectors 10 and easily perform a variety of tasks.
The ability for the first portion 16 to elastically and telescopically move to and from the second portion 18 is achieved by the overlapping positioning of the first portion 16 relative the second portion 18 and the connection between the first portion 16 and the second portion 18 using elastic members 24. The elastic members 24 allow for the extension of distance between the first and second portions 16 and 18 up to five feet and then the retraction of the elastic members 24 decreases the distance. The elastic members 24 may be further defined as an elastomeric webbing that can extend and retract. Both the positioning of the first portion 16 relative the second portion 18, and the elastic members 24 allows for the ability of the leg protectors 10 to protectively fit ninety-nine percent of both men and women allowing for a one-size fits all concept.
The leg protectors 10 further comprise a series of adjustable members 26 positioned down the length of each leg member 12 and 14 that allows for secure positioning of the leg members 12 and 14 on each of the user's legs. The adjustable members 26 also ensure that the leg members 12 and 14 are covering the maximum of the user's leg so that the leg protectors 10 are providing maximum protection and coverage. The adjustable members 26 may be further defined as a plastic snap buckle and nylon strap. The leg protectors 10 further include a waist adjustment mechanism 28 so as to accommodate a wide variety of body types. Finally the bottom of the leg members 12 and 14 further include a clip member 40 that secures each leg member 12 and 14 to the user's boot. The clip member 40 may be further described as a lace clip that clips to the laces of the user's boot so as to ensure that there is maximum coverage of the leg protectors 10 over the user's ankles and upper feet.
The leg protectors 10 may further include a series of storage zones 34 and attachment zones 36 that allow the user to store or attach a variety of tools or first aid kit on the leg protectors 10 themselves. The storage zones 34 and the attachment zones 36 as storage compartments and a first aid pouch.
Other variations and modifications of the invention are possible. All such modifications or variations are believed to be within the sphere and scope of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61064261 | Feb 2008 | US |
