Patent Application
20210227905
The present invention relates generally to a wearable heat shielding sleeve designed to be worn around the calf area of a motorcycle user's leg and intended to protect the user from burns associated with motorcycle exhaust pipes.
Motorcycle exhaust pipe burns are a global issue insofar as riders and passengers of motorcycles regularly experience this health issue when using motorcycles. Specifically, when users sit on a motorcycle and place their feet on the foot pegs, the exhaust pipe—the pipe which routes combustion gases away from users—is generally located immediately behind users' right calf. Due to the close proximity between a user's leg and a motorcycle's exhaust pipe, it is a commonplace occurrence for a user to accidentally move his/her leg onto the exhaust pipe, causing second degree burns to the exposed skin. Although wearing long pants or heat-resistant clothing may prevent the occurrence or degree of such burns, such apparel may be unappealing in design, uncomfortable or bulky when worn, or inappropriate for the climate of the region. Relevant prior art comprises devices which must be secured to the leg with straps and snaps, rather than with one unitary sleeve that can easily be slipped on and off. As a result, regular use of the relevant prior art is often interrupted and becomes unlikely in light of these disadvantages. Notably, the relevant prior art lacks built-in design features to vent and aerate the encapsulated limb area, resulting in the formation of condensation on the encapsulated area which hinders the gripping capability of the material.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.
The invention provides a wearable heat shielding sleeve that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and that provides for efficient thermal protection of the calf and foot from the heat of a motorcycle exhaust pipe and gas emissions emanating therefrom.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a heat shielding sleeve comprising a sleeve body having a first layer and a second layer, wherein the first layer may be of a substantially polyester elastane material and the second layer may be of a heat resistant polymeric material.
In accordance with the present invention, the first layer comprises a distal end, a proximal end, and a sleeve length separating the proximal and distal ends of the sleeve and defining a limb placement cylindrical channel wherein a user's lower limb, e.g. leg, may be inserted.
In accordance with another feature, the second layer is superimposed and directly coupled to the outer surface of the sleeve, the second layer further having a plurality of raised members radially extending outwardly away from the outer surface and defining raised surfaces spatially offset from the outer surface of the first layer.
In accordance with another feature, the second layer further defines a plurality of perimeter channels spanning around the plurality of raised members and not necessarily enclosed on all sides.
In accordance with the present invention, the exhaust apertures extend through the second layer and thermally vent the user's skin during use.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a heat shielding sleeve, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. For example, while its perceived most advantageous application is for motorcycle users, it may be effective for other applications, e.g., go-carts. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention.
Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims. As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one of ordinary skill in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting; but rather, to provide an understandable description of the invention. While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward. The figures of the drawings are not drawn to scale.
Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. The terms “a” or “an,” as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term “plurality,” as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term “another,” as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having,” as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term “coupled,” as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. The term “providing” is defined herein in its broadest sense, e.g., bringing/coming into physical existence, making available, and/or supplying to someone or something, in whole or in multiple parts at once or over a period of time. Also, for purposes of description herein, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left,” “rear,” “right,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof relate to the invention as oriented in the figures and is not to be construed as limiting any feature to be a particular orientation, as said orientation may be changed based on the user's perspective of the device. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description.
As used herein, the terms “about” or “approximately” apply to all numeric values, whether or not explicitly indicated. These terms generally refer to a range of numbers that one of skill in the art would consider equivalent to the recited values (i.e., having the same function or result). In many instances these terms may include numbers that are rounded to the nearest significant figure. In this document, the term “longitudinal” should be understood to mean in a direction corresponding to an elongated direction of the cantilevered handle member.
The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views and which together with the detailed description below are incorporated in and form part of the specification, serve to further illustrate various embodiments and explain various principles and advantages all in accordance with the present invention.
While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward. It is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms.
The present invention provides a novel and efficient way of protecting users from the sting and pain of motorcycle exhaust pipe burns. As best seen in
The heat shielding sleeve 100 comprises a first layer 104 with a distal end 108, wherein distal represents a location or physical disposition facing downward, a proximal end 110, wherein proximal represents a location or physical disposition facing upward, opposing the distal end 108, and a sleeve length 112 separating the distal and proximal ends 108, 110 of the sleeve first layer 104.
The sleeve length 112 may range approximately 12-36 inches in one embodiment, but may be another length outside of said range in other embodiments. The first layer 112 includes an inner surface 114 enclosing and defining a limb placement cylindrical channel 118 and an outer surface 120 opposing the inner surface 114 of the first layer 104, and of an elastically deformable material, e.g., a polyester elastane material.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and as best seen in
The first layer 104 may be formed as a unitary and enclosed material defining the limb placement channel 118, whereby a user applies a tensile force laterally to expand the first layer 104 and the user's limb is inserted within the limb placement channel 118. The tensile force may then be released, and the first layer 104 will be frictionally and/or compressively retained on the user's limb with compressional forces exerted by the elastic nature of the material of the first layer 104. In this embodiment of the invention, the proximal end 110, which may define a proximal opening, is approximately four inches in diameter and the first layer 104 is approximately 0.04 inches thick. The distal end 108 may also define a proximal opening that may be substantially the same diameter as the proximal opening. In a preferred embodiment, when desired for use on a limb where one portion is larger in diameter than another, the distal opening may be sized smaller than the proximal opening. As such, the user may slide the sleeve onto his or her limb through the distal and proximal openings.
In other embodiments, the first layer 104 may be opened and closed longitudinally to expose and access the limb placement channel 118 by the user through use of a fastener, e.g., Velcro. When opened, the user would then place their limb within the limb placement channel 118, whereby the user would then close the first layer 104 with the fastener to retain the heat shielding sleeve 100 on the user's limb.
Beneficially, the heat shielding sleeve 100 includes a second layer 106 of a thermally insulating material, e.g., silicone, superimposed on the first layer 104, wherein the second layer 106 has a low thermal conductivity, e.g., 0.02-0.1 (W/(m×K)). The second layer 106 comprises an inner surface 122 superimposed and directly coupled to the outer surface 120 of the first layer 104 and an outer surface 124 opposing the inner surface 122 of the second layer 106. The second layer 106 may be coupled to the first layer 104 using, for example, an adhesive or other comparable bonding or coupling agent.
The second layer 106 further comprises a plurality of raised members 126a-n (wherein “n” represents any number greater than one) radially, wherein radially represents a distance spanning around the outside radius of the second layer 106, extending outwardly away from the outer surface 120. The plurality of raised members 126a-n each include respective raised surfaces 128a-n spatially offset from the outer surface 120 of the first layer 104 of the sleeve body 102. defining a plurality of perimeter channels 130a-n (wherein “n” represents any number greater than one). The raised members 126a-n are spatially offset from the first layer 104, and ultimately from the user's limb, to shield the user from a heat source, e.g., an exhaust pipe from a motorcycle or convectional air or heat generated from the exhaust pipe.
In one embodiment, the second layer 106 is of a heat resistant polymeric material spanning longitudinally at least 50% of the sleeve length 112. In another embodiment, the second layer 106 is of a heat resistant polymeric material spanning longitudinally at least 90% of the sleeve length 112. Further, the second layer 106 may span circumferentially around at least 50% of a circumference of the first layer 104. In other embodiments, the second layer 106 may span circumferentially around at least 70-80% of a circumference of the first layer 104 so as to sufficiently cover the circumference of the first layer 104.
In an exemplary embodiment, the plurality of raised members 126a-n have an approximate thickness of 0.10 inches and are defined by an arrangement of alternating polygonal shapes, e.g., hexagonal shapes, creating a “honeycomb” textured arrangement. In other embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of raised members 126a-n may be of a variety of polygonal shapes or forms. The raised members 126a-n may be comprised of a thermally insulating material, e.g., silicone or another substantially insulating material, defined by a low thermal conductivity, e.g., 0.02-0.1 (W/(m×K)).
The perimeter channels 130a-n define the raised members 126a-n and span alongside the outer length of the raised members 126a-n but may be enclosed on any number of sides by the raised members 126a-n. In some embodiments, the perimeter channels 130a-n are defined by two flanking sidewalls of the raised members 126a-n, while in other embodiments the perimeter channels 130a-n are defined by only one sidewall of a raised member 126.
As further seen in
In some embodiments of the present invention, the exhaust apertures 400a-n may be of a potentially uniform diameter and spacing may be disposed between the plurality of raised members 126a-n. In preferred embodiments, over fifty percent (50%) of the area defining the perimeter channels 130a-n includes exhaust apertures 400a-n. In some embodiments, the second layer 106 may cover greater than fifty percent (50%) of the first layer 104, while in other embodiments, the second layer 106 may be disposed in a target area configured for contacting the heat source. In further embodiments, the exhaust apertures 400a-n may also span through the first layer 104, thereby placing the user's skin in fluid communication with an ambient environment. Additionally, the exhaust apertures 400a-n may also span through the plurality of polygonal raised members 126a-n, as well.
As seen best in
