Claims:WE CLAIM
1. A hand guard (100) for a vehicle (10), the hand guard (100) comprising: a guard member (110) mounted on a handlebar (16) of the vehicle (10); and a cover (120) for slideably receiving the guard member (110) and being detachably attached to the guard member (110), such that the cover (120) covers at least a portion of a hand (50) of a rider when the rider grips the handlebar (16) of the vehicle (10).

2. The hand guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guard member (110) is elbow shaped.

3. The hand guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guard member (100) is mounted on an end (16a) of the handlebar (16).

4. The hand guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guard member (110) extends in front of the vehicle in a vehicle front rear direction (F-R) and bends laterally towards a headlamp (12) of the vehicle (10).

5. The hand guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover (120) covers at least the knuckles of the rider when the rider grips the handlebar (16) of the vehicle (10).

6. The hand guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover (120) comprises a lead-in (124) for slideably receiving the guard member (110).

7. The hand guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guard member (110) comprises a groove (114) on an internal wall, the groove (114) receives at least a portion of the cover (120) when the guard member (110) is slideably received by the cover (120).

8. The hand guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover (120) comprises a mounting hole (122).

9. The hand guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guard member (110) comprises a mounting aperture (112) which aligns with the mounting hole (122) of the cover thereby receiving fixating means inside the mounting aperture (112) and the mounting hole (122) for the detachable attachment of the cover (120) on the guard member (110).

10. The hand guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover (120) comprises at least a turn signal light, or a puddle light or a hazard light.
, Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The present invention generally relates to a hand guard, more specifically, it relates to a knuckle guard for a motor vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] Vehicles like two-wheeler motorcycles and scooters, jet skis, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) have an exposed handlebar. Thus, in event of a crash, collision or any impact, hands of a rider riding such a vehicle are most vulnerable since they are first receivers of the impact. During such an event, even if rest of the body of the rider is unhurt, having bruised or broken hands renders the rider entirely helpless.
[003] In order to protect the hands of the rider, especially knuckles, vehicle manufacturers developed specially designed hand/ knuckle guards. These hand guards are configured to be mounted on the handlebars in a way that they cover the hands of the rider when the rider grips the handlebar. In this regard, the rider’s hands always stay protected.
[004] Although the development of the hand guards in itself has proved to be a boon, however, there have been several problems when it comes to installation, assembly and disassembly of the hand guards. This is because on one hand the hand guards need to be sturdy to absorb an impact, but on the other hand the hand guards also have to be light in weight since heavy hand guards may directly affect vehicle maneuverability. Hence, present-day handguards generally have two pieces, whereby one piece, generally heavy and being C-shaped, is mounted on the handlebar in order to absorb impacts and other piece, being a cover for the hand, is attached on the C-shaped piece. However, this configuration in general is difficult to assemble. It gets even more difficult to install the hand guard on the handlebar after assembly. Further, in case of an accident whereby the hand guard requires changing, disassembly of the hand guard is yet another challenge. That said, overall serviceability of the present-day hand guards also is difficult.
[005] Thus, there is a need in the art for a hand guard which addresses at least the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[006] The present invention is directed to a hand guard for a vehicle. The hand guard includes a guard member mounted on a handlebar of the vehicle; and a cover for slideably receiving the guard member and being detachably attached to the guard member, such that the cover covers at least a portion of a hand of a rider when the rider grips the handlebar of the vehicle.
[007] In an embodiment, the guard member is mounted on an end of the handlebar. In yet another embodiment, the guard member is elbow shaped.
[008] In a further embodiment, the guard member extends in front of the vehicle in a vehicle front rear direction and bends laterally towards a headlamp of the vehicle.
[009] In an embodiment of the invention, the cover covers at least the knuckles of the rider when the rider grips the handlebar of the vehicle.
[010] In a further embodiment, the cover includes a lead-in for slideably receiving the guard member.
[011] In an embodiment of the invention, the guard member includes a groove on an internal wall, the groove receives at least a portion of the cover when the guard member is slideably received by the cover.
[012] In yet another embodiment, the cover includes a mounting hole. In a further embodiment, the guard member includes a mounting aperture which aligns with the mounting hole of the cover thereby receiving fixating means inside the mounting aperture and the mounting hole for the detachable attachment of the cover on the guard member.
[013] In an embodiment of the invention, the cover includes at least a turn signal light, or a puddle light or a hazard light.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[014] Reference will be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in accompanying figures. These figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in context of these embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.
Figure 1 shows a right-side view of a motor vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 2 shows a hand guard in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 3a shows a front view of an unassembled hand guard in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 3b shows a top view of an unassembled hand guard in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 4 shows a top perspective view of the hand guard disposed on a handlebar of the vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 5 shows a top view of the hand guard disposed on the handlebar of the vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[015] The present invention generally relates to a hand guard, more specifically, it relates to a knuckle guard for a motor vehicle.
[016] Figure 1 illustrates a right-side view of an exemplary saddle-type motor vehicle 10, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. Towards front side in a vehicle front-rear direction (F-R), the vehicle 10 has one or more front suspensions 20 (only one shown) connected to a front wheel 24 which is further connected to a handlebar 16, which forms a steering assembly of the vehicle 10. Towards the front, the vehicle 10 further has a headlight 12, turn signal indicators 18 (only one shown), a speedometer 14, and a front fender 20 disposed above the front wheel 18. The vehicle 10 further has a pair of hand guards 100 (only one shown) mounted on the handlebar 16 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[017] As seen in Figure 1, the vehicle 10 has a seat 36 which is hingedly openable to provide access to a utility box (not shown) disposed beneath the seat 36. Towards rear side in the vehicle front-rear direction (F-R), the vehicle 10 has a rear wheel 28 connected to one or more rear suspensions 30. In addition, the vehicle 10 has a rear fender 32 covering at least a portion of the rear wheel 28 and is positioned upwardly of the rear wheel 28. The vehicle 10 has a rear light assembly 34 disposed towards the rear side. As seen in Figure 1, the vehicle 10 has a floorboard 26 disposed between the handlebar 16 and the seat 36, wherein a rider can operate the vehicle 10 in a seated position by resting his/ her feet on the floorboard 26.
[018] The vehicle 10 further includes an internal combustion (IC) engine 40, plurality of electrical and electronic components including a transistor-controlled ignition (TCI) unit (not shown), an alternator (not shown), a starter motor (not shown).
[019] Referring now to Figure 2, the present invention discloses a hand guard 100 for protecting the hand 50 of a rider. According to the invention, the hand guard 100 has a guard member 110 and a cover 120. The guard member 110 is mounted on the handlebar 16 of the vehicle 10. Further, the cover 120 slideably receives the guard member 110 and is thus detachable attached to the guard member 110. In this regard, the cover 120 covers at least a portion of the hand 50 of the rider when the rider grips the handlebar 16 of the vehicle 10.
[020] Referring to Figures 3a and 3b, in an embodiment of the invention, the guard member 110 is elbow shaped. In another embodiment of the invention, the guard and as seen in Figures 4 and 5, the guard member 110 is mounted on an end 16a of the handlebar 16. In this regard, the guard member 110 extends in front of the vehicle 10 in the vehicle front-rear direction F-R and bends laterally towards the headlamp 12 of the vehicle 10. In another embodiment, the guard member 110 is mounted proximal to the headlamp 12 of the vehicle 12. Thus, the guard member 110 extends in front of the vehicle 10 in the vehicle front-rear direction F-R and bends laterally away from the headlamp 12 of the vehicle 10.
[021] Referring yet to Figure 4, in an embodiment of the invention the cover 120 covers at least the knuckles of the rider when the rider grips the handlebar 16 of the vehicle 10. As shown in Figure 3a, in an embodiment of the invention the cover 120 has a lead-in 124. According to the invention, the lead-in thus slideably receives the guard member 110. Accordingly, as seen in Figure 3b, in an embodiment of the invention the guard member 110 has a groove 114 on an internal wall. In this regard, the groove 114 receives at least a portion of the cover 120 when the guard member 110 is slideably received by the cover 120.
[022] Once the guard member 110 is slideably received in the cover 120, the guard member 110 and the cover 120 are detachably attached to each other. For this detachable attachment of the guard member 110 and the cover 120, in an embodiment, as shown in Figure 3a, the cover has a mounting hole 122. Similarly, as seen in Figure 3a, in the same embodiment, the guard member 110 also has a mounting aperture 112. Accordingly, the mounting hole 122 is aligned with the mounting aperture 112, which then receive fixating means for the detachable attachment of the cover 120 on the guard member 110. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the cover 120 includes at least a turn signal light, or a puddle light or a hazard light.
[023] Advantageously, due to a single point mounting of the hand guard on the handlebar of the vehicle, installing the hand guard becomes an easy task. Further, since the guard member is slideably received by the cover, in case the cover is damaged due to a collision or an accident, replacing the cover is also an easy task, whereby the user may only detach the cover from the guard member and slide a new cover on the guard member and detachably attach the new cover on the guard member. Furthermore, since the groove supports the cover from one end, number of fasteners required to restrict independent movement of the cover is substantially reduced, i.e. only one fastener is required to restrict the independent movement of the cover. Further still, since the hand guard pf the present invention is mounted at single point on the handlebar, this reduces overall part count and consequently manufacturing cost. Additionally, the hand guard of the present invention also offers easy serviceability, assembly and disassembly.
[024] While the present invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.