CA2221788A1 - Light-weight shoulder pads - Google Patents
Light-weight shoulder pads Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2221788A1 CA2221788A1 CA002221788A CA2221788A CA2221788A1 CA 2221788 A1 CA2221788 A1 CA 2221788A1 CA 002221788 A CA002221788 A CA 002221788A CA 2221788 A CA2221788 A CA 2221788A CA 2221788 A1 CA2221788 A1 CA 2221788A1
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- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- garment
- stiffener
- wearer
- bands
- shoulder
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B71/00—Games or sports accessories not covered in groups A63B1/00 - A63B69/00
- A63B71/08—Body-protectors for players or sportsmen, i.e. body-protecting accessories affording protection of body parts against blows or collisions
- A63B71/12—Body-protectors for players or sportsmen, i.e. body-protecting accessories affording protection of body parts against blows or collisions for the body or the legs, e.g. for the shoulders
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B71/00—Games or sports accessories not covered in groups A63B1/00 - A63B69/00
- A63B71/08—Body-protectors for players or sportsmen, i.e. body-protecting accessories affording protection of body parts against blows or collisions
- A63B71/12—Body-protectors for players or sportsmen, i.e. body-protecting accessories affording protection of body parts against blows or collisions for the body or the legs, e.g. for the shoulders
- A63B2071/1208—Body-protectors for players or sportsmen, i.e. body-protecting accessories affording protection of body parts against blows or collisions for the body or the legs, e.g. for the shoulders for the breast and the abdomen, e.g. breast plates
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B2102/00—Application of clubs, bats, rackets or the like to the sporting activity ; particular sports involving the use of balls and clubs, bats, rackets, or the like
- A63B2102/22—Field hockey
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B2243/00—Specific ball sports not provided for in A63B2102/00 - A63B2102/38
- A63B2243/0066—Rugby; American football
- A63B2243/007—American football
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- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
- Professional, Industrial, Or Sporting Protective Garments (AREA)
Abstract
A padded protective garment to be worn on the upper body of a user comprises a number of padded panels for positioning against the chest and back regions to cover the shoulders and a major part of the rib cage of the wearer. The garment also includes an external shell comprising generally vertically extending stiffener bands provided in laterally spaced pairs for overlying portions of the front and rear padded sections. The stiffener bands at their upper ends are connected to shoulder arches and are fabricated from a stiffly flexible material so as to be able to attenuate localized impact forces and distribute such forces to an enlarged region of the underlying padding layers.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
a) Field of the Invention This invention relates to a new or improved protective garment to be worn on the upper body of a user to provide a measure of protection against blows to the shoulders and the torso. The invention is particularly although not exclusively concerned with the provision of the kind of protective garment that is commonly referred to as "shoulder pads" as used for ice hockey and other contactsports.
b! Description of the Prior Art The participants in contact sports, and in particular in ice hockey, are subjected to frequent blows not just from the bodies of opposing players, but also from contact, for example, with rink boards, goal posts, sticks, pucks, skates, and the ice surface. Numerous protection systems of shoulder pads have been proposed in the past and are available on the market.
Unfortunately, maximizing the protective properties of such systems necessarily entails restriction in the freedom of movement of the arms, neck andtorso of the player, so that a compromise has to be reached between the amount of protection afforded by a protective garment and the restriction which the garment imposes upon the freedom of movement of the wearer. Generally, more skilful and 20 experienced ice hockey players tend to favour garments which maximize the player's freedom of movement while still providing some degree of protection, whereas amateur and younger players require equipment which maximizes the degree of protection without excessively limiting their freedom of movement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aim of the present invention is to provide a protective garment which will provide the wearer with a substantial amount of protection from impacts, while not excessively restricting the wearer's freedom of movement.
The invention accordingly provides a padded protective garment to be worn on a person's upper body, comprising an absorption structure to be positioned 30 adjacent the body and an external shell disposed outwardly on said absorptionstructure, said absorption structure comprising: a front section, a rear section and a shouider section each comprising layers of padding for overlying the chest, backand shoulder regions respectively of the wearer, said front and rear sections covering a major part of the rib cage of the wearer in said regions from the shouiders downwardly; said external shell comprising pairs of laterally spaced vertically elongated stiffener bands overlying said front and rear sections respectively, said stiffener bands having a length sufficient to extend over most of the height of the wearer's rib cage; a shoulder arch on each side of the garmentinterconnecting the upper ends of a front and a rear stiffness, each said shoulder arch having parts extending laterally over the clavicle region at the front and back;
10 said stiffener bands and said shoulder arches being of a stifffly flexible material that has a stiffness that is high relative to that of the corresponding garment section so as to be capable of attenuating a localized impact force applied thereto and distributing such force to an enlarged region of the underlying layers of padding;
and said garment including attachments between said padding layers and said external shell for retaining the latter in position with respect to said absorption structure, and fastening elements thereon that are adjustable for interconnecting said sections of the garment in fitting relationship to the upper body of the wearer.
Elements of the external shell are preferably fabricated in a light weight high density plastic material such as polyethylene. The elements may be fabricated conveniently by moulding from thermoplastic sheeting of a thickness 2,5 mm. The absorption structure preferably comprises a high density closed cellplastic foam covered by a mesh material such as polyester fabric providing a front and back lining. The foam may be of dual density in selected regions to provide increased protection.
The stiffener bands and shoulder arches of the external shell are preferably formed with an outwardly convex transverse profile and rounded marginal surfaces where they contact the absorption structure. With this arrangement impact encountered by the outwardly spaced convex portions and are attenuated and widely distributed to the absorption structure by the rounded margins of the parts.
Severe impacts will tend to flatten the convex profile of the stiffener band and thus increase the area of the latter that is pressed against the padded absorption CA 0222l788 l997-ll-l9 structure.
Preferably the upper ends of the stiffener bands are pivotally attached to the shoulder arches and the lower ends of the stiffener bands are attached to the absorption structure so that the external shell is anchored to the latter. The shoulder arches may also be formed with transversely convex profiles to increasetheir effective stiffness and resistance to impact loads in the same manner as the stiffener band.
Stiff padded convex shoulder caps can be attached to the garment to partially cover the shoulder arches and extend laterally outwardly therefrom. A
10 convex bicep or upper arm pad is suspended from the outer edge of the shoulder arch by an adjustable strap.
The invention also provides a padded protective garment to be worn on a person's upper body, comprising: a front section and a rear section comprising layers of padding for overlying the chest and back regions respectively of the wearer and covering a major part of the rib cage of the wearer in said regions from the shoulders downwardly; fastening elements on said garment, said fastening elements being adjustable for interconnecting said sections of the garment in fitting relationship to the upper body of the wearer; a pair of laterally spaced vertically elongated stiffener bands overlying at least one of said front and rear sections; said stiffener bands having a length sufficient to extend over most of the height of the wearer's rib cage; said stiffener bands being of a stifffly flexible material that has a stiffness that is high relative to that of the correspondinggarment section so as to be capable of attenuating a localized impact force applied thereto and distributing such force to an enlarged region of the underlying layers of padding; and said garment including attachments for retaining said stiffener bands in position with respect to said padding layers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will further be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is an elevation shown in the front of a padded protective garment in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention that comprises CA 0222l788 l997-ll-l9 a set of shoulder pads for an ice hockey player;
Figure 1A is a fragmentary sectional view to a larger scale taken on the line 1A-1A in Figure 1;
Figure 1B is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the garment of Figure 1;
Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the shoulder pads of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a front elevation of the shoulder pads of Figure 1 modified by the addition of further protective padding;
Figure 4 is a rear elevation corresponding to Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a plan view of the shoulder pads of Figure 3;
Figure 6 is a partial side perspective view showing the shoulder pads of Figure 3 as worn;
Figure 7 is a side view of the shoulder pads in use;
Figures 8 and 9 are fragmentary perspective views illustrating details;
and Figure 10 is a somewhat schematic view from the front showing the shoulder pads of Figure 1 positioned in relation to the torso of a wearer.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the shoulder pads 11 shown therein comprises on the front left and right sides chest protector pads 12, 13 of wide vertically elongated form, these pads being sized to cover the left and right sides of the wearer's chest from the shoulder region down as far as the bottom of the ribcage, the pads 12 and 13 having on their inner sides confronting edges 14 and 15which curve convexly towards each other in the sternum region and curve concavely away from each other in the lower region as clearly seen in Figure 1.
The outer edges 16, 17 of the pads 12 and 13 generally follow the curvature of the respective inner edges. On the rear the shoulder pads include left and right back protector pads 18, 19, these being shaped somewhat similarly to the chest pads 12 and 13 but having confronting inner edges 20, 21 that are somewhat more closely 30 spaced, and having lateral shoulder extensions 22, 23 at their upper ends andlateral side extensions 24, 25 at their lower ends. As shown in Figures 5 and 8, the CA 0222l788 l997-ll-l9 upper ends of the chest and back pads are interconnected through respective leftand right side shoulder arch pads 26, 27 to which they are pivotally attached. The various pads can be of any suitable composition to provide the degree of cushioning and protection that is desired. Typically the pads comprise a closed cell foam of ethylene vinyl acetate of a thickness 6,5 mm covered by mesh outer layers of a woven synthetic material such as polyester. The dimensions of the pads are such as to provide cushioning material covering vulnerable areas of the wearer'storso, without unduly restricting the freedom of movement of the wearer's body, head or arms.
Superimposed on the arrangement of pads as described above is an external shell of strong relatively stiff material to provide added protection in selected regions of the garment to resist impacts from foreign objects. Thus a vertically elongated stiffening band 28, 29 overlies the respective left and right side chest pads 12 and 13, identical stiffening bands 28, 29 overlying the right and left back protectors 19 and 18 respectively. The bands 28, 29 are mirror images thereof as will be evident from Figure 1 and each comprises an upper part 30 which curves convexly towards the middle as seen in Figure 1 and lower parts 31 which diverges downwardly and is curved convexly outwardly.
The stiffening bands have a width of approximately 40 mm and as seen in Figure 1A have a transverse profile in which the major central part of the band is convexly curved outwardly away from the underlying pad to a height of about 7,5 mm, and marginal areas that are curved convexly towards the underlyingpad. The bands as shown are fabricated from thermoplastic sheeting having a thickness of 2,5 mm. As best seen in Figures 2, 4, 5 and 8, the external shell also includes left and right side shoulder arches 34, 35 which overlie the corresponding shoulder arch pads 26 and 27. As with the bands 28, 29, the shoulder arches 34, 35 are similarly moulded from thermoplastic sheeting, and each includes on its front and rear sides a laterally outwardly extending projection 37, 38 (rear) and 37a, 38a (front) to provide protection to the clavicles and shoulder blades of the wearer. As 30 with the bands 28, 29, the shoulder arches 34, 35 are formed front and rear with moulded stiffening ribs 39 which extend in the lateral direction thereof and project convexly outwardly.
The shoulder arch pads 26, 27 provide in known manner a mounting attachment for a strap 40 which attaches a shoulder cap pad 41 of known design to extend laterally outwardly over the shoulder of the wearer, the strap 40 extending beneath the respective shoulder arch 34, 35 as seen in Figure 5.
As seen in Figure 9, the shoulder arch 34 includes a slot 42 through which is threaded a strap 44 which attaches a padded bicep pad 45 designed to protect the bicep and outer portion of the upper arm of the wearer. A like pad 45 is similarly mounted on the opposite shoulder arch. A hook and pile fastening 10 arrangement 46 such as VelcroTM provided on the looped strap enables verticaladjustment of the bicep pad 45, the pad in known manner including an elasticizedstrap loop 47 to position it in relation to the wearer's arm.
The various parts of the shoulder pads are interconnected by an arrangement of adjustable fasteners to secure them together and to enable them to be fitted snugly to the body of the wearer. Thus a lower elasticized woven fabric strap 50 is passed through belt loops across the lower ends of the back pads 18 and 19, extends forwardly at the sides to the respective front pads 12 and 13. As best shown in Figure 1 B, one end of the strap is stitched as at 48 to the front pad 12 this end forming a looped eye 49. The strap 50 through slots 51 near the lower ends of the stiffening band 28 and from there the strap 50 extending all around like a belt passing successively over and between the right front pad 12, the left and right back pads 18, 19 and the front pad 13.
As seen in Figure 1 B the opposite end of the strap 50 is threaded through a series of slots in a fastener plate 52, the projecting end 50a of the strap 50 being adjustable through the fastener plate 52. The fastener plate 52 is formed with a downwardly projecting rigid elongate hook 59 which is insertable into the eye 49 formed at the first end of the belt. Belt loops 50b are positioned around thepads 12, 13, 18 and 19 to guide the belt 50.
An upper adjustable strap arrangement 42 interconnects the upper 30 regions of the front pads 12 and 13. Specifically, the strap arrangement 42 has opposite ends anchored in slots 42a in the stiffening bands 28, 29, the two parts CA 0222l788 l997-ll-l9 being interconnected by an adjustable fastener arrangement 42b which is similar to that employed by the lower strap 50.
A rear upper strap 53 extends between slots 54 on the inboard ends of the shoulder arches 34, 35. A lower rear strap 55 extends between slots 56 inconfronting portions of the stiffening bands 28, 29. The straps 53 and 55 may include hook and pile fastenings for adjusting the lengths thereof when the garment is being fitted to the wearer's body.
As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the garment may include additional padding in the form of a sternum pad 57 and a spinal pad 58. As seen in Figure 5, 10 these pads lie against the inner sides and overlap the edges of the chest and back protector pads 12, 13, 18 and 19 and provide an additional measure of padding inthese regions, albeit at the cost of some loss in the freedom of movement of thewearer. These pads 57, 58 are of similar construction and fabrication to the other pads.
Figure 10 provides an illustration of how the shoulder pads of Figure 1 match the skeletal structure of the wearer. In particular, the left side of Figure 10 shows how the stiffening bands 28, 29 are matched to the rib cage of the wearer and provide lightweight but effective protection for the ribs. Similarly this figure shows how the shoulder arch 35 provides protection for the clavicle of the wearer.
Thus the elongate relatively narrow stiffening bands 28, 29 extend along critical areas of the wearer's body and in their location on the outer side of the full protection pads provide excellent dispersion of impact loads which they are positioned to intercept. For example they can protect the wearer's body against stick impacts as occur in the game of ice hockey through cross-checking.
The improved shoulder pads provide an effective degree of protection while offering very little restriction to the freedom of movement of the wearer. Once the wearer has adjusted the various straps to optimize the positioning of the pads relative to the wearer's body, then the garment can be put on and taken off like a vest requiring only fastening or undoing the two straps at the front. The shoulder 30 pads provide better protection than traditional lightweight shoulder pads while maintaining good ergonomics and aeration.
a) Field of the Invention This invention relates to a new or improved protective garment to be worn on the upper body of a user to provide a measure of protection against blows to the shoulders and the torso. The invention is particularly although not exclusively concerned with the provision of the kind of protective garment that is commonly referred to as "shoulder pads" as used for ice hockey and other contactsports.
b! Description of the Prior Art The participants in contact sports, and in particular in ice hockey, are subjected to frequent blows not just from the bodies of opposing players, but also from contact, for example, with rink boards, goal posts, sticks, pucks, skates, and the ice surface. Numerous protection systems of shoulder pads have been proposed in the past and are available on the market.
Unfortunately, maximizing the protective properties of such systems necessarily entails restriction in the freedom of movement of the arms, neck andtorso of the player, so that a compromise has to be reached between the amount of protection afforded by a protective garment and the restriction which the garment imposes upon the freedom of movement of the wearer. Generally, more skilful and 20 experienced ice hockey players tend to favour garments which maximize the player's freedom of movement while still providing some degree of protection, whereas amateur and younger players require equipment which maximizes the degree of protection without excessively limiting their freedom of movement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aim of the present invention is to provide a protective garment which will provide the wearer with a substantial amount of protection from impacts, while not excessively restricting the wearer's freedom of movement.
The invention accordingly provides a padded protective garment to be worn on a person's upper body, comprising an absorption structure to be positioned 30 adjacent the body and an external shell disposed outwardly on said absorptionstructure, said absorption structure comprising: a front section, a rear section and a shouider section each comprising layers of padding for overlying the chest, backand shoulder regions respectively of the wearer, said front and rear sections covering a major part of the rib cage of the wearer in said regions from the shouiders downwardly; said external shell comprising pairs of laterally spaced vertically elongated stiffener bands overlying said front and rear sections respectively, said stiffener bands having a length sufficient to extend over most of the height of the wearer's rib cage; a shoulder arch on each side of the garmentinterconnecting the upper ends of a front and a rear stiffness, each said shoulder arch having parts extending laterally over the clavicle region at the front and back;
10 said stiffener bands and said shoulder arches being of a stifffly flexible material that has a stiffness that is high relative to that of the corresponding garment section so as to be capable of attenuating a localized impact force applied thereto and distributing such force to an enlarged region of the underlying layers of padding;
and said garment including attachments between said padding layers and said external shell for retaining the latter in position with respect to said absorption structure, and fastening elements thereon that are adjustable for interconnecting said sections of the garment in fitting relationship to the upper body of the wearer.
Elements of the external shell are preferably fabricated in a light weight high density plastic material such as polyethylene. The elements may be fabricated conveniently by moulding from thermoplastic sheeting of a thickness 2,5 mm. The absorption structure preferably comprises a high density closed cellplastic foam covered by a mesh material such as polyester fabric providing a front and back lining. The foam may be of dual density in selected regions to provide increased protection.
The stiffener bands and shoulder arches of the external shell are preferably formed with an outwardly convex transverse profile and rounded marginal surfaces where they contact the absorption structure. With this arrangement impact encountered by the outwardly spaced convex portions and are attenuated and widely distributed to the absorption structure by the rounded margins of the parts.
Severe impacts will tend to flatten the convex profile of the stiffener band and thus increase the area of the latter that is pressed against the padded absorption CA 0222l788 l997-ll-l9 structure.
Preferably the upper ends of the stiffener bands are pivotally attached to the shoulder arches and the lower ends of the stiffener bands are attached to the absorption structure so that the external shell is anchored to the latter. The shoulder arches may also be formed with transversely convex profiles to increasetheir effective stiffness and resistance to impact loads in the same manner as the stiffener band.
Stiff padded convex shoulder caps can be attached to the garment to partially cover the shoulder arches and extend laterally outwardly therefrom. A
10 convex bicep or upper arm pad is suspended from the outer edge of the shoulder arch by an adjustable strap.
The invention also provides a padded protective garment to be worn on a person's upper body, comprising: a front section and a rear section comprising layers of padding for overlying the chest and back regions respectively of the wearer and covering a major part of the rib cage of the wearer in said regions from the shoulders downwardly; fastening elements on said garment, said fastening elements being adjustable for interconnecting said sections of the garment in fitting relationship to the upper body of the wearer; a pair of laterally spaced vertically elongated stiffener bands overlying at least one of said front and rear sections; said stiffener bands having a length sufficient to extend over most of the height of the wearer's rib cage; said stiffener bands being of a stifffly flexible material that has a stiffness that is high relative to that of the correspondinggarment section so as to be capable of attenuating a localized impact force applied thereto and distributing such force to an enlarged region of the underlying layers of padding; and said garment including attachments for retaining said stiffener bands in position with respect to said padding layers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will further be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is an elevation shown in the front of a padded protective garment in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention that comprises CA 0222l788 l997-ll-l9 a set of shoulder pads for an ice hockey player;
Figure 1A is a fragmentary sectional view to a larger scale taken on the line 1A-1A in Figure 1;
Figure 1B is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the garment of Figure 1;
Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the shoulder pads of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a front elevation of the shoulder pads of Figure 1 modified by the addition of further protective padding;
Figure 4 is a rear elevation corresponding to Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a plan view of the shoulder pads of Figure 3;
Figure 6 is a partial side perspective view showing the shoulder pads of Figure 3 as worn;
Figure 7 is a side view of the shoulder pads in use;
Figures 8 and 9 are fragmentary perspective views illustrating details;
and Figure 10 is a somewhat schematic view from the front showing the shoulder pads of Figure 1 positioned in relation to the torso of a wearer.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the shoulder pads 11 shown therein comprises on the front left and right sides chest protector pads 12, 13 of wide vertically elongated form, these pads being sized to cover the left and right sides of the wearer's chest from the shoulder region down as far as the bottom of the ribcage, the pads 12 and 13 having on their inner sides confronting edges 14 and 15which curve convexly towards each other in the sternum region and curve concavely away from each other in the lower region as clearly seen in Figure 1.
The outer edges 16, 17 of the pads 12 and 13 generally follow the curvature of the respective inner edges. On the rear the shoulder pads include left and right back protector pads 18, 19, these being shaped somewhat similarly to the chest pads 12 and 13 but having confronting inner edges 20, 21 that are somewhat more closely 30 spaced, and having lateral shoulder extensions 22, 23 at their upper ends andlateral side extensions 24, 25 at their lower ends. As shown in Figures 5 and 8, the CA 0222l788 l997-ll-l9 upper ends of the chest and back pads are interconnected through respective leftand right side shoulder arch pads 26, 27 to which they are pivotally attached. The various pads can be of any suitable composition to provide the degree of cushioning and protection that is desired. Typically the pads comprise a closed cell foam of ethylene vinyl acetate of a thickness 6,5 mm covered by mesh outer layers of a woven synthetic material such as polyester. The dimensions of the pads are such as to provide cushioning material covering vulnerable areas of the wearer'storso, without unduly restricting the freedom of movement of the wearer's body, head or arms.
Superimposed on the arrangement of pads as described above is an external shell of strong relatively stiff material to provide added protection in selected regions of the garment to resist impacts from foreign objects. Thus a vertically elongated stiffening band 28, 29 overlies the respective left and right side chest pads 12 and 13, identical stiffening bands 28, 29 overlying the right and left back protectors 19 and 18 respectively. The bands 28, 29 are mirror images thereof as will be evident from Figure 1 and each comprises an upper part 30 which curves convexly towards the middle as seen in Figure 1 and lower parts 31 which diverges downwardly and is curved convexly outwardly.
The stiffening bands have a width of approximately 40 mm and as seen in Figure 1A have a transverse profile in which the major central part of the band is convexly curved outwardly away from the underlying pad to a height of about 7,5 mm, and marginal areas that are curved convexly towards the underlyingpad. The bands as shown are fabricated from thermoplastic sheeting having a thickness of 2,5 mm. As best seen in Figures 2, 4, 5 and 8, the external shell also includes left and right side shoulder arches 34, 35 which overlie the corresponding shoulder arch pads 26 and 27. As with the bands 28, 29, the shoulder arches 34, 35 are similarly moulded from thermoplastic sheeting, and each includes on its front and rear sides a laterally outwardly extending projection 37, 38 (rear) and 37a, 38a (front) to provide protection to the clavicles and shoulder blades of the wearer. As 30 with the bands 28, 29, the shoulder arches 34, 35 are formed front and rear with moulded stiffening ribs 39 which extend in the lateral direction thereof and project convexly outwardly.
The shoulder arch pads 26, 27 provide in known manner a mounting attachment for a strap 40 which attaches a shoulder cap pad 41 of known design to extend laterally outwardly over the shoulder of the wearer, the strap 40 extending beneath the respective shoulder arch 34, 35 as seen in Figure 5.
As seen in Figure 9, the shoulder arch 34 includes a slot 42 through which is threaded a strap 44 which attaches a padded bicep pad 45 designed to protect the bicep and outer portion of the upper arm of the wearer. A like pad 45 is similarly mounted on the opposite shoulder arch. A hook and pile fastening 10 arrangement 46 such as VelcroTM provided on the looped strap enables verticaladjustment of the bicep pad 45, the pad in known manner including an elasticizedstrap loop 47 to position it in relation to the wearer's arm.
The various parts of the shoulder pads are interconnected by an arrangement of adjustable fasteners to secure them together and to enable them to be fitted snugly to the body of the wearer. Thus a lower elasticized woven fabric strap 50 is passed through belt loops across the lower ends of the back pads 18 and 19, extends forwardly at the sides to the respective front pads 12 and 13. As best shown in Figure 1 B, one end of the strap is stitched as at 48 to the front pad 12 this end forming a looped eye 49. The strap 50 through slots 51 near the lower ends of the stiffening band 28 and from there the strap 50 extending all around like a belt passing successively over and between the right front pad 12, the left and right back pads 18, 19 and the front pad 13.
As seen in Figure 1 B the opposite end of the strap 50 is threaded through a series of slots in a fastener plate 52, the projecting end 50a of the strap 50 being adjustable through the fastener plate 52. The fastener plate 52 is formed with a downwardly projecting rigid elongate hook 59 which is insertable into the eye 49 formed at the first end of the belt. Belt loops 50b are positioned around thepads 12, 13, 18 and 19 to guide the belt 50.
An upper adjustable strap arrangement 42 interconnects the upper 30 regions of the front pads 12 and 13. Specifically, the strap arrangement 42 has opposite ends anchored in slots 42a in the stiffening bands 28, 29, the two parts CA 0222l788 l997-ll-l9 being interconnected by an adjustable fastener arrangement 42b which is similar to that employed by the lower strap 50.
A rear upper strap 53 extends between slots 54 on the inboard ends of the shoulder arches 34, 35. A lower rear strap 55 extends between slots 56 inconfronting portions of the stiffening bands 28, 29. The straps 53 and 55 may include hook and pile fastenings for adjusting the lengths thereof when the garment is being fitted to the wearer's body.
As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the garment may include additional padding in the form of a sternum pad 57 and a spinal pad 58. As seen in Figure 5, 10 these pads lie against the inner sides and overlap the edges of the chest and back protector pads 12, 13, 18 and 19 and provide an additional measure of padding inthese regions, albeit at the cost of some loss in the freedom of movement of thewearer. These pads 57, 58 are of similar construction and fabrication to the other pads.
Figure 10 provides an illustration of how the shoulder pads of Figure 1 match the skeletal structure of the wearer. In particular, the left side of Figure 10 shows how the stiffening bands 28, 29 are matched to the rib cage of the wearer and provide lightweight but effective protection for the ribs. Similarly this figure shows how the shoulder arch 35 provides protection for the clavicle of the wearer.
Thus the elongate relatively narrow stiffening bands 28, 29 extend along critical areas of the wearer's body and in their location on the outer side of the full protection pads provide excellent dispersion of impact loads which they are positioned to intercept. For example they can protect the wearer's body against stick impacts as occur in the game of ice hockey through cross-checking.
The improved shoulder pads provide an effective degree of protection while offering very little restriction to the freedom of movement of the wearer. Once the wearer has adjusted the various straps to optimize the positioning of the pads relative to the wearer's body, then the garment can be put on and taken off like a vest requiring only fastening or undoing the two straps at the front. The shoulder 30 pads provide better protection than traditional lightweight shoulder pads while maintaining good ergonomics and aeration.
The external shell components are not expensive to manufacture since no injection moulding is necessary, but rather the components can be compressionmoulded from plastic sheeting, since none of the components has a complex profile.
The stiffening bands can be attached to the garment by any suitable means such as rivets, sewing or the like. The stiffening bands on the rear of the garment provide effective protection to the spine of the wearer against cross checks by hockey sticks since due to the projected convex profile of the bands and the thickness of the underlying protective pads, the bands will intercept and shield the 10 spine from contact by hockey stick thrust horizontally towards the players back.
The stiffening bands can be attached to the garment by any suitable means such as rivets, sewing or the like. The stiffening bands on the rear of the garment provide effective protection to the spine of the wearer against cross checks by hockey sticks since due to the projected convex profile of the bands and the thickness of the underlying protective pads, the bands will intercept and shield the 10 spine from contact by hockey stick thrust horizontally towards the players back.
Claims (28)
1. A padded protective garment to be worn on a person's upper body, comprising an absorption structure to be positioned adjacent the body and an external shell disposed outwardly on said absorption structure, said absorption structure comprising:
a front section, a rear section and a shoulder section each comprising layers of padding for overlying the chest, back and shoulder regions respectively of the wearer, said front and rear sections covering a major part of the rib cage of the wearer in said regions from the shoulders downwardly;
said external shell comprising pairs of laterally spaced vertically elongated stiffener bands overlying said front and rear sections respectively, said stiffener bands having a length sufficient to extend over most of the height of the wearer's rib cage;
a shoulder arch on each side of the garment interconnecting the upper ends of a front and a rear stiffness, each said shoulder arch having parts extending laterally over the clavicle region at the front and back;
said stiffener bands and said shoulder arches being of a stiffly flexible material that has a stiffness that is high relative to that of the corresponding garment section so as to be capable of attenuating a localized impact force applied thereto and distributing such force to an enlarged region of the underlying layers of padding; and said garment including attachments between said padding layers and said external shell for retaining the latter in position with respect to said absorption structure, and fastening elements thereon that are adjustable for interconnecting said sections of the garment in fitting relationship to the upper body of the wearer.
a front section, a rear section and a shoulder section each comprising layers of padding for overlying the chest, back and shoulder regions respectively of the wearer, said front and rear sections covering a major part of the rib cage of the wearer in said regions from the shoulders downwardly;
said external shell comprising pairs of laterally spaced vertically elongated stiffener bands overlying said front and rear sections respectively, said stiffener bands having a length sufficient to extend over most of the height of the wearer's rib cage;
a shoulder arch on each side of the garment interconnecting the upper ends of a front and a rear stiffness, each said shoulder arch having parts extending laterally over the clavicle region at the front and back;
said stiffener bands and said shoulder arches being of a stiffly flexible material that has a stiffness that is high relative to that of the corresponding garment section so as to be capable of attenuating a localized impact force applied thereto and distributing such force to an enlarged region of the underlying layers of padding; and said garment including attachments between said padding layers and said external shell for retaining the latter in position with respect to said absorption structure, and fastening elements thereon that are adjustable for interconnecting said sections of the garment in fitting relationship to the upper body of the wearer.
2. A garment as claimed in claim 1 wherein at a location corresponding to that of the wearer's sternum, said stiffener bands of the front section curve convexly towards each other whereas below said location said stiffener bands of the front section are divergent so as to overlie the wearer's ribs.
3. A garment as claimed in claim 1 wherein each said stiffener band has a profile transverse to its length that includes a convexly outwardly projecting intermediate part.
4. A garment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein each said stiffener band has longitudinal edges confrontingly engaging said padding layers, said longitudinal edges being convexly rounded.
5. A garment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein upper and lower ends of each said stiffener band are attached to said padding layers.
6. A garment as claimed in claim 5 wherein the stiffener bands of each said pair are mirror images of each other.
7. A garment as claimed in claim 6 wherein said front and rear sections have substantially identical stiffener bands thereon.
8. A garment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein said shoulder arch has opposite ends that are pivotally attached to corresponding stiffener bands.
9. A garment as claimed in claim 8 including a stiff padded convex shoulder cap having an inboard edge that is attached to said shoulder protector.
10. A garment as claimed in claim 9 including a convex bicep protector pad having an upper end that is attached to said shoulder protector to be suspended therefrom in a position covering an outer side of an upper arm of the wearer.
11. A garment as claimed in claim 10 wherein said bicep protector is adjustable in a vertical direction.
12. A garment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said front and said rear sections are each divided into left and right parts, and wherein said fastening elements comprise straps which interconnect said sections and said parts.
13. A garment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein said stiffener bands project outwardly from the associated garment sections such that the outermost part of each stiffener band spaced substantially outwardly from the inner side of said garment and the body of the wearer.
14. A garment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein said stiffener bands are thermoplastic sheet of thickness 2,5 mm, molded to provide an outwardly convex transverse profile.
15. A padded protective garment to be worn on a person's upper body, comprising:
a front section and a rear section comprising layers of padding for overlying the chest and back regions respectively of the wearer and covering a major part of the rib cage of the wearer in said regions from the shoulders downwardly;
fastening elements on said garment, said fastening elements being adjustable for interconnecting said sections of the garment in fitting relationship to the upper body of the wearer;
a pair of laterally spaced vertically elongated stiffener bands overlying at least one of said front and rear sections;
said stiffener bands having a length sufficient to extend over most of the height of the wearer's rib cage;
said stiffener bands being of a stiffly flexible material that has a stiffness that is high relative to that of the corresponding garment section so as to be capable of attenuating a localized impact force applied thereto and distributing such force to an enlarged region of the underlying layers of padding; and said garment including attachments for retaining said stiffener bands in position with respect to said padding layers.
a front section and a rear section comprising layers of padding for overlying the chest and back regions respectively of the wearer and covering a major part of the rib cage of the wearer in said regions from the shoulders downwardly;
fastening elements on said garment, said fastening elements being adjustable for interconnecting said sections of the garment in fitting relationship to the upper body of the wearer;
a pair of laterally spaced vertically elongated stiffener bands overlying at least one of said front and rear sections;
said stiffener bands having a length sufficient to extend over most of the height of the wearer's rib cage;
said stiffener bands being of a stiffly flexible material that has a stiffness that is high relative to that of the corresponding garment section so as to be capable of attenuating a localized impact force applied thereto and distributing such force to an enlarged region of the underlying layers of padding; and said garment including attachments for retaining said stiffener bands in position with respect to said padding layers.
16. A garment as claimed in claim 15 wherein a respective pair of said stiffener bands is present in each of said front and rear sections of the garment.
17. A garment as claimed in claim 2 wherein at a location corresponding to that of the wearer's sternum, said stiffener bands of the front section curve convexly towards each other whereas below said location said stiffener bands of the front section are divergent so as to overlie the wearer's ribs.
18. A garment as claimed in claim 15 wherein each said stiffener band has a profile transverse to its length that includes a convexly outwardly projecting intermediate part.
19. A garment as claimed in claim 17 wherein each said stiffener band has longitudinal edges confrontingly engaging said padding layers, said longitudinal edges being convexly rounded.
20. A garment as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 19 wherein upper and lower ends of each said stiffener band are attached to said padding layers.
21. A garment as claimed in claim 20 wherein the stiffener bands of each said pair are mirror images of each other.
22. A garment as claimed in claim 21 wherein said front and rear sections have substantially identical stiffener bands thereon.
23. A garment as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 22 including a shoulder joint protector that curves from front to back on each side of the garment, said shoulder protector forming an anchor point for an upper end of a corresponding stiffener band.
24. A garment as claimed in claim 23 including a stiff padded convex shoulder cap having an inboard edge that is attached to said shoulder protector.
25. A garment as claimed in claim 23 including a convex bicep protector pad having an upper end that is attached to said shoulder protector to be suspended therefrom in a position covering the outer side of the upper arm of the wearer.
26. A garment as claimed in claim 25 wherein said bicep protector is adjustable in a vertical direction.
27. A garment as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 26 wherein said front and said rear sections are each divided into left and right parts, and wherein said fastening elements comprise straps which interconnect said sections and said parts, certain of said straps having anchor points on said stiffener bands and others of said straps being threaded through said stiffener bands.
28. A protective garment according to any one of claims 15 to 27 wherein said stiffener bands project outwardly from the associated garment sections such that the outermost part of each stiffener band is spaced substantially outwardly from the inner side of said garment and the body of the wearer.
Priority Applications (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002221788A CA2221788A1 (en) | 1997-11-19 | 1997-11-19 | Light-weight shoulder pads |
| US08/974,844 US5987654A (en) | 1997-11-19 | 1997-11-20 | Light-weight shoulder pads |
| SE9803942A SE9803942L (en) | 1997-11-19 | 1998-11-18 | Shoulder protection of lightweight construction |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002221788A CA2221788A1 (en) | 1997-11-19 | 1997-11-19 | Light-weight shoulder pads |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2221788A1 true CA2221788A1 (en) | 1999-05-19 |
Family
ID=29275250
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002221788A Abandoned CA2221788A1 (en) | 1997-11-19 | 1997-11-19 | Light-weight shoulder pads |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2221788A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP1080647A3 (en) * | 1999-08-30 | 2003-07-30 | Bauer Nike Hockey Inc. | Adjustable shoulder pad |
-
1997
- 1997-11-19 CA CA002221788A patent/CA2221788A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP1080647A3 (en) * | 1999-08-30 | 2003-07-30 | Bauer Nike Hockey Inc. | Adjustable shoulder pad |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| FZDE | Dead |