DE68909131T2 - Protective element and sportswear with this element. - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a protective device and an article of sportswear using the same, and particularly, but not exclusively, relates to a protective pad that can be attached to an article of sportswear and an article of sportswear to which such a protective pad is attached.

Usually, in various hard sports such as skiing, basketball and motorcycling, protective devices are attached to athletes' bodies to effectively protect them against unexpected impact. Conventional protective devices include, for example, a one-piece protective device made of plastic resin, a protective pad inserted into the fabric of pants such as a knee pad of ski pants, an inner protective device such as that used by baseball umpires, and a shin guard used by a catcher.

However, conventional protective devices are disadvantageous in that providing them with flexibility to follow various movements of a wearer's body tends to deteriorate their rigidity. The rigidity or hardness of the protective devices is required to protect the wearer against damage due to excessive external impact. Thus, conventional protective devices do not fully meet these conflicting requirements. The prior art covers protective devices over an article of sportswear and fails to provide an integral type of protective cover in which protective devices and the garment are integrally formed, except for ski pants which have knee pads made of a flexible plastic sheet incorporated therein. The knee pads of the ski pants are insufficient in rigidity to fit the wearer's body and therefore are not sufficient as protective devices for hard sports.

DE-A-28 09 009 discloses a protection device comprising a resilient pad having an inner surface suitable for attachment to a garment and a number of spaced apart, substantially parallel rigid formations attached to the outer surface of the resilient pad for protecting the resilient pad against damage from an external impact.

In this case, the resilient cushion essentially comprises a foam layer integrally molded over a fabric tube to partially penetrate the tube.

The present invention is mainly characterized in that the resilient cushion comprises a number of closed, elongated air cushion chambers.

With this design, the protective device has a high degree of flexibility, which facilitates its comfortable seating on the relevant body part and allows freedom of movement, but at the same time provides a very high degree of protection by dampening external impacts due to partial compression of the air chambers.

The invention also provides an article of sportswear containing such a protective device.

Some embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an article of sportswear incorporating a protective pad according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the article in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective fragmentary view of each protective pad in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross-section of the protective pad of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-section of another modified form of the protective pad in Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross-section of another embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary cross-section of a further modified form of the protective pad in Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a front view of a leg protection device using a protective pad of the present invention;

Fig. 9 is a rear view of the leg protection device of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a front view of a shin guard using a protective pad of the present invention;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a shoulder protector using a protective pad of the present invention;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary front view of a chest protector device utilizing a protective pad of the present invention;

Fig. 13 is a front view of a spine protection device using a protective pad according to the present invention;

Figure 14 is a side view of a helmet according to the present invention;

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of a knee protection device of the present invention;

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a hand phalange protection device according to the present invention ;

Fig. 17 is a plan view of a protective pad utilizing two protective units of the present invention;

Fig. 18 is a plan view of another protective pad using two protective units according to the present invention; and

Figure 19 is a plan view of yet another protective pad having rigid zigzag ribs according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the views, and their description is omitted once given.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, the reference numeral 1 indicates an article of ski clothing for competitions. The garment 1 has a number of protectors or protective pads 2 mounted on its shoulders 1a, 1a, chest 1b, elbows 1c, 1c, waist 1d, legs 1e, 1e, back 1g and front parts of ankles 1g, 1g and wrists 1h, 1h, and the protective pads 2 are mounted at optimal positions of the garment according to the sport in question. As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, each protective pad 2 comprises a thin padding layer 5 for elastically cushioning an external impact given to it and a number of rigid ribs 3 connected to the upper side of the thin padding layer 5 so as to be substantially parallel to each other at equal distances. The thin cushioning layer 5 is provided with grooves and the rigid ribs 3 are welded to respective upper ends 51 of the thin cushioning layer 5 as shown in Fig. 4. The thin cushioning layer 5 and the rigid ribs 3 can be integrally bonded to each other by heating them. Preferably, the rigid ribs 3 are made of rigid vinyl chloride resin. The thin cushioning layer 5 is preferably made of soft vinyl chloride resin, ABS resin, urethane resin, nylon resin and silicone resin.

A flat elastic cushion lining 11 is connected to the inner side 5B of the thin cushion layer 5 at the bottom 52 of the latter to define closed parallel air cushion chambers 12A, 12A, 12A .... between the thin cushion layer 5 and the elastic lining 11. Opposite ends 54, 54 of each air cushion chamber 12A are closed, although only one end is seen in Fig. 4. In such air cushion chambers 12A, air in the chambers dampens an impact given to the rigid ribs 3 from the outside, so that the protective device is given an excellent damping effect.

The protective pads 2 thus prepared can be sewn to corresponding parts of the garment 1 by a sewing machine or can be attached to them by means of adhesive tapes. The parts 1a-1h of the garment 1 are selected according to the type of sportswear. It is preferable to attach protective pads 2 to the garment 1 at parts where an impact is likely to be applied from the outside and where bending and stretching thereof in use often occurs. The protective pads 2 are attached to the garment 1 so that each rigid rib 3 extends transversely to a general bending plane, e.g. a plane 20 for a shoulder 1a in Fig. 1, although the plane 20 is shown by a line arranged thereon for the purpose of illustration. The thin padding layer 5 has a groove formed circumferentially in its surface as shown in Fig. 3. The thin padding layer 5 is sewn along the groove 7 so that stitches are received in the groove 7. Thus, the groove 7 provides a good appearance for the thin padding layer 5 and protects the sewn thread.

The thin padding layer 5 may be connected to the garment 1 at its periphery by heat welding under pressure with an adhesive and may be further sewn thereto. In such a garment 1, the user can apply the pads 2 by merely wearing the garment and can be fully protected since the pads 2 are attached to optimal parts of the garment 1 according to the sport in question. In use, the pads 2 are deformed by bending the thin padding layers 5 to follow a movement of the wearer's body. This is done smoothly since the rigid ribs 3 are arranged over corresponding general bending planes 20. The stiff ribs 3 are exposed to large external impact and protect the garment 1 against damage, and the thin padding layer 5 absorbs external impact exerted on the associated stiff ribs 3.

Fig. 5 illustrates a modified form of the protective pad in which adjacent parallel closed air cushion tubes 13, 13, 13 made of an elastic material such as rubber are connected to each other to form pairs of air cushion tubes 13A, 13A, ... and each pair 13A is connected to the inner side 5B of a corresponding lower side 52 of the thin cushion layer 5 to thereby form a cushion chamber 12A. Each adjacent pair of air cushion tubes 13 defines an additional air cushion chamber 14. Thus, in this modified protective pad, double cushion chambers 12A, 14 are provided.

A further embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 6, in which the thin cushion layer 5 of the protective cushion in Figs. 3 and 4 is replaced by a number of parallel closed air cushion tubes 55 connected to adjacent air cushion tubes 55. Rigid ribs 3, 3... are connected to tops of corresponding air cushion tubes 55 so as to extend along the axes of the latter.

A further modified form of the protective pad of Fig. 3 and 4 is schematically illustrated in Fig. 7, in which a number of rigid ribs 3, 3 ... are connected at their upper parts by means of a rigid plate element 16 to form a reinforced protective portion such as a reinforced chest protective part 1h (Fig. 1), a reinforced back protective pad 1f (Fig. 2), a reinforced knee protective part 1i (Fig. 15) or a reinforced hand phalange protective part 1j (Fig. 16). Such reinforced protective parts offer a broad and secure protection for corresponding parts of the wearer's body, which parts are relatively have small movements. The rigid plate element 16 can be formed integrally with the rigid ribs 3.

Fig. 18 and 19 show a leg protector for sports competitions such as a ski competition. The leg protector 18 comprises a number of parallel semi-circular rigid ribs 3 arranged at equal intervals and a thin padding layer 5 on which the rigid ribs 3 are mounted, the thin padding layer 5 covering the front part 23 of the wearer's leg. The opposite side edges 24, 24 of the thin padding layer 5 are connected to corresponding opposite side edges 28, 28 of a tightening element 26 to cover the rear part 30 of the leg, thereby forming a tubular protector covering the leg around the knee. The tightening member 26 has an upper part 32 and a lower part 34 and a zipper 36 for connecting these parts 32 and 34, the zipper 36 extending from a position at a right portion of the upper edge 37 of the upper part 32 to a position b at a left portion of the lower edge 38 of the lower part 34. The tightening member 26 is made of a stretchable fabric or woven material and is preferably made of the latter. As the fabric, those made of a spandex thread or rubber core thread can be used. For wearing the leg protector, the zipper 36 is opened to separate the lower and upper parts 32, 34, then the protector is placed over the leg around the knee, and finally the zipper 36 is closed. The zipper 36 extends around the calf in a curved manner without extending straight between the two positions a and b and therefore does not hinder bending and stretching of the leg and provides comfort during movement of the leg.

Fig. 10 illustrates a shin guard 40 for a baseball catcher according to the present invention. As with the leg guard of Fig. 8, curved rigid ribs 3 are mounted parallel to each other on a thin padding layer 5 intended to cover the shin. A number, in this embodiment four, of reinforcing elements 42 bent to correspond to respective rigid ribs 3 are mounted on upper portions of the latter. The reinforcing elements 42 are substantially equal in strength to the rigid ribs 3. The reinforcing elements 42 may be formed integrally with respective rigid ribs 3 or they may be welded to the latter by heating. The shin guard 40 may be provided with the tightening element 26 as in the leg guard device in Fig. 14.

11 to 14 show various protection devices according to the present invention: Fig. 11 illustrates a shoulder protector 50 with reinforcing elements 42; Fig. 12 a chest protector 60; Fig. 13 a spine protector 70 attached to the wearer by means of cords 72; and Fig. 14 a helmet 80. In Figs. 11 and 13, rigid ribs 3 are arranged so as to be perpendicular to main bending planes 20. In the chest protector 60 in Fig. 12, the rigid ribs 3 are arranged perpendicularly along the curve of the wearer's chest. The helmet 80 in Fig. 14 has a thin hemispherical cushion layer or shell 5, on the edge 84 of which a pair of end sheaths 82 are attached symmetrically about their center, although only one end disk 82 is shown here. Eleven rigid ribs 3 curved to conform to the head are mounted on the cushion shell 5 so as to extend between the opposite end plates 82 at regular angular intervals around the end plates 82.

Figs. 17 to 19 illustrate various rectangular guard units that can be used in the previous embodiments and modifications.

In Fig. 17, two square protection units 90, 90, each having parallel rigid ribs 3, are sides of their thin cushion layers 5, 5 to form a brought together protective cushion 92 so that they are perpendicular to each other in the direction of the rigid ribs 3.

In Fig. 18, square protection units 100 have diagonally extending rigid ribs 3 and they are connected to form a collated protection cushion 102 such that these rigid ribs 3 meet on sides of their thin cushion layers 5, 5 on which sides they are collated.

Fig. 19 illustrates a rectangular-shaped protection unit 110 having rigid ribs 3 that are parallel to each other and extend in a zigzag manner on the thin cushion layer 5.

Claims (7)

1. A protective device comprising a resilient pad (2) for cushioning an external impact, the resilient pad (2) having an inner surface which can be placed over a garment and a number of spaced apart, substantially parallel rigid formations mounted on the outer surface of the resilient pad (2) to protect the resilient pad against damage by external impact, characterized in that the resilient pad (2) comprises a number of closed, elongated air cushion chambers (12A, 12B, 14, 15) therein. 2. Protection device according to claim 1, wherein the resilient cushion comprises a ribbed thin cushion layer (5) and a flat resilient lining (11), the resilient lining (11) being sealingly attached to the thin cushion layer (5) to define the air cushion chambers (12A). 3. A protective device according to claim 1, wherein the resilient pad (2) comprises ribbed thin padding layers (5) sealingly attached to one another at their mating strips to define the air cushion chambers (12B). 4. A protective device according to claim 1, wherein the resilient pad (2) comprises a ribbed thin pad layer (5) and a pad layer, the pad layer comprising a number of parallel, closed tubes (13) to to define air cushion chambers (14) therein, wherein adjacent tubes are secured to one another and the cushion layer is sealingly attached to a ribbed thin cushion layer (5) to define additional air cushion chambers (12A). 5. A protective device according to claim 1, wherein the resilient cushion comprises a number of parallel, closed tubes (55) defining air cushion chambers (15) therein, with adjacent tubes being secured to one another. 6. A protection device according to any preceding claim, wherein the rigid formations comprise rigid ribs (3) extending substantially parallel to each other, the rigid ribs extending substantially perpendicular to a principal bending plane of a part of a body of a wearer to facilitate movement of the body part, the movement of the body part occurring primarily along the principal bending plane. 7. An article of sportswear incorporating one or more protective devices according to any preceding claim.