NZ248506A - Breast protector of impact resistant material for use in contact sports - Google Patents

Description

24 No: 248506 Date: 26 August 1993 MEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION A PROTECj.'OR I, GEORGINA CHRISTINE KIM TAYLOR, a New Zealand citizen of 154 Riverbend Road, Napier, New Zealand, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a Patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement 24 This invention relates to a protector.

The invention is more particularly directed to a protector which can be worn by a female as a means of protecting the breast against injury during contact sport or activities where there is a possibility of injury producing contact being made.

In New Zealand patent specification 189273 there is disclosed a moulded plastics chest protector designed to provide female breast and rib cage protection. In use the protector extends from above the breast region to the lower rib region. The protector basically comprises a contoured unitary shield of semi-rigid plastics material such as polyethylene straps being attached to the shield so as to enable the protector to be attached to a wearer.

While the protector as disclosed in patent specification 189273 has proved to provide protection in the breast and rib area of the wearer it has led to injuries to other people coming into contact therewith. For example, in martial arts sports accidental contact via say the hand of an opposing competitor has often resulted in skinned knuckles or other injury to the hand due to the semirigid material from which the protector is constructed. Also in these and other sports the size and rigidity of the protector can restrict freedom of movement. This bulk and rigidity can furthermore result in discomfort to the wearer.

The object of the present invention is to thus provide a protector for the female breast which is an improvement over known protectors and does not suffer from the or some of the problems outlined above.

Broadly the invention comprises a protector for the female breast the protector comprising a body of impact resistant material shaped to substantially conform to the shape of the female breast, said shaped body being adapted to fit within and be retained between the breast and cup of a brassiere worn by a user and to cover a substantial portion of the breast.

Preferably the impact resistant material is an ultra light foamed plastic and more particularly a closed cell foam.

More preferably the outer surface of the shaped body is covered by a wear resistant cover.

In a preferred form of the invention the inner surface of the shaped body is covered by a material which does not cause discomfort when placed against the skin of a wearer. Intellectual Property Office of NZ 13 JAN 1998 RECEIVED In the following more detailed description of the invention according to its preferred form reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the protector, Figure 2 is an elevation view of the protector, Figure 3 is a plan view of a cutting pattern for material forming the component parts of the protector, and Figure 4 is an exploded view showing the interrelationship between the protector, the female breast and a brassiere.

The overall body 10 of the protector is generally cup shaped and more particularly is shaped and sized essentially in conformity with standard cup sizes of brassieres. A user would thus select a protector of a particular si.ze which could envelop the breast such that the peripheral rim 11 of the body 10 would basically engage around the' base of the breast and therefore be supported by the ribs of the wearer. As shown in Figure 4 the body 10 is positioned over the breast of the user and is held in place and supported in position by the cup C of a brassidre B worn by the user.

Body 10 is essentially formed by an inner shell 12 of an impact resistant material such as an ultra lightweight foamed plastics material which in a preferred form of the invention is of closed cell construction. Extending over the outer surface of shell 12 is a protective cover 13 Intellectual Property Office of NZ 1 3 JAN 1928 D r.f"sCl\/cr\ which in the preferred form of the invention is formed from PVC sheet. Other materials can be used as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Essentially the outer cover 13 protects the integrity of the inner shell 12 as well as protecting the inner shell against wear resulting from impact or frictional contact between the foamed shell and the material of tha brassiere B.

The inner surface of shell 12 is covered by a material which is of a type such that it provides comfort to the user as a consequence of the material being in contact with the skin of the user. This inner covering 14 can be an unbacked cloth. In the preferred form of the invention this inner covering 14 follows the internal contour of inner shell 12, extends about the rim 11 and is attached at or near its peripheral edge by gluing, sewing or the like to the outer covering 13.

As shown in Figure 3 a suitable shape of body 10 can be achieved by cutting the material for the inner shell 12 and the inner and outer coverings 13 and 14 according to the cutting pattern P. With the material cut in this fashion the edges 16 are brought together and fastened to thereby form the required shape. With the foamed plastics shell 11 edges 16 are brought together and adhered by gluing.

The protector according to the present invention provides protection for the female breast, is comfortable to wear Intellectual Property Office of NZ 13 JAN 1323 r* r p w r n 24 and does not result in any undue restriction to movement. The protector can be simply inserted between the breast and cup of the brassifere thus it can be easily and readily inserted and removed as required by the user.

Claims (12)

WHAT I CLAIM IS:- fo

1. A protector for the female breast the protector comprising a body of impact resistant material shaped to substantially conform to the shape of the female breast, said shaped body being adapted to fit within and be retained between the breast and cup of a bracsidre worn by a user and to cover a substantial portion of the breast.

2. The protector as claimed in claim 1 wherein the impact resistant material is an ultra light foamed plastic.

3. The protector as claimed in claim 2 wherein the foamed plastic is a closed cell foam.

4. The protector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the outer surface of the shaped body is covered by a wear resistant cover.

5. The protector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the inner surface of the shaped body is covered by a material comfortable to this touch.

6. The protector as claimed in claim 4 wherein the outer surface cover is formed from PVC. Intcllc-jt'ja! Property Gn'ice of NZ 13 JAN 1928 RECEIVED

7. The protector as claimed in claim 5 wherein the inner surface is an unbacked cloth.

8. The protector as claimed in claim 5 or 7 wherein the inner cover follows the internal contour of the inner surface of the body and extends over the peripheral rim of the body to be attached at or near the periphery thereof.

9. The protector as claimed in claim 8 wherein the inner cover is attached at or near the periphery of the rim by gluing or sewing to the outer cover.

10. The protector as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the body is cut from material according to the pattern substantially as shown in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings with the adjacent edges thereof brought together and fastened.

11. The protector as claimed in claim 10 wherein the adjacent edges are fastened together by an adhesive.

12. A protector substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. GEORGINA CHRISTINE KIM TAYLOR By her Attorney DON HOPKINS & ASSOCIATES end of claims Intellectual Property Office of NZ 13 JAN 1398 RECEIVED