SE2151407A1 - Neck guard for skating sports athletes - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a neck guard (21) for skating sports athletes such as ice hockey players. The neck guard comprises a lower connecting portion (23), adapted to connect to the upper part of an athlete’s torso, an upper connecting portion (29), adapted to be connected to a helmet worn by the athlete, and a mid portion (31) comprising a protective web (33) and extending between the lower and the upper connector portions (23, 29) so as to protect the athlete’s neck e.g. from cuts from a skate blade and the like. The upper connecting portion (29) comprises a band (39) running transversally across a lateral midline (41) of the mid portion (31), the band comprising connectors (43) for connecting to the ear loops of the helmet, such that the band, when connected, makes up at least a part of the helmet’s chin strap (45).

Description

Technical field The present disclosure relates to a neck guard for skating sports athletes such as ice hockey players, the neck guard comprising a lower connecting portion, adapted to connect to the upper part of an athlete's torso, an upper connecting portion, adapted to be connected to a helmet worn by the athlete, and a mid portion comprising a protective web and extending between the lower and the upper connecting portions so as to protect the athlete's neck e.g. from cuts from a skate blade and the like.

Background One example of a neck guard of this type is disclosed in AT-517915-A1, describing a neck guard formed as a collar where connections are made to the ear loops of a helmet to keep the neck guard up.

One problem associated with neck guards of this type is that they allow little ventilation at the athlete's neck which, for instance in ice hockey is one of the few areas where the athlete is cooled off. Also, the connection to the ear loops leaves a cut-out open at the front line of the neck which may expose vulnerable areas if the athlete falls, for instance.

Summafl One object of the present disclosure is therefore to provide a neck guard with improved safety that is comfortable to wear.

This object is achieved by means of a neck guard as defined in claim 1. More specifically, in a neck guard of the initially mentioned kind, the upper connecting portion comprises a band running transversally across a lateral midline of the mid portion. This band comprises connectors for connecting to the ear loops of the helmet, such that the band, when connected to the helmet, may make up at least a part of the helmet's chin strap. This means that the protective web may be kept in a position where it provides good protection while at the same time allowing some circulation of ambient air in front of the athlete's neck. Also, the connection to the helmet becomes comfortable and the neck guard follows the movements of the helmet's chin strap such that the protective web may be pulled up further and being tensioned if for instance the athlete falls on his back. Thereby an improved neck guard is provided.

The band may be at least partly embedded in an outer fabric of the upper part. This provides a reliable fastening of the band in the upper part and is comfortable.

The band may comprise first and second chin strap connectors for connecting to left and right ear loops of the helmet. This allows the helmet to be easily removed, if desired, while keeping the neck guard fastened at the athlete's chest. The chin strap connectors may be press buttons or snap buckles, for instance.

The neck guard may further comprise a sling for attaching to an ear loop, having a corresponding chin strap connector. This sling may be used to replace the original chin strap loop of a helmet which may be too long to fit with the neck guard.

The lower connecting portion may comprise means for fastening the neck guard to the upper torso of the athlete such as a chest portion and arm loops or press buttons to attach to a chest plate or the like. Alternatively, the lower connecting portion may be integrated with an undervvear top.

The protective web may comprise a Polyethylene/Elastane combination fabric, or other fabrics such as with intervvoven metal threads, for instance.

Brief description of the drawinds Fig 1 illustrates parts of a hockey helmet.

Fig 2 shows one example of a neck guard according to the present disclosure. Fig 3 illustrates the neck guard of fig 2 used on a hockey player.

Fig 4 shows the player with a neck guard according to an alternative embodiment.

Detailed description The present disclosure relates to a neck guard typically intended for ice hockey players or other skating sports athletes, although it could be suitable for other sports as well. lce hockey players carry several protection items in addition to a helmet, protecting the face, torso and limbs from impacts resulting from body contact and puck shots, for instance. One relatively unprotected body part is the neck, which, with the exception of goalkeepers having specially designed helmets or face masks, is more or less exposed.

While in most situations this does not impose a risk to the player, some situations do exist where an exposed front part of the neck may be very dangerous. This is parti- cularly the case in situations where a number of players are involved, and one of those players falls on his back, exposing the front part of the neck upwards in a position close to the ice. This means that other players, in an intense situation, may accidently slash the player lying down over his exposed neck with their skate blades. While such accidents are uncommon, the danger is always grave, and a number of fatalities have occurred over the last decades.

A skate blade is very sharp and can with little applied force cause a deep cut in the neck. The neck comprises two large blood vessels, the common carotide arteries, running at little depth in the front part of the neck at each side of the trachea and the larynx. As those blood vessels are arteries, directly connected to the aortic arch, a large cut may cause enormous blood loss. The victim may very quickly bleed to death.

As mentioned earlier, some attempts have been made to obtain a useful neck guard protecting the neck but with some disadvantages.

Fig 1 illustrates parts of a hockey helmet 1. The helmet typically comprises an outer protective shell 3 and inner padding 5. Ear loops 7 are attached to the shell to the left and the right, each at a front 9 and a rear 11 position. A chin strap 13 is attached to the ear loops 7 and is fastened under the chin of the athlete to keep the helmet 1 in place. Some player regulations set requirements as to how tightly the chin strap should be fastened, usually no more than a play of about 1 cm with regard to the players chin is allowed. ln any case, any serious user keeps the chin strap relatively tightly fastened. ln the present disclosure, a neck guard is devised to connect with the helmet in such a manner that it makes up part of the helmet chin strap 13. One example of this neck guard is described with reference to fig 2.

Generally, the neck guard 21 comprises a lower connecting portion 23, which is devised to connect to the upper part of an athlete's torso. As will be discussed, this can be achieved in different ways. However, in the shown example, the lower con- necting portion comprises a chest sheet 25 which is adapted to rest on the athlete's chest, and right and left arm loops 27, intended to pass behind the athlete's arms to keep the chest sheet 25 in place. As an alternative or in combination with such bands 27, press buttons 28 that may be connected for instance to a chest plate may be provided.

There is provided an upper connecting portion 29, adapted to be connected to a helmet 1 worn by the athlete, as will be discussed in detail, and a mid portion 31 comprising a protective web 33 and extending between the lower and the upper connecting portions 23, 29.

The protective web 33 may be made in a material that to a great extent resists cuts from sharp blade. One example of a suitable material is a Polyethylene/Elastane combination fabric, such as CUTLON manufactured by Orneule Oy, Finland. Such a fabric may be both highly elastic, allowing a great freedom of movement, while pro- viding cut resistance. However, it should be noted that several other materials would be conceivable in this context, even elastic materials with metal wires woven into the fabric. lt should be noted that the whole neck guard, including the upper and lower connect- ing portions 23, 29 and the mid portion 32 could be made in a single fabric, and even in one piece, even if the lower connection portion 23, for instance, does not strictly need the cut resisting properties. However combinations of different materials are also possible. The protective web 33 of the mid portion 31 may comprise a single layer or two or more stacked layers to provide an additional cut-resisting effect. ln any case, the mid portion provides a significant protecting effect at the front of the athlete's neck where the aforementioned large blood vessels are located.

As illustrated in fig 2, there may be provided laterally extending bands 35 that may be fastened behind the back of the athlete's neck, e.g. with a Velcro patch 37 or similar. Such bands 35 are however optional.

The upper connecting portion 29 comprises a band 39 running transversally across a lateral midline 41 of the mid portion. ln the illustrated case the band 39 runs sub- stantially perpendicularly across this midline 41.

The band comprises connectors 43, 51 for connecting to the ear loops of the helmet of the athlete. Therefore, when connected, the band can make up at least a part of the helmets chin strap 45 as is illustrated in fig 3. This means that when the neck guard 21 it fastened to the athlete's chest and helmet 1, the neck guard 21 follows 4 the chin strap's movement closely. ln many cases, player regulations require that a play of no more that about 1 cm between the chin strap and the chin meaning that the neck guard 21 will cover the sensitive parts on the front of the neck very efficiently. At the same time, air may be allowed to circulate between the front of the neck and the fabric of the protective web, leaving one of the few areas where the player can be cooled by ambient air free. lf the player falls on his back, the helmet hits the ice and automatically pulls the chin strap and thus the neck guard up, thereby protecting the front of the neck even more efficiently in a dangerous situation.

Returning to fig 2, the band 39 may be least partly embedded in an outer fabric of the upper part 29, although this is not necessary. Typically, as shown, the band comprises first and second chin strap connectors 43, 51 for connecting to left and right ear loops of the helmet. ln the illustrated case, the chin strap connectors are press buttons 43, 51 , but snap buckles 44, 46 as illustrated above the press buttons are equally applicable. lt may be suitable to deliver the neck guard 21 with a short additional band piece 47 comprising a sling 49 for attaching to a helmet ear loop. That band piece replaces one of the helmet chin strap pieces that may in some cases otherwise be too long to cooperate with the neck guard. The strap connector 51 on the opposite side may in most cases cooperate with the original helmet chin strap. However, to avoid issues with connector compatibility it may be preferred to deliver a complete chin strap with the neck guard, entirely replacing the original chin strap.

Fig 4 illustrates an alternative version of the neck guard where the lower connecting portion 25 is integrated with an underwear top 53, such as an undervvear sweater.

The present disclosure is not limited to the described examples and may be varied and altered in different ways within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (9)

1. A neck guard (21) for skating sports athletes such as ice hockey players, the neck guard comprising a lower connecting portion (23), adapted to connect to the upper part of an athlete's torso, an upper connecting portion (29), adapted to be connected to a helmet worn by the athlete, and a mid portion (31) comprising a protective web (33) and extending between the lower and the upper connector portions (23, 29) so as to protect the athlete's neck e.g. from cuts from a skate blade and the like, characterized by the upper connecting portion (29) comprising a band (39) running transversally across a lateral mid line (41) of the mid portion (31), the band comprising connectors (43, 51 ) for connecting to the ear loops of the helmet, such that the band, when connected, makes up at least a part of the helmet's chin strap (45).

2. Neck guard according to claim 1, wherein the band (39) is at least partly embedded in an outer fabric of the upper portion (29).

3. Neck guard according to claim 1, wherein the band (39) comprises first and second chin strap connectors (43, 51) for connecting to left and right ear loops of the helmet.

4. Neck guard according to claim 3, wherein the chin strap connectors are buttons.

5.Neck guard according to claim 3, wherein the chin strap connectors are snap buckles.

6. Neck guard according to any of claims 3-5, further comprising a sling (47, 49) for attaching to an ear loop (7), the sling having a corresponding chin strap connector (51 ).

7. Neck guard according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the lower connecting portion (23) comprises a chest portion (25) and arm Ioops (27).

8. Neck guard according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the lower con- necting portion is integrated with an undervvear top (53).

9. Neck guard according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the protective web (33) comprises a Polyethylene/Elastane combination fabric.