US2509159A

US2509159A - Shoulder pad

Info

Publication number: US2509159A
Application number: US681359A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert G Mack
Original assignee: Hewitt Robins Inc
Current assignee: Hewitt Robins Inc
Priority date: 1946-07-03
Filing date: 1946-07-03
Publication date: 1950-05-23
Anticipated expiration: 1967-05-23

Description

May 23, 1950 R. G. MACK 2,509,159

SHOULDER PAD Filed July 5, 1946 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS H. l 5 v fiche/Z G. Mac/5f (a MMrQM.

Patented May 23, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOULDER PAD Robert G. Mack, Buffalo, N. Y., assignor to Hewitt-Robins Incorporated, Buffalo, N. Y.

Application July 3, 1946, Serial No. 681,359

(Class 2-268) Claims. 1

This invention relates to the apparel art an more particularly to shoulder pads and articles of manufacture having similar physical requirements.

In the clothing art, shoulder pads comprise more or less yieldable bodies of tapering concavoconvex shape, generally cloth covered and adapted to be disposed between the shoulders of a wearer and the shoulder portion of a garment, whereby the appearance of a squarer shoulder is provided. In the prior art, such devices generally comprise an inner core of felted or matted tex tile fibres, sometimes built up by the use of a series of lamin'ations, encased in a fabric cover which is sewed about the edges of the core to completely cover the same. The manufacture of these prior art devices involves a considerable degree of labor and at best the ultimate shape of the shoulder pad thus formed is difiicult to control and only semi-permanent. Shifting of the inner core of material within the casing or jacket sewed thereabout is likely with resultant distortion of the device.

The present invention provides a shoulder pad which meets all of the requirements of the art and is vastly superior to prior art devices, both from the standpoint of simplicity of manufacture and in the production of a product of superior quality from the standpoint, of original accuracy as to shape and the ability to permanently retain its shape.

The shoulder pad of the present invention comprises essentially a unitary body or core element of sponge rubber having fabric adhesively secured to at least one of its faces, thus eliminating all sewing. The sponge rubber core may be of either natural or synthetic latex and is aerated or foamed in any desired manner. Other natural or synthetic materials having similar physical characteristics may be employed. Such characteristics are great resilience and highly permanent. retention of shape or conformation. That is, while highly resilient, the core body of the present invention always returns to its initial free position when unstressed.

In carrying out the present invention, the core, because of practical considerations entering into the manufacture thereof. is molded with a flat face and an opposed convex face tapering generally to a point, there being a third face at the end opposite the point. The core of the body is held in a permanent concave or convex position by adhesively applying a strip of flexible material to the fiat side while such side is held in a concave position. Upon setting or dryin the adhesive strip permanently holds the core body in the desired concave or convex position.

As has been stated, devices ofthe prior art have been provided with cloth coverings. Such coverings generally extend beyond the meeting edges of the concave and convex surfaces oftlie shoulder pad to provide a free fabric margin which may be sewed or otherwise attached to-the interior surface of the shoulder portion of a garment in proper position. Similar means of attachment or securement are provided in the case of the present invention, along with the provision of a cloth covering for the core element itself, by merely adhesively securing a fabric sheet to each of the concave and convex surfaces; such sheets, or at least one of them, being adapted to extend beyond the meeting edges of the concave and convex surfaces to provide fabric margins for sewing or other means of fastening with any desired degree of permanence.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 designates a top plan view of a core body in the condition in which it is molded;

Fig. 2 is an end view of such body;

Fig. 3 is a front end elevational view of a complete shoulder pad of the present invention, said front elevation being with respect to the position of the wearer;

Fig. is a side elevational view of the shoulder pad of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the shoulder pad of Figs. 3 and 4 with a portion of the fabric covering broken away for added clearness.

In Fig. 1 the numeral l0 designates generally a core or body molded of sponge or foam rubber or other material having similar physical characteristics, such body having a convex upper sur- -face H, a flat under surface l2 and an end surface l3. The tapering nature of the upper convex surface causes the body to merge to substantially a point as at M in Fig.1 at the end opposite the surface I3, although such pointed termination is not essential. However, the knifeedge or feather-edge merging of the upper and lower surfaces H and I2 at all points, excepting where the end surface l3 intervenes, is highly desirable and cannot be achieved with matted or felted cores or in any other manner heretofore known in this art. The molding processes employed in the formation of the sponge rubber core in naturally produce such edges without any special provision, merely by suitable formation of the mold cavity.

After core ID has been produced in the form indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, it is deformed so that its upper surface H is more sharply convex and its originally fiat under surface [2 is concaved and while held in such position in any desired manner, a strip of preferably flexible material is adhesively secured to the now concave under surface 12 which in and of itself permanently holds core H1 in the form illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, which is the desired final shape of the shoulder pad. Ordinarily surgical adhesive tape is satisfactory for purpose and the strip of tape is designated [5 in Figs. 3 and '5.

After the core has been formed in the foregoing manner a piece of fabric I1 is secured against convex upper surface I I by means of any suitable adhesive and is brought down over end surface 13 as shown in Fig. 3 to ultimately project beyond the lower edge of core l0 entirely about its lower edge. Similarly, a piece of fabric [8 is adhesively secured against the under surface of core 10 likewise to extend substantially beyond the edge defining the convex under surface. The marginalprojections of pieces of fabric H and I8 are jointly designated 23 in Figs. 3, 4, and -5 and may be adhesively secured to each other simultaneously with their application to core in. These marginal extensions automatically provide convenient means for sewing the shoulder zpad into a garment or otherwise securing it with any degree-of permanence, such .as by vmeans of snap fasteners, hooks and eyes or the like.

.It is a peculiarity of the normal processes of molding core that the outer surface of the core has substantially less porosity than the interior of the molded body, and this facilitates ready securement of the adhesive strip l5 and the fabric pieces I! and I 8 tothe core HI.

What is claimed is:

1. A shoulder pad comprising a molded body .of sponge rubber having a normally flat surface and an opposite normally convex surface, and a strip of material adhesively secured to said normally flat surface to retain the same in concaved condition.

2. A shoulder pad comprising a molded body of resilient material having a normally flat surface and an opposite normally convex surface, and a strip of material adhesively secured to said normally flat surface to retain the same in concaved condition.

3. A shoulder pad comprising a molded body of sponge rubber having a normally flat surface and an opposite normally convex surface, a strip of material adhesively secured to said normally --ilat surface to retain the same in concaved condition, and a fabric sheet adhesively secured against one of said surfaces and projecting beyond the edge thereof to provide a securing portion.

'4. A shoulder pad comprising a molded body of resilient material having a normally flat surface and an opposite normally convex surface, a strip of material adhesively secured to said normally flat surface to retain the same in concaved condition, and a fabric sheet adhesively secured against one of said surfaces and projecting beyond the edge thereof to provide a securing portion.

5. A shoulder pad comprising a molded body of sponge rubber having a normally flat surface and an opposite normally convex surface, a strip of material adhesively secured to said normally fiat surface to retain the same in concaved condition, and a flexible sheet adhesively secured against one of said surfaces and projecting beyond the edge thereof to provide a securing portion.

6. A shoulder pad comprising a molded body of resilient material having a normally fiat surface and an opposite normally convex surface, a strip of material adhesively secured to said normally flat surface to retain the same in concaved condition, and a flexible sheet adhesively secured against one of said surfaces and projecting beyond the edge thereof to provide a securing portion.

caved condition.

8. A shoulder pad comprising a resilient integral body having a normally convex upper surface and a strip of non-resilient material adhesively secured to the lower surface adjacent the transverse edge thereof to retain said lower surface in cancaved condition for engagement with the shoulder of a wearer.

9..A shoulder pad comprising a resilient, integral body having a normally convex upper surface and a strip of nonresilient material adesively secured to the lower surface thereof to retain said lower surface in concaved condition for engagement with the shoulder of a wearer.

10. A shoulder pad comprising a resilient, integral body having a normally convex upper surface tapering from the base of said pad to the edges thereof and a strip of non-resilient material adhesively secured to the lower surface of said body to retain said lower surface in concaved condition for engagement with the shoulder of a wearer.

ROBERT G. MACK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 359,441 Goldman Mar. 15,1887 621,811 Goldman Mar. 28, 1899 622,765 Goldman Apr. 11, 1899 2,068,644 Frais Jan. 26, 1937 2,365,280 Lahm Dec. 19, 1944 2,423,498 Hull July 8, 1947