U.S. patent application number 11/831129 was filed with the patent office on 2008-04-03 for core for protective leg gear.
Invention is credited to Michel Lefebvre, Patrick Lefebvre.
Application Number | 20080078007 11/831129 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39259715 |
Filed Date | 2008-04-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080078007 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lefebvre; Michel ; et
al. |
April 3, 2008 |
CORE FOR PROTECTIVE LEG GEAR
Abstract
A core for a protective leg gear includes a rear pad and a front
pad. The rear pad is integrally molded in a single mold from a
semi-rigid lightweight material, and has a leg portion and a foot
portion integrally connected to each other at an angle with respect
to one another to define a rear surface of the rear pad. The rear
surface includes an elongated groove configured to at least
partially receive a lower part of the leg. The front pad is
connected to at least part of a front surface of the rear pad. The
upper portion of the front pad extends beyond the leg portion to
cover the knee. The front pad is more flexible than the rear pad,
such as to allow at least limited rearward folding of the upper
portion of the front pad.
Inventors: |
Lefebvre; Michel; (Montreal,
CA) ; Lefebvre; Patrick; (Montreal, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OGILVY RENAULT LLP
1981 MCGILL COLLEGE AVENUE
SUITE 1600
MONTREAL
QC
H3A2Y3
CA
|
Family ID: |
39259715 |
Appl. No.: |
11/831129 |
Filed: |
July 31, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60834491 |
Aug 1, 2006 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
2/22 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2071/125 20130101;
A63B 71/1225 20130101; A63B 2071/1258 20130101; A63B 2071/1283
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
002/022 |
International
Class: |
A41D 13/05 20060101
A41D013/05 |
Claims
1. A core for protective leg gear protecting a leg, ankle and foot
of a wearer, the core comprising: a rear pad integrally molded in a
single mold from a semi-rigid lightweight material, the rear pad
having a leg portion and a foot portion integrally connected to
each other at an angle with respect to one another to define a rear
surface of the rear pad, the rear surface having an elongated
groove defined therein configured to at least partially receive a
lower part of the leg below a knee thereof, the ankle and at least
part of the foot; and a front pad connected to at least part of a
front surface of the rear pad, an upper portion of the front pad
extending beyond the leg portion to cover the knee, the front pad
being more flexible than the rear pad such as to allow at least
limited rearward folding of the upper portion of the front pad.
2. The core according to claim 1, wherein the semi-rigid
lightweight material is a closed cell foam.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority on U.S. provisional
patent application No. 60/834,491 filed Aug. 1, 2006, the entire
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to sports protective
equipment, particularly to protective leg gear used in contact
sports such as hockey.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] Protective leg pads, particularly goalie leg pads, generally
include a core made of several pieces of semi-rigid material such
as foam, which are cut to relatively simple shapes and then
assembled together such as by being adhered to a more flexible pad.
Because of the multiplicity of pieces to be cut and assembled, the
manufacture of such pads is generally labor extensive and as such
relatively costly.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0004] It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide
an improved core for protective leg gear.
[0005] Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there
is provided a core for protective leg gear protecting a leg, ankle
and foot, of a wearer, the core comprising a rear pad integrally
molded in a single mold from a semi-rigid lightweight material, the
rear pad having a leg portion and a foot portion integrally
connected to each other at an angle with respect to one another to
define a rear surface of the rear pad, the rear surface having an
elongated groove defined therein configured to at least partially
receive a lower part of the leg below a knee thereof, the ankle and
at least part of the foot, and a front pad connected to at least
part of a front surface of the rear pad, an upper portion of the
front pad extending beyond the leg portion to cover the knee, the
front pad being more flexible than the rear pad such as to allow at
least limited rearward folding of the upper portion of the front
pad.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings,
showing by way of illustration a particular embodiment of the
present invention and in which:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a side view of a goalie pad core including a rear
pad in accordance with a particular embodiment of the present
invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a side view of the rear pad of FIG. 1;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the rear pad of FIG.
1;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the rear pad of FIG.
1; and
[0011] FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the rear pad of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS
[0012] Referring now to FIG. 1, a core 10 for a protective leg
gear, such as for example a hockey goalie pad, is shown. The core
10 comprises a rear pad 12 as well as an upper front pad 14 and a
lower front pad 16 connected thereto. The core 10 is generally
received in an envelope (not shown), usually with other padding
and/or cushioning elements (not shown) such as to form a protective
pad adapted to at least partially contain and protect the leg and
foot of the wearer.
[0013] Referring to FIG. 3, the rear pad 12 includes an elongated
central strip 18 located between two elongated side strips 20, 20'
in a side-by-side manner and connected thereto. In the embodiment
shown, the connection between the side strips 20, 20' and the
central strip 18 is discontinuous, with a series of oblong slots 22
being defined through the rear pad 12 (see also FIG. 4) at the
junction between the strips 18, 20, 20'. The oblong slots 22 are
used to thread attachment means (not shown) therethrough, such as
an adequate type of thread, to attach the rear pad 12 to the upper
front pad 14 and/or to other elements of the completed protective
pad, e.g. the outer envelope (not shown) or other pads (not shown).
Alternately, in cases when the assembly of the rear pads 12 with
other elements of the completed protective pad does not require
threading of an attachment element therethrough, the connection
between the side strips 20, 20' and the central strip 18 can be
continuous.
[0014] Referring to FIGS. 2-3, the connected central and side
strips 18, 20, 20' have aligned transverse bends 24, such as to
together define a foot portion 26 and a leg portion 28 of the rear
pad 12, the foot and leg portions 26, 28 extending at an angle with
respect to each other. The side strips 20, 20' have a substantially
triangular profile in each of the foot and leg portions 26, 28 with
the larger thickness in both portions 26, 28 being located at or
near the bend 24. As such, the rear pad 12 has upper and lower ends
30, 32 that are tapered.
[0015] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, each side strip 20, 20' has an
exterior side surface 34' a rear surface 36 which is substantially
perpendicular to the exterior side surface 34, and an interior side
surface 38 which is angled with respect to the rear surface 36 such
as to extend toward the central strip 18.
[0016] The central strip 18 has a rear surface 42 frontwardly
offset from the rear surfaces 36 of the side strips 20, 20', and
side surfaces 44 angled with respect to the rear surface 42 such as
to extend toward the adjacent side strip 20, 20'. The oblong slots
22, as well as the junction between the strips 18, 20, 20' are
defined at the meeting point between each side surface 44 of the
central strip 18 and the adjacent interior side surface 38 of the
corresponding side strip 20.
[0017] The central and side strips 18, 20, 20' are manufactured
together as a single piece of material, such as to reduce the time
and labor involved in the manufacture of the rear pad 12. In a
particular embodiment, the central and side strips 18, 20, 20' are
integrally molded in a single mold.
[0018] Thus, the integral strips 18, 20, 20' of the rear pad 12
define the foot and leg portions 26, 28 which extend at an angle
with respect to each other. Referring particularly to FIG. 3, the
strips 18, 20, 20' together define a rear surface 48 of the rear
pad 12 which is substantially convex due to the bend 24 in the
strips 18, 20, 20' i.e. outwardly rounded at the bend 24 between
the foot and leg portions 26, 28. The rear surface 48 of the pad 12
has an elongated groove 50 formed therein which is defined by the
interior side surfaces 38 of the side strips 20, 20' and by the
rear and side surfaces 42, 44 of the central strip 18. This groove
50 is configured to receive the front of a lower part of the leg,
of the ankle and of at least part of the foot of the wearer
therein, i.e. the relative thickness of the central and side strips
18, 20, 20' as well as the geometry of the central strip 18 and of
the side strip interior side surfaces 38 are selected such as to
adequately surround the front of the leg, ankle and foot. In use,
the upper end 30 of the rear pad 12 is located below the knee of
the wearer, i.e. the knee is not contained in the elongated groove
50.
[0019] As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 5, one of the side
strips 20' is narrower than the other side strip 20. In use, the
narrower side strip 20' surrounds the inner side of the leg, and
the wider side strip 20 surrounds the outer side of the leg.
Protective leg pads often tend to prevent the leg from rotating,
thus significantly reducing the freedom of movement of the wearer.
The narrower inner side strip 20' reduces interference between the
two leg pads of the wearer, thus allowing an improved rotation of
the leg, and an increased freedom of movement.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 4, the integral strips 18, 20 also define
a continuous, substantially planar front surface 52 in the leg
portion 28 of the rear pad 12, and a continuous, substantially
planar front surface 54 in the foot portion 26 of the rear pad 12.
The rear pad 12 also has a transverse groove 56 defined therein at
the junction between the front surfaces 52, 54 in order to increase
flexibility at the bend 24.
[0021] The rear pad 12 is made from a semi-rigid lightweight
material. The material is sufficiently rigid to maintain a desired
shape in use without the need for additional reinforcement while
being sufficiently flexible to allow return to its initial shape
after a slight deformation without damage. In a particular
embodiment the semi-rigid lightweight material is expanded (i.e.
closed cell) polyethylene (EPE) foam.
[0022] Referring back to FIG. 1, the lower front pad 16 is adhered
to the front surface 54 of the foot portion 26 of the rear pad 12,
and the upper front pad 14 is adhered to the front surface 52 of
the leg portion 28 of the rear pad 12, without obstructing the
transverse groove 56 defined opposite the bend 24. The upper front
pad 14 is longer than the leg portion 28 and as such extends
upwardly beyond the leg portion 28 to protect an upper portion of
the leg, covering at least the knee of the wearer. The upper front
pad 14 is more flexible than the rear pad 12 such as to allow the
upper front pad 14 to fold toward the leg of the wearer above the
rear pad 12 for an increased flexibility at the knee joint of the
wearer.
[0023] The front pads 14, 16 can be made of a single layer of
material, or alternately include multiple layers of a same material
or of different materials. In a particular embodiment, the front
pads 14, 16 each include a flexible layer 58 of flexible material
such as for example low density polyethylene foam which is adhered
to the respective front surface 52, 54 of the leg and foot portions
28, 26, and a rigid layer 60 of substantially rigid material such
as for example high density polyethylene foam, which is adhered to
a front surface 62 of the flexible layer 58. The rigid layer 60 of
the upper front pad 14 includes separate pieces 64 defining
transverse breaks 66 therebetween in the portion of the upper front
pad 14 protruding from the rear pad 12, such as to allow folding of
the upper front pad 14 along the breaks 66. An additional pad 68
can also be provided rearwardly of the upper front pad 14 above the
rear pad 12.
[0024] The core 10 thus has the advantages of being composed of few
pieces to be assembled, thus reducing the number of assembly
operations and as such the manufacturing costs. The single piece
semi-rigid rear pad 12 offers adequate protection to the ankle
joint, which in many prior art designs is only protected by
flexible, cushioning-type material which can be penetrated
relatively easily. Flexibility at the knee joint is provided by the
more flexible upper front pad 14 protruding from the rear pad 12
and protecting the knee.
[0025] In addition, having the rear pad 12 made of a single piece
eliminates the adhesive retaining the multiple pieces in prior art
pads, which reduces the weight of the rear pad 12 and as such the
weight of the bottom of the core 10, allowing the weight of the
core 10 to be more adequately balanced throughout its height. This
improves the stability of the completed protective pad, and renders
the pad less cumbersome on the leg of the wearer.
[0026] The embodiments of the invention described above are
intended to be exemplary. Those skilled in the art will therefore
appreciate that the foregoing description is illustrative only, and
that various alternate configurations and modifications can be
devised without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such
alternate configurations, modifications and variances which fall
within the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *