U.S. patent application number 13/992678 was filed with the patent office on 2014-01-02 for slow rebound foam padded sports shirt.
The applicant listed for this patent is Jing Liang, Claudio Storelli. Invention is credited to Jing Liang, Claudio Storelli.
Application Number | 20140000016 13/992678 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46207527 |
Filed Date | 2014-01-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140000016 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Storelli; Claudio ; et
al. |
January 2, 2014 |
Slow Rebound Foam Padded Sports Shirt
Abstract
A shirt or jersey for sports such as soccer incorporates a slow
rebound foam pad to aid in controlling a ball that strikes the
player.
Inventors: |
Storelli; Claudio; (New
York, NY) ; Liang; Jing; (New York, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Storelli; Claudio
Liang; Jing |
New York
New York |
NY
NY |
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
46207527 |
Appl. No.: |
13/992678 |
Filed: |
December 9, 2011 |
PCT Filed: |
December 9, 2011 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/US11/64189 |
371 Date: |
August 30, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61421447 |
Dec 9, 2010 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/459 ; 2/16;
2/455; 2/463; 2/464; 2/467 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2243/007 20130101;
A63B 2102/18 20151001; A41D 13/0518 20130101; A63B 2243/0025
20130101; A63B 2071/1208 20130101; A63B 2243/0066 20130101; A41D
2600/10 20130101; A63B 71/12 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/459 ; 2/455;
2/463; 2/16; 2/467; 2/464 |
International
Class: |
A63B 71/12 20060101
A63B071/12 |
Claims
1. A sports shirt comprising an integrated pad, the pad comprising
one or more slow-rebound foam layers affixed to one or more areas
of the shirt.
2. The sports shirt of claim 1, wherein a slow-rebound foam layer
is affixed to the chest area of the shirt.
3. The sports shirt of claim 1, wherein the one or more
slow-rebound foam layer comprises open cell viscoelastic
polyurethane.
4. The sports shirt of claim 1, wherein the at least 50% of the pad
coverage area has a thickness of from 1 mm to 7 mm.
5. The sports shirt of claim 1, further defined as a goalkeeper's
jersey, a soccer jersey, a football jersey, a rugby jersey, an
undershirt or a compression shirt.
6. The sports shirt of claim 1, wherein the slow rebound foam has a
durometer of from 8 to 18.
7. The sports shirt of claim 1, wherein the slow rebound foam
exhibits a time to recovery to 90% of pre-compression thickness of
between 0.3 to 0.8 seconds.
8. The sports shirt of claim 1, wherein the compression force
deflection of the foam is in the range of 0.3 and 10 psi
inclusive.
9. The sports shirt of claim 1, further comprising a protective
foam layer affixed to one or more of the elbow, rib, shoulder,
back, kidney and abdomen areas of the shirt.
10. An article of sports equipment comprising one or more layers of
open cell viscoelastic polyurethane slow-rebound foam effective to
reduce ball rebound speed of a ball striking the one or more
layers.
11. A soccer goalkeeper's shirt comprising one or more layers of
open cell viscoelastic polyurethane slow-rebound foam attached to
or incorporated into the chest area of the shirt.
12. The sports shirt of claim 11, wherein the at least 50% of the
pad coverage area has a thickness of from 1 mm to 7 mm.
13. The sports shirt of claim 11, wherein the slow rebound foam has
a durometer of from 8 to 18.
14. The sports shirt of claim 11, wherein the slow rebound foam
exhibits a time to recovery to 90% of pre-compression thickness of
between 0.3 to 0.8 seconds.
15. The sports shirt of claim 11, wherein the compression force
deflection of the foam is in the range of 0.3 and 10 psi
inclusive.
16. The sports shirt of claim 11, further comprising a protective
foam layer affixed to one or more of the elbow, rib, shoulder,
back, kidney and abdomen areas of the shirt.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Soccer goalkeepers wear goalkeeper jerseys and sometimes
undershirts as part of their uniforms. Often, these jerseys and
undershirts have padding around the shoulders, elbows, and along
the sides, to protect the goalkeeper from injuries due to
impact/collision with the ground, goalposts, and other soccer
players. Materials commonly used in these padded areas include
yellow foam and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam. Goalkeeper
jerseys are commonly made of nylon, polyester or other types of
synthetic fabric. Goalkeeper undershirts are often made with
elastic fabrics, and are meant to adhere closely to the skin of the
wearer. These elastic goalkeeper undershirts are commonly referred
to as compression shirts.
[0002] Compression shirts and loose fitting undershirts are also
commonly worn by players in American-style football, Australian
rules football and rugby among other sports in which an outer
jersey style overshirt is worn. In many of these sports, a player
must control or catch a ball that strikes the player in the chest.
Unfortunately there have been no jerseys, undershirts or
compression shirts available that include an effective aid in
controlling such balls.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present disclosure provides a novel chest pad attached
to or incorporated into the chest area of a jersey, loose
undershirt or compression undershirt to help goalkeepers or other
players gain control of balls that hit their chests. The novel
chest pad is effective to reduce the velocity of a rebounding ball
after its impact with the chest while providing protection against
impact and abrasion. The slow-rebound foam layer has the property
that once compressed, it returns to its pre-compression state
slowly relative to other foams. In the context of catching or
controlling a soccer ball, this slow-rebound property reduces the
foam's pressure on the rebounding ball, thus decreasing its
rebounding velocity and allowing a player to catch or control the
ball more easily, especially hard shots. A soccer field player
wearing a shirt with the chest pad may also find it helpful for
trapping soccer balls with their chest. While the application of a
slow-rebound chest pad described here is directed primarily to
soccer, this concept can be applied to any sports where catching or
gaining control of the ball is required, including but not limited
to American football, Australian rules football, rugby, and
baseball.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0004] The following drawing forms part of the present
specification and is included to further demonstrate certain
aspects of the present disclosure. The disclosure may be better
understood by reference to the drawing in combination with the
detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein.
[0005] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a long-sleeve compression shirt
with an integrated slow rebound foam pad on the chest. Foams for
protection against impacts or abrasion are also shown in the elbow,
shoulder and rib areas.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present disclosure arises at least in part from a need
for improved ball control for soccer goalkeepers, soccer field
players, football players, or players in any other sport where a
fast rebounding ball hampers a player's ability to catch or gain
control of the ball. This need is particularly evident in soccer
goalkeeper play in which a ball rebounding from a goalkeeper's
chest can be played by an opponent into the goal.
[0007] The present disclosure provides, therefore, equipment
including a shirt, chest protector, overshirt, undershirt, jersey,
or other equipment or clothing in which a player has a need to
control a ball that strikes the player's chest during course of
play. The slow rebound foam pads of the present disclosure provide
this advantage without restricting movement, or preventing
dissipation of body heat. The positioning of a chest pad on a
shirt, for example, can be anywhere from below the neck to above
the waist and is positioned in the most likely place for a ball to
strike the player in a particular sport.
[0008] In certain embodiments the pads are composed of one or more
foam layers, at least one layer of which is open-cell viscoelastic
polyurethane or other foam materials with similar properties. An
example of such foam is marketed by Rogers Corporation (Rogers,
Conn.) as Poron.RTM. Slow Rebound Foam. The thickness of the slow
rebound foam layer can be any appropriate thickness for the sport,
level of play or age of the wearer, for example, and in certain
embodiments includes one or more layers of from 1 mm to 7 mm
inclusive, depending on the amount of rebound absorption required.
The durometer of a slow rebound foam can be within the range of 8
to 18. The slow-rebound foam's time to recovery to 90% of
pre-compression thickness is between 0.3 to 0.8 seconds. The
compression force deflection of the foam is between 0.3 to 10 psi.
The foam can be laminated to other layers of fabric, foam or other
sheet material to increase durability or to optimize the impact
absorption properties of a chest pad. The foam can also be
perforated with holes to improve heat release or ventilation.
[0009] It is an aspect of the present disclosure that sports shirts
or equipment incorporating a slow rebound foam pad can include
other padded areas for impact protection. In certain embodiments,
particularly for a soccer shirt, additional padded areas can
include one or more of the elbows, ribs and shoulders. For other
sports, such as American football, padding can also be included on
at least one of the back, kidney and abdomen areas. The thickness
of each padded area will depend on the sport or player position of
the user. An example of a soccer shirt with a chest pad as
described is shown in FIG. 1. Foams for protection against impacts
or abrasion are also shown in the elbow, shoulder and rib areas
[0010] In a test to determine the effect on shot absorption of the
slow rebound foam, a steel ball of about 0.5 inch diameter and
weighing approximately 50 grams was dropped through a tube onto the
control foam material and the test material (slow rebound) from a
height of approximately 1 meter. The ball dropped on the control
rebounded to at least 14 inches while an identical ball dropped on
the test material rebounded only about 6 inches, or about half the
height of the control. This demonstrates the superior shot
absorption of the test material.
[0011] All of the articles, compositions and/or methods disclosed
and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue
experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the
systems, compositions and methods of this disclosure have been
described in terms of certain embodiments, it will be apparent to
those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the
systems, compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in the
sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing
from the concept, spirit and scope of the disclosure. More
specifically, it will be apparent that certain physical structures
may be substituted for the physical structures described herein and
the same or similar results would be achieved. All such similar
substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art
are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of the
disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *