U.S. patent number 3,866,909 [Application Number 05/349,423] was granted by the patent office on 1975-02-18 for protective garment for karate with force indicating members thereon.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Salvatore G. Militana. Invention is credited to Nino M. DeSantis.
United States Patent |
3,866,909 |
DeSantis |
February 18, 1975 |
PROTECTIVE GARMENT FOR KARATE WITH FORCE INDICATING MEMBERS
THEREON
Abstract
A uniform for combatants engaging in full contact contest of
Karate and the like consisting of a helmet and a torso protective
garment and having a plurality of pockets mounted on the helmet and
the garment at the positions of the vulnerable parts of their
bodies. Within the pockets there are placed plastic bags that are
inflated and which are ruptured with an explosive-type noise upon
being inflicted a blow of predetermined force by an adversary to
indicate an effective blow having been delivered that would have
otherwise disabled the recipient of the blow. The pockets and the
plastic bags will be made in various sizes to compel different
degrees of accuracy required to score a hit for the various parts
of one's body. In addition, the plastic bags will be made of
various strengths of plastic in order to require predetermined
forces to rupture the various bags, the forces being commensurate
with the force required to disable the opponent if no protective
clothing were used.
Inventors: |
DeSantis; Nino M. (Miami,
FL) |
Assignee: |
Militana; Salvatore G. (Miami
Shores, FL)
|
Family
ID: |
23372338 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/349,423 |
Filed: |
April 9, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/88; 482/83;
2/411; 2/463; 2/466; 2/456; 2/465; 2/464 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
69/004 (20130101); A42B 3/0433 (20130101); A63B
71/12 (20130101); A63B 2225/62 (20130101); A63B
2071/1208 (20130101); A63B 71/1216 (20130101); A63B
71/081 (20130101); A63B 2220/53 (20130101); A63B
2071/0625 (20130101); A41D 13/0155 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A42B
3/04 (20060101); A63B 69/00 (20060101); A63B
71/08 (20060101); A63B 71/12 (20060101); A63B
69/32 (20060101); A63B 69/20 (20060101); A63b
069/00 (); A41d 013/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;272/76 ;273/1F,12.1B
;2/2,2.5,3R ;9/314,315,332,340 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
"Sharpen Your Attack," Black Belt, September, 1969, p. 47..
|
Primary Examiner: Pinkham; Richard C.
Assistant Examiner: Stouffer; R. T.
Claims
What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the
United
1. A uniform for combatants engaging in Karate and the like
comprising a protective garment consisting of blow absorbing
material, means mounted on said material for securing said garment
about the torso of said combatants, a plurality of force indicating
means mounted on said garment and positioned so as to cover the
vulnerable parts of the body of each of said combatants for
indicating when a blow of predetermined force has been inflicted on
one of the combatants by the other, each of said means consisting
of a pliable member forming an enclosed chamber inflated so as to
only contain matter consisting essentially of fluid material, said
fluid material including a substantial proportion of gas, said
member requiring said blow of predetermined force to become
ruptured and to simultaneously emit a substantially loud noise to
indicate reception of said blow at one of said vulnerable parts of
not less than said predetermined force by said one of said
combatants and further means removably securing said pliable
members to said garment whereby ruptured
2. The structure as recited by claim 1 taken in combination with a
helmet mountable on said combatant's head for protection thereto,
and a plurality of said pliable members mounted on said helmet so
as to cover the vulnerable parts of the head of each of said
combatants and said further
3. The structure as recited by claim 2 wherein said further means
comprises a plurality of pockets secured to said garment and said
helmet removably
4. The structure as recited by claim 3 wherein each of said pliable
members comprises substantially pliable sheet material formed in a
sleeve and sealed along their edges forming an enclosed chamber
containing air therein whereby upon the inflicting of a blow of
sufficient force thereon
5. The structure as recited by claim 4 wherein said pliable members
positioned in said pockets vary as to the predetermined amount of
force required to rupture said members.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sport garments and is more particularly
directed to such garments that offer protection to the participants
of such sports as karate and the like but also assists in
determining the effectiveness of each contestant.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are sports in which two contestants oppose each other to
determine a winner or one who exhibits a greater degree of
dexterity in that sport than the other. Such sports are boxing and
wrestling. However, there are certain sports that involve a high
degree of violence that would cause severe injuries to the
participants, and therefore in these sports protective garments are
required to be used when in combat. These sports include fencing,
karate and the like. A problem arises in the use of protective
clothing, in that it becomes difficult if not impossible for
referees and umpires to determine a winner in a contest. In the
field of fencing, this problem was solved by either painting the
tip of a foil, which upon contact with the opponent's garment will
leave a mark thereon or have the tip of the foil act as an
electrode which when contacting the opponent's garment closes a
circuit to indicate the contact to the officials, thereby resolving
the winner absolutely without any doubts nor any guessing on on the
part of the officials.
Karate, which is an art of unarmed self defense is the most violent
of sports involving two opposing contestants. At the present time,
in tournaments the contestants either go through the motions
without making contact with his opponent or they were protective
clothing to permit execution of their motions. In either instance
they are provided a number of officials who observe the contestants
in combat and then determine in their judgment, the winner. Since
the officials must, in effect, have to guess which motions resulted
in proper and effective forceful blows or counterblows and which
were either ineffective or glancing in force, the results of most
of the contest could not be positive as to the true winner.
The present invention contemplates avoiding the above indicated
objections to the manner of determining the winner of a contest in
karate and the like by providing means for indicating the part of
the body upon which the blow was inflicted on an opponent and also
determines whether or not the blow was sufficiently forceful to
inflict the disabling effect desired, had the opponent not worn the
protective clothing so that there is no doubt as to the winner of
the contest.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, a principal object of the present invention is to
provide participants in the sport of karate and the like with
garments that permit the participants to completely execute their
motions that would normally inflict damage and injury to the
participants, and also permits the proper and exact determination
as to the winner of the contest.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the
participants of the sport of karate and the like with protective
clothing on which certain means are placed which determines the
part of the body received by a blow or motion from one of the
opponents by the other and the amount of force inflicted by that
blow.
A further object of the present invention is to provide the
participants of the sport of karate and the like with protective
clothing having targets mounted thereon, which upon being struck by
an opponent indicates the force of the blow and the theoretical
damage or injury that would have been inflicted if the protective
clothing had not been used.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide the
participants of the sport of karate and the like with protective
clothing having pockets positioned at the vulnerable parts of a
person's body and burstable inflated members placed therein, which,
upon receiving a direct blow in true combat contact from an
opponent, will burst with a loud noise to correctly indicate the
execution of a proper blow at a vulnerable part of his opponent's
body so as to remove any guessing in the determination as to the
winner of the contest.
With these and other objects in view, the invention will be best
understood from a consideration of the following detailed
description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing
forming a part of this specification, with the understanding,
however, that the invention is not confined to any strict
conformity with the showing of the drawing but may be changed or
modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material
departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed
in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the drawing:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a person shown by dotted lines
wearing protective clothing embodying my invention.
FIGS. 2 and 3 are front and side views of the torso protective
clothing.
FIGS. 4 and 5 are front and side views of the head protector.
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG.
1.
FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 7--7 of FIG.
6.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a burstable inflated member.
Referring to the drawing wherein like numerals are used throughout
the several views to indicate similar parts, the numerals 10 and 20
refer to a helmet and torso protector respectively, that embody my
invention. Positioned on the helmet 10 and torso protector 20 are a
plurality of pockets for containing burstable inflated members 30;
the pockets, to be explained in detail hereinafter are positioned
at the vulnerable parts of a person's body. The helmet 10 is
similar in construction to that used by football players consisting
of a protective covering 11 for the head and ears made of
fiberglass and padded with rubber and the like on the inside (not
shown) surface. Across the face opening 12 are a plurality of
spaced bars 13 that join the vertical bar 14 at the center of the
front of the helmet 10. Mounted thereon and affixed to the bars 13,
14 is a pocket 15 which is positioned in line with and below a
person's nose. On each side of the helmet 10 in alignment with a
person's temples is a pocket 16 affixed thereon, as by cementing or
gluing.
The torso protector 20 is similar in shape construction to that of
a catcher in baseball consisting of layers of padded and blow
absorbing materials of somewhat rectangular shape 21 covering the
front and side of the torso of a person. There are shoulder
portions 22 extending over the shoulders and tied together by
straps 23 that extend from the ends of the shoulder portions 22. A
pair of further straps 24 extending from each of the side edges of
the body portion 21 are used to secure the latter to the user's
body in a snug and fitted manner. At the lower edge of the body
portion 21 of the protector 20 extends a centrally position flap 25
with flaps 26 on each side thereof. Along approximately the
centerline of the body portion 21 is a plurality of pockets 27, 28,
29 and 30 affixed to the body protector 20. The pocket 27 is in
proximity of the user's adam's apple and the pocket 28 protects the
user's solar plexis. The pocket 29 covers the user's stomach while
the pocket 30 is in alignment with the user's groin. There are two
more pockets 31 astride the stomach pocket 28 which serve to
protect the ribs.
Into each of these pockets 15, 16 and 27 to 31 inclusive there is
placed an air filled burstable sealed bag 40 made preferably of
plastic material which when struck by a blow of sufficient force
will burst accompanied by an explosion-type noise. Each of the bags
40 consist of a sleeve-like member of sheet plastic with both edges
41 sealed to contain air trapped therein.
The bags 40 will be of appropriate size, as are the pockets, to
cover the particular target it is covering. For instance, the
pocket 27 and bag 40 for the Adam's apple will be smaller in size
than the stomach pocket 29 and bag 40 contained therein since the
Adam's apple of a person presents a smaller target than the larger
size of a person's stomach. Also, since certain parts of a person's
body are more vulnerable to blows than other parts, whereby a
lesser force struck at one part of a person's body can be as
disabling to the combatant as a greater force at another part of
his body. For example, a blow in the stomach or ribs would render a
less disabling effect on a combatant than the same blow on the
person's Adam's apple or groin. In order that this factor be taken
into consideration when two persons are engaged in a karate
exercize of full contact, the various inflated members 40 are made
of sheet plastic of different thicknesses so that blows of varying
forces will be scored as a hit. The inflated members 40 of the
face, temples, adam's apple and groin will be formed of thinner
plastic than those of the ribs, solar plexis and the stomach so
that a blow of certain force will rupture the inflated members 40
of the face, temples, adam's apple and groin, while a blow of
greater force is required to rupture the inflated members 40 of the
ribs, solar plexis and stomach. In addition, with the rupturing of
the inflatable members 40, points are attributed to the combatant
that causes the rupture of the inflatable member 40. The amount of
the score of points being directly related to the disabling effect
of the blow on the combatant had no protective clothing been
used.
The contest between two combatants in karate can now be a spectator
sport in the same manner as boxing. With each combatant attired in
the protective clothing 20 and helmet 10 and the proper inflatable
members 40 having been placed in the pockets 15, 16 and 27 to 31
inclusive, the combatants can then engage in the karate exercise
imparting full impact thrusts and blows at each other. As each
inflatable member 40 is ruptured, accompanied by a loud noise, a
score is kept. As in boxing, the combatants will engage in the
karate exercise by rounds of a certain duration with rest periods
in between. If one of the combatants achieves a certain designated
score by rupturing a number of inflatable members 40 or the
combatant having the highest score at the end of the prescribed
number of rounds will be declared the winner.
Now, karate can be demonstrated as a sport in the same manner as in
a boxing contest in which two combatants fight to determine a
winner. No longer will it be necessary for judges to observe and
evaluate each blow on the basis of whether the blow was of
sufficient force to be a disabling blow or lethal blow or whether
it was an inconsequential blow. Normally in a karate contest, the
combatants act so fast and the blows as well as the counterblows
occur in such rapidity that it is difficult if not impossible to
see and evaluate all such blows. Consequently, the decision as to
which combatant won the contest amounts to an opinion and not as a
result of a true measure of the combatants efforts. With the use of
the helmet 10 and garment 20, the combatants can be assured that
the one named the winner will be the one who received the highest
number points or a predesignated number of points as determined by
the ruptured members 40 by each combatant on the garment and head
gear of his opponent. If spectators are present observing the
contest, they will be apprised of the skill of each of the
combatants by the noise emitted by the inflatable members 40 as
they are struck by the combatants and ruptured to indicate an
effective disabling blow having been delivered.
* * * * *