U.S. patent number 3,739,397 [Application Number 05/215,776] was granted by the patent office on 1973-06-19 for shoulder pad apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Protective Products, Inc.. Invention is credited to John H. Truelove.
United States Patent |
3,739,397 |
Truelove |
June 19, 1973 |
SHOULDER PAD APPARATUS
Abstract
Disclosed is a shoulder pad apparatus comprised of opposed
U-shaped members adapted to be worn over the shoulder and attached
to form a protective pad for the wearer's shoulders and upper chest
and back. The ends of the U-shaped members are interconnected by an
adjustable bridge which supports a pad for protecting the wearer's
sides and ribs.
Inventors: |
Truelove; John H. (Vernon,
TX) |
Assignee: |
Protective Products, Inc.
(Grand Prairie, TX)
|
Family
ID: |
22804339 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/215,776 |
Filed: |
January 6, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/462; 2/464;
2/465 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
71/12 (20130101); A63B 2071/1208 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
71/08 (20060101); A63B 71/12 (20060101); A41d
013/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;2/2,2.5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Guest; Alfred R.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Shoulder pad apparatus comprising
a. a pair of opposed substantially U-shaped members adapted to be
interconnected and worn over the shoulders, the legs of each
U-shaped member being attached to the opposed legs of the opposite
U-shaped member forming a protective pad over the upper portions of
the chest and back,
b. frame means interconnecting the ends of the front and back legs
of each of said U-shaped members and curved to substantially
conform in the shape of the wearer's body,
c. pad means adapted to be worn between said frame means and the
wearer's body, and
d. means interconnecting said frame means and said pad means which
permits vertical movement of said frame means with respect to said
pad means.
2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said frame means
comprises rigid straps, one strap extending from the end of each
leg of said U-shaped members and overlapping to form a bridge
interconnecting the ends of the U-shaped members.
3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein the overlapping ends of
said straps are provided with means for adjustably securing the
straps together to form a rigid frame member.
4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said pad means comprises
a curved rigid shell, resilient padding attached to the inner
surface of said shell, and a plurality of substantially vertically
disposed straps secured near the upper and lower edges of said pad
defining loops for said frame means.
5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein the width of said frame
member is substantially less than the length of said loops.
Description
This invention relates to protective body pad equipment. More
particularly, it relates to football shoulder pads including an
adjustable pad for protecting the ribs and sides.
Protective pads of various designs are worn by participants in many
contact sports. For example, football players conventionally wear
shoulder pad apparatus which generally comprise a pair of opposed
U-shaped members adapted to be placed over opposite shoulders of
the wearer. The U-shaped members define a central opening
therebetween for receiving the neck of the wearer. The front and
back portions, comprising the legs of the U, are adapted to cover
at least portions of the upper chest and upper back of the wearer.
The central portions, comprising the base of the U, cover the
shoulders of the wearer.
Conventional football shoulder pads are composed of a plastic hull
having resilient padding attached to the inside thereof. Hinged
epaulettes are attached at the base of the U and extend over the
shoulder and upper arm of the wearer.
The legs of the U-shaped members are joined by lacing members or
other attaching devices which allow the wearer to attach the two
U-shaped members forming a unitary shoulder pad when worn. However,
the individual U-shaped members may be disengaged to remove the
device from the wearer.
Conventional shoulder pads as described above offer protection to
the wearer's shoulders and upper chest and back. However,
conventional equipment offers no protection whatsoever to the
wearer's ribs on the wearer's sides between the arms and the
waist.
Modified shoulder pad equipment has been constructed to produce a
rib protector by bridging the legs of the U with a curved padded
member which offers some protection for the side of the wearer's
body under the arm. Such modified apparatus, however, is not
individually adjustable. Accordingly, the spacing between the front
and rear legs of each U-shaped member is fixed and cannot be
altered to fit the particular size of each individual wearer. Since
such pads cannot be adjusted to fit snugly against the wearer's
ribs, they offer little protection. Furthermore, they are often
uncomfortable to the wearer. More important, however, the bridge
must be secured firmly against the wearer's rib cage to offer
substantial protection. Since the eppulettes extend over the
wearer's shoulders; when the arms are raised the entire shoulder
pad hull is raised. However, with the bridge members snug against
the wearer's chest, the hull cannot move. Accordingly, movement of
the wearer's arms is severely limited.
In accordance with the present invention, a football shoulder pad
apparatus is provided which incorporates in the conventional
shoulder pad design a rib pad supported between the open ends of
the legs of the U by an adjustable bridge. The rib pad, however, is
slideably secured to the bridge allowing the bridge and the
shoulder pad to move vertically on the wearer's body while the rib
pad remains fixed. Since the length of the bridge is adjustable the
pad may be adjusted to fit any particular wearer. Furthermore, by
allowing vertical movement of the shoulder pad while allowing the
rib pad to remain stationary, movement of the wearer's arms is not
restricted. The rib pad may thus be designed to provide comfortable
protection for a major portion of the wearer's shoulders, chest and
rib cage without restricting use of the arms.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become more
readily understood from the following detailed description taken in
connection with the appended claims and attached drawings in
which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoulder pad apparatus
incorporating the rib pad of the invention, and
FIG. 2 is a side view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in
FIG. 1.
Shoulder pad apparatus incorporating the features of the invention
is illustrated in FIG. 1. The conventional pad comprises opposed
U-shaped members 10 and 12. The legs 11 and 13 of U-shaped members
10 and 12, respectively, are interconnected by detachable locking
or lacing device 20.
As shown in FIG. 1 one leg 11 of the U-shaped member 10 and the
opposed leg 13 of U-shaped member 12 are joined to form a pad
covering at least the upper portion of the wearer's chest. The
opposite legs of the members 10 and 12 are similarily joined to
form a pad covering at least the upper portion of the wearer's
back. When joined, the pad members 10 and 12 define an opening 14
to receive the wearer's neck. Such pads are generally formed of a
plastic shell which supports a resilient padding material 15.
Hinged epaulettes 16 and 17 are conventionally secured to the base
portion of the U-shaped member to define a pad extending over the
shoulder and part of the upper arm of the wearer.
The apparatus as described hereinabove is the conventional form of
football shoulder pads. In accordance with the present invention a
rib protector pad is incorporated into the conventional football
shoulder pad design. The rib protector pads 30 and 31 are supported
horizontally between the ends of the legs 11 and 12 of the U-shaped
members 10 and 12, respectively. The rib pads 30 and 31 comprise a
curved shell 30a and 31a to which are attached resilient padding
31b and 30b. The rib pads 30 and 31 are of sufficient length to
bridge the distance between the ends of the legs 11 and 13 and are
curved to substantially conform to the side of the wearer's body.
Each pad 30 and 31 carries a plurality of straps 32 and 34
extending vertically from near the top of the pad to near the
bottom of the pad. The straps 32 and 34 are attached to the pad
only at their ends, thus forming loops between the shell and the
straps.
The ends of the legs 11 and 13 of the U-shaped members 10 and 12
are bridged by a rigid or semi-rigid frame member 35 of adjustable
length. Bridging frame 35 may be formed by a pair of interconnected
straps of rigid plastic material similar to that which is used to
form the U-shaped members 10 and 12, or may constitute an integral
extension thereof. The bridging frame 35 is preferably slightly
U-shaped, extending downwardly from the leg of U-shaped member 10
and upwardly to join the opposite leg 11a of the U-shaped member
10. Bridging frame 35 is also curved outwardly at the base to
conform to the curvature of the rib pad 30. In the preferred
embodiment bridging frame 35 is comprised of a pair of overlapping
straps, one extending from the end of each leg of the U-shaped
member 10. The overlapping ends of the straps are provided with a
plurality of apertures whereby they may be joined together by means
of screws, bolts or other devices to form a bridge of variable
length.
It will be observed that the width of bridging frame 35 is
substantially less than the width of the rib pad 30. Therefore,
with the bridging frame 35 in the loops formed by the straps 32 on
the back of the pad the bridging frame may move vertically and
horizontally with the shoulder pad without moving the rib pad 30.
The rib pad 30, however, is held snugly against the wearer's side
at all times. Accordingly, when the apparatus is worn, the bridging
frame 35 may be adjusted to hold the pad snugly against the ribs of
the wearer while allowing the shoulder pad apparatus to move
vertically as the wearer's arms are raised and lowered.
In the preferred embodiment the padding material 44 extends well
below the ends of legs 11 and 13 to provide padding between the
wearer's body and the substantially vertical portions of bridging
frame 35. Accordingly, it will be observed that when the apparatus
is in place a substantial portion of the wearer's chest region is
encased in padding material supported by a rigid plastic shell.
Bridging frame 35 not only serves to support the rib pad, but also
aids in distributing impact shock received on the rib area over the
remainder of the shoulder pad. Furthermore, a shock received on the
front portion of the shoulder pad will be partially transmitted to
the rear part of the pad by means of the bridging frame 35.
However, since the bridging frame 35 may move within the loops
formed by the straps, the bridging frame does not restrict movement
of the shoulder pad. It should also be noted that although the
bridging frame 35 serves to hold the rib pad 30 against the
wearer's side, movement of the shoulder pad does not cause rubbing
or chafing of the bridging frame against the wearer. Accordingly,
the apparatus of this invention provides pad protection for a major
portion of the wearer's chest without restricting his activity and
without causing discomfort.
It is to be understood that although the invention has been
described with particular reference to specific embodiments
thereof, the form of the invention shown and described in detail is
to be taken as the preferred embodiment of same, and that various
changes and modifications may be resorted to without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended
claims.
* * * * *