Shoulder pad truss arch system

A shoulder pad truss arch system for a shoulder pad. The shoulder pad has a generally inverted U-shape arch member adapted to fit over a shoulder of a wearer, and the arch member has chestplate and backplate portions interconnected by a curved shoulder portion. The shoulder pad truss arch system comprises a first truss extending from the chestplate portion of the arch member to the shoulder portion of the arch member, a second truss extending from the backplate portion of the arch member to the shoulder portion of the arch member, and a truss bridge. One end of the truss bridge is attached to the first truss, and the other end of the truss bridge is attached to the second truss so as to suspend the truss system and thus the shoulder pad on the shoulder of the wearer such that impact on the shoulder portion of the arch member causes the chestplate and backplate portions to be pulled toward one another.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to shoulder pads for football players and 
the like, and more particularly to a shoulder pad truss arch system which 
spreads impact loads over the shoulders of a football player. 
Shoulder pads are generally designed to reduce and spread impact loads from 
colliding football players over the shoulders of the wearer. Heretofore, 
shoulder pad designs have included thick inner padding sections, inverted 
V-shaped flexible straps located between the inner padding sections and 
the hard outer layer of the shoulder pad, and various combinations of 
epaulets and web hinges. In particular, the hard outer layer and the inner 
padding section in combination have served to absorb the load. When 
impacted, conventional shoulder pads tend to transmit the load to the 
shoulder only in the immediate area of impact and do not spread the load 
over other areas of the shoulders, chest and back. However, a shoulder pad 
should spread the load over a large area of the shoulders, chest and back, 
since the greater the area over which the load is spread, the greater the 
load that can be absorbed. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision of a 
shoulder pad truss arch system, particularly adapted to spread the impact 
load over a larger area of the shoulders of a player; and the provision of 
such a truss arch system that is inexpensive and durable. 
Generally, a truss arch system of this invention is adapted for a shoulder 
pad for football players and the like. The shoulder pad has a generally 
inverted U-shape arch member adapted to fit over a shoulder of a wearer, 
and the arch member has chestplate and backplate portions interconnected 
by a curved shoulder portion. The shoulder pad truss arch system comprises 
a first truss extending up from the chestplate portion of the arch member 
to the shoulder portion of the arch member, a second truss extending up 
from the backplate portion of the arch member to the shoulder portion of 
the arch member, and a truss bridge extending between the first and second 
trusses at a location spaced below the shoulder portion of the arch 
member. One end of the truss bridge is attached to the first truss, and 
the other end of the truss bridge is attached to the second truss so as to 
suspend the truss system and thus the shoulder pad on the shoulder of the 
wearer such that impact on the shoulder portion of the arch member causes 
the shoulder of the wearer to force at least a portion of the truss arch 
system generally upwardly to pull the chestplate and backplate portions 
toward one another. 
Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out 
hereinafter.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Now referring to the drawings, a shoulder pad truss arch system of the 
present invention is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 
10, and is particularly adapted for use in a shoulder pad 12 for football 
players and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, shoulder pad 12 comprises a 
left-hand arch member generally designated L and a right-hand arch member 
generally designated R. Left-hand arch member L is adapted to fit over the 
left shoulder of a football player, etc., and right-hand arch member R is 
adapted to fit over the right shoulder. For example, left-hand arch member 
L and right-hand arch member R have inner padding sections 14L and 14R, 
respectively, which along with the right-hand and left-hand arch members 
have a generally inverted U-shape as viewed from the side (see FIG. 3). 
Truss arch system 10 is disposed between arch member L and inner padding 
section 14L. Means are provided for attaching the right-hand and left-hand 
arch members L and R together, such as laces 16 or rivets (not shown). The 
shoulder pad may be provided with conventional upper epaulets 18 and outer 
epaulets 20 (shown for the right-hand arch member in FIG. 1). Conventional 
side straps (not shown) may also be provided for securing the shoulder 
pads to the shoulders of the football player. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, left-hand arch member L includes a 
chestplate portion 22L and a backplate portion 24L, which are 
interconnected by a curved shoulder portion 26L, and right-hand arch 
member R includes a chestplate portion 22R and backplate portion (not 
shown), which are interconnected by a curved shoulder portion 26R. The 
arch members may, but need not, be of integral construction, as shown in 
the drawings. The chestplate and backplate portions are provided with 
means, such as slots 28, for attaching the side straps (not shown). 
Left-hand member L is hereinafter used to illustrate various aspects of the 
invention. It is understood, though, that the following discussion applies 
to both the right-hand and left-hand members, with the right-hand member 
being a mirror image of the left-hand member. 
Preferably, truss arch system 10 comprises a first (forward) truss 30 
extending from chestplate portion 22L to shoulder portion 26L, and a 
second (rearward) truss 32 extending from backplate portion 24L to 
shoulder portion 26L, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Means are provided for 
attaching the trusses to arch member L. For example, first truss 30 may be 
riveted (at 36) to chestplate portion 22L, and second truss 32 may be 
riveted (at 38) to backplate portion 24L. Both truss members are then 
riveted (at 40) to shoulder portion 26L. 
A truss bridge 42 is provided to the truss arch system 10. Truss bridge 42 
has one end attached (e.g., by rivets 44 or by stitching (not shown)) to a 
mid-portion 46 of first truss 30 and the other end attached (e.g., by 
rivets 44) to a mid portion 48 of second truss 32, so that the truss 
bridge is roughly parallel to a plane tangent to shoulder portion 26L, and 
thus truss bridge 42 suspends the truss system and the shoulder pad on the 
shoulder of the wearer. Truss bridge 42 may be thought of as forming the 
base of an isoceles triangle with the first and second trusses 30 and 32 
forming the sides thereof, as illustrated in FIG. 3. A conventional web 
hinge 50 for outer epaulet 20 may be attached to truss bridge 42 (e.g., by 
rivets 52). 
First truss 30, second truss 32, and truss bridge 42 may be of flexible 
material, such as a synthetic woven material, and are preferably of 
substantially equal width, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. For example, first 
and second trusses 30 and 32 may be different portions of one flexible 
strap as they are shown in the preferred emodiment. 
As illustrated in FIG. 5, when shoulder pad 12 is impacted, upward motion 
of the shoulder relative to the shoulder pad is caused by the combination 
of the impact force (not shown) and a reaction force F exerted on truss 
bridge 42 by the shoulder of a wearer. The relative upward motion of truss 
bridge 42 causes first and second trusses 30, 32 to be in tension, thereby 
pulling chestplate and backplate portions 22L and 24L toward one another. 
As a result, horizontal pinching forces PF are exerted on the shoulder 
(shown in phantom) of the wearer, and the original impact force is spread 
over the inner padding sections instead of concentrated on the top 
thereof. (This can best be seen by comparing the admittedly exaggerated 
illustration of the shoulder pad when not impacted in FIG. 4 with the 
illustration of the shoulder pad during impact in FIG. 5.) As the original 
impact force increases, this reaction increases, and thus larger impact 
forces are more thoroughly spread over the shoulder of a wearer than 
smaller forces. 
In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the 
invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained. 
As various changes could be made in the above constructions without 
departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter 
contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings 
shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.