Protective athletic garment and method

A protective athletic garment provides segmented padding is patterned to conform to the size, shape and motion of the muscles it is protecting. Segmented padding is supplemented in joint areas by tangentially-stepped articulated shielding, each comprising a hingeably interconnected series of rigid shells. The structure and orientation of the shells deflects impact forces tangentially, while the rotational mobility of the shielding has a force-damping effect. The protective athletic garment has a combination of latticed resilient padding covering vulnerable body areas, such as chest, arms and back, plus articulated, perforated rigid shield panels over joints areas, such as shoulders and elbows. Synergistic dynamic interaction of padding and shielding is achieved by converting impact forces to torques within a series of articulated shield panels and spreading out the forces transmitted to the underlying padding both over area and time.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of protective garments, and more particularly to garments to protect athletes competing in contact sports, such as lacrosse, football, hockey and motocross. While the present invention is primarily directed to protective athletic garments, however, it is also applicable to garments used in any activity involving potential high-impact bodily contact where there is a need provide protection without unduly restricting mobility.

Protective garments and equipment designed for use in contact sports typically rely on two modes of dissipating impact forces: padding and shielding. Padding dissipates the force through elastic deformation of the padding material, while shielding deflects a portion of the force away from the body. Optimally, padding and shielding are used in combination, with padding underlying shielding, so that undeflected forces transmitted through the shield can be absorbed by the padding beneath.

The major problem in designing effective athletic gear is the need to balance protection versus mobility. Even within the same sport, different degrees and types of protection and mobility are often demanded for different position players. Shoulder protectors suitable for a football lineman, for example, would be much too confining for a quarterback or wide receiver, while a quarterback's lighter padding would be ineffective for blocking on the line.

One way to provide both mobility and protection is to segment or articulate the padding and/or shielding, leaving interstices and/or joints within which flexing and bending can take place. Segmentation and/or articulation of both padding and shielding is needed to provide mobility where both modes of protection are being deployed in conjunction with one another. But, since segmentation and articulation introduce additional degrees of freedom of movement to padding and shielding beyond that associated with their protective functions, it's important that the mobility dynamics of the padding and shielding not work at cross purposes to their protective dynamics.

For example, a simplistic approach to segmenting an elbow protector would be to split it above and below the joint. But, while facilitating elbow movement, such segmentation would also leave the most sensitive outer part of the elbow exposed every time the elbow was bent.

Another important consideration in designing articulated body protection is the interaction between the padding and the shielding. For example, foam padding underlying a one-piece shield panel will compress downward to dissipate a downward force applied to the panel. But the same padding beneath a two-piece panel may be subject to sideward pressure which limits its downward compression and reduces force dissipation.

The prior art in this field includes garments in which segmented padding is inserted into pockets or openings in the garment. Examples of these garments are disclosed by Mattila, U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,407, Ketcham et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,706, Valtakari, U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,473, and Davis, U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2007/0199129. While pocket-type padding has the advantage of versatility, the padding adds to the bulk of the garment and impedes mobility.

Several prior art patents/applications teach the use of segmented protective pads which are integrated within the fabric of the garment. Examples of such integrated segmented padding designs appear in Fortier et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,559, Stewart et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,082, and Lamson et al., U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2009/0044319. A joint protector with articulated padding is disclosed by Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,503, in which the resilient members conform to the contours of the protected joint.

The combination of segmented padding with overlying non-articulated panels is taught by Donzis, U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,271, wherein the panels conform to body contours, as do the pocket-insert panels disclosed by Valtakari and Davis. An upper body protector comprising inflatable air cells in combination with rigid non-articulated plastic epaulets is taught by Maynard, U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,703.

The present invention improves upon the prior art by providing a protective garment with a combination of latticed resilient padding covering vulnerable body areas, such as chest, arms and back, plus articulated, perforated rigid shield panels over joints areas, such as shoulders and elbows. Synergistic dynamic interaction of padding and shielding is achieved by converting impact forces to torques within a series of articulated shield panels and spreading out the forces transmitted to the underlying padding both over area and time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention can be practiced in a number of embodiments, which should be understood before one specific embodiment is described in detail. For illustrative purposes, some of these embodiments will now be discussed for the purpose of conveying a better understanding of the general intent of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that neither the following illustrative embodiments, nor the detailed embodiment described in the next section of this application, are intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

The present invention uses latticed resilient padding in conjunction with articulated, perforated shielding comprising a series of interconnected light-weight shield rigid panels. By “latticed,” it is meant that the padding has a open structure, through which air can circulate, comprising flexibly interconnected lattice subunits, each having a central cavity defined by a perimeter wall that is either polygonal, circular, oval, or elliptical in shape. By “perforated” it is meant that the shield panels are penetrated by a series of apertures, through which air can circulate. The purpose of the latticed padding and perforated shield panels is to reduce the weight of the padding/shielding as well as to improve its flexibility.

The garment has an outer layer and a liner layer, with some padding material distributed over various areas between the two layers, and other padding material attached to the outer layer and projecting above it. The former will be referred to as “interior padding” and the latter as “exterior padding”. The padding material can consist of a gel, such as semi-solid silicone, a foam, such as open-cell polyurethane, or a polymer composite. Cells filled with compressed air or gas, as well as inflatable air bladders, can also be used as padding material.

Segmentation of the padding is patterned to conform to the size, shape and motion of the muscles it is protecting. Using the front of an upper body garment as an example, interior padding over the chest could comprise two large triangular foam segments over the right and left pectorals separated by an exterior vertical oblong strip of raised square or rectangular gel segments over the sternum. The outer sides of the upper arms and forearms could be covered with exterior padding comprising clusters of cubical or hemispherical cells containing compressed air, for greater mobility. Over the clavicle, exterior padding might consists of narrow raised polymer strips running across the shoulder, so as not to impede the upward movement of the arm.

The articulated shielding is designed to direct impact forces in a direction tangential to the contours of the protected body area. Over the shoulder, for example, the shielding might comprise a series of flexibly interconnected shells arranged in a stepped configuration. Each of the shells would have multiple flat or slightly convex outer surfaces tangentially aligned with respect to the underlying shoulder contours. The shells would be fabricated from a light-weight impact-resistant plastic, fracture-resistant long glass fiber nylon, or ceramic material. The interconnection between the shells would permit each of the shells to rotate upward, sliding partially under the adjacent shell as the arm is raised.

The tangentially-stepped articulated shielding of the present invention will dissipate impact forces in two ways. First, an oblique impact to one of the shells will tend to move it in the direction of least resistance, which is at a tangent to the underlying body contour, so that the orthogonal component of the force is re-directed and deflected. Second, an orthogonal or oblique impact to one of the shells will generate a torque causing the shell to rotate about the hinge connecting it to the adjacent shell. This rotational motion will be transmitted down the series of interconnected shells, thereby generating an undulating movement which tends to dampen the force. Since this undulating motion of the shielding has both horizontal and vertical components, the orthogonal force component is again reduced. Moreover, the undulating transmission extends the force over a larger body area and protracts the time interval during which the force is applied to the body, thereby reducing the resulting pressure on the body.

As applied to protect bodily joint areas, the articulation of the shielding is configured to allow motion in accordance with the structure of the bodily joint. For example, over hinge joints, such as the elbow and the knee, the articulated shield segments are interconnected by hinges comprising flexible interstitial connecting bands (seeFIG. 4A, reference number32), which can either be continuous with and integral to the shield or discrete connectors. Such hinged articulated shielding has one degree of freedom, thereby allowing the elbow/knee joint to move back and forth in one plane.

On the other hand, over ball-and-socket joints, such as the shoulder and hip, the articulated shield comprises discrete segments interconnected by discrete flexible interstitial ties or cords (seeFIG. 6A, reference number45). Such tied segmented shielding has three degrees of freedom, thereby allowing the shoulder/hip joint to move around in three planes.

As applied to protect torso areas, the shielding comprises non-articulated, rigid perforated panels (seeFIG. 8A). The torso panels substantially conform to the shape of the covered torso area. Shielding over the upper chest, for example, comprises substantially triangular panels conforming to the shape of the pectoral muscles (as illustrated inFIG. 2A, reference number18).

The padding underlying the shielding is also adapted to the required range of motion of the bodily area it is protecting. As applied to a hinge joint like the elbow, for example, the padding need only be capable of bending in one plane. Therefore, the hinge joint padding has a close lattice structure, that is, with less than 50% cavity space (seeFIG. 5B) and is thicker in the central area directly over the joint (seeFIG. 5C). On the other hand, as applied to a ball-and-socket joint like the shoulder, the padding must be capable of bending in all three planes. Therefore, the socket joint padding has an open lattice structure, that is, with more than 50% cavity space (seeFIG. 7B) and has a uniform thickness.

As applied to protect torso areas, the padding need only be capable of flexing with minimal bending, therefore, the torso padding has a very close lattice structure, that is, with less than 40% cavity space (seeFIG. 9), and with a uniform thickness.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring toFIGS. 1A and 1C, the front and sides of the exemplary upper torso protective garment10include both interior padding11and exterior padding12. The interior chest padding13over the pectorals comprises two triangular pads of open cell polyurethane foam, approximately two to three inches thick. The interior rib-cage padding14comprises four semi-trapezoidal pads, likewise consisting of open cell polyurethane foam, approximately two to three inches thick. The exterior arm padding15comprises three clusters of raised cubical gel cells, approximately one-quarter to one-half inch in height, positioned over the outer surfaces of the upper arm, elbow and forearm. The exterior shoulder padding16comprises multiple narrow raised gel strips, approximately one-quarter to one-half inch in height, running front to back across the clavicle area. The outer garment layer above each of the pectorals is optionally provided with a pocket17into which a rigid breast plate18(seeFIG. 2A) can be inserted.

Referring toFIG. 1B, the back of the exemplary upper torso garment10includes the exterior arm15and shoulder16padding described above. In addition, there is interior upper back padding19over the scapula areas comprising two triangular pads and interior lower back padding20over the latissimus dorsi areas comprising four semi-trapezoidal pads, with the pads in both cases consisting of open cell polyurethane foam, approximately two to three inches thick. Exterior spinal padding21over the backbone area comprises an oblong strip of raised cubical gel cells, approximately one-quarter to one-half inch in height.

Referring toFIGS. 2A,2B and2C, tangentially-stepped articulated shielding22is attached over the padding and consists of two shoulder shields23and two elbow shields24. Optionally, as mentioned above, two triangular breast plates18can also be inserted into the pockets17for added protection of the pectoral areas. Preferably, the shielding22and breast plates18, are fabricated from a light-weight, rigid impact-resistant plastic or ceramic. Each of the shoulder shields23comprises three interconnected shoulder shells25, each having an open-rectangular or convex shape. Each shoulder shell25is hingeably connected at its base to the next adjacent shell25, such that each of the shells25can rotate upward and slide partially under the next adjacent shell when the garment wearer raises his/her arm. Each of the elbow shields24comprises five interconnected elbow shells26, each having an open-rectangular or convex shape. Each elbow shell26is hingeably connected at its base to the next adjacent shell26, such that each of the shells26can rotate upward and slide partially under the next adjacent shell when the garment wearer bends his/her arm.

As illustrated inFIGS. 2C and 3E, for the shoulder shells25and the elbow shells26, the hinged connections between the base edges of each shell and the top edges of the adjacent shells preferably comprise a series of rectangular thin plastic flexible connection strips27, of the type found on the strap section of a cable tie. The flexible connector strips27can be more or less elongated and/or more or less flexible to enable a greater or lesser range of motion between the shells. By enabling both translational and rotational movement between the shells, the flexible connector strips27serve to transmit impact forces along the interconnected shells so as to deflect the forces away from the wearer's body, as well as to dissipate and damp the forces by generating an undulating motion among the shells, as discussed hereinabove.

FIGS. 3A,3B and3E illustrate in detail the tangentially-stepped articulated structure of one of the shoulder shields23. The rotational movement of the shoulder shells25when the arm is raised can be seen by comparingFIG. 3AwithFIG. 3C.FIGS. 3C and 3Dillustrate in detail the tangentially-stepped articulated structure of one of the elbow shields24. The rotational movement of the elbow shells26when the elbow is bent can be seen by comparingFIG. 3DwithFIG. 3C.

FIGS. 4A-4Cillustrates an exemplary rigid shield for a hinge joint—in this case the elbow joint. The exemplary elbow shield30comprises four articulated arcuate shield segments31hingeably interconnected by three integral flexible connecting bands32. The connecting bands32act as hinges between the shield segments31, permitting them to bend in a single plane with respect to one another in order to accommodate the bending motion of an elbow. The shield segments31have a uniform grid of perforations33to reduce their weight and allow air to circulate through them for better ventilation. Preferably, the elbow shield30is made of a lightweight, durable thermoplastic polymer, such as polycarbonate.

FIGS. 5A-5Cillustrates exemplary padding for a hinge joint—again as applied to the elbow. This elbow padding35underlies the elbow shield30and absorbs any impact forces transmitted through that shield30. The elbow padding35has a close lattice structure36, comprising a network of cells39, each having a cell wall40surrounding a central cell cavity41, with cell interstices42between adjoining cell walls40.

The close lattice structure36of the elbow padding, which contains less than 50% open space in the cell cavities41and interstices42, permits the padding35to bend in a single plane to accommodate the bending motion of the elbow. The open space components of the padding (41and42) also reduce its weight and promote ventilation.

As shown inFIG. 5C, the elbow padding35has a central bulge37, designed to be aligned with the elbow joint for better cushioning, with tapered flanks38on either side. Preferably, the elbow padding35is made of an elastomeric gel, such as silicone.

FIGS. 6A-6Cillustrates an exemplary rigid shield for a ball-and-socket joint—in this case the shoulder joint and clavicle. The exemplary shoulder shield43comprises five discrete arcuate shield members44rotatably interconnected by four flexible connector ties45. The connector ties45allow translational motion between the shield members44in all three planes (longitudinal, transverse and vertical, corresponding respectively to the x, y and z axes in the figures). This translational motion serves to redirect and deflect impact forces away from the shoulder and clavicle. The connector ties45also allow rotational motion between the shield members44about the longitudinal and transverse axes (x and y axes in the figures), thereby enabling an undulating motion among the shield members44that serves to dissipate and damp impact forces.

The connector ties45can consist of looped cable ties, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,490,887 and 5,758,390, which are incorporated herein by reference. The connector ties can be connected through cooperating tie apertures46in top edges of the shield members44, as best seen inFIG. 6B. Preferably, the shoulder shield43is made of a lightweight durable thermoplastic polymer, such as polycarbonate.

FIGS. 7A-7Cillustrates exemplary padding for a ball-and-socket joint, as applied to the shoulder and clavicle. The shoulder padding47will underlie the shoulder shield43and absorb any impact forces transmitted through that shield43. The shoulder padding47has an open lattice structure48, comprising a network of cells52, each having a cell wall49surrounding a central cell cavity50, with cell interstices51between adjoining cell walls49.

The open lattice structure48of the shoulder padding, which contains more than 50% open space in the cell cavities50and interstices51, permits the padding47to bend in all three planes to accommodate the motion of the shoulder joint. The open space components of the padding (50and51) also reduce its weight and promote ventilation.

As shown inFIG. 7C, the shoulder padding47has a uniform thickness. This padding47is preferably made of an elastomeric gel, such as silicone.

FIGS. 8A-8Cillustrates an exemplary rigid panel for protection of a torso area, such as the chest or upper back. The exemplary torso panel53comprises a non-articulated, rigid quadrangular panel penetrated by a uniform grid of perforations54, which reduce the weight and improve ventilation. As shown inFIG. 8C, the torso panel has a uniform thickness. The preferred material for the torso panel53is a lightweight, durable thermoplastic polymer, such as polycarbonate.

FIG. 9illustrates an exemplary torso padding55, which underlies the torso panel53and absorbs any impact forces transmitted through the panel53. The torso padding55has a very close lattice structure56, comprising a uniform grid of cavities57, such that there is less than 40% open cavity space in the padding. This structure enables flexing, but only minimal bending. The torso padding has a uniform thickness and is preferably made of an elastomeric gel, such as silicone.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many additions, modifications and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the accompanying claims.