SPORTS GUARDS

Abstract: A sports guard, such as an ankle guard, comprises a protective element (3) which is attached to the user's leg by being wrapped around the leg from behind such that an elasticated strap (4) passes beneath the instep of the user's foot (5). A flap (6) is then fastened so as to secure the guard around the user's ankle. The protective element (3) comprises medium density, open-celled polyurethane foam having high energy-absorbing properties sewn between two Neoprene layers, and the flap (6) is secured by Velcro3 strips. Such a sports guard provides efficient protection against injury whilst allowing good freedom of movement.

Description: "Spoi ts Guards" This invention relates to sports guaids, such as ankle guaids and shin guaids, for protecting sports persons against injury It is common practice for persons playing sport to piotect parts of their body from injuiy by means of protective guards The use of such guaids is widespiead in ball sports, such as soccei and cricket Soccer playeis in particulai aie liable to injury by being kicked in the lower leg, and such injuries can iesult in consideiable loss of revenue to soccer clubs when their players are rendered unable to play due to injury Known ankle and shin guaids compπse ielatively rigid pads which are worn so as to ovei he the vulnerable areas of the leg, such as the ankle oi shin However the vaπous types of known ankle or shin guaid suffei fio the disadvantages that they do not adequately protect the leg since the user's leg may still be injuied thiough the guard, and they can also restrict the user's movement to some extent It is an object of the invention to piovide a sports guaid which is capable of efficiently protecting the user against injuiy whilst allowing good freedom of movement According to the present invention there is provided a sports guard comprising a protective element incorporating a layer of flexible foam material having high energy- absorbing properties and a fabric outer covering, and fastening means for attachment of the protective element. Such a sports guard may be used to protect any part of the user's body, and in particular areas of the user's legs or arms, in a wide vanety of sports, including soccer, cricket, rugby football, American football and ice hockey It will be readily apparent that there are very many other areas of sport and sporting activities in which such sports guards mav be useable, including roller-blading and motor sports In some of these applications the guard may be adapted to be attached to the sports equipment, rather 2 than the user. For example, in motor sports, the guard may be attached to the cockpit of the car. In order that the invention may be more fully understood, embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, . with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1 and 2 are side and front views of an ankle guard in accordance with the invention attached to a user's leg; Figure 3 is a view of the outside of the ankle guard removed from the user's leg; Figure 4 is an explanatory view showing the shapes of the foam inserts in the ankle guard; Figures 5 and 6 are front and rear views of a shin guard in accordance with the invention attached to a user's leg; and Figure 7 shows the shin guard removed from the user's leg. Referring to Figures 1 and 2 the ankle guard 1 comprises a protective element 3 which is attached to the user's leg 2 by being wrapped around the leg from behind so that the user's heel is fitted into position as shown in Figure 1, and so that an elasticated strap 4 passes beneath the instep of the user's foot 5. A flap 6 is then fastened so as to secure the guard around the user's ankle. As may be more readily seen in Figure 3 the ankle guard 1 comprises foam inserts sewn between an outer Neoprene layer and an inner fabric layer (which may also be a Neoprene layer) of a fabric outer covering 8. Neoprene (Registered Trade Mark) is a material comprising a layer of rubber sandwiched between two fabric layers. Since the innermost of these two fabric layers of the Neoprene layer is not strictly necessary, it is possible to remove this fabric layer and re-use it as the inner layer of the fabric covering 8 which rests against the user's leg when the guard is fitted. Alternatively both the inner and outer layers may be similar Neoprene layers (preferably the outer layer being of 2.5mm thickness and the inner layer of 1.5mm thickness). Furthermore a fabric edge strip 9 is stitched to the inner and outer layers of the fabric covering 8 so as to overlie and bind the edges of the covering 8 around its whole circumference other than in the vicinity of the flap 6. A further line of stitching 10 between the inner and outer layers of the fabric covering 8 closes off the pocket for holding the foam inserts in position. All stitching uses Bonded Nylon 40 thread. As shown in Figure 4, the foam inserts include a shaped layer 11 of a flexible open-celled foam material having high energy-absorbing properties. The most suitable foam material for such an application is a medium density, open-celled polyurethane foam, such as that marketed under the trade name EAR Confor-45 Blue, of l A in thickness (approximately 6 mm thickness). The low impact resilience of such a material provides good energy absoφtion, up to 97% without bottoming out, whilst recovery from intermittent loading is gradual but complete. Furthermore, since such materials soften on contact with a warm surface, they render the guard comfortable to wear, and moreover their open-celled structure allows moisture to be dissipated away from the body. In addition to the foam layer 11, the foam inserts include a foam reinforcing pad 12 of similar material to the layer 1 which is intended to overlie the foam layer 1 1 as shown by the broken lines and to be accommodated between the two fabric layers of the outer covering 8 so as to cushion the user's leg, with added protection being given to the back of the leg and the ankle bones by the pad 12. Since the Neoprene layer itself has a thickness of about 3 mm, a total thickness of at least 15 mm of material overlies these parts of the user's leg. As shown in Figure 3, the flap 6 has a Velcro strip 15 (shown in broken lines) sewn to its inside surface, and a complementary Velcro strip 16 is sewn to the outside of element 3 where the flap 6 is to be fastened (Velcro is a Registered Trade Mark). As is well known, the strip 15 is engaged with the strip 16 by simply being pressed into contact with the strip 16, so as to form a detachable fastening for securing 4 the guard around the user's ankle. The elasticated strip 4 is sewn at both ends to the element 3. Figures 5 and 6 show a shin guard 20 in accordance with the invention fitted to a user's leg 22, from the front and rear respectively. As can readily be seen from the figures, the shin guard 20 is wrapped around the front of the user's leg in the vicinity of the shin and below the knee 23 and is fastened to the user's leg by flexible flaps 24 and 25. In this case, as best seen in Figure 7, the protective element 26 of the shin guard 20 comprises a foam layer 27, shown in broken lines in the figure, sandwiched between inner and outer layers of a fabric outer covering 28 which are sewn together. The foam layer 27 may be of the same material as referred to above in relation to the foam inserts of the ankle guard 1, although it is preferred that the layer 27 is of greater thickness, for example of Vi in thickness (approximately 12 mm thickness). Furthermore as in the previous embodiment, the outer fabric layer is preferably of Neoprene of 3 mm thickness. Each of the straps 24 and 25 again comprises two complementary Velcro strips 29 and 30. Because of the particular properties of the materials used, the above-described ankle and shin guards are particularly comfortable to wear and are both light and flexible so that they do not restrict the user's movements. In fact it has been found that the wearing of such guards can actually enhance performance by improving blood circulation, as well as improving the healing of injuries.

Claims: 5 CLAIMS: 1. A sports guard comprising a protective element incoφorating a layer of flexible foam material having high energy-absorbing properties and a fabric outer covering, and fastening means for attachment of the protective element. 2. A sports guard according to claim 1, wherein the fastening means is adapted to attach the protective element to a user's body. 3. A sports guard according to claim 2, wherein the fastening means comprises one or more flexible flaps. 4. A sports guard according to claim 3, wherein the fastening means includes two parts which are connected together by detachable fastenings, such as Velcro strips. 5. A sports guard according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the fastening means includes at least one elasticated strap. 6. A sports guard according to any preceding claim, wherein the flexible foam layer is sandwiched between two layers of the fabric outer covering. 7. A sports guard according to claim 6, wherein the two fabric layers are held together by at least one edge strip stitched to both fabric layers. 8. A sports guard according to any preceding claim, wherein the protective element incoφorates at least one pad of flexible foam material to provide added protection in one or more selected areas. 9. A sports guard according to any preceding claim, which is an ankle guard. 10. A sports guard according to any preceding claim, which is a shin guard.

Inventors: HAYES PATRICK ANTONY, HAYES, PATRICK, ANTONY
Applicants: HAYES PATRICK ANTONY, HAYES, PATRICK, ANTONY
Application year: 1999
Main classification: A63B71
IPC codes: A63B71