Abstract:
A shin guard for combat sports is provided having increased protect for the wearer and the opponent. The shin guard has sleeve for surrounding the lower leg of the wearer and a front padding attached to the sleeve with a top portion reversibly secured which covers and hides a closure system. The shin guard may also have a calf reinforcement.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to leg protection. More specifically, the invention relates to a shin guard, particularly for use by wearer involved in combat sports. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Shin guards are worn in a variety of sports to protect the lower legs of the wearer during competition and training. It is important that shin guards offer proper protection, while still being comfortable and lightweight without restricting the mobility of the wearer. The most commonly known type of shin guard consists of a resilient material, such as foam, strapped to the lower legs. This basic shin guard is lightweight and does not unduly restrict the mobility of the wearer. However, most commonly known shin guards are not concerned with protecting the opponent. 
     While the primary purpose of shin guards is to protect the wearer from accidental blows or impacts during sports, such as soccer or hockey, and in combat sports such as kickboxing, mixed martial arts, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling, it is also important to consider the comfort and safety of the opponent and to reduce the likelihood of the shin guard catching on clothing or causing abrasions to both the wearer and the opponent. In such combat sports blows or impacts are more common due to the nature of the activity, particularly since kicking the opponents legs may be allowed, or intentional, and the shin may be used for striking and blocking. Furthermore, in such combat sports it is also desirable to provide protection to the instep of the wearer as the instep may be used for striking. 
     There are various means known for securing shin guards to the wearer. For the soccer-type shin guard, the shin guard may be placed beneath a sock or within a pocket in a sock. For other shin guards resilient straps may be used that are either separate or incorporated as encircling the shin guard. However, these rigid shin guards are not well-suited for combat sports. There is a need for shin guards that are suited for combat sports and overcome the problems of the shin guards designed for other sports. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a shin guard for use in combat sports that, while providing the requisite protection and mobility to the wearer, also provides for reduced irritation to both the wearer and the opponent(s). 
     In particular, the shin guard has a front padding attached to a sleeve along most of its length, except for a top portion of the front padding adjacent the wearer&#39;s knee that is reversibly attachable. A closure system at the top of the sleeve, which secures the shin guard to the leg of the wearer, is hidden beneath the top portion of the front padding. When the front padding is secured, the closure system is hidden and is unlikely to catch on clothing or cause irritation. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a shin guard comprised of a sleeve and having a top portion, a bottom portion, a front portion, and a back portion, the front and back portions each having atop portion and a bottom portion. There is front padding attached to the front of the sleeve along its length from the instep up toward the top, except for a top portion of the front padding adjacent to the knee. The unattached portion of padding is reversibly secured to the sleeve and covers a closure system at the top of the sleeve. The shin guard also has a foot loop for maintaining the position of the shin guard. 
     In another aspect, the sleeve is an elastic material or a neoprene material. 
     In a further aspect, the shin guard also has a calf reinforcement affixed to the back portion of the sleeve. As a further option, the calf reinforcement is cross-shaped. The calf reinforcement may be made of a material less elastic than the sleeve material. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevation perspective view of a shin guard showing the closure system open and unsecured and the top region of the front padding secured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  shows the shin guard shown in  FIG. 1  with the closure system and top region of the front padding both open. 
         FIG. 3  shows the shin guard shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  with the closure system tightened and secured with the top region of the front padding open. 
         FIG. 4  shows the shin guard shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  3  with the closure system tightened, secured, and hidden behind the secured front padding; and 
         FIG. 5  shows a shin guard having an optional calf reinforcement according to a further embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  shows a shin guard wherein the foot loop comprises a plurality of loops for securing the shin guard to the wearer. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention provides a shin guard having a hidden closure system that reduces the likelihood of the closure catching on clothing and causing irritation. The preferred embodiment will now be described with reference to the figures wherein like elements are identified by like numbers. 
     A shin guard in accordance with the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the figures. The shin guard  10  is shown in  FIG. 1  on the leg  5  of the wearer in an unsecured configuration. The sleeve  11  has a top portion near the knee of the wearer, a bottom portion near the ankle of the wearer. The sleeve  11  also has a front sleeve portion (not clearly shown of  FIG. 1  because of the front padding  15 ) extending along the length of the sleeve from the top sleeve portion to the bottom sleeve portion. The front sleeve portion includes: a front top portion being near the knee of the wearer; a front bottom portion (not clearly shown of  FIG. 1 ) being near the instep of the foot of the wearer and extending along the length of the sleeve; a back top portion near the knee of the wearer; a back bottom portion near the heel of the foot of the wearer; and two opposing sides of the front sleeve portion extending along the length of the sleeve and joining the front portion of the sleeve with the back portion of the sleeve. Thus, the sleeve  11  is a tubular form, similar to a sock. In a preferred aspect, the sleeve  11  is form fitting and elastic. Any suitable material or fabric may be used to construct the sleeve  11 ; however, a neoprene material is particularly preferred. In some aspects, the sleeve  11  is fabricated as a composite of different materials but is preferably made from a single material. 
     On the front of the sleeve  11  is front padding  15 . The front padding  15  has an instep region  15   a  covering at least a portion of the instep of the wearer and a shin region  15   b  covering a portion of the shin of the wearer from at or near the ankle and toward the mid-area or the top of the shin. The instep region  15   a  and the shin region  15   b  are attached, or affixed to the front of sleeve  11  and are also flexibly connected to one another to allow the wearer of shin guard  10  to flex and extend their foot. The front padding  15  also has top region  15   c  covering a top portion of the shin and unlike the instep region  15   a  and the instep region  15   b , may be selectively and adjustably attached to the sleeve  11  by a fastening system. 
     It should be mentioned that the front padding may be partially or fully removable from the sleeve. In other words, the top region  15   c  may be pulled away from the sleeve  11 . 
     The fastening system may be any suitable system for selectively and reversibly attaching the top region  15   c  of the front padding  15 . The preferred fastening system is hook-and-loop, such as a Velcro® system, with complementary hook-and-loop surfaces on the inside of the top region  15   c  of the front padding  15  and the front top portion of sleeve  11 . The front padding  15  may be constructed of any suitable materials or fabrics. In some aspects, the front padding  15  is constructed of an outer covering layer which, for example, may be made of a leather or polyurethane material, or of a combination of synthetic and real leather materials that enclose an impact absorbing material. 
     The shin guard  10  has a closure system  17  (that is shown in an unsecured state in  FIG. 1 ) at the top of sleeve  11  for selectively and adjustably tightening and securing the shin guard  10  on the leg of the wearer. The closure system may be any suitable system for selectively and adjustably tightening and securing the shin guard  10  on the leg of the wearer. A preferred closure system is a strap configured to tighten the sleeve when the strap is pulled and having hook-and-loop surfaces complementary to the hook-and-loop surfaces affixed to the front padding  15   c  and the front top portion of the sleeve  11  and the top region  15   c  of the front padding  15 . In such a configuration, when the closure system  17  is engaged to tighten and secure the shin guard  10  on the leg of the wearer, and when the front padding  15   c  is secured to the sleeve  11 , the closure system  17  is fully enclosed between the front padding  15   c  and the sleeve  11 , thereby preventing the closure system from catching on clothing, from causing skin irritation or damage, or from becoming unsecured during use (not shown in  FIG. 1 ). 
     The shin guard  10  also has at least one foot loop  18  (not fully shown in  FIG. 1 ) attached to, or extending from, the bottom of the sleeve  11 . The foot loop  18  partially wraps around the foot of the wearer to help maintain the position of shin guard  10  during use, primarily to prevent the shin guard  10  from rising up. The foot loop  18  is preferably positioned to wrap around the arch of the foot of the wearer. The foot loop  18  may be made of any suitable material or may be made of the same material as the sleeve  11 . 
       FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4  show the stepwise process of securing the closure system  17  and securing the top region  15   c  of the front padding  15  over top of securing the closure system  17 , thereby enclosing the closure system  17 . The complementary hook-and-loop surfaces on the inside of the top region  15   c  of the front padding  15  and the front top portion of the sleeve  11  are shown as the cross-hatched areas (in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ). 
       FIG. 2  shows the closure system  17  in an open and unsecured state with the top region  15   c  of the front padding  15  also open and unsecured. The first large arrow descending from the knee area of the wearer indicates the direction of pulling the wearer may exert on top region  15   c  before tightening the closure system  17 . 
       FIG. 3  shows a closure system  17  tightened and secured by pulling the strap of closure system  17  in the direction of the second large arrow. Top region  15   c  of front padding  15  is shown open and unsecured. 
       FIG. 4  shows a top region  15   c  of the front padding  15  secured over top of the closure system  17  by pulling the top region  15   c  in the direction of the third large arrow. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5  and according to a further optional embodiment of the present invention, the shin guard  10  also has a calf-reinforcement  19  in an optional embodiment of the present invention on the back bottom of sleeve  11  to add support to the shin guard  10 , particularly for repeated flexing and extension of the wearer&#39;s foot, and specifically to support the calf of the wearer. Calf-reinforcement  19  may be of any suitable material but is preferably less elastic than the sleeve  11  material. Calf-reinforcement  19  is preferably affixed over the sleeve  11  on the outward facing surface and in another preferred embodiment is cross-, or X-shaped. 
     During testing, the present invention has been found to be particularly effective at providing support to the calf of the wearer. 
     The above-described embodiments are intended to be examples of the present invention and alterations and modifications may be effected thereto, by those of skill in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto, which should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.