Abstract:
A protective, sanitary, and decorative athletic helmet chin strap cover is disclosed wherein an elastic sleeve fits over a conventional athletic helmet chin strap, contouring therewith and elastically securing thereto. The cover displays a team name or logo via embroidering, silk screening, or other fabric marking methods.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a Continuation in Part of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 09/089,083, filed on Jun. 2, 1998 now abandoned, which was a continuation of Provisional Patent Application No. 60/070,008, titled Sanitary Decorative Cover for Athletic Helmet Chin Straps and filed on Dec. 30, 1997. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to chin straps used to secure athletic helmets to the head of the wearer, and more specifically to a protective, sanitary, decorative chin strap sleeve that fits over and elastically attaches to a conventional athletic helmet chin strap. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention, however several references, pertaining mainly to helmet chin straps and more specifically football helmet chin straps, were considered related: 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,867,811 issued in the name of Jones, discloses an early design for a football helmet strap in which a chin support cup is attached to a single securing strap extending from each side of the support cup and attaching to the helmet via a snap button securing device. The chin support cup is fit with absorbent padding and is washable, however the user&#39;s skin remains exposed to the edges of the support cup, making it prone to causing cuts and abrasions upon impact. Also, maintaining a sanitary condition would necessarily entail complete replacement of the chin strap. Finally, the strap provides no decorative, promotional or advertising purpose. 
     Several patents disclose more conventional four-point football helmet chin straps wherein a chin support cup includes a pair of straps that connect to the helmet laterally, along the side of the helmet at chin-level and a pair of straps connect to the helmet in a mostly vertical manner, approximately at eye-level: 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,166,761 issued in the name of Strohm; 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,556 issued in the name of Davenport; 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,068 issued in the name of Davenport et al.; 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,368 issued in the name of Infusino et al.; 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,356 issued in the name of Zide; and 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,660 issued in the name of Zide et al. 
     The primary purposes of these devices is to secure the helmet to the head in a manner so as to minimize the movement thereof upon impact. These devices do take chin protection and comfort into consideration, although as a secondary concern, however, they do fail to protect the wearer from the cuts and abrasions commonly caused by contact between the rigid edges of the chin support cup and the wearer&#39;s chin upon impact. Furthermore, maintaining a sanitary chin condition is not an aim of these devices, therefore maintaining such a condition would necessarily entail complete replacement of the chin strap. Finally, the strap provides no decorative, promotional or advertising purpose. 
     While several features exhibited within these references are incorporated into this invention, alone and in combination with other elements, the present invention is sufficiently different so as to make it distinguishable over the prior art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The sanitary decorative cover for athletic helmet chin straps is a tubular elastic cloth sleeve that fits over an athletic helmet chin strap, covering the cup-like chin-guard portion of the strap into which the wearer&#39;s chin rests. Designed to fit a variety of different types of helmets such as those worn by football and hockey players, the sleeves will include logos, team names and the like that serve as a decorative, promotional and advertising identifier. The chin strap serves to protect the wearer by providing additional padding as well as forming a barrier between the chin and the edges of the chin support cup that often causes cuts and abrasions upon impact. The chin strap cover also serves a sanitary purpose in the sense that, since chin injuries are quite frequent and bleeding often results, the cover isolates the chin from the strap. The cover is easily installed and removed and is completely submersible and washable. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an athletic helmet chin strap cover that accommodates a variety of chin strap shapes and contours, and securably attaches thereto. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an athletic helmet chin strap cover that assumes the shape and contour of the chin strap so as not to compromise the helmet securing and stabilizing capabilities of the strap. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an athletic helmet chin strap cover that attaches to the chin strap by means of elastic construction, hook and loop fasteners, or mechanical snap-on fasteners. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an athletic helmet chin strap cover that provides additional padding, providing enhanced comfort and creating a barrier between the wearer&#39;s chin and the rigid edges of the chin support cup, thus preventing cuts and abrasions caused upon impact therewith. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an athletic helmet chin strap cover that provides a sanitary barrier between the wearer&#39;s chin and the chin strap or chin support cup. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an athletic helmet chin strap cover that is easily installed and removed and that is submersible and washable, allowing it to be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an athletic helmet chin strap cover that displays a team name or logo in a prominent manner when attached to the chin strap. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the sanitary decorative cover for athletic helmet chin straps, according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof; 
     FIG. 3 is a top plan view of thereof shown in a flat, unassembled condition; and 
     FIG. 4 is a cross sectional elevational view taken along line IV—IV of FIG.  3 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     1. Detailed Description of the Figures 
     Referring to FIG.  1  and FIG. 2, a sanitary decorative cover for athletic helmet chin straps, generally noted as  10  and generally referred to as chin strap cover is shown, according to the present invention. The chin strap cover  10  is generally elongated and tubular in shape. When formed, a relatively straight horizontal crown edge  12  is formed, and a lower extended, concave curvilinear basal edge  13  is formed opposite thereto. A hollow interior cavity  14  is thereby formed, with a cup receiving pouch  16  through which an athletic helmet chin strap  30  passes, as well as allowing the chin cup element (not shown) portion of the chin strap to reside down into the interior cavity  14 . A labeling means is further provided for affixing an athletic team name or logo  11  prominently on the chin strap cover  10  via embroidery, silk-screening or other conventional method. 
     A variety of chin strap designs may be encountered, such as the single strap without a chin cup variety commonly found on hockey helmets (not shown.) However, these chin strap designs do not preclude the use of the present invention, as it designed to accommodate most conventional strap designs. Of general availability are two basic types of chin straps: a hard cup strap, and a soft cup strap. Generally, the hard cup strap variety is of a larger overall dimension; therefore, it is anticipated that the cup receiving pouch  16  would be particularly modified to accommodate this by extended farther downward over the size utilized to accommodate the soft cup strap variety. 
     Referring now to FIG. 3, a top plan view of a flattened, unassembled sanitary decorative cover for athletic helmet chin straps  10  is shown. Particularly, the outer surface  40  having a smooth, linear first side  41   a  opposite a parallel, smooth, linear second side  41   b  a concave lower protrusion extending downward from the main planar surface at a lower boundary in a symmetric, curvilinear manner having an upward arching lowermost point that smoothly transitions at each end to a horizontal extension at each of the side-most portions of the lower perimeter in a symmetric, curvilinear manner, having an upward arching lowermost point that smoothly transitions to horizontal at each end. 
     Referring now to FIG. 4, cross sectional elevational view is shown of the sanitary decorative cover for athletic helmet chin straps, according to the present invention. As shown, a first, outer layer  40  is planarly aligned with a second, inner layer  42 . The outer layer  40  is anticipated as being formed of a porous fabric material having sufficient elasticity to accommodate the stretching of the decorative cover  10  over the chin strap  30 . The inner layer  42  is anticipated as being aligning material, such a HYDROFIL™ nylon, or DRI-LEX™ such as manufactured by Faytex Corp., or functional equivalent. Such an inner layer  42  provides superior moisture wicking characteristic, as well as dirt release during cleaning and cushioning for the user&#39;s comfort. Also as indicated, the outer layer  40  extends outward from the sides of the inner layer  42  and wrapped about each end by a hem  44  and sealed by a seam  46 . 
     2. Operation of the Preferred Embodiment 
     According to the preferred embodiment, the chin strap cover  10  slides over the chin strap  30  elastically forming to the contour of the chin support cup and the chin straps and securing thereto, elastically, constricting around the structure of the chin strap  30 . As installed, the chin strap cover  10  serves to display and promote a team name or logo. Furthermore, the chin strap cover  10  serves a sanitary purpose in isolating the chin strap  15  from the helmet wearer&#39;s chin. This is especially useful in situations where several individuals share the same equipment and where the wearer suffers cuts or abrasions in the chin region. The physical properties of the clothe construction of the chin strap cover  10  also serves to enhance the padding of the chin support cup  16 , providing a more comfortable fit. Furthermore, since the chin strap cover  10  wraps completely around the chin strap  30  and the chin support cup, padding is provided along the generally rigid edges of the chin support cup, thus preventing cuts and abrasions upon impact. 
     While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown, illustrated, and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in this field that various modifications may be made in these embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It can therefore be seen that the decorative and sanitary benefits taught herein can be broadly applied. It is for this reason that the scope of the invention is set forth in and is to be limited only by the following claims.