Patent Publication Number: US-2017354860-A1

Title: Chest protector and removable and adjustable straps

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of breast and chest protectors for women and men and is more particularly directed to a chest protector for use by female and male fencers. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Chest protectors for fencing are well known in the art. Prior art female and male fencer chest protectors were manufactured as a single rigid chest plate, typically having a right cup and left cup formed therein to accommodate the breasts of the wearer, and included a fabric harness permanently secured to the chest plate at four locations: one on each lateral side of the chest plate, one on the top side of the chest plate above the left breast and one on the top side of the chest plate above the right breast. The chest protectors are typically provided in a number of sizes, e.g., extra small, small, medium, large, and extra-large. The shoulder straps of these harnesses are typically adjusted with conventional bra strap buckles to provide two points of adjustment. In female chest protectors, the back panels of the harness are typically connected via a pair of hooks on one panel, and a series of laterally spaced apart pairs of loops on the other panel. In male chest protectors, the there is typically a single piece back strap which is permanently secured to the lateral sides of the chest plate, and the chest protector is put on and removed by pulling it over the head and shoulders. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a fencer chest protector is provided which includes a rigid chest plate, the rigid chest plate having a top side, a bottom side, and a pair of lateral sides, a top left opening and a top right opening formed at the top side, and a lateral opening at each of the lateral sides. The chest protector further includes a removable harness having a pair of shoulder straps, each shoulder strap having a distal end which is adjustably connectable to, and removable from, a corresponding one of the top left and top right openings via a top connector. The removable harness further includes a back strap having a first distal end which is adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, one of the lateral openings via a lateral connector, and having second distal end which is adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, the other one of the lateral openings via a lateral connector. 
     In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the removable harness comprising a first (left side) garment piece and a second (right side) garment piece. Each garment piece includes a back panel and a shoulder strap. Accordingly, each garment piece includes a back panel and a shoulder strap that extends from the back panel such that the removable harness comprises a pair of back panels and a pair of shoulder straps. The pair or shoulder straps may, or may not, be interconnected. The back panels together form the back strap. 
     Each back panel has a distal end that is adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, one of the lateral openings via a lateral connector; and a proximal end that is adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, the back panel of the other garment piece via a central connector. Each shoulder strap has a distal end which is adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, one of the top openings via a top connector. Preferably the central connector, lateral connectors, and top connectors are comprised of fabric hook and loop fasteners such as VELCRO®. 
     In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the chest protector includes a removable harness comprising a single piece back strap and a pair of shoulder straps that extends from the back strap. The pair or shoulder straps may, or may not, be interconnected, The back strap has a first end which is adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, one of the lateral openings via a lateral connector; and a second end that is adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, the other lateral openings via a lateral connector. Each shoulder strap has a distal end which is adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, one of the top openings via a top connector. Preferably the lateral connectors and top connectors are comprised of fabric hook and loop fasteners such as VELCRO®. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a back view of an exemplary female chest protector with a racerback harness configuration. 
         FIG. 2  shows a back view of an exemplary female chest protector with a bikini harness configuration. 
         FIG. 3  shows another back view of an exemplary chest breast protector with a racerback harness configuration. 
         FIG. 4  shows a front view of the exemplary female chest protectors of  FIGS. 1-3 . 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary central connector for the harnesses in the chest protector of 
         FIGS. 1-4 . 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary top or lateral connector for the harnesses in the chest protector of  FIGS. 1-4 . 
         FIG. 7  shows a front view of an exemplary male chest protector. 
         FIG. 8  shows a back view of an exemplary male chest protector. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-6 , a female chest protector  1  is provided which includes a rigid chest plate  10 , the rigid chest plate having a top side  11 , a bottom side  12 , and a pair of lateral sides  13 , 14 , the rigid chest plate having a right cup  15  (from the perspective of the wearer) and a left cup  16  formed therein, a top left opening  18  formed at the top side  11  above the left cup  16 , a top right opening  17  formed at the top side  11  above the right cup  15 , and a lateral opening ( 19 ,  20 ) at each of the lateral sides ( 13 , 14 ). 
     The chest protector  1  further includes a removable harness  30  comprising a first (left side) garment piece  40  and a second (right side) garment piece  50 . Each garment piece includes a back panel ( 41 ,  51 ) and a shoulder strap ( 42 ,  52 ). The shoulder strap ( 42 ,  52 ) may be sewn or otherwise permanently secured to the back panel ( 41 ,  51 ). Alternatively, the back panel and the shoulder strap may be formed from a single piece of material. 
     The back panel  41  has a first end  45  which is adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, one of the lateral openings  20  via a lateral connector  80 . The back panel  51  similarly has a first end  55  connected to lateral opening  19  via a lateral connector  80 . The back panel  41  has a second end  57  which is adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, the second end  58  of the back panel  51  of the other garment piece via a central connector  90 . 
     Each shoulder strap has a distal end ( 46 ,  56 ) which is adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, one of the top openings ( 17 ,  18 ) via a top connector  80 ′ (e.g., the top right opening in the case of the second garment piece and the top left opening in the case of the first garment piece). 
     Each garment piece includes a back panel and a shoulder strap that extends from the back panel such that the removable harness comprises a pair of back panels and a pair of shoulder straps. 
     In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the shoulder straps are not interconnected (e.g., the bikini configuration of  FIG. 2 ), so that the harness is comprised of separate left and right garment pieces. In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention the shoulder straps are interconnected, so that the left and right garment pieces of the harnesh are connected via the shoulder straps. For example, the shoulder straps may be interconnected in a racerback configuration as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 . 
     In the preferred embodiments, the lateral connectors  80 , central connectors  90  and top connectors  80 ′ are each comprised of a strip of Velcro® (or other fabric hook and loop fastener) secured to the garment piece. As one or ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, fabric hook and loop fasteners such as Velcro® include a fabric hook panel which mates with a fabric loop panel. 
     Accordingly, in the embodiments described above, the central connector  90  may comprise a fabric hook panel  70  on an exterior side of the second end of one back panel, and a fabric loop panel  71  on the interior side of the second end of the other back panel (or vice versa). In this manner, second ends are secured to one another by pressing the fabric hook panel against the fabric loop panel. This provides continuous adjustment points for the fabric loop panel along fabric hook panel. 
     Similarly, the lateral and top connectors  80 ,  80 ′ may comprise adjacent fabric hook panels  70  and fabric loop panels  71  on the same side of the distal end of each shoulder strap (e.g., panels  70  and  71  would be on the same side of distal end  46  of strap  42 ), and on the same side of the first end of each back panel (e.g., panels  70  and  71  would be on the same side of the first end  45  of back panel  41 ). In this manner, the distal end (or first end) is secured to the top opening (or lateral opening) by looping the distal end (or first end) through the opening and pressing the fabric hook panel against the fabric loop panel. This provides continuous adjustment points for the fabric loop panel along fabric hook panel. 
     In this manner a chest protector is provided in which the harness includes five separate points of adjustment in order to securely and comfortably secure the chest plate on the user. Further, because the first and second garment pieces are selectively removable from the chest plate, the garment pieces can be washed separately and/or replaced as needed. 
       FIGS. 7 and 8  show an illustrative male chest protector  1 ′, where similar components bear similar reference numerals to  FIGS. 1-6 . The male chest protector  1 ′ includes a rigid chest plate  10 ′, the rigid chest plate having a top side  11 ′, a bottom side  12 ′, and a pair of lateral sides, a top left opening  18 ′ and top right opening  17 ′ formed at the top side  11 ′, and a lateral opening at each of the lateral sides (not shown). 
     As such, like the female chest protector  1 , the male chest protector  1 ′ has a chest plate with four openings (two on top, one on each lateral side). Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the harnesses  30  shown in  FIGS. 1-6  can also be employed in the male chest protector  1 ′ of  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
       FIGS. 7 and 8 , however, illustrate an alternative harness  30 ′. Harness  30 ′ is a harness which includes a pair of shoulder straps  42 ′,  52 ′ which are connected to a single piece back panel or strap  50 ′. Like the harnesses of  FIGS. 1-6 , each shoulder strap in  FIGS. 7 and 8  has a distal end ( 46 ′, 56 ′) which is adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, one of the top openings ( 17 ′,  18 ′) via a top connector  80 .′ 
     The shoulder straps  42 ′,  52 ′ can be connected to back panel  50 ′ in a variety of ways. For example, the straps  42 ′,  52 ′ can be connected to the back panel  50 ′ via a common loop connector  43 ′ so that the connector  43 ′ can move freely over the back panel  50 ′ as shown in  FIG. 8 . Alternatively, the connector  43 ′ could be sewn or otherwise be permanently fixed to the back panel  50 ′, or each strap ( 42 ′ or  52 ′) could be separately secured to the back panel  50 ′ (thus eliminating the connector  43 ′). Similar to  FIGS. 1-6 , the ends ( 45 ′,  55 ′) of the back panel  50 ′ are adjustably connectable to, and selectively removable from, one of the lateral openings of the chest plate  10 ′ via a lateral connector  80 . 
     Although the harness  30 ′ is illustrated in connection with the male chest protector  1 , it will be appreciated that it can also be employed in the female chest protector  1 . 
     The chest protectors and harnesses discussed above may be are provided in a number of sizes, e.g., extra small, small, medium, large, and extra-large. 
     In the preceding specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments and examples thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of invention as set forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative manner rather than a restrictive sense.