Abstract:
An articulated tripartite elbow-and-knee-area protector and method for protecting a person&#39;s elbow-and-knee areas from injury during contact and collision sporting activities, without restricting movement and without limiting the offensive and defensive uses of the elbows and knees.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention provides an elbow-area and knee-area protector that fits over a person&#39;s arms and legs, for protection during contact and collision sporting activities. 
         [0002]    Contact and collision sports involve any sport in which physical contact between players is an accepted type of play. In collision sports (i.e. boxing, wrestling, cage-fighting, hockey, football, lacrosse, and rodeo), athletes purposely hit or collide with each other or with inanimate objects (including the ground) with great force. In contact sports (i.e. basketball, volleyball and soccer), athletes make contact with each other or inanimate objects but usually with less force than in collision sports. Due to the risk of injury associated with contact and collision sports, protective equipment is often encouraged and even required. 
         [0003]    Cage-fighting is a type of mixed martial arts, where two individuals fight in a cage, and it involves extreme and violent combat. In sports like cagefighting, it is common for the athlete to use striking and grappling techniques. Striking techniques involve punching, elbowing, kicking, and kneeing while grappling techniques involve sweeps, takedowns, throws, cinch holding, pin holding, and submission holding. Therefore, it is imperative that the elbows and arms, and knees and legs, be protected in order to prevent injury. 
         [0004]    The elbow and knee are synovial hinge joints susceptible of injury which need to be protected. But presently available protection for the elbow and knee can be restrictive of movement, which diminishes a person&#39;s performance during contact and collision sporting activities. The act of bending the elbow and the knee requires the olecranon or tip of the elbow, and the patella or knee cap, to thrust outward in relation to the rest of the arm or leg. Presently available protection tends to restrict that outward thrust, which prevents optimum movement of the whole body and prevents optimum use of the arms and legs and elbows and knees for offensive and defensive purposes. 
         [0005]    Lohman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,277, discloses a protective pad for the elbow formed from a layer of flexible, resilient padding material having a width and length. The length of the padded material is divided into forward and rearward sections by a line, which extends across the padding material&#39;s width. The forward section overlays the forearm and the rearward section overlays the user&#39;s upper arm. A hole is formed in the padded material and receives the user&#39;s elbow when the padded material is secured to the arm. A strap is coupled to the layered padding material and is used to secure the padding material to the user&#39;s elbow. 
         [0006]    The prior art uses solid, continuous blocks or layers of padding, held in place with straps, to protect the elbow or knee from impact, but such pads are not only restrictive of movement, they also tend to slip out of place as the joints are moved, which can leave the joint unprotected or can further restrict movement. A problem with this typical elbow pad model is that it easily becomes dislocated and slides out of place. 
         [0007]    Besides protecting the elbows and the knees, it is desirable to also protect the arms and the legs where they meet to form the elbows and knees. Those areas are used both offensively and defensively, and need the same protection as the elbows and knees themselves. But extension of padding to those areas restricts movement even more than just padding the joint itself. 
         [0008]    Because the elbows and knees, and the adjacent parts of the arms and legs, are used both offensively and defensively, the protection provided should either enhance, or at least not diminish, the offensive in favor of the defensive. For example, a large amount of highly shock-absorbing padding might be very effective protection for the elbows and knees of the person throwing the punch, but the effect on the person receiving the punch is diminished to the equivalent of being hit very hard with a pillow. Cage-fighting becomes pillow-fighting. 
         [0009]    There is a need for a more flexible and durable way of protecting the elbow-and-knee area which fits securely but comfortably and remains secure during contact and collision sporting activities while providing shock absorption and protection from injury without limiting the offensive and defensive uses of the elbows and knees. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The present invention provides an articulated tripartite elbow-and-knee-area protector and method for protecting a person&#39;s elbow-and-knee areas from injury during contact and collision sporting activities, without restricting movement and without limiting the offensive and defensive uses of the elbows and knees. 
         [0011]    The present invention solves several existing problems of too much restriction, limitation, and discomfort, and too little protection of the elbow-and-knee areas, in contact and collision sporting activities, and of defensive protection that limits the offensive use and effectiveness of elbows and knees. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in use on an elbow. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in use on a knee. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a section view of an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention in use on an elbow. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention in use on a knee. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is a section view of another embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 , &amp;  FIG. 3 , an embodiment of the articulated tripartite elbow-and-knee-area protector  100  comprises a flexible sleeve  10  or legging that fits securely around the arm or leg at the elbow or knee and the adjacent areas. This flexible sleeve  10  can be made from a variety of materials or combinations of materials. The requirement is that the material be flexible but not so flexible as to permanently stretch out of shape and become loose. An elastic-bandage type of material or a SPANDEX type of material can be used. A breathable, air-and-water-permeable material is optimal for most activities, unless insulation is needed. A loose weave or an array of holes can improve the ventilation properties of an impermeable material. The flexible sleeve  10  fits securely but not restrictively around the arm or the leg. 
         [0022]    Attached to the flexible sleeve  10  as shown are the joint pad unit  20 , the distal pad unit  30 , and the proximal pad unit  40 . The three pad units are separate and are designed to fit over or under the other as shown. Each pad unit is made of open-cell foam, closed-cell foam, neoprene, or similar material. Preferably, layers of different materials are used in order to obtain the optimal shock-absorbing qualities plus the optimal durability and outer-surface qualities. 
         [0023]    The distal pad unit  30  and the proximal pad unit  40  are flat, oblong pads adapted to protect portions of the forearm and upper arm, or shin and lower thigh. In a preferred embodiment, the distal pad unit  30  and proximal pad unit  40  are approximately one-quarter to three-eighths of an inch thick, and are sized to fit the areas adjacent to the joint as shown. Distal pad units  30  of length 6-to-8 inches for the forearm and 8-to-10 inches for the shin, and proximal pad units  40  of length 4-to-6 inches for the upper arm and 6-to-8 inches for the lower thigh, would fit the average person properly. 
         [0024]    The joint pad unit  20  has a sectional shape something like a mushroom, as shown. The size of the joint pad unit  20  is sufficient to provide the functions and the functional areas disclosed here. For average use, an outer-surface area of 2.5-to-3 square inches, and a thickness at the thickest point of 1-to-2 inches is appropriate. 
         [0025]    The distal pad unit  30  and the proximal pad unit  40  have outer surfaces  6  and the joint pad unit  20  has an outer surface  7 . The surfaces can be made of the same or of different materials. The outer surfaces  6 ,  7  should be durable and should be appropriate for both offensive and defensive use of the protected joint area. The outer surface should not be too soft, because that would limit offensive effectiveness, but should not be so hard or sharp as to become in itself a weapon. The outer surfaces can either be the normal surface of the outer layer of padding  2  as shown in  FIG. 4 , or can be a separate covering  8  as shown in  FIG. 8 . In an embodiment, a separate covering  8  of leather is provided. Leather is an appropriate and accepted material for similar protective gear such as boxing gloves. 
         [0026]    The three pad units  20 ,  30 ,  40  are permanently affixed to the flexible sleeve  10  with a glue, epoxy, or similar method, with the entire inner surface of each pad being affixed to the flexible sleeve. At the attachment areas  11  the sleeves lose their flexibility because the flexible material is glued to more rigid pad units. Unattached areas  12  are provided between the three pad units and therefore between the three attachment areas  11 . The unattached areas  12  retain their flexibility and ability to be bent, and, in combination with other elements disclosed herein, form articulations among the three pad units. 
         [0027]    Referring additionally to  FIG. 4  &amp;  FIG. 8 , the articulated tripartite elbow-and-knee-area protector  100  can have combinations of padding materials  1 ,  2 ,  4 ,  5  and either the normal surfaces as outer coverings  6 ,  7  or a separate outer covering  3 ,  8 . Additional padding is provided above the elbow or knee joint itself. 
         [0028]    The joint pad unit  20  has a convex top  21  forming a thickest part generally in the middle of the joint pad unit. The sides of the joint pad unit which are oriented toward the distal pad unit  30  and the proximal pad unit  40  each have an overhanging extended portion  22  and an undercut retracted portion  23  forming void spaces adapted to accommodate the distal pad unit  30  and the proximal pad unit  40  as shown. The joint pad unit  20  has a concave bottom  24  which is smaller than the rest of the joint pad unit by the size of the two undercut retracted portions  23 . 
         [0029]    In use, along the line of the attachment areas  11  of the distal pad unit  30 , joint pad unit  20 , and proximal pad unit  40  the otherwise flexible sleeve  10  can only bend at the two unattached articulation areas  12  because the attachment areas  11  are resistant to bending. Therefore, the only area that can be pushed out by a bending elbow or knee is the concave bottom  24  of the joint pad unit. The concave bottom  24  provides additional space for the elbow or knee. Together, the concavity of the bottom and its being the only area that will bend not only accommodate the bending joint, but also serve to reposition the articulated tripartite elbow-and-knee-area protector into the correct position every time the joint is bent. 
         [0030]    In use, when the elbow or knee are bent, the outward thrusting of the olecranon or tip of the elbow, and of the patella or knee cap, will push the concave bottom  24  of the joint pad unit away in a direction essentially perpendicular to the former line of the straight arm or leg. The same bending action will also rotate the distal pad unit  30  and the proximal pad units  40  in opposite directions down and away from the former line of the straight limb. The undercut retracted portions  23  of the the joint pad unit  20  provides freedom for the rotation, and the lifting action of the joint pad unit provides additional space. The overhanging extended portion  22  of the joint pad unit extends essentially to the positions of the distal and proximal pad units  30 ,  40  when the limb is bent, and therefore avoids creating any gap in the protected area. When the limb is straightened again, the three pad units return to their interleaved positions. 
         [0031]    Many changes and modifications can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I therefore pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.