Patent ID: 7296307

Claim:
A dual-usage athletic protector for protecting the genitals, the dual-usage athletic protector being selectively usable in either a hard-cup configuration or a soft-cup configuration, and comprising: an outer relatively rigid hard cup and an inner relatively soft and resilient soft cup; the soft cup molded as a one-piece structure of rounded triangular shape in plan view and having a domed central portion and a peripheral edge portion extending about a periphery of the domed central portion, the domed central portion having a convex outer surface such that the soft cup is configured for being worn by itself in the soft-cup configuration to protect a user's genitals during activities in which hard-cup protection is not required; and the hard cup having a domed shape complementary to that of the domed central portion of the soft cup, the hard cup having a concave inner surface for placement against the outer surface of the soft cup when the hard cup is assembled with the soft cup in the hard-cup configuration, the soft cup covering the entire inner surface of the hard cup in the hard-cup configuration; wherein the peripheral edge portion of the soft cup forms grooves into which outer peripheral edge portions of the hard cup are removably insertable for affixing the hard cup to the soft cup in a releasable manner enabling the athletic protector to be convertible between the hard-cup and soft-cup configurations.