Sports shoulder pads with hybrid foam body pad

Abstract

A shoulder pad assembly has main body cushions consisting of a plurality of different types of foam material joined together to result in a hybrid pad structure constructed from slow-response foam and open-cell foam. A main body cushion is constructed from a first sheet or panel of slow-response foam disposed over the torso of the wearer, a second sheet or panel of slow-response foam disposed over the back of the wearer, joined together by a third sheet or panel of open-cell foam positioned between the first sheet and second sheet, disposed over the wearer's shoulder. Optionally, a fourth sheet or pad of slow-response foam is disposed on the third sheet, disposed over the wearer's shoulder, preferably at the location that is most likely to suffer blows during football play. Optionally, a fifth sheet or pad of open-cell foam is disposed on the first sheet, on the side of the first sheet in contact with the wearer and a sixth sheet or pad of open-cell foam is disposed on the second sheet.

Claims

1. A shoulder pad assembly for protecting the shoulders and body of a wearer, the shoulder pad assembly comprising: a first arch; a second arch coupled to the first arch; a first shoulder cap flexibly coupled to the first arch; a second shoulder cap flexibly coupled to the second arch; a first epaulet having a first connection area flexibly coupled to the first arch, the first epaulet overlying a portion of the first cap, and the first epaulet having a first outer surface and a first concave inner surface that defines a first inner cavity facing the first arch and the first shoulder cap; and a second epaulet having a second connection area flexibly coupled to the second arch, the second epaulet overlying a portion of the second cap, the second epaulet having a second outer surface and a second concave inner surface that defines a second inner cavity facing the second arch and the second shoulder cap; the first epaulet including a first stiffening ridge arrangement comprising: a first stiffening ridge rising above the first outer surface and extending between a first location flanking the first connection area and a first convergence location near an outer edge of the first epaulet; and a second stiffening ridge rising above the first outer surface and extending between a second location flanking the first connection area and the first convergence location, the first and second stiffening ridges converging at the first convergence location; the second epaulet including a second stiffening ridge arrangement comprising: a third stiffening ridge rising above the second outer surface and extending between a first location flanking the second connection area and a second convergence location near an outer edge of the second epaulet; and a fourth stiffening ridge rising above the second outer surface and extending between a second location flanking the second connection area and the second convergence location, the third and fourth stiffening ridges converging at the second convergence location.

2. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 1, wherein: the first stiffening ridge extends from the first convergence location toward a front of the first arch; the second stiffening ridge extends from the first convergence location toward a back of the first arch; the third stiffening ridge extends from the second convergence location toward a front of the second arch; and the fourth stiffening ridge extends from the second convergence location toward a back of the second arch.

3. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 1, wherein: the first and second stiffening ridges are molded into the first epaulet; and the third and fourth stiffening ridges are molded into the second epaulet.

4. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 1, wherein: the first epaulet comprises a first shock-absorbing liner in the first inner cavity; and the second epaulet comprises a second shock-absorbing liner in the second inner cavity.

5. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 4, wherein: a first portion of the first shock-absorbing liner resides in a concavity formed by the first stiffening ridge; a second portion of the first shock-absorbing liner resides in a concavity formed by the second stiffening ridge; a first portion of the second shock-absorbing liner resides in a concavity formed by the third stiffening ridge; and a second portion of the second shock-absorbing liner resides in a concavity formed by the fourth stiffening ridge.

6. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 4, wherein: the first shock-absorbing liner is shaped to define a concavity to accommodate the first inner cavity, such that the first shock-absorbing liner does not cover the first connection area; and the second shock-absorbing liner is shaped to define a concavity to accommodate the second inner cavity, such that the second shock-absorbing liner does not cover the second connection area.

7. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a first redundant pad inserted beneath a top of the first arch; and a second redundant pad inserted beneath a top of the second arch.

8. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second stiffening ridge arrangements is V-shaped.

9. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 1, wherein: the first stiffening ridge arrangement is V-shaped with its vertex pointing toward the first shoulder cap; and the second stiffening ridge arrangement is V-shaped with its vertex pointing toward the second shoulder cap.

10. A shoulder pad assembly for protecting the shoulders and body of a wearer, the shoulder pad assembly comprising: an arch having a front section and a back section; a shoulder cap flexibly coupled to the arch; and an epaulet having a connection area flexibly coupled to the arch, the epaulet comprising: inside, outside, front, and back edges; an outer surface; a concave inner surface that defines an inner cavity facing the arch and the shoulder cap; a first raised stiffening ridge extending from a first inward location near the inside edge of the epaulet, to a first outward location near the outside edge of the epaulet; and a second raised stiffening ridge extending from a second inward location near the inside edge of the epaulet, to a second outward location near the outside edge of the epaulet; wherein the first and second inward locations are separated such that the connection area resides between the first and second inward locations; and wherein the first and second raised stiffening ridges merge at a convergence location corresponding to the first and second outward locations.

11. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 10, wherein: the first raised stiffening ridge extends from the convergence location toward the front section of the arch; and the second raised stiffening ridge extends from the convergence location toward the back section of the arch.

12. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 10, wherein: the epaulet comprises a shock-absorbing liner in the inner cavity; a first portion of the shock-absorbing liner resides in a concavity formed by the first raised stiffening ridge; and a second portion of the shock-absorbing liner resides in a concavity formed by the second raised stiffening ridge.

13. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 10, wherein the first and second raised stiffening ridges form a V-shaped arrangement.

14. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 13, wherein: the V-shaped arrangement has a vertex pointing toward the shoulder cap.

15. A shoulder pad assembly for protecting the shoulders and body of a wearer, the shoulder pad assembly comprising: a right arch to overlie a right shoulder of the wearer when the shoulder pad assembly is worn by the wearer; a left arch to overlie a left shoulder of the wearer when the shoulder pad assembly is worn by the wearer, the left arch coupled to the right arch; a right shoulder cap flexibly coupled to the right arch; a left shoulder cap flexibly coupled to the left arch; a right epaulet having a connection area flexibly coupled to the right arch; and a left epaulet having a connection area flexibly coupled to the left arch; wherein each of the left and right epaulets comprises: inside, outside, front, and back edges; an outer surface; a concave inner surface that defines an inner cavity; a first raised stiffening ridge extending from a first inward location near the inside edge of the epaulet, to a first outward location near the outside edge of the epaulet; and a second raised stiffening ridge extending from a second inward location near the inside edge of the epaulet, to a second outward location near the outside edge of the epaulet; wherein the first and second inward locations are separated such that the connection area resides between the first and second inward locations; and wherein the first and second raised stiffening ridges merge at a convergence location corresponding to the first and second outward locations.

16. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 15, wherein: the first raised stiffening ridge extends from the convergence location toward a front section of an arch; and the second raised stiffening ridge extends from the convergence location toward a back section of the arch.

17. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 15, wherein: the epaulet comprises a shock-absorbing liner in the inner cavity; a first portion of the shock-absorbing liner resides in a concavity formed by the first raised stiffening ridge; and a second portion of the shock-absorbing liner resides in a concavity formed by the second raised stiffening ridge.

18. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 15, wherein the first and second raised stiffening ridges form a V-shaped arrangement.

19. The shoulder pad assembly of claim 18, wherein: the V-shaped arrangement has a vertex pointing toward a shoulder cap.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a front view of football shoulder pads according to an embodiment of the subject technology.

(2) FIG. 2 is a view of a left shoulder area of football shoulder pads according to the subject technology.

(3) FIG. 3 is a plan view of an epaulet according to an embodiment of the subject technology.

(4) FIG. 4 is a side view of an epaulet according to an embodiment of the subject technology.

(5) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an epaulet according to an embodiment of the subject technology along line 5-5 in FIG. 3.

(6) FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an epaulet according to an embodiment of the subject technology along line 6-6 in FIG. 3.

(7) FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an epaulet according to an embodiment of the subject technology. Line 44 should be understood to be a hidden line.

(8) FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an epaulet according to an embodiment of the subject technology.

(9) FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an epaulet according to an embodiment of the subject technology. Line 44 should be understood to be a hidden line.

(10) FIG. 10 is a view of a left shoulder area of football shoulder pads according to the subject technology.

(11) FIG. 11 is a view of an epaulet according to an embodiment of the subject technology.

(12) FIG. 12 is a view of the reverse side of the epaulet shown in FIG. 11.

(13) FIG. 13 is a view of an epaulet according to an embodiment of the subject technology.

(14) FIG. 14 is a view of the reverse side of the epaulet shown in FIG. 13.

(15) FIG. 15 is a view of an insert pad according to an embodiment of the subject technology.

(16) FIG. 16 is a view of the reverse of the insert pad of FIG. 13.

(17) FIG. 17 is a view of the reverse side of the epaulet shown in FIG. 11.

(18) FIG. 18 is a view of a redundant pad according to an embodiment of the subject technology.

(19) FIG. 19 is a view of the reverse side of the redundant pad shown in FIG. 18.

(20) FIG. 20 is a view showing the redundant pad of FIGS. 18-19 as installed beneath the top of the right arch.

(21) FIG. 21 is a view showing the redundant pad of FIGS. 18-19 as installed beneath the top of the right arch.

(22) FIG. 22 is a plan view of a hybrid main body pad according to an embodiment of the subject technology.

(23) FIG. 23 is a plan view of a hybrid main body pad according to an embodiment of the subject technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(24) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a shoulder pad assembly 1 according to the subject technology comprises a left arch 10, a right arch 11, the left arch and right arch connected together at the front and back by flexible webs, straps, or bands, a left shoulder cap 20 attached to the left arch 10 by flexible webs, straps, or bands, a right shoulder cap 21 connected to the right arch 11 by flexible webs, straps, or bands 50, a left epaulet 30 connected to the top of the left arch 10 by flexible webs, straps, or bands 51 and overlaying the top edge of the left arch 10 and overlaying the left shoulder cap 20, and a right epaulet 31 connected to the top of the right arch 11 by flexible webs, straps, or bands 52 and overlaying the top edge of the right arch 11 and overlaying the right shoulder cap 21. The arches, shoulder caps, and epaulets may be made of conventional materials for such purposes as are known in the art including ABS, HDPE or polycarbonate plastic, and by conventional means of manufacturing.

(25) Body padding 35 is disposed on the inner surface of the arches 10, 11 and shoulder caps 20, 21 to provide shock absorption, comfort and fit. Body padding 35 may be conventional padding liners for shoulder pad arches and shoulder caps as known in the art. The padding liners may comprise slow-response foam pads, which may be open-cell PORON foam pads, encapsulated in a cloth shell. The padding liners may consist of, or comprise, TPU shock absorbing inserts as disclosed in U.S. Published Patent Applications No. 2012/0198605, 2016/0270473, and/or U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,069,498, 8,201,269, 9,131,744, 9,326,561, and/or 9,622,533, which are assigned to the assignee of the present application, and are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

(26) FIGS. 3-10 show an embodiment of an epaulet according to an embodiment of the present technology. These figures show a left epaulet 30, it should be understood that a right epaulet 31 according to an embodiment of the present technology would be identical to, or a mirror image of, the left epaulet 30.

(27) Epaulet 30 comprises an epaulet shell 40 which is generally concave and which defines an inner cavity. Epaulet shell 40 may include one or more molded ridges for additional stiffness. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, epaulet shell 40 includes a single V-shaped ridge 45. However, epaulet shell 40 could have more than one ridge, and the ridge of ridges could be of various shapes.

(28) The inner cavity of epaulet 30 contains a shock absorbing insert 41, comprising a body made of slow-response foam material, also known as memory foam material. A urethane slow-response foam material sold by Rogers Corporation of Rogers, Connecticut under the name PORON is suitable for foam material. Other slow-response foam materials are also suitable for use as a slow-response foam material. An auxetic foam may be used for the body of insert 41 instead of slow-response foam. An auxetic foam has the property that when subjected to tension it becomes thicker perpendicular to the tension (i.e., the Poisson's ratio is negative). An example of a commercially-available auxetic foam is Auxadyne XPF, a product of Auxadyne, LLC, of Keystone Heights, Florida. The body is encapsulated in a fabric shell, which may be a nylon shell heat-sealed to the foam body. The body may be die-cut from foam stock of a suitable thickness to a shape that fits within the cavity of the epaulet shell 40. The body may have a thickness of 0.25 inch, or approximately 0.25 inch, or 6 mm, or approximately 6 mm, or of sufficient thickness to line or substantially line the inner cavity of epaulet shell 40. Insert 41 may be shaped in a crescent or kidney-shaped form defining a concavity 46, so that when installed in the complete shoulder pad assembly, insert 41 does not cover the connection area 47 at which the connecting straps or webbing are attached to epaulet 30. For example, the insert 41 could extend as far as line 44 (in FIGS. 7 and 8). Alternatively, the insert 41 is sized and shaped to cover the connection point 47.

(29) Shock absorbing insert 41 is retained in epaulet shell 40 by rivets and washers. Rivets may be driven through a strip 55 of elastomer such as rubber, the strip folded back on itself to cover the end of the rivet and washer (best seen in FIG. 15, which shows rivet 56 driven through washer 57 and strip 55).

(30) As best seen in FIG. 6, where shell 40 includes a ridge 45, a portion of the insert 41 may reside in the concavity formed by the ridge. Epaulet 30 may further include a sound-muffling cloth bias strip 42 around the edge of shell 40 (best seen in FIG. 10).

(31) Additionally, as shown in FIGS. 18-21, the subject technology may include removable, redundant pads, for example redundant pad 60, inserted below the top of each of the left arch and right arch, to provide additional padding in those areas. The redundant pads are advantageously shaped with at least one curved edge, as shown in FIGS. 18-19. The redundant pads comprise a pad body made of slow-response foam, slow-rebound foam or memory foam; open-cell or closed-cell foam; polyurethane foam; ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam; polyethylene foam; polyurethane memory foam, polyether foam, or viscoelastic polymer gel. The body is encapsulated in a fabric shell, which may be a nylon shell heat-sealed to the foam body. A region or strip of hook/loop fastener material may be attached or sewn to one or both sides of the nylon shell, for removable engagement with the adjacent element of the shoulder pads. In use, the redundant pads are inserted beneath the top of each of the left arch and right arch, as best seen in FIGS. 20-21. Redundant pads as described and shown herein may be used in shoulder pads along with the padded epaulets previously described and shown. Alternatively, they may be used in conventional shoulder pads without padded epaulets.

(32) According to a further aspect of the subject technology, the main body pads (i.e. the pads within the arches that are in contact with the wearer's body) are each assembled from a plurality of sheet elements made of different foams with different properties. In an embodiment, as best seen in FIGS. 22-23, a main body pad 100 for a sports shoulder pad assembly comprises a foam body 110 encapsulated within a fabric or nylon shell 101. Shell 101 may be enclosed by heat sealing as is known in the art, and may comprise a mesh fabric to improve breathability. It should be understood that a set of shoulder pads would require two main body pads, one for each side.

(33) In an embodiment, foam body 110 consists of several foam elements of two types, an open-cell foam such as open-cell polyurethane foam or open-cell Ortho Foam, and a second type of foam, joined together to constitute a hybrid main body pad. The second type of foam may be slow-response foam such as PORON or PORON SRSMA, or auxetic foam. Open-cell foam is generally more flexible and breathable than slow-response foam, while slow-response foam has superior impact-absorbing properties compared with open-cell foam.

(34) In an embodiment, foam body 110 consists of slow-response foam panels 102 and 103, joined by open-cell panel 104. Alternatively, panel 104 is formed of a closed-cell conventional foam (as distinguished from slow-response foam). The panels 102, 103, 104 are joined end-to-end as shown. Panels 102 and 103 are, preferably, permanently bonded to open-cell panel 104 by gluing, heat sealing, or other foam bonding means known to the art in the finished shoulder pad assembly, open-cell panel 104 is disposed over the wearer's shoulder area, while slow-response panels 102, 103 are disposed over the back and torso to improve shock absorption in those areas. Foam body 110 preferably has a thickness of 0.5 inches, 0.75 inches, 1 inch, or within the range of 0.5-1 inch.

(35) In an embodiment, a supplemental pad of slow-response foam 105 is bonded to the open-cell panel 104, to improve impact absorption in that area. The optional slow-response foam pad 105 on open-cell panel 104 is preferably positioned over the front impact points of the wearer's shoulders, on the side of the panel 104 opposite the player's body, such that open-cell foam 104 is on the side lacing the body to take advantage of the open-cell material's breathability. Advantageously, the pad 105 extends over only a portion of panel 104, so that at least a portion of panel 104 is not covered by pad 105. Again, this is to provide for breathability.

(36) Because the slow-response foam of panels 102, 103 is relatively soft, it is advantageous to bond stiffening panels 106, 107 to panels 102, 103. For example, adhesive-backed hook or loop fabric material is readily available and is suitable for use as stiffening panels 106, 107. Other thin, relatively stiff panel materials could be used for stiffening panels 106, 107.

(37) The hybrid main body pads of the subject technology may be used in conjunction with the impact-absorbing epaulettes and/or supplemental pads previously described or may be used with conventional epaulettes.

(38) While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the Invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles. It will also be understood that the present invention includes any combination of the features and elements disclosed herein and any combination of equivalent features. The exemplary embodiments shown herein are presented for the purposes of illustration only and are not meant to limit the scope of the invention.