Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE OF THE INVENTION
Floating, Shock-Absorbing Protection System For Sportswear
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to protectors for sportswear, and more particularly
to protectors for sportswear which are used in various sportswear such as ski wear, or
rider wear and the like, and having the function of protecting the wearer's body as a
result of being attached tO locations which tend to collide with obstacles.
Heretofore, apparel for sports of vigorous or active physical exercises have
been developed and used in which pads made of materials such as hard rubber and the
10 like are attached to the front of the femoral region, knee region, leg region, elbow
region and the front of the upper arm of the sportswear, and such sportswear act as
sufficient buffers for protective functions.
However, in games or competitive sports in recent years, the speed of the
exercise has become much faster, more vigorous and more active. The layout of pads
are placed on the essential parts of the sportswear, however, such have proven
insufficient buffers for their protective functions. Normally the shocks undergone by the
body when colliding with other obstacles are usually extremely large, resulting in the
frequent occurrence of injurious accidents such as broken bones and the like. The pads
and the sportswear themselves are not damaged by the collisions, unlike previous
20 ~products which were problematic in this respect.
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In view of this constraint, efforts to develop protectors of sportswears with
effective buffer protective functions have been made for sports or competitive games.
Tests have been conducted for their use at different speeds, but materials having the
required degree of shock-absorption are not easily sewn into flexible sportswear. Usually
when the sportsman wears such rigid clothing, it is uncomfortable and severely restrains
movement, making such sportswears impractical.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention has been made in view of the foregoing problems, and its
object is to provide protectors for sportswear which are attached to locations of the body
10 which tend to collide with obstacles in order to positively protect the wearer's body from
accidents. This eliminates damage of the pads and sportwear for sports or competitive
games accompanied by vigorous or active exercises such as skiing, riding, motorbiking
and the like.
'rhe protector for sportwear of this invention is that the protector is made
of hard cover plates, similar to hard plastic plates, covering the front portions of desired
pads. For example the femoral front pad, knee pad, leg pad, elbow pad and the upper
arm front pad placed at the desired positions such as the femoral front region, knee
region, leg region, elbow region and the upper arm front region. It is fixed to the
sportswear either directly or indirectly. Accordingly, the structure for attaching the
20 protector may be an exclusive structure independent of the pad or may be a member
which a!so functions as part of the pad.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF T~IE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an elevation of a skipants which is cut-away showing an
embodiment of a protector for sportswear of this invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross section taken along a line Il-II in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 through FIG. 5 are cross sections of the enlarged portions showing
another embodiment of this invention; and
FIG. 6 is a cross section of an enlarged portion showing a conventional
protector.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The protector for sportswear according to this invention is constructed in
such a way that the front of various pads such as the femoral front pad, knee pad, leg
pad, elbow pad, the upper arm front pad and the like placed at essential portions of the
sportswear are covered with hard cover plates. Such plates are fixed to the sportswear
interchangeably by means of an elastic supporting structure, so that pads are interposed
between the hard cover plates and the wearer's body. Accordingly, when a sportsman
wearing a protector for sports has a collision accident with an obstacle during its use, the
obstacle and the hard cover plate initially come into contact causing the hard cover plate
to absorb the frictional forces in the surface direction. The wearer's body is protected
by the surface thickness of the pad, which effectively absorbs the shock of the collision.
20 Also, when the pad is made in such a way that it does not hinder the flexibility of the
sportsman, both comfortability and mobility can be maintained. At the same time when
the wearer colhdes with the obstacle, the pad of the colliding portion and the sportswear
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is protected by the hard cover plate to prevent them both from damage. Also, even
when the hard cover plate is broken, it can be interchanged and replaced by attaching
a new hard cover plate structure to the sportswear.
[Embodiment3
An embodiment of the protector for sportswear according to this invention
will be described by referring to the attached drawings in which FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show
skipants illustrating a first embodiment. The femoral front, knee region, and leg region
of skipants 1, knee protector 3, and leg protector 4 are formed by covering the front
surface of a pad 6 with the hard cover plate 7 for femoral front region, hard cover
10 plate 8 for knee region, hard cover plate 9 for leg region, the pad 6 being so as to be
fixed to the surface of the sportswear material 5 having elasticity by bonding or fusing,
and each of said hard cover plates 7, 8, 9 is formed by a hard plastics material having
excellent shockproof characteristics. For example, it can be formed by composite
materials reinforced with, for example, glass fiber, carbon fiber and the like in addition
to polycarbonate, ABS, polyester, polyamide and the like. Also, each pad 6 can be
preferably formed from an elastic material such as rubber and the like, and in each part,
its structure is such that each part is separated by a prede~ermined small gap in the
surface direction and thus flexibility of the sportswear material S is maintained.
Each of the hard cover plates 7, 8, 9 is fixed to the sportswear S by means
20 of an elastic supporting structure 12 in which support pads 10 bonded or fused to the
sportswear material 5 are provided between the plates 7, 8, 9 and the sportswear 5 by
screws 11 inserted from the hard cover plate side into threaded blind holes formed
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within the support pads 1û, the pad 10 being made of an elastic material of the same
quality as the support pad 6 but of a heavier thickness than that of the pad 6. Each of
the hard cover plates 7, 8, 9 interposed between the support pads 10 thus constitutes a
floating structure having a gap between the reverse surface thereof and the pad 6. Also,
the hard cover plates 7, 8, 9 can be interchanged with the hard cover plates by loosening
the mounting screws 11 of the elastic supporting structure 12.
The hard cover plate 7 for femoral front region and the hard cover plate
9 for knee region of the femoral front protector 2 and the knee region protector 4 can
form an integral construction covering the region, but the hard cover plate 8 of the knee
10 region protector 3 is preferably formed of several structures in a laterally expanding
direction so as not to interfere with the freedom of the skipants 1.
The sportswear protector having the foregoing construction is constructed
in such a way that the pad 6 and the support pad 10 are interposed between the hard
cover plates 7, 8, 9 and the wearer's body when a person puts the sportswear on.
Accordingly, during its use, when each of the femoral front region protector 2, knee
region protector 3, and leg region protector 4 comes into contact with an obstacle, the
friction in the surface direction is initially absorbed as a result of the contact with the
hard cover plates 7, 8, 9. Accordingly, the wearer's body collides with the under surfaces
of the femoral front pad hard cover plates 7, 8, 9 generally in the surface direction by
2~) means of the pad 6 and the support pad 10, producing a buffer action effectively
absorbing the shock of the collision. Since the hard cover plates 7, 8, 9 perform the
protection, and there is no direct contact of the pad 6 on the region and the sportwear
material 6 with the obstacle as a result of the collision, breakage of the pad 6 or damage
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to the sportswear mater;al S can be prevented. Furthermore, even case the hard cover
plates 7, 8, 9 are broken, the hard cover plates 7, 8, 9 can be interchanged by the elastic
supporting structure 12.
Next, FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of this invention in which pad
6 is embedded within the upper surface layers of the sportswear material 5.
FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of this invention in which the support
pad 10 is integrally formed with the divided outside pad 6.
FIG. 5 shows a fourth embodiment of this invention and showing a
construction in which each divided pad 6, 6, 6 ... is connected to form an integral unit
10 by means of a slender connecting portion 6a.
By the way, the foregoing embodiments are related to the skipants but in
respect of all ski wear, this invention can be applied to the elbow region protector and
the upper arm front protector. It can also be easily interchanged and put into practice
with other sportswear used in a variety of games and competitions.
As described in the foregoing, the protector for sportswear of this
invention can protect the wearer's body positively by absorbing the strong shocks. When
collision occurs this has a special effect of limiting the accident, and can also prevent
damage to the sportswear material and the pads. In addition, since the hard cover plate
is attached to the sportswear in a fJoating structure, the comfortable feeling does not
20 deteriorate as a result of the rigidness and damage to the sportswear material. Even
in instances of heavy sports usage, strenuous activities can be continued since the hard
cover plate is a rigid material made of hard plastic.
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Moreover, the protector for sportswear of this invention is constructed
in such a way that it is made of a hard cover plate which is detachable by means of the
elastic supporting structure. Since its detachment is extremely simple, it can easily be
removed from the sportswear for cleaning or storing. Also, in case the hard cover is
broken, it can be easily interchanged. These are valuable features of this invention,
which make it extremely practical.
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