Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sports
undergarment ~hich is provided with large VELCRO patches
in the top part of each shoulder area of the undergarment
whereby a protective member or members may be attached to
the wearer and oriented whereby tnese protective members
can protect specific upper body areas of the wearer.
Description of Prior Art
In the sport of hockey or football, for
example, the athlete wears shoulder pads which consists
of a padded harness which is fitted and secured about the
upper body portion of the wearer. The padded harness is
usually secured by elastic members and an adjustable
closure so that the harness can be fitted to bodies of
varying sizes. Many types of protective shells of hard
sheet material or other protective outer coverings are
secured to the harness in an immovable or in a hinged
type manner. A disadvantage of such type harnesses is
that the protective shell or outer coverings are not
adjustable and are oriented at a predetermined position.
Thus, they may add discomfort to the wearer or interfere
with his arm movement and more importantly, may not
protect the wearer in vital upper body areas. In fact,
the protective harness may sometimes cause pain to the
wearer and affect his athletic performance.
Also, it is known to provide various other
protective garments to protect the upper body area
including the neck and these protective garments are all
independently secured to the wearer's upper body areas.
Accordingly, one protective harness could cause
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discomfort by being dislocated by another harness member
as they do not cooperate with one another and become
dislodged or displaced. Thus, the protective harness
does not offer the protection it was intended for. Still
further, these harnesses are time-consuming to install.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is a feature of the present invention to
provide a sports undergarment and upper body protective
members which are detachably securable to the under-
garment and which substantially overcome the
above-mentioned disadvantages of che prior art.
Another feature of the present invention is to
provide a sports undergarment ~hich is provided with
attachment means on top of each shoulder area to attach
thereto, in a detachable orientable manner, shoulder
protection elements and a neck protector.
Another feature of the present invention is to
provide an athletic shoulder protection harness in which
the hard protective shell is removably connectible to the
harness and wherein the harness is securable, at least in
part, to VELCRO patches connected to the shoulder area of
a wearer's undergarment in an oriented manner.
Another feature of the present invention is to
provide an athletic throat guard member which is
securable about a wearer's neck and wherein the throat
guard is positionably retained at a predetermined
position by means of attachment tabs which connect to
VELCRO patches provided on the upper shoulder area of an
undergarment of a wearer.
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Another feature of the present invention is to
provide a sports undergarment which comprises an upper
body portion, a pant portion, and a leg portion all
interconnected to one another and wherein attachment
means is provided in the upper shoulder area of the
garment to detachably secure protective members thereto.
According to the above features, from a broad
aspect, the present invention provides a sports
undergarment comprising an upper body portion having a
neck opening and opposed shoulder areas. Attachment
means is secured to a top part of each of the shoulder
areas. A protective member is detachably secured to the
attachment means to maintain the protective member at a
desired position with respect to an upper body part of a
wearer.
According to a further broad aspect of the
present invention, there is provided an athletic shoulder
protection harness which comprises support padding means
on which is secured a protective element of rigid
material for deflecting and distributing an impact force
subjected thereto to protect a wearer. I'he padding means
has securement means for attachment to a wearer. The
protective element is detachably secured to the support
padding means for replacement or to permit the padding
means to be cleaned.
According to a still further broad aspect of
the present invention, there is provided an athletic
throat guard member which comprises an elongated neck
band having adjustable fastening means adjacent opposed
ends of the band. A throat guard member is formed with
the band intermediate the opposed ends. Attachment tabs
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are provided intermediate the throat guard member and
each of the opposed ends. The attachment tabs are each
detachably securable through attachment means secured
above the shoulder area of a wearer to maintain the
throat guard member at a predetermined position when the
neck band is secured about a wearer's neck.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention
will now be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing the
sports undergarment of the present invention with
protective shoulder elements secured thereto;
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing the
manner in which the pant section is constructed and
secured to the undergarment;
FIGURE 3 is a perspective view showing the
construction of the lower part of the pan-t section;
FIGURE 4 is a top view showing the manner in
which the shoulder protection harness is secured to the
VELCRO attachment patches on top of the shoulder portion
of the undergarment;
FIGURE 5 is a transverse section view of the
shoulder protection harness showing the detachable
feature of the protection shell;
FIGURE 6 is a front view showing the securement
of the athletic throat guard member to a wearer's
undergarment;
FIGURE 7 is a perspective view showing the
construction of the throat guard member;
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FIGURE 8 is a side view showing the throat
guard member secured about a wearer's neck and to the
attachment VELCRO patches on top of the shoulder portion
of a wearer's undergarment; and
FIGURE 9 is a perspective view, partly
exploded, but showing the attachment means secured to
suspenders and located on the upper shoulder area of a
wearer. This Figure is out of sequence and appears on
the sheet with Figure 2.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings, and more particu-
larly to Figures 1 to 4, there is shown generally at 10,
the sports undergarment of the present invention. The
undergarment comprises an upper body portion 11 having
sleeve portions 12 and defining a neck opening 13. A
detachable fastener 14 extends from the neck opening to a
lower abdomen area or the undergarment to permit the
wearer to enter into the undergarment.
The upper body portion 11 terminates in upper
leg portions 15 which are sewn to an underpant portion 16
about the upper leg area by stitch lines. The pant has a
waistband 17 with an adjustable cord 19 extending
therethrough to fit the pant about the waist portion of a
wearer, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Elastic bands 20
are provided in the lower thigh area of the pant portion
16 to hold the pant portion in place in the body. The
pant portion is also provided with an inner pouch 21 in a
crotch portion thereof which has an entry flap 22 whereby
to secure therein an athletic cup (not shown) as is well
known in the art and particularly for use in the sport of
hockey. Leg portions 23 may also be secured to the
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undergarment along the stitch line above the elastic
bands 20. The leg portions 23 are also provided with
lower elastic band portions 24. Accordingly, the
undergarment is held securely attached to the wearer and
the pant portion can be turned inside out to permit the
user to fit the undergarment on his body.
VELCRO (registered trade mark) tabs 25 are
provided in the frontal and lower portions of the leg
portions of the pant 16 to secure stockings 26 thereto,
in which leg protectors are disposed, as is well known in
the sport of hockey. A protective VELCRO flap 27 is
secured immediately above the VELCRO attachment strips 25
and is positioned and adhered over these strips whereby
to protect the VELCRO tabs 25 when the undergarment is
washed whereby lint or other fabric fibers do not adhere
to the VELCRO patches 25 making it difficult to clean or
rendering portions thereof inoperative.
As shown in Figures 1 and 4, attachment means
in the form of large VELCRO patches 30 are secured to a
top part of the shoulder areas 29 of the undergarment.
Instead of larger patches, strips of VELCRO material may
be provided. A protective member, herein a shoulder
protection harness 31, is detachably secured to the
VELCRO patches 30 by means of straps or tabs 32 having at
least a VELCRO portion in a free end area thereof and on
an underside of the tab. Because the VELCRO patches 30
are wider than the tabs 32, it permits the shoulder
protective member to be oriented at a desired position
with respect to the shoulder. Because of the large area
covered by the patches 30, the tabs 32 will be maintained
at a desired angle thereon. For example, as shown in
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Figure 1, the protective shoulder has a protective shell
33 which is oriented substantially to the side of the
wearer's body, whereas in Figure 4, it is oriented to the
side but slightly forwardly to a position where the
wearer may feel more comfortable.
Referring now more specifically to Figures 1, 4
and 5, there will be described the construction of the
shoulder protection harness 31. As shown, the shoulder
protective harness 31 has a support padded base 34 for
comfort about the wearer's upper shoulder and arm area
and also to provide protective padding. The protective
shell 33 is detachably secured to the protective padding
34 to permit the padding to be cleaned or washed and also
to permit replacement of the protective shell 33 if it
becomes broken. In the prior art, when these shells are
broken, usually the entire protective harness is rendered
inoperative and it is discarded or it is costly to
repair. These protective shells are provided for
deflecting and distributing impact forces subjected
thereto during the sports activity, such as in hockey or
football.
The protective shell 33 is provided with two
spaced-apart slots 35 in a central area of the cup to
receive free end portions of a respective strap element
36 and 37. These strap elements are secured to the
underpadding such as by stitching, as shown at 38. The
strap elements are also provided with fastening means,
herein male and female VELCRO material patches 36' and
37', so as to secure to one another over the top face 33'
of the protective shell 33. As herein shown, the strap
portion 36 is folded over the shell outer face 33'
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exposing its VELCRO material 36' and then the VELCRO
material 37' of strap 37 is positioned thereover in the
direction of arrow 39 to secure both straps together as
to pull the underpad 40 thereunder to cushion the shell
33 during impact. The underpad may also be thicker in
the area under the shell 33. As herein shown, the shell
33 is formed as an oval concave shell made of plastics or
fiberglass or similar shock-resistant materials.
The support padding 34 comprises a wide guard
pad section 41 of foam-like material or other suitable
padding material and has a hard covering of leather or
other material secired on the outer face 42 thereof. The
guard pad is shaped to fit on the upper side of a
wearer's arm and adjacent a lower edge thereof there is
provided a securement arm band 43 which has a VELCRO
material on an inner face thereof adjacent its free end
to secure to a compatible VELCRO material 44 positioned
in the lower region of the guard pad 41. This arm band
43, together with the VELCRO tabs 32, substantially
immovably positions the shoulder protection elements 31
at a desired position with respect to the shoulder area,
as above described.
Referring now to Figures 6 to 8, there will be
described the construction of and means for positioning
and securing a neck protection member SO about a wearer's
neck. The neck protection member 50, as better seen in
Figure 7, is comprised of an elongated neck band 51
having adjustable fastening means in the form of male and
female VELCRO tabs 52 and 52' secured adjacent opposed
ends of the band 51. A throat guard member 53 is formed
with the band and immovably retained with respect to the
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band intermediate the opposed ends thereof. Attachment
straps or tabs 54 are secured to the band 51 and extend
to each side of the band outwardly thereof. The
attachment tabs 54 are each provided with VELCRO material
54' on an underside free end portion thereof to secure
same to the large VELCRO patches 30 provided on the top
part of the shoulder portion of the wearer's undergarment
10. Accordingly, when the throat guard member 50 is
secured about the wearer's neck by the VELCRO fasteners
52 and 52', as shown in Figure 8, the throat guard member
53 is positioned at the proper throat area, as shown in
Figure 6, and the tabs 54 are then positioned over the
VELCRO patches 30, as is clearly shown in Figure 8.
Thus, the throat guard member 53 cannot rotate about the
wearer's neck and is always retained in a protective
position.
As shown in Figure 8, the throat guard member
53 is cornprised of a protective shield element 55, con-
structed of plastics or fiberglass material or the like,
secured between fabric linings 56 and 57 to form the
throat guard 53. Such hard protective shield member is
utilized to absorb shocks and to protect the throat area.
Alternatively, a fiber-like material, such as Kevlar
(registered trade mark) fiber sheeting could be attached
to the throat guard fabric and such material is also
resistant to cutting by hockey skate blades, such as is
sometimes the case during a collision between hockey
players.
Figure 9 shows an alternative manner for
securing the protective members, such as the shoulder
protection harness and neck band harness as above
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described, to a wearer. As herein shown, the suspenders
60 which are usually secured to support the pants of
hockey players are herein provided with VELCRO strips 61
in a large shoulder a~ea thereof. To these strips 61 are
secured the large VELCRO pads 30. These pads 30 are
provided with VELCRO material on both sides thereof
whereby to engage with the VELCRO strips 61 on the
fasteners 60 and also with the VELCRO tabs 32 or 54 of
the protective haxnesses 31 and 50, respectively.
However, in the preferred embodiment, these patches are
secured directly to the undergarment 10 where the patches
will not be subjected to displacement, as would be the
case with the suspenders 60. If the patches are secured
to suspenders, then it is preferable to also secure the
suspenders to the undergarment, at least in the shoulder
portion thereof, as these suspenders are easily
displaceable laterally on the shoulder of a wearer,
particularly if there was a pulling force applied by
securing the protective garmen-ts thereto. The suspenders
securement application is shown to illustrate that the
scope of the present invention is intended to cover
obvious modifications which depart from the preferred
embodiment described herein. It is therefore intended to
cover other obvious modifications provided such
modifications fall within the scope of the appended
claims.
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