Surgery: splint – brace – or bandage – Bandage structure – Support covering
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-01
2001-11-20
Brown, Michael A. (Department: 3764)
Surgery: splint, brace, or bandage
Bandage structure
Support covering
C602S068000, C128S846000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06319219
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to athletic protector cups, and more particularly to an athletic protector cup having a flexible resilient portion molded thereto for providing improved protection and comfort to the wearer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices for the protection of the male groin region are extensively utilized in athletics. In athletic competition, particularly body contact sports such as football, baseball, hockey, soccer and the like, protective devices are worn by the players to avoid injury due to inadvertent blows to the groin area. The most common protective device includes a cup supported by a jockstrap. Protector cups of this character are usually formed from a plastic material, such as polypropylene or polyethylene, which is sufficiently rigid to retain its shape even when struck a relatively severe blow.
Historically, protector cups have been provided with a resilient padding about their periphery both for the comfort of the wearer and, in some measure, to absorb the impact of a blow to the protector cup. The resilient padding is usually formed from a soft, flexible foam-like material, such as foam rubber or polyurethane foam, and is usually provided in the form of a limited elongated strip manually attached to the peripheral edge of the cup with the aid of an adhesive. Such conventional padded cups suffer a number of disadvantages and limitations. For instance, the pad attachment procedure is both time consuming and costly, and the bond between the padding and the protector cup is often deficient. Separation of the padding and the protector cup typically occurs during repeated use of the protector when the padding is peeling away from the restricted area of attachment to the cup. Furthermore, such known structures, in view of the restricted extent of the padding, offer only limited impact absorption protection. Consequently, upon impact a significant portion of the blow is transferred to the body of the wearer. Examples of athletic protector cups incorporating such conventional peripheral padding are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,283,684; 3,782,375; 4,453,541 and 4,134,400.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,414 discloses an athletic protector cup having a resilient peripheral binding molded to a peripheral cup flange. The molded binding structure disclosed in the this patent provides some benefits vis-a-vis the aforementioned conventional padded cup structures. For instance, molding provides a more efficient and cost-effective means of attachment than a conventional adhesive foam strip. Furthermore, the disclosed binding is contoured to have a relatively thick outwardly-extending body portion for providing improved comfort to the wearer and improved impact absorption. However, the athletic cup structure disclosed in this patent has some significant drawbacks and limitations. For instance, to prevent separation of the molded binding from the cup over time, the cup must be manufactured having a series of perforations along the flange. In other words, to achieve adequate attachment of the binding to the cup flange, the binding material is required to flow through relatively small perforations during assembly. This is necessary to provide interlocks integrally connecting the portions of the binding lying on opposite sides of the flange. Furthermore, the relative increase in impact resistance provided by the disclosed flange geometry leaves significant room for improvement. This is because only a limited area of hard-shell is covered by soft binding. Additionally, the disclosed binding surface geometry of the outwardly extending body portion includes sharp edges which could result in chafing during frictional contact with the wearer's body.
Accordingly, there is an established need for an athletic protector cup overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks and limitations of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an athletic protector cup including a rigid plastic base having a resilient body extending over a substantial portion or entire outer surface thereof for dampening the impact of a blow to the outer surface of the cup.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an athletic protector cup having a peripheral flexible flange for further dampening the impact of a blow to the outer surface of the cup.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an athletic protector cup having a peripheral flexible flange geometry designed to collapse under forces applied by the cup to the wearer during various body movements, or under the force of a sudden impact, in such a manner as to create a cushioning barrier between the rigid plastic base and the wearer's body.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an athletic protector cup having a flexible flange incorporating a surface geometry for providing improved comfort to the wearer by minimizing frictional contact with the wearer's skin.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an athletic protector cup incorporating a flexible resilient body portion molded to a rigid base in such manner as to minimize the risk of separation of the molded portion from the rigid base.
One aspect of the invention provides an athletic protector including a rigid cup-shaped member having interior and exterior surfaces defined along their peripheries by an edge having an upper segment and opposite side segments. A flexible resilient body covers a substantial portion of the exterior surface and extends around at least a portion of the peripheral edge. The resilient body is fixedly attached over at least a portion of the exterior surface of the base member.
As to another aspect of the invention, the flexible resilient body is molded over substantially the entire exterior surface of the rigid cup base member and around the length of peripheral edge. The flexible resilient body can also be molded over substantially the entire interior and exterior surface of the rigid cup-shaped base member.
A further embodiment of the invention provides an athletic protector wherein the upper segment of the peripheral edge terminates at a first integral lip and the lower segment of the peripheral edge terminates at a second integral lip. The flexible resilient body envelopes the first and second integral lips. The opposite side segments of the rigid cup peripheral edge have an inwardly stepped surface forming an exterior leading edge. The flexible resilient body is molded around the leading edge.
Still another aspect of the invention provides the flexible resilient body having a cup-shaped portion overlying substantially the entire exterior surface of the rigid cup-shaped base member. The cup-shaped portion of the flexible-resilient body has a thickened flange portion extending around substantially its entire periphery. The thickened flanges portion terminates at a rounded end having generally crescent-shaped cross-section geometry. The rounded end has a convex outer surface and a concave inner surface. Upon application of a force to an exterior surface of the athletic protector, the thickened flange portion collapses inwardly in such a manner as to form a cushion barrier between the rigid peripheral edge of the base member and the body of the wearer.
Still further aspect of the invention provides the athletic protector in which the resilient flexible body is made of an elastomer and the resilient flexible body is injection molded to the rigid cup-shaped base.
These and other objects and aspects of the invention are achieved by the athletic protector cup which is described hereinbelow.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1972275 (1934-09-01), Record
patent: 2283684 (1942-05-01), Matthews
patent: 3176686 (1965-04-01), Barnes
patent: 3782375 (1974-01-01), Donars
patent: 4134400 (1979-01-01), DiMatteo
patent: 4257414 (1981-03-01), Gamm et al.
patent: 4453541 (1984-06-01), Castelli et al.
patent: 4471772 (1984-09-01), Miller, Jr.
patent: 4922899 (1990-05-01), Graff et al.
patent: 4989594 (
Brown Michael A.
Fridman Lawrence G.
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