Apparel – Guard or protector – Body cover
Patent
1993-04-01
1995-06-13
Crowder, Clifford D.
Apparel
Guard or protector
Body cover
2267, A41D 1300
Patent
active
054230870
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of protective body padding and, more specifically, to articulated, breathable, modular padding with a stretchable membrane.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For the past several decades, the popularity of outdoor sports has increased participation in activities that require protective body padding. Especially among 5-15 year olds, sports activities such as on-road and off-road biking, roller blading, roller skating, skateboarding, boogie boarding, surfing, and windsurfing, and the injuries attendant thereto, have revealed that these sports do indeed involve falls and collisions and that a variety of serious injuries including bumps and abrasions can result from such accidents. Furthermore, more conventional sports such as baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer and the like also require body protective devices.
Nevertheless, many existing body protection devices cannot be articulated in response to movement of body joints to reflect the patterns of motion of the various sports. Moreover, conventional protective body devices do not permit the escape of heat or moisture from the skin. As a result, the wearer becomes uncomfortably warm, and the padding in the devices becomes saturated with sweat. This becomes especially important when it is appreciated that over 40% of the body is covered by protective padding during contact sports such as football.
In addition, many young people will not wear conventional body protective devices because such padding is not fashionable, is unattractive or is uncomfortable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a body protection device that permits the escape of heat and moisture from the skin.
It is a further object of this invention to provide articulated body padding that can be adapted to protect a wide variety of vulnerable body parts.
It is another further object of the invention to provide articulated body padding that is fashionable and that can be easily made in different colors and shapes as well as easily adapted to receive various logos, trademarks, tradenames and decorations.
In accordance with the foregoing objects, the present invention is related to body padding comprising a plurality of articulated breathable molded foam modules. Specifically, the modules of the body padding of this invention include impact resistant foam having an upper surface and a lower surface embedded between an upper and lower layer of resilient, breathable fabric. The padding modules are connected to each other through thinner stretchable areas called intermodular membranes that are not necessarily designed for impact absorption but which permit articulation and which may allow heat and moisture to escape from the skin.
In a preferred embodiment, each module or the membranes or both the modules and membrane have a plurality of air passages extending completely through from the upper surface to the lower surface. The lower entrance of each of the passages communicates with a recessed air chamber. In preferred embodiments, additional air channels connect adjacent recessed air chambers so that, when the body padding is worn, heat, moisture, salt, gases, and the like released from the skin are removed by the circulation of air through the air channels and out through the air passages.
The lower breathable fabric layer may be a cotton-lycra stretch material and the upper breathable fabric layer may be a durable bonded stretch fabric such as nylon. Preferably, the intermodular membranes comprise a layer of closed or open cell neoprene that is sandwiched between the lower layer of cotton-lycra and the upper layer of durable bonded stretch fabric.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the foam that mares up the padding modules is formed of a plurality of layers, such as three. The top layer typically is the most rigid of the three layers, the middle layer is less rigid and has high shock absorption properties, and the layer closest to the skin is the most flexible of the three la
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Krent Edward D.
Paffett Nicholas B.
Crowder Clifford D.
Vanatta Amy B.
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