Apparel – Guard or protector – Neck protector
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-12
2001-02-06
Neas, Michael A. (Department: 3741)
Apparel
Guard or protector
Neck protector
C002S461000, C002S425000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182300
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a special neck protective helmet and shoulder pads and more particularly pertains to a new neck protective gear for protecting the neck from injury caused as a result of head impacts especially by football players.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of a special neck protective helmet and shoulder pads are known in the prior art. More specifically, a special neck protective helmet and shoulder pads heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,189,917; U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,193; U.S. Pat. No. 5,483,698; U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,905; U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,367; and U.S. Pat. No. D249,396.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new neck protective gear. The inventive device includes a helmet which has a bottom edge extending essentially below both ears and around the back of the user's head and which also has an extensible member which extends downwardly and along the bottom edge and is adapted to at least partially cover the user's neck region, and further includes a set of shoulder pads having an upwardly extending collar which is adapted to receive at least a portion of the extensible member. Any impact to the user's head is transferred from the helmet to the shoulder pads rather than to the user's neck thus preventing serious injury.
In these respects, the neck protective gear according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of protecting the neck from injury caused as a result of head impacts especially by football players.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of a special neck protective helmet and shoulder pads now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new neck protective gear construction wherein the same can be utilized for protecting the neck from injury caused as a result of head impacts especially by football players.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new neck protective gear apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the a special neck protective helmet and shoulder pads mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new neck protective gear which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art a special neck protective helmet and shoulder pads, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a helmet which has a bottom edge extending essentially below both ears and around the back of the user's head and which also has an extensible member which extends downwardly and along the bottom edge and is adapted to at least partially cover the user's neck region, and further includes a set of shoulder pads having an upwardly extending collar which is adapted to receive at least a portion of the extensible member. Any impact to the user's head is transferred from the helmet to the shoulder pads rather than to the user's neck thus preventing serious injury.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new neck protective gear apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the a special neck protective helmet and shoulder pads mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new neck protective gear which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art a special neck protective helmet and shoulder pads, either alone or in any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new neck protective gear which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new neck protective gear which is of a durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new neck protective gear which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such neck protective gear economically available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new neck protective gear which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new neck protective gear for protecting the neck from injury caused as a result of head impacts especially by football players.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new neck protective gear which includes a helmet which has a bottom edge extending essentially below both ears and around the back of the user's head and which also has an extensible member which extends downwardly and along the bottom edge and is adapted to at least partially cover the user's neck region, and further includes a set of shoulder pads having an upwardly extending collar which is adapted to receive at least a portion of the extensible member. Any impact to the user's head is transferred from the helmet to the shoulder pads rather than to the user's neck thus preventing serious injury.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new neck protective gear that allows the user the flexibility without sacrificing safety unlike the prior art.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a ne
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