Apparel – Guard or protector
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-29
2002-09-10
Calvert, John J. (Department: 3765)
Apparel
Guard or protector
C002S456000, C002S459000, C002S463000, C002S464000, C002S465000, C002S467000, C002S002500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06446273
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protective body vests for protecting against impact upon a human torso when worn by an athlete during sporting activities. More specifically, the present invention is primarily intended to provide a baseball/softball player added protection from injuries resulting from being hit by a pitched, thrown, hit or tipped ball, being tagged with a ball or colliding with another player. The present invention can also be utilized by athletes engaged in other sporting activities, such as, but not limited to, inline skating, skateboarding and touch football, to provide added protection from injuries resulting from falling to the ground or colliding with another person or player.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, many vests have been created for the purpose of providing protection to the torso of an athlete engaged in sporting activities. These vests, however, only afforded protection to limited areas of the body. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,080, issued to Culton, discloses a protective apparatus against baseball pitching injuries, which is essentially a partial vest contoured to protect the chest, shoulders, and upper arms of the athlete. Designed primarily for use by baseball/softball umpires, the Protective Apparatus is not conducive to batting, running, throwing, fielding or sliding motions due to the combination of adjustable flexible and non-flexible arm and shoulder straps which secure the apparatus snugly to the arms, shoulders and neck of the wearer, prohibiting the full and easy movement of the arms and neck of an athlete wearing the apparatus, and the protective covering over the upper arms which the apparatus provides. In addition, the degree of protection afforded by the Protective Apparatus from a pitched, hit, thrown or tipped ball a fall, or a collision is limited since 1) there is no protection for the lateral regions and the back of the torso and 2) the amount of protective material in the apparatus is limited since it is designed to fit under the shirt of an umpire. Designed primarily for use by baseball/softball umpires who would wear the apparatus for an extended period of time (i.e., the duration of a baseball/softball game), the Protective Apparatus is not quickly and easily donned due to the number, location and operation (i.e., any required adjustment for fit) of the securing straps and the fact that the wearer has to put on the vest over his/her head while placing one arm at a time through the arm straps. In particular, to achieve the proper fit of the shoulder strap, the wearer would have to reach around his/her lower back with both hands for the most effective operation of the adjusting mechanism, which is located behind the wearer, unless he/she solicited the help of another person.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,202, issued to Scheurer et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,398, issued to Aubrey, both disclose protective vests for flotation utilized in water sporting activities. These vests both have a reduced overall flexibility for other sporting activities due to the relative rigidity of the vest materials. Further, both of these water vests utilize an exposed center opening for the user to put on the vest, a deep V-neck design and a plurality of securing belts fastened across the center opening. These water vests are primarily designed for flotation purposes and not for protection against impact from sporting activities. As such, these vests do not provide the necessary protection needed for the whole torso. Though the water vests provide some protection against the impact of the water, the combination of the center opening and deep V-neck design exposes the heart of the athlete to impact. Further, the body area below the center opening is unprotected, as the center opening is not covered by protective material. Additionally, the securing belts fastened across the center opening are uncovered, resulting in a possible “catch.” Finally, the back of these water vests does not protect the lower spine area of the body from impact forces. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,202 contains a rear opening to adjust the vest to the particular body size that leaves the back exposed to impact forces.
It is therefore highly advantageous to provide a protective vest that can provide protection from a multi-section, one-piece garment to the whole torso. It is also highly advantageous for safety and health concerns to provide a protective vest that automatically adjusts the protective material to provide protection to the whole torso for varying body sizes. In addition, it is advantageous to provide a protective vest that allows for the removal and insertion of the protective padding relative to the wearer's safety, comfort and athletic performance concerns. Additionally, it is advantageous to provide a protective vest that is quickly and easily donned and removed, thus encouraging its use and providing a significant degree of protection to the wearer. Further, it is advantageous to provide a protective vest with an opening off set from the medial line of a human torso to protect against impact to the heart during sporting activities. Still further, it is advantageous for safety reasons to provide a flap or overlap made of protective material to protect the region of the offset opening and cover the area of the vest about the offset opening. Still further yet, it is advantageous to provide a protective vest with a tapered design in the inferior-most region of the posterior portion to protect the lower spine area of the boy from impact, yet permit unhindered movement of the legs. Finally, it is advantageous to provide a protective vest that permits unhindered movement of the arms and neck of the athlete wearing the vest. The present invention provides these and other advantages as is hereinafter explained.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of our invention to provide a multi-section, one-piece garment with multi-layered protective padding encasing the whole human torso that automatically adjusts the multi-layered protective padding for varying body sizes, allows for removal and insertion of the protective padding for safety, comfort and athletic performance concerns, has a tapered design in the inferior-most region of the posterior portion, an offset opening and a flap or overlap for health and safety purposes.
It is a further object of our invention to provide a multi-section, one-piece garment with multi-layered protective padding encasing the whole human torso that automatically adjusts the multi-layered protective padding for varying body sizes, allows for removal and insertion of the protective padding for safety, comfort and athletic performance concerns, has a tapered design in the inferior-most region of the posterior portion and has an offset opening for health and safety purposes.
It is a still further object of our invention to provide a multi-section, one-piece garment with multi-layered protective padding encasing the anterior, shoulder and lateral regions of the human torso that has an offset opening and a posterior portion that allows for the cooling of the underlying torso for health and safety purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,277, issued to Gillen et al., discloses a Protective Body Vest. The subject matter of this specification represents inventive subject matter originating from the same inventive entity as that of U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,277. Further, the subject matter of this specification details significant improvements over that subject mate found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,277.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to our present invention we have provided a multi-section, one-piece garment for protecting against impact upon a human torso when worn by an athlete during sporting activities comprising a vest sized and shaped to be worn on the torso of an athlete having a multi-layered padding to protect the torso of the athlete. The vest is composed generally of a shoulder portion, an anterior portion, a pair of lateral portions, a posterior portion and an
Gillen James B.
Gillen Sherry S.
Calvert John J.
Meroni & Meroni P.C.
Meroni, Jr. Charles F.
Muromoto Jr. Robert H.
Scott Christopher J.
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