Chest protector

a technology for chest and chin, applied in the field of chest protectors, can solve the problems of commotio-cortis, rapid loss of blood pressure, unconsciousness, and coma, and achieve the effect of reducing the impact for

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-01-12
AJR COMM
View PDF41 Cites 40 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] In accordance with the invention, the visco-elastic polymer of the pad is generally planar, and configured with a number of raised platforms, protrusions, or dots, spaced apart by gaps defined therebetween, the raised platforms being either rectangular, circular, or oval. It is preferable that the visco-elastic polymer is Sorbethane®, a known polymer, which receives an impact force, and converts the impact force to heat. The heat transfers to atmosphere via the open gaps between the raised portions, thereby substantially reducing the impact force applied to the chest.

Problems solved by technology

Athletes and other individuals who are active in the vicinity of hard, fast-moving objects, e.g., baseballs, lacrosse balls, hockey pucks, human fists, or the like, can be subject to a life-threatening injury known as commotio-cortis.
If the impact occurs when the athlete's heart is between beats, in some cases, the heartbeat can be stopped altogether, leading to rapid loss of blood pressure, unconsciousness, coma, and in some cases death.
The occurrence can be especially severe in the case of very young athletes, such as Little League baseball players.
Previous attempts have been made to develop protective garments for athletes to wear, e.g., garments supporting a protective quilted pad over the cardiac region, but for a variety of reasons, e.g., the garment is too cumbersome or bulky, or overly-restricts the athlete's range of motion, the protective pad is inadequate, or else the pad shifts out of place during athletic activity, these conventional protective garments are not commonly worn, and the occurrence of commotio-cortis, especially among young athletes, continues to rise.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Chest protector
  • Chest protector
  • Chest protector

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example no.1

EXAMPLE NO. 1

[0041] A baseball was thrown by a standard pitching machine at various speeds, against a vertical surface. A sensor was fixed to the vertical surface, connected to a computer processor programmed with speed and force analysis software, to measure the impact force. A series of tests was conducted, pitching the ball against the vertical surface (1) while it was unprotected; (2) while it was protected by a pad of the invention, consisting of an outer layer of a single sheet of 0.5″ thick Sorbethane®, a middle layer of rigid plastic, and an inner layer of a single sheet of 0.5″ thick Sorbethane®, designated, for testing purposes, the B-series of the invention, and (3) while it was protected by a prior art pad, consisting of quilted padding sewn into a vest. In each test, the speed of the ball and the resultant impact force was measured. For purposes of comparison, each measured impact force was normalized to a ball speed of 60 mph. Table 1 below lists the ball test, the typ...

example no.2

EXAMPLE NO. 2

[0043] In another test, the same testing apparatus described above was used to test a second embodiment of the present invention, having an outer layer of two (2) 0.5″ thick sheets of Sorbethane®, a middle rigid plastic layer, and an inner layer of a single ⅜″ thick sheet of foam, designated, for testing purposes, the D-series of the invention. Table 2 lists the actual ball speed, the normalized ball speed (at 60 mph), the actual impact force, the normalized impact force, and the percent of force reduction.

TABLE 2Normal-BallizedActualNormal-Reduc-TestType ofSpeedBall SpeedForceizedtionNo.Protection(mph)(mph)(lbs)Force (lbs)(%)D1-4Invention55.9560832892.339.3D2-5Invention61.9060892864.741.2D3-6Invention60.8660866853.741.9Average870.240.8

example no.3

EXAMPLE NO. 3

[0044] In a third test, the same testing apparatus was used to test a third embodiment of the present invention, having an outer layer of a single sheet of 0.5% thick Sorbethane®, a middle rigid plastic layer, and an inner layer of two (2) ⅜″ sheets of foam, designated, for testing purposes, the E-series of the invention. Table 3 lists the same types of data listed above.

TABLE 3Normal-BallizedActualNormal-Reduc-TestType ofSpeedBall SpeedForceizedtionNo.Protection(mph)(mph)(lbs)Force (lbs)(%)E1-7Invention59.8160610611.958.4E2-8Invention60.1460622620.657.8E3-9Invention57.6860602626.257.4Average870.257.9

[0045] As can be seen, an athlete wearing the protective garment according to the present invention of the D-series, as broadly described above, should receive an approximate 41% reduction of the impact force, and an athlete wearing a protective garment according to the E-series, as broadly described above, should receive an approximate 58% reduction of the impact of forc...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

PUM

No PUM Login to view more

Abstract

A chest protector for protecting the wearer from commotio-cortis. A snug-fitting garment, which avoids creating bulk or restricting movement, includes a pocket over the cardiac region of the chest. The pocket holds a protective pad. The pad has at least one layer of a visco-elastic polymer. The pad also may include another layer of the visco-elastic polymer, or foam, sandwiching therebetween a rigid plastic layer. Each layer may include either one sheet or more than one sheet. The visco-elastic polymer receives impact energy, converts a portion of the impact energy to heat, and dissipates the heat.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application 60 / 585,677, filed on Jul. 6, 2004, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a chest protector, and more particularly to a protective garment for protecting wearers, such as athletes, from a condition known as commotio-cortis. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] Athletes and other individuals who are active in the vicinity of hard, fast-moving objects, e.g., baseballs, lacrosse balls, hockey pucks, human fists, or the like, can be subject to a life-threatening injury known as commotio-cortis. Commotio-cortis, or “cardiac concussion” can occur when a person receives a powerful impact force in the cardiac region of the chest, e.g., the force created by being struck in the cardiac region by a fast-moving baseball, a lacrosse ball, a hockey puck, or even a human fist. If the impact occu...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to view more
Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): A41D13/00
CPCA41D13/0518
Inventor CALL, ABIGAIL A.ROBERTS, JAMES A.
Owner AJR COMM
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Try Eureka
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap