Protective sports equipment and methods of making same

Abstract

Protective pads for protecting a body part of a person, such as a shin guard for protecting the shin from impacts during sporting activities, and methods of making the same, are disclosed. The protective pad comprises an outer shell and a padding layer connected to the outer shell. The protective pad further comprises at least one padding element located in an interior portion of a lower portion of the protective pad. The at least one padding element is configured to provide a space between the body part and at least one of the outer shell and the padding layer. In this manner, the space provided between the body part and at least one of the outer shell and the padding layer allows the outer shell and the padding layer to absorb and dissipate more of a force resulting from an impact to the protective pad away from the body part.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]1. Field of the Disclosure[0002]The disclosure relates to protective equipment, and more particularly to protective athletic equipment having padding to protect persons from impact or other forces involved in contact sports or other activities with a high risk of impact to parts of the body, as well as methods of making such protective equipment. In particular, the disclosure relates to protective pads, such as shin guards, that may be used in a variety of sports such as ice hockey, roller hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, or other sports or activities in which it may be desirable to protect the shin or other body part from blows or projectiles.[0003]2. Technical Background[0004]Protective gear, such as shin guards, knee guards, elbow guards, and other protective gear for body joints, is commonly used in sports where a participant risks injury from moving objects, or accidental collisions with the ground, obstacles, or other participants. Protective guards also...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]In this manner, the space provided between the body part and at least one of the outer shell and the padding layer allows the outer shell and the padding, layer to absorb and dissipate more of a force resulting from an impact to the protective pad away from the body part, such as the shin. The padding element results in the outer shell of the protective pad not being in contact with the body part of the person wearing the protective pad. Thus, when the outer shell of the protective pad receives an impact, such as a hockey puck traveling at a high speed, the force of the impact will not be felt on the body part, or at least the force felt at the body part will be greatly reduced. By spacing the outer shell away from the body part, the outer shell and the padding layer can absorb and dissipate more of the force of the impact away from the body part, resulting in less pain and injury to the wearer of the protective pad.

Problems solved by technology

However, despite the padding material, hard shell protective pads do not prevent all injuries or pain from the force of contact.

For example, in hockey, the puck may travel at extremely high speeds, up to a hundred (100) miles per hour, and being struck in the shin or other portion of the body, often causes pain and injury even when the puck hits the shin guard.

A drawback of using a rigid hard shell cover is its limited ability to absorb and displace energy and its lack of flexibility to the user.

For example, if the padding contacts a bone, such as the shinbone, all of the force of impact may be transmitted to that bone, or the energy from a sudden impact may not be distributed over the area of the padding but concentrated in a smaller area, causing pain or injury.

Thus, the typical shin guard offers some protection for the shin area, although it is now known that the effectiveness of such protection is not optimal.

Typical shin guards are effective in absorbing only a percentage of the impact energy and have less than optimal material to absorb large quantities of energy, which might explain the increasing number of fractures and other injuries, even when the user is wearing a shin guard.

In addition, ice hockey players may take slap shots up to 100 miles per hour to the lower legs, thus opening up the potential for injury or even a fracture to the lower leg hones.

And there are many occasions where soccer players risk injuring their lower legs, for instance when two players try to kick the soccer ball at the same time, a soccer player collides with the goalkeeper, and one player slide tackles another.

Likewise, in baseball, a catcher must squat and catch pitches travelling potentially around 100 miles per hour and if they miss the baseball the potential of the baseball hitting the catcher's lower legs and injuring the lower leg is great.

In addition, the umpire who stands behind the catcher is at risk of injuring their lower legs as well if the catcher fails to catch a pitch.

In particular, hockey pucks can cause shin, foot and ankle injuries even through modern hard-shelled plastic shin guards, in part because the lit of modern hockey shin guards is intentionally tight.

The problem is worsened by the use of composite-material hockey sticks, which throw the puck faster than wooden sticks, at speeds up to 100 miles per hour.

The unsportsmanlike “slashing” of another player's feet with a hockey stick can also cause leg injuries.

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