Chest protector

Abstract

The chest protector is formed as a two-layered shield of conformal configuration serving as impact resistant means and which is enclosed in a fabric cover that includes edge marginal regions extending beyond the periphery of the layered shield, so as to terminate in a continuous welt. Rigid fasteners join the two layers of the shield together and a retaining strap is provided for detachably mounting the chest protector on the torso of the user. The strap includes a midsection secured across the exterior of the chest protector about the user and includes end sections that crisscross the user's back for releasably joining at the top of the protector wherein the buckles are arranged in fixed spaced apart relationship. The chest protector is for use over the street clothes of the user and is not incorporated into the garment worn by the user.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to and claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/688,475 filed on Jun. 9, 2005.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of torso protection for sporting activities, and more particularly to a novel chest protector having a double “turtle shell” protector carried on a fabric enclosure which includes a single strap harness for detachably mounting the chest protector onto the torso of a user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the past, it has been the conventional practice to employ a chest protector in a variety of sports, such as for empires in baseball, resilient pads for body builders involved in lifting activities, and for drivers of go-kart vehicles. Particularly in connection with go-kart vehicles, the chest protector must include impact resistant material so as to absorb and/or distribute loads which are encountered should the driver be thrown against the steering wheel of the vehicle. In most prior chest protectors used in the sport of driving go-kart vehicles, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,862,751, a single impact resistant barrier is provided that is worn by the driver of the go-kart by utilizing a garment, such as a shirt or vest. The garment serves as a means for mounting the barrier to the torso of the driver or user and requires that the user put on and wear the garment during performance of driving the go-kart. Such use of the garment usually requires that it be worn over street clothes which is bulky and binding on the driver and which interferes with the driver's ability to steer the go-kart. Also, by employing a single impact resistance barrier, there is little load distribution of impact forces should the driver be forced against the steering wheel of the vehicle. In fact, there is no transference of impact loads through the garment at all so that the load force of any impact is transferred directly from the barrier to the chest of the wearer.

Various designs for chest protectors and guards have been developed by inventors that include a number of novel features. U.S Patent Application No. 2005/0138717, issued to Le Gal discloses a grid made from flexible material that can deform in accordance with a mesh established over its entire surface, the grid having a plurality of projecting shapes obtained by a shaping treatment giving them a shape memory, said shapes obtained in mesh form being disposed and arranged in order to define ventilation channels, and in that the peripheral walls of said shapes and their upper faces are flexible and deformable, ventilation taking place through the entire mesh of the grid.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,862,751, issued to Wattenberger et al., discloses a go-kart chest protective device is disclosed that is comprises of a conventional shirt-type garment having a protective element affixed thereto. The protective element is fabricated from an impact resistant material and is operative to selectively protect the chest of the go-kart driver without interfering with the driver's ability to drive the go-kart.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,537, issued to Jankowski is directed to a protective breast shield that has an inner layer and an outer layer for protecting from blows to the breast area. The outer layer is made of impact resistant material and the inner layer is made of a soft padding type material. There are also straps attached to the inner layer for attaching the breast shield to a body.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,226, issued to Serewicz illustrates a baseball chest protector with shoulder guards extending over both shoulders of the wearer, to which adjustable straps are attached. The shoulder guards extend just slightly outward of the wearer's shoulder, such that the shoulder is protected but the guard does not interfere with the wearer's throwing motion. The chest protector of the present invention should rest on the wearer's shoulders, ensuring that the protector is properly positioned even when the straps are not perfectly adjusted.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,285, issued to Sylvestor disclose a protective vest system useful as a ballistics vest includes a front panel for overlying the chest region of a user, a front carrier containing the front panel, front strap-like elastically stretchable fastening means rigidly affixed to peripheral portions of the front panel and extending to the outside of the front carrier, a rear panel for overlying the back region of a user, a rear carrier containing the rear panel, and strap-like elastically stretchable rear fasteners rigidly affixed to peripheral portions of the rear panel and extending to the exterior of the rear carrier.

Cooperating fasteners on the free end portions of the front and rear strap-like fasteners are attached to one another to rigidly secure the front and rear panels to the body of the user. Each panel includes multiple layers of a flexible and foldable impact-resistant material, such as a woven Kevlar fabric, overlying one another and contained within a flexible and foldable jacket. The multiple layers are free-floating relative to one another across an area encompassing at least a major portion of the area occupied the multiple layers so that the resulting front and rear protective panels are highly flexible and therefore comfortable and light in weight during use.

The rigid attachment of the front and rear fasteners solely to peripheral regions of the panels stabilizes the otherwise free-floating multiple layers of each panel sufficiently to enable the multiple layers to remain in their flat overlying and protective positions after being impacted by multiple rounds fired from different angles during conventional ballistics testing.

It is an objective of the present invention to provide to provide a go-kart chest protector which employs a two-component impact barrier which, not only distributes the load forces between the components, but also employs a harness means for further distributing the loads across the shoulders, back, and waist of the user so as to minimize impact loads against the chest of the user. Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel chest protector which includes a two-component or layered impact resistant barrier having the ability to transfer impact loads from one component to the other in order to lessen centralization of impact at anyone particular point or location.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a chest protector having a single strap harness means for conveniently and easily placing the protector on the torso of the user as well as taking the chest protector off of the torso. Still a further object resides in providing a go-kart chest protector which is worn over the clothing of the user having a detaching harness arrangement which provides distribution of impact loads to various portions of the body through an impact resistant shield carried adjacent to the chest of the torso of the user.

Yet a further objective is to provide a chest protector that is readily adaptable to different size users. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a chest protector that is light weight and durable. Finally, it is an objective of the present invention to provide such a chest protector that provides the necessary protection that can be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses all of the deficiencies of chest protection inventions and satisfies all of the objectives described above.

(1) A chest protector providing the desired features may be constructed from the following components. An inner impact shield is provided. The inner shield is formed of rigid material, has a first outer perimeter and is sized and shaped to conform substantially to a shape of a user's chest. An outer impact shield is provided. The outer shield is formed of rigid material, is sized and shaped to conform to the shape of the inner impact shield and to fit within the first outer perimeter. Strap means connected to the chest protector are provided for attaching the chest protector to the user.

(2) In a variant of the invention, the inner impact shield includes a first covering. The first covering is located on an inner surface of the inner impact shield.

(3) In a further variant, the first covering is formed of material selected from the group consisting of fabric, plastic, rubber and leather.

(4) In still a further variant, the outer impact shield includes a second covering. The second covering is located on an outer surface of the outer impact shield.

(5) In yet a further variant, the first covering and the second covering are joined at their outer edges, thereby enclosing the inner and outer impact shields.

(6) In another variant of the invention, the first covering and the second covering are joined at their outer edges by a fabric welt.

(7) In still another variant, the strap means for attaching the chest protector to the user is removably connected at at least one point to the chest protector with at least one detachable buckle.

(8) In yet another variant, the strap means for attaching the chest protector to the user further comprises at least one size adjustment means.

(9) In a further variant, the strap means for attaching the chest protector to the user is attached to the second covering.

(10) In yet a further variant, the inner impact shield is attached to the outer impact shield.

(11) In still a further variant, the inner impact shield is attached to the outer impact shield using attachment means selected from the group consisting of adhesives, screws, bolts, locknuts and rivets.

(12) In another variant of the invention, the inner impact shield is attached to the outer impact shield along a vertical centerline of the shields.

(13) In still another variant, the inner impact shield and the outer impact shield include a recess for the user's neck.

(14) In yet another variant, the inner impact shield and the outer impact shield include recesses for the user's arms.

(15) In a final variant of the invention, the inner impact shield and the outer impact shield are formed from material selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic, carbon fiber composites and aramid fiber composites.

An appreciation of the other aims and objectives of the present invention and an understanding of it may be achieved by referring to the accompanying drawings and the detailed description of a preferred embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a reduced front elevational view of the chest protector shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the impact resistant barrier incorporated into the chest protector shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the impact resistant barrier shown in FIG. 3 as taken in the direction of arrows 4-4 thereof;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the layered impact resistant barrier shown in FIG. 3 as taken in the direction of arrows 5-5 thereof;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a buckle attachment for the strap harness; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the harness strap carried about the waist of the chest protector taken in the direction of arrows 7-7 of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(1) FIGS. 1-7 illustrate a chest protector 10 providing the desired features that may be constructed from the following components. An inner impact shield 14 is provided. The inner shield 14 is formed of rigid material, has a first outer perimeter 18 and is sized and shaped to conform substantially to a shape of a user's chest 22. An outer impact shield 30 is provided. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the outer shield 30 is formed of rigid material, is sized and shaped to conform to the shape of the inner impact shield 14 and to fit within the first outer perimeter 18. Strap means 34 connected to the chest protector 10 are provided for attaching the chest protector 10 to the user 38.

(2) In a variant of the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the inner impact shield 14 includes a first covering 42. The first covering 42 is located on an inner surface 46 of the inner impact shield 14.

(3) In a further variant, the first covering 42 is formed of material selected from the group consisting of fabric, plastic, rubber and leather.

(4) In still a further variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 7, the outer impact shield 30 includes a second covering 50. The second covering 50 is located on an outer surface 54 of the outer impact shield 30.

(5) In yet a further variant, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the first covering 42 and the second covering 50 are joined at their outer edges 58, 62, thereby enclosing the inner 14 and outer 30 impact shields.

(6) In another variant of the invention, the first covering 42 and the second covering 50 are joined at their outer edges 58, 62, by a fabric welt 66.

(7) In still another variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, the strap means 34 for attaching the chest protector 10 to the user 38 is removably connected at at least one point 70 to the chest protector 10 with at least one detachable buckle 74.

(8) In yet another variant, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the strap means 34 for attaching the chest protector 10 to the user 38 further comprises at least one size adjustment means 78.

(9) In a further variant, the strap means 34 for attaching the chest protector 10 to the user 38 is attached to the second covering 50.

(10) In yet a further variant, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the inner impact shield 14 is attached to the outer impact shield 30.

(11) In still a further variant, the inner impact shield 14 is attached to the outer impact shield 30 using attachment means 82 selected from the group consisting of adhesives, screws, bolts, locknuts and rivets.

(12) In another variant of the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the inner impact shield 14 is attached to the outer impact shield 30 along a vertical centerline 86 of the shields 14, 30.

(13) In still another variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inner impact shield 14 and the outer impact shield 30 include a recess 90 for the user's neck 94.

(14) In yet another variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, the inner impact shield 14 and the outer impact shield 30 include recesses 98 for the user's arms 102.

(15) In a final variant of the invention, the inner impact shield 14 and the outer impact shield 30 are formed from material selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic, carbon fiber composites and aramid fiber composites.

The chest protector 10 has been described with reference to particular embodiments. Other modifications and enhancements can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims that follow.

Claims

1. A chest protector, comprising:

an inner impact shield, said inner shield being formed of rigid material, having a first outer perimeter and being sized and shaped to conform substantially to a shape of a user's chest;

an outer impact shield, said outer shield being formed of rigid material, being sized and shaped to conform to said shape of said inner impact shield and to fit within said first outer perimeter; and

strap means connected to said chest protector for attaching said chest protector to said user.

2. The chest protector, as described in claim 1, wherein said inner impact shield further comprises a first covering, said first covering being disposed upon an inner surface of said inner impact shield.

3. The chest protector, as described in claim 2, wherein said first covering is formed of material selected from the group consisting of:

fabric, plastic, rubber and leather.

4. The chest protector, as described in claim 2, wherein said outer impact shield further comprises a second covering, said second covering being disposed upon an outer surface of said outer impact shield.

5. The chest protector, as described in claim 4, wherein said first covering and said second covering are joined at their outer edges, thereby enclosing said inner and outer impact shields.

6. The chest protector, as described in claim 5, wherein said first covering and said second covering are joined at their outer edges by a fabric welt.

7. The chest protector, as described in claim 1, wherein said strap means for attaching said chest protector to said user is removably connected at at least one point to said chest protector with at least one detachable buckle.

8. The chest protector, as described in claim 1, wherein said strap means for attaching said chest protector to said user further comprises at least one size adjustment means.

9. The chest protector, as described in claim 1, wherein said strap means for attaching said chest protector to said user is attached to said second covering.

10. The chest protector, as described in claim 1, wherein said inner impact shield is attached to said outer impact shield.

11. The chest protector, as described in claim 10, wherein said inner impact shield is attached to said outer impact shield using attachment means selected from the group consisting of:

adhesives, screws, bolts, locknuts and rivets.

12. The chest protector, as described in claim 1, wherein said inner impact shield is attached to said outer impact shield along a vertical centerline of said shields.

13. The chest protector, as described in claim 1, wherein said inner impact shield and said outer impact shield include a recess for said user's neck.

14. The chest protector, as described in claim 1, wherein said inner impact shield and said outer impact shield include recesses for said user's arms.

15. The chest protector, as described in claim 1, wherein said inner impact shield and said outer impact shield are formed from material selected from the group consisting of:

thermoplastic, carbon fiber composites and aramid fiber composites.