Patent Application
20200297061
The present disclosure generally relates to ambidextrous face guards for headgear.
To protect a batter's cheek, jaw, and/or face while batting, the batter may install a face guard on a side of the batter's helmet facing the pitcher. However, conventional face guards are designed for either left-handed batters or right-handed batters. That is, these conventional face guards are limited to connecting to only one side of a helmet. For example, a left side face guard can only attach to the left side of the helmet, and a right side face guard can only attach to the right side of the helmet.
In an embodiment, an ambidextrous face guard includes an attachment portion having at least two attachment points. The attachment portion extends from a first end of the ambidextrous face guard toward a second end of the ambidextrous face guard along a slope. The ambidextrous face guard includes a protective portion extending from the attachment portion toward the second end of the ambidextrous face guard along the slope. The protective portion is a semi-flexible or flexible structure. A line of symmetry extends along at least the attachment portion from the first end of the ambidextrous face guard toward the second end of the ambidextrous face guard such that the line of symmetry defines two symmetric portions of the ambidextrous face guard that each extend along at least a portion of a length of the ambidextrous face guard. The ambidextrous face guard is configured to attach to a right side and a left side of a headgear via one or more of the attachment points.
The attachment portion may be a U-shaped structure in which the at least two attachment points are arranged on the U-shaped structure.
The ambidextrous face guard may optionally include a cover plate. The attachment portion may include a recessed area, and the cover plate may be configured to be received within the recessed area. The recessed area may include one or more post receivers positioned within the attachment portion. The cover plate may include one or more posts protruding from a bottom surface of the cover plate. A post of the one or more posts may be configured to fit within a respective post receiver of the one or more post receivers.
Optionally, the second end of the ambidextrous face guard may be curved along a convex angle.
A first symmetrical half of the protective portion may slope downwards from a middle portion of the protective portion to a first side edge of the protective portion and from a top edge of the protective portion to a bottom edge of the protective portion. A second symmetrical half of the protective portion may slope downwards from the middle portion to a second side edge of the protective portion and from the top edge to the bottom edge.
The ambidextrous face guard may be configured to cover at least a portion of a face of a user, when attached to the headgear and the headgear is worn by the user. The protective portion may be configured to absorb an impact from an object. The line of symmetry may be a curved line of symmetry, and the slope may be curved.
One or more of the attachment points may include one or more through holes. Each through hole may be configured to receive a fastener. Each fastener may be configured to fasten the guard to one or more connection points of the headgear.
Optionally, the ambidextrous face guard may include a first attachment point, a second attachment point, a third attachment point, and a fourth attachment point. The first attachment point and the second attachment point may be located in proximity to a first end of the attachment portion. The third attachment point and the fourth attachment point may be located in proximity to a second end of the attachment portion. The first attachment point, the second attachment point and the third attachment point may be configured to align with connection points on the left side the headgear. The first attachment point, the second attachment point and the fourth attachment point may be configured to align with connection points on the right side of the headgear.
Optionally, the protective portion further may include a trapezoidal portion positioned near a distal end of the ambidextrous face guard. An outer surface of the trapezoidal portion may slopes inward toward the headgear when the ambidextrous face guard is connected to the headgear.
In an embodiment, a protection system may include a headgear and an ambidextrous face guard. The ambidextrous face guard includes an attachment portion having at least two attachment points. The attachment portion extends from a first end of the ambidextrous face guard toward a second end of the ambidextrous face guard along a slope. The ambidextrous face guard includes a protective portion extending from the attachment portion toward the second end of the ambidextrous face guard along the slope. The protective portion is a semi-flexible or flexible structure. A line of symmetry extends from the first end of the ambidextrous face guard toward the second end of the ambidextrous face guard, and along at least the attachment portion such that the line of symmetry defines two symmetric portions of the ambidextrous face guard that each extend along at least a portion of a length of the ambidextrous face guard. The ambidextrous face guard is configured to attach to a right side and a left side of the headgear via one or more of the attachment points.
A variety of additional aspects will be set forth in the description that follows. The aspects can relate to individual features and to combinations of features. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broad inventive concepts upon which the embodiments disclosed herein are based.
The following drawings are illustrative of particular embodiments of the present disclosure and therefore do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. The drawings are not to scale and are intended for use in conjunction with the explanations in the following detailed description.
The following discussion omits or only briefly describes conventional features of headgear, which are apparent to those skilled in the art. It is noted that various embodiments are described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views. Reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of the claims attached hereto. Additionally, any examples set forth in this specification are intended to be non-limiting and merely set forth some of the many possible embodiments for the appended claims. Further, particular features described herein can be used in combination with other described features in each of the various possible combinations and permutations.
Unless otherwise specifically defined herein, all terms are to be given their broadest possible interpretation including meanings implied from the specification as well as meanings understood by those skilled in the art and/or as defined in dictionaries, treatises, etc. It must also be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless otherwise specified, and that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to an ambidextrous face guard for a headgear. A headgear refers to an element which may be worn on the head. Examples of headgear include, without limitation, helmets, hats, caps, hard hats and/or the like. Although the present disclosure discusses the use of an ambidextrous face guard with a helmet, it is understood that additional and/or alternate types of headgear may be used within the scope of this disclosure Embodiments of an ambidextrous face guard are described below with reference to
The headgear 100 may be a protective headgear. For example, the headgear 100 may be a softball helmet, baseball helmet, cricket helmet, hockey helmet, and/or the like. The headgear 100 includes a dome-shaped shell 104 configured to fit over a wearer's head. The shell 104 may be sized for a particular wearer such that the shell 104 is slightly larger than the wearer's head and includes padding on one or more portions of the inner walls inside of the headgear 100. The padding may be used to absorb an object, such as a baseball or softball, impacting the outer surface of the headgear 100. The padding may be large enough to contact and fit snugly on the wearer's head.
The headgear 100 may also include a brim (such as, for example, a bill or visor) 106, one or more air vents 110, a left ear cover 108a, and a right ear cover 108b. The brim 106 is formed on a frontal portion of the headgear 100, and is configured to rest over the wearer's forehead. The brim 106 may also be used to shade the wearer's eyes from sunlight. The one or more air vents 110 may include one or more holes positioned in the shell 104 of the headgear 100, and may be configured to ventilate the headgear 100 and cool the wearer's head.
The left side of the headgear 100 extends downward to form a left ear cover 108a configured to protect a wearer's ear. The left ear cover 108a may be formed in a rounded shape or a shape ergonomic to a wearer's ear. The left ear cover 108a may include a left ear hole 116a. The left ear hole 116a is a cutout of the left ear cover 108a and is positioned over the wearer's ear when the headgear 100 is fitted on the wearer's head. The cutout of the left ear hole 116a may be formed in a variety of shapes, such as a circular shape, a semi-triangular shape, a square shape and/or the like. Padding may be included on the inner surface of the left ear cover 108a.
The right side of the headgear 100 extends downward to form a right ear cover 108b configured to protect a wearer's ear. The right ear cover 108b may be formed in a rounded shape or a shape ergonomic to a wearer's ear. The right ear cover 108b may include a right ear hole 116b. The right ear hole 116b is a cutout of the right ear cover 108b and is positioned over the wearer's ear when the headgear 100 is fitted on the wearer's head. The cutout of the right ear hole 116b may be formed in a variety of shapes, such as a circular shape, a semi-triangular shape, a square shape and/or the like. Padding may be included on the inner surface of the right ear cover 108b.
The left ear cover 108a and the right ear cover 108b each include at least two connection points. For example, as illustrated in
In an embodiment, a connection point may be through hole that extends through a portion of a headgear 100. For example, a connection point may be a through hole configured to receive a fastener to secure a guard 102 to a respective ear cover. In one or more other cases, the inner walls of the connection points may be threaded in order to receive a threaded portion of the fastener to secure the guard 102 to the respective ear cover. The guard 102 may be configured to attach to either the right or left side of the headgear 100. To attach the guard 102 to the headgear 100, the guard 102 may be fastened to the outer surface of either the right ear cover 108b or the left ear cover 108a, via at least two connection points. A protection system can be formed when the guard 102 is attached to the headgear 100.
In another embodiment, a connection point may be a bracket that is attached to a portion of a headgear 100. A guard 102 may include a corresponding clip, bracket, buckle and/or other mechanism that may be configured to attach to the bracket of the headgear 100. Additional and/or alternate connection points may be used within the scope of this disclosure.
At least two connection points on the right ear cover 108b may be positioned to align with at least two fastener holes and/or adjustable fastener holes of the guard 102. At least two connection points on the left ear cover 108a may be positioned to align with at least two fastener holes and/or adjustable fastener holes of the guard 102. The connection points on the right ear cover 108b may be positioned to mirror the connection points on the left ear cover 108a.
The connection points may be adjacently disposed around a respective ear hole. For example, when viewed from an outer right side view of the headgear 100, the first connection point 112a may be located in an area at least partially north of the right ear hole 116b; the second connection point 112b may be located in an area at least partially east of the right ear hole 116b; and the third connection point 112c may be located in an area at least partially south of the right ear hole 116b. In another example, when viewed from an outer left side view of the headgear 100, the first connection point 114a may be located in an area at least partially north of the left ear hole 116a; the second connection point 114b may be located in an area at least partially east of the left ear hole 116a; and the third connection point 114c may be located in an area at least partially south of the left ear hole 116b. For the cases in which an ear cover includes three connection points, the connection points may be arranged in a triangular pattern. It is understood that additional connection points and/or different placement of connection points may be used within the scope of this disclosure.
The guard 102 may be configured to protect one or more areas of a wearer's face, for example, the wearer's cheek and/or jaw. The guard 102 includes a guard plate 124 and, optionally, a cover plate 122. The guard 102 may have a cantilevered construction in which a proximal end portion of the guard 102 attaches over either a portion of the right ear cover 108b or a portion of the left ear cover 108a, and a distal end portion of the guard 102 projects outwards from the headgear 100 to protect the wearer from being directly contacted by an object, such as a baseball or softball. The proximal end portion of the guard 102 may have an attachment portion 228. The distal end portion of the guard 102 may include the protective portion 230.
The guard plate 124 of the guard 102 includes the attachment portion 228 and the protective portion 230. The attachment portion 228 and the protective portion 230 may be integrally formed with one another. Alternatively, the attachment portion 228 and the protection portion 230 may be attached to one another via any suitable means such as, for example, via one or more brackets, snaps, screws, or other types of fasteners. The attachment portion 228 is an elongated structure configured to attach to either a portion of the right ear cover 108b or a portion of the left ear cover 108a. In an embodiment, the attachment portion 228 may be rigid or semi-rigid about its attachment points. The protective portion 230 may be an elongated flexible structure or semi-flexible structure configured to absorb an impact from an object.
The attachment portion 228 may extend from a first end of a guard 102 towards a second end of a guard along a slope. The slope may be a three-dimensional curvature. The slope may be a curvature that extends across two or more planes. The protective portion 230 may extend from the attachment portion 228 toward the second end of the guard along the slope.
In one or more cases, a slope of the side edge 226 of the guard plate 124 may be the same or substantially the same as a slope of the other side edge 232 of the guard plate 124. A portion 226a of the side edge 226 and a portion 232a of the side edge 232 may each extend from the proximal end of the guard plate 124. The portions 226a and 232a may extend parallel with the outer surface of either the right ear cover 108b or the left ear cover 108a. A portion 226b of the side edge 226 and a portion 232b of the side edge 232 may each slope away from a top surface 238 of the attachment portion 228 the guard plate 124. That is, when the guard 102 is attached to the headgear 100, the portion 226b and the portion 232b may each slope towards the headgear 100. Each portion 226b, 232b may be a curved slope or a linear slope.
In one or more cases, the protective portion 230 of the guard plate 124 includes a trapezoidal portion 224 that is centered over a midline 218 of the guard plate 124. The trapezoidal portion 224 is positioned on a distal end of the guard plate 124. The outer surface 234 of the trapezoidal portion 224 may slope away from a top surface 238 of the guard plate 124 and inwards towards the headgear 100 when connected to the headgear 100. The top edge 224a of the outer surface 234 of the trapezoidal portion 224 may slope downwards from the midline 218 to an upper corner 224f of a side edge 224c of the trapezoidal portion 224, and from the midline 218 to an upper corner 224e of a side edge 224d of the trapezoidal portion 224. The bottom edge 224b of the outer surface 234 of the trapezoidal portion 224 may slope downwards from the midline 218 to a lower corner 224g of the side edge 224c and to a lower corner 224h of the side edge 224d. The slope of the top edge 224a may uniformly slope from the upper corner 224f to the upper corner 224e, and the slope of the bottom edge 224b may uniformly slope from the lower corner 224g to the lower corner 224h. That is, one half 220 of the trapezoidal portion 224, defined by the area extending from the midline 218 to the side edge 224c and the top edge 224a to the bottom edge 224b, is symmetrical to the other half 222 of the trapezoidal portion 224, defined by the area extending from the midline 218 to the side edge 224d and the top edge 224a to the bottom edge 224b. The slope may be a curved slope.
In one or more cases, the attachment portion 228 of the guard plate 124 includes at least two attachment points. An attachment point refers to a mechanism that facilitates connection of a guard plate 124 to a headgear 100. In certain embodiments, an attachment point may be a through hole. In other embodiments, an attachment point may be a clip, a bracket, a buckle and/or the like.
The through holes 210, 212, 214, 216 may be arranged to align with and fastened to at least two connection points on a headgear 100. For example, for the cases in which the guard 102 is attached to the left side of the headgear 100, the through hole 210 may align with the first connection point 114a, through hole 216 may align with the second connection point 114b, and through hole 212 may align with the third connection point 114c. In another example, for the cases in which the guard 102 is attached to the right side of the headgear 100, through hole 212 may align with the first connection point 112a, through hole 214 may align with the second connection point 112b, and through hole 210 may align with the third connection point 112c.
Having aligned the through holes with the respective connection points, a fastener may be inserted through one or more through holes and respective connection point. A fastener may be a mechanism that at least partially secures a guard 102 to a headgear 100. Example fasteners include without limitation, bolts, screws, rods, and/or the like.
Each fastener is then tightened, thereby fastening the guard 102 to the respective ear cover. For the cases in which the connection point is a through hole and the fastener is unthreaded, a distal end of the fastener may extend beyond the inner surface of the respective ear cover, and a nut or other similar fastener may be tightened on the distal end of the fastener, thereby fastening the guard 102 to the headgear 100. For the cases in which the connection point includes a threaded portion and the fastener includes a threaded end portion, the threaded end portion of the fastener may be fastened to the threaded portion of the connection point, thereby fastening the guard 102 to the headgear 100.
In one or more cases, at least two of the through holes may be fastened to the headgear 100. In one example, for the cases in which the guard 102 is attached to a left side of the headgear 100, the through hole 210 and the through hole 212 may be fastened to the headgear 100. In another example, for the cases in which the guard 102 is attached to a right side of the headgear 100, the through hole 210 and the through hole 212 may be fastened to the headgear 100. In one or more cases, at least three of the through holes may be fastened to the headgear 100. In one example, for the cases in which the guard 102 is attached to a left side of the headgear 100, the through hole 210, through hole 212, and through hole 216 may be fastened to the headgear 100. In another example, for the cases in which the guard 102 is attached to a right side of the headgear 100, the through hole 210, the through hole 212, and the through hole 214 may be fastened to the headgear 100.
Padding, foam, and/or a soft cushion-like material may be positioned on an inner surface of an ear cover of the headgear 100. The padding, foam, and/or soft cushion-like material may be used to prevent the wearer's face from contacting one or more fasteners that are used to fasten the guard 102 to the headgear 100. The padding, foam, and/or soft cushion-like material may be positioned to extend around a respective ear hole, such that the ear hole remains unobstructed or at least partially unobstructed. The padding, foam, and/or soft cushion-like material may be removably fastened to the ear cover. For example, the padding, foam, and/or soft cushion-like material may be removably fastened to the ear cover via hook and loop closures, adhesive, or other attachment materials known to one of ordinary skill in the art. When attaching the guard 102 to the headgear 100, a user may fasten the guard 102 to the headgear 100 as discussed above, and subsequently fasten the padding, foam, and/or a soft cushion-like material to the inner surface of the ear cover.
In one or cases, the guard plate 124 includes a recessed portion 236, which encompasses at least one of the through holes. As shown in
Through holes 210, 212, 214, 216 may be recessed below the top surface 406 of the recessed portion 236. For example, through hole 216 may include a recessed portion 404a, through hole 214 may include a recessed portion 404b, the through hole 210 may include a recessed portion 402a, and the through hole 212 may include a recessed portion 402b. The recessed portions of the through holes 210, 212, 214, 216 may be recessed into the guard plate 124 deep enough to accommodate a head of a fastener and allow the top surface of the head of the fastener to sit at or below the top surface 406 of the recessed portion 236. By recessing the heads of the one or more fasteners, the bottom surface 240 of the cover plate 122 may reside on the top surface 406 of the recessed portion 236 and the cover plate 122 may sit flush or substantially flush with the top surface 238 of the guard plate 124. The diameter of the recessed portions 402a, 402b, 404a, and 404b may be larger than a head of a fastener inserted through the respective through hole.
In one or more cases, the cover plate 122 may include one or more posts, such as posts 206a, 206b, 206c, and 206d. As illustrated by
The attachment portion 228 of the guard plate 124 may be formed in a shape that does not obstruct or only partially obstructs an ear hole of the headgear 100 when the guard 102 is attached to a headgear 100. For example, the attachment portion 228 may be formed in a U-shape, in which the shape of the attachment portion 228 is configured to extend around the ear hole of the headgear 100. In one or more cases, one or more of the through holes 210, 212, 214, 216 may be disposed around the portion of the attachment portion 228 that is configured to extend around the ear hole of the headgear 100. For example, the one or more of the through holes 210, 212, 214, 216 may be disposed in a U-shape or substantially U-shape pattern. In one or more cases, the post insert receivers may be disposed around the portion of the attachment portion 228 that is configured to extend around the ear hole of the headgear 100.
Although an attachment portion 228 having a U-shape is discussed in this disclosure, it is understood that attachment portions having alternate shapes may be used within the scope of this disclosure. For example, an attachment portion 228 may have a square or rectangular shape in various embodiments.
As discussed throughout this disclosure, at least a portion of the guard 102 has a symmetrical shape relative to a line of symmetry 600 as illustrated in
In various embodiments, the line of symmetry 600 may extend along an entire length of a guard 102 as illustrated in
The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the claims attached hereto. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modifications and changes that may be made without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the following claims.
