Patent Application
20140366892
Not Applicable.
Not applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of sports. More specifically, the invention comprises a mouth guard that is pivotally attached to a chin strap.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mouth guards are commonly used in sporting activities where jarring impacts may damage the teeth. The present invention is particularly suited for use in the sport of American football, though it has applications in other sports as well.
The term “planar” should not be understood as meaning perfectly planar. The “bite plane' between a particular user's upper and lower teeth will often vary somewhat from the concept of an idealized plane. More sophisticated mouth guards may even be custom molded to match a particular user's bite plane. Thus, in some instances the surface denoted as planar pad 12 will assume a curved shape or even more complex shapes.
The combination of the inner and outer tooth coverings hold the planar pad in position between the upper and lower teeth. Planar pad 12 cannot slide rearward in the mouth because outer tooth covering 14 arrests this motion when the inward facing surface of outer tooth covering 14 bears against the outward facing surfaces of the upper teeth. Planar pad 12 cannot slide forward because inner tooth covering 16 arrests this motion when the outward facing surface of inner tooth covering 16 bears against the inward facing surfaces of the upper teeth.
Thus, the reader will perceive that prior art mouth guard 10 protects the wearer's teeth primarily by (1) providing a soft pad between the upper and lower teeth in order to prevent injuries resulting from tooth-against-tooth impacts; and (2) providing an impact-absorbing covering over the outward facing surfaces of the upper teeth. The example shown in
Such mouth guards provide effective protection to the user. However, it is often not desirable to retain the mouth guard in the mouth during times when play is suspended. The mouth guard impairs breathing and—to an even greater extent—impairs clear speaking. As a result, many users remove the mouth guard when play is suspended. This creates the problem of where to store the mouth guard.
In the case of American football, many users store a mouth guard such as shown in
One or more slots 20 are provided through strap 18. The strap is made of pliable material. Tongue 24 may be bent around an external object. Knob 22 is then forced through one of slots 20 in order to secure the mouth guard to the external object.
The attachment thus created may be quite strong. The user does not need to worry about losing the mouth guard because the mouth guard will stay attached to the facemask (and thus the helmet). This is typically true even when the helmet is knocked off the user's head. In that circumstance the user loses both the helmet and the mouth guard. It would of course be preferable to retain the mouth guard even if the helmet is lost, and this is a disadvantage inherent in the prior art designs.
Passage 28 is provided through lip guard 26 so that strap 18 may be fed through. This effectively joins the lip guard to the mouth guard. One or more vents 30 are typically provided through the lip guard so that the user can still breathe through the mouth with the lip guard in place. In some mouth guards, the lip guard may be molded as one integral piece with the mouth guard.
Finally,
Chin cup 40 is connected to the helmet using two or more straps. In the example shown, four straps are used. Two upper straps 36 secure the chin cup to the upper portion of the helmet while two lower chin straps 38 secure the chin cup to the lower portion of the helmet. The actual connection between a strap and the helmet is made by a snap-buckle 42. Each snap-buckle includes a buckle allowing adjustment of the strap length connected to a female snap member. A male snap member is attached to a fixed position on the helmet itself. The attachment of the straps to the snap-buckles and the attachment of the snap-buckles to the helmet is well understood by those skilled in the art and—accordingly—will not be discussed in further detail.
Helmets used in other sports, such as cricket, polo, lacrosse, and hockey, have many of the same elements found in the helmet of
The present invention comprises a mouth guard configured for attachment to a portion of a chin strap assembly. The invention preferably includes teeth and lip protection features found in prior art mouth guards and can in fact include any type of desirable teeth or lip protection. Rather than attaching to the facemask, however, the invention is configured to attach to a portion of the chin strap and preferably to attach to the molded chin cup that is now part of most chin strap assemblies.
A mouth guard made according to the present invention preferably includes a stem extending forward from the portion intended to be clenched between the teeth. This stem is used to attach the mouth guard to a portion of the chin strap assembly. Preferably, the connection is made in two stages. First, the stem is attached to a separate lip guard. Second, the lip guard is attached to the chin cup (a portion of the chin strap assembly).
The connection between the chin cup and the lip guard is flexible, so that the assembly of the lip guard and the mouth guard is able to pivot out of the user's mouth. When removed from the user's mouth, the mouth guard and lip guard are suspended by the attachment to the chin cup. When the user needs the mouth guard in place, he or she pivots it upward and back into the mouth.
The attachment between the mouth guard and the chin strap assembly is preferably able to “break away” in the event that the helmet and chin strap are knocked off the user's head. This “break away” feature allows the mouth guard to remain in the mouth despite the loss of the other equipment. The “break away” feature preferably also allows the mouth guard to be subsequently reattached to the chin strap assembly.
The present invention includes four main elements. These are: (1) a mouth guard, (2) a lip guard, (3) a separable connection between the mouth guard and the lip guard, and (4) a pivotal connection between the lip guard and a portion of a separate chin strap assembly. The four main elements are collectively referred to as a “mouth guard assembly,” They are illustrated in
Stem 48 protrudes forward from the mouth guard. The first end of the stem is connected to the mouth guard. The second end is free. Interlock feature 50 is formed proximate the second end.
Lip guard 26 is preferably made of a thin and pliable material. It includes a generally domed shape, with the convex surface facing away from the mouth guard. Stem opening 52 passes through the lip guard. Stein opening 52, stem 48, and interlock feature 50 are designed to create a separable connection. One way of creating such a connection is to size stem opening 52 so that stem 48 passes freely through the stem opening but interlock feature 50 does not. Interlock feature 50 is sized so that the material surrounding stem opening 52 must be stretched in order to force the interlock feature through. Once the interlock feature is forced through, it is retained on the convex side of the lip guard by the restricted size of stem opening 52.
The portion of lip guard 26 surrounding stem opening 52 must be pliable and resilient to make the separable connection work. In any cases it will be preferable to mold the entire lip guard from a single type of material, and in those instances a suitably pliable material should be selected.
Lip guard 26 may contain any of the conventional features included in prior art lip guards. One or more vents 60 may be provided so that the wearer can breathe through the lip guard while it remains in position over the lips. Covering flange 76 extends out from the perimeter of central protrusion 74. This covering flange protects the perimeter of the mouth.
Connection features are provided so that the lip guard can be connected to a portion of a chin strap assembly. In the embodiment of
In the example shown, the pivotal connection between lip guard 26 and chin cup 40 is made by a pair of hinge straps 46. One hinge strap is located on the left side of the assembly and one is located on the right. The hinge straps are preferably made of a flexible and tough material. The connection between the hinge straps and the particular component can be made in a wide variety of ways. One approach is to mold a bulged portion on the end of each hinge strap. This bulged portion can be pressed through the hinge strap openings in the lip guard and the hinge strap openings in the chin cup to create a “snap” connection. One can also use rivets or any other suitable connection. In any event, it is desirable for the pivotal connection between the lip guard and the chin cup to be quite strong.
The pivotal connection can be made using a single strap. However, the use of two straps separated by a distance is preferred since it stabilizes the pivoting motion as the mouth guard assembly is removed from the user's mouth. Chin cup 40 typically includes a hard plastic exterior and a soft padded interior facing the user's chin. Two upper straps 36 (left and right) and two lower straps 38 attach the chin cup to the helmet. Each pair of upper and lower straps passes into a slot 56 and is connected via a strap anchor 44. As explained previously, the opposite ends of the upper and lower straps are attached to the helmet.
In this particular example, it is desirable for the lip guard to closely abut the chin cup. In order to allow the two elements to sit in close proximity, upper relief 78 is provided in the chip cup (a cutaway that roughly follows the outline of the lip guard). The lip guard may also include a lower relief.
In the embodiment illustrated, fairly long hinge straps are used. Much shorter straps may be used in other embodiments. In that case the lip guard and mouth guard would sit much closer to the chin cup in the removed state.
In some embodiments elastic hinge straps may be used. These tend to retract when the mouth guard is free of the mouth.
Returning now to
When a user loses a helmet, it is obviously desirable that the mouth guard remain in the user's mouth. If the mouth guard is firmly attached to the chin cup, it will likely be lost when the helmet is lost. This fact explains the desirability of the separable connection between mouth guard 10 and lip guard 26. The mechanical interlock between interlock feature 50 and stem opening 52 can be defeated by the application of a pulling three. At least a component of the pulling force should be directed parallel to the orientation of stem 48 (and in a direction that urges lip guard 26 away from mouth guard 10. This component of the pulling force is known as a “separation force.”
The mechanical interlock should be designed such that the magnitude of the separation force is in the proper range. If the required separation force is too small, then the mouth guard will separate from the lip guard during normal operations. For example, in the configuration of
The minimum appropriate value for the separation force is about 2 pounds (about 8 Newtons). At least this much force should be required by the mechanical interlock. The maximum appropriate value for the separation force is about 30 pounds (about 120 Newtons). The mouth guard and lip guard should separate if a force higher than this limit is encountered. Otherwise, a force sufficient to knock the helmet off the player's head may not cause the mouth guard and lip guard to separate.
It is preferable to design the mechanical interlock so that—once separated—the separable joint can be easily reunited. Using the inventive design, a player who has his helmet knocked off will still be clenching the mouth guard between his teeth. He will then retrieve his helmet. The chin straps, chin cup, hinge straps, and lip guard will all likely still be attached to the helmet. The player then takes the mouth guard out of his mouth and reattaches it to the lip guard. In the context of the embodiment of
Practical experimentation may be needed to further refine the separation force limits and it may be desirable in some embodiments to broaden the range, narrow the range, or alter the upper or lower limits. For instance, a lineman may wish to have a higher upper limit for the separation force.
Although the preceding descriptions contain significant detail, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but rather as providing illustrations of the preferred embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art will know that many other variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should properly be determined with respect to the following claims rather than the examples given.
