Patent Application
20170311659
Existing chest and/or torso protection for female athletes, such as catchers engaged in softball, baseball, or other sports or activities, tends to be flat or apron-like and fails to conform to various aspects of a female figure. As a result, existing chest and/or torso protection for female catchers may not fit accurately to a variety of female body shapes, or it may not move with a female player in an effective manner, resulting in discomfort, obstructed movement, or reduced safety.
A chest protector for accommodating a female figure may include an upper portion sized to at least partially surround a user's bust region and having a neck opening shaped to receive a user's neck region. The chest protector may further include a lower portion sized to at least partially surround a user's abdominal region. A flexible element may connect the upper portion and the lower portion to allow the upper portion to articulate with respect to the lower portion. The upper portion may include a breast covering section extending in an anterior direction from the upper portion to form a breast volume for accommodating the user's breasts or breast region. The breast volume may be formed at least in part by connecting a pair of edges positioned on opposing lateral sides of the upper portion. Optionally, the upper portion may overlap the lower portion. The chest protector may be formed from resilient foam or other materials. Other features and advantages will appear hereinafter. The features described above may be used separately or together, or in various combinations of one or more of them.
In the drawings, wherein the same reference number indicates the same element throughout the views:
The present technology is directed to a two-piece articulating chest protector having a stretchable hinge and a volume for accommodating a user's breasts or breast region. Various embodiments of the technology will now be described. The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding and for enabling description of these embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand, however, that the invention may be practiced without many of these details. Additionally, some well-known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description of the various embodiments. Accordingly, the technology may include other embodiments with additional elements or without several of the elements described below with reference to
The terminology used in the description presented below is intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the technology. Certain terms may even be emphasized below; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this detailed description section.
Where the context permits, singular or plural terms may also include the plural or singular term, respectively. Moreover, unless the word “or” is expressly limited to mean only a single item exclusive from the other items in a list of two or more items, then the use of “or” in such a list is to be interpreted as including (a) any single item in the list, (b) all of the items in the list, or (c) any combination of items in the list. Further, unless otherwise specified, terms such as “attached” or “connected” are intended to include integral connections, as well as connections between physically separate components.
Specific details of several embodiments of the present technology are described herein with reference to baseball or softball. The technology may also be used in other sports or industries when the disclosed features are desirable. Conventional aspects of chest or torso protective equipment, such as protective materials or retaining straps or buckles to hold the equipment on a user, may be described in reduced detail herein for efficiency and to avoid obscuring the present disclosure of the technology. In various embodiments, a variety of straps, buckles, or other devices may be used to retain the technology on a user's body. In addition, in various embodiments, a variety of materials may be used.
The upper portion 110 and the lower portion 120 are joined together by a flexible connecting portion 220, which may be formed from a fabric, an elastic mesh, or another suitable flexible or stretchable material to form a stretchable hinged connection between the upper portion 110 and the lower portion 120. Although the flexible connecting portion 220 is illustrated as extending across the entire interface between the upper and lower portions 110, 120, in some embodiments, the flexible connecting portion 220 may only extend across a portion of the interface. For example, in some embodiments, the flexible connecting portion 220 may extend only across a portion of the interface adjacent to a user's anterior abdominal region, and the upper portion 110 and the lower portion 120 may be directly connected in one or more locations (such as at lateral edges of the chest protector 200 adjacent to a user's kidney region). The flexible connecting portion 220 allows the upper portion 110 and the lower portion 120 to flexibly articulate with respect to each other.
In some embodiments, one or both of the upper and lower portions 110, 120 may be formed from a base layer including a semi-flexible material, such as an ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam or another suitable material capable of providing impact protection and structural support to hold a shape while maintaining flexibility. In some embodiments, the upper and lower portions 110, 120 may each be contiguous or unitary, while in other embodiments, the upper and lower portions 110, 120 may each be formed from a plurality of pieces or segments stitched, glued, or otherwise suitably attached together. In some embodiments, one or both of the upper and lower portions 110, 120 may include a plurality of protective blocks or segments 230 mounted on the respective base layers or pieces of the upper and lower portions 110, 120. The protective segments 230 may include protective foam, protective boards or plates (for example, plastic or other suitably stiff materials), or other materials suitable for providing impact protection. In some embodiments, some or all of the upper and lower portions 110, 120 may include an outer covering of a flexible mesh material or a moisture-wicking material.
Left and right kidney sections 240 of the lower portion 120 may be sized and positioned to wrap around and shield a user's oblique regions. Left and right shoulder covering portions 250 on the upper portion 110 may be sized and positioned to wrap over and shield a user's shoulder or collarbone regions. The shoulder covering portions 250 may be strap-like and they may be padded or constructed similar to other sections of the upper and lower portions 110, 120. In use, a user's arms extend laterally from within each of the shoulder covering portions 250 (as illustrated in
The technology disclosed herein provides a chest or torso protector that contours around a female form to provide an improved fit (for example, an optimal fit) and to allow movement, flexure, or articulation in a manner that also provides for improved protection during use. The technology also provides protection for a wide range of torso and chest proportions and other body dimensions to improve protective performance and comfort across various shapes, sizes, and forms or figures of female athletes. Although advantages and descriptions presented herein relate to female athletes, the technology and its advantages may also be used in male chest and/or torso protective equipment.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments of the disclosed technology have been described for purposes of illustration, but that various modifications may be made without deviating from the technology and elements of certain embodiments may be interchanged with those of other embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, a chest protector according to the technology may include various straps, buckles, or hook-and-loop fasteners (for example, VELCRO) and arrangements of such elements to hold the chest protector on a user. A back strap organizer formed from padded material may retain and pad the straps against a user's back. Moisture-wicking materials may be included in strategic locations for user comfort.
Further, while advantages associated with certain embodiments of the disclosed technology have been described in the context of those embodiments, other embodiments may also exhibit such advantages, and not all embodiments need necessarily exhibit such advantages to fall within the scope of the technology. Accordingly, the disclosure and associated technology may encompass other embodiments not expressly shown or described herein, and the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
