EP1054711B1

EP1054711B1 - Sports guards

Info

Publication number: EP1054711B1
Application number: EP99905037A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Patrick Antony Hayes
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-02-13
Filing date: 1999-02-12
Publication date: 2002-01-23
Anticipated expiration: 2019-02-12
Also published as: DE69900815D1; AU2534399A; EP1054711A1; GB9802992D0; WO1999040979A1

Description

This invention relates to leg guards, such as ankle guards and shin guards, for protecting sports persons against injury.

It is common practice for persons playing ball sports to protect their legs from injury by means of protective guards. The use of such guards is widespread in ball sports, such as soccer and cricket. Soccer players in particular are liable to injury by being kicked in the lower leg, and such injuries can result in considerable loss of revenue to soccer clubs when their players are rendered unable to play due to injury.

Many known ankle and shin guards comprise relatively rigid pads which are worn so as to overlie the vulnerable areas of the leg, such as the ankle or shin. However such known ankle or shin guard suffer from the disadvantages that they do not adequately protect the leg since the user's leg may still be injured through the guard, and they can also restrict the user's movement to some extent. Ankle and shin guards comprising flexible pads are also known, for example from US 4756026 and GB 2068710A. However such guards are difficult to fit to the leg in a sufficiently secure manner as to provide efficient protection whilst not unduly restricting the user's movement.

It is an object of the invention to provide a leg guard which is capable of efficiently protecting the user against injury whilst allowing good freedom of movement.

According to the present invention there is provided a leg guard for protecting the user's leg, the guard comprising a protective element incorporating a layer of flexible energy-absorbing foam material and a fabric outer covering for passing around the user's leg, and a fastener attached to the protective element and fastening at the front of the leg for securing the protective element to the leg.

Such a leg guard is highly efficient in protecting against injury, and is easily fitted by the user in such a way that it is held securely on the leg in such a manner as to provide optimum comfort and protection whilst not unduly restricting the user's movement. Furthermore the guard is easily and quickly removable by the user or another person, as may frequently be necessary in the course of a game, as well as at the end of the game. The leg guard may be used in a wide variety of sports, including soccer, cricket, rugby football, American football and ice hockey. It will be readily apparent that there are very many other areas of sport and sporting activities in which such sports guards may be useable, including roller-blading and motor sports.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figures 1 and 2 are side and front views of an ankle guard in accordance with the invention attached to a user's leg;

Figure 3 is a view of the outside of the ankle guard removed from the user's leg;

Figure 4 is an explanatory view showing the shapes of the foam inserts in the ankle guard;

Figures 5 and 6 are front and rear views of a shin guard in accordance with the invention attached to a user's leg; and

Figure 7 shows the shin guard removed from the user's leg.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 the ankle guard 1 comprises a protective element 3 which is attached to the user's leg 2 by being wrapped around the leg from behind so that the user's heel is fitted into position as shown in Figure 1, and so that an elasticated strap 4 passes beneath the instep of the user's foot 5. A flap 6 is then fastened so as to secure the guard around the user's ankle.

As may be more readily seen in Figure 3 the ankle guard 1 comprises foam inserts sewn between an outer Neoprene layer and an inner fabric layer (which may also be a Neoprene layer) of a fabric outer covering 8. Neoprene (Registered Trade Mark) is a material comprising a layer of rubber sandwiched between two fabric layers. Since the innermost of these two fabric layers of the Neoprene layer is not strictly necessary, it is possible to remove this fabric layer and re-use it as the inner layer of the fabric covering 8 which rests against the user's leg when the guard is fitted. Alternatively both the inner and outer layers may be similar Neoprene layers (preferably the outer layer being of 2.5mm thickness and the inner layer of 1.5mm thickness). Furthermore a fabric edge strip 9 is stitched to the inner and outer layers of the fabric covering 8 so as to overlie and bind the edges of the covering 8 around its whole circumference other than in the vicinity of the flap 6. A further line of stitching 10 between the inner and outer layers of the fabric covering 8 closes off the pocket for holding the foam inserts in position. All stitching uses Bonded Nylon 40 thread.

As shown in Figure 4, the foam inserts include a shaped layer 11 of a flexible open-celled foam material having high energy-absorbing properties. The most suitable foam material for such an application is a medium density, open-celled polyurethane foam, such as that marketed under the trade name EAR Confor-45 Blue, of ¼ in thickness (approximately 6 mm thickness). The low impact resilience of such a material provides good energy absorption, up to 97% without bottoming out, whilst recovery from intermittent loading is gradual but complete. Furthermore, since such materials soften on contact with a warm surface, they render the guard comfortable to wear, and moreover their open-celled structure allows moisture to be dissipated away from the body.

In addition to the foam layer 11, the foam inserts include a foam reinforcing pad 12 of similar material to the layer 1 which is intended to overlie the foam layer 11 as shown by the broken lines and to be accommodated between the two fabric layers of the outer covering 8 so as to cushion the user's leg, with added protection being given to the back of the leg and the ankle bones by the pad 12. Since the Neoprene layer itself has a thickness of about 3 mm, a total thickness of at least 15 mm of material overlies these parts of the user's leg. As shown in Figure 3, the flap 6 has a Velcro strip 15 (shown in broken lines) sewn to its inside surface, and a complementary Velcro strip 16 is sewn to the outside of element 3 where the flap 6 is to be fastened (Velcro is a Registered Trade Mark). As is well known, the strip 15 is engaged with the strip 16 by simply being pressed into contact with the strip 16, so as to form a detachable fastening for securing the guard around the user's ankle. The elasticated strip 4 is sewn at both ends to the element 3.

Figures 5 and 6 show a shin guard 20 in accordance with the invention fitted to a user's leg 22, from the front and rear respectively. As can readily be seen from the figures, the shin guard 20 is wrapped around the front of the user's leg in the vicinity of the shin and below the knee 23 and is fastened to the user's leg by

flexible flaps

24 and 25.

In this case, as best seen in Figure 7, the protective element 26 of the shin guard 20 comprises a foam layer 27, shown in broken lines in the figure, sandwiched between inner and outer layers of a fabric outer covering 28 which are sewn together. The foam layer 27 may be of the same material as referred to above in relation to the foam inserts of the ankle guard 1, although it is preferred that the layer 27 is of greater thickness, for example of ½ in thickness (approximately 12 mm thickness). Furthermore as in the previous embodiment, the outer fabric layer is preferably of Neoprene of 3 mm thickness. Each of the

straps

24 and 25 again comprises two complementary Velcro

strips

29 and 30.

Because of the particular properties of the materials used, the above-described ankle and shin guards are particularly comfortable to wear and are both light and flexible so that they do not restrict the user's movements. In fact it has been found that the wearing of such guards can actually enhance performance by improving blood circulation, as well as improving the healing of injuries.

Claims

A leg guard for protecting the user's leg, the guard comprising a protective element (3) incorporating a layer (11) of flexible energy-absorbing foam material and a fabric outer covering (8) for passing around the user's leg (2), and a fastener (6, 15, 16) attached to the protective element (3) and fastening at the front of the leg (2) for securing the protective element (3) to the leg.
A leg guard according to claim 1, wherein the flexible foam material is a medium density open-celled polyurethane foam which softens on contact with a warm surface.
A leg guard according to claim 2, wherein the fastener (6, 15, 16) comprises one or more flexible flaps (6).
A leg guard according to claim 3, wherein the fastener (6, 15, 16) includes two parts which are connected together by detachable fastenings, such as Velcro strips (15, 16).
A leg guard according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the protective element (3) is also provided with at least one elasticated strap (4) for passing under the user's foot.
A leg guard according to any preceding claim, wherein the flexible foam layer (11) is sandwiched between two layers of the fabric outer covering (8).
A leg guard according to claim 6, wherein the two fabric layers (8) are held together by at least one edge strip (9) stitched to both fabric layers.
A leg guard according to any preceding claim, wherein the protective element (3) incorporates at least one pad (12) of flexible foam material to provide added protection in one or more selected areas.
A leg guard according to any preceding claim, which is an ankle guard.
A leg guard according to any preceding claim, which is a shin guard.