Shock Absorbing Pads

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shock absorbing pad, and more particularly, to a shock absorbing pad which is capable of absorbing impact force gradually.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Usually, a shock absorbing pad is a useful buffer against impact force. Recently, the shock absorbing pad is also widely used in flooring systems for the purpose of sports in order to absorb an impact force and provide resiliency to flooring.

Please refer to Fig. 8 which shows a known shock absorbing pad as disclosed in US patent No. 6,718,715, wherein a cushion pad 100 includes horizontally oriented triangular openings defined by angled legs. However, where an excess force is applied to a flooring with the known pad 100, the cushion pad 100 cannot uniformly distribute the pressure caused by the impact force along the entire flooring. Thus, the buffering effect is limited to the surrounding impact area of the flooring, furthermore due to its ineffectiveness in absorbing impact in gradual manner. The floor is subject to damage due to the concentration of pressure.

Another flooring system employing shock absorbing pads was disclosed in U.S. Pat.

No. 4,879,857 as shown in Fig. 9, in which the shock absorbing pad 200 is molded as a solid pad made of a polyurethane material. The hard solid pad does provide desirable ball-responsive characteristic, but at expense of its shock-absorption capability. This design might cause injury to athletes. This problem is especially severe when a heavy load is applied due to a number of athletes performing within close proximity to each other.

It would be desirable to provide a lightweight, low cost, cushioning pad with an excellent shock distribution capability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a sock absorbing pad, which comprises a base and at least one nodule portion having a cavity therewithin. The nodule portion including a dome portion and a cylindrical portion is provided on a first surface of the base, and the height of the dome portion is larger than the height of the cylindrical portion. In this manner, when the shock absorbing pad of the present invention is i

subjected to impact force, the dome portion can distribute the impact force to the cylindrical portion which can withstand relatively great impact force. Moreover, the cavity provided within the nodule portion of the shock absorbing pad of the present invention can provide additional shock absorption and hence provide a higher level of safety or protection to the athlete.

Li accordance with the embodiment, the cylindrical portion and dome portion may be produced as one component in which the dome portion has a smaller diameter than the cylindrical portion.

In accordance with the embodiment, the dome portion may be separately formed with the cylindrical portion, and the largest diameter of an outer surface of the dome portion is smaller than or equal to the diameter of an inner surface of the cylindrical portion.

Preferably, an annular rim is formed on the top of the cylindrical portion.

Preferably, a plurality of studs are formed on the outer surface of the dome portion.

Preferably, a plurality of mounting holes are provided in the base for mounting the pads.

Preferably, the shock absorbing pad is made of an elastomeric material.

Preferably, the studs are uniformly spaced on the out surface of the dome portion at an equal height.

Preferably, a plurality of skidproof projections are provided on the outer surface of the dome portion and the studs as well as an upper surface of the cylindrical portion.

Preferably, a root portion is formed at a joint portion between the cylindrical portion and the first surface of the base.

Preferably, the pad further comprises one or more cone portions, each of the cone portions has a cavity therewithin, the cone portions are provided on the first surface of the base and positioned adjacent to the cylindrical portion of the nodule portion.

Preferably, another root portion is formed at a joint portion between each of the cone portions and the first surface of the base.

Preferably, the height of the dome portion > the height of the studs > the height of the cone portions > the height of the cylindrical portion.

Preferably, the cone portions have a smaller wall thickness than the cylindrical portion.

Preferably, a plurality of small annular flanges are provided on the first surface of the base.

Preferably, a plurality of small annular flanges are provided on a second surface of the base.

Preferably, an annular flange having a notch is formed on a bottom surface of the base corresponding to the root portion.

Preferably, the base, the nodule portion, the cone portions, the studs, the root portion, and the annular flange are integrally formed as a whole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DPvAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a three-space schematic diagram showing a shock absorbing pad according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram for showing the bottom side of the shock absorbing pad of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial cross-section diagram of the shock absorbing pad of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a partial cross-section of the second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a three-space schematic diagram showing a shock absorbing pad according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram for showing the bottom side of the shock absorbing pad of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a cross-section of the shock absorbing pad of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 shows a known shock absorbing pad including horizontally oriented triangular openings; and

Fig. 9 shows another known shock absorbing pad.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention and various advantages thereof will be described with reference to exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the drawings.

Figs. 1-3 illustrate the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. A shock absorbing pad 1 comprises a base portion 10 and at least one nodule portion 20 extending upperwards from an upper surface 101 of the base 10. The inner of the nodule portion 20 forms a cavity (observed from Figs. 2 and 3) in order to improve the cushioning effect of the pad 1. According to this embodiment, there is only one nodule portion 20 with a cavity provided for illustration purpose. However, it should be understood that the scope of the invention should not be limited to the embodiments disclosed.

As shown in Fig. 1, the nodule portion 20 comprises a cylindrical portion 23 and a dome portion 21 formed above the cylindrical portion 23. The dome portion 21 may be integrally formed with the cylindrical portion 23. The outer diameter of a lower surface of the dome portion 21 is equal to, and preferably smaller than the outer diameter of an upper surface of the cylindrical portion 23. hi the later case, an annular rim 24 is formed in order to provide a buffering effect. The width of the annular rim 24 equals the difference between the outer diameter of the lower surface of the dome portion 21 and that of the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 23.

The cavity provided in the inner side of the pad 1 may be configured so that the wall thickness T ₂₁ of the dome portion 21 is the same as that of the cylindrical portion 23, T ₂₃ . Preferably and generally, the thickness T ₂₁ is less than the thickness T ₂₃ , as shown in Fig. 3. In

this way, the shock absorption property of the cylindrical portion 23 having a thicker wall is considerably improvement compared with that of the dome portion 21, which thereby forms a stepwise cushioning effect.

It is recommended to form one or more studs 22 distributed along the outer surface of the dome portion 21 so as to distribute impact force applied to the dome portion 21, thereby improving the shock absorption property of the dome portion 21. As shown in Fig. 1, this embodiment provides four studs 22, each of which is spaced uniformly from the other at the same level. Preferably, the four studs 22 are integrally formed with the dome portion 21 of the nodule portion 20.

According to the embodiment, a first root portion 50 may be formed at a joint portion between the nodule portion 20 and the upper surface 101 of the base 10. On a bottom surface 102 of the base 10, a first annular flange 50' is formed correspondingly. The root portion 50 and the flange 50' are provided to enhance the durability of the shock absorbing pad 1.

One or more notches 60 may be formed on the first annular flange 50' to allow moisture drainage and air circulation therethrough. This is extremely important for sports flooring systems because auxiliary materials used in the flooring system should be in conditions of dryness and airiness to guarantee the performance of the flooring systems.

In addition, one or more through-holes 42 are provided on the base 10, through which the shock absorbing pad 1 is fastened onto a sports floor or other devices. A small annular flanges 40 and 40' may be provided on the upper surface 101 and the bottom surface 102 of the base 10, respectively, around each of the through-hole. According to this embodiment, there are four through-holes 42 arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of the nodule portion 20. In fact, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this arrangement. The through-holes may be designed according to practical requirements.

As shown in Fig. 3, the heights defined by the dome portion 21, the studs 22, the cavity of the nodule portion 20, and the cylindrical portion 23 are hi, h2, h3, and h.4, respectively. The relationship of these heights is that: hl>h2>h3>h4, so. that the shock absorbing pad 1 can absorb the impact force gradually. However, it is known by those skilled in the art, these heights is not limited to the above relationship. For example, h2>hl>h3>h4 would also be effective, namely, the absorbing pad 1 can also absorb the impact force gradually.

According to the embodiment, the dome portion 21 of the nodule portion 20 can evenly distribute impact force, the cylindrical portion 23 can provide a further absorption to the impact force, which thereby provides a stepwise cushioning ability of the present embodiment. Thus, the shock absorbing pad can provide larger cushioning areas and improved cushioning characteristic, which is suitable for various situation.

Fig. 4 shows a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the same reference numerals are used for similar components as in the first embodiment. According to the present embodiment, the dome portion 21 and the cylindrical portion 23 are separately formed on the base 10. The dome portion 21 is formed directly on the upper surface 101 of the base 10 so that the largest diameter D ₂₁ of the outer surface of the dome portion 21 is the diameter of the bottom surface of the portion 21. D ₂₁ may be smaller than or equal to the diameter D ₂₃ of an inner surface of the cylindrical portion 23. Moreover, the diameter D ₂₁ is smaller than the diameter D' ₂₃ of an outer surface of the cylindrical portion 23. Thus, the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 23 may attach to or depart from the outer surface of the dome portion 21. In this manner, the cylindrical portion 23 of the present embodiment is an annular cylinder which encloses around the dome portion 21. Thus, the cavity provided within the nodule portion 20 is actually provided in the inner side of the dome portion 21.

In addition, it is better to provide a plurality of skidproof projections 80 along the outer surface of the pad 1, especially, along the outer surface of the dome portion 21 and the studs 22 as well as an upper surface of the cylindrical portion 23 so as to enhance the skid-resistance of the shock absorbing pad 1.

Figs. 5-7 show a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the same reference numerals are used for similar components as in the above embodiments.

According to the present embodiment, a plurality of the cone portions 30 are provided on the upper surface 101 of the base 10 to provide one more buffering step in order to further enhance the performance of the pad 1. Each of the cone portions 30 provides a cavity therein and locates at a position adjacent to the nodule portion 20. The thickness of the wall of the cone portions 30 is slightly less than that of the cylindrical portion 23.

The shape of the base 10 is variable, such as octagon, square, round, triangle, according to the practical requirements as long as the cushioning effect of the shock absorbing

pad 1 is not weakened. Fig. 5 shows a pad with two cone portions for the sake of illustration.

According to the present embodiment, the second root portion 51 is formed at a joint portion between each of the cone portions and the upper surface 101 of the base 10, and a second annular flange 51 ' is formed on the bottom surface 102 of the base 10 at the position in corresponding to the location of the second root portion 51. The second annular flange 51' may further provide a notch 60' to allow moisture drainage and air circulation from the cavity.

As shown in Fig. 7, the heights defined by the dome portion 21, the studs 22, the cavity of the nodule portion 20, the cylindrical portion 23, the cone portion 30, and the cavity within the cone portion 30 are hi, h2, h3, h4, h5, and h6 respectively. The relationship of these heights is that: hl>h2>h5>h3>h4>h6, so that the shock absorbing pad 1 can absorb impact force stepwise according to the height difference of each portion.

Since a cavity is provided within the nodule portion 20 and the cone portion 30, respectively, the shock absorbing pad 1 of the present invention can provide greater shock absorption and hence a higher level of safety than those known ones. Moreover, when the pad 1 is compressed by impact force or recovered after the impact force is removed, the air or moisture can easily flow out or in the cavities through the notches 60.

The shock absorbing pad 1 of the present invention is made of an elastomeric material, such as rubber. Preferably, the shock absorbing pad 1 is integrally molded, such as by extrusion. When the shock absorbing pad 1 is subjected to impact force, the dome portion 21, the studs 22 and the cone portions 30 will be deformed. Moreover, the air within the cavities can flow out through the notches 60, so that the impact force applied to the shock absorbing pad 1 can be effectively transferred and distributed rapidly along the entire body of the pad 1 so as to guarantee the impact force to be absorbed stepwise and completely. Moreover, the cylindrical portion 23 is of a cylindrical-shaped configuration which can withstand relatively strong impact force, thereby improving the cushioning capability of the shock absorbing pad 1

According to the present invention, the shock absorbing pad 1 can be used for various applications, like serving as a cushioning medium for the sports flooring, mechanical devices, and vehicles, etc.

The cushioning principle of the shock absorbing pad 1 for sports floor systems is

described as follows.

A plurality of shock absorbing pads 1 are provided under a sports floor (not shown) regularly, in which the base 10 of each of the shock absorbing pads 1 is securely connected to a bottom surface of the sports floor.

According to the first preferred embodiment, when the sports floor is subjected to impact force, the dome portion 21 is deformed to form a flattened zone at the top of the dome portion 21, thereby implementing the first cushioning step.

If the impact force is increased, the flattened zone is further deformed so that the studs 22 come to be compressed to accept a part of the increased force, thereby implementing the second cushioning step.

hi the above two steps, the impact force will be distributed along the wall of the dome portion 21 to the cylindrical portion 23. hi other words, the thicker wall of the cylindrical portion 23 can help the dome portion 21 in standing the impact force.

Where the impact force is still increased, the flattened zone at the top of the dome portion 21 is further flattened and the studs 22 are further compressed so that the cylindrical portion 23 is compressed to take up a part of the increased force, thereby implementing the third cushioning step. In this manner, the shock absorbing pad 1 of the present invention can effectively absorb the impact force step by step.

According to the third preferred embodiment, the cone portions 30 in this embodiment can provide a fourth cushioning step, which may further improve the cushioning effect of the shock absorbing pad 1.

As stated above, the shock absorbing pad 1 of the present invention can absorb relatively strong impact force stepwise, which thereby improves the server durability, cushioning areas, and cushioning effect of shock absorbing pads.

It would be understood that various changes and modifications can be made in the above described shock absorbing pads without departing from the spirit of the invention. Such changes are contemplated by the inventor and he does not wish to be limited except by the

scope of the appended claims.