TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a sports aid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a sports aid including: - a cushioning member which is shaped and configured to conform to a portion of a body of a user and to cushion the portion of the body against an impact; and an impact dispersion member mounted on a portion of the cushioning member, the impact dispersion member being shaped and configured to disperse forces of an impact by a projectile into the cushioning member in a manner to reduce and/or limit the effect of the impact in order to protect the user against injury, the cushioning and impact dispersion members being and shaped and configured to fit complementally within a pocket of a garment wearable by the user.

The cushioning member may have a thickness in the range of 5mm to 15mm, preferably having a thickness in the region of 10mm. The cushioning member may have a density in the range of 15kg/m ³ to 75kg/m ³ , preferably having a density in the region of 49kg/m ³ (3lb/ft ³ ). The cushioning member may be manufactured from any suitable resiliently deformable and energy or impact absorbing material. The material may be in the form of any suitable synthetics or plastics material. The material may be mouldable to the shape of the portion of the user’s body. Preferably, the material may be manufactured from polyurethane. A lining may be provided on an inner surface of the cushioning member for improving comfort experienced by a user.

The portion of the body may include any one or more of the group including a hand, forearm, upper arm, shoulder, chest, breast, torso, back, buttock, pelvis, groin, thigh, calf, shin, and foot. Preferably, the portion of the body may be in the form of the pelvic and/or groin region or the chest and/or breast region. The cushioning member l may be sized, shaped, and/or configured to conform to the pelvic and/or groin region or the chest and/or breast region of the user’s body. The cushioning member for the pelvic and/or groin region preferably having a generally triangular shape when viewed in plan. The cushioning member may include rounded edges for improving comfort experienced by the user.

The projectile may be in the form of a projectile which may be used for any sport. The projectile may be in the form of a ball, puck or the like. For example, the projectile may be in the form of a ball used in any sport of the group including cricket, hockey, baseball, softball, tennis, squash, and the like. As another example, the projectile may be in the form of an ice hockey puck.

The impact dispersion member may have a generally arcuate shape for improving dispersion of the forces of the impact by the projectile. In particular, the impact dispersion member may have a generally shell shape. It is to be appreciated that the term shell shape is understood to mean curved or arcuate in more than one direction. Preferably the impact dispersion member may have a slight curved, shell or dome shape. The impact dispersion member may have a shape which corresponds generally to the shape of the cushioning member, preferably being smaller in size than the cushioning member.

The impact dispersion member may be manufactured from a resiliently deformable material. The impact dispersion member may have a thickness which reduces or tapers away from, a typically central, impact zone towards edge regions thereof for improving dispersion of the forces of the impact by the projectile into the cushioning member away from a point of impact. It is to be appreciated that the tapering thickness of the impact dispersion member allows a mass of the impact dispersion member to be reduced. It is to be appreciated further that the thickness of the impact zone further improves the dispersion of forces of the impact. The impact zone of the impact dispersion member may be spaced, preferably slightly, from the cushioning member for further improving dispersion of the forces of the impact. The impact dispersion member may have a density in the range of 100kg/m ³ to 2000kg/m ³ , preferably having a density in the range of 1 150kg/m ³ to 1 250kg/m ³ . The impact dispersion member may be manufactured from any suitable energy absorbing synthetics or plastics material, preferably being linoleum.

A mounting means may be provided for mounting a portion of the impact dispersion member on a portion of the cushioning member. The mounting means may be in the form of any suitable conventional adhesive, preferably being in the form of glue. Alternatively, the mounting means may be in the form of a recess being defined in the cushioning member to receive peripheral regions of the impact dispersion member complementally therein. Alternatively, the mounting means may be in the form of a conventional clip, clasp or hook-and-loop fastener. The hook-and-loop fastener may be in the form of a velcro™ -type fastener. The garment may be in the form of any wearable item of clothing. In particular, the garment may be in the form of any of the group including undergarments, underwear, sportswear, a pair of pants, a pair of shorts, tights, leggings, a shirt, a sleeve, socks, and the like. The garment may be in the form of a garment made specifically for women. The garment may have multiple pockets to receive cushioning and impact dispersion members complementally within each pocket to allow a plurality of portions of the body of the user to be protected against injury, typically by dispersing the impact of the projectile on any particular portion of the body of the user.

The user may be in the form of a female user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A sports aid in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of the following, non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings: -

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional schematic showing a sports aid in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the sports aid shown in Figure 1 ; Figure 3 is a front view of a user wearing a garment with a pocket which sized and shaped to receive the sports aid shown in Figure 1 therein;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view of an alternative embodiment of the sports aid;

Figure 5 is a plan view showing a further embodiment of the sports aid in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 6 is a front view of a user wearing a garment with a pocket which sized and shaped to receive the sports aid shown in Figure 5 therein

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to Figures 1 to 4, reference numeral 10 refers generally to a sports aid which includes a cushioning member 12 which is shaped and configured to conform to a portion of a body 14 of a user 16 and to cushion the portion of the body 14 against an impact, the portion as shown in Figures 1 to 4 being in the form of the groin region 13, and an impact dispersion member 18 mounted on a portion of the cushioning member 12, the impact dispersion member 18 being shaped and configured to disperse forces of an impact by a projectile in the form of a ball 20 into the cushioning member 12 in a manner to reduce or limit the effect of the impact in order to protect the user 16 against injury, the cushioning member 12 and impact dispersion member 18 being shaped and configured to fit complementally within a pocket 22 of a garment 24 wearable by the user 16.

The cushioning member 12 has a thickness in the range of 5mm to 15mm. typically having a thickness in the region of 10mm. The cushioning member 12 has a density in the range of 25kg/m ³ to 75kg/m ³ , typically having a density in the region of 49kg/m ³ (3lb/ft ³ ). The cushioning member 12 is manufactured from any suitable resiliently deformable and energy or impact absorbing material. The material is in the form of any suitable synthetics or plastics material. The material is mouldable to the shape of the portion 13 of the user’s body 14. Typically, the material is manufactured from polyurethane.

The portion 13 of the body 14 includes any one or more of the group including a hand, forearm, upper arm, shoulder, chest, breast, torso, back, buttock, pelvis, groin, thigh, calf, shin, and foot. As shown in the figures, the portion 13 of the body 14 is in the form of the pelvic and groin region. The cushioning member 12 is sized, shaped, and configured to conform to the pelvic and groin region of the user’s body 14, typically having a generally triangular shape when viewed in plan. The cushioning member 12 includes rounded edges (not shown) for improving comfort experienced by the user 16.

Although the projectile is shown in the Figures to be in the form of a ball 20, the projectile could be in the form of a projectile which may be used for any sport. For example, the projectile could be in the form of a ball used in any sport of the group including cricket, hockey, baseball, softball, tennis, squash, and the like. As another example, the projectile could be in the form of an ice hockey puck.

The impact dispersion member 18 has a generally arcuate shape for improving dispersion of the forces of the impact by the ball 20. In particular, the impact dispersion member 18 has a generally shell shape. It is to be appreciated that the term shell shape is understood to mean curved or arcuate in more than one direction. Typically, the impact dispersion member 18 has a slight curved, shell, or dome shape. The impact dispersion member 18 has a shape which corresponds generally to the shape of the cushioning member 12, typically being smaller in size than the cushioning member 12. The impact dispersion member 18 is manufactured from a resiliently deformable material. The impact dispersion member 18 has a thickness which reduces or tapers away from, a typically central, impact zone 26 towards edge regions 28 thereof for improving dispersion of the forces of the impact by the ball 20 into the cushioning member 12 away from a point of impact. It is to be appreciated that the tapering thickness (not shown) of the impact dispersion member 18 allows a mass of the impact dispersion member 18 to be reduced. It is to be appreciated that the thickness of the impact zone 26 further improves the dispersion of the forces of the impact. The impact zone 26 of the impact dispersion member 18 is slightly spaced from the cushioning member 12 for further improving dispersion of the forces of the impact. The impact dispersion member 18 has a density in the range of 100kg/m ³ to 2 000kg/m ³ , typically having a density in the range of 1 150kg/m ³ to 1 250kg/m ³ . The impact dispersion member 18 is manufactured from any suitable energy absorbing synthetics or plastics material, typically being linoleum.

A mounting means, in the form of any suitable conventional adhesive, typically in the form of glue (not shown), is provided for mounting a portion of the impact dispersion member 18 on a portion of the cushioning member 12. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 3, the mounting means is in the form of a recess 30 being defined in the cushioning member 12 to receive peripheral regions 32 of the impact dispersion member 18 complementally therein.

The garment 24 is in the form of an undergarment made specifically for women. As shown in Figure 3, the garment is in the form of a pair of panties or underpants. It is to be appreciated that the garment 24 may have multiple pockets (not shown) to receive cushioning and impact dispersion members 12 and 18 complementally within each pocket 22 to allow a plurality of portions of the body 14 of the user 16 to be protected against injury by dispersing the impact of the ball 20 on any particular portion of the body 14 of the user 16. Referring now to Figure 5, reference numeral 110 refers generally to a sports aid in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention. The sports aid 110 includes a cushioning member 112 which is shaped and configured to conform to a portion of a body 114 of a user 116 and to cushion the portion of the body 114 against an impact, the portion as shown in Figure 5 being in the form of a chest region 115, and an impact dispersion member 118 mounted on a portion of the cushioning member 112, the impact dispersion member 118 being shaped and configured to disperse forces of an impact by a projectile in the form of a ball (not shown) into the cushioning member 112 in a manner to reduce or limit the effect of the impact in order to protect the user 116 against injury, the cushioning member 112 and impact dispersion member 118 being shaped and configured to fit complementally within a pocket 222 of a garment 224 wearable by the user 116. Also in this embodiment, and as shown in Figure 6, the garment 224 is in the form of an undergarment in the form of a bra, or sports bra made specifically for women.

It is to be appreciated that while the Figures show certain proportions of the sports aid relative to the representation of the user’s body, the precise dimensions of the sports aid will be altered according to the dimensions of a particular user’s body. It is, of course, to be appreciated that the sports aid in accordance with the invention is not limited to the precise constructional and functional details as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings and which may be varied as desired.

Although only certain embodiments of the invention have been described herein, it will be understood by any person skilled in the art that other modifications, variations, and possibilities of the invention are possible. Such modifications, variations and possibilities are therefore to be considered as falling within the spirit and scope of the invention and hence form part of the invention as herein described and/or exemplified. It is further to be understood that the examples are provided for illustrating the invention further and to assist a person skilled in the art with understanding the invention and is not meant to be construed as unduly limiting the reasonable scope of the invention.

The inventor believes that the sports aid in accordance with the present invention is advantageous in that it allows forces of an impact by a projectile to be reduced or limited to protect a user against injury by conforming to a portion of the user’s body. The invention is also believed to be advantageous in that it is sized and shaped to fit within a pocket of a garment worn by the user thus allowing the user to experience more comfort and freedom of movement when using the invention. Yet further, the invention is believed to be advantageous in that a cushioning member designed for the groin, pubic and/or pelvic region would serve to protect a user’s pubic bone from injury.