Protective Clothing System

This application is a non-provisional application of, and claims the benefit of the filing date of, U.S. provisional application 63/658,033, filed Jun. 10, 2024, entitled: “PROTECTIVE CLOTHING SYSTEM.” The contents of the aforementioned application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present disclosure relates to protective clothing systems configured to mitigate bodily injury during a fall. More specifically, the disclosure relates to protective clothing systems configured to mitigate bodily injury to at least one of a shoulder, elbow, neck, back, knee, spine or hip during a fall

Falls are a leading cause of injury to the elderly, very young and/or frail. Falls can lead to expensive and extensive medical care, emotional tolls, funeral expenses and occasionally litigation expenses.

When a person falls forward, the person naturally tends to try to protect themselves with their extremities. So, the first part of a person's body to hit the ground with the most force in a forward fall would be such body parts as the knees, shoulders and elbow. When a person falls backward, often the back, spine and hips absorb the greatest impact forces. Moreover, the neck is often vulnerable to injury during a fall due to impacts or whiplash caused by a fall. Moreover, children often fall on land and into the water. Often a child cannot swim and may drown if not properly protected.

Athletic equipment, such as shin pads, shoulder pads or helmets, are designed to protect an athlete from impacts caused during a specific sport. However, such athletic equipment may not be optimally designed to protect an average person from a fall. Moreover, such athletic equipment is expensive to purchase, cumbersome to wear and is not designed for use outside of its associated sport.

Accordingly, there is a need for a protective clothing system configured to mitigate the impact a person experiences during a fall, that is not cumbersome to wear during day to day activities and relatively inexpensive. Moreover, there is a need for a protective clothing system that can protect at least one of a person's shoulder, elbow, neck, back, knee, spine or hip during a fall. Additionally, there is a need for a protective clothing system that may mitigate the impact of a fall and also double as a floatation device if a person (such as a child) accidentally falls into deep water.

The present disclosure offers advantages and alternatives over the prior art by providing

A protective clothing system in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure includes clothing configured to be worn by a user. A polyethylene foam is attached to the clothing. The polyethylene foam is positioned on the clothing to protect a portion of the user's body from impacts due to a fall.

Another protective clothing system in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention includes a shirt or jacket configured to be worn by a user. A protective foam is attached to a collar of the shirt or jacket. The protective foam is configured to protect the user's neck from impacts due to a fall.

Another protective clothing system in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention includes clothing configured to be worn by a user. A protective foam is attached to the clothing. The protective foam is positioned on the clothing to protect a portion of the user's body from impacts due to a fall. The protective clothing system is configured to function as a flotation device to keep the user afloat in water that the user has fallen into.

It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein and may be used to achieve the benefits and advantages described herein.

Certain examples will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, manufacture, and use of the methods, systems, and devices disclosed herein. One or more examples are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will understand that the methods, systems, and devices specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting examples and that the scope of the present disclosure is defined solely by the claims. The features illustrated or described in connection with one example may be combined with the features of other examples. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure.

The terms “significantly”, “substantially”, “approximately”, “about”, “relatively,” or other such similar terms that may be used throughout this disclosure, including the claims, are used to describe and account for small fluctuations, such as due to variations in processing from a reference or parameter. Such small fluctuations include a zero fluctuation from the reference or parameter as well. For example, they can refer to less than or equal to ±10%, such as less than or equal to ±5%, such as less than or equal to ±2%, such as less than or equal to ±1%, such as less than or equal to ±0.5%, such as less than or equal to ±0.2%, such as less than or equal to ±0.1%, such as less than or equal to ±0.05%.

Referring to, an example is depicted of a front perspective view () and a rear perspective view () of a protective clothing system, including at least pants, according to aspects described herein. The systemincludes clothingconfigured to be worn by a user. The clothingmay include pants, which cover and protect the userbelow the user's waist. The clothingmay also include a shirt and/or jacket(see), which cover and protect the userabove the user's waist.

A protective foamis attached to the clothing, wherein the protective foamis positioned on the clothingto protect a portion of the user's body from impacts due to a fall. The protective foam may be a closed cell polyethylene foam, which in many cases may be preferable because it is light weight, water resistant, relatively inexpensive and inert. Moreover, there are different grades of polyethylene foam, for example, high density polyethylene foam is water proof, not just water resistant.

In the embodiment described herein, most of the examples of protective foam are described as polyethylene foam. However, other types of protective foams may also be used. For example, the foam may be a polyurethane foam. Moreover, other, but not all, types of non-limiting examples of foams that may be used are:

In the protective clothing systemthe polyethylene foammay be attached externally or internally to the clothing. If the foamis attached externally, the foam may be attached to the clothingvia at least one of a hook and loop fastener system, a zipper or sewn onto the clothing. If the foamis attached internally, the foam may be attached to the clothingvia at least one of insertion into pockets of the clothing, a hook and loop fastener system, a zipper or sewn onto the clothing.

Where the systemincludes pants, the polyethylene foammay be positioned on several areas of the pantsto protect various vital portions of the user's body that are vulnerable to impacts due to a fall. For example, the foammay be positioned on one of the kneeof the pantsto protect the user's knees. Also, the polyethylene foammay be positioned on the rearof the pantsto protect the user's spine. Additionally, the protective foammay be positioned on the sideof the pantsto protect the user's hip from impacts due to a fall.

Though the polyethylene foamis illustrated inas positioned on the knees, rearand sidesof the pants, the protective foam may also be positioned on other areas of the pants to provide protection for other portions of the body of the user. For example, the foam may be positioned on the thigh of the pants to protect against impacts to the thigh of a user. Alternatively, the foam may be attached over the entire area of the pantsto provide maximum protection from impacts below the waist of a user.

Referring to, an example is depicted of a front perspective view () and a rear perspective view () of the protective clothing system, including a shirt or jacket, according to aspects described herein. The systemincludes clothingconfigured to be worn by a user. The clothingmay include a shirt or jacket, which cover and protect the userabove the user's waist.

A protective foamis attached to the clothing, wherein the protective foamis positioned on the clothingto protect a portion of the user's body from impacts due to a fall. The protective foammay be a closed cell polyethylene foam, which in many cases may be preferable because it is light weight, water resistant, relatively inexpensive and inert. Moreover, there are different grades of polyethylene foam, for example, high density polyethylene foam is waterproof, not just water resistant.

However, the protective foammay be other forms of foam other than polyethylene. For example, the foammay be polyurethane.

Where the systemincludes a shirt or jacket, the polyethylene foammay be positioned on several areas of the shirt or jacketto protect various vital portions of the user's body that are vulnerable to impacts due to a fall. For example, the foammay be positioned on one or more of the shouldersof the shirt or jacketto protect the user's shoulders. Also, the polyethylene foammay be positioned on the rearof the shirt or jacketto protect the user's spine. Additionally, the protective foammay be positioned on the elbowsof the shirt or jacketto protect the user's elbows from impacts due to a fall. Furthermore, the protective foammay be positioned on the collarof the shirt or jacketto protect the user's neck from direct impacts due to a fall or from whiplash due to a fall.

Though the polyethylene foamis illustrated inas positioned on the shoulders, rear, elbowsand collarof the shirt or jacket, the protective foammay also be positioned on other areas of the shirt or jacketto provide protection for other portions of the body of the user. For example, the foammay be positioned on the chest of the shirt or jacket to protect against impacts to the chest of a user. Alternatively, the foammay be attached over the entire area of the shirt or jacketto provide maximum protection from impacts above the waist of a user.

Referring to, an example is depicted of a perspective front view of a protective clothing systemincluding a protective collarof a shirt or jacketin a down undeployed position () and in an up deployed position (), according to aspects described herein. The shirt or jacketis configured to be worn by a user. A protective foamis attached to the collarof the shirt or jacket. The protective foamis configured to protect the user's neck from impacts due to a fall.

The neck of a usermay be subjected to injuries due to a direct impact from a fall, wherein the neck comes into contact with a hard object during the fall. Alternatively, the neck of a usermay be subject to injuries due to whiplash, wherein no direct contact to the neck is made, but the momentum of the user's head causes the neck to be injured due to whiplash. The collarmay be designed to mitigate the damage from either or both of these two types of injuries.

The collarhas a down undeployed position () and an up deployed position (). In the down undeployed position, the collarrests upon shouldersof the shirt or jacket. However, in the up deployed position, the collarabuts against the user's neckand the protective foamattached to the collarprovides protection against direct impacts to the neckof the usercaused during a fall.

The collarmay also include a collar fastener systemto removably fasten the collararound the user's neck. When the collaris fastened to the user's neckvia the collar fastener system, the protective foamprovides additional structural support to the user's neckto mitigate against injuries due to whiplash of a user's neckcaused during a fall. The collar fastener systemmay include at least one or more zippers, hook and loop fastener systems, buttons or snap fasteners to secure the collararound the user's neck.

The protective foammay be a polyethylene foam. However, other protective foamsmay also be used, such as polyurethane or polycarbonate. The type and structure of the foam may vary depending on such factors as the amount of structural support to be applied to the neckto protect the neckfrom the effects of whiplash.

Referring to, an example is depicted of a protective front view of a protective clothing systemthat also doubles as a floatation device, according to aspects described herein. This embodiment of the protective clothing systemserves a dual purpose. First the systemincludes the clothingconfigured to be worn by a userand the protective foamattached to the clothingthat is positioned on the clothingto protect a portion of the user's body from impacts due to a fall. Second, however, the protective clothing systemis configured to function as a flotation device to keep the userafloat in waterthat the user may have fallen into. For example, the user may be an elderly person or an autistic child that cannot swim.

In order to keep the userafloat when the protective clothing systemis worn by the user, the combined masses of the protective clothing systemplus the mass of the useris configure to be substantially less than the mass of the waterit displaces. In other words, the combined volumes of the portion of the protective clothing systemthat is submergedin the waterplus the portion of the userthat is submergedin the wateris configured to displace a mass of waterthat is greater than the combined total mass of the userand protective clothing system, such that at least the user's headremains above water.

The protective foamof the protective clothing systemmay be polyethylene. Preferably the polyethylene may have a high density such that is waterproof. Alternatively, the protective foam may be another waterproof foam.

It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail herein (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein.

Although the invention has been described by reference to specific examples, it should be understood that numerous changes may be made within the spirit and scope of the inventive concepts described. Accordingly, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the described examples, but that it has the full scope defined by the language of the following claims.