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[0001] This patent application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. No. 60/471,365 filed on May 17, 2003. The subject matter of that provisional application is incorporated by reference in its entity herein.
[0002] The invention herein relates to a protective pad that effectively reduces the occurrence of injury and/or death to people while playing hockey.
[0003] Direct trauma accounts for approximately 80% of all injuries in the game of hockey. While playing the game of hockey, players shoot a rubber hockey puck across the ice and sometimes into the air. The puck becomes a frozen weapon that can travel up to 160 kilometers/hour and generate impact forces exceeding 5500 Newton's.
[0004] The best method to prevent injury, or reduce the risk thereof, is to wear protective pads, proper fitting helmets, and use proper equipment. The protective pads and garments currently available for use include: the hockey helmet; a thin neck protector (fabric) worn at the bottom of the neck below the hyoid bone; shoulder and chest pads; elbow pads; padded gloves; padded shorts; shin and knee pads. At present, there are no pads available to absorb the shock of impact if hit at the base of the skull, where the neck and brain-stem are vulnerable.
[0005] There is a gap between the bottom of the existing hockey helmets and the uppermost area of the shoulder pads. This gap becomes even larger when a player flexes his/her neck (moves the head downward.) The body area that is left unprotected is very vulnerable, and if hit in that gap, the player could sustain brain injury or death.
[0006] A tragic illustration of this vulnerability occurred in December, 2000 when a 12-year-old Cheshire Massachusetts boy was struck in the back of the neck with a hockey puck during youth hockey practice. He died the next morning.
[0007] This invention probably would have saved his life.
[0008] This invention relates to a protective pad for the neck. The objective of the invention is to protect the wearer against impact force to the posterior neck when worn by a person playing hockey. The invention is comprised of a dual-layer pad, a hard shatter-proof outer shell with a foam-cushioned inner shell, which absorbs the shock of impact from a hockey puck or stick hit to the base of the neck. It can be made in various sizes and thicknesses as needed. This invention further comprises a shock absorbing pad with fasteners to secure the pad to the back of a hockey helmet. This invention further encompasses a protective helmet system with releasable attachment. Releasable attachment means the invention coupled to the helmet to permit the invention to be securely fastened.
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[0017] This invention relates to a protective pad that attaches to a hockey helmet to protect the areas of the hockey player's head and neck that is left unprotected with the current helmet design and typical protective pads. This pad hangs from the back of the hockey helmet and shields the posterior cervical spine, the neck, and the brain stem of the person wearing the helmet. This invention also encompasses a helmet system whereby a shock absorbing pad is attached to, or constructed as a component of, the back of the helmet.
[0018] The protective pad is comprised of a hard outer surface layer to withstand the force of impact and decrease the impact force on the player and an inner foam cushioned layer to further provide shock attenuation. The cushioned inner layer is cemented, glued, and/or molded to the hard outer shell. This invention also embodies a pad comprised of a dual layer of materials. The pad is contoured with a slight convex shape from the top to the bottom to resemble the normal curve of the cervical spine.
[0019] There are two holes drilled through the top of the pad with adjustable fasteners to attach the pad to the bottom-rear of the hockey helmet. Since the pad is fastened to the helmet only by the two fasteners at the top of the pad, the pad is able to swing freely in the anterior-posterior (forward-backward) position so as not to interfere with the neck movement required during play. As the player moves his head forward and further exposes the brainstem at the base of the skull, the protective pad moves slightly in toward the neck thereby maintaining its protective abilities. It does not restrict cervical flexion and extension, rotation, or lateral flexion.
[0020] In event of the pad being a component of a helmet system, the portion of the helmet that protects the neck is hinged to the mainstay of the helmet. The hinge of this assembly thereby allows for unrestricted cervical movement for the wearer of the helmet.