Disclosed is a protective vest having a collar or neck guard intended for use with helmets and, optionally, with shoulder pads or harnesses, of the types worn by players in contact sports. The protective vest has a flexible body with shoulder portions between chest and back panels. Surrounding an opening for receiving a player's neck is a raised collar, integrally formed with the body, which has an upper ring-like surface for contacting the bottom edge of the player's helmet. When contacted by the player's helmet, the collar, formed of resilient material, is placed in energy-absorbing compression. Also, the chest and back panels surrounding the collar, also being made of resilient material, are placed in a tension and compression loading, to further aid in absorbing the loading applied to the collar. The body portion and, particularly, the chest and neck panels are pliable so as to conform to the topography of the player's upper torso and to frictionally engage the player's body and any clothing in contact with the player's body underneath the protective vest, so as to provide the frictional engagement necessary for efficient energy absorption.
A football helmet motion restrictor is provided which can be adjusted to vary its size, and does not reduce the size of the neck opening of the shoulder pads to which the motion restrictor is mounted.
A protective collar apparatus comprising a protective pad operably positioned behind the neck of a user, a torso mounted vest and a pair of flexible and non stretchable connecting straps joining the pad to the vest. An adjustment strap is also joined to the pad and is adapted to be looped around shoulder pads or the like. The adjustment strap allows selective tilting and positioning of the pad. The pad is crescent shaped and has a front side constructed of soft material and a rear side constructed of stiff material. The pad is shaped to cradle the head or helmet when the head is pushed rearwardly relative to the torso of the player.
An improved ballistic resistant soft body armor jacket that is fit-adjuste, relatively lightweight, multi-mission adaptable, buoyant, fire-resistant, non hydroscopic and impervious to salt water and most petroleum-based fluids. The jacket shell consists of four basic ballistic resistant components: a back panel, left and right front panels in combination with side portions, and a permanent collar. It is of wrap around character and uniquely provides a minimum of one inch overlap of the respective fabric-encased ballistic inserts at both sides and in the front. It uses hook and loop type fasteners, such as Velcro.RTM., in combination with some elasticized fastener bands to provide essentially one handed capability of the various closure and adjustability features. It uses non-hydroscopic material, such as Spectra Shield.RTM., for the ballistic inserts, and a fire proof fabric, such as Nomex III.RTM., with a water repellant coating. An external chest pocket is provided for an auxiliary armor plate, while inside under arm pockets and pockets in add-on shoulder pads can accommodate flotation packets. Other quick attach-detach accessories include leg straps housed in a back pocket when not needed, a second add-on higher protective collar, secondary combined shoulder and upper arm pads, a groin pad, special purpose pockets for added ammunition and other items. The jacket is capable of withstanding multiple strikes from a 9 mm submachine gun; and with use of the auxiliary chest area pocketed armor plate can withstand certain fire power of AK47 type weapons.
A balancing jacket for scuba divers is in the form of a sleeve-less waist-length jacket made from strong, heavy materials worn over a diving suit made from neoprene. Pads made from a soft plastics material are placed in the armholes and in the neck area of the jacket. The jacket further includes a soft back covered with an elastomeric material with a high coefficient of friction on neoprene.
A football shoulder pad assembly is provided with an improved helmet support and restrictor to minimize rearward hyperextension and whiplash-type head movement. The support and movement restrictor comprises a compression molded plastic support plate having opposed wing portions which are secured to the back plates of the shoulder pad assembly and an upward extending cantilever portion of the support plate having a side-to-side curvature to form a concave surface for engagement with the lower rear portion of the helmet. The cantilever portion is curved rearwardly away from the player's head and neck to minimize interference with normal movement of his head. The cantilever portion may flex during use to absorb impact-type hyperextension and whiplash forces. A removable cushion is secured to the cantilever portion of the support plate and includes a pad which may be adjustably fitted against the concave surface of the support plate by opposed flaps which include hook and loop fastener pieces secured thereto for attaching the cushion to the support plate. The restrictor may be retrofitted to existing shoulder pad assemblies.
