Protective padding layer
First Claim
1. A flexible padding layer, comprising a section of resilient sheet material, having an upper surface and an opposing lower surface, said sheet material formed with repetitive composite pattern of surface features, said repetitive composite pattern comprising a geometric array of a plurality of structural elements, at least one structural element of each surface feature being shared with an adjoining surface feature, each surface feature further comprising:
- a polygonal perforation surrounded by a plurality of sides joined at corners; and
a contoured crown surrounding said polygonal perforation, said crown including at each said corner an angular section having a first surface forming said upper surface, said angular sections being separated by a plurality of shoulders extending along said sides, said plurality of shoulders each integrally joining a pair of said plurality of angular sections to form said crown,wherein each shoulder tapers from said first surface between adjoining angular sections in an arc-shaped concavity; and
wherein said surface patterns and perforations collectively providing consistent flexibility in multiple directions.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A flexible padding layer for use during competitive sports is provided. The flexible padding layer is comprised of a plurality of individual padding elements each joined on multiple sides with an adjacent padding element via a thin, connecting section. Each padding element further comprises openings and a three-dimensional surface configuration to allow for consistent mechanical properties throughout the padding layer as a whole.
67 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A flexible padding layer, comprising a section of resilient sheet material, having an upper surface and an opposing lower surface, said sheet material formed with repetitive composite pattern of surface features, said repetitive composite pattern comprising a geometric array of a plurality of structural elements, at least one structural element of each surface feature being shared with an adjoining surface feature, each surface feature further comprising:
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a polygonal perforation surrounded by a plurality of sides joined at corners; and a contoured crown surrounding said polygonal perforation, said crown including at each said corner an angular section having a first surface forming said upper surface, said angular sections being separated by a plurality of shoulders extending along said sides, said plurality of shoulders each integrally joining a pair of said plurality of angular sections to form said crown, wherein each shoulder tapers from said first surface between adjoining angular sections in an arc-shaped concavity; and wherein said surface patterns and perforations collectively providing consistent flexibility in multiple directions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A flexible padding layer, comprising:
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a resilient sheet material, having an upper surface and an opposing lower surface, said sheet material defined by a composite pattern of surface features, said composite pattern comprising a repeating array of structural elements, each said structural element in said array comprising, a geometric perforation through said sheet material, a plurality of polygonal sections radially arrayed around said geometric perforation, said polygonal sections having a first surface forming said upper surface, each polygonal section having a plurality of sides connected by vertices, a plurality of shoulders integrally attached to each of said polygonal section sides, wherein each shoulder extends between a pair of opposing sides and are tapered at said opposing sides from said first surface such that a cross-section between opposing sides is an arc-shaped concavity, wherein said array of surface features collectively provides consistent flexibility in multiple directions. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification