Non-epaulet shoulder pad

Abstract

An epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement covers the shoulders of an athlete and has a pair of arches of rigid moldable material made up of a chest panel, a back panel and a curved crest connected between the chest and back panels. The crest is shaped and sized to cover one shoulder of the athlete and has an outer end for covering an outer end of the shoulder. The chest and back panels are connected to each other over the chest and back of the athlete and no portion of the arrangement is over or above an upper surface of the crest so that there is no epaulet needed or present in the arrangement.

1 . An epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement for covering the shoulders of an athlete, comprising:
 a pair of arches each made of rigid moldable material and each having;
 a chest panel for covering part of the chest of the athlete; 
 a back panel for covering part of the back of the athlete; and 
 a curved crest connected between the chest panel and the back panel, the crest being shaped and sized to cover one shoulder of the athlete and having an outer end for covering an outer end of the shoulder, the crest having an upper surface; 
   the chest panels of the pair of arches being connected to each other over the chest of the athlete and the back panels of the pair of arches being connected to each other over the back of the athlete;   the chest and back panels with the connected curved crest connected there-between together forming a neck opening for each side a the neck of the athlete; and   a pair of concave caps each connected to and extending outwardly from the outer end of one crest, each cap having no portion that is over or above the upper surface of the crest so that there is no epaulet needed or present in the arrangement and no part of the arrangement extends above the upper surface of each crest.   
     
     
         2 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein each curved crest includes a plurality of corrugations for increasing the rigidity of the crest and for forming chambers on an inner surface of the crest at each corrugation, with at least one vent hole in at least some of the corrugations of each crest for venting air and moisture across each crest and out of the chambers. 
     
     
         3 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein each curved crest includes a plurality of corrugations for increasing the rigidity of the crest and for forming chambers on an inner surface of the crest at each corrugation, with at least one vent hole in at least some of the corrugations of each crest for venting air and moisture across each crest and out of the chambers, each of the chest and back panels including at least one corrugation for increasing the rigidity of the panel and for forming chambers on an inner surface of the chest and back panels at each corrugation, and with a plurality of vent holes in each corrugation of each of the chest and back panels for venting air and moisture across each panel and out of the chambers. 
     
     
         4 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein each curved crest includes a plurality of corrugations for increasing the rigidity of the crest with at least one vent hole in at least one of the corrugations of each crest for venting air and moisture across each crest, and each of the chest and back panels including at least one corrugation for increasing the rigidity of the panel with a plurality of vent holes in each corrugation of each of the chest and back panels for venting air and moisture across each panel, the corrugations of each crest including a top lozenge-shaped corrugation and a pair of curved side corrugations on each of a chest and back side of the crest that are concave toward the lozenge-shaped corrugation, the corrugations of each crest extending from the neck opening to the outer end of the crest for increasing a lateral strength of each crest, each corrugation forming an inner surface chamber near the athlete and the vent holes functioning to vent air and moisture out of each chamber and away from the athlete. 
     
     
         5 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein each curved crest includes a plurality of corrugations for increasing the rigidity of the crest with at least one vent hole in at least one of the corrugations of each crest for venting air and moisture across each crest, and each of the chest and back panels including at least one corrugation for increasing the rigidity of the panel with at least one vent hole in each corrugation of each of the chest and back panels for venting air and moisture across each panel, the corrugations of each crest including a top lozenge-shaped corrugation and a pair of curved side corrugations on each of a chest and back side of the crest, the crest corrugations extending from the neck opening to the outer end of the crest for increasing a lateral strength of the crest, each corrugation forming an inner surface chamber near the athlete and the vent holes functioning to vent air and moisture out of each chamber and away from the athlete. 
     
     
         6 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein each curved crest includes a plurality of corrugations for increasing the rigidity of the crest with at least one vent hole in at least one of the corrugations of each crest for venting air and moisture across each crest, and each of the chest and back panels including at least one corrugation for increasing the rigidity of the panel with at least one vent hole in each corrugation of each of the chest and back panels for venting air and moisture across each panel, the corrugations of each crest including a top boat-shaped corrugation with a flat base at the neck opening and a pointed outer end, and a pair of curved side corrugations on each of a chest and back side of the crest, each curved side corrugation having flat base at the neck opening and pointed outer end, each corrugation forming an inner surface chamber near the athlete and the vent holes functioning to vent air and moisture out of each chamber and away from the athlete. 
     
     
         7 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein each curved crest includes a plurality of corrugations for increasing the rigidity of the crest with at least one vent hole in at least one of the corrugations of each crest for venting air and moisture across each crest, and each of the chest and back panels including at least one corrugation for increasing the rigidity of the panel with at least one vent hole in each corrugation of each of the chest and back panels for venting air and moisture across each panel, the corrugations of each crest including a top boat-shaped corrugation with a flat base at the neck opening and a pointed outer end, and a pair of curved side corrugations on each of a chest and back side of the crest, each curved side corrugation having flat base at the neck opening and pointed outer end, the corrugation of each of the panels being polygonal, each corrugation forming an inner surface chamber near the athlete and the vent holes functioning to vent air and moisture out of each chamber and away from the athlete. 
     
     
         8 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein each curved crest includes a plurality of corrugations for increasing the rigidity of the crest with at least one vent hole in at least one of the corrugations of each crest for venting air and moisture across each crest, each cap including at least one corrugation for increasing the rigidity of each cap. 
     
     
         9 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein each curved crest includes a plurality of corrugations for increasing the rigidity of the crest with at least one vent hole in at least one of the corrugations of each crest for venting air and moisture across each crest, each cap including a pair of V-shaped corrugations that are open toward the crest and outwardly pointed. 
     
     
         10 . An epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement for covering the shoulders of an athlete, comprising:
 a pair of arches each made of rigid moldable material and each having;
 a chest panel for covering part of the chest of the athlete; 
 a back panel for covering part of the back of the athlete; and 
 a curved crest connected between the chest panel and the back panel, the crest being shaped and sized to cover one shoulder of the athlete and having an outer end for covering an outer end of the shoulder, the crest having an upper surface; 
   the chest panels of the pair of arches being connected to each other over the chest of the athlete and the back panels of the pair of arches being connected to each other over the back of the athlete;   the chest and back panels with the connected curved crest connected there-between together forming a neck opening for each side a the neck of the athlete;   each curved crest including a plurality of corrugations extending from the neck opening to the outer end of the crest for increasing a lateral strength of the crest and for increasing the rigidity of the crest with at least one vent hole in at least one of the corrugations of each crest for venting air and moisture across each crest; and   each of the chest and back panels including at least one corrugation for increasing the rigidity of the panel with a plurality of vent holes in each corrugation of each of the chest and back panels for venting air and moisture across each panel;   each corrugation forming an inner surface chamber near the athlete and the vent holes functioning to vent air and moisture out of each chamber and away from the athlete; and   no portion of the arrangement extending over or above the upper surface of the crest so that there is no epaulet needed or present in the arrangement so that the arrangement forms a low profile over the shoulders of the athlete.   
     
     
         11 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 10 , including a pair of concave caps each connected to and extending outwardly from the outer end of one crest, each cap having no portion that is over or above the upper surface of the crest so that there is no epaulet needed or present in the arrangement and no part of the arrangement extends above the upper surface of each crest. 
     
     
         12 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 10 , including a pair of concave caps each connected to and extending outwardly from the outer end of one crest, each cap having no portion that is over or above the upper surface of the chest so that there is no epaulet needed or present in the arrangement and no part of the arrangement extends above the upper surface of each crest, the corrugations of each crest including a top boat-shaped corrugation with a flat base at the neck opening and a pointed outer end, and a pair of curved side corrugations on each of a chest and back side of the crest that are concave toward the boat-shaped corrugation, each curved side corrugation having flat base at the neck opening and pointed outer end, the corrugations of each crest extending from the neck opening to the outer end of the crest for increasing a lateral strength of each crest, the corrugations of each of the panels being polygonal. 
     
     
         13 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 10 , including a pair of concave caps each connected to and extending outwardly from the outer end of one crest, each cap having no portion that is over or above the upper surface of the chest so that there is no epaulet needed or present in the arrangement and no part of the arrangement extends above the upper surface of each crest, each cap including at least one corrugation for increasing the rigidity of each cap. 
     
     
         14 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 10 , including a pair of concave caps each connected to and extending outwardly from the outer end of one crest, each cap having no portion that is over or above the upper surface of the chest so that there is no epaulet needed or present in the arrangement and no part of the arrangement extends above the upper surface of each crest, each cap including a pair of V-shaped corrugations that are open toward the crest and outwardly pointed. 
     
     
         15 . The epaulet-free athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 10 , wherein each curved crest includes a plurality of corrugations for increasing the rigidity of the crest with at least one vent hole in at least one of the corrugations of each crest for venting air and moisture across each crest, and each of the chest and back panels including at least one corrugation for increasing the rigidity of the panel with at least one vent hole in each corrugation of each of the chest and back panels for venting air and moisture across each panel, the corrugations of each crest including a top lozenge-shaped corrugation and a pair of curved side corrugations on each of a chest and back side of the crest, the crest corrugations extending from the neck opening to the outer end of the crest for increasing a lateral strength of the crest. 
     
     
         16 . An athletic shoulder pad arrangement for covering the shoulders of an athlete, comprising:
 a pair of arches each made of rigid moldable material and each having;
 a chest panel for covering part of the chest of the athlete; 
 a back panel for covering part of the back of the athlete; and 
 a curved crest made of rigid moldable material and being connected between the chest panel and the back panel of each arch, each crest being shaped and sized to cover at least parts of one shoulder of the athlete, the crest having an upper surface and an inner surface; 
   the chest panels of the pair of arches being connected to each other over the chest of the athlete and the back panels of the pair of arches being connected to each other over the back of the athlete;   the chest and back panels with the connected curved crest connected there-between together forming a neck opening for each side of the neck of the athlete;   each curved crest including a plurality of corrugations for increasing the rigidity of the crest and for forming a chamber at the inner surface of the crest, with at least one vent hole in at least some of the corrugations of each crest for venting air and moisture across each crest; and   each of the chest and back panels including an inner surface and at least one corrugation for increasing the rigidity of the panel and for forming a chamber at the inner surface of each chest and back panel, with a plurality of vent holes in each corrugation of each of the chest and back panels for venting air and moisture across each panel from each chamber near the athlete, the vent holes functioning to vent air and moisture out of each chamber and away from the athlete.   
     
     
         17 . The athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 16 , including a pair of concave caps each made of rigid moldable material and each being connected to and extending outwardly from the outer end of one crest, each cap having no portion that is over or above the upper surface of the chest so that there is no epaulet needed or present in the arrangement and no part of the arrangement extends above the upper surface of each crest so that the arrangement forms a low profile over the shoulders of the athlete, each cap including at least one corrugation for increasing the rigidity of each cap, the corrugations of each crest including a top lozenge-shaped corrugation, and a pair of curved side corrugations on each of a chest and back side of the crest that are concave to the lozenge-shaped corrugation, the crest corrugations extending from the neck opening to the outer end of the crest for increasing a lateral strength of the crest, the corrugations of each of the panels being polygonal. 
     
     
         18 . The athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 16 , wherein each top lozenge-shaped corrugation of each crest is a top boat-shaped corrugation with a flat base at the neck opening and a pointed outer end, and the curved corrugations on each side of the crest having flat base at the neck opening and pointed outer end. 
     
     
         19 . The athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 16 , wherein the polygonal corrugation of the chest panel is arrowhead shaped with a downwardly pointed lower end and a V-shaped upper end, each chest panel including a further triangular corrugation below each arrowhead shaped corrugation. 
     
     
         20 . The athletic shoulder pad arrangement according to  claim 16 , wherein each cap includes a pair of V-shaped corrugation that are open toward the crest and are outwardly pointed.