Protective athletic garment

Abstract

A protective athletic garment provides segmented padding is patterned to conform to the size, shape and motion of the muscles it is protecting. Segmented padding is supplemented in joint areas by tangentially-stepped articulated shielding, each comprising a hingeably interconnected series of rigid shells. The structure and orientation of the shells deflects impact forces tangentially, while the rotational mobility of the shielding has a force-damping effect.

1 . A protective athletic garment conforming to a wearer's body contours, comprising:
 an outer layer and an inner layer;   resilient padding distributed in multiple primary protective areas of the garment, wherein the resilient padding comprises both interior padding and exterior padding, and wherein the interior padding is distributed between the outer layer and the inner layer, and wherein the exterior padding is attached to the outer layer and projects above it, and wherein the resilient padding comprises multiple segments separated by multiple interstices, which facilitate flexing and bending of the garment; and   articulated shielding attached to the outer layer of the garment and covering multiple secondary protective areas of the garment, wherein the articulated shielding comprises multiple hingeably-interconnected shells arranged in a stepped configuration, and wherein each of the shells has multiple flat and/or convex outer surfaces, and wherein the outer surfaces of the shells are tangentially aligned with respect to the underlying body contours of the wearer, and wherein the shells are made of a light-weight, rigid, impact-resistant material, and wherein the shells of the articulated shielding undulate when impacted by an external force, thereby damping the force and dissipating the impact of the force on the underlying body contours.   
     
     
         2 . The protective athletic garment according to  claim 1 , wherein the articulated shielding in the secondary protective areas of the garment overlay portions of the resilient padding in the primary protective areas of the garment. 
     
     
         3 . The protective athletic garment according to  claim 2 , wherein the secondary protective areas are located above the body contours that contain exposed joints and/or bone structures.