A protective vest for contact and high impact sports

Abstract

A protective vest is cropped and tight fitting for contraction around the chest and upper back regions. It has pockets for holding gel pads in a modular manner to suit the desired level of impact protection, or for use as a treatment/rehabilitation apparatus with hot and/or cold pads being inserted in the pockets. The pockets also include sensors for detection of impact data, and this is transferred to a data logger. The sensors are in an envelope of a pocket, so that they overlie pads for optimum operation. A player management system can capture data from multiple vests to provide real time information about player impacts, so that decisions can be made for player welfare. This data can include both impact force and direction elements, and cumulative totals of impact forces may be maintained per plater per time period or session.

1 - 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . A protective vest comprising:
 a fabric body of elasticated material for a skin-tight fit,   a plurality of pockets, and   pads of shock-absorbing material,   wherein the pads and the pockets are configured so that the pockets can removably and securely hold the pads, and wherein at least one of said pockets is located at a front part of the vest to cover a chest region in use.   
     
     
         27 . The protective vest of  claim 26 , wherein at least some of the pads are of a material including a gel, and wherein at least some of the pads include Polyurethane Elastic Fibre material. 
     
     
         28 . The protective vest of  claim 26 , wherein the pads have a thickness in the range of 5 mm to 20 mm. 
     
     
         29 . The protective vest of  claim 26 , wherein the vest body is cropped, being configured to fit over only a wearer's chest and upper back regions and comprising elasticated bands at torso and neck ribs; and wherein each pocket has a pocket body and a flap which is releasably secured to the pocket body by a fastener. 
     
     
         30 . The protective vest of  claim 26 , wherein each pocket has a pocket body and a flap which is releasably secured to the pocket body by a fastener; and wherein the fastener is a hook-and-loop fastener. 
     
     
         31 . The protective vest of  claim 26 , wherein the pockets include:
 a pocket located to cover part of the sternum in use,   at least one pocket located to cover an upper shoulder region adjacent the neck in use, and   at least one pocket located to cover a lower shoulder region near the shoulder joint in use.   
     
     
         32 . The protective vest of  claim 26 , wherein the pockets include:
 a pocket located to cover part of the sternum in use,   at least one pocket located to cover an upper shoulder region adjacent the neck in use, and   at least one pocket located to cover a lower shoulder region near the shoulder joint in use, and   at least one pocket located to cover a region between the sternum and the shoulder in use.   
     
     
         33 . The protective vest of  claim 26 , wherein at least some pockets include an impact sensor and a data logger or interface for wireless transmission of sensed data to an external processor. 
     
     
         34 . The protective vest of  claim 26 , wherein at least some pockets include an impact sensor and a data logger or interface for wireless transmission of sensed data to an external processor; and wherein the sensor is embedded in pocket body material. 
     
     
         35 . The protective vest of  claim 26 , wherein at least one said sensor is sandwiched between layers of pocket fabric. 
     
     
         36 . The protective vest of  claim 26 , wherein at least some pockets include an impact sensor and a data logger or interface for wireless transmission of sensed data to an external processor; and wherein the sensor is embedded in pocket body material; and further including a pocket for a data logger, and a wiring loom linking the data logger and the sensor or sensors, and the tracking device is adapted to log data from the sensor or sensors; and wherein the pocket for the data logger is in in a rear portion of the vest body, to cover the upper back region in use. 
     
     
         37 . The protective vest of  claim 26 , wherein at least some pockets include a movement direction sensor and a data logger or interface for wireless transmission of sensed data to an external processor; and wherein the direction sensor is embedded in pocket body material sandwiched between layers of pocket fabric. 
     
     
         38 . The protective vest of  claim 26 , wherein at least some pockets include a movement direction sensor and a data logger or interface for wireless transmission of sensed data to an external processor; and wherein the direction sensor comprises an accelerometer or a gyroscope. 
     
     
         39 . A kit comprising:
 a vest comprising:
 a fabric body of elasticated material for a skin-tight fit, wherein the fabric body is cropped, being configured to fit over only a wearer's chest and upper back regions and comprising elasticated bands at torso and neck ribs, 
 a plurality of pockets, wherein each pocket has a pocket body and a flap which is releasably secured to the pocket body by a fastener, and said pockets include:
 a pocket located to cover part of the sternum in use, 
 at least one pocket located to cover an upper shoulder region adjacent the neck in use, and 
 at least one pocket located to cover a lower shoulder region near the shoulder joint in use and 
 
 pads of shock-absorbing material, wherein the pads have a thickness in the range of 5 mm to 20 mm, 
 wherein the pads and the pockets are configured so that the pockets can removably and securely hold the pads; and 
   a plurality of pads for selective insertion in the vest pockets.   
     
     
         40 . The kit as claimed in  claim 39 , wherein the kit comprises a container for the vest and an array of recesses for different pads shaped for fitting in associated pockets. 
     
     
         41 . A player management system comprising:
 a protective vest comprising:
 a fabric body of elasticated material for a skin-tight fit, 
 a plurality of pockets each removably and securely holding a pad of shock-absorbing material configured to fit in said pockets, at least one of said pockets being located at a front part of the vest to cover a chest region in use, 
 pads of shock-absorbing material in at least some of the pockets, and 
 impact sensors in at least some of the pockets; and 
   a data processor linked with the impact sensors and being programmed to interpret impact data from said sensors to generate an output per vest indicative of the extent of impact of a player wearing the vest.   
     
     
         42 . The system as claimed in  claim 41 , wherein at least some of the pockets include direction sensors and the processor is configured to process data representing direction of impacts to provide the output. 
     
     
         43 . The system as claimed in  claim 41 , wherein the processor is configured to maintain a per-player count of cumulative impact forces for a period of time or for a play session. 
     
     
         44 . The system as claimed in  claim 41 , wherein:
 the processor is configured to maintain a per-player count of cumulative impact forces for a period of time or for a play session; and   the processor is configured to compare the cumulative total data with a player profile level and to generate an alert if the cumulative total for a time period or for a play session exceeds said profile level even if all of the individual impacts are below a per-impact safety threshold.   
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 41 , wherein the processor is configured to:
 generate per-impact data including impact force, and to   compare the impact force data with a player profile safety threshold level and to generate an alert if an impact force exceeds said level.   
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 41 , wherein:
 the pads have a thickness in the range of 5 mm to 20 mm,   the vest body is cropped, being configured to fit over only a wearer's chest and upper back regions and comprising elasticated bands at torso and neck ribs;   each pocket has a pocket body and a flap which is releasably secured to the pocket body by a fastener, wherein the fastener is a hook-and-loop fastener.   the pockets include:
 a pocket located to cover part of the sternum in use, 
 at least one pocket located to cover an upper shoulder region adjacent the neck in use, 
 at least one pocket located to cover a lower shoulder region near the shoulder joint in use, and 
 at least one pocket located to cover a region between the sternum and the shoulder in use.