US836896A - Jacket for foot-ball players. - Google Patents

Description

IPATENTED NOV. 27, 1906'.

A. SGHEM'BL. JACKET Pon Foo'r BALL PLAYERS.

APPLICATION FILED JAH. 9, 1905.

INVENTOR afb/alzan@ Mel/MZ rm: mma/s Fssres ca., wAsNmaToN. nA c vIO UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Nov. 27', 190e.

Application filed January 9, 1905. Serial No. 240.171.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM SOHEMEL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Jackets for Foot- Ball Players, of which the following is a speciiication.

The invention relates to improvements in jackets for foot-ball players, and pertains more especially to ajacket adapted for the protection of the collar-bones and shoulders of the wearers.

It is well understood that in the game of foot-ball the collar-bone and shoulders are especially liable to injury, and while'some attempts have been made to protect these parts the means heretofore devised for the purpose lhave been inadequate and clumsy and not acceptable to foot-ball players.

In accordance with my invention I provide a iiexible jacket fitting the upper portions of the body and so constructed, arranged, and padded thatthe jacket is not only entirely comfortable of use, but does adequately protect the collar-bones and shoulders and enables the exercise of the highest degree of skill in playingv the game.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in perspective, of the com` lete jacket. Fig. 2 is a top view, partly bro en away, of one-half of the jacket spread out. Fig. 3 is a sectional view through a portion of one-half of the jacket on the dotted line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view through a portion of same on the dotted line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

I have for convenience formed the jacket in two corresponding half parts or sections 10 11, the part 1() fitting over the right shoulder and the part 11 over the left shoulder of the player and these two parts being preferably connected together at the front and rear by means of lacing-cords 12 13, which may be of elastic material, so as to allow freedom of movement within the jacket. Each half of the jacket comprises an exterior layer of soft leather, canvas, or other flexible material 14,

which extendsaround the neck portion and` to the front and rear as well as downwardly and partly around under the armpits, the two sectionsl 16,which pass under the arm-pits, being connected together, or adapted so to be, by an elastic strip 17 The outline of the sections 15 16 is clearly represented by dotted lines in Fig.- 2, while in Fig. 1 the section 16 is shown by full' lines. At the vertical edges 18 19 of the exterior fabric 14 where lar-bone without creating an unduly bulky or inconvenient condition or a distasteful ap.- pearance. To the inner side of the exterior fabric 14 I secure, by sewing or otherwise, a pad comprising an inner layer 22 of felt or other soft cushioning material, a layer of heavy leather 23, and a layer of felt or oth er suitable cushioning material 24, the heavy leather 23 being between the two layers of felt 22 24 and preferably extending from a point (indicated in Fig. 1 by the line of stitching 25) somewhat below the collar-bone to a point about centrally of the shoulder and indicated by the line of stitching 26, the heavy leather thus extending somewhat above and below the collar-bone and transversely from about the front vertical edge 18 of the fabric 14 (above the sewing-line 25) to the outer edge of said fabric. I thus confine the heavy leather 23 to that portion of the jacket-section which is directly upon and about the collar-bone; but of course I do not limit myself to the precise form and dimensions of the leather 23, since said leather may be extended upwardly over the shoulder or downwardly somewhat farther than shown, if desired.

The layers of felt or other cushioning material 22 24 inclose the layer of heavy leather 23, but extend by preference entirely over the top of the shoulder, said padding commencing at, say, the sewing-lines 25, and continuing, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to about the point denoted by the lines of stitching 27, so as to aid in protecting'the top of the shoulder. I do not extend the padding and leather 23 below the lines of stitching 25, nor do I extend the layers of padding beyond the lines of stitching 27, because I desire to produce fiexible Hap-sections (numbered 28 29, re-

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i the leather is kept y terior layer of leather, canvas,

spectively) front and back, adapted to closely fit the wearer and yield to the movements of the body, said flap-sections serving to roperly hold the padded portions of the jac {et in position without creating a feeling of undue restraint in the wearer or causing him to feel any inconvenience from wearing the jacket. In the preferred construction of each halfsection of the jacket I therefore employ the outer flexible layer of fabric 14, a soft cushioning-pad, extending from the front below the collarfbone upwardly over the shoulder and to' about the rear edge of the shoulder, and a piece of heavy leather or like resisting material 23, interposed within the cushioning-pad at the front of the jacket and extending upwardly along the collar-'bone and upon the shoulder. The interposition of the leather 23 between the'layers of cushioning material 22 24 is a desirable feature in that from immediate contact with the body of the wearer and receives any blow that may come upon it through the outer layer of cushioning material 24, the

.blow being thus deadened before acting upon` the leather and the latter being prevented from .transmitting `the full force of lthe deadened blow to the wearer by reason of the inner layer of, cushioning material 22. The embedding of the leather 23 within the cushioning-pad is also of importance in that such arrangement enables the jacket to more ysecurely fit upon the frame -of thewearer, the yielding cushioning material at each side of the leather compensating for any tendency of the heavy leather or stiff material 23, which ispreferably sole-leather, not to conform to the body. j

' That portion of each section l() 11 directly attheside of the neck is rather narrow and does not extend down over the shoulder-joint, but extends up along the collar-bone and thenv over the shoulder Yclose up to the neck, whereby said part of the jacket while protecting the colla -b'one and parts of the neck in nol manner interferes'with full freedom of motion in the shoulders of the wearer. It is necessary, however, that the shoulders of the wearerbe protected, and hence I provide shoulder-caps connected with the sections 10 1 1 and constituting a part of the jacket, each shoulder-cap comprising an upper section 30 and a lower section 31 these sections being secured together along the lines of stitching 32 33 and being connected with the jacket-section directly over the shoulder by means of a strong band of elastic webbing 34, as more clearlyillustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

Thevup er section 30 of the shoulder-cap is formed o a piece of heavy leather, preferably sole-leathenand the lower section 31 .of the shoulder-cap is preferably formed of an exor other flexible material 35 and an inner layer of felt or other soft cushioning material 36, as shown coming destroyed.

in Fig. 3, the cushioning material 36 fitting over the shoulder-joint and the upper section 30, of stiff material, starting from about the shoulder-joint and extending upwardly and inwardly and lapping upon the j acket-section, said upper section 30 protecting the top of the shoulder and also the front and rear portions of same. In order to properly and snugly retain the shoulder-caps in position down-upon the shoulders of the wearer, I pro'- vide the end portions of the upper sections 30 with elastic straps 37 38, adapted to be connected together under the armpits by hooks and eyes or other convenient means. j,

TheY shoulder-caps of the construction described are of special importance in view of their durability and the rotection they afford the wearer against t e hard shocks experienced in tackling The man tackled is usually protected. over the thighs by hard cane strips, and the shoulder-caps of my invention are designed to protect the wearer against injury due to the Contact of his shoulders with the thigh-protectors worn by football layers. The shoulder-caps of my invention are also of importance 1n protecting the wearerin cases of otherparts of the game. The flexible connection of the shoulder-caps with the body of the jacket assures freedom of motion in the shoulders of the wearer and enables him to utilize his maximum strength without inconvenience. rIhe upper cap-sections 30, being of heavy leather, are not liable to be torn and destroyed during the game, and they, with the pad-lining, not only protect the wearer, but prevent the jacket itself from be- The strips of elastic webbing 34 are shown as sewed to the shoulder-caps and jacket-sections; but I do not confine the invention to the feature of sewing, since it is obvious that other means of connection may be adopted without departing from my invention. Aside from the yielding nature of the strips 34 these strips afford an articulated connection of the shoulder-caps to the jacket, and thus the caps may yield to the movements and positioning of the shoulders without straining the neck portion of the jacket. v

The invention is not limited in every instance to forming the jacket in two half-sections; but this is a desirable and economical manner of forming it.

What I claim as my invention, to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The two-part jacket having elastically* yielding sections and adapted to be fastened around the upper portion of the body and comprising a layer of flexible material 14 of a Jform and dimensions to pass around the neck and downwardly along the front and rear and partly around under the armpits of the wearer, the lower edges of the front portion of said fabric terminating considerably above and desire IOO IOS

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the waist-line and below the collar-bone of I the wearer, and interior protectors for the collar-bones secured by sewing-lines 25, 26 and confined above the lower front edges of j the material 14 and in locations where they may protect the collar-bones only without interfering with the flexible character of the l jacket below the regions thus protected, the j back portion of the jacket being flexible throughout, and said protectors each comj prising a layer of stiff material and a cushioning-pad substantially as set forth.

2. The two-part jacket having elasticallyyielding sections and adapted to be fastened around the upper portion of the body and comprising a layer of flexible material 14 of a form and dimensions to pass around the neck and downwardly along the front and rear and partly around under the armpits of the wearer, l the lower edges of the front portion of said fabric terminating considerably above the waist-line and below the collar-bone of the wearer, and interior protectors for the collarbones secured by sewing-lines 25, 26 and confined above -the lower front edges of the material 14 and in locations where they may protect the collar-bones only without interfering with the flexible character of the jacket below the regions thus protected, the back portion of the jacket being Hexible throughout, and said protectors each comprising a layer of stiff material and a cushioning-pad on each side thereof @substantially as set forth.

3. The jacket adapted to be fastened around the upper portion of the body and com rising collar-bone protectors, cushions in tle shoulder portions and shoulder-caps, each of the latter comprising an upper stiffleather section 30 and a lower cushion-section 31, said section 30 lapping over upon the shoulder portion of the jacket and upon said section 31 and being secured to the latter, combined with means affording in effect an articulated connection of the shouldercaps to the jacket and means to extend under the armpits for securing said caps upon the shoulders of the wearer substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 6th day of January, A. D. 1905.

ABRAHAM SCHEMEL.

Vfitnessesz CHAs. C. GILL, ARTHUR MARION.

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