JP2009178191A - Face guard - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such problems that it is hard to say conventionally that a face guard for sports used to protect a face is suitable since there are the problem that a wearing feeling becomes bad and there is the risk of irritating the skin depending on cases by steaming a covered part, the problem that the face guard completely or almost completely without a cushion material tends to be selected actually in order to secure a visual field since a conventional cushion material is sponge and tends to be thick, and the problem that injuring others is not take into consideration for the conventional face guard further. <P>SOLUTION: On the entire surface of a body plate comprising a metal plate or a hard plastic plate, a non-foamed silicone rubber layer is provided. The silicone rubber layer can be a transparent body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a face guard structure.

  In the type of sports that come into contact with an opponent, the face may hit the opponent player, the ground, equipment, etc., and the cheekbones, nasal bones, etc. may be damaged. Of course, injured athletes will start treatment and wait for recovery, but if they start practicing before healing or are in an important game and the injured athlete cannot be missed, they will be masked to protect their face. You may wear similar instruments. Alternatively, in an ice hockey goalie or the like where the possibility that a tool (pack) will collide with the face is extremely high, a device that covers the face may be worn for prevention. This is the face guard. In the present invention, the face guard is defined as being directly applied to the face, and even if it is a member that protects the face, a face protection member is attached to a helmet used in American football, baseball, ice hockey, etc. Are not included in the concept of face guards.

  There are various types of face guard structures in accordance with the characteristics of individual sports and the regulations of the rules. However, because it is a sport that comes in contact with the opponent, it has enough visibility to keep on recognizing what the enemy team is doing, the situation of the ball and puck, etc. That is, they are common in that they do not impair the field of view even when wearing a brace. Of course, it is needless to say that it is preferable to have a strength that can protect the face against impact and impact.

Therefore, in general, a cushion material is added to the inside of a strong curved plate that covers the face to disperse and absorb impact force in many cases. As the curved plate, a metal plate or a hard plastic plate having a curved inner surface that matches the unevenness of the face and with the eyes and nostril portions cut out is used. As the cushion material, plastic sponge is used in most cases.
JP-A-2005-081061

  Actually, however, the conventional face guard has various problems and is not suitable. First of all, there is a problem of sweating. Since it is for sports, the face guard's inner surface is immediately wet with sweat. In that case, a feeling of wearing becomes inferior because the covered part is steamed, and the skin may be irritated. In addition, the face guard slips due to sweat, and the face guard slips with a slight movement during the competition, naturally affecting the play.

  Second, there is a problem with the thickness of the face guard. Since the most important purpose is to protect the face, it is preferable to absorb the impact force dispersed by the metal plate or the like by the cushion material, but the conventional sponge tends to be thick. If it is thicker, it is necessary to enlarge the eye part in order to secure the field of view, but there is naturally a limit. Therefore, in reality, it can be said that a face guard having little or no cushion material tends to be selected.

And thirdly, there is a problem about the risk of injury to the opponent due to contact with the opponent player. For example, when a player who has broken a nasal bone participates in a game with a face guard mainly composed of a metal plate, etc. and comes into contact with another player, his / her nasal bone is protected by the brace, but the other player There is a risk of injury from the brace. However, conventional face guards are not designed to injure others.

  In view of the above points, the present inventor has finally made the present invention as a result of intensive studies. The feature of the present inventor is that a non-foamed silicone rubber layer is formed on the entire surface of a main body plate made of a metal plate or a hard plastic plate. It is in having.

  Here, the “main body plate” is a tough member having a curved surface along the face, and is used to disperse the force when subjected to impact or impact. Metal or hard plastic is used as the material. Although the details of the material are not limited, aluminum, stainless steel, iron, and the like can be suitably used as the metal. As the plastic, polyethylene plastic, polypropylene plastic, co-polymer (for example, a mixture of polypropylene with about 3% polyethylene), FRP (fiber reinforced plastic), and the like can be used. Within the range of various prototypes produced by the present inventors, the thermoplastic ultra-high-density polyethylene “Sub-Orsolen” (“Orsolen”), which is often used as a material for orthoses, is the (Registered Trademark) is extremely suitable as a main body plate material because it is easy to mold, has no thermal shrinkage during thermoforming, is tough, tough, and lightweight. The face guard according to the present invention covers and protects the “face”, but may cover a part of the face instead of the entire face. For example, in the case of protecting the nasal bone, a portion below the nostril portion is unnecessary, and such a portion belongs to the present invention.

  The “non-foamed silicone rubber layer” is a silicone resin having rubber elasticity and is not a so-called sponge. Non-foamed silicone rubber has a different property from a sponge body in that it has high adhesion to the skin and does not easily slip even in a sweating state. In addition, unlike a sponge body, non-foamed silicone rubber does not absorb water, so maintenance is easy and hygiene is excellent.

  The method for forming the non-foamed silicone rubber layer is not particularly limited in the present invention. However, it is ideal to make the part that is susceptible to impact thickening while keeping in mind that the field of view is secured. In that sense, a method of brushing a liquid silicone rubber and waiting for curing to apply multiple layers is extremely suitable. The rubber hardness of the formed silicone rubber layer is not particularly limited in the present invention. What is necessary is just to employ | adopt suitably according to the impact force etc. which are assumed by the competition (sports) used as object.

In addition, if the outer surface of the main body plate is colored and described in advance, and the silicone resin constituting the non-foamed silicone rubber layer as the surface layer is transparent, the coloring and description etc. It will be possible and it will be innovative in design. Displaying the description etc. through the silicone rubber layer is preferable because it not only has a taste compared to that described on the outer surface, but also prevents the description from disappearing due to washing or friction.

  The face guard according to the present invention is an extremely advanced invention having various effects as described below.

(1) Since a silicone rubber layer is provided, it has cushioning properties.
(2) Since the silicone rubber layer is non-foamed, it is easy to form a thin layer.
(3) Unlike sponge type silicone rubber, it has good adhesion to the skin, so it is hard to slip even when sweating during competition.
(4) Since the silicone rubber layer is also provided on the outer surface of the main body, it is difficult to damage the opponent even if it contacts other players.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

  FIGS. 1A and 1B show an example of a face guard 1 according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the present invention appliance 1), and FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. It is. The device 1 of the present invention is a device that is assumed to be used when a soccer player who has broken a nasal bone participates in a game during the treatment, and as is clear from the figure, the forehead, the periphery of the eyes, the nose It is a type of face guard that covers the periphery and cheekbones. The entire surface (front and back surfaces and peripheral edge) of the main body plate 2 is covered with a silicone rubber layer 3. As the material of the main body plate 2 of this example, ultra-high density polyethylene “Sub-Ortholen (registered trademark)” was used as a tough and lightweight hard plastic.

  Further, the orthosis 1 of the present invention has two fixing bands (41 and 42), and is thereby fixed on the face. The fixing bands 41, 42 are formed of some stretchable cloth material, and are fixed to one of the two extended portions at the rear part of the main body plate 2. A hook-and-loop fastener 43 is installed on the remaining extension portion, and the fixing bands 41 and 42 are configured to be fixed after they circulate around the back of the head. The reason for using two fixing bands is to prevent the “ear” from being blocked when worn. In addition, what is necessary is just to consider suitably about whether to use a fixed band about the mounting | wearing of this invention brace 1, and what kind of structure it is used, and it does not limit in this invention.

  The silicone rubber layer 3 may be considered as a film having a large thickness, and it is preferable to increase the thickness of a portion that is easily affected by impact such as a cheekbone portion or a forehead portion and requires cushioning properties. FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C show an example of such a silicone rubber layer forming method. First, a main body plate 2 is prepared which substantially conforms to the face shape of the wearer of the present orthosis 1 [FIG. This may be produced one by one from a single flat plate, but several outlines of a certain degree are prepared, and the one close to the face shape of the wearer is selected from them and bent into this You may employ | adopt the method of finely adjusting by adding a process, cutting, etc. In this way, the main body plate 2 having a shape and a size that is suitable for protecting a damaged site and that can sufficiently secure a field of view is completed. In this example, description 5 (initial in this example) such as a wearer's affiliation team name, spine number, and initials was applied to the surface of the main plate 2 at this stage using a pigment.

  Next, the body plate 1 is soaked in a transparent silicone rubber liquid 6 dissolved in an organic solvent (FIG. (B)), dried and waited for curing. As a result, a silicone rubber layer 3 having substantially the same thickness is formed on the entire surface of the main body plate 2. Finally, the transparent silicone rubber liquid material 7 is applied with the brush B to form the designed thick portion [(c) in the figure]. Since the silicone rubber layer 3 obtained by solidifying and integrating the transparent silicone rubber liquids 6 and 7 is a transparent body, the description 5 on the main body plate 2 can be seen through the silicone rubber layer 3.

  This method of forming a silicone rubber layer by brush coating is an old industrial production method, but it is produced in a productive manner depending on the difference in shape due to individual differences, the form of damage or the healing situation. It can be said that this is an extremely suitable method for a face guard that is often used. However, the present invention is not limited to the method for forming the silicone rubber layer 3, and it is of course possible to adopt a method other than the above method.

Up to this point, the present invention has been described as a device that is supposed to be used when a soccer player who has broken a nasal bone participates in a game during the treatment, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other It may be used as an equipment for a person who has injured the part (limited to the face), for other sports, or may be used for practice, or may be used as a face injury prevention equipment if the sports rules permit.

(A) is a perspective view which shows an example of the face guard based on this invention, (b) is the XX sectional drawing. (A) (b) (c) shows an example of the manufacturing method of the face guard based on this invention roughly and temporally, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a front view, (c) ) Is a cross-sectional view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Face guard 2 Main body board 3 Silicone rubber layer 41 Fixing band 42 Fixing band 43 Surface fastener 5 Description 6 Transparent silicone rubber liquid 7 Transparent silicone rubber liquid B Brush

Claims (2)

A face guard characterized by having a non-foamed silicone rubber layer on the entire surface of a main body plate made of a metal plate or a hard plastic plate. The face guard according to claim 1, wherein the silicone rubber layer is transparent.

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