A shoulder pad for use in a contact sport, such as football, hockey or lacrosse is provided. The shoulder pad includes a pair of curvilinear, continuous arch members joined together to define a central opening that receives the player's head. A side pad assembly, including an epaulet and a shoulder cap, is operably connected to each arch member by a flexible band that provides a common connection point on the arch member. The band provides a single pivot point for the epaulet and the shoulder cap about the common connection point. A curvilinear internal padding assembly is connected to each arch member and configured to absorb and lessen impacts received while wearing the shoulder pad and playing the contact sport.
1. A protective shoulder pad worn by a player while engaged in playing a contact sport, the shoulder pad comprising:
a pair of curvilinear, continuous arch members, each arch member having a front arch portion depending from an upper arch portion and a rear arch portion depending from the upper arch portion, wherein the arch members are operatively connected at each of the front and rear portions to define a central opening configured to receive the player's head, wherein each arch member extends over the player's shoulder and between the player's chest region and back region;
a side pad assembly comprising an epaulet and a shoulder cap that are both operably connected to the upper arch portion by a lone, flexible band that provides a common connection point on the arch member, and wherein the shoulder cap resides external to the arch member and the epaulet resides above the shoulder cap and the arch member; and,
a curvilinear internal padding assembly secured to an inner surface of each arch member.
2. The protective shoulder pad of claim 1 , wherein each arch member has one of either a raised, elongated front segment extending along a substantial extent of a front arch portion and a raised, elongated rear segment extending along a substantial extent of a rear arch portion.
3. The protective shoulder pad of claim 2 , wherein the raised segment is defined by a pair of opposed sidewalls that extend transversely from an outer surface of the respective arch member.
4. The protective shoulder pad of claim 1 , wherein the interior pad assembly comprises a plurality of discrete air management chambers residing within a liner, wherein each air management chamber has a pad element residing within a membrane.
5. The protective shoulder pad of claim 1 , wherein the common connection point is spaced a distance from an exterior edge of the arch member.
6. The protective shoulder pad of claim 5 , wherein the band provides a single pivot point for the epaulet and the shoulder cap about the common connection point, wherein an upwardly directed force applied to the epaulet raises both the epaulet and the shoulder cap relative to the central arch portion.
7. The protective shoulder pad of claim 1 , the band having both a first band surface and a second band surface, wherein an extent of the first band surface is secured to an outer surface of the upper arch portion, and an extent of the second band surface is secured to an inner surface of the epaulet.
8. The protective shoulder pad of claim 7 , wherein an additional extent of the second band surface is secured to an inner surface of the shoulder cap.
9. The protective shoulder pad of claim 1 , wherein a first end portion of the band is connected to the upper arch portion, an intermediate portion of the band is connected to the epaulet, and a second end portion of the band is connected to the shoulder cap.
10. The protective shoulder pad of claim 1 , further comprising a cantilever sub-member positioned each arch member and its respective interior pad assembly, wherein said sub-member is configured to overlie the player's upper shoulder area.
11. The protective shoulder pad of claim 1 , wherein an inner surface of the epaulet has an interior recess that is configured to receive an extent of the shoulder cap, and wherein the epaulet has an exterior projection that corresponds to the interior recess.
12. The protective shoulder pad of claim 11 , wherein the shoulder cap has an exterior projection resides beyond the epaulet.
13. A football shoulder pad to be worn by a player while engaged in playing football, the shoulder pad comprising:
a pair of curvilinear, continuous arch members joined together to define a central opening, each arch member having a front arch portion depending from an upper arch portion and a rear arch portion depending from the upper arch portion, wherein each arch member extends over the player's shoulder and between the player's chest region and back region;
a side pad assembly comprising a first protective member and a second protective member that are both operably connected to the upper arch portion by only a flexible band that provides a common connection point on the arch member that results in a single pivot point for the side pad assembly relative to the arch member;
an internal padding assembly connected to each arch member.
14. The protective shoulder pad of claim 13 , wherein flexible band is the sole means to operably connect both the epaulet and the shoulder cap to provide the common connection point.
15. The protective shoulder pad of claim 14 , wherein the shoulder cap resides external to the arch member and the epaulet resides above the shoulder cap and the arch member.
16. The protective shoulder pad of claim 13 , wherein each arch member has one of either a raised, elongated front segment extending along an extent of the front arch portion and a raised, elongated rear segment extending along an extent of the rear arch portion.
17. The protective shoulder pad of claim 13 , wherein the epaulet has an interior pad member and the shoulder cap has an interior pad member, and wherein the shoulder cap resides between said interior pad members.
18. The protective shoulder pad of claim 13 , the band having both a first surface and a second surface, wherein an extent of the first band surface is secured to an outer surface of the upper arch portion, and an extent of the second band surface is secured to an inner surface of the epaulet.
19. The protective shoulder pad of claim 18 , wherein an additional extent of the second band surface is secured to an inner surface of the shoulder cap.
20. The protective shoulder pad of claim 13 , wherein a first end portion of the band is positioned against the upper arch portion, and an intermediate portion of the band is positioned against the epaulet.
21. The protective shoulder pad of claim 20 , wherein a second end portion of the band is connected to the shoulder cap.
22. The protective shoulder pad of claim 13 , wherein due to the single pivot point configuration, the application of an upwardly directed force to the epaulet simultaneously raises both the epaulet and the shoulder cap relative to the central arch portion.
23. The protective shoulder pad of claim 13 , wherein an inner surface of the epaulet has an interior recess that is configured to receive an extent of the shoulder cap, and wherein the epaulet has an exterior projection that corresponds to the interior recess.
24. The protective shoulder pad of claim 23 , wherein the shoulder cap has an exterior projection that resides beyond the epaulet.