Shoulder pad

Oct 8, 1957 κ. w. gobble 2,808,973

SHOULDER PAD

Filed Aug. 20, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1

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ATTORNEY

Oct. 8, 1957

Filed Aug. 20, 1954

K. W. GOBBLE

SHOULDER PAD

2,808,973

Sheets-Sheet 2

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Fig. 9

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Fig. 10

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INVENTOR.

Kenneth W. Gobble

BY

ATTORNEY

United States Patent Office _p . ²’⁸*^8,978

Patented Oct. 8, 1957

2,808,973

SHOULDER PAD

Kenneth W. Gobble, Denver, Colo.

Application August 20,1954, Serial No. 451,091

Claims. (CL 224—5)

This invention relates to pads for shoulder straps, and more particularly to a pad for a shoulder strap which is looped over the wearer’s shoulder, such as to support a bag or the like at the side of the wearer.

The purpose of an ordinary shoulder pad is to prevent a load-supporting strap from cutting a wearer’s shoulder. However, such a pad does not always provide sufficient protection because movements of the strap, as by swaying of the load, tend to cause the pad and strap to slip and the edge of the pad to cut into the wearer’s shoulder or the upper portion of the chest and back. Also, such pads are ordinarily either not stiff enough to distribute the pressure of a heavily-loaded, narrow strap without sagging at the line of the strap contact, or soft enough to provide a comfortable, easy fit.

Among the objects of this invention are to provide a novel and improved pad for a shoulder strap; to provide such a pad which is adapted to rest upon the wearer’s shoulder and overlie portions of the chest and back to provide· protection from the pressure of a load-supporting strap; to provide such a pad which is especially shaped to rest on the wearer’s shoulder in a snug, comfortable manner; to provide such a pad which will distribute the load of a shoulder strap so as to minimize slippage of the pad; to provide such a pad which will conform to the wearer’s body shape; to provide such a pad which may have a soft, resilient and comfortable contact surface; to provide such a pad which permits loads to be carried comfortably by a relatively narrow shoulder strap; to provide such a pad which is primarily adapted to support a load-supporting strap which extends diagonally across the wearer’s body but which may extend downwardly and directly under the shoulder; to provide such a pad which may exist in more than one form; to provide such a pad which may be worn on either shoulder of the wearer; and to provide such a pad which is simple and inexpensive in construction, neat appearing and relatively rugged and durable.

With these, and other objects in view, all of which more fully hereinafter appear, this invention comprises certain novel and improved constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts and elements as hereinafter described and as defined in the appended claims, and illustrated in preferred embodiments in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a pad constructed in accordance with this invention, in use by a wearer carrying a bag at the right side by a strap which extends across the chest and over the left shoulder, with broken lines depicting the bag at the left side and the supporting strap extending upwardly and over the pad on the left shoulder of the wearer;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the shoulder pad of Fig. 1, disposed in a flat position;

Fig. 3 is a side or edge view of the pad of Fig. 2, again in a flat position;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section, on an enlarged scale, taken along line 4—4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 illustrates a pad constructed in accordance with this invention, in use by two wearers positioned side by side and carrying a load between them by straps which extend upwardly from the load and over the shoulders of the users;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section similar to Fig. 4, illustrating an alternative construction of the pad;

Fig. 7 is a partial top plan view, similar to Fig. 2, illustrating a further alternative construction;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section taken along line 8—8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view similar to Fig. 2, illustrating an alternative embodiment of this invention; and

Fig. 10 is a transverse section, on an enlarged scale taken along line 10—10 of Fig. 9.

The present invention comprises, in essence, a shoulder pad shaped to lie over a wearer’s shoulder in a fixed, comfortable position and maintain the strap in position, thereby overcoming the tendency for the pad and strap to shift or the edge of the pad to cut into the wearer’s body. Preferably, such a pad is formed by an outer layer of relatively stiff material and an inner, shoulder-contacting layer of softer material, all as hereinafter described in detail.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawing, the improved shoulder pad P is formed as a flat, elongated unit which is preferably symmetrical about both the longitudinal and transverse axis and may be worn on either the left or right shoulder. The central portion of pad P is narrow at the neck 10 which rests upon the crest of the wearer’s shoulder, with the ends of the pad extending to the front and back of the wearer, as shown in Fig. 1. The sides of the pad diverge laterally in each direction from the central neck 10, to form a wing 11 at each end thereof, and in use one wing 11 is adapted to lie upon the chest and the other wing 11 upon the back of the wearer, at the upper portions thereof. In accordance with this invention, the pad is provided with retaining means, as hereinafter described, which maintains a strap S in relatively fixed position at the center of the neck 10 but at one side of each wing 11, i. _e., at each wing 11, the strap S is located a greater distance from the longitudinal center line of the pad. This permits the pad P to be placed in a natural position on the shoulder and the strap S to assume its natural position as if the pad were not there, thereby eliminating a common cause of straps and pads shifting, twisting and becoming uncomfortable to the wearer. Such means also permits the position of the strap at each wing 11 to shift to the opposite side of the wing when the pad is moved from one shoulder to the other. Thus, the width of each wing is such that the shoulder strap S may extend across the body of the wearer, or in the position S' may extend downwardly alongside the body of the wearer, yet either will remain upon the pad without undue tendency to shift the position of the pad. As will be evident, when the pad P of Fig. 1 is shifted from the right to the left shoulder, the strap S will shift to the position S'. The shape of the sides of the pad also causes the outer edge to conform to the wearer’s body and thereby reduce the tendency for the pad to cut into the shoulder, particularly at the top. Furthermore, if one side of the pad tends to curl during use, on one shoulder, it will tend to straighten out when the pad is shifted to the other shoulder. Each end 12 of the pad may be formed as a flattened arc to improve the appearance and facilitate the stitching hereinafter described.

The pad P may be formed from two layers of a material such as leather, such as a comparatively hard, stiff outer layer 13 of saddle leather, and a softer inner layer of split grain leather 14, the layers being joined together in any suitable manner, as by stitching 15 about the edge of the pad. The outer, stiff layer 13 may be sufficiently rigid to resist any tendency to sag transversely responsive to a loaded strap thereon when it is folded longitudi2,808,973 natty over a wearer’s shoulder and shaped to conform with the wearer’s body. The inner layer 14 may be a soft grained leather with a suede finish, sponge rubber, or other relatively soft material. The pads may be constructed so as to be laterally convex on the outside, to 5 provide a better fit for the shoulder.

To provide the retaining means described above, a pair of transverse slits 16 may be cut into the layer 13 at the neck 10 and a pair of transverse slits 17 may be cut in the layer 13 adjacent the end of each wing 11 to pro- 10 vide a central loop 18 and outer loops 19, respectively, through which the strap may be threaded, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5. It is to be noted that the central loop 18 is comparatively narrow while the end loops 19 are considerably wider. Thus, with a strap S threaded 15 through the loops, the strap will be held in a central position at the neck 10 but the strap may be shifted from one side to the other at the wings, in the wider loops 19. Therefore, referring to Fig. 1, it will be evident that the strap S may extend across the wearer’s body or may hang 20 downwardly as at S' without the pad being shifted from its position upon the wearer’s shoulder. Moreover, referring to Fig. 5, in a situation where there may be considerable side movement of the load, as when a load is carried between two persons, the side shifting of the straps 25 S' will be across the wings 11 of the pads and the pads will remain in a fixed position upon the wearer. Also, as indicated previously, the strap may be shifted from one side to the other, at each wing, when the pad is moved from one shoulder to the other. ³⁰

In the alternative construction illustrated in Fig. 6, an intermediate layer 20 of sponge rubber is placed between the hard top layer 13 and the softer bottom layer 14. This provides even greater comfort and is especially desirable where the loads are quite heavy or will be carried for long periods of time.

In the alternative construction illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8, pad P' is provided with loops 18' and 19' which are formed from separate pieces, such as leather, metal or other suitable material, attached to the outer layer 13, 40 as by rivets 21 at each end of the loops. In connection with this modification, it is contemplated that a loop sewed at one or both ends to an edge of the pad may be utilized, instead of slitting the leather to form the loops 18 and 19, or that the loops 18' and 19' may be connected in ₄.-, any other suitable manner and further that the layers 13 and 14 may be integral, as by the use of a single piece of leather having sufficient thickness as to present a hard rigid surface on one side and a soft suede-like surface on the other side, such as is characteristic of leather before gq it is split.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, a portion of a pad P may act as a part of straps S by attaching an end of each strap to each side of the pad. The neck 10 and wings 11 of pad P are formed as herein- 55 before described, with an outer layer 13 and inner layer 14 of selected types of leather, or other suitable material. The slits 17 may be adjacent the end of each wing 11 to form the loops 19 as hereinbefore described, but no center loop is necessary. Instead, each end of a strap S, go threaded through a loop 19 towards the center of the pad, is pivotally attached to the pad at a point near the center, as by a rivet 23, so that it may be moved across the wing of the pad within the loop 19. Rivets 23 may be flatheaded, and the end of each strap S'' may be folded over 05 itself and reinforced, as by stitching 24, to provide a stronger connection at the rivet 23. In connection with this modification, it is to be noted that the pad P may be made of thinner material and the shape altered so as to be rectangular or generally rectangular in shape. Also, 70 when the pad P is used to carry a light load, such as a lady’s purse, the straps S need not pass under the loops 19, in which case the slits 17 and loops 19 may be eliminated. Also, the straps S may be pivotally attached to the opposite ends of the pad P, as by rivets or by rings 75 attached at one side to the pad and at the opposite side to the straps.

While numerous details of construction have been described, it will be obvious that those skilled in the art can devise alternate and equivalent constructions which are within the scope and spirit of this invention. Hence, this invention should not be limited to the constructions and details herein described, but only by the proper scope of the appended claims.