Sept- 21, 1954 C. F. CRAWFORD 2,689,350 COMBINATION SHOULDER PAD and Srrap CUSHION Filed July 2E, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet I

Sept- 21, 1954 c. F. CRAWFORD 2,689,350 COMBINATION SHOULDER PAD AND srRAP CUSHION Filed July 2e, 1951 2 sheets-sheet I

fnl/En für Sept. 2l, 1954 c. F. CRAWFORD 2,689,350 COMBINATION SHOULDER PAD AND STRAP CUSHION Filed July 26, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2

Y: i L? 7

r f4 Patented Sept. 21, 1954 2,689,350

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,689,350 COMBINATION SHOULDER PAD AND STRAP CUSHION Claud Crawford, Pasadena, Calif., assignor to The Scholl Mfg. Co. Inc., Chicago, Ill., a cor poration of New York ` Application July 26, 1951, Serial No. 238,721 8 Claims. ( Cl. 2-268) 1 2 This invention relates to improvements in a the shoulder and the undergarment strap to combination shoulder pad and strap cushion of eliminate any chañng of the shoulder. the type highly desirable for use over the shoul It is also an object of this invention to provide der of a wearer inside an outer garment to im a shoulder pad having an exposed soit gripping part a desirable form to the shoulders and en "Il undersurface so as to gently cling to the body hance the overall appearance and hang of the of the user beneath the shoulder pad, and yet outer garment, and at the same time cushion allow free movement of an outergarment over the straps of , an undergarment `or undergar the pad. ments to prevent those straps from chañng or A further object of the invention resides in pressing into the shoulder of the user, although 10 the provision of a shoulder pad or cushioning the invention may have other uses and purposes material provided with a removable cover which as will be apparent to one skilled in the art. may be taken olf, and separately laundered and In the past, it has been customary to attach ironed, and then the pad may be reinserted for shoulder pads directly to the inside of an outer further use, whereby a single pair of pads is all garment such as a dress or the like, and accord 15 that is needed by the wearer, and that single ingly when that garment was sent out for clean f pair of pads may be used with Various covers ing, it was necessary to remove the shoulder pads of different colors. therefrom, and then sew them or ,otherwise re Another feature of the invention resides in the attach them upon return of the garment. Also, provision of a shoulder pad having a removable where shoulder pads have been attached directly cover associated therewith, the cover being of to the outer garment, movements of the outer such shape and disposition relatively to the pad garment relatively to the shoulder caused slip as to completely enclose the upper portion of the page of the pad to the discomfort of the user, pad, while exposing a, lower portion of the pad and forced the user to make unsightly adjust directly beneath the straps of an undergarment ments of the garment and pad at frequent in 25 so as to provide not only a cushioning effect to tervals. prevent chañng of the shoulder, but also allow Of course, connections have been heretofore the pad to cling to the shoulder to prevent slip provided between shoulder pads and the shoulder ping. straps of undergarments, but the object there Still another feature of the invention resides was mainly to keep the shoulder strap of the 30 in the provision of simple and easily operable undergarment from slipping out of position and means incorporated in a shoulder pad for en becoming exposed or sliding off the shoulder. It gaging the pad with the strap or straps of under is also known that in many cases shoulder straps garments. of -undergarments are so tight as to chafe the Still a further feature of this invention resides shoulder of the user or actually to press a some in the provision of a shoulder pad made of cush what permanent groove into the user’s shoulder ioning material having separable naps on the and the shoulder pad itself, most frequently asso inner portion ofV the pad, between which the ciated with the outer garment, afforded no relief. shoulder strap of an undergarment may extend. With the foregoing in mind, it is an important Also a feature of this invention is the provision object of the instant invention to'provide a shoul 40 of a shoulder pad made of cushioning material, der pad which may readily be attached to the with the inner portion thereof divided to pro strap of an undergarment only, and which re vide superposed flaps, with means carried by the mains free from an outer garment, thus permit upper face of the lower flap to removably engage ting outer garments to be changed while the the shoulder strap of an undergarment and an shoulder pads remain in position on the wearer’s 45 chor the entire pad thereto. shoulders. ` It is a further object of the invention to pro Another object of this invention is the provide a shoulder pad or the like made of foam vision of a combination shoulder pad and strap latex, and which may readily be laundered when cushion wherein a cushioning device is provided ever desired, the pad being graduated in thick with means for engagement with the shoulder ness from the outer edge to the inner, and the strap or" an undergarment, shaped to provide a inner portion being in the form of separable naps proper shoulder pad to support an outer gar between which the shoulder strap of an under garment may extend, the upper ñap extending ment,` and is further provided with cushioning inwardly beyond the lower Hap to provide a or pressure absorbing means disposed betweenV 55 gradual outward increase in thickness of the pad. 2,689,350 3 4 While some of the more salient features, char of the user. As will more fully appear later acteristics and advantages of the instant inven herein, the pad is used with a removable cover tion have been above pointed out, others will that prevents the pad itself from clinging to an ` become apparent from the following disclosures, outer garment. Obviously, other cushioning ma taken in conjunction with the accompanying terial might well be used, but foam latex not only

drawings, in whichm A _. _ Y _ ` l u (gives .theyy abovei advantages but also may be Figure 1 ` isf a ï pictorial illustration 'showing >a 'launderedwhenever desired. pair of >`lsl'io'ul'dei"paldsfernbodying principles of l"l‘heullustrated embodiment of the-invention the instant invention in operative position on seen in Figs. 1 to 5, and illustrated without its the shoulders of a user, but with the cover re ~>cover, is shown as being laminated or made up moved for purposes of clarity; , _ _ y n u uof"l'ayersgbut, itwill` be understood that the pad Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view of one may be molded if so desired. With the lami of the shoulder pads of F‘ig.__1_,Y showing ‘the pad nated arrangementrthree layers, 5, 6 and l, have pressed ilat for purposes of‘fill‘ustrationfand with fbeen'utiliz‘e'd. It'will be noted that the layer €ì parts broken away to reveal`tl‘1'e^`s'tructure ‘asso "is not~ nearlylas‘wide as the layers 5 .and l, but ciated therebeneath; vis'seciiiteld'to and between these layers at the Figure 3 is a transverse verticalsectional'view fòùtérf portion ofthe pad so as to give' the same a through the shoulder pad, taken substantially` as thicker part at the extremity of the shoulder. indicated by the line Il_I-III of Fig. 2, ‘looking 'These'layers are adhesively or equivalently se in the direction of the arrows, and showing the cured together, and preferably the lower layer l' pad‘zi'n itsï'natural shape;` A _ y' l "-'is'provided' 'withfa thin' sheet of latex il secured ,_ Figure ¿lV is ' _an l»enlarged fragmentary vertical òvèr‘itsïupper Y"fa'cef‘so as. to provide a skin-like sectional y'ièwtaken substantially as indicated by 'covering This Covering is, of course, of greater 'the~ line ICV-IV of Fig; 2; ’tensile ‘stren'g'ththan the layer l'when the lat fjïflig'ure "5" is r¿an venlarged fragmentary trans ter is'madefof foam latex. d versefsectional‘view taken substantially as indi yThe " entire ~pad *preferably has the general cated‘byïtheï'lineïV-#V of Fig.`4; d _ lcontour 'of'half an oval, >and is transversely cur Y Figure 6 is la `fragmentary enlarged plan view vate or arcuate'- toiit smoothly over the shoulder fof _theîbotto'm flapv of ’ the pa’dfillustrating _aïclif 'ofthe'u’sen If the pad is molded, that vshape ferentmeans for'. attaching the shoulder ‘straps 30 'A maybe `molded into it. "However, where the "of >undergar’rnent to the; pad; vvlarriinations.are‘useoL'as illustrated, the upper Figure ’Tis a'bottom'plan' view ófV a removable lamina-tiener sheet" s' isfp’refe'rabiy provided Vwith jcover'forfthe pad, showing the slot inthe bottom "afs'er'iesïof' spaced Vèsl'iaped` notches leading in ?flap of the cover expanded; from the'outer edge thereof, and when this'sheet n Figures is a view ofthe same character as " -is‘attach'ed tothe other layers, the’notches vare Fig.' 3, showing- la slightly \ differentv construction ‘clo'se'd‘together' as ’at sin Fig. 2, thus lgiving the for the pad, and illustrating thel cover attached entire pad’ ‘a 'natural _curvature ÈQÍhlÍleßpad? and Inside‘th‘eîinner' 'e'dge of the' middle lamination Figure-_9y Jis av 'fragmehtaryë‘bottom planïview of vSjthe 'pad is divided so that the laminations 5 >the left hang'dfportion of Fig.' 8 to: illustrate the’ .40 , and'fterrninate iii-"superposed but> separate i'laps exposure" of van under portion of the pad Ywith the "ëw‘andla, Atl this point it 'should be noted, 'with V‘reference to Figsu2 and 3, that the upper iiapfäa @over assied. extends: inwardly'beyond the loweriiap la'so 'In'Fig?‘l‘I"Asïshown'onuthe-I have illustrated‘a` drawings: ì paird _ of' likel shoulv, v_ . ~that"there"is"a‘sm'ooth andv gradual'inc'rease in >"derv IpadsA ll-ltinïproper -wearing‘po'sitio'n on the thicknessVv from theinner ‘edge of the pad to the shoulders o-f ' a i user “2, diagramiriati’c'ally illus outer edge thereof. _ _ trated. ’ Inïthisi‘nstance;Ifhafve shown a‘fpair-f‘of “'I‘h'e‘sh'ou‘lder straps" A:l `» and i d ‘ extend ' between shoulder-_ ystraps associatedl vwithv „each shoulder pad‘i, ‘a 'shoulder straïp‘3 ‘being attachedfto'an l'the ilapfâa, while 'the’ñap vld'affords a~ cushion undergarrnent Ysuch las af'slip, andithe shoulder "beneath the straps Yso ‘thatL the'straps'do'not press sti'apf attached to' an underg'arment "suchfasf a "in or'chafe the `shoulder of the user. Means "are ‘ brassière. ' ‘It-'Tis'ïobvious ï‘that" if theA user/f desires > provi-ded,v` preferably' on the'upper surface of the only. onev shoulder strapto be associatedfwith lower flap'ïafto removably Íattach the pad` to: the f the' respective f‘pad, ' or A ‘removably’ >connected >to --sh‘oulder strap 'or'str’aps These particular means ‘the pad, the other shoulder strap'may ridev freely . are* more' fully set’ forth, described,l and claimed over the inner portion ofthe pad-or’beïdispose'd in 'my' @pending-application for patententitled “GushíjOIlgHolder Y for` Shoulder Straps,” ñled entirely beneaththe pad. n A _ Eri-most' cases, l‘hoilvevien "it will" be 'desiredlto 'March „29, »1'9’5-1; Serial No: 218,202. i ccnnect'all of _the underg'ar‘me'nt shoulder straps _ The illustrated' means embody two spaced pairs to the pad so thatl these shoulder strapswillbe 60 of adjacent slits‘through the'skin-linecovert maintained in` alignment. Itis to vbe especially onlyjongeach ‘side ofthe center line'of the pad, noted, as vclearly'seen invF’ig. Lftlßiatl regardless the „slits `being indicatedvat Inl), ànd each pair of of how’ma'ny vstraps_may be 'connected to‘f”the slits forming a free loop Il. vWith the exception pad, they straps are completely concealed'by _the ofthe four loops Il, the coverS is'tightly- secured pad which has à portionoverlying‘themyand ‘ ' >tothe~upper~face vof the lower lamination lil-la. thus 'an >outer 'garment will 4rest""srrï'oothly _and Through' each pair of loops is a holding element evenly ’on a' padand there will beî‘no undulation l2 in the ,form of a dat strip having enlarged end in the garment'to betray the u'se'of thefpad‘or p'ortiònsH-Èëlßäcso that theholding elements in the fact that th'ere‘are shoulderstrapsîassoci general havhe'the fshape‘of afflat durnbbell. >"f'h'ëse ated with it. _ l70 elements' may’ be of Lany' ‘suitable material, >trans In the illustrated e'nfiloodiment ’of theïinventìon, fparent’or fopaídue, andare preferably made'of ‘a the pad is preferably niade‘of foam‘latex " be suitable "thervmî plastic o_r therinoset~tingV plastic. cause of its lightness inA weight,""s'ofttextureï'and the gentle gripping'action` afforded by suchÈ ma terial so that it‘will softly; cling to`lv the shoulder 2,639,350 '5 6 head‘ portion of the holding element passes lamination I4 but not under the part I4a thereof therethrough, thus providing easily removable to which the shoulder straps are attached, while anchorage of the shoulder straps which extend the underflap 24 extends between the two flap ùnder the holding element as seen clearly in Fig. portions 5a and I4a of the pad, thus leaving the 2, and yet accidental dislodgement of the straps Cl underside of the flap I4a exposed for clinging is readily prevented. It is a simple expedient to contact with the body of the user. It will be slip one head portion I3 throughits adjacent noted, however, that the top 2I of the cover loop, place the straps under the body portion of totally encloses the upper portion of the pad so the holding member Ì2, and reinsert that head that an outer garment will contact only the cover, portion through its respective loop. . io and slip freely thereover whereby unsightly àd It will be noted that the covering 8 is preferably justments of the outer garment and shoulder relatively smooth, as distinguished from the pads heretofore necessitated have been complete other surfaces of the foam rubber pad. Thus, a ly eliminated. The outer garment should be free smooth non-drag surface is provided beneath the to move relatively to the pad and its cover, with shoulder straps of the undergarments. out displacing the pad in any way whatever. It In Fig. 6 I have illustrated a different manner will be noted that it is a simple expedient to re in which to anchor the shoulder straps 3 and 4 move the cover from the pad, and separately to the lower flap of the pad. In this instance, a launder and press the cover whenever desired. lower iiap I4 is disclosed provided with a skin It will also be noted that when the shoulder like covering, and corresponding exactly to the 20 straps are attached to the pad, the pad is en above discussed lamination 1 and its covering 8. tirely carried by the shoulder straps and no con In this instance, the lamination or ñap I4, in the nection of that pad with an outer garment is free portion 14a thereof, is provided with two pair necessary. Consequently, outer garments may be of spaced slits I5-I5, and through each pair of changed at will without thought of shoulder pads, slits a securing ribbon I6 or the equivalent is the shoulder pads remaining attached to the threaded. Complemental snap members are as undergarment straps during thel changing of the sociated with the ends of each ribbon I6, one end outer garment. It will further be noted that the carrying a male snap element I‘I and the other entire combination of the shoulder pad and end a female snap element I8, which may be se shoulder strap cushion and the` cover therefor is cured together over top of the shoulder straps 3 30 pleasing in appearance, does not cause any ob and 4 as seen in the lower portion of Fig. 6. An jectionable undulations in the outer garment aperture I9 is provided through the ñap portion resting thereon, provides a suitable soft clinging I4a directly inside the point where the snap ele action against the skin of the user,l permits free ments will be when engaged with each other so movement of the outer garment relatively to that these snap elements may be received by the . the pad, and the cover and pad may be separately aperture, and no greater thickness is added to laundered at will Whenever desired, and the the pad as a Whole. ' whole may be economically manufactured. With reference to Fig. 8, it will be seen that in It will be understood that modifications and this instance the entire pad-like member in variations may be elîected Without departing cludes the above mentioned lamination 5, the just 40 from the scope of the novel concepts of the pres above described lamination I4, and an interme ent invention. diate lamination 20 of less width, corresponding I claim as my invention: to the above discussed lamination 6. In this in 1. In a shoulder pad, a member of cushioning stance, however, the lamination 20 is secured to material to overlie the shoulder of a user, a por the lamination I4, and the skin-like covering ex 45 tion of said member being divided into à pair of tends over the top of the lamination 20. The re separable superposed flaps, and means to hold a sultant structure is of the same shape and func shoulder strap between the flaps and anchor the tion as above described. pad to the strap, said means provided on and car In Figs. 7, 8 and 9 I have shown a removable ried by only one of the naps. cover, alone in Fig. 7, and associated with the 50 2. In a shoulder pad, a member of cushioning pad in Figs. 8 and 9. Obviously, it should be material to overlie the shoulder of a user, a por understood that this cover is intended to be uti tion of said member being divided into a pair of 4 lized with the structure described in connection separable superposed upper and lower flaps, with Figs. 1` to 5 inclusive, in identically the means provided on the upper face of only the same manner it is illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. 55 lower flap to hold a shoulder strap between the With reference now to Fig. '7 it will be seen flaps and anchor the pad to the strap, said pad that the cover comprises one piece of material to being of foam latex to provide a soft gripping provide a top 2I and an underflap 22 only par action both against the body of the user, and a tially the width of the top, this piece of material skin-like smooth upper face on the lower flap being reversely folded as at 23. Another piece of 60 where the strap overlies the flap. material 24 provides another bottom flap, and 3. In"a combination shoulder pad and strap these bottom portions of the cover are separated cushion, a fabricated cushioning member having by a slot 25 which may be expanded as seen in the general contour of a half oval and being Fig. '7 for the reception of the pad. naturally transversely curvate to iit over the This cover is preferably made of a smooth 65 shoulder of a. user, said member including at slick material, a silk, rayon, or nylon fabric being least a triple thickness in the shoulder extremity very satisfactory for the purpose. Suchcovers portion thereof, the opposite portion being of may be provided in any desired color and a num ‘double thickness and divided into separate super ber of 'differently colored covers may be used posed upper and lower flaps between which a with each shoulder pad, depending on the char shoulder strap may extend, the upper Iiap ex acter of the outer garment and the color of the tending beyond the lower iiap, and means pro various undergarments. vided on the lower fiap only to removably en The cover is placed over the ‘pad in the man gage a shoulder strap and anchor the entire ner seen in Figs. 8 and 9. It will be noted that member to the strap. Y the underflap 22 of the cover extends under the 75 4. In a shoulder pad, a member of cushioning