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 .i 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 pro- vide 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 f`o`utérf 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 `ovèr‘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.