Protective Crash Pad

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application takes priority to U.S. Application 63/524,028, filed on 29 Jun. 2023, and hereby incorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

Those who boulder sometimes carry crash pads into rural terrain to get to a boulder they wish to climb. Protective crash pads are utilized in activities involving falls and impacts, such as bouldering, to minimize the risk of injuries. Prior art bouldering crash pads are made from a foam pad covered by nylon or foam crash pad. These prior art crash pads are bulky and heavy; consequently, they are not easily carried in rural terrains. The present invention is a lightweight, protective crash pad that can be folded or rolled into a compact bundle so that it is easy to carry into rural terrains. While embodiments detailed in this specification are for a protective crash pad to be used in bouldering, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be utilized in any environment where a safe landing is required for objects falling from a higher elevation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

This invention is a protective crash pad and a protective crash pad system. The protective crash pad is constructed with inflatable materials comprising a first layer of fabric, a second layer of fabric, and a plurality of elongated materials connecting the layers. The protective crash pad can be deflated, enabling it to be folded or rolled into a compact bundle for easier carrying into rural terrains. The protective crash pad system includes multiple pads, each with inflatable materials and a detachable fastening mechanism for joining them.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawing.

FIG. 1 is a side, cut-away view, of a portion of a protective crash pad;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary, environmental view of a protective crash pad system;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary, environmental view of a protective crash pad and a foam pad.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, the use of similar or the same symbol in different drawings typically indicates similar or identical items, unless context dictates otherwise.

The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here.

One skilled in the art will recognize that the herein described components (e.g., operations), devices, objects, and the discussion accompanying them are used as examples for the sake of conceptual clarity and that various configuration modifications are contemplated. Consequently, as used herein, the specific exemplars set forth and the accompanying discussion are intended to be representative of their more general classes. In general, use of any specific exemplar is intended to be representative of its class, and the non-inclusion of specific components (e.g., operations), devices, and objects should not be taken as limiting.

The present application uses formal outline headings for clarity of presentation. However, it is to be understood that the outline headings are for presentation purposes, and that different types of subject matter may be discussed throughout the application (e.g., device(s)/structure(s) may be described under process(es)/operations heading(s) and/or process(es)/operations may be discussed under structure(s)/process(es) headings; and/or descriptions of single topics may span two or more topic headings). Hence, the use of the formal outline headings is not intended to be in any way limiting. Given by way of overview, illustrative embodiments include a protective crash pad (100) and systems thereof.

Referring to FIG. 1, the protective crash pad (100) is comprised of an inflatable material having a first layer of fabric (10) and a second layer of fabric (20) which are connected by a plurality of high-strength elongated materials (30). The plurality of elongated materials made from a high-strength material (30) may be threads, cables, straps, amongst other materials. In an embodiment, the protective crash pad (100) is made from a drop stitch fabric. In an embodiment, the first layer of fabric (10) and the second layer of fabric (20) are thermoplastic polyurethane (“TPU”). A benefit of TPU is that it is light in weight, durable, and flexible.

In a deflated state, protective crash pad (100) lies approximately flat so that it can be folded or rolled for carrying in a backpack or other carrying device. In an embodiment, the first and second layer of fabric (10, 20) are rip-stop fabric. In an embodiment, the protective crash pad (100) is further comprised of a pressure relief valve (40). In an embodiment, the protective crash pad is further comprised of an integrated air pump or other inflation device (50).

In an embodiment, the protective crash pad (100) weighs between 1 and 10 pounds. In another embodiment, the rolled or folded crash pad (100) has dimension between 8¼″×3½″×3½″ and 28″×17″×12″.

Referring to FIG. 2, the protective crash pad system (200) is comprised of at least a first protective crash pad (100A) and a second protective crash pad (100B). At least the first or second protective crash pad (100A, 100B) is further comprised of at least one detachable fastening mechanism (210) that allows the first crash pad (100A) to be removably connected to the second crash pad (100B). While FIG. 2 shows protective crash pads (100A, 100B) to be detachably attached at a particular location, a person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that the protective crash pads (100A, 100B) may be detachably attached at any edge, corner, stack one on top of the other, amongst other configurations.

Referring to FIG. 3, in an embodiment the protective crash pad (100) is comprised of at least one detachable fastening mechanism (210); which allows the at least one protective crash pad (100) to be removably joined to at least one foam crash pad (300). While FIG. 3 shows the protective crash pads (100) configured to be detachably attached to a particular location of the foam crash pad (300), a person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that the protective crash pad (100) may be detachably attached a foam crash pad (300) at any edge, corner, stack one on top of the other, amongst other configurations.