Removable body padding

Abstract

The presently disclosed body padding is removably attached to a user's garment and configured to overlie an area of the user's body susceptible to injury (e.g., the user's knees or elbows). The body padding includes a padded insert and a protective cap which is selectively inserted into a corresponding body pad pocket within the user's garment. When installed, the protective cap occupies the entire window into the body pad pocket and projects through the body pad window. Further, one or more attachments are arranged around the projecting portion of the protective cap, which are selectively attached to corresponding attachments arranged around the pocket window.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A removable body pad comprising:
 a padded insert having an outer perimeter;   a protective cap attached to the padded insert with a cap perimeter inside the outer perimeter of the padded insert, wherein the protective cap includes a protruding portion that projects away from a remainder of the protective cap; and   one or more fasteners arranged around the protruding portion of the protective cap that surround a majority of the protruding portion of the protective cap.   
     
     
         2 . The removable body pad of  claim 1 , wherein one or both of the padded insert and the protective cap form a cavity, further comprising:
 a cushioning layer that occupies the cavity in the removable body pad.   
     
     
         3 . The removable body pad of  claim 2 , wherein the cushioning layer includes an array of resiliently-deflectable void cells. 
     
     
         4 . The removable body pad of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more fasteners surround substantially all of the protruding portion of the protective cap. 
     
     
         5 . The removable body pad of  claim 1 , wherein the protective cap includes a flexing region that permits a first section of the protruding portion to move independently from a second section of the protruding portion. 
     
     
         6 . The removable body pad of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 one or more gripping ridges extending across the protruding portion of the protective cap.   
     
     
         7 . The removable body pad of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more fasteners include a plurality of hook-and-loop fastener pads. 
     
     
         8 . The removable body pad of  claim 1 , wherein the padded insert includes a foam material and the protective cap includes a solid plastic material. 
     
     
         9 . A removable body padding system comprising:
 a garment including a body pad pocket and a body pad window in the body pad pocket; and   a body pad including a protective cap substantially larger than the body pad window, wherein the protective cap is configured to entirely overlap the window when the body pad is removably attached to the garment.   
     
     
         10 . The removable body padding system of  claim 9 , wherein the protective cap includes a protruding portion that protrudes from the body pad pocket through the body pad window. 
     
     
         11 . The removable body padding system of  claim 10 , wherein the body pad includes one or more fasteners arranged around and surrounding a majority of the protruding portion of the protective cap. 
     
     
         12 . The removable body padding system of  claim 11 , wherein the body pad pocket includes one or more fasteners arranged around the body pad window that selectively attach to the one or more fasteners of the body pad. 
     
     
         13 . The removable body padding system of  claim 12 , wherein the body pad fasteners surround substantially all of the protruding portion of the protective cap and the body pad pocket fasteners surround substantially all of the body pad window. 
     
     
         14 . The removable body padding system of  claim 10 , wherein the protruding portion fills substantially the entire body pad window. 
     
     
         15 . The removable body padding system of  claim 9 , wherein the body pad includes a padded insert attached to the protective cap, wherein the protective cap has a cap perimeter inside an outer perimeter of the padded insert. 
     
     
         16 . The removable body padding system of  claim 9 , wherein the garment is a pant leg and the body pad is configured to overlie a user's knee. 
     
     
         17 . The removable body padding system of  claim 9 , wherein the garment is a jacket arm and the body pad is configured to overlie a user's elbow. 
     
     
         18 . A method of using a removable body padding system comprising:
 inserting a body pad including a protective cap into a body pad pocket in a garment;   positioning the body pad within the body pad pocket such that the protective cap entirely overlaps a body pad window in the body pad pocket, wherein the protective cap is substantially larger than the body pad window; and   selectively removably securing the body pad to the body pad pocket.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the positioning operation is performed such that a protruding portion of the protective cap protrudes from the body pad pocket through the body pad window. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the inserting operation includes opening a gap in the body pad pocket and inserting the body pad through the opened gap.