Athletic protector system

Abstract

An athletic protector system includes a protective cup, a pre-conformed cooling liner, and an outer rim. The protective cup includes a base with a peripheral rim. The protective cup is configured to receive and secure the cooling liner and the outer rim thereto. The cooling liner includes a peripheral edge. The peripheral edge is configured to generally match a contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim and is further configured to be coupled to the peripheral rim. The outer rim is configured to generally match the contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim and is further configured to be coupled to the peripheral rim.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An athletic protector system, comprising:
 a protective cup having a base with a peripheral rim;   a cooling liner having a peripheral edge, the peripheral edge being configured to generally match a contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim and further being configured to be coupled to the peripheral rim; and   an outer rim configured to generally match the contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim and further configured to be coupled to the peripheral rim,   the protective cup being configured to receive and secure the cooling liner and the outer rim thereto.   
     
     
         2 . The athletic protector system of  claim 1 , wherein the cooling liner further includes a generally flexible exterior covering and generally flexible interior covering, the interior covering being attached to the exterior covering to allow the cooling liner to receive and contain a cooling material. 
     
     
         3 . The athletic protector system of  claim 2  wherein the exterior covering includes the peripheral edge and the interior covering includes a peripheral lip, the peripheral lip being attached to the exterior covering adjacent to the peripheral edge. 
     
     
         4 . The athletic protector system of  claim 2  wherein the interior covering is further attached to the exterior covering by at least one spot weld. 
     
     
         5 . The athletic protector system of  claim 2  wherein the cooling liner is configured to maintain a generally uniform thickness of the cooling material inside the cooling liner. 
     
     
         6 . The athletic protector system of  claim 1  wherein:
 the base of the protective cup has a predetermined shape; and 
 the cooling liner is configured to generally pre-conform to the shape of the base of the protective cup. 
 
     
     
         7 . The athletic protector system of  claim 1  wherein the cooling liner includes a pre-conformed shape that is an elongated, generally concavo-convex shape. 
     
     
         8 . The athletic protector system of  claim 1  wherein the cooling liner is configured to be selectably coupled to the peripheral rim. 
     
     
         9 . The athletic protector system of  claim 1  wherein the outer rim is configured to be coupled to the peripheral rim and to the peripheral edge. 
     
     
         10 . The athletic protector system of  claim 9  wherein the outer rim is configured to be selectably coupled to the peripheral rim and to the peripheral edge. 
     
     
         11 . The athletic protector system of  claim 1  wherein the protective cup is configured to selectably secure the cooling liner and the outer rim thereto. 
     
     
         12 . The athletic protector system of  claim 1  wherein the peripheral edge is secured intermediate the peripheral rim and the outer rim. 
     
     
         13 . The athletic protector system of  claim 12  wherein the peripheral edge is selectably secured intermediate the peripheral rim and the outer rim. 
     
     
         14 . The athletic protector system of  claim 1  wherein the cooling liner is generally flexible when frozen. 
     
     
         15 . The athletic protector system of  claim 1  wherein the protective cup includes at least one vent. 
     
     
         16 . The athletic protector system of  claim 1  wherein:
 the peripheral rim includes at least one first fastener; and 
 the peripheral rim includes at least one corresponding second fastener, 
 the at least one first fastener being configured to be selectably coupled to the corresponding at least one second fastener. 
 
     
     
         17 . The athletic protector system of  claim 16  wherein the peripheral edge includes at least one receptacle, the receptacle being configured to be selectably coupled to the corresponding at least one first fastener. 
     
     
         18 . The athletic protector system of  claim 17 , wherein:
 the at least one first fastener includes a protrusion;   the at least one receptacle includes an aperture configured to receive the protrusion therethrough; and   the at least one second fastener includes a port configured to receive the protrusion.   
     
     
         19 . An athletic protector system, comprising:
 a protective cup having a base with a peripheral rim;   a cooling liner having a peripheral edge, the peripheral edge being configured to generally match a contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim and further configured to be selectably coupled to the peripheral rim; and   an outer rim having an interior portion and an exterior portion, the outer rim being configured to generally match the contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim and further configured to be selectably coupled to the peripheral rim, the exterior portion including a finger tab,   the protective cup being configured to receive and selectably secure the cooling liner and the outer rim thereto, and   the finger tab allowing the outer rim to deform when a user deflects the finger tab toward an interior of the system to release the outer rim from the peripheral rim.   
     
     
         20 . A method for assembling an athletic protector system, comprising the steps of:
 obtaining a protective cup having a base with a peripheral rim;   obtaining a cooling liner having a peripheral edge, the peripheral edge being configured to generally match a contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim;   obtaining an outer rim configured to generally match the contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim,   configuring the protective cup to receive and secure the cooling liner and the outer rim;   positioning the cooling liner against the protective cup;   coupling at least a portion of the peripheral edge to at least a portion of the peripheral rim; and   coupling the outer rim to the peripheral rim to secure the cooling liner.