Anatomically dynamic and ergonomic leg guard

Abstract

A leg guard includes an anterior shin protective panel positioned to cover at least a portion of a user's anterior shin region, a lateral protective panel positioned to cover at least a portion of the user's lateral lower leg region, and a medial protective panel positioned to cover at least a portion of the user's medial lower leg region. The panels are mounted on one or more flexible liners in a vertically segmented orientation to articulate with respect to one another. Additional protective panels may be included to protect a user's knee, thigh, or foot. A strap for a leg guard may include a buckle having a protrusion positioned to engage an elongated opening in the leg guard. The strap may bias the buckle into a tilted position, while raised surfaces near the elongated opening resist release or rotation of the buckle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A leg guard comprising:
 an anterior protective panel positioned to cover at least a portion of a user's anterior shin region;   a lateral protective panel positioned adjacent to the anterior protective panel to cover at least a portion of the user's lateral lower leg region; and   a medial protective panel positioned adjacent to the anterior protective panel to cover at least a portion of the user's medial lower leg region;   wherein the anterior protective panel, the lateral protective panel, and the medial protective panel are mounted on a flexible liner in a vertically segmented orientation and configured to articulate with respect to one another.   
     
     
         2 . The leg guard of  claim 1  further comprising:
 at least one strap having a buckle, the strap configured to retain the leg guard to the user's leg, wherein the buckle includes a protrusion configured to engage an opening in one of the protective panels. 
 
     
     
         3 . The leg guard of  claim 2  wherein the opening comprises an elongated opening having a generally circular portion. 
     
     
         4 . The leg guard of  claim 1  further comprising a knee protective panel positioned to cover at least a portion of the user's knee region, and configured to articulate with respect to at least one of the protective panels. 
     
     
         5 . The leg guard of  claim 4  wherein at least one of the protective panels comprises a raised surface extending in an anterior direction. 
     
     
         6 . The leg guard of  claim 1  further comprising a thigh protective panel positioned to cover at least a portion of the user's inferior thigh or superior knee region. 
     
     
         7 . The leg guard of  claim 1  further comprising a foot protective panel positioned to cover at least a portion of the user's foot. 
     
     
         8 . The leg guard of  claim 1  wherein the liner comprises a fabric or elastic material and a padding material. 
     
     
         9 . The leg guard of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the protective panels is mounted to the liner via a rivet. 
     
     
         10 . The leg guard of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the protective panels includes a depression positioned to receive stitches configured to mount the at least one protective panel to the liner. 
     
     
         11 . The leg guard of  claim 1  wherein the liner has a lateral side configured to be positioned adjacent to the lateral lower leg region, and a medial side configured to be positioned adjacent to the medial lower leg region, and wherein the lateral side is longer than the medial side. 
     
     
         12 . A leg guard, comprising:
 a protective panel configured to cover at least portion of a user's lower leg, the panel including an opening;   a strap attached to the leg guard positioned to retain the leg guard to the user's leg;   a buckle attached the strap, the buckle comprising a protrusion configured to engage the opening in the panel; and   a raised surface positioned adjacent to the elongated opening to at least partially interfere with passage of the buckle in the elongated opening.   
     
     
         13 . The leg guard of  claim 12  wherein the protective panel comprises at least three panels. 
     
     
         14 . The leg guard of  claim 12  wherein the protective panel is a first protective panel, the leg guard further comprising a knee protective panel positioned to articulate with respect to the first protective panel and to cover at least a portion of a user's knee region, and a thigh protective panel positioned to articulate with respect to the knee protective panel and to cover at least a portion of a user's thigh region. 
     
     
         15 . A leg guard comprising a plurality of protective panels mounted to a liner and positioned to articulate with respect to each other, the leg guard further comprising:
 a strap;   a buckle connected to the strap, wherein the buckle includes an elongated protrusion extending from the buckle and configured to engage an elongated opening in the leg guard, wherein the elongated protrusion comprises a peg connected to a disk, and wherein the elongated opening is configured to receive the disk and allow the peg to slide within the opening.   
     
     
         16 . The leg guard of  claim 15  wherein the buckle has one or more teeth positioned proximate to a slot in the buckle to resist loosening of the strap when the strap is in contact with the teeth. 
     
     
         17 . The leg guard of  claim 15  wherein the elongated opening comprises a slot portion and a generally circular entrance portion, the generally circular entrance portion having a diameter larger than a width of the slot portion. 
     
     
         18 . The leg guard of  claim 15  further comprising a raised surface near the elongated opening and positioned to at least partially interfere with passage of the buckle in the elongated opening. 
     
     
         19 . The leg guard of  claim 15  wherein when the elongated protrusion is engaged with the elongated opening, the buckle is biased into a tilted position in which friction between the buckle and the leg guard is increased to at least partially resist movement of the buckle. 
     
     
         20 . The leg guard of  claim 15  wherein the plurality of protective panels includes a plurality of elongated panels configured to extend along a portion of a user's shin region, and wherein the plurality of elongated panels are spaced apart from each other on the liner.