Injection molded eva foam barbell pad

Abstract

Pad that mounts on the bar of a barbell and spreads forces exerted by the bar over a larger area of the shoulders, neck, and/or chest of a person upon which the bar is resting. The pad has an elongated body of resilient, highly compressible injection molded EVA foam having an annular cross section, an inner surface that grips the bar and holds the pad in place on the bar, and an outer surface with an ogee curvature that conforms to the contour of the shoulders, neck, and/or chest of the person using the barbell.

1 . A pad that mounts on the bar of a barbell and spreads forces exerted by the bar over a larger area of the shoulders, neck, and/or chest of a person using the barbell, comprising: an elongated body of resilient, highly compressible injection molded EVA foam having an annular cross section, an inner surface that grips the bar and holds the pad in place on the bar, and an outer surface with an ogee curvature that conforms to the contour of the shoulders, neck, and/or chest of the person using the barbell. 
     
     
         2 . The pad of  claim 1  wherein the EVA foam is a blend of ethylene vinyl acetate, thermoplastic rubber, and calcium carbonate. 
     
     
         3 . The pad of  claim 2  wherein the blend consists of 22 percent ethylene vinyl acetate, 75 percent thermoplastic rubber, and 3 percent calcium carbonate. 
     
     
         4 . The pad of  claim 1  wherein the foam body is manufactured by heating a mixture of granular ethylene vinyl acetate and foaming agent in a mold to form a large volume of small gas bubbles and microcells in a confined space, opening the mold, and allowing the body to pop out, expand, and cool to form a densely packed closed cell structure. 
     
     
         5 . The pad of  claim 1  wherein the elongated body has a central section, concavely curved sections extending from opposite ends of the central section and increasing in diameter toward the ends of the body, and convexly curved sections extending from the concavely curved sections and further increasing in diameter toward the ends of the body, with the concavely curved sections and the convexly curved sections forming the ogee curvature that conforms to the contour of the shoulders, neck, and/or chest of the person using the barbell. 
     
     
         6 . The pad of  claim 5  wherein end portions of the body are inwardly curved and decrease in diameter between the convexly curved sections and the ends of the body. 
     
     
         7 . The pad of  claim 1  including a split that extends the length of the body, opens through the inner and outer surfaces on one side of the body, and permits portions of the body on opposite sides of the split to separate and allow the bar to pass between them as the pad is being mounted on or removed from the bar. 
     
     
         8 . The pad of  claim 7  wherein the split lies in an axial plane that intersects the axis of the annular body. 
     
     
         9 . The pad of  claim 7  wherein the slit has a central section which lies in a first plane and end sections which lie in a second plane that is spaced from the first plane. 
     
     
         10 . The pad of  claim 9  wherein the first and second planes are parallel to each other and to the axis of the annular body. 
     
     
         11 . The pad of  claim 7  wherein the pad is maintained in position on the bar by the resiliency of the injection molded foam body clamping the pad to the bar. 
     
     
         12 . A pad that mounts on the bar of a barbell for spreading forces exerted by the bar over a larger area of the shoulders, neck, and/or chest of a person using the barbell, comprising: an elongated body of resilient, highly compressible injection molded EVA foam having an axially extending opening in which the bar is received and an outer contour that conforms to the shoulders, neck, and/or chest of the person. 
     
     
         13 . The pad of  claim 12  wherein the EVA foam is a blend of ethylene vinyl acetate, thermoplastic rubber, and calcium carbonate. 
     
     
         14 . The pad of  claim 13  wherein the blend consists of 22 percent ethylene vinyl acetate, 75 percent thermoplastic rubber, and 3 percent calcium carbonate. 
     
     
         15 . The pad of  claim 12  wherein the foam body is manufactured by heating a mixture of granular ethylene vinyl acetate and foaming agent in a mold to form a large volume of small gas bubbles and microcells in a confined space, opening the mold, and allowing the body to pop out, expand, and cool to form a densely packed closed cell structure. 
     
     
         16 . The pad of  claim 12  including a slit that extends the length of the body and allows portions of the body on opposite sides of the slit to separate and allow the bar to pass into and out of the opening. 
     
     
         17 . The pad of  claim 16  wherein the pad is maintained in position on the bar by the resiliency of the injection molded foam body clamping the pad to the bar. 
     
     
         18 . A pad that mounts on the bar of a barbell and spreads forces exerted by the bar over a larger area of the shoulders, neck, and/or chest of a person exercising with the barbell, comprising: an elongated body of resilient, highly compressible foam and annular cross section having concavely curved sections extending from opposite ends of a central section and increasing in diameter toward the ends of the body, convexly curved sections extending from the concavely curved sections and further increasing in diameter toward the ends of the body, with the concavely curved sections and the convexly curved sections forming ogee curves that conform to the contour of the shoulders, neck, and/or chest of the person exercising with the barbell, and inwardly curved end sections that decrease in diameter between the ogee curves and the ends of the body. 
     
     
         19 . The pad of  claim 18  including a slit that extends the length of the body and permits portions of the body on opposite sides of the slit to separate and allow the bar to pass between them as the pad is being mounted on or removed from the bar. 
     
     
         20 . The pad of  claim 19  wherein the pad is maintained in position on the bar by the resiliency of the foam clamping the body of the pad to the bar.