Protective batting jacket

A garment adapted to be worn by a person such as a batter to protect said person from infliction of an externally applied force occasioned by a pitched ball or the like, said garment comprising:

• jacket structure adapted to be worn by said person, said jacket structure including:
• a collar region adapted to be disposed proximate the collar bone of said person;
• a shoulder region adapted to be disposed adjacent a shoulder of said person;
• and
• a plurality of shock absorbing structures selectively positioned to be adjacent predetermined body locations of said person, said plurality of shock absorbing structures including:
• a neck protector pad depending from said jacket structure proximate said collar region, said neck protector pad being selectively positionable in a first position proximate the shoulder region of said jacket structure, and in a second position angled approximately 90.degree. from said first position wherein said neck protector pad is adapted to protect the neck of said person;
• wherein at least one of said shock absorbing structures comprises:
• a flexible enclosure having first and second faces and a periphery defining a chamber, said first and second faces being air impermeable and said periphery having at least one air impermeable region and at least one air permeable region such that said chamber is in continuous fluid communication with the atmosphere outside the shock absorbing structure;
• a flexible open-celled foam portion comprising a multi-layered laminate of at least three open-celled foam layers of different foam density, said foam portion having first and second faces disposed adjacent to and bonded at least in part to said first and second faces, respectively, of the flexible enclosure, and having a periphery disposed adjacent said periphery of the flexible enclosure, the cells of said foam portion releasably holding a volume of air selectively varied between first and second volumes differing by a volume differential in response to application and removal of the force on the shock absorbing structure, said volume differential being transferred between the foam portion and the atmosphere outside the shock absorbing structure through said at least one air permeable region of the periphery of the flexible enclosure;
• and
• shield structure disposed adjacent the face of the multi-layered laminate having the highest foam density to distribute the applied force across at least a portion of said face;
• and
• wherein said flexible enclosure comprises a nylon fabric having a polyurethane coating on one face, said flexible open-celled foam portion comprises polyurethane foam, and the coated face of the fabric is heat sealed at least in part to the polyurethane foam portion;
• and
• further wherein said at least three open-celled foam layers of the flexible open-celled foam portion comprises:
• an inner foam layer having a first foam density;
• an outer foam layer having a second foam density;
• and
• an intermediate foam layer having a foam density intermediate said first and second foam densities.