20040068779 | Cycling head support | April, 2004 | Duffy |
20090055989 | Garment with various utilities | March, 2009 | Chih |
20080189833 | Men's Underpants | August, 2008 | Jin |
20060059609 | Self-adhesive protective padding device | March, 2006 | Moss |
20080029333 | MUSICAL MATERNITY BELT | February, 2008 | Oren OZ. |
20030074712 | Clothes having detachable hidden communication wire | April, 2003 | Liao |
20030024027 | Wet suit for scuba divers with improved heat | February, 2003 | Godoy |
20040034902 | Detachable panties | February, 2004 | Yturria |
20080115253 | Multiple opening medical examination and treatment gown | May, 2008 | Gorman |
20050108803 | Clothing for alzheimer's patients | May, 2005 | Ballard |
20090320186 | Protection helmet with improved adjustable neckband | December, 2009 | Petzl et al. |
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a support and, more particularly, to a support for reducing stress on a person's knee and leg.
[0003] 2. Related Art
[0004] A variety of activities including work-related, sport-related, pleasure-related or daily activities can result in increased stress to a person's knees and/or legs due to frequent squatting or kneeling. Examples of such activities include installing flooring or roofing, power squatting, playing catcher in baseball, housework and gardening. As a person bends or squats, various tissues and tendons supporting the leg and knee become stretched. Repeated or prolonged stretching may cause or increase the chances of injuries. Various types of knee supports and pads have been suggested to alleviate knee strain, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,986.
[0005] The support is adapted to be placed on a person's leg such that it can contact the backs of the user's upper and lower leg. The support can include a surface that is conformed to the user's leg, rendering the support more comfortable to use and more effective in supporting the user's leg. In addition, the support is structured so that any tendency for the support to move or rotate relative to the user's leg is minimized.
[0006] In one embodiment, a support for a leg of a person is provided. The support includes a body formed at least partially with a flexible, resilient filler material. The body has a first surface and an opposed second surface. The first surface is adapted to engage a rear portion of a lower leg and the second surface is adapted to simultaneously engage a rear portion of an upper leg when the support is mounted to a leg of a user. The support also includes at least one raised portion disposed on the first surface. The at least one raised portion is adapted to inhibit movement or rotation of the support relative to the leg.
[0007] In another embodiment, a support for a leg of a person is provided. The support includes a body formed at least partially with a flexible, resilient filler material. The body has a thickness adapted to allow simultaneous engagement of both a rear portion of an upper leg and a rear portion of a lower leg when the person's knee is flexed. The support also includes an outer surface defined by the body. The outer surface includes a first surface adapted to engage the rear portion of the lower leg and a second surface adapted to engage the rear portion of the upper leg. The first surface is shaped to inhibit movement or rotation of the support relative to the leg.
[0008] In another embodiment, a support for a leg of a person is provided. The support includes a body formed at least partially with a flexible, resilient material, adapted to support the leg. The body has a thickness adapted to allow simultaneous engagement of both a rear portion of an upper leg and a rear portion of a lower leg when the person's knee is flexed. The support also includes an outer surface defined by the body. The outer surface includes a first surface adapted to engage the rear portion of the lower leg and a second surface adapted to engage the rear portion of the upper leg. The first surface has a first surface portion shaped to conform to a calf area of the rear of the lower leg and a second surface portion shaped to conform to an Achilles tendon area of the rear of the lower leg.
[0009] Various embodiments of the present invention provide certain advantages and overcome certain drawbacks of prior leg and knee supports. Embodiments of the invention may not share the same advantages, and those that do may not share them under all circumstances. This being said, the present invention provides numerous advantages including the noted advantage of increased comfort and effectiveness.
[0010] Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure of various embodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0011] Various embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0012]
[0013]
[0014]
[0015]
[0016]
[0017] The support of the present invention is adapted to be placed on a person's leg so it contacts the rear portions of the user's upper and lower legs. The support is intended to separate the backs of the user's upper and lower legs, thereby eliminating or reducing the over-rotation or stretching of the knee that may occur during kneeling, especially in situations where the backs of a user's upper and lower legs would otherwise meet. The support may include at least one surface that is conformed to at least a portion of the user's leg, rendering the support more comfortable to use, more effective in supporting the user's weight and less likely to move or rotate about the user's leg. To achieve these and other attributes, the support includes various features, each of which will be described in greater detail below, that may be employed singularly or in any suitable combination.
[0018] In one embodiment, the support includes a body, an outer surface defined by the body and a raised portion that cooperates with the body to inhibit movement or rotation of the support relative to the user's leg. In another embodiment, the support includes a body and an outer surface defined by the body, wherein the outer surface includes a first surface that is shaped to inhibit movement or rotation of the support relative to the user's leg. In a further embodiment, the support includes a body and an outer surface defined by the body, wherein the outer surface includes a first surface that has a first portion shaped to conform to a calf area of the rear of the lower leg and a second surface portion shaped to conform to an Achilles tendon area of the rear of the lower leg.
[0019] As discussed above and with reference to FIGS.
[0020] The support
[0021] In one embodiment, the raised portion
[0022] It should be appreciated that the support
[0023] It should also be appreciated that the shape of the raised portion
[0024] It should also be appreciated that the raised portion
[0025] In one embodiment, the raised portion has a thickness ranging from approximately 0.1 inches to approximately 5 inches as measured in the perpendicular direction from the first surface, as indicated at “t” in
[0026] According to another aspect of the invention, the first surface
[0027] It should be appreciated that the conformed surface
[0028] The conformed surface
[0029] In one embodiment, the first conformed surface portion
[0030] The first and second conformed surface portions
[0031] The conformed surface
[0032] In one embodiment, the support
[0033] The outer surface of the support may be formed with a non-rigid material, such as spandex, nylon, cotton, leather or any other material suitable for the particular application in which the supporter would be used. The body of the support may be formed or otherwise include a flexible resilient filler material such as foam padding. Other filler materials, such as a gel, may be used. In another embodiment, the support may include multiple types of filler material. For example, the area of the support nearest the user's leg may be formed with a relatively softer material whereas the inner portions of the support may be formed with a relatively more rigid material. Further, one side of the support that is adjacent either the upper or lower leg may include the relatively softer material.
[0034] The support may be configured as a wedge such that the narrow end of the wedge is adapted to lie or proximate the wearer's knee whereas the wider part of the wedge is adapted to lie distal of the knee, as shown in
[0035] It should be understood that the foregoing description of the invention is intended merely to be illustrative thereof and that other embodiments, modifications, and equivalents of the invention are within the scope of the invention recited in the claims appended hereto. Further, the prosthesis described above includes various features that may be employed singularly or in any suitable combination.