JP2003213506A - Supporter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a supporter excellent in shock absorption, mobility and fit feeling. <P>SOLUTION: The supporter is applied to the knee, the elbow or the like of a wearer so as to absorb shock given thereto to protect the wearer's knee, elbow or the like. The supporter comprises the followings: an inside layer 6 made of a low-repulsion polyurethane flexible foam deformable at the body temperature and having a hardness of 0-5 Ha and a thickness of 5-15 mm, a pad part 4 having a double layered structure, and a cylindrical and elastically stretchable supporting part 2 attached to the knee, the elbow or the like. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a supporter which is worn by an athlete in an athletic competition on knees, elbows, etc. to absorb external impacts and protect these parts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a protector or supporter for sports, for example, there is a shock absorber disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-290626. In this gazette, impact resilience (JIS K6301 compliant; the same applies hereinafter) 0 to 20% and hardness (JIS K6301 compliant.
A structure of a shock absorber in which a shock absorber made of non-foam of ˜50 Hs is embedded is disclosed. The shock absorbing action is such that the shock is first absorbed by the shock absorbing main body, and the shock that cannot be absorbed by the shock absorbing main body is internal shock absorber. It is stated that it will be absorbed by.

[0003]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has further improved the above-mentioned two-layer structure cushioning body, and is particularly useful in sports such as volleyball games where a large impact is often applied locally to the knee or elbow. The present invention provides a suitable supporter that is applied to a supporter worn by a player (usually a knee supporter is called a knee guard and an elbow supporter is called an elbow guard).

[0004]

The present invention (Claim 1) includes:
It is a supporter that is attached to the knees and elbows of the human body and absorbs and protects the impact applied to it, hardness 10-40 Ha, thickness 1-8 mm
Two-layer structure of an outer layer made of a flexible foam in the range of 5 and an inner layer made of a low-resilience flexible foam which is bonded to the outer layer and has a hardness of 0 to 5 Ha and a thickness of 5 to 15 mm and is deformable at body temperature An elastically expandable cylinder that is made of a body and has a pad portion formed in a concave shape corresponding to the shape of the knee, elbow or the like, and a storage portion that accommodates the pad portion, and is attached to the knee or elbow or the like. And a support portion having a shape of a circle.

In such a structure, when the supporter is worn on the athlete's knees, elbows, etc., the inner layer is deformed by the body temperature,
Adhere to the knees, elbows, etc. When a shock is applied to the supporter, the impact force is first dispersed in the outer layer, and then the dispersed impact force is widely received by the inner layer and absorbed and relaxed by its compressive deformation.

In the present invention (claim 2), the outer layer is made of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (hereinafter referred to as EVA) foam or polyurethane foam, and the outer layer is made of low-resilience polyurethane foam.
In such a configuration, EVA foam or polyurethane foam is designed to be relatively hard and therefore has good impact dispersibility, while low-resilience polyurethane foam is excellent in impact absorption and deforms due to body temperature.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes an example of a knee supporter, which is a support portion 2 formed in a cylindrical shape by an elastic stretchable woven fabric in which an elastic thread is woven, and this support portion 2 A pocket-shaped storage part 3 made of a thin cloth inside the front of the
The pad section 4 is housed in the housing section 3. The pad portion 4 includes an outer layer 5 located on the front side and an inner layer 6 located on the human body side, and is bonded with an adhesive. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a V-shaped cut 7 is provided from the left and right toward the center, and by bonding this portion, the inner layer as a whole is formed into a concave shape, that is, a shape along the curved surface of the knee. Has been done. In such a structure, the outer layer 5
Mainly serves to disperse impact force, and the inner layer 6 mainly serves to absorb and relax impact force. That is, the outer layer 5 receives and disperses the impact on the entire surface, and the inner layer 6 absorbs and relieves the dispersed impact force.

Since both the outer layer 5 and the inner layer 6 are made of flexible foam, they both have a shock absorbing function and a shock dispersing function, but the outer layer 5 mainly has a shock dispersing function and the inner layer 6 mainly has a shock absorbing function. It is configured to exert an absorption function. In order to efficiently exhibit such a function, the outer layer 5 is made of flexible foam, particularly EVA foam, having a hardness of 10 to 40 Ha and a thickness of 1 to 8 mm, and the inner layer 6 has a hardness of 0 to 5 Ha and a thickness. It consists of low-resilience flexible foam, especially low-resilience polyurethane foam, which is deformable at body temperature in the range of 5 to 15 mm. Outer layer 5
Is harder than the inner layer 6 and is therefore designed to be thin so as not to compromise bendability, while the inner layer 6 is designed to be softer and thicker than the outer layer 5. As the outer layer 5, polyurethane foam as well as EVA foam can be used.

Both the outer layer 5 and the inner layer 6 are formed of foam because they have the advantage of being bendable in addition to the shock absorbing property. That is, the pad portion 4 of this kind must be quickly and freely deformed without being resistant to the strong movement of the joints of the player, and by adopting a foam structure, a characteristic capable of coping with this can be obtained. Further, if the thickness of both the outer and inner layers 5, 6 exceeds the above range, the ease of movement and fit are impaired. If the thickness is less than the above range, the fit and ease of movement are improved, It is not preferable because the shock absorbing power is reduced.
By sharing the impact dispersion function and the impact absorption function as described above, both functions can be efficiently performed, and as a result, the thickness can be reduced.

The inventor of the present invention has found that the pad portion 4 having the laminated structure of EVA foam and low-resilience polyurethane foam as described above has a much more excellent shock absorbing function as compared with those having a unitary structure of these two types of foam. We have found the knowledge that it will work. The following shows the experimental results. Measurement method: A test pad was adhered and fixed to a measurement plate with a double-sided tape, a cricket ball (diameter 9 cm, weight 970 g) was dropped from a predetermined height, and an experiment was repeated 3 times to obtain an average value of the measurement results. Drop height: 15cm, 25cm, 35cm

[0011]

[Table 1]

The laminated structure of EVA foam (thickness: 2 mm, material is the same as that of Comparative Example 1) and low-resilience polyurethane foam (thickness: 8 mm, material is the same as that of Comparative Example 2), which is an example, has the EVA surface as a table. , Drop the cricket ball on this and measure.

As can be seen from the above experiment, the two-layer structure according to the example has an impact value from a height of 15 cm which is substantially the same as that of Comparative Examples 1 and 2, but a lower impact value as the drop height is increased. You can see that. That is, the pad portion of the supporter according to the present invention has a shock absorption function superior to that of the EVA foam alone or the low resilience polyurethane foam alone.

[0014]

According to the present invention, when the supporter is attached, the inner layer is deformed by the body temperature so as to conform to the curved surface of the knee or the like, and the inner layer is brought into close contact with the supporter. Further, since the inner layer and the outer layer are made of flexible foam and can be made to have a thin structure, it is possible to obtain a supporter which is easy to move and deforms following a vigorous exercise and has no resistance.
Further, since the impact force is dispersed in the outer layer and the impact force is absorbed in the inner layer, both functions are efficiently exhibited and the impact value can be lowered.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a supporter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a pad portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Supporter 2 Support 3 storage 4 pad section 5 outer layer 6 Inner layer

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A supporter that is attached to a human knee, elbow or the like and absorbs and protects the impact applied thereto, and has a hardness (JISK
6301) Outer layer made of flexible foam having a thickness of 10 to 40 Ha and a thickness of 1 to 8 mm, and hardness adhered to the outer layer
(JISK6301) 0 to 5Ha, thickness of 5 to 15mm It consists of a two-layer structure of the inner layer made of low-resilience flexible foam that can be deformed at body temperature, and it is concave corresponding to the shape of the knee, elbow, etc. A supporter comprising: a pad portion formed on the base plate; and an accommodating portion that accommodates the pad portion, and an elastically expandable and contractible cylindrical support portion that is mounted on the knee, elbow, or the like. 2. The outer layer comprises ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer foam or polyurethane foam, and the outer layer comprises low-resilience polyurethane foam.
The supporters listed.