JP2005537849A - Device for protecting the leg - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device (1) for protecting a leg (2), the device comprising a lower part for mounting around at least a part of the leg (2) above the foot when viewed from the longitudinal direction and It includes a body (3) having an upper portion, the body (3) comprising a material having elastic properties, and when viewed from the side, the body (3) at least partially surrounds the legs.

Description

  If relatively sturdy clothing or footwear is used to protect or cover the body, such as body tissues such as skin, muscle tissue located more internally, or other organs of the body, etc. Irritation is relatively common. Such irritation can occur when footwear with a hard outer part is used, which is relatively well applied in the field, for example ski boots or skates. Therefore, such a type of footwear is usually provided with a relatively soft backing.

  However, such a backing is usually insufficient. For example, when skiing, if the skier fixes the lower limb at a position inclined forward, the front side of the leg is excessively loaded and the above-described irritation may occur.

The present invention provides a device for protecting the leg, in order to prevent obstruction of the device,
Including a body having a lower portion and an upper portion for mounting around at least a portion of a leg above the foot when viewed from the longitudinal direction;
The body comprises a material having elastic properties;
When viewed from the side, the body at least partially surrounds the legs.

  By using such a device, additional protection is provided to the legs. With such an embodiment, the legs are very thickly protected from irritation resulting from, for example, contact between the ski boot and the skin. The type of irritation to be prevented here is, for example, irritation to the skin, such as a scratch or a flaking of the skin, or irritation to internal tissues, for example, a bruise or a bruise.

  In the preferred embodiment, the main part of the body surrounds the entire leg laterally after being mounted around the leg. In this embodiment, the body extends entirely around the legs. This has the advantage, for example, that the body can be firmly attached after being mounted around the legs. A further advantage is that the legs are protected on all sides. The external pressure load can thus be well distributed.

  In a further embodiment, the lower part of the body is provided with a recess on the front surface of the leg. If the device is worn around the bottom of the leg, it is advantageous if the upper part of the foot is kept free from the load on the body. This object is achieved by the recess of this embodiment. A further advantage here is that when the legs move forward relative to the horizontal foot, the body material is sandwiched in the narrowing space between the foot and the leg moving toward the foot. It is not.

  Preferably, the device further includes at least one support member for supporting a portion of the adjacent leg after mounting around the leg. The advantage here is that certain parts of the legs are better supported. This is important, for example, because the legs do not have a uniform shape and / or structure. In particular, when a load is applied, a portion of this bone may protrude at the anterior surface relative to the tissue located around the tibia. In this case, the skin at the bone location is very squeezed under load. One or more support members may help prevent such loads.

In a further embodiment, the two support members on the inside of the body are arranged on approximately both sides of the front surface of the body to help prevent irritation caused by the combination of the hard part outside the footwear and the bone. However, other support members that prevent other stimuli can also be envisaged. It is equally possible to prevent irritation by cutting away the portion of the body so that the body does not exert any pressure at a particular location. However, this will cause the body to exert pressure on the area around the recess.

  The thickness of the body or support member is preferably variable. The variable thickness of the body material has the advantageous effect that the leg support or pressure varies with thickness. The thicker part of the body gives more pressure than the thinner part.

  The body is preferably sized so that the device fits around the legs. Here, it can be assumed that the lower part is narrower than the upper part. This is because the legs are usually thinner in the heel region than in the calf region.

  The body and / or support member preferably comprises plastic. Here, for example, neoprene (registered trademark) can be assumed. This material has very good elastic properties and has a very low water absorption, for example, hardly absorbs water, and dirt hardly flows with the water into the material.

  The device according to the invention preferably has clamping means for clamping the body around the legs. If the body does not enclose the entire leg in the lateral direction, it is certainly advantageous to provide a fastening means on the body. Such a clamping means makes it possible to securely fix it in the correct position relative to the leg. A specific and suitable example of a tightening means is a hook loop fastener such as a velcro tape.

  In a further embodiment, the body is clamped in a generally cylindrical or conical shape along a substantially vertical stitch. The device is realized with a body that is mounted over the entire surface with approximately equal tightness by selecting the correct shape and diameter.

  In a further embodiment, the body includes indicia for removing a portion along the body. As described above, it is advantageous to provide a specific recess in the body in order to reduce the pressure on the leg at the position of the recess. Since different users may have different needs, it is advantageous to provide a recess as desired by the user. The presence of a functional indication on the landmark can advantageously assist in providing an appropriate and / or desired recess.

  Further advantages, features and details of the present invention are described in connection with the accompanying drawings.

  One application of the embodiment according to the invention (FIG. 1) is to mount a support body around the tibia of the skier shown. In this detail (FIG. 2), the support body 1 mounted around the leg L is shown. As shown, the shape of the support body is selected such that the diameter is larger at the top surface than the bottom surface, thereby following the contour of the leg.

A further preferred embodiment (FIG. 3) is shown schematically. In this figure, the main body 3 is shown in a tapered shape. However, if the cutting method is different, the shape may be less conical. The material of this embodiment is preferably neoprene. This is because it has very useful material properties that are very elastic, moisture-proof, soft and supple. The front surface of the present embodiment is in the direction of arrow F. In this embodiment, a recess is provided in the lower part of the front surface, and the recess has the cut surface 5 as a boundary. The outside of the main body 3 is joined to each other by a stitching portion 6 on the back surface of the apparatus. This may optionally be reinforced with an adhesive connection. Optionally, an adhesive connection alone is even more sufficient. Since this embodiment is closed at the back, a very simple mode is achieved by pulling the body 3 over the foot until it is fitted in the exact or desired position around the bottom of the leg. Can be attached around the leg.

  The thickness of the plastic or neoprene material ranges from a few millimeters to a few centimeters. This thickness can be selected depending on the load conditions in which the device is used. The exact composition of the plastic or neoprene can be selected exactly according to the situation of use as well, and the most appropriate material properties are available.

  In FIG. 4 a further embodiment is shown. This includes a body 7 connected at the back by a repairing part 8 in a manner similar to the embodiment of FIG. In this embodiment, support means 9 and 10 are provided which are arranged inside the front face of the body. When the body is located around the lower limb, the tibia is positioned so that it is substantially located between the support cushions 9 and 10. Here, the extra pressure is applied to the part adjacent to the tibia, thereby relieving the pressure on the skin above the tibia.

  In a further embodiment (FIG. 5), a region of velcro tape 13 is located inside the body 12. There are also additional support buffers 14 and 15 that are also provided with velcro tape 16. By utilizing this velcro tape, this embodiment can be used both with and without additional support buffers 14 and 15. Support cushions may also be placed inside the body 12 as desired, allowing the user of the device to determine exactly where to place them himself.

  In a further embodiment (FIG. 6), the body 17 is not fixedly connected at the back. In this embodiment, velcro tapes 18 and 19 are provided to tighten the body. Here, it is possible to mount the body stronger or weaker around the legs. Of course, it is possible to provide some space between the left and right sides on the back of the device.

  In a further preferred embodiment, the body 21 can extend around a part of the circumference of the leg. Here, the body is provided with fastening means, for example in the form of a velcro tape 22, in order to fasten the body around the legs. It is equally possible to realize such an embodiment without using the tightening means 22, in which case the body 21 is attached to the leg by, for example, putting the body inside stockings or footwear with a hard outer part. Fastened.

  A further advantage of the embodiment described above is that, for example when applied to ski boots, the legs are firmly fixed to the leg portions of the boots during skiing, so that the skis can be steered better during use. When the bottom surface of the leg portion is just above the heel, the elastic material rich in elasticity is present here, so that the pressure applied to the protruding heel is relieved. Additional protection of the legs by the device of the present invention becomes increasingly important. This is because ski-related advances have made faster speeds possible. As skiers are further loaded at the position of the lower limbs, further support becomes increasingly important.

  It is further possible to adapt the design of the body specifically to the left and right legs, and specific differences in the shapes of the left and right legs can be taken into account.

  Because the material is stretchable, a limited number of sizes can be used to provide a leg portion suitable for virtually all leg sizes. A further advantage of material selection is that the specific weight of the device is particularly low, thereby simplifying the transport of the leg portion. It is further possible to take into account differences between female and male legs when designing the support body. Both the design and sizing aspects are important here.

  Additional types of materials applicable to the above-described embodiments include various types of rubber or latex, such as medicinal rubber and orthopedic rubber. Foaming types such as memory foam (registered trademark) and Tempur (registered trademark) can be applied very easily. Examples that include closed cell foam are also very practical.

  Rights are not limited to the embodiments described above. The rights sought are defined by the appended claims.

It is a figure which cuts and shows a part of 1st Example in 1st use. It is a figure which shows the partial cross section of the detail of FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a part of a further embodiment according to the present invention cut away. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a further embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a further embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a further embodiment according to the present invention.

Claims (16)

A device for protecting the leg,
Including a body having a lower portion and an upper portion for mounting around at least a portion of a leg above the foot when viewed from the longitudinal direction;
The body comprises a material having elastic properties;
The device wherein the body at least partially surrounds the leg when viewed from the side.   The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a main portion of the body is laterally surrounding the entire leg after being mounted around the leg.   The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a recess is provided on a lower surface of the main body on the front surface of the leg.   The device according to one or more of the preceding claims, comprising at least one support member for supporting a part of the adjacent leg after mounting around the leg.   The apparatus according to claim 4, comprising two support members inside the body, disposed substantially on opposite sides of the front surface of the body.   6. A device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the support member comprises the same material as the body.   Apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness of the body or the support member is variable.   The device according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the sizing is selected such that the device fits around the leg.   The apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the body and / or the support member comprises plastic.   The apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the body and / or the support member comprises neoprene.   10. An apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the body and / or support member comprises foam or memory foam.   The apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the body and / or the support member comprises rubber or latex.   The device according to one or more of the preceding claims, further comprising fastening means for fastening the body about the leg.   The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the clamping means comprises a hook loop fastener such as a velcro tape.   13. A device according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the body is clamped in a generally cylindrical or conical shape along a generally longitudinal suture. Apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, comprising indicia for removing at least part along the body.

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