JP2007267952A - Knee supporter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a user to smoothly bend and stretch a knee by reducing the force applied to the kneecap when a knee supporter is worn. <P>SOLUTION: The knee supporter is a knee supporter 10 with a knee pad 12 to be wound around the knee joint. The knee pad 12 is characterized by the structure consisting of approximately V-shaped first and second fabric members 14 and 16, which are layered on each other with a gap 34 disposed at the position of the kneecap when the knee supporter is worn. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a knee support that is wound around a knee joint.

The knee support that is wound around the knee joint is intended to assist bending and stretching of the knee, to keep the knee warm, or to protect the knee joint. An example of a knee supporter is described in Patent Document 1. In this case, a hole is formed at a position corresponding to the center of the kneecap of the knee pad member covering the kneecap (patella). When the knee supporter is attached, the hole is pushed strongly against the femur by the knee pad, so that the patella moving along the femur when the knee is bent and stretched strongly hits the femur. As a result, the knee pad is provided on the knee pad in anticipation of the effect of reducing the force applied to the patella by wearing so as not to inhibit the smooth bending and stretching of the knee. In addition, there is an effect that the supporter is correctly mounted by secondaryly winding the knee supporter around the knee joint with the hole aligned with the kneecap.
JP 2004-162183 A

  However, since the size and shape of the hole are substantially constant and the size of the kneecap varies from person to person, wearing a knee supporter may prevent smooth knee flexion and extension.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a knee supporter that enables a person with a kneecap of any size to smoothly bend and stretch the knee.

In order to achieve the above object, a knee supporter according to the present invention comprises:
A knee support provided with a knee pad and wound around the knee joint,
The knee pad portion is configured by overlapping substantially “<” shaped first and second fabrics in a state of forming a gap arranged on the kneecap at the time of wearing.

  According to the present invention, the kneecap is positioned in the gap between the first and second cloth members having a generally “<” shape in the overlapped state when worn. The gap formed by the first cloth member and the second cloth member can be deformed according to the size of the kneecap, so that a person with any size kneecap can wear the kneecap ( The force received by the patella is reduced. As a result, a person with a kneecap of any size can smoothly bend and stretch the knee when worn.

  Before describing embodiments of the present invention, the terms “front”, “inner surface”, “outer surface” and “back surface” are used herein for the knee joint. “Front” refers to the surface of the knee joint on the side of the kneecap (so-called knee), “Inner surface” refers to the inner surface facing the knee joint of the opposite leg, and “Outer surface” refers to the side facing the “inner surface” “Back” refers to the surface on the back of the knee. The knee supporter of the present invention is wound around the knee joint so as to cover these four surfaces. Strictly speaking, the knee supporter of the present invention is wound around the thigh portion and the shin portion adjacent to the knee joint together with the knee joint.

  FIG. 1 shows a knee support according to an embodiment of the present invention. The knee supporter indicated by reference numeral 10 in the figure is composed of a plurality of stretchable cloth members. Specifically, knee support members 14 and 16 for forming the knee pad portion 12, A band member 18 for pressing and maintaining the knee pad member 14 against the front surface of the knee joint, maintenance members 20 and 22 for maintaining the positional relationship between the knee pad members 14 and 16, and slippage prevention for preventing slipping when worn. And a member 24. The cloth members other than the maintenance members 20 and 22 are mesh-like cloth members.

  The knee pad 12 is a portion of the knee supporter 10 that is disposed in front of the knee joint including the periphery of the kneecap when worn.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the knee pad 14 is a cloth member having a generally “<” shape as seen from the front side (the side that becomes the outer side when worn). This corresponds to the first cloth member described in the claims).

  Further, the knee pad member 14 has hook and loop fasteners 26W and 26X at both ends, and has a hook and loop fastener 26Y at the apex. The three hook-and-loop fasteners 26W, 26X, and 26Y are for engaging with the band member 18 (the band member 18 corresponds to the first band member recited in the claims).

  The band member 18 engages with the three hook-and-loop fasteners 26W, 26X, and 26Y of the knee pad member 14 and presses the knee pad member 14 against the front surface of the knee joint when it is worn. The band member 18 is configured by stitching two strips 18a and 18b together while maintaining one end overlapping with the other end being separated. The band member 18 is a cloth member having a generally “<” shape.

  The band member 18 has a hook-and-loop fastener 28Y that engages with the hook-and-loop fastener 26Y that is disposed at the apex of the knee pad member 14 when worn on the apex (a portion where one end of each of the two strips 18a and 18b overlaps). In addition, the band member 18 has hook and loop fasteners 28W and 28X that engage with the ends 26W and 26X of the knee pad member 14 at the time of wearing, at both ends (the other ends where the two strips 18a and 18b are separated from each other).

  The knee pad member 16 is a generally diamond-shaped ring-shaped cloth member. From another viewpoint, the knee pad member 16 includes a generally “<”-shaped knee pad part 16a (the knee pad part 16a corresponds to the second cloth member recited in the claims), and a knee. The band portion 16b has a generally “<” shape extending from the both ends of the abutting portion 16a toward one point (the band portion 16b corresponds to the second band member recited in the claims). The band portion 16b has strip portions 16b 'and 16b ".

  The knee pad 16 has a surface fastener 30Z at the apex part of the knee pad part 16a, and the surface of the knee pad part 16b when mounted on the apex part of the band part 16b (the part where one end of each of the two strip parts 16b 'and 16b "overlaps). It has a surface fastener 32Z that engages with the fastener 30Z.

  The maintenance members 20 and 22 are cloth members that maintain the positional relationship between the knee pad members 14 and 16.

  To illustrate the role of the retaining members 20, 22, the hook and loop fasteners 26W and 28W are engaged and the hook and loop fasteners 26X and 28X are engaged, while the hook and loop fasteners 26Y and 28Y are not engaged and the hook and loop fastener 30Z. And 32Z are not engaged. This state is a state in which two ring-shaped cloth members, that is, a ring-shaped composite composed of the knee pad member 14 and the belt member 18, and the ring-shaped knee pad member 16 are connected. In order to maintain this continuous state in a predetermined continuous state described later, the two maintaining members 20 and 22 are stitched to the knee pad members 14 and 16 to maintain the positional relationship between the knee pad members 14 and 16. .

  In the predetermined link state, the knee pad member 12 and the knee pad part 16a of the knee pad member 16 are overlapped with each other while forming a gap 34 arranged at the position of the kneecap at the time of wearing. State. The gap 34 corresponds to a hole provided in the knee support member of the conventional knee supporter described above. The term “engaged” here means that two members (parts) of the “<” shape are located on one piece of the other member and one piece on the other. Say to be placed under the other piece.

  The maintenance members 20 and 22 are belt-like cloth members as shown in FIG. 3 when the deployed knee supporter 10 is viewed from the back side (the side that becomes the inner side when worn). As shown in FIG. 2, one end of the maintenance member 20 is sewn to both ends of the knee pad 14, and the center is stitched to the apex of the knee pad 16 a of the knee pad 16. The other maintenance member 22 has both ends sewn to both ends of the knee pad portion 16 a of the knee pad member 16, and the center portion is stitched to the apex of the knee pad member 14.

  Further, the maintenance members 20 and 22 are disposed on the inner surface and the outer surface of the knee joint as shown in FIG. 4 showing the mounting state of the knee supporter 10 when mounted (in the figure, the maintenance member 20 is disposed on the inner surface of the knee joint). The state of being placed is shown.) In order to further enhance the function of assisting the bending and stretching of the knee of the knee supporter 10, a coil bone 36 as shown in FIG. 3 may be provided inside the maintenance members 20 and 22 disposed on the inner and outer surfaces of the knee joint. Good. The coil bone 36 is formed by pressing a metal coil into a plate shape, and assists bending and stretching of the elbow by bending. Alternatively, a flexible plate member such as metal or resin may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the slip prevention member 24 is used to prevent the knee supporter 10 from slipping on the thigh portion above the kneecap when worn. As shown in FIG. 3, the slip prevention member 24 is a belt-like cloth member, and both ends are sewn to one end of the maintenance members 20 and 22.

  In addition to the displacement prevention member 24, as a configuration for preventing the displacement at the time of wearing, the displacement of the strips 18a and 18b of the band member 18 and the strip portions 16b ′ and 16b ″ of the band portion 16b of the knee pad member 16 on the back surface of the knee joint. There is something to prevent.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the generally “<”-shaped band member 18 and the band portion 16 b of the generally “<”-shaped knee pad member 16 are overlapped and overlapped, and stitching is performed at the intersection of the two portions. Has been. In the figure, a seam 38a for sewing the crossing portion of the strip 18a of the band member 18 and the strip portion 16b 'of the band portion 16b of the knee pad member 16 is shown. Also shown is a seam 38b for stitching the crossing portion of the strip 18b of the band member 18 and the strip portion 16b "of the band portion 16b of the knee pad member 16.

  Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5 showing the back of the knee joint at the time of wearing, the intersection of the strip 18a and the strip portion 16b 'is maintained. That is, the strip 18a is prevented from moving on the strip portion 16b 'by stitching. Further, the strip portion 16ab ″ is prevented from moving on the strip 18b.

  From here, the effect of the present invention will be described while explaining the method of mounting the knee supporter 10.

  First, the knee supporter 10 is put into a state in which the surface fasteners 26Y and 28Y are engaged with each other and the other surface fasteners are not engaged with each other, as shown in FIGS. The

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the gap 34 formed between the two knee pad members 14 and 16 (16 a) of the knee supporter 10 is adjusted by the user to the kneecap of the user's knee joint. At this time, since the knee pad members 14 and 16 are elastic cloth members, the gap 34 is deformed according to the size and shape of the user's kneecap. As a result, the user's kneecap is accommodated in the gap 34.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7, the user is engaged with the corresponding surface fastener 30 </ b> Z while the surface fastener 32 </ b> Z is pulled. Thereby, the knee supporter 10 is wound around the knee joint of the user.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the user is engaged with the corresponding surface fastener 26 </ b> W in a state where the surface fastener 28 </ b> W is pulled, and is engaged with the corresponding surface fastener 26 </ b> X in a state where the surface fastener 28 </ b> X is pulled. Combined. Thereby, the knee supporter 10 is wound around the thigh portion and the shin portion adjacent to the knee joint of the user.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 8, the surface fastener 28 </ b> Y is removed from the corresponding surface fastener 26 </ b> Y (disengaged) by the user, and the surface fastener 28 </ b> Y is again pulled in a state where the removed surface fastener 28 </ b> Y is appropriately pulled. By engaging with 26Y, the tightening force (so-called fit) of the knee supporter 10 is adjusted.

  As described above, when the knee supporter 10 is attached to the knee joint, a clamping force (the force is indicated by the white arrow 40) 40 in the winding direction acts on the kneecap from the knee pad members 14 and 16. To do.

  This will be described with reference to FIG. 2. When the hook and loop fasteners 28W and 28X are engaged with the corresponding hook and loop fasteners 26W and 26X, the knee pad member 14 is pulled toward the kneecap. Further, when the hook and loop fastener 32Z is engaged with the corresponding hook and loop fastener 30Z, the knee pad member 16 is pulled toward the kneecap. Thereby, the clamping force 40 in the winding direction of the knee supporter 10 acts on the kneecap. Thereby, the knee supporter 10 is mounted at a correct position with the kneecap as a reference, and fixes the kneecap (patella) in the winding direction. Therefore, when the knee bends and stretches, the patella can move along the femur without wobbling in the winding direction. As a result, the knee can be bent and stretched with less burden on the knee joint including the patella and the femur.

  According to the present embodiment, the kneecap is positioned in the gap 34 between the knee pad member 14 and the knee pad portion 16a of the knee pad member 16 in a state of being overlapped and overlapped when worn. Since the gap 34 formed by the knee pad member 14 and the knee pad portion 16a of the knee pad member 16 can be deformed in accordance with the size of the knee head, a person with a knee head of any size can The force applied to the kneecap (patella) is reduced by wearing. As a result, a person with a kneecap of any size can smoothly bend and stretch the knee when worn.

  While the present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, a plurality of cloth members constituting the knee supporter of the above-described embodiment have elasticity in order to correspond to knees of all sizes, but for a plurality of sizes of knees corresponding to each of various sizes of kneecaps. If a supporter is prepared, the plurality of cloth members do not need to have elasticity. However, in order to enhance the fit to the knee joint, it is preferable that the plurality of cloth members constituting the knee supporter have elasticity. In particular, considering that the kneecap is clamped, at least one of the two knee pad members that clamp the knee head (in the above-described embodiment, the knee pad member 14 and the knee pad portion 16a of the knee pad member 16) is stretchable. Is preferably provided.

  Moreover, although the mesh support member is used for the knee supporter of the above-mentioned embodiment, it is not limited to this. For example, in order to improve heat retention, a non-mesh cloth member having high heat retention may be used.

  Furthermore, the knee pad portion of the knee supporter of the above-described embodiment is configured by two substantially “<”-shaped cloth members being overlapped with each other, that is, one part partially overlaps the other. However, unlike this, a gap may be formed between the two so that one overlaps the other completely. However, considering the fit at the time of wearing, the two generally “<” shaped cloth members constituting the knee pad part allow one to partially press the other against the knee joint at the time of wearing. Further, it is preferable that the two are overlapped with each other.

  Finally, in the present specification, the two cloth members constituting the knee pad portion are generally “<”-shaped, but are not limited thereto. For example, the horizontal “U” -shaped, horizontal “V” -shaped It may be a shape. In a broad sense, the two cloth members constituting the knee pad portion may have any shape as long as the shape can form a gap where the kneecap is located by being overlapped.

It is a perspective view of the knee supporter which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the front side of a knee supporter. It is a figure which shows the back side of a knee supporter. It is a figure which shows the supporter for knees of the mounted state. It is the figure which looked at the supporter for knees of the wearing state from the knee joint back side. It is a figure which shows the mounting method of the knee supporter in the state where the gap | interval was match | combined with the kneecap. It is a figure which shows the mounting method of the supporter for knees of the state wound around the knee joint. It is the figure which looked at the knee supporter of the mounted state from the knee joint front side.

Explanation of symbols

10: Knee support 12: Knee pad 14: Knee pad 16: Knee pad 34: Gap

Claims (5)

A knee support provided with a knee pad and wound around the knee joint,
A knee supporter, wherein the knee pad portion is configured by overlapping substantially “<” shaped first and second cloth members in a state of forming a gap arranged on the kneecap when worn.   The knee supporter according to claim 1, wherein the first and second cloth members are overlapped with each other. A first band member having a generally "<" shape for engaging the both ends and the apex of the first cloth member and pressing the first cloth member against the knee joint when worn;
And a second band member having a generally "<" shape for engaging the both ends and the apex of the second cloth member and pressing the second cloth member against the knee joint when worn. The supporter for knees according to claim 1 or 2.   The knee support according to claim 3, wherein the first and second band members are overlapped with each other. The knee supporter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least one of the first cloth member and the second cloth member has elasticity.

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