RU2779118C1 - Knee pad adaptable to the needs of the consumer and method for manufacturing the knee pad - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: wearing apparel.

SUBSTANCE: present invention relates to knee protection means, more specifically, to knee pads adaptable to the needs of the consumer, and to a method for manufacturing the knee pads. Knee pad adaptable to the needs of the consumer comprises a main body made of a foamed material, with an outer surface and an inner surface moulded to match the shape of the knee. The outer surface is made with spaced recesses within the area covering the protected knee. The inner surface is lined with a fabric layer. A gel pad is provided inside the main body. The main body of the knee pad is die-cast together with the gel layer and the fabric layer, wherein the fabric layer and the gel pad are retained in place in the process of casting so as to be moulded integrally with the cast main body. The method for moulding the knee pad includes the stages of providing a mould configured to impart a configuration to the inner surface that matches the recesses within the predetermined protection area of the knee pad, wherein the density of location and the sizes of the resulting recesses define the compression impact area. The gel pad is retained inside the casting mould, and the casting mould is lined with a fabric layer so that the fabric layer is distanced from the gel pad. Foam is then injected into the casting mould until the latter fills the casting mould, enveloping the gel pad and coming into contact with the fabric layer, so that the foam binds the gel pad with the fabric layer. By changing the shape of recesses and the gaps between the recesses, the flexibility of the knee pad can be changed, making the knee pad harder or softer.

EFFECT: creation of a knee pad easily adaptable to the needs of the consumer, structurally simple and cost-effective in manufacture, easy and convenient to use, shaped so as to provide the required level of softness or hardness, depending on the field of application wherein repeated casting with a gel pad can be applied; wherein the pad integrates with the foamed material of the cup or the mould, and thus the casting process is simplified and the displacement of the gel pad over time is prevented; said knee pad comprises a soft fabric lining layer that can be integrated with the foamed material of the cup or the mould in order to simplify manufacture and prevent the detachment of the fabric layer from the foamed material of the cup or the mould after prolonged use of the knee pad.

14 cl, 7 dwg

Description

The field of technology to which the invention belongs

The present invention generally relates to knee protectors, and more specifically to custom-fitted knee pads, and to a method for manufacturing knee pads.

State of the art

Manufacturers offer the market a variety of knee pads that are designed for various activities, for example, for sports and extreme sports, for dance and acrobatics, for work and for military purposes. In addition, all of these knee pads contain means of adjustment for more specific tasks, for example, at present, each knee pad must not only fulfill the role of protection, but also must be comfortable, elastic, light, breathable; the use of the knee pad and washing should be easy, it should be stylish, high quality, inexpensive, etc. In a word, the demands and wishes of consumers and professionals are only growing, so manufacturers are forced to constantly develop their products and innovate.

The main function of the knee pads is to protect the knees from various injuries that usually occur due to impact, friction, pressure and other influences during physical activity. Given the fact that protection is not the only required function of knee pads, manufacturers are forced to figure out how to combine protection with other required functions. One of these attempts is to use different materials that could provide maximum functionality, including protection, comfort, elasticity, nice and modern design, quality and affordability.

The main element of the knee pad is a cushion or, in other words, a shock-absorbing lining on which the kneecap rests, and which plays a major role in protecting the knee from injury. The pillow can be made of various materials, such as polyurethane foam, polyethylene foam, ethyl vinyl acetate foam, nylon foam, neoprene foam, PVC foam, extruded polystyrene foam, rubber, plastic, gel, carbon fiber and other materials.

Another difference in knee pads is the type of cushion; some have a shell or cup type cushion, which is usually made of plastic, rubber, gel, carbon fiber, or some other high-density, durable material that can provide permanent protection. The inside of these shells is usually lined with a softer and more elastic material to better fit the shape of the kneecap and thus provide greater comfort. Some knee pads include a pad made from soft but durable protective material such as foam - polyurethane foam, polyethylene foam, ethyl vinyl acetate foam, polyvinyl chloride foam, extruded polystyrene foam, nylon foam, and neoprene foam. Many knee pads include a hexagonal geometry pad which is made up of many individual hexagonal segments and therefore provides better conformity to the shape of the knee and thus comfort and elasticity. These hexagonal knee pads are usually made of some kind of foam material that is able to absorb various impact loads. Hexagonal knee pads are often referred to as honeycomb padded knee pads due to their resemblance to honeycombs. Some knee pads are equipped with bubble-type pads, which are also made of foam to protect the knees from various impacts.

Knee pads can be divided into categories according to their specific use, such as sports knee pads, dance knee pads, work knee pads, military knee pads, etc. These knee pads differ from each other in terms of functionality and level of protection. For example, sports and dance knee pads are more comfortable and elastic, but work and military knee pads are thicker, denser and more durable.

Work knee pads, especially for professional use, may not be as flexible, but they must be exceptionally durable and comfortable as jobs such as carpeting, concrete paving, tiling, flooring, gardening, and construction require workers to spend extended periods of time on knees, so the pillow should be as comfortable as possible, thereby reducing pressure on the knees and thereby reducing knee pain and fatigue. Work knee pads for professionals are mainly used to prevent occupational knee injuries. There are many working knee pads, such as hard cup, curved soft cup, flat cup, lap knee pads, roller knee pads, knee pads, all designed for specific and specific tasks.

Military or, in other words, tactical knee pads are usually part of the military uniform, and they are made from an extremely durable and dense bulletproof material that provides bulletproofing and thus safety in almost any situation. Such knee pads are designed not only to protect against bullets and other dangerous impacts, but also to protect the knees from bruises and scratches caused by crawling or falling to the ground during military and other training exercises.

US Pat. No. 7,018,351 discloses an orthopedic support that uses a molded pad and a rigid cup. The internal structure is cast and contains cells of various sizes of a certain geometric shape, and the shape and thickness should provide different levels of local comfort for the user. The pillow is made of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE, Thermo Plastic Elastomer), which is springy and resists permanent deformation. The TPE material is injection molded to obtain small mold elements such as cells of a given geometric shape. Soft foam may be embedded between the rigid cells in the pillow. Alternatively, a gel may be used instead of soft foam. However, the required level of depreciation is provided by using a variety of cells of different shapes, columns and various ledges. As an alternative to using differently shaped cells and protrusions, softer foam material can be embedded between the rigid cell walls. Typically, the same material as the pad is used to form a patch that seals the TPE pad to the cup and also partially covers the cup. Another option is to use gel instead of soft foam or molded TPE cushion.

Although there are many designs of knee pads on the market, they are not so easy to adapt to the needs of the consumer; Knee pads typically require complex and costly molds and processes to manufacture in order to tailor them to specific applications.

Disclosure of the essence of the invention

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a knee pad that does not have the disadvantages of current knee pad designs.

Another object of the invention is to provide a knee pad that can be easily adapted to the requirements of the consumer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a knee pad that is simple in design and economical to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a knee pad that is easy and comfortable to use.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a knee pad that can be shaped to provide the desired level of softness or firmness depending on the application.

Another object of the invention is to provide a molded knee pad that can be re-molded over a gel liner that integrates with the cup or mold foam, thereby simplifying the molding process and preventing the gel liner from shifting over time.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a molded knee pad that includes a soft fabric liner that can be integrated with the cup or mold foam to simplify manufacturing and prevent the fabric web from separating from the cup or mold foam after prolonged use of the knee pad.

In order to achieve the above objects, as well as other objects that will become clear to those skilled in the art, the user-customizable knee brace according to the present invention comprises a compressible material main body having a front or outer surface A and a rear surface molded in the shape of a knee. The front surface is made with a plurality of recesses spaced apart from each other within a predetermined area covering the knee to be protected. Each valley defines an incremental (summed up) area, and together these valleys within a predetermined area determine the area A _r . The effective area A _eff of the front surface, which does not cover the depressions, is approximately equal to A _eff =A-A _r . The back or inner surface is covered by a fabric web, which will be discussed in more detail below. Inside the main body, in close proximity to the fabric, a gel pad is provided.

The main body of the knee pad is injection molded together with the gel layer and the fabric web held in place during the molding process so that the fabric web and the gel pad are integrally molded with the molded main body. Since the force required to deform a solid body is directly proportional to the effective surface area that deforms in compression, at least in the linear region of the material, which obeys Hooke's law, by selectively changing the effective surface area in a predetermined region, it is possible to change the compressive flexibility of the material, and therefore make the material stiffer or softer.

The method for forming a kneecap according to the invention comprises the steps of providing an injection mold capable of shaping the inner surface of a configuration that is responsive to a plurality of depressions within a predetermined area to protect the kneecap, wherein the density and dimensions of the resulting depressions determine the impact zone for compression . The gel liner is held within the mold, and the mold is covered with a fabric web or layer so that it is in close proximity to the retained gel liner. The foam is then injected into the mold until the foam fills the mold, wrapping around the gel liner and coming into contact with the fabric web so that the foam bonds the gel liner and the fabric web. By selecting the cumulative incremental areas of the resulting cavities on the front surface of the finished kneecap main body when separating the cavities, it is possible to obtain kneecaps of normal or medium stiffness, kneecaps that are softer or stiffer for foams of the same or similar density.

Brief description of the drawings

The above, as well as other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, among which:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a knee pad according to the present invention;

fig. 2 is a perspective and rear view of the knee pad shown in FIG. one;

fig. 3 is a frontal view of the kneecap shown in FIG. 1 and 2;

fig. 4 is similar to FIG. 1, but shows a modified set of pits that have different sizes and different spacings between pits compared to the pits of FIG. one;

fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the mold used to form the knee pad of FIG. 1 and 2;

fig. 6 is similar to FIG. 5 but shows a back or inner fabric web that is held at the edges of the mold and a gel pad or gel liner that is held in close proximity behind the fabric web;

fig. 7 is similar to FIG. 5 and 6 but depicts the kneecap after foam injection, where the foam comes into contact with and/or wraps around the gel liner and the fabric web and thereby bonds the kneecap to the fabric web and the gel liner.

Implementation of the invention

Among the figures in which identical or similar parts are designated by the same reference symbols, in FIG. 1 depicts a knee pad according to the present invention and is designated generally with the reference number 10.

In its final molded form, the main body 40 of the kneecap 10 defines an outer or anterior surface 12 that has an upper edge 14, a lower edge 16, and side edges 18. The anterior or outer surface 12 defines an area that covers and protects the knee. However, although the anterior surface 12 is shown to extend between the lower and upper lugs 20, 22, the effective anterior surface can be modified to be closer to the middle of the kneecap apart from the lugs 20, 22.

The front or outer surface 12 is formed with a plurality of depressions 24 in the effective region of the front or outer surface. Thus, if the total area of the front or outer surface 12 is A and the cumulative area represented by the plurality of depressions 24 is A _r , then the effective surface area A _eff is A _eff =A-A _r. It is understood that the effective surface area A _eff decreases as the total area A _r of the depressions 24 increases.

In FIG. 4 shows another plurality of pits in which the pits 24' are smaller than the pits of FIG. 1, and the gaps between the valleys in this set are also smaller. The use of the plurality of pits of FIG. 4 will give a stiffer kneecap. Therefore, it should be understood that by choosing the size and shape of the pits, as well as the spacing between the pits, one can obtain a knee pad for normal use, a softer knee pad, or a stiffer knee pad using the same or similar foam, depending on the application or use. for which the knee brace is designed. It may also be possible to use the same molds, only modified by an insert to reflect the size, shape, and spacing of the cavities among the plurality of cavities.

The particular cross-sectional shape of the depressions 24 is not critical, and round, square, hexagonal, triangular, and the like cross-sectional shapes may be used. The total area of the pits 24 can be varied by changing not only the shape and size of the pits, but also the spacing between the pits.

The knee brace may be provided without dimples 24. The knee brace would benefit from integral or integral attachment of the gel liner 32 and fabric web 36 to the foam molded main body 40, which would resist separation of the gel liner or fabric web from the main body during prolonged use.

Sidewalls 18 extend from each side of the knee brace and provide lateral protection to the knee and also provide rigidity to the main body of the finished knee brace. The upper and lower protrusions 20, 22 also help to stiffen the structure, said protrusions being outside the area of the knee protector, the stiffness and softness of which can be adjusted or modified. The sidewalls 18 also include eyelets 26 used to attach a strap for securing the knee pad to the user's leg. Any standard straps can be used, including elastic straps.

In FIG. 5-7 show a method for manufacturing a knee brace according to the present invention. The injection mold 28 has an inner surface 28a which is shaped to match the outer front surface 12 of the kneecap. At the top of the mold 28, and to each side of the inner surface 28a, support or bearing surfaces 28b are adjacent. The injection mold includes an inlet 30 for introducing foam to form the knee pad 10.

In FIG. 6, gel pad 32 is supported above surface 28a by carrier 34. The fabric web forming layer 36 extends across surface 28a and is supported by support or carrier surfaces 28b. The fabric layer 36 conforms to the desired shape, which generally corresponds to the shape and size of the knee to be protected. The carrier 34 is chosen to position the gel pad 32 in close proximity to the fabric web.

In FIG. 7 shows the delivery through the channel or passage 30 of the foam 38, which fills the entire volume between the surface 28 of the injection mold and the fabric web 36, thereby completely enveloping the gel pad 32 and coming into contact with the inner surface of the fabric web 36. As the foam 38 shrinks, it adheres with both the gel liner or gel pad 32 and the fabric web 36. This bond is very strong and resists the separation of the fabric web 36 from the main body 40. In most cases, this bond is stronger than the bond between the fabric web 36 and the applied adhesive. Also, due to the strong adhesion between the main body and the gel pad or gel liner 32, it is ensured that the gel pad does not move either at the beginning of operation or during long-term use. This distinguishes this knee pad from most knee pads that use a gel liner that is placed in a socket on the surface after the main body 40 has been cast - this is the most common complaint about current knee pad designs.

All of the foregoing should be considered as merely illustrating the principles of the invention. Specialists in this field should be clear the possibility of making additional modifications and changes to the invention. The invention is not limited specifically to the design of the knee pad and the operation of the structure as shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be referred to that fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (14)

1. An insert for a knee pad, comprising a main body formed from a compressible material and having an outer surface and an inner surface molded in the shape of a user's knee; a fabric layer extending along and corresponding to said inner surface; and a gel pad positioned between said inner and outer surfaces and positioned to be brought into contact with the user's kneecap when the kneecap is worn on the user, said main body being injection molded to attach to said fabric layer and to be completely encapsulated said gel pad within said compressible material, wherein a layer of compressible material is formed between said gel pad and said fabric layer. 2. The knee pad of claim 1, wherein said compressible material is foam. 3. The knee pad of claim 1, wherein said compressible material is formed on said outer surface with depressions configured to provide the desired softness to the knee pad. 4. The knee pad insert of claim 1, wherein the main body comprises side panels and eyelets on said side panels for attaching a knee pad strap. 5. The knee pad of claim 1, wherein said outer surface is formed with spaced cavities within a predetermined region. 6. The knee pad of claim 1, wherein said gel pad is spaced from said inner surface and said fabric layer by a distance that is less than the distance of said gel pad from said outer surface. 7. A knee pad liner according to claim 6, wherein said main body of said liner has a maximum thickness T between said inner and outer surfaces, and said gel pad is spaced a distance t from said inner surface, wherein T/t~13. 8. The knee pad according to claim 6, wherein said gel pad has a thickness tg and said main body of said liner has a maximum thickness T, wherein T/tg~3.7. 9. Insert for the knee pad according to claim 6, in which the specified gel pad is spaced from the specified inner surface at a distance t and spaced at a distance t' from the specified outer surface, and t'/t~8.5. 10. Insert for the knee pad according to claim 6, in which the specified gel pad has a thickness tg and is separated from the specified inner surface by a distance t, and tg/t~3.5. 11. A method of manufacturing an insert for a knee pad, comprising the steps of: installing and holding a gel pad inside an injection mold; place the fabric layer at a distance from the gel pad; molding the kneecap liner by forming an outer surface and an inner surface molded to the shape of the user's knee to completely envelop said gel pad to provide a layer of compressible material between said gel pad and said fabric layer. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the main body is formed by injection of foam. 13. An insert for a knee pad, comprising a main body formed from a compressible material and having an outer surface and an inner surface molded in the shape of a knee; a tissue layer forming the inner surface; and a gel pad spaced from the fabric layer, wherein said main body is injection molded to completely envelop said gel pad and fabric layer in an injection mold to attach said fabric layer and gel pad to the main body. 14. A method for manufacturing a knee pad, comprising: installing and holding a gel pad inside an injection mold at a predetermined height equal to the thickness of the knee pad at the point where the knee pad touches the user's knee cup; securing the fabric layer so that at least a portion of said fabric layer is at a distance from the gel pad; the knee pad is formed by injection molding, forming the outer surface and the inner surface, and the specified fabric layer forms the inner surface, while the specified main body is obtained by injection molding to completely envelop the specified gel pad and the fabric layer for attaching the specified fabric layer and the gel pad to the main body .

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