US2534888A - Knee guard - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 19, 1950 A. E. VOLD KNEE GUARD Filed March 18, 1949 fll d zrrs I/OLD INVENTOR.

Patented Dec. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KNEE GUARD 7 Annette E. Vold, Rosemead, Calif Application March 1 8, 1949, Serial No. 82,209

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in knee guards for protecting the knees while kneeling or resting upon the knees in the performance of such duties as waxing or scrubbing floors, gardening, laying linoleum and doing roofing.

Many devices from a revealing search for performing work of this nature have been found to be already patented, but upon careful examination have been found to be capable of improvement, especially from the standpoint of comfort while being worn. Many of these devices become uncomfortable when the knee is fiexed to a kneeling position, owing to the strain of their lacing on the leg muscles and particularly the tendons joined to the thigh and calf muscles, so that, after a, short period of kneeling the pain becomes more pronounced and the resulting discomfort is greater than that experienced when no knee guard or protector is used. Such devices are therefore impractical for long use at a time.

It is therefore one of the main objects of this invention to improve upon the disadvantages arising in prior patented devices by providing means to alleviate any pain brought about through long continued use of knee pads after the knee has been flexed to a kneeling position.

When a thick, sponge rubber pad of the air foam type is enclosed within a covering and such covering is applied to a knee joint and the covering then bent, the enclosing sack, unless properly constructed will prevent the pad from elongating as it should to supply the extra length required when the knee is bent, as compared with that required when it is straight. Hence, in order that no undue stress be placed on the joint tendons some provision must be made to take care of this change in the condition of the pad. The present invention takes care of this required adjustment in an improved manner.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention will hereinafter appear.

Referring to the drawing therein is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention now be-,

ing manufactured,

Fig. 1 is an outside or top plan view of the protector for the right knee with the leg encircling elastics curved backwardly.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation taken on the plane indicated by the line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

thick to afford the desired protection to the knee portion 8 of the leg of the wearer.

Said pad 1 is enclosed between two facings of sheet material, there being a front facing 9 and a rear facing or lining if Said front facing has a lower edge portion l I extending below the pad and said rear facing has a lower edge portion l2 extending below the pad, the two extensions thus produced being sewed together in a flatwise, abutting relation.

Likewise the front facing 9 has an upper portion I5 extending above the pad, and the rear facing has an upper portion I6 extending above the pad, the upwardly directed extension thus produced also being sewed together in a fiatwise, abutting relation. Hence a two-ply upper extension l'! and two-ply lower extension l8 results.

Thus, in relation to the enclosedpad l, a twoply lower extensionis produced and a two-ply upper extension, and from the drawing it will be seen that the latter extension is much longer than the former.

It will be observed, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, that the front facing 9 conforms at 9a to the upper end surface of the pad, and at 912 to the lower end surface thereof. Also (see Fig. 5) the' front facing 9 conforms at So to each side end surface of the pad, rows of stitches l9 being provided where the parts 9a and 9b of the front facing 9 join the rear facing. The result is that all parts of the rear facing l0 lie in substantially the same plane as the rear face of the pad proper 1, as also does the two-ply upper extension I! and two-ply lower extension 18, these extensions being produced by securing the front and rear facings to each other in afiatwise abutting manner.

As' well shown in Fig. 1 the side edge portions of the two-ply upper extension I! diverge from each other at Ila and [lb thus forming diverging ears, one end portion of a flexible connection shown as an elastic strap 2|, being attached to the upper part of the latter extension by being stitched in between the two plies thereof, said strap carrying at its opposite end a female snap fastener 22 which is snapped onto a male fastener 23 carried by said extension ll, after the strap has been passed around the leg of the wearer a short distance above the knee. Likewise a lower attaching strap 24 is provided, which is similarly sewed to the lower extension l8 and carries at its free end a snap fastener 25 to cooperate with a snap element 26 carried by the opposite side portion of the lower extension I8.

In order to adapt the device to persons having smaller legs, fasteners 23;; and 2511 are provided nearer the midwidth, respectively, of the exten- 3 sions l1 and [8, to cooperate with the fasteners of the aforesaid straps.

It is deemed desirable to make one of the knee protectors of each pair as a right and the other as a left in order that the wearer may connect the fasteners carried by the straps to the other fasteners at the outer sides of his or her legs. The rights will be provided by attaching the straps to the side of the pad opposite to which they are secured in the drawings and changing accordingly the positions of the snaps with which cooperate the snaps carried bysaid straps.

Owing to the upper extension I! being considerably longer than :the lower extension l8 and the strap .21 being attached flush-with the upper edge of the former extension, a gusset or neck :portion Ha: results which spaces thezinner edge of the strap 21 a considerable distance away from the adjacent end -or edge of the pad proper 1. It is this important feature .of the invention which allows the elastic-pad 1, although confined in .a closely fitting pocket or :sack, comfortably to conform itself to theknee when bent as illustrated in Fig. 6.

When the knee is in this .bent position the aforesaid gusset or neck portion atlas of the front facing provides a sufficient amount of slack :in the latter facing to relieve :all strain upon :both the upper and lower attaching straps where they encircle the leg, .so that the device is 'as comfortable at such time as it is when the sweater is in a standing position. Also, when the .knee is bent, there is :no end-to-iend tension :upon the pad proper "l, but all portions thereof are positioned between the floor and the underside of the bent knee, and the pad forms a better cushion than it would in case it was subjected at such time .to an end-to end tension tending to lengthen it and therefore to decreasefitsthickness.

A single piece of sheet material is :made to inclose the entire pad proper '1. Looking satthe upper part of the front of the pad, opposite :end portions of this piece overlap at 81 and the inside layer of the overlap is continued downwardly over andibelow the front of the pad-proper l to form front sheet portions already mentioned. Thence the same piece of sheet material, after being "folded over at 132 atthe lower end of the device, is continued upwardly to form the back face of the entire structure, and then, after being folded over upon itself at the upper end of the device at 30, is overlapped upon itself at the aforesaid overlap 31 where stitching 3laholds the three "layers of sheet material. 'Also, as shown in Figs, 1, 4 and '5,-rows.of stitching I9 and 9d closely border all four .sides of the pad proper, thus defining the aforesaid pocket therefor.

I claim:

1. In a knee guard of the :kind described, a front facing of sheet material, a rear facing of sheet material, a cushioning pad enclosed between said facings, said facings being parts ,of a single piece of sheet material and each having a lower Portion extending below said pad and secured in a flatwise abuttin manner to its mate, each of said facings also having an upper portion extending above said pad and secured in an abutting .flatwise manner to its mate, flexible connections secured to the upper and lower extensions formed by said facings, and fastenin means in a cooperative relation to'said connections for securing said pad to the leg in a position to protect the knee.

2. In a knee guard of the kind described, a cushioning pad for the knee, sheet material including a pocket or sack containing said pad, a rear part of said sheet material extending upwardly a considerable distance from :the applied pad and lying in the same vertical plane ,as the rear face of the latter, a strap secured at one end to a side portion of said upwardly extended part at a point widely spaced above the upper side of said pad, fastening means positioned to secure the unattached end of said connection to the opposite side of said upward extension after said strap is passed around the leg, and additional fastening means for the knee guard connected with the lower part thereof, said upward extension being flared throughout its upper edge portion thus providing diverging earswhichproject laterally beyond all other parts of the device, said-strap being permanently attached to one end of said ears and being detachably connect'ible with the other of them.

3. In a knee guard of the kind described, a ci-is'hioninp, 'pad for the knee, sheet material including a pocket containing said pad, a rear part of said sheet material extending upwardly a considerable distance from the applied pad and lying in the same vertical plane as the rear face of the latter, a strap secured at one end to a side portion of said upwardly extended part at a point widely spaced above the unattached end of said connection to 'the'opposite side of said upward extension after said strap is passed around the leg, and additional fastening means for the knee guard connected with the lower part thereof, said pad being of a general rectangular shape and said pocket for it being located between front and rear stitched together pieces of said sheet material, the front sheet overlying the front face of the pad and also its upper, lower and lateral edge portions, so that when the device is in its operative position the back face of said pad is flush with the aforesaid sheet which extends upwardly from the applied pad.

4. In a knee guard of the kind described, a cushioning pad proper, a pocket forming piece of :material for said'pad made of a single sheet, said sheet consisting in the applied device of back and front portions with the pad stitched into place between them, said sheet being folded upon itself in a downwardly spaced relation to the pad proper and thence extending upwardly across the outer face thereof to a point thereabove, the back portion being continued upwardly to a point upwardly spaced from the pad and there foldedforwardlyupon itself and thence continued downwardly until it overlaps the upper edge portion of the opposite end of the sheet, stitching extending through the resulting three layer overlap, and means attached to the upper and lower ends of the sheet material to attach the device to the leg of the wearer,

ANNETTE E. VOLD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,587,508 Coats June 8, 1926 2,188,718 Jung Jan, 30, 1940 2,423,849 Patterson July 15, 1947

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