Apparel – Guard or protector – Leg
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-19
2001-07-10
Calvert, John J. (Department: 3765)
Apparel
Guard or protector
Leg
C002SDIG003, C602S013000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06256787
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an inflatable support for lower legs and more particularly pertains to protecting a person's knees, shins, and feet while kneeling on a hard surface.
In many professions, it is necessary for workers to kneel on hard surfaces for extended periods of time. Because of the positioning of the knee and shin on the hard surface when kneeling, an individual must endure discomfort and possibly injury when kneeling for any prolonged length of time. Although some devices have been constructed to offer some degree of comfort, they are seemingly inadequate in providing maximum comfort to the wearer through effective distribution of the pressure applied to the knee and leg when kneeling on hard surfaces. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a device that will provide support to the knees and shins of a person kneeling on a hard surface.
In addition, when kneeling the worker has a tendency to put a great deal of pressure on the toes. Also, the toes are flexed toward hyper-extension. Long term, such tension can be harmful. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a device which supports the foot and prevents the worker's weight from being supported upon the toes in the manner previously described.
Further, at construction sites in particular, the workers are often forced to kneel upon an extremely cold ground surface. In many cases the ground surface can be well below freezing. Even while wearing warm clothes, the cold ground can easily conduct significant heat away from the body. Coupled with the pressure upon the legs from the weight of the worker, blood circulation can be inhibited to dangerous levels.
The present invention attempts to solve the abovementioned problem by providing a device that is specifically designed for protecting the knees, shins, and feet of a person kneeling on a hard surface for an extended period of time. In addition, it can help reduce heat conduction from the body by providing an effective barrier between the ground and leg, and can even hold a quantity of heat in a thermal medium which is slowly released to the worker.
The use of protective devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, protective devices heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of providing protection to the human body are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,840 to Yen discloses a buffer structure for shin protection and ankle sleeve mat for use while participating in sporting events. U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,292 to Hargens discloses a knee pad unit having a plurality of inflatable pneumatic tubes attached within a shell. U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,071 to Richards discloses knee pads utilizing a seat to support the buttocks of the user. U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,055 to McElroy discloses an air cushion kneeling pad comprised of a one-piece molded resilient polyurethane foam. U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,843 to Watson et al. discloses an air pressure knee brace apparatus comprised of a flexible material wrap. U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,538 to Mann discloses a knee brace having an inflatable bladder support comprised of a cloth body having a central knee hole wrapped around a patient's knee to treat knee flexion contractures. U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,421 to Goldsmith discloses a compressive brace including one or more inflatable bladders equipped with an automatic, regulated, and removable air pressure regulation valve, where different valves have different release settings.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe an inflatable support for lower legs for protecting a person's knees and shins while kneeling on a hard surface.
In this respect, the inflatable support for lower legs according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of protecting a person's knees and shins while kneeling on a hard surface.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved inflatable support for lower legs which can be used for protecting a person's knees, shins, and ankles while kneeling on a hard surface. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of protective devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved inflatable support for lower legs. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved inflatable support for lower legs which has all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a knee support adapted for receiving a knee therein. The knee support includes a rigid outer shell for positioning on a hard surface and a padded inner layer to provide comfort to the knee. A lower leg and foot support is secured to the knee support. The lower leg and knee support is comprised of a tubular member capable of being filled with a selected material. The tubular member has a valve exposing a hollow interior. The tubular member is arranged in a matrix defining an upper shin support, a lower floor support, and a bend positionable within an arch between a foot and an ankle. The tubular member is positionable along the lower leg and foot to evenly distribute the weight thereof as applied when in kneeling position. A pair of leg straps are secured to the lower floor support of the lower leg and foot support. The pair of leg straps each have opposed ends extending outwardly from the lower floor support. The opposed ends each have hook and loop fastener patches disposed thereon for engaging one another once the pair of leg straps have been wrapped around the lower leg.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved inflatable support for lower legs which has all the advantages of the prior art protective devices and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved inflatable support for lower legs which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved
Calvert John J.
Goldstein Law Offices P.C.
Patel Tejash
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