Surgery: splint – brace – or bandage – Orthopedic bandage – Splint or brace
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-14
2004-04-13
Bennett, Henry (Department: 3743)
Surgery: splint, brace, or bandage
Orthopedic bandage
Splint or brace
C602S005000, C602S006000, C602S012000, C128S869000, C128S882000, C024S26500H
Reexamination Certificate
active
06719713
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to orthopedic braces, and more particularly to a strap attachment assembly which enables a user to selectively attach or detach a strap to or from an orthopedic brace.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventional orthopedic braces embody a broad range of structures, each having the common purpose of supporting and stabilizing a joint when worn on the body of a user. The orthopedic brace may serve either a preventative role or a remedial role. In a preventative role, the brace provides added support and stability to a healthy skeletal joint, thereby reducing the risk of injury when the joint is subjected to undue stress. In a remedial role, the brace supports and stabilizes a skeletal joint which has been weakened by injury or other infirmity, thereby reinforcing the joint and reducing the risk of further injury to the joint.
Orthopedic braces may be characterized as either soft or rigid. Soft orthopedic braces are composed essentially in their entirety of soft components, i.e., relatively flexible components, such as cloth and flexible foams. An exemplary conventional soft orthopedic brace is a knee brace comprising a support sleeve formed from a stretchable elastic cloth-covered neoprene and one or more flexible, yet relatively non-stretchable, cloth straps partially or fully encircling the support sleeve. The straps may be tightened or loosened by shortening or lengthening the straps, respectively, which enables the user to adjust the fit of the brace to the knee joint and correspondingly to adjust the degree of support the brace provides the knee joint when the support sleeve is positioned over the knee joint.
In contrast to soft orthopedic braces, rigid orthopedic braces include relatively rigid structural components in addition to, or to the exclusion of, soft components. Typically, the rigid structural components of a conventional rigid orthopedic brace are support components dynamically linked together by one or more rotatable hinges enabling controlled pivotal movement of a joint on the body of a user during rehabilitative therapy or user activity. The rigid orthopedic brace is positioned on the body such that the hinges traverse the joint being stabilized, while the rigid components are secured to the body above and below the joint by a plurality of flexible straps which in combination with the rigid components encircle the body.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, an exemplary prior art rigid orthopedic brace for the knee is shown and generally designated
10
. For purposes of illustration, the knee brace
10
is configured for mounting on the right leg. The knee brace
10
comprises medial and lateral hinges
12
,
14
and associated medial and lateral condyle pads
16
,
18
. The medial and lateral hinges
12
,
14
pivotally link a pair of rigid upper and lower anterior support cuffs
20
,
22
which are shaped to conform to the anterior contours of the upper and lower leg, respectively. The upper anterior cuff
20
is secured in engagement with the upper leg by first and second upper straps
24
,
26
which encircle the posterior of the upper leg, while the lower anterior cuff
22
is secured in engagement with the lower leg by first and second lower straps
28
,
30
which encircle the posterior of the lower leg. The straps
24
,
26
,
28
,
30
are constructed from a flexible, non-stretchable cloth, such as nylon. Anterior pads
32
,
34
,
36
are provided to cushion the user's leg from the rigid cuffs
20
,
22
and to insure the fit of the knee brace
10
with the leg. The upper anterior pad
32
and lower anterior pads
34
,
36
are attached to the upper and lower cuffs
20
,
22
, respectively, by conventional releasable hook and loop fasteners (not shown), which are commercially available under the trade name “VELCRO”.
The cuffs
20
,
22
are provided with anterior medial strap retainers
38
,
40
,
42
,
44
which enable connection of the straps
24
,
26
,
28
,
30
to the anterior medial side of the cuffs
20
,
22
. Although not visible in the view of
FIG. 1
, it is apparent that anterior lateral strap retainers corresponding to the anterior medial strap connectors
38
,
40
,
42
,
44
, respectively, may also be provided, which enable connection of the straps
24
,
26
,
28
,
30
to the anterior lateral side of the cuffs
20
,
22
. All the strap retainers are substantially identical to one another in construction and function. Accordingly, the following description of the strap retainer
44
applies equally to the remaining strap retainers. The strap retainer
44
is constructed from a material, such as a plastic, which is non-stretchable and substantially more flexible than the rigid cuffs
20
,
22
, yet substantially more rigid than the flexible straps
24
,
26
,
28
,
30
. The configuration of the strap retainer
44
includes a strap loop member
46
having a strap aperture
48
extending through the strap loop member
46
, and a body
50
having a mounting aperture
52
extending through the body
50
. The strap retainer
44
is substantially permanently rotatably affixed to the lower cuff
22
by a fixed rivet
54
which extends through the mounting aperture
52
and a corresponding opening (not shown) in the lower cuff
22
.
The strap
30
has an end
56
, which is fitted with a first releasable fastener
58
on one side of the strap
30
. The strap
30
correspondingly has a section
60
positioned adjacent to the end
56
, which is fitted with a cooperative second releasable fastener
62
on the same side of the strap
30
as the first fastener
58
. The first and second fasteners
58
,
62
are preferably conventional hook and loop fasteners (“VELCRO”). The strap
30
is connected to the lower cuff
22
by means of the strap retainer
44
and the first and second fasteners
58
,
62
. In particular, the strap
30
is connected to the lower cuff
22
by threading the end
56
through the strap aperture
48
of the strap loop member
46
and doubling the end
56
back over the section
60
to a point on the section
60
with the first fastener
58
facing the second fastener
62
. The first and second fasteners
58
,
62
are then pressed against one another to releasably fasten them together. It is apparent that the user is able to adjust the strap
30
, specifically, the strap length and strap tension, by selection of the point on the section
60
where the end
56
intersects the section
60
.
The strap
30
is disconnected from the lower cuff
22
simply by reversing the above-recited steps for connecting the strap
30
to the lower cuff
22
. In particular, the first and second fasteners
58
,
62
are separated to release them from one another. The free end
56
is then backed away from the section
60
and out of the strap aperture
48
.
Although the above-described prior art structure provides a reliable connection between the flexible straps and rigid cuffs of an orthopedic brace, the structure does not enable the user to releasably attach the flexible strap to the rigid cuff at a fixed point on the strap. Nor does the prior art structure enable the user to attach the flexible strap to the rigid cuff at an intermediate point on the strap, rather than an endpoint, which is often desirable. As such, the present invention recognizes a need for a means of attaching the strap to the cuff of a knee brace at a fixed point on the strap, including an intermediate point. More generally, the present invention recognizes a need for a means of releasably attaching a strap to another component of an orthopedic brace at a fixed point on the strap, including an intermediate point.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a strap attachment assembly which enables releasable attachment or detachment of a strap to or from another component of an orthopedic brace. More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a strap attachment assembly which enables releasable attachment or detachment of the strap to or from the posterior side of the orthopedic bra
Bennett Henry
Breg, Inc.
Brown Rodney F.
Kokabi Azadeh
LandOfFree
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