Abstract:
This invention relates to a footpad device that is removably attached to a wheelchair&#39;s footplate and more particularly to a footpad device specifically dimensioned to correct the posture of a person with bare feet sitting in the wheelchair fitted to that person while wearing shoes. The footpad device is made of a flexible water resistant material to help support bare feet when they are wet and is shaped to help prevent bare feet from slipping off the side of the footplate.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a footpad device that is removably attached to a wheelchair&#39;s footplate and more particularly to a footpad device specifically dimensioned to correct the posture of a person with bare feet sitting in the wheelchair fitted to that person while wearing shoes. Also, the footpad device is made of a flexible water resistant material to help support bare feet when they are wet and is shaped to help prevent bare feet from slipping off the side of the footplate. 
     A wheelchair is normally fitted to the specific person who will be using that wheelchair for an extended period of time. A properly fitted wheelchair is necessary to ensure proper body alignment and to preserve skin integrity. Typically, a licensed physical or occupational therapist will measure the full length of a person&#39;s body in order to identify those seating dimensions which will effectively fit the wheelchair to that person. 
     The seating dimensions of a wheelchair influence multiple physical characteristics of the person using that wheelchair. These physical characteristics include the angle at which a foot is supported when placed on a footplate. This angle has a direct affect on a person&#39;s knee to foot extension and the position of that person&#39;s thighs within the wheelchair. These characteristics, in turn, directly affect a person&#39;s hip and back alignment within the wheelchair. Proper alignment of all these physical characteristics is necessary to achieve a proper balance within the wheelchair and to help prevent unnecessary skin pressure over an extended period of time which often results in skin breakdown. 
     The alignment of a wheelchair starts with the placement of the footplate at a position which keeps each foot flexed at a 90 degree angle relative to the lower leg. As discussed above, the footplate&#39;s placement directly affects the alignment of a person&#39;s hips and knees while seated in the wheelchair. A one degree offset in a foot&#39;s angle is enough to compromise that person&#39;s balance within the wheelchair and will result in harm to that person&#39;s joints and skin over an extended period of time. A person is normally measured for a wheelchair while wearing shoes since it is assumed that the majority of time spent in the wheelchair will be while dressed. As such, the normal placement of the footplate does not provide for those times when a person is barefoot within the wheelchair. As a result, a person&#39;s bare feet will need to drop below the 90 degree angle to reach the fitted footplate. Consequently, their knee and hip angles will both be offset from their properly balanced positions. 
     A change in the hip angle will effectively offset the gluteus muscles which support the majority of the person&#39;s body weight against the wheelchair&#39;s seat. Moreover, an increase in the hip angle will cause the person to move forward in the wheelchair&#39;s seat. As a result, the knee angle is reduced, causing the posterior knee to come into contact with the wheelchair&#39;s seat and placing increased pressure on the skin. Also, the lower extremities rotate putting the lateral aspect of both knees in contact with the metal uprights of the footplate, which also puts increased pressure on the boney aspects of skin in that area of the lower leg. Lastly, both hips experience a shortening of the external rotator muscles making it more difficult to properly balance oneself in the wheelchair and properly align the lower back. 
     A bare foot that bends past the 90 degree angle to reach the footplate will hang off the front of the footplate and will press against the front edge of that footplate. A bare foot that hangs over the front of the footplate is likely to come into contact with obstacles while the wheelchair is in motion and at a greater risk of suffering cuts, scrapes and a broken toe. Moreover, since the footplate is normally made of metal or a hard plastic, a bare foot pressing against the footplate for an extended period of time will also suffer skin damage. 
     Accordingly, one purpose of this invention is to provide a footpad device that properly supports a person&#39;s bare feet while seated in a wheelchair fitted to that person while wearing shoes. 
     It is a further purpose of this invention to provide a footpad device that is water resistant and that is designed to help prevent bare feet from slipping off of the wheelchair&#39;s footplate. 
     It is a further purpose of this invention to provide a footpad device which is easily attached to and easily removed from a footplate thereby allowing a wheelchair to remain properly fitted to a person both when wearing shoes and when barefoot. 
     It is a further purpose of this invention to provide for a footpad device which supports bare feet at a height which may be incrementally adjusted using a system of stacked footpads of varying heights. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A wheelchair footpad device comprising a rigid support element, a flexible foam element, a lower surface of the foam element resting against and supported by an upper surface of the support element, the foam element having a height that is substantially equal to the height of a sole of a sneaker or shoe and a coupling element that removably attaches the lower surface of the support element to the upper surface of a wheelchair&#39;s footplate, the wheelchair having been fitted to a person wearing shoes, the footpad device attached to the footplate supporting the person&#39;s feet while not wearing shoes at substantially the same height and angle as the footplate alone would support the person&#39;s feet while wearing shoes. 
     A wheelchair footpad device attached to a footplate of a wheelchair that is fitted for a person wearing shoes, the footpad device comprising a rigid support element, a flexible foam element, a lower surface of the foam element resting against and supported by an upper surface of the support element, the foam element having a height that is substantially equal to the average height of a sole of a sneaker or shoe and a coupling element that removably attaches the lower surface of the support element to the upper surface of a wheelchair&#39;s footplate, the footpad device attached to the footplate supporting person&#39;s feet while not wearing shoes at substantially the same height and angle as the footplate alone would support the person&#39;s feet while wearing shoes. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows feet with shoes positioned on the footplate of a wheelchair fitted for a person wearing shoes. 
         FIG. 2  shows feet without shoes positioned on the footplate of a wheelchair fitted for a person wearing shoes. 
         FIG. 3  shows feet without shoes positioned on a footpad device attached to the footplate of a wheelchair fitted for a person wearing shoes. 
         FIG. 4  shows an exploded view of the footpad device. 
         FIG. 5  shows the foam element of the footpad device and the sole of a common sneaker or shoe. 
         FIG. 6  shows an exploded view of another embodiment of the footpad device that includes multiple stacked foam elements of varying heights. 
         FIG. 7  shows the footpad device implemented on a wheelchair having multiple footplates. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a person with shoes  120  seated in a wheelchair  100  that has been fitted for a person wearing shoes. The wheelchair&#39;s footplate  110  is positioned to maintain the person&#39;s feet at a 90 degree angle relative to each leg  130 . Maintaining a person&#39;s feet at that 90 degree angle is crucial to properly balance a person while seated in a wheelchair. 
       FIG. 2  shows a person without shoes seated in a wheelchair  200  that has been fitted for a person wearing shoes. As shown, that person&#39;s feet  220  are no longer supported by the footplate  210  at a 90 degree angle relative to each leg  230 . Rather, each foot  220  either hangs off the front of the footplate  210  or presses directly against the front edge of the footplate  210 . As a result, a person with bare feet  220  is not able to properly balance himself within the wheelchair  200  and his bare feet  220  are more susceptible to injury while the wheelchair  200  is in motion. 
       FIG. 3  shows a person without shoes seated in a wheelchair  300  that has been fitted for that person wearing shoes and using a footpad device  340  of the present invention. As shown, the footpad device  340  is attached directly to the upper surface of the footplate  310 . The added height provided by the footpad device  340  now enables that same footplate  310  to support bare feet at the desired 90 degree angle relative to each leg  330 . As a result, a person with bare feet  320  is now properly balanced within a wheelchair  300  that is fitted for that person while wearing shoes. Moreover, the bare feet  320  are protected from injury while the wheelchair  300  is in motion. 
       FIG. 4  shows an exploded view of the footpad device  400  of the present invention. As shown, the footpad device is comprised of a support element  410 , a foam element  420  and one or more coupling elements  430 . In some embodiments, an adhesive layer may be applied to a bottom surface of the support element  410  instead of or in addition to the coupling element. 
     The support element  410  includes a base  411  and a pair of upward rising wings  412 ,  413  positioned on opposing edges on the base  411 , each wing running the full length of the corresponding opposing edge. As shown, in this embodiment the wings  312  an  413  are integrally formed with base  411 . The support element&#39;s base  411  and wings  412 ,  413  are made of material having sufficient rigidity to support the foam element  420 , such materials including metal and hard plastic or rubber. 
     In this embodiment, the support element&#39;s base  411  is rectangular with a length L 1  and a depth D 1  substantially equal to that of the standard footplate to which the footpad device will be attached. The wings  412  and  413  have a depth D 2  substantially equal to the base&#39;s depth D 1  and a length L 2  substantially smaller than the base&#39;s length L 1 . 
     The foam element  420  also includes a base  421  and a pair of upward rising wings  422  and  423  positioned on opposing edges of the base  421 , each wing running the full length of the corresponding opposing edge. The foam element&#39;s base  421  and wings  422 ,  423  are made of dense closed cell foam that is impervious to moisture and whose surface provides traction to bare feet when wet. 
     In this embodiment, the foam element&#39;s base  421  and wings  422 ,  423  are each shaped and dimensioned to fit within the upper surface boundaries of the support unit  410 . Specifically, the foam element&#39;s base  421  is rectangular with a length L 3  and a depth D 3  substantially equal to the length L 1  and depth W 1  of the support unit&#39;s base  411 . Similarly, the foam element&#39;s wings  422 ,  423  have a length L 4  and depth D 4  substantially equal to the length L 2  and depth D 2  of the support element&#39;s wings  412 ,  413 . 
     The lower surface of the foam element  420  is securely attached to the upper surface of the support unit  410  using any known method or substance. For example, an adhesive layer or an adhesive member may be used for attaching the foam element to the support unit. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the height W 1  of the foam element  420  is substantially equal to the height W 2  of the bottom sole on an average sneaker or shoe. As a result, a footpad device resting on the upper surface of a footplate fitted to a person wearing shoes will maintain bare feet at a height substantially equal to the height of feet wearing shoes supported by the footplate alone. 
     Moreover, the footpad device maintains bare feet at the same 90 degree angle used to define the proper position of the footplate when the wheelchair was fitted to a person wearing shoes. 
     Therefore, the defined height of the foam element  420  compensates for the missing height provided by the sole of a common sneaker or shoe. As such, the footpad device maintains bare feet at the height and angle necessary to achieve proper balance within a wheelchair that is fitted for a person wearing shoes. 
     The coupling element  430  may be any means of temporarily attaching the base unit  410  the footplate of a wheelchair. In this embodiment, the coupling element  430  is VELCRO® hook and loop fastener tape attached to the lower surface of the base unit  410  and the upper surface of the footplate. The coupling element  430  allows for easily attaching the footpad device  400  to a wheelchair&#39;s footplate when the person in the wheelchair is barefoot. Similarly, the coupling element  430  allows for easily removing the footpad  400  from the footplate when that person transitions to wearing shoes. 
     Although the footpad device of the present invention and its component elements have been described as having a rectangular shape and having dimensions substantially equal to that of a wheelchair&#39;s footplate, this description is for exemplary purposes only and is not meant to limit the invention to any single shape or size. It is foreseen that the footpad device of the present invention could be any other shape and size which effectively supports a person&#39;s feet and which securely fits on the upper surface of the wheelchair&#39;s footplate. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, the footpad device provides for incrementally adjusting the height at which a bare that are supported by the footpad device above a wheelchair&#39;s footplate. 
       FIG. 6  shows an exploded view of the footpad device of the present embodiment. As shown the footpad device  700  includes a support element  710 , a foam element  720 , a coupling element  730  and one or more incremental foam elements  740 . 
     The support element  710 , the foam element  720  and the coupling element  730  are all similar to those described in the previous embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the foam element  720  has a height W that is substantially equal to or less than the bottom sole of an average sneaker or shoe. The addition of one or more incremental foam elements  740  on top of the foam element  720  allows for flexibility in defining the final height at which bare feet are supported above the footplate. In this way, a person can easily customize the height of the footpad device based on the person&#39;s specific needs. 
     The incremental foam elements  740  are made of the same closed cell foam as the foam element  720  and have the same shape as the foam element&#39;s base  721 . Similarly, the length L 2  and depth D 2  of the incremental foam elements are dimensioned to fit on to equal to the foam element&#39;s base  721 . However, the incremental foam elements  740  have a variety of heights, all of which are substantially smaller than the height W 1  of the foam element. 
     When assembling the footpad device, one or more incremental foam elements  740  are positioned on top of the foam element  720  to achieve a desired cumulative height W 2 . In this manner, the cumulative height may be incrementally adjusted to achieve the desired height at which a person&#39;s bare feet are supported above the footplate. 
     A coupling element is applied to the bottom surface of each incremental foam element  740  to securely attach that incremental foam element to the upper surface of the underlying element on which it rests. The coupling element may be VELCRO® hook and loop fasteners or an adhesive layer or any other suitable coupling means. 
     In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the footpad device is implemented on a wheelchair having a multiple footplates. 
       FIG. 7  shows a footpad device implemented on a wheelchair having two footplates, each footplate fitted to one foot wearing a shoe. As shown, a footpad device is attached to each footplate. All previously described elements and characteristics of the footpad device used on a wheelchair having a single footplate are applicable to each footpad device used on a wheelchair having multiple footplates. 
     In all cases, it is understood that the above-described arrangements are merely illustrative of the many possible specific embodiments which represent applications of the present invention. Numerous and varied other arrangements can be readily devised in accordance with the principles of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.