Abstract:
The abstract of the disclosure has been amended as follows: 
     A hernial truss securely and constantly applies pressure to the herniated abdominal area of the patient while minimizing the pain and skin irritations during use. The hernial truss is formed with a front member applied to the abdominal area of the patent, a rear member applied to the back of the patient, left and right waistbands attached to the front member, left and right crotch bands attached to the rear member, and a pressing pad attached to the inside of the front member. A lower portion of the rear member is divided to left and right by an upward notch. The front and rear members are fitted with the patient body by the waistbands and the crotch bands, and each crotch band connects the rear member and the front member through the bottom of the patient to press the pressing pad against the herniated abdominal area.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to a hernial truss capable for correctly and securely pressing a herniated abdominal area of a patient&#39;s body without causing pain or irritation to the skin. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   A patient with inguinal hernias use a hernial truss, which puts pressure on the herniated abdominal area, in order to prevent the internal organs from protruding as well as to reduce the symptoms. 
   The conventional hernial truss is, for example, a support body structured as an upside down triangle, where a pressing pad or pads are established at the center thereof. Waistbands are provided which are stabilized laterally at the top edge of the support body, and a crotch band is connected perpendicularly to the center of the waistbands. By wrapping the waistbands around the patient&#39;s waist and attaching the crotch bands at the back and between the legs to the bottom edge of the support body, the pressing pad (or pads) can be positioned and pressed against the inguinal hernias. The lengths of the waistbands and crotch band are adjusted to fit the patient&#39;s body so that the pressure applied to the herniated abdominal area by the pressing pad can be appropriately set. 
   According to the conventional technology mentioned above, the waistbands and crotch band on the hernial truss are made of thin flat strings, which can cause excessive pain as well as harmful skin symptoms such as scratches and irritations. Further, since the pressing pad is only supported on the support body at three locations connected to the waistbands and crotch band, it can easily displaced from the herniated abdominal area when, for example, the patient exercises, making it difficult to maintain the constant pressure against the herniated abdominal area. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a hernial truss which is capable of correctly and securely applying pressure against the herniated abdominal area of the patient&#39;s body. 
   It is another object of the present invention is to provide a hernial truss which is capable of constantly applying pressure against the herniated abdominal area of the patient&#39;s body without displacement even when the patient exercises or moves around. 
   It is a further object of the present invention is to provide a hernial truss which is capable of constantly applying pressure against the herniated abdominal area while minimizing pain or skin symptoms or irritations. 
   It is a further object of the present invention is to provide a hernial truss with high performance which can be produced with low cost. 
   In order to achieve the above object, the hernial truss of the present invention is comprised of a front member that is applied to an abdominal area of a patient, a rear member which is symmetrical to the front member and is applied to the back of the patient, left and right waistbands that are attached to lower edges of the front member, left and right crotch bands that are attached downwardly to the rear member, and a pressing pad that is attached to the inner side of the front member. The front and rear members are fitted with the patient body by the waistbands and the crotch bands, and each crotch band connects the bottom of the rear member and the bottom of the front member through the bottom of the patient to press the pressing pad against the herniated abdominal area. 
   The front member preferably includes an upward notch at the bottom, and the rear member preferably includes an upward notch at the bottom for partially divide the rear member into left and right. Further, each of the front and rear members is provided with a fastener for connecting the waistband. 
   The front and rear members are joined at the top edge in a ring-like shape through supplementary bands, which attaches to the front and rear members through fasteners. The pulling direction of each waistband on the front member is adjustable by using a rotatable fastener. 
   According to the structure of the present invention, the front member and the rear member which is symmetrical to the front member, are stably fitted with the abdominal area as well as the back of the patient through the waistbands. By joining each crotch band from the bottom of the rear member to the front member through the legs, the pressing pad can be correctly positioned and pressed against the inguinal hernias. The position of the pressing pad can be adjusted on the inside of the front member such that the pressing pad is positioned right on the treatment spot, i.e., the herniated abdominal area. 
   The front and rear members can be securely fitted with the patient&#39;s body at the appropriate location through the waistbands by having surface fasteners to which each end of those waistbands is attached. 
   The front and rear members can be quickly and easily set on the patient&#39;s waist, abdomen, and back, by joining the top edges in a ring-like manner through the supplementary bands. The front and rear members can be joined by one ring-like supplementary band with moderate elasticity, or by two elastic supplementary bands divided on the left and right sides. The entire length of such divided supplementary bands can be freely adjusted by attaching each end to the front and rear members through the fasteners. 
   By adjusting the pulling direction from the front member in an up or down direction with use of the rotatable fasteners, each waistband can be wrapped around the patient&#39;s waist according to his/her physical shape without any difficulty. The non-adjustable waistbands are preferably fixed to the lower portion of the front member in an upward diagonal direction. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an overall structure and components of the hernial truss of the present invention in a manner used on a patient. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing an entire structure and components of the hernial truss of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3A  is a cross sectional view of the hernial truss of the present invention taken along the X—X line of  FIG. 2 , and  FIG. 3B  is a cross sectional view of the hernial truss of the present invention taken along the Y—Y line of FIG.  2 . 
       FIGS. 4A-4C  show a process for wearing the hernial truss of the present invention on a patient, where  FIGS. 4A and 4B  are front views thereof and  FIG. 4C  is a rear view thereof. 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  show the essential portions in the modification of the hernial truss of the present invention where  FIG. 5A  a front view thereof and  FIG. 5B  is a cross sectional view taken along the Z—Z line of FIG.  5 A. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing an entire structure of the hernial truss in a further embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in the perspective views of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the hernial truss of the present invention is comprised of a front member  11 , a rear member  12 , left and right waistbands  21  attached to the lower portion of the front member  11 , left and right crotch bands  22  attached downwardly to the rear member  12 , and a pressing pad  31  attached to the inside of the front member  11 . 
   The front member  11 , rear member  12 , left and right waistbands  21 , and left and right crotch bands  22  are made of inextensible fiber sheet material having sufficient pulling strength, which may be reinforced with threads (not shown). One end of each waistband  21  and each crotch band  22  is attached to the front member  11  and the rear member  12 , respectively, by sewing for example. 
   As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a notch or cut-out  11   a  in the shape of a triangular hill is formed at the bottom of the front member  11 , and the left and right side of the notch  11   a  are cut in an upwardly diagonal direction.  FIGS. 3A and 3B  are enlarged cross sectional views corresponding to the X—X line and Y—Y line, respectively, of FIG.  2 . On the front member  11 , a fastener  11   b  is folded over and attached to the inside and outside of the top straight edge of the front member  11  as best seen in FIG.  3 A. The waistbands  21  have a relatively large width and are respectively attached to the left and right sides of the outer bottom edge of the front member  11  in an upwardly diagonal direction, and a fastener  21   a  is formed on each end of the waistbands  21 . 
   The rear member  12  is formed in a rectangular shape, and is smaller than the front member  11 . As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a notch  12   a  is formed in an upside-down narrow letter V at the bottom center of the rear member  12 . A fastener  12   b  is folded over and attached to the inside and outside of the top edge of the rear member  12  as best seen in FIG.  3 B. The crotch bands  22  are attached in a downward manner on the left and right sides of the notch  12   a  at the outer bottom edge of the rear member  12 . Each end of the crotch band  22  is enlarged its width and a fastener  22   a  is formed thereon. 
   The top of the front member  11  and the top of the rear member  12  are attached to one another in a ring shape through left and right supplementary bands  13  (FIGS.  1  and  2 ). Each supplementary band  13  has appropriate elasticity, and is attached to the inside of the front member  11  and rear member  12  in a separable manner through a fastener  13   a  on each end of the supplementary band  13 , the fastener  11   b  on the front member  11 , and the fastener  12   b  on the rear member  12 . 
   The pressing pad  31  is made of moderately firm cushion material, and has a smooth pyramidal or cone shape where the center is higher than the peripheral and is longer in the vertical direction. Further, the pressing pad  31  is attached in a detachable manner to the inside of the front member  11  through a fastener (not shown). The pressing pad  31  can also be arranged in a smooth step-like pattern, with moderately moisture and water absorbent, by stacking up similar flat cushion materials in the order of size and coating them with a fabric surface member. 
   The front member  11  and waistbands  21  use a surface material, which allows the fasteners  12   b ,  21   a , and  22   a  to be attached in a detachable manner. The fasteners  13   a  and  21   a  are attached with sufficient strength yet in a detachable manner, unlike the fasteners  11   b  and  12   b.    
   The front member  11  is formed of a fabric sheet that is large enough to cover the abdominal area, and the rear member which is also formed of a fabric sheet to cover the portion right above the rear end and is slightly smaller in width than the front member. By having the waistbands with a relatively large width, for example 4-8 cm, pain from wearing the truss can be minimized. 
   The front member  11  and the rear members  12  are made of inextensible sheet material having vegetable fiber such as cotton and hemp, animal fiber such as sheep wool and silk, cellulose type regenerated fiber, semi synthetic fiber, nonwoven fabric or raising fabric of synthetic fiber such as nylon, acrylic, or polyester. Such material should have sufficient pulling strength, good feel and touch, and moderate flexibility, water and moisture absorbency, and air permeability. 
   Preferably, the waistbands  21  are made of inextensive sheet material, which has sufficient width so that excessive shock will not be applied to the patient&#39;s body while achieving sufficient pulling strength, flexibility, and moisture absorbency. The crotch bands  22  are also made of the same sheet material as the waistbands  21 , yet has a narrower width than that of the waistbands. The front member  11 , rear member  12 , waistbands  21 , and crotch bands  22  can be made from a single piece of material or several pieces of same or different material that serve the purpose of each required function. 
   When the notch  11   a  is established upwardly at the bottom of the front member  11 , the patient can easily urinate through the notch  11   a  without having to remove the crotch bands  22 . The notch  11   a  can be shaped, for example, like a triangular hill as noted above or a circular dome. 
   By having the upward notch  12   a  at the bottom of the rear member  12  which partially separates the lower portion of the rear member  12  to the left and right, when each crotch band  22  connected to the rear member  12  passes between the patient&#39;s legs, wrinkles will not be created between those crotch bands  22 . The notch  12   a  is formed by simply cutting the bottom center of the rear member  12  upwardly, or cutting the bottom center of the rear member  12  in a narrow upside-down letter V. 
   The hernial truss of the present invention constituted as in the foregoing is used in a manner explained below with reference to  FIGS. 4A-4C . 
   First, with the use of the supplementary bands  13 , the front member  11  is positioned on the abdominal area of a patient P ( FIG. 4A ) and the rear member  12  is positioned on the back of the patient P symmetrically to the front member  11 . At this point, the supplementary bands  13  are set on the waist of the patient P in order to prevent the front member  11  and the rear member  12  from falling. The pressing pad  31  is adjusted and fixed on the front member  11  so that its position and direction match the inguinal hernias of the patient P. 
   Next, the waistbands  21  are wrapped around the waist of the patient P in the reverse direction from the front to the back and to the front, where each end overlaps one another on the outer top edge of the front member  11  (FIGS.  1  and  4 B). At this point, the waistbands  21  are crossed over the fastener  12   b  of the rear member  12  at the back of the patient P (FIG.  4 C and the two-dot chain line in FIG.  3 B), and then overlap one another on the fastener  11   b  of the front member  11  and fastened by the fasteners  21   a  (FIG.  4 B and the two-dot chain line in FIG.  3 A). 
   Therefore, the front member  11  and the rear member  12  are securely fitted on the patient by the waistbands  21  through the fasteners  11   b  and  12   b , and thus, will not shift up and down or left and right. Then, the crotch bands  22  are passed between the legs from the back and attached to the outside bottom of the front member  11  through the fasteners  22   a  (FIGS.  1  and  4 B), which completes the wearing process of the hernial truss. At this point, the end of each crotch band  22  can overlap on the waistbands  21 . The hernial truss is preferably worn on underwear (not shown) of the patient P. 
   When wearing the hernial truss in such a manner, the front member  11  is pulled in four directions by the waistbands  21  and the crotch bands  22 , so that whole surface of the front member contacts the abdominal area, thereby allowing the pressing pad  31  to be stably positioned and pressed against the herniated abdominal area. The rear member  12  contacts the back of the patient P symmetrically with the front member  11  via the waistbands  21  and the crotch bands  22 . 
   In other words, the top, left and right sides of the front member  11  is snugly fit with the patient P through the waistbands  21 , and the bottom of front member  11  is snugly fit with the patient P through the crotch bands  22 . Further, the front member  11  will not be displaced left or right because of the waistbands  21  or up and down because of the crotch bands  22 . Accordingly, the pressing pad  31  can be effectively prevented from being displaced from the herniated abdominal area. 
   When taking the hernial truss off, the fasteners  22   a  on the crotch bands  22  are unfastened from the front member  11  and the waistbands  21  are unfastened from the front member  11  and the rear member  12 . 
   In the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, the pressing pad  31  can be adhered to either left or right inside of the front member  11 , or to both the left and right inside of the front member  11 , depending on the location of the inguinal hernias of the patient P. 
   As an alternative aspect, one end of each waistband  21  can be rotatably connected to the front member  11  as shown in FIG.  5 A.  FIG. 5B  is an enlarged cross sectional view of the Z—Z lines of FIG.  5 A. 
   One end of each waistband  21  is joined to the front member  11  by fasteners  21   b  and  21   c , which are snap fit with one another in a rotatable manner. These fasteners  21   b  and  21   c  are individually sewn on the front member  11  and the waistbands  21  respectively. A pair of engaging units  21   b   1  are formed through a slot  21   b   2  of the fastener  21   b . The engaging units  21   b   1  are elastically fitted in the ring-shaped fastener  21   c  from the inner side by a single action. In this arrangement, the pulling direction of the waistbands  21  from the front member  11  can be adjusted in up and down directions by the relative pivotal or rotational motion of the fasteners  21   b  and  21   c  as expressed by the continuous lines, dashed lines, and two-dot chain lines, respectively, in FIG.  5 A. 
   At the bottom of the front member  11 , a reinforcement member  11   c  can be provided adjacent to the fastener  21   b . The reinforcement member  11   c  prevents the bottom of the front member  11  from rising or deforming. 
   In a further aspect, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the front member  11  and the rear member  12  can be joined in a ring-like shape through the waistbands  21 . On the upper outer side of the rear member  12 , belt loops  12   c , where each waistband  21  is inserted through in the opposite direction from one another, are attached. In this embodiment, the fastener  12   b  in  FIGS. 1-4  is not used at the top edge of the rear member  12 , and the fastener  11   b  is formed only on the outside of the front member  11 . Thus, the front member  11  and the rear member  12  can be easily worn on the lower abdominal area and the back of the patient P by overlapping the ends of the waistbands  21  at the top edge of the front member  11  and fastening them. 
   The pressing pad  31  can be formed to have an entirely smooth outer surface by using a smooth cushion material such as shown in FIG.  6 . 
   In the foregoing embodiments, the hernial truss is preferably constructed without using any metallic material. If such metallic material is used, when a patient P wearing the hernial truss passes through a metal detector in an airport, for example, the detector may be activated, thereby causing unnecessary trouble. 
   According to the present invention, since the hernial truss is comprised of the front member attached with the left and right waistbands, the rear member attached with the left and right crotch bands, and the pressing pad attached to the front member, the front member and the rear member are securely fixed on the patient&#39;s lower abdominal area and the back, respectively. Consequently, the hernial truss will not cause any localized excessive pressure against the patient, and thus, will be painless and harmless to the skin. Further, the pressing pad can correctly and stably press the herniated abdominal area without being displaced or shifted from the herniated part. 
   Although only a preferred embodiment is specifically illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated that many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings and within the purview of the appended claims without departing the spirit and intended scope of the invention.