Joint guard

Abstract: A joint guard for a knee or elbow joint as a flexible cushioned pad positioned over the front of the joint and sized with upper and lower portions extending around the sides of upper and lower limbs joined at the joint. Upper and lower strap fasteners permit a user to adjust the degree of attachment of the upper and lower portions of the pad to the upper and lower limbs. An abrasion resistant shield includes an upper portion secured to the upper pad portion. The shield further has a lower portion secured to the lower pad portion. The shield has a flexible plate extending from the upper portion to the lower shield portion with the plate being disconnected from the pad.

Description: I. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention pertains to protective wear for use in activities such as in-line skating or the like. More particularly, this invention pertains to a joint guard for protecting a knee or an elbow of a user during such activities. 2. Description of the Prior Art In-line skating has become very popular. In order to protect a skater from injuries resulting from falls, skaters typically wear protective gear such as helmets, knee guards, elbow guards and wrist guards. Knee and elbow guards perform a similar purpose of protecting the knee and elbow from impact or abrasion in the event of a fall. Numerous designs of elbow guards and knee guards are available. However, many such designs are cumbersome to user and uncomfortable to wear. Further, such knee and elbow guards are typically dedicated to use on either the left or right joints of the user. Namely, a knee guard designed for use on the right knee of the user cannot comfortably be used on the left knee of the user. The absence of interchangeability between the left and the right joints is particularly frustrating for children who may frequently attempt to wear the joint guard on the wrong joint. Where joint guards are uncomfortable or awkward to put on or use, a skater may, out of frustration, elect not to wear a joint guard. EP-A-0 733 385 discloses a joint guard with a flexible cushioned pad , a fastener and an abrasion resistant shield according to the preamble of claim 1. It is an object of the present invention to provide a joint guard which is comfortable to wear and easy to use. It is a further object of the present invention to provided such a joint guard which interchangeable for use on either the right and left joints of the user. II. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a joint guard for a human joint such as a knee or elbow includes a flexible cushioned pad having an outer portion and an inner portion, said pad sized for said inner portion to be disposed over the front side of the joint with an upper portion of the pad overlying an upper limb and with a lower portion of the pad overlying a lower limb and with the pad at least partially wrapping around left and right sides of the joint. A first adjustable strap is secured to the upper portion for wrapping around a rear side of the upper limb and a second adjustable strap is provided for wrapping around the rear side of the lower limb. An abrasion resistant shield includes an upper portion secured to the pad upper portion. The shield further includes a lower shield portion secured to the pad lower portion. The shield includes a flexible plate extending from the upper shield portion to the lower shield portion with the plate being disconnected from the pad. Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of a joint guard according to the present invention shown in use on a wearer's knee; Fig. 2 is the view of Fig. 1 showing the joint guard in use on a wearer's elbow; Fig. 3 is a front elevation view of the joint guard of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a rear elevation view of the joint guard of Fig. 1. Description of the Preferred Embodiment Referring now to several drawing figures in which identical elements are numbered identically throughout, a joint guard 10 according the present invention is shown. Figure 1 illustrates a knee guard 10 in use on a human knee. Figure 2 illustrates an elbow guard 10' of identical construction to the knee guard 10. The elbow guard 10' is shown in use on a human elbow. The elbow guard 10' is proportionately smaller than the knee guard 10, since the elbow is a smaller joint. Elements identical between Figures 1 and Figures 2 are numbered identically with the addition of an apostrophe in Fig. 2 to distinguish between the embodiments. In Figure 1, the joint guard 10 is shown in use on a human joint between an upper limb 12 and a lower limb 14 which pivot about a pivot axis X-X. At full extension, the joints 12, 14 are disposed in linear alignment. The limbs 12, 14 pivot about the axis X-X rearwardly to define an angle between the rear sides 12b, 14b of the limbs 12, 14. The knee guard 10 includes a flexible cushioned pad 16. The pad 16 includes an outer portion 18 and an inner portion 20. The pad inner portion 20 includes a centrally positioned cutout 32 (Fig. 4) positioned to be disposed over the protruding joint bone (i.e., the knee cap or the protruding elbow bone) on the front of the joint. The inner portion 20 is a stretchable cushioned material having an upper portion 20a and a lower portion 20b. The upper portion 20a is sized to cover the front 12a of the upper limb 12 adjacent the joint and wrap partially around the sides of the upper limb 12. Similarly, the lower portion 20b is sized to cover the front 14a of the lower limb 14 adjacent the joint and wrap partially around the sides of the lower limb 14. A slit 22 is formed between the upper and lower portions 20a, 20b to permit flexing of the guard 10 as the limbs 12, 14 are pivoted about the axis X-X. Both of the upper and lower portions 20a, 20b include rings 24,26 on opposite sides of the upper and lower portions 20a, 20b. A first strap 28 joins the rings 24. A second strap 30 joins the rings 26. The straps 28, 30 are adjustable in size to wrap around the rear sides 12b, 14b of the limbs 12, 14 to permit a user to snugly secure the upper and lower portions 20a, 20b to the upper and lower limbs 12, 14. Each of straps 28, 30 includes a first end 28a, 30a secured to rings 24, 26 with a free end 28b, 30b pass through the opposite of the rings 24, 26 such that the straps fold over onto themselves. Opposing surfaces of the straps 28, 30 are provided with hook and loop fasteners 28c, 30c to secure the straps 28, 30. The outer pad portion 18 likewise includes an upper portion 18a and lower portion 18b sized to cover the front 12a, 14a of the upper limb 12 and lower limb 14, respectively. The outer pad portion 18 is preferably a molded pad which is fabric covered and on its inner surface includes molded domes 34 (Fig. 4) such that the molded domes act as spacers to permit air circulation. The portions 18a, 18b are stitched to the portions 20a, 20b, but unstitched at the apex of the slot 22. Only the periphery of the portions 18a, 18b are stitched to the portions 20a, 20b. The joint guard 10 further includes an abrasion resistant shield 36 having an upper portion 36a and a lower portion 36b. The upper portion 36a and lower portion 36b have their peripheries stitched to the upper and lower portions 18a, 18b, respectively, of the pad outer portion 18. The stitching is illustrated by stitch lines 36c, 36d. The upper and lower portions 36a, 36b are joined by a centrally extending plate 38. Preferably, the plate 38 and upper and lower portions 36a, 36b are formed of unitary construction. The plate 38 is approximate the width of the central protruding bone of the joint to be covered (i.e., the knee cap or the protruding elbow bone) with the plate 38 being disconnected (i.e., not stitched or otherwise directly fastened to) the outer pad portion 18. The plate 38 acts as a shield to protect the protruding bone at the center of the joint and further acts as a hinge member to couple the portions 36a, 36b while permitting articulation between the portions 36a, 36b. The portions 36a, 36b include side portions 37, 39, respectively, which protrude outwardly from the plate 38 and inwardly towards the pivot axis of the joint. The outward projection of the plates 37, 39 is sized for the plates 37, 39 to cover and protract bony protrusions on the sides of the joint. Opposing side edges 37a, 39a of the side portions 37, 39 oppose the side edges of the plate 38 and are spaced therefrom. The side edges 37a, 39a are stitched to the outer pad 18 while the opposing edges of the plate 38 are not stitched to the pad 18. As shown in Figure 3, both the pad 16 and shield 36 are symmetrical about a longitudinal axis Y-Y. As a result of this symmetry, the same guard 10 may be worn on either a left joint or a right joint with equal application and ease of use. From the foregoing detailed description of the invention it has been shown the invention has been attained in a preferred manner. Modifications and equivalence of the disclosed concepts such as those which readily occurred to one skilled in the art are intended to be included in the scope of the claims which are appended hereto.

Claims: A joint guard (10) for a human joint such as a knee and an elbow having an upper limb and a lower limb hinged at a pivot axis transverse to said limbs and extending from a right side to a left side and dividing said joint into a front side and a rear side with said limbs pivoting relative to one another between a fully extended position with said limbs generally linearly aligned and a pivoted position with said limbs defining an angle at said rear side, said joint guard comprising: a flexible, cushioned pad (16) having an outer portion (18) and an inner portion (20), said pad sized for said inner portion to be disposed over said front side of said joint with an upper portion (20a) of said pad overlying said upper limb adjacent said joint and said pad having a lower portion (20b) overlying said lower limb adjacent said joint and with said pad at least partially wrapping around said left and right sides; a fastener including an adjustable upper strap (28) secured to said upper portion (20a) for wrapping around said rear side of said upper limb and an adjustable lower strap (30) secured to said lower portion (20b) for wrapping around said rear side of said lower limb; an abrasion resistant shield (36) having an upper portion (36a) secured to said pad upper portion (20a), said shield (36) further having a lower portion (36b) secured to said pad lower portion (20b), characterised in that said shield (36) further having a flexible plate (38) extending from said upper shield portion (36a) to said lower shield portion (36b) while coupling and permitting articulation between the portions (36a, 36b), with said flexible plate (38) being disconnected from said cushioned pad (16). A joint guard according to claim 1 wherein said pad (16) and shield (36) have a common longitudinal axis extending from said upper portions to said lower portions with said pad and shield being symmetrical about said longitudinal axis. A joint guard according to claim 1 wherein said pad upper and lower portions include side portions (37,39) spaced from and opposing side edges of said plate (38).

Inventors: POPOWSKI SHERRY S, POPOWSKI, SHERRY S.
Applicants: ROLLERBLADE INC, ROLLERBLADE, INC.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: A41D13
IPC codes: A63B71, A41D13