Abstract:
A protective limb drape is provided that includes a polymer sheet surrounding an aperture and having attachments along a polymer sheet edge to facilitate suspension of said polymer sheet edge to facilitate suspension of the polymer sheet from a generally horizontal shower curtain rod. An elastomeric ribbon is attached to the sheet to at least partially cover the aperture to define a portal sized to allow the limb to traverse the polymer sheet through the aperture. A flap is attached to a first side of the sheet along a flap edge to overlie the portal. A protective limb drape is also provided as detailed above including a second flap attached to an opposing side of the polymeric sheet with positional overlap with the first flap. Additional apertures defined by the polymeric sheet and a duplicate elastomeric ribbon are also optionally provided such that a single inventive drape is able to accommodate either an arm or a leg traversing the polymeric sheet.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/156,156 filed Feb. 27, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention in general relates to a drape for protection of an injured limb and in particular to a drape mounted as a shower curtain. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    To prevent complications, it is often required that an injured limb be kept dry. Casts, open deep wounds, and external orthopedic pins are exemplary of wounds that should be kept dry. As a result of the requirement that a limb (an arm or a leg) be kept dry, the maintenance of body hygiene is complicated. In many instances, these complications are dealt with simply by foregoing immersion bathing or showering in favor of a sponge bath. Unfortunately, water sponge baths are less than effective at maintaining body hygiene while alcoholic sponge baths tend to dry skin with prolonged usage. Immersion baths are problematic in that it is difficult to maintain balance while entering the tub and avoiding inadvertent wetting. 
         [0004]    Showering with an injured limb poses particular difficulties in that a high pressure water spray and gravity fed water trickle pose two separate modes of wetting. In an attempt to allow an individual having a limb that needs to be maintained in a dry state to shower, numerous prior art attempts have been made to develop a waterproof cover with a seal around the limb that is also waterproof. Representative of these efforts are U.S. Pat. Nos. and Publications 3,785,374; 4,139,003; 4,406,281; 5,728,052; 6,210,352; 6,336,232; 7,198,608; 2005/0027227; and 2006/0276734. Existing limb covers have met with limited success owing to problems ranging from limiting blood circulation, difficulty of limb insertion, and sweating associated with limb enclosure. 
         [0005]    Thus, there exists a need for a protective limb drape that is effective at keeping the limb dry, inexpensive, easy to use, and comfortable to use. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    A protective limb drape is provided that includes a polymer sheet surrounding an aperture and having attachments along a polymer sheet edge to facilitate suspension of said polymer sheet edge to facilitate suspension of the polymer sheet from a generally horizontal shower curtain rod. An elastomeric ribbon is attached to the sheet to at least partially cover the aperture to define a portal sized to allow the limb to traverse the polymer sheet through the aperture. A flap is attached to a first side of the sheet along a flap edge to overlie the portal. A protective limb drape is also provided as detailed above including a second flap attached to an opposing side of the polymeric sheet with positional overlap with the first flap. Additional apertures defined by the polymeric sheet and a duplicate elastomeric ribbon are also optionally provided such that a single inventive drape is able to accommodate either an arm or a leg traversing the polymeric sheet. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an inventive drape in the context of a shower curtain; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2A  is a front view of a portal formed by an elastomeric rubber partially covering an aperture in a polymeric sheet; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2B  is a magnified perspective view of a portal flap and drape of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of an inventive drape showing opposing flaps covering an aperture therethrough; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a limb drape module amenable to custom insertion in a shower curtain. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    The present invention has utility as a drape that protects an injured limb from water exposure. The present invention uses an elastomeric-edged aperture to faun a seal between the limb and the remainder of the inventive drape thereby eliminating the need for the mitt-like or boot-like covers conventional to the art. 
         [0013]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1-3 , an inventive drape is depicted generally at  10 . The drape  10  is formed of a polymer sheet  12  that is impervious to water. Materials suitable for the formation of a polymeric sheet  12  illustratively include thermoplastics such as polyolefins, polyvinyl chlorides, polyesters, and polyurethanes; elastomers such as butyl rubber and latexes; and copolymers of the aforementioned. Preferably, the polymeric sheet  12  is flexible as defined by folding when stood upon edge under the weight of the polymeric sheet  12 . Optionally, the polymeric sheet  12  has an edge  14  modified with securements  16  to facilitate suspension of the polymeric sheet  12  from a generally horizontal rod so as to allow an inventive drape  10  to function as a shower curtain. A securement  16  illustratively includes multiple apertures, material loops, or conventional shower curtain suspension hardware. Various securements  16  are accordingly depicted in the accompanying figures. Optionally, a second set of securements  16 ′ are provided vertically displaced from securements  16  so as to provide alternative height positioning of the inventive drape  10  and elements thereof. It is appreciated that the second set of securements  16 ′ are of a same type or different type relative to securements  16  in a given embodiment. By way of example, when securements  16  are apertures, securements  16 ′ are also apertures or material loops. An aperture  18  is defined by the polymeric sheet  12 . Optionally, the surface of the polymeric sheet includes a handle  33  to facilitate casted limb insertion through aperture  18  for movement of a drape  10 . A handle  33  is optionally formed from a strip of the same material from which the polymeric sheet  12  is formed being welded thereto to form a grippable loop. 
         [0014]    An elastic ribbon  20  is attached to the polymeric sheet around at least a portion of the aperture  18  to reduce the area of the aperture  18  to form a portal  19  sized to permit transit of an injured limb therethrough.  FIG. 2A  depicts a ribbon  20  that only partially covers aperture  18 . Preferably, the ribbon  20  covers the aperture  18  and has a through hole  21  defining portal  19 , as shown in  FIG. 2B  at  19 / 21 . Optionally, a rigid plastic ring  27  bounds and supports the ribbon  20  to define the portal  19  or the portal  19  is defined between the ribbon  20  and the ring  27 . Materials from which the elastomeric ribbon  20  is formed illustratively include isoprene, epoxidized natural rubber, ethylene propylene diene M-class rubber (EPDM), latex, butyl rubber, and vinyl. An elastomeric ribbon  20  is appreciated to also constitute an elastomeric sheet secured to the polymeric sheet  12  overlapping the aperture  18 , the elastomeric sheet having the through hole  21  folioed therethrough to define the portal  19  upon. To facilitate a large casted limb or a height differential between the limb and portal  19 , optionally the elastomeric ribbon  20  is provided with at least one thinned region  21  in the form of an arc, circle, or other shape. The thinned region  21  forms a least resistant tear line to enlarge the area of portal  19 . Alternatively, the elastomeric ribbon  20  has printed indicia  23  designating cut lines to enlarge the area of portal  19 . 
         [0015]    In operation, as a user passes an injured limb through the portal  19 , the ribbon  20  is tensioned against the proximal user limb relative to the distal injury. It is appreciated that the resultant seal created about the portal  19  by the ribbon  20  relative to a proximal user limb by itself in some circumstances is insufficient to prevent a high pressure shower spray on a first side of a polymeric sheet  12  from passing through the seal so created in the portal  19  to wet the injured limb now present on the second external side of the polymeric sheet  12 . 
         [0016]    To protect the seal created between the ribbon  20  and a user proximal limb within the portal  19  from high pressure shower spray, a flap  22  is secured vertically along a flap edge  24  above the aperture  18  and connected to a first side  15  of the polymeric sheet  12 . The flap  22  is dimensioned such that the portal  19  is covered by the flap  22  over the vertical-most 90% of the aperture area. Preferably, the flap  22  when extending fold-free along the polymeric sheet  12  completely covers the portal  19 . More preferably, the flap  22  extends beyond the portal  19  to the maximal extent and has a slit or cutout  26  extending towards and preferably not overlapping the portal  19 . Optionally, the flap  22  is secured to the plastic ring  27 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . It is noted that the inclusion of a slit or cutout  26  facilitates the draping of a flap  22  over the proximal portion of an injured limb to effectively form a shield preventing high pressure water spray from a shower from contacting the seal between the ribbon and a proximal limb portion. In the context of an inventive drape being used in surgery, a direct linear path between the seal and the environment above a polymeric sheet through which an injured limb has been inserted is also blocked by the flap  22 . 
         [0017]    Optionally, at least one selectively openable fastener  30  is provided on an edge  32  of the flap  22  remote from the flap attachment  25 . The fasteners  30  illustratively include snaps, contact adhesives, and hook-and-loop fasteners. Preferably, the attachment  25  between the flap  22  and the polymeric sheet  12  lacks a linear overlap with fastener  30  on an orthogonal axis relative to the attachment  25 . As shown in particular detail in  FIG. 2 , a first portion  30 A of a fastener  30  is secured to an outward face  35  of the flap  22 . The complementary portion  30 B of the fastener  30  is secured to the opposing inward face  37  of the flap  22  thereby shaping the flap  22  in a conical shape that facilitates engagement of a proximal limb. Optionally, a second complementary portion  30 B′ is secured to the first side  15  of the polymeric sheet  12  to selectively hold the flap  22  in an open position by joining portions  30 A and  30 B′. 
         [0018]    It is appreciated that an inventive drape  10  optionally includes a duplicate flap  22 ′ and arm portal  19 ′ (shown in ghost with overlapping flap  22 ′) to facilitate operation as a shower curtain for both casted arms or legs. As detailed above with portals  19  and  22 , portals  19 ′ and  22 ′ are spaced to facilitate insertion of an injured arm. Like numerals used with respect to flap  22 ′ correspond to the meanings attributed to those of flap  22 . Optionally, access opening  36  is provided in the polymeric sheet  12  positioned in proximity to the portal  19 ′ to allow the hand of an injured arm to be reinserted into contact with the first side of the polymeric sheet  12  depicted in  FIG. 1  presented to the viewer. Optionally, an access opening  36  includes a sealed sleeve  37  formed as a tube, mitt, or glove to prevent wetting of the injured limb. It is noted that such an opening  36  facilitates use of an inventive drape  10  in the context of a shower curtain thereby allowing a user to grip a shampoo bottle or otherwise use the hand in the course of showering. The opening  36  optionally is bounded by an elastomeric diaphragm to inhibit water flow back through the hand opening  36  towards the injured limb. 
         [0019]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , an inventive drape  50  having a second flap  22 ″ otherwise the same as flap  22  is provided on the second side of the polymeric sheet  12  in opposition to the flap, where double primed numerals used with respect to  FIG. 2  have the same meaning as used with respect to the base numeral as detailed above. It is appreciated that an opposing flap  22 ″ embodiment of an inventive drape  50  affords an additional barrier to water transit through aperture  18 , as well as addressing inverted deployment of an inventive drape. 
         [0020]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , an inventive drape is shown generally at  70  where like reference numerals have the meanings ascribed thereto with respect to the aforementioned figures. The inventive drape  70  has a drape insert module  72  based on a plastic ring  27  supporting a portion of elastomeric ribbon  20  defining an aperture  74  and a flap  22 . Other attributes depicted for the module  72  are optional. An aperture  74  is bound at least on one side by the ribbon  20  and, as shown, the aperture  74  is surrounded by the ribbon  20 . A flap  22  is secured to the ring  27  to cover at least a portion of aperture  74  where the flap  22  is extended. Preferably, the extended flap  22  has a slit or cutout  26 . The module  72  inserts into an aperture  18  formed in a polymeric sheet  12 . The aperture  18  is optionally custom cut to the specifics of the limb enclosure and height of a user. Optionally, the sheet  12  has scores or thinned regions  76  to facilitate cutting sheet  12  to form aperture  18  in various positions, such as defined by regions  76 . The module  72  is secured to the sheet  12  by conventional techniques including contact adhesives. A flange  78  with a pre-adhesed surface  80  that bonds to the sheet  12  bound aperture  18  is a representative joinder. Hook-and-loop fastener component  30 B′ is optionally added to the sheet  12  after securement of the module  72 . 
         [0021]    Patent documents and publications mentioned in the specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. These documents and publications are incorporated herein by reference to the same extent as if each individual document or publication was specifically and individually incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0022]    The foregoing description is illustrative of particular embodiments of the invention, but is not meant to be a limitation upon the practice thereof The following claims, including all equivalents thereof, are intended to define the scope of the invention.