Abstract:
Cast and bandage protector that avoids use of a separate sealing ring and therefore can be folded over upon itself, has suitability for convenient packaging and at the same time still provides an effective waterproof sealing arrangement.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a Continuation-in-Part of co-pending, commonly assigned, U.S. Ser. No. 12/127,316 filed May 27, 2008, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a cast and bandage protector, for use during showers and baths. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Casts have been used for well over a hundred years to protect set, broken bones. There are two basis types of casts: plaster of paris and more recently, fiberglass. Although more expensive, fiberglass has certain advantages over plaster, such as lighter in weight, generally longer wearing and often more durable. 
     Regardless of whether a cast is plaster or fiberglass, they typically have cotton padding in their interior facing the patient&#39;s skin surface in order to protect the skin and underlying bones from direct contact or pressure caused by the cast. It is important that neither the cast nor the cotton padding get wet. For example, the cast must be kept dry when bathing or showering. Although a fiberglass cast is impervious to water damage, if the cotton lining becomes wet it may cause skin irritation and possible skin breakdown. Also, moisture will cause the skin to become itchy, and the warm moisture may increase the susceptibility to infection. As a result of the above issues, flexible elastic sleeves have been developed which are used to enshroud either the fiberglass or plaster cast. These elastic sleeves are generally known and commonly sold. 
     One such prior art sleeve is represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,945 to Betz issued Feb. 3, 1987. Betz provides an elongated flexible plastic sleeve that uses a gasket-like arrangement formed within a surrounding sealing ring. The problem, however, with such sealing ring gasket configurations is that the ring is usually made of semi-rigid waterproof material, which both increases manufacturing expense and prohibits neat and snug folding within a compact package. 
     This latter point can be significant since store shelf packaging space is important in getting medical device dispensing stores to shelve a product. Put another way, high manufacturing expense and bulky packaging will prevent general store acceptance for shelf display. 
     Yet another problem with cast protectors for consumer acceptance is that the sleeve must be configured such that it can be easily put on and taken off, and the sleeve must be able to accommodate casts for the arm, for example, that are just simply forearm casts or for the entire arm that need to accommodate the possibility of a 90° bend, for example, at the elbow. This similar situation exists for the leg, ankle and knee. That is to say that one cast protector needs to be available for the entirety of the arm, whether only a forearm cast or a complete arm cast; and similarly one cast protector size needs to be available for the leg in this same way. The number of variations that need to be manufactured can therefore be lessened, even further decreasing manufacturing expense. 
     Generally, in order to provide patient movement, the tubular material from which a cast protector is made, must be flexible. However, integrity must not be sacrificed for flexibility, since the protector in combination with the opening seal, must protect against entry of moisture. This can be difficult, since the opening seal or diaphragm must be a highly stretchable diaphragm material to allow it to be pulled over casts of a wide variety of diameters. As a result, the diaphragm must be more stretchable, than the flexible cast cover. Such a difference in stretch properties often results in a tear at the point of sealing of the diaphragm and cast cover. 
     This invention has as one object the making of a cast cover which has a diaphragm that stretches easily over a cast without tearing away at the attachment point to the actual cast cover. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a waterproof shield or sleeve for bandages or casts that can easily be applied and effectively seal the limb in order to prevent water accessing the cast or bandage, during, for example, bathing or showering. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide the above advantages and objectives with a system which is economical to make, and which eliminates the high expense of a separate sealing ring. 
     A yet further object of the present invention is to provide the above advantages with a cast and bandage protector which can be folded over upon itself for easy, efficient packaging, and conserved shelf space. 
     An even further objective of the present invention is to provide a cast protector which is a flexible sleeve design to allow easy pull on and take off and which has sufficient flexibility, i.e., a widened area to accommodate up to a 90° bends at covered joints, such as elbows, ankles and knees to allow freedom of movement inside the cast cover. 
     The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the description of a preferred embodiment which follows in conjunction with the below described drawings. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Cast and bandage protector that avoids use of a separate non-flexible sealing ring and therefore can be folded over upon itself, has suitability for convenient packaging, and at the same time still provides an effective waterproof sealing arrangement, with a stretchable diaphragm that will not under normal use tear away from a flexible, non-stretch cast cover. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cast protector of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an end view of the diaphragm end of the cast protector along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a human limb schematically and in perspective to demonstrate the use of the protector on an arm. 
         FIG. 4  is a view similar to  FIG. 3  of the cast protector over a leg. 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the cut line and corner forming the seal between the diaphragm and the cast cover. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the cast with a bandage protector  10  and in this particular instance for use over the arm of the patient. Cast protector  10  is comprised of a flexible waterproof sleeve  12  composed at one end, i.e., hand end  14  of a mitten-like configuration and having an open end in a generally C-configuration  16  at end  14 . It is generally made of a flexible, but not particularly stretchable material in order to maximize integrity. Adjacent laterally to the open end  16  are two tab areas  18  and  20  which can be pulled conveniently by grasping with the hand in order to pull the cast protector on over a limb. The diaphragm  22  is stretchable, usually to several times its normal size, has a memory and is adhesively sealed along seal line  24  of flexible sleeve  12 . A suitable adhesive which is capable of adhering the elastic diaphragm  22  to the flexible sleeve  24  can be used. Suitable adhesives which form a sealing and secure adhesive moisture impermeable seal include cyanoacrylates. Stretchable diaphragm  22  has an opening  26  that can be stretched many times its natural shape, enough to insert an arm and then when the arm is removed, its memory returns it to its original shape. Diaphragm  22  can be made from either natural or synthetic rubber as long as it has the important stretch characteristics. One synthetic rubber that works is isoprene and blended polyisoprenes. Adjacent tab  18  is a widened area often referred to as a “bump out”  28  (or widened area  28 ) that allows the same cast protector to be used for only forearm casts or also for casts that go around the elbow at 90° (see  FIG. 3 ). Similar bump out or widened area  28  configuration allows for leg casts as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
     The flexible sleeve can be made from any polymeric plastic material, usually transparent since user&#39;s like to see through it. Flexible sleeves can be made from polymeric, poly vinyl chloride, polyurethane or other alpha olefin from polymers, i.e., polyethylene, polypropylene, etc. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an extremely important feature of the present invention. Dotted line  30  shows the old cut line in first versions of the cast protector. As can be seen at corner  32 , it used a 90° corner, so that it and the diaphragm  22  exactly coincided at the bonding corner. Trial and error allowed for the discovery that if the cut has a “released radius cut” as shown at  34 , when the diaphragm is stretched, the pulling force is exerted down from the corner  32  of the cast cover, and as a result the tendency of the cast cover to tear away is substantially diminished. As used herein, released radius means that the circumferential cut of the open end of the flexible fabric does not go all the way to the outside perimeter  36  normal corner edge  32  of the material, but stops short of it to provide a “released radius cut out”, having a sort of step as illustrated. 
     In using the cast and bandage protector as illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , one grasps tabs  18  and  20 , pulls the sleeve over the arm which is inserted through the diaphragm opening  26 , so the stretched opening seals against the arm to make the cast and bandage protector impervious to water. The proper seal is therefore achieved around the limb. And, since the diaphragm folds it can be snugly packaged. 
     While the embodiments of this invention shown and described are fully capable of achieving the objects and advantages desired, it is to be understood that such embodiments have been shown for purposes of illustration only, and not for purposes of limitation with the claims below, providing the meets and bounds of the invention.