Patent Publication Number: US-2013253392-A1

Title: Protective Brace

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a protective brace, and more particularly to a protective brace that can be easily and quickly worn on a person&#39;s body. 
     2. Description of the Prior Arts 
     A protective brace is worn on a person&#39;s body in order to protect the body from harm. With reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , a conventional protective brace comprises a base strap  50  and a pressure strap  60 . The base strap  50  is made of fabric and includes an inner surface, an outer surface, and a hook component of a hook and loop fastener  51 . The hook component of a hook and loop fastener  51  is attached to the inner surface of the base strap  50 . The pressure strap  60  includes two ends, an outer surface, a ring  61 , a loop component of a hook and loop fastener  62 , a fastening portion, and a hook component of a hook and loop fastener  63 . The ring  61  is connected to one end of the pressure strap  60  and is secured to the outer surface of the base strap  50 . The loop component of a hook and loop fastener  62  is attached to the outer surface of the pressure strap  60 . The fastening portion extends from the other end of the pressure strap  60  and has an outer surface. The hook component of a hook and loop fastener  63  is attached to the outer surface of the fastening portion. 
     For a user to wear the protective brace, the base strap  50  is first wrapped around a body part, such as a wrist, which is to be protected, and the hook component of a hook and loop fastener  51  of the base strap  50  is fastened to the outer surface of the fabric base strap  50 . The pressure strap  60  is then wrapped around the base strap  50  to pass through the ring  61  so that the pressure strap  60  can be folded back and wrapped around the base strap  50  in reverse to make the hook component of a hook and loop fastener  63  fastened to the loop component of a hook and loop fastener  62 . Thus, the protective brace is positioned on the user&#39;s body. 
     However, wearing the brace by operating both the base strap  50  and the pressure strap  60  requires long time and thus causes inconvenience to the user who desires to adjust the tension of the protective brace. 
     To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a protective brace to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main object of the present invention is to provide a protective brace that can be easily and quickly worn on a user&#39;s body. 
     To achieve the foregoing objective, the protective brace in accordance with the present invention comprises a base strap, an annular pressure strap and a fastening member. The base strap includes a first end and a second end. The pressure strap is secured to the first end of the base strap at a section and is movable through the second end of the base strap. The fastening member is movably mounted on the pressure strap and includes a fastening surface. The fastening surface faces the first end of the base strap and is fastened detachably to the pressure strap or the base strap. For a user to wear the protective brace, the base strap is first wrapped around a body part which is to be protected, and the fastening member is then operated to pull the pressure strap so as to make the first and second ends of the base strap close to each other and to make the base strap abut around the body part. The fastening member is also operated to make the pressure strap wrapped around the base strap and is fastened to the pressure strap or the base strap. Therefore, the protective brace can be easily and quickly worn on the user&#39;s body by only operating the fastening member. 
     Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a protective brace in accordance with the present invention shown in an unused condition; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the protective brace in  FIG. 1  shown in an unused condition; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a protective brace in  FIG. 1  shown in a use condition; 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of a protective brace in  FIG. 1  shown in a use condition; 
         FIG. 5  is an operational perspective view of the protective brace in  FIG. 1  showing that the protective brace is worn on a person&#39;s body; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a conventional protective brace in accordance with the prior art shown in an unused condition; and 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the conventional protective brace in  FIG. 6  shown in a use condition. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a protective brace in accordance with the present invention comprises a base strap  10 , an annular pressure strap  20  and a fastening member  30 . 
     With further reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the base strap  10  is made of fabric that allows hook components of hook and loop fasteners to be fastened thereto. The base strap  10  includes a first end, a second end, an inner surface, an outer surface, a connecting strap  11 , a ring  12  and a pad  13 . The connecting strap  11  is secured to the outer surface of the base strap  10  near the second end. The ring  12  is connected to the connecting strap  11 . The pad  13  is attached to a middle section of the inner surface of the base strap  10 . 
     The pressure strap  20  is made of fabric that allows hook components of hook and loop fasteners to be fastened thereto and may be elastic. The pressure strap  20  is secured to the first end of the base strap  10  at a section and is movable through the second end of the base strap  10 . A space  14  is formed between the base strap  10  and the pressure strap  20 . The pressure strap  20  is secured to the base strap  10  by sewing or hot pressing. In a preferred embodiment, the pressure strap  20  is sewn to the base strap  10  so as to form a sewing thread  21  and passes through the ring  12  of the base strap  10 . 
     The fastening member  30  is movably mounted on the pressure strap  20  and includes a fastening surface. The fastening surface has a hook component of a hook and loop fastener attached thereto, faces toward the first end of the base strap  10  and is fastened detachably to the fabric pressure strap  20  or the fabric base strap  10 . In a preferred embodiment, the fastening member  30  has a ring  31  connected to an end thereof and the pressure strap  20  passes through the ring  31 . 
     With further reference to  FIG. 5 , for a user to wear the protective brace of the present invention, the base strap  10  is first wrapped around a body part  40  which is to be protected to make the body part  40  placed in the space  14  between the base strap  10  and the pressure strap  20 . The fastening member  30  is then operated to pull the pressure strap  20  so as to make the second end of the base strap  10  close to the first end of the base strap  10  and to make the base strap  10  abut around the body part  40 . The fastening member  30  is also operated to make the pressure strap  20  wrapped around the base strap  10  in the direction as indicated by the arrows in  FIG. 5  and is fastened to the fabric pressure strap  20  or the fabric base strap  10 . Therefore, the protective brace can be easily and quickly worn on the user&#39;s body by only operating the fastening member  30 . 
     In addition, with the connecting relationship of the annular pressure strap  20  and the two rings  12 ,  31 , minor adjustments to the tension of the protective brace can be conveniently made without separating the fastening member  30  from the pressure strap  20  or the base strap  10 . With reference to  FIG. 4 , when it is desired to tighten the protective brace, the user uses the hand to hold around the pressure strap  20  and to rotate the pressure strap  20  in the counterclockwise direction indicated by the solid line arrow in  FIG. 4 , the pressure strap  20  will drive the first and second ends of the base strap  10  to move toward each other, thereby improving the stability of wearing the protective brace. When it is desired to loose the protective brace, the user uses the hand to hold around the pressure strap  20  and to rotate the pressure strap  20  in the clockwise direction indicated by the broken line arrow in  FIG. 4 , the pressure strap  20  will drive the first and second ends of the base strap  10  to move away from each other, thereby relieving the excessive pressure from the protective brace. 
     Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.