Patent Publication Number: US-2021161742-A1

Title: Knee support

Description:
FIELD 
     The present disclosed subject matter relates to human mobility apparatus. More particularly, the present disclosed subject matter relates to accessories of wheeled mobility apparatus. 
     BACKGROUND 
     People with physical disabilities that need to sit for long time on a wheelchair or other mobile apparatus have problem of support to their legs. There are bands and straps available to be tied around the knees area and the wheelchair adjacent bars. There are also available supports having pivot points that force the knees to be closer to one another. Gel inserts are also available to soften the contact surface between the knees and the supports. 
     However, available supports cannot provide full support to the legs in the knees area in mobile apparatii that allows movements of the legs of the user while sitting or standing (in the case of the chair having standing position) as well as movements of the user in transitions from sitting to standing positioned and vice versa. 
     SUMMARY 
     It is one aspect of the present disclosure to provide knee support system that provides full support to the legs of a person using any type of mobility apparatus. 
     It is another aspect of the present disclosure to provide knee support to be used in more sophisticated mobility apparatus that allows additional movement of the user and his legs such as standing wheelchair that needs additional support to the user. 
     It is yet another aspect of the present disclosure to provide a mechanical system that allows movements of the legs and the knees and simultaneously, supports and stabilizes the knees. 
     It is therefore provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, a knee support system to be incorporated within mobility apparatus, the knee support system comprising:
         at least two oppositely positioned knee supports configured to be connected to members of the mobility apparatus, wherein the knee supports have a disengaged position in which the knee supports are laterally rotated and an engaged position in which the knee supports are harnessing legs of a user;   each of the knee supports comprises a bar and a bracket, wherein relative movement is maintained between the bar and the bracket so as to allow the bracket to laterally move in respect of the bar.       

     In accordance with another embodiment, the knee support is connected to the member via a hinge. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the hinge is positioned at an end of the bar. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the bar is a rail-bar and the bracket is configures to slide along an x-axis of the rail-bar. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the hinge is provided with a lock configures to lock the knee support in the disengaged position or the engaged position. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the bracket has a curved form factor and is designed to match a curvature of human leg below the knee. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the knee supports are connected to the members in a way that allows adjustment of a height of the knee supports relative to the legs. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the bracket is connected to the bar through a carriage and wherein the carriage moves along the rail. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the bracket is connected to the bar via a pin that allows a rotational movement of the bracket relative to the bar. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the bracket is rotating about the pin in 360 degrees clockwise and 360 degrees counterclockwise. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the knee support can be upwardly and downwardly tilted by a predetermined angle relative to a horizontal axis. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, said predetermined angle is at most 15 degrees. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the carriage with the bracket is tilted relative to the rail. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the mobility apparatus is selected from a group of mobility apparatii consisting of a wheelchair; a standing wheelchair; an “EasyStand” standing apparatus, any combination thereof, or the like. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the bracket is softened by pads. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosed subject matter only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the disclosed subject matter. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the disclosed subject matter in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the disclosed subject matter, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the disclosed subject matter may be embodied in practice. 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  shows a knee support system integrated with mobility apparatus while supporting the kneed of a user, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter; 
         FIG. 2A  shows a left knee support in engaged position, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter; 
         FIG. 2B  shows a right knee support in engaged position, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter; 
         FIG. 2C  shows a left knee support in disengaged position, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter; 
         FIG. 2D  shows a right knee support in disengaged position, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter; 
         FIG. 3A  shows a perspective view of one knee support of the knee support system, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter; 
         FIG. 3B  shows perspective view of another one knee support of the knee support system, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter; 
         FIG. 4A  shows perspective view of yet another one knee support of the knee support system, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter; and 
         FIG. 4B  shows perspective view of yet another one knee support of the knee support system, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Before explaining at least one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosed subject matter is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosed subject matter is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The drawings are generally not to scale. For clarity, non-essential elements were omitted from some of the drawings. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosed subject matter belongs. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present disclosed subject matter, suitable methods and materials are described below. In case of conflict, the specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting. 
     Knee support system is provided to be incorporated within mobility apparatus. The knee support system is configures to allow at least one degrees of freedom and therefore comprises at least two oppositely positioned knee supports configured to be connected to members of the mobility apparatus, wherein the knee supports have a disengaged position in which the knee supports are laterally rotated and an engaged position in which the knee supports are harnessing the legs of a user. Each of the knee supports comprises a bar and a bracket, wherein relative movement is maintained between the bar and the bracket so as to allow the bracket to laterally move in respect of the bar. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1  showing a knee support system integrated to mobility apparatus while supporting the kneed of a user, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. The knee support system can be integrated with a manual or powered human mobility apparatus, such as a wheelchair; a standing wheelchair; an “EasyStand” standing apparatus, and any combination thereof, or the like. 
     In some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, the knee support system may be comprised of at least two knee supports  110  and  120  mounted, opposite to one another, on members  111  and  121  respectively, wherein knee support  110  is adapted to harness the left leg  11  of a user to the mobility apparatus; and knee support  120  is adapted to harness the right leg  12  of the user to the mobility apparatus. In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure knee support  110 , i.e. left side, and knee support  120 , i.e. right side, may be both based on similar design, however minoring one another. Thus, for the sake convenience, the description shall refer to both knee supports  110  and  120 , as knee support. Yet it will be understood that the description hereinafter refers to both supports, unless specified otherwise. 
     In some exemplary embodiments, bottom ends of members  111  and  121  may be each connected to a foot base  114  and  124  respectively for each leg. Alternatively, foot bases  114  and  124  may be a single foot base, made of one piece, similarly connected to the members. In either alternative, the foot base(s) may be adapted to fit two feet and carry typical human weight while standing on the foot base. Additionally, or alternatively, the members  111  and  121  can be configured for adjusting the height of each knee support autonomously, so that padded brackets  113  and  123  can be positioned below the kneecaps. 
     The system of the present disclosure provides, mobility-apparatus, users having impaired standing and/or walking condition (but not limited to), with knee support for sitting or standing on the apparatus as well as changing position, e.g. from sitting to standing and vice versa. It should be noted that, standing on mobility-apparatus requires reliable knee supports for securing the user and prevent falling or sliding of the apparatus. One of the objectives of the present disclosure is providing users (sitting or standing) with support associated with small roll, pitch and lateral movements of each knee relative to the body-support system of the apparatus. Thereby, compensating for the movements without applying pressure on the knees. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2A and 2B  showing the knee support system, i.e. left and right knee support, in engaged position and  FIGS. 2C and 2D  showing the knee support system in disengaged position in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. Both knee supports  110  and  120  may be autonomously engaged for harnessing the user&#39;s leg to the mobility-apparatus, alternatively, the knee supports can be disengaged, as shown in  FIGS. 2C and 2D , to allow users to get on and off the mobility-apparatus. 
     In some exemplary embodiments, the knee support comprises a bracket  151  connected by pin  156  to carriage  152  that is configured to slide along x axis  150  of a rail-bar  153 , which is terminated with hinge  154 . 
     Generally, each of the knee supports comprises a bar and a bracket, wherein relative movement is maintained between the bar and the bracket so as to allow the bracket to move laterally in respect of the bar. 
     The hinge  154  can be used for connecting the knee support to the mobility-apparatus in a manner that facilitates rotating the knee support laterally to enable users to get on and off the mobility-apparatus. Equally, the hinge  154  can allow for the knee support to rotate inwards for securing the user&#39;s leg or legs in position, thus providing the user with knee support. In some exemplary embodiments, knee supports  110  and  120  may each comprise locks  112  and  122 , (can be seen in  FIG. 1 ) respectively, for locking the knee supports in engaged position. The locks  112  and  122  can be quickly released for getting off the mobility-apparatus. 
     In some exemplary embodiments, the bracket  151  having a curved form factor is designed to match the curvature of human leg below the knee. In addition, bracket  151  may be softened with pads designed to be dressed on brackets  151 , as depicted by bracket pads  113  and  123 , of  FIG. 1 . Carriage  152  connecting the bracket  151  to the rail-bar  153  can be configured to slide along the x-axis  150  of rail-bar  153  to allow for spreading the knees, away from each other, typically while sitting, and bring the knees closer to each other, typically while standing. The knee support of the present disclosure maintains knee support while smoothly adapts to the user&#39;s position and physical orientation, particularly when transitioning from sitting to standing and vice versa. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 3A and 3B  showing perspective views of one knee support of the knee support system, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. The rail-bar  153  comprises a rail mechanism  155  adapted to accommodate and interface with carriage  152  to provide for sliding of the carriage  152  within the rail-bar  153 . In some exemplary embodiments, pin  156 , connecting between the carriage  152  and the bracket  151 , can be configured to allow for rotational (roll) movements around z-axis  160  (perpendicular to the x-axis  150 ) of the bracket  151 . In some exemplary embodiments, the bracket can roll 360 degrees clockwise (CW) and 360 degrees counterclockwise (CCW). Thereby, the roll can further compensate for movements of the knees resulting from mobility-apparatus activities, such as shifting between sitting; standing; forward body-support; backward body-support; lateral body-support and any combination thereof. 
     It should be noted that any sliding mechanism can be employed without limiting the scope of the disclosed subject matter. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 4A and 4B  showing perspective views of one knee support of the knee support system, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. The knee support can be tilted as depicted in  FIGS. 4A and 4B  relative to a horizontal axis. In some exemplary embodiments, carriage  152  can be configured to tilt the bracket  151  by ±a degrees around a horizontal axis, wherein the horizontal axis is parallel to the ground, and wherein a may be at most 15 degrees. Appropriate stoppers are provided to stop the tilt in a predetermined angle. Independent tilting of each knee support further compensates for movements of the knees resulting from mobility-apparatus activities, such as shifting between sitting, standing; forward body-support backward body-support; lateral body-support and any combination thereof. 
     Therefore, a technical effect of utilizing the disclosed subject matter; which provides smooth sliding, rolling and tilting of the knee support; is preventing excess pressure on the knees of the user. 
     Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims. All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated in their entirety by reference into the specification, to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. In addition, citation or identification of any reference in this application shall not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention.