Patent Publication Number: US-2005120456-A1

Title: Kneepad having an ergonomic notch

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      The present patent document claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of Provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/527,851, filed Dec. 8, 2003, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND  
      Historically, to prevent knee injuries during physical activity that requires being in a kneeling position, a user would wear a protective kneepad over the front of their knee. Traditional protective kneepads normally includes some type of rigid cap secured against the front of a knee by some type of strap that surrounds the knee and leg of the user.  
      These traditional protective kneepads, however, suffer from a number of deficiencies. For example, protective kneepads are often designed for use when a user is in a kneeling position only. This creates problems when a user wearing a protective kneepad must often move from a kneeling position to a standing position while performing an activity. The constant movement from a kneeling position to a standing position typically causes the kneepad over the front of a knee to move out of position due to the shin or thigh of the user coming into contact with the rigid cap portion of the protective kneepad. This movement of the protective kneepad causes discomfort to the user, and more seriously, increases the possibly of injury due to the fact that the protective kneepad may no longer protect the front of the knee.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY  
      It is therefore desirable to have a kneepad designed to remain stationary over the knee of a user when the user must move from a kneeling position to a standing position during a physical activity. The present invention is directed at correcting this deficiency in the prior art.  
      In one aspect of the invention, a kneepad may include a base, a rigid cap attached to the base, and a notch located on the base or rigid cap. The notch is configured to conform to a leg of the user to prevent the base and the rigid cap from changing position on the knee of the user during movement. More specifically, the notch is configured to prevent the shin or the thigh of the user from coming into contact with the rigid cap and to ease pressure on the knee while the user is standing. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a kneepad having a shin notch, a rigid cap notch, and a thigh notch in accordance with the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a planar front view of the kneepad of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3A  is a planar bottom view of the kneepad of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3B  is an enlarged view along line  3 B of the bottom of the rigid cap of  FIG. 3A ;  
       FIG. 4  is a planar top view of the kneepad of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 5  is a planar rear view of the kneepad of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a kneepad having a rigid cap notch in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 7  is a planar front view of the kneepad of  FIG. 6 ;  
       FIG. 8  is a planar bottom view of the kneepad of  FIG. 6 ;  
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a kneepad having a shin notch and a rigid cap notch in accordance with the present invention; and  
       FIG. 10  is a planar front view of the kneepad of  FIG. 10 .  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a first embodiment of a kneepad  102  to protect a knee of a user includes a flexible base  104 , a rigid cap  106 , and a strap assembly  108 . Preferably, the flexible base  104  is made of a padded fabric with an elastomeric or silicone interior.  
      The rigid cap  106  is preferably a rigid plastic such as PVC, but any rigid material could be used. In one embodiment, the rigid cap  106  may be permanently attached to the flexible base  104  by any way known in the art such as sewing the rigid cap  106  to the flexible base  104  or gluing the rigid cap  106  to the flexible base  104 . In other embodiments, the rigid cap  106  may be removably attached to the flexible base  104  by any way known in the art, such that different sized rigid caps  106  or rigid caps  106  made of different materials could be used with the same kneepad  102 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 2 , the flexible base  104  has a lower portion  116 , a left portion  117 , an upper portion  118 , and a right portion  119 . Preferably, the rigid cap  106  is positioned in the center of the flexible base  104  such that the rigid cap  106  is positioned directly over the front of the knee of the user, but the rigid cap  106  may also be positioned offset from the center of the flexible base  104 , towards the lower portion  116 , left portion  117 , upper portion  118 , or right portion  119  of the flexible base  104 .  
      In general, a user places the flexible base  104 , including the rigid cap  106 , over the knee such that the rigid cap  106  covers the front of the knee. Once the flexible base  104  and the rigid cap  106  are in a desired position, the user secures the kneepad  102  to the knee using the strap assembly  108  around the leg.  
      Preferably, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the strap assembly  108  generally includes an elongated strap  124  having a first end  126  attached to the flexible base  104 . A second end  128  of the elongated strap  124  includes a surface of minute hooks  130  that contacts one or more surfaces of uncut pile  132  to secure the kneepad  102  when the elongated strap  124  is wrapped around a leg of a user. In other embodiments, any type of strap assembly  108  known in the art could be used to secure the kneepad  102 .  
      As shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , in a first embodiment of the current invention, the kneepad  102  includes at least one notch defined in the flexible base  104  or the rigid cap  106  to prevent the kneepad  102  from changing position on a leg of a user during movement. The notch may be a shin notch  110 , a thigh notch  112 , a lower rigid cap notch  113 , or an upper rigid cap notch  115 .  
      The shin notch  110  is preferably located on the lower portion  116  of the flexible base  104 . The shin notch  110  has a generally trapezoidal shape having a first side  134 , a second side  136 , and a third side  138 . The shin notch  110  is contoured such that the flexible base  104  may conform to the lower leg of a user below the knee. Preferably, as the kneepad  102  surrounds the front of the knee of the user, the shin notch  110  partially surrounds and embraces the shin of the user in such a manner that the kneepad  102  is securely positioned on the knee of the user. In particular, the first and third sides  134 ,  138  of the shin notch  110  embrace the sides of the shin of the user while the second side  136  of the shin notch  110  partially surrounds the front of the shin of the user. This positioning and design increases comfort to the user during use.  
      Preferably, the first and third sides  134 ,  138  of the shin notch  110  are equal in length, but the first and third sides  134 ,  138  of the shin notch  110  may also have different lengths. Further, the first and third sides  134 ,  138  of the shin notch  110  may have the same or different lengths than the second side  136  of the shin notch  110 .  
      During use, the shin notch  110  serves to ease pressure above the knee created by the upper portion  118  of the kneepad  102  when a user is standing. In other embodiments, the shin notch  110  may be arcuate or any other shape that allows the flexible base  104  to embrace the sides of the user&#39;s shin such that the kneepad  102  is securely positioned on the user&#39;s knee.  
      The thigh notch  112  is preferably located on the upper portion  118  of the flexible base  104 . The thigh notch  112  is typically an arcuate shape, but the thigh notch  112  can also be other shapes such as trapezoidal. Preferably, the thigh notch  112  is contoured such that the flexible base  104  may partially surround and embrace the user&#39;s front thigh above their knee to prevent the kneepad  102  from shifting position or causing the user discomfort when a user is in a standing position or changing positions between a kneeling position and a standing position.  
      In particular, a first and third portion of the curve  140 ,  144  of the thigh notch  112  embrace the sides of the thigh of the user while a second portion of the curve  142  of the thigh notch  112  partially surrounds the front of the thigh of the user. This positioning allows the kneepad  102  to surround the front of the knee of the user without causing the user discomfort when the user is in a standing position or is changing positions between a kneeling position and a standing position.  
      In each of the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1-8 , two rigid cap notches  113 ,  115  are utilized. The lower rigid cap notch  113  is located on a lower portion  120  of the rigid cap  106 , and the upper rigid cap notch  115  is located on an upper portion  122  of the rigid cap  106 . Some embodiments may only contain one of the lower and upper rigid cap notches  113 ,  115 .  
      Preferably, the lower rigid cap notch  113  is contoured such that as a user moves, the shin of the user will not disturb the positioning of the kneepad  102  over the knee. As shown in  FIG. 3B , the lower rigid cap notch  113  is preferably angled so that as the kneepad  102  moves forward when a user is in a standing position, the rigid cap  106  will not come in contact with the knee or shin of the user. Typically, the shape of the lower rigid cap notch  113  generally matches the shape of the corresponding shin notch  110  located on the lower portion  116  of the flexible base  104 . Therefore, as seen in the first embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , both the lower rigid cap notch  113  and the shin notch  110  are generally trapezoidal in shape.  
      Preferably, the upper rigid cap notch  115  is contoured such that as a user moves, the knee or thigh of the user will not disturb the positioning of the kneepad  102  over the knee. Typically, the shape of the upper rigid cap notch  115  generally matches the shape of the corresponding thigh notch  112  located on the upper portion  118  of the flexible base  104 . Therefore, as seen in the first embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , both the upper rigid cap notch  115  and the thigh notch  112  are generally arcuate in shape.  
      As shown in  FIGS. 6-10 , other embodiments may include different combinations of the shin notch  110 , thigh notch  112 , lower rigid cap notch  113 , and upper rigid cap notch  115 . For example, as shown in  FIGS. 6-8 , the embodiment of  FIGS. 1-5  may be altered so as to only contain the upper and lower rigid cap notches  113 ,  115 . Additionally, as shown in  FIGS. 9-10 , the embodiments of  FIGS. 1-5  may be altered so as to only contain the shin notch  110  and the lower rigid cap notch  113 . Furthermore, in each of the embodiments of  FIGS. 1-10 , extra padding could be added to the shin notch  110  and the thigh notch  112  in order to further improve the comfort level.  
      It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.