Patent ID: 7691074

Claim:
A support for an area of a body that includes a hinge joint, comprising: (a) a flexible, elastically stretchable framework configured to extend across the hinge joint of the area of the body, wherein said framework comprises an integrally molded network of interconnected, elongate elastomeric segments, and includes: (i) left and right sides comprising first and second exterior lateral segments and top and bottom sides comprising first and second exterior transverse segments, which left, right, bottom and top sides collectively define a perimeter of the framework, (ii) first, second, third, and fourth interior, mutually exclusive subsets of transverse segments, each of which extends between and interconnects the left and right sides of the perimeter of the framework, (iii) first and second interior, mutually exclusive subsets of lateral segments, each of which extends between and interconnects the top side of the perimeter of the framework and the second interior subset of transverse segments, and each of which intersects and interconnects the first interior subset of transverse segments, and (iv) third and fourth interior, mutually exclusive subsets of lateral segments, each of which extends between and interconnects the bottom side of the perimeter of the framework and the second interior subset of transverse segments, and each of which intersects and interconnects the third and fourth interior subsets of transverse segments, (v) wherein each subset of segments comprises one or more segments; and (b) a pair of double-hinge mechanisms, each double-hinge mechanism at least partially embedded in a material of the framework proximate a respective one of said left and right sides of the framework and each double-hinge mechanism including a middle component and end components connected to the middle component on opposite sides of the middle component such that each end component is rotatable between different angles relative to the middle component; (c) wherein the middle component of the double-hinge mechanism is configured to extend with the framework across the hinge joint, whereby the double-hinge mechanism is operable adjacent, and on opposite sides of, the hinge joint of the body.