SUPPORT STRAP FOR A KNEE IMMOBILIZING SPLINT

Abstract

A support strap for a knee immobilizing splint with a segment along its length to receive the knee of a wearer. The strap has a hook fixed to a first end that engages an upper part of the splint. The other end of the strap has a connection assembly for attaching the strap to a belt of a wearer so the belt and hook are fixed at a certain distance from each other. This distance is such that the splint is held so the knee of the wearer is at the knee segment of the splint and the splint is prevented from sliding down the leg of the wearer while standing or walking.

Claims

1. A support strap for a knee immobilizing splint with a segment along its length adapted to receive the knee of a wearer, comprising: a strap with a first end adapted to engage an upper part of the splint; and a connection assembly at a second end of the strap, said connection assembly being adapted to adjustably connect to a belt worn by the wearer of the splint, whereby the connection assembly is such as to establish a certain distance from the belt to the hook so the splint is held so the knee of the wearer is at the knee segment of the splint and the splint is prevented from sliding down the leg of the wearer while standing or walking.

2. The support strap of claim 1, wherein the connection assembly is a first Velcro® strip of a certain length on one side of the strap toward the second end and a second Velcro® strip longer than the first on the same side of the strap toward the middle of the strap, whereby the second end of the strap can be passed over the belt of a wearer and the first and second Velcro® strips brought into contact and fixed with respect to each other to achieve the certain distance.

3. The support strap of claim 2 further including an adjustable buckle clasp located in the strap between the second Velcro® strip and the hook, and wherein the second Velcro® strip is reduced in length, but is still longer than the first Velcro® strip and the certain distance is achieved by adjusting the buckle clasp.

4. The support strap of claim 1, wherein the first end of the strap is provided with a hook that is adapted to engage an opening in an upper part of the splint.

5. The support strap of claim 1, wherein the connection assembly comprises a loop at the second end of the strap through which the belt of the wearer can pass and an adjustable buckle clasp assembly connected between the loop and the first end of the strap.

6. The support strap of claim 5 wherein the first end of the strap is provided with a hook that is adapted to engage an opening in an upper part of the splint.

7. The support strap of claim 6 wherein the adjustable buckle clasp assembly has a first end connected to a portion of the strap extending to loop and a second end of the buckle clasp assembly connected to a portion of the strap extending to the hook.

8. A support strap for a knee immobilizing splint with a segment along its length adapted to receive the knee of a wearer, comprising: a belt to be worn by the user, a first strap with a first end attached to the belt, an adjustable buckle clasp with a first end connected to the a second end of the first strap, a hook adapted to engage an upper part of the splint, a second strap connected between the hook and a second end of the buckle clasp, wherein the belt and first strap are an integral one-piece unit and whereby the adjustable buckle clasp connection to the first and second straps is such as to establish a certain distance from the belt to the hook so the splint is held such that the knee of the wearer is at the knee segment of the splint and the splint is prevented from sliding down the leg of the wearer while standing or walking.

9. A method of stabilizing a knee immobilizing splint with a segment along its length adapted to receive the knee of a wearer to prevent the splint from sliding down the leg of the wearer while standing or walking, comprising the steps of: establishing a connection to a top portion of the splint, establishing a connection to an article of clothing secured about the waist of the user, and adjustably connecting the two connections together so as to establish a certain distance from the article of clothing connection and the splint connection so the splint is held such that the knee of the wearer is at the knee segment of the splint and the splint is prevented from sliding down the leg of the wearer while standing or walking.

10. A knee immobilizing splint comprising: an upper section adapted to fit about the thigh of a user; a lower section adapted to fit about the calf of a user; a knee receiving segment between the upper and lower sections adapted to receive the knew of the user; a frame which connects the upper and lower sections of the splint together, but limits bending of the lower section with respect to the upper section; a support strap adapted to connect the upper section of the splint to a belt of the user, whereby the length of the strap is adjustable such that the knee of the wearer held at the knee receiving segment of the splint and the splint is prevented from sliding down the leg of the wearer while standing or walking.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when considered in connection with the following detailed description and appended drawings in which like designations denote like elements in the various views, and wherein:

[0013] FIG. 1 is a side view of a knee immobilizing splint being wore about the leg of a user or patient;

[0014] FIG. 2 shows the splint of FIG. 1 prior to being placed about the leg of the patient and in an open splayed position;

[0015] FIG. 3 is a front view of the knee immobilizing splint of FIG. 1 being wore about the leg of a patient and which has slid down the patient's leg;

[0016] FIG. 4 is a front view of the knee immobilizing splint of FIGS. 1 and 3 being wore about their leg of a patient, but which is provided with the support strap of the present invention installed between the splint and a belt of the user;

[0017] FIG. 5 is a close-up view of FIG. 4 showing the details of an exemplary connection of the strap to the splint;

[0018] FIG. 6A is a view of the strap of FIG. 5 detached from the splint and opened so as to view its Velcro® strips for adjusting its overall length from the belt and FIG. 6B is a view of an alternative belt with an exemplary buckle clasp for adjusting its length;

[0019] FIG. 7A is a view of an integral one-piece belt and strap assembly according to the present invention attached to an immobilizing splint, while FIG. 7B shows a close up of a strap according to the invention with a loop at its upper end through which the belt of the patient can pass through; and

[0020] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the parts of an exemplary buckle clasp.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] FIG. 1 a side view of a knee immobilizing splint, e.g., a Zimmer splint, being wore about their leg of a patient. As can be seen in FIG. 2 the splint is in one-piece and is made primarily of cloth. Its outer perimeter generally tapers inward from top to bottom because the top or upper portion 102 must accommodate the user's thighs and the lower portion 104 only needs to accommodate the user's calf muscles. Vertical strips 210 extend the height of the splint, each being adapted to run along an inner or outer side of the leg. Further, along each vertical strip 210 there are alternating bands 212 and oval loops 214. A generally rectangular center piece 226 extends between the strips 210 and connects tapered upper portions 222 on each side and tapered lower portions 224 on each side. There are large Velcro® panels on the back surfaces (not seen) of portions 222 and 224 so that when the portions 222, 224 are wrapped around the leg of the patient they overlap and can be held in place. Because of the use of Velcro® the amount of overlap permits widening and narrowing of the brace to accommodate patients with different size thighs.

[0022] The oval loops on one strip 210 are aligned with the belts 212 on the other, so that when the splint is wrapped around the leg and held by the Velcro®, it can be further held in place by having the belts extend through the loops.

[0023] The rectangular center piece 226 of the splint, which would face the back of the leg of the user, has a series of pockets 216 (e.g., 4) for receiving metal rods 218. These rods immobilize the upper section 102 with respect to the lower section 104 to protect the knee of the user.

[0024] The splint is positioned along the leg of the user so that the knee is located at indents 220 in the perimeter of the splint that separate the upper and lower portions 222, 224. However, as the patient moves about while wearing the splint, it tends to slide down the leg. If unimpeded, it can slide all the way down until its lower edge is resting on the top of the foot, as shown in FIG. 3. If the splint was designed to allow some flexing of the knee, in this position the knee is within the upper section 102 and the knee cannot be flexed.

[0025] FIG. 4 shows the support strap 300 of the present invention. It can be made of cloth, webbing leather or similar material. As can be seen, it is secured to the user's belt 400 and extends to a hook 302 that is clipped onto one of the loops 214 at the top of the splint. The hook 302 is better seen in FIG. 5. In the embodiment of FIG. 5 one end of the strap is sewn or otherwise attached to the hook 302. The connection shown in FIG. 5 is only illustrative of the present invention and any convenient connection between the strap and the splint can be used. The other end 305 of the strap is passed over the patient's belt 400. There is a Velcro® strip 306 toward the end 305 and a much longer strip 308 toward the middle of the strap. The length of the strap from the belt to the hook 203 is determined by where Velcro® strips 306, 308 are brought into contact with each other. As is clear, strips 306, 308 could be one continuous strip.

[0026] As an alternative, the strap of FIG. 6B can be substituted for the strap of FIG. 6A. When the strap of FIG. 6B is used, the end 305 is passed over the belt and brought into contact with Velcro® strip 309. Strip 309 can be made shorter than strip 308 in the embodiment of FIG. 6A because it does need to be as adjustable as in FIG. 6A. This is because the strap of FIG. 6B includes an adjustable buckle clasp 310. A typical adjustable buckle clasp is shown in FIG. 8. It has a male part 313 that is connected to the end of the strap away from the Velcro® strips. In FIG. 8 the end 312 would enter a retainer slot 313B from the rear right, loop about center post 315, pass into the retainer slot 313A and extend back to the right adjacent the earlier section of strap. Friction between the strap and the center bar as well as between the two overlaying sections of the strap hold the male part 313. A short strap 314 (FIG. 6B) is sewn to a loop 302A of the hook 302 and to a slot 311A of the female part 311 of the buckle clasp. The male part 313 has flexible prongs 317 that are compressed as the male part is inserted into the female part and which expand into openings 319 in the female part to hold the two parts of the buckle clasp together. In other words the short strap 314 is securely fastened between one end of buckle clasp 310 and the hook 302. By pulling on end 312 of the section of strap as shown in FIG. 6B that connects to the buckle clasp 310, the strap can be shortened in length.

[0027] Further, the buckle clasps is likely to be able to hold with more tension than just connected Velcro® strips. In order to take advantage of this, a buckle clasp can be substituted for the connected Velcro® strips.

[0028] In FIG. 7 there is shown an arrangement with a strap like that of FIG. 6B, except that the end 305 is sewn onto an auxiliary belt 320 to form an integral one-piece belt and strap support for the immobilizing splint 100. This provides the maximum amount of support strength for holding up the splint, i.e., it can support a stronger load than the Velcro® connections. Further, since it comes with its own belt 320, it can be used by patients who normally do not wear their own belt. For example it can be for women who wear dresses or anyone wearing pajamas, since the splint must be worn 24/7.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 7B, a loop 350, which can have oval, oblong, circular or narrow rectangular shape and be made of plastic or metal, can be sewn to the end of the strap 300. Then the user's own belt 400 or an auxiliary belt 320 can pass through it. This provides even more flexibility for the invention.

[0030] While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof; it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the embodiments are merely illustrative of the invention, which is limited only by the appended claims. In particular, the foregoing detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. The Velcro® strips, buckle clasps and loops can be interchanged as desired. Nevertheless, the description enables one skilled in the art to make and use the present invention, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, and method of use of the present invention.