KNEEPAD CONSTRUCTION

Abstract

A unitary knew pad fabricated from closed cell resin includes center cup section and integral lateral side connection straps located at the bottom side of the cup section for placement about the leg below the knee and retention of the cup section over the knee.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a utility application which is related to and incorporates by reference previously filed provisional application Ser. No. 61/087,521 entitled Kneepad Construction filed Aug. 8, 2008 for which priority is claimed. This is also a continuation in part application to the following co-pending applications incorporated herewith by reference for which and priority is claimed to the extent permitted by law:

Ser. No. 11/834,742 filed Aug. 7, 2007 entitled “Kneepad Constructions”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a principal aspect the present invention relates to an improved kneepad construction for use by tradesmen, construction workers and the like. The kneepad construction is comprised of a monolithic, unitary, molded, closed cell, resin material shaped and formed as a unit and which includes a central, cup shaped kneepad section with first and second lateral attachment straps integrally molded therewith projecting outwardly from the opposite sides of the central section.

Kneepad constructions for construction workers and others typically are comprised of a molded outer knee cup manufactured from a generally hard rubber or plastic material with padding on the concave, inside surface thereof. Lateral straps are typically bonded, sewn or otherwise attached to the knee cup and are designed to fit around the backside of the knee, be connected and thereby retain the kneepad on the knee of a worker. Typical kneepad constructions include the following incorporated herewith by reference:

Title                       Patent/Serial Number
Kneepad Construction        6,584,616
Kneepad Construction        7,181,770
Molded Kneepad Design       D454,231
Molded Kneepad Construction 6,223,350
Kneepad Construction        7,451,493

Many kneepad designs are bulky and relatively heavy. Also many kneepad designs are uncomfortably rigid.

Thus there is a desire to have a rugged, yet lightweight kneepad construction which is inexpensive, easy to use, easy to place about the knee of an individual and which can be customized to place over the right or left knee of an individual.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, the invention a kneepad having a unitary, molded form construction with a central cup shaped pad and knee cover section including a first, integral, lateral side connecting strap projecting outwardly from one side of the central section and a second, integral, opposite side, lateral side connecting strap projecting outwardly from the opposite side of the central section. The cup section includes a generally concave inside face and has an outside face which is contoured and patterned to facilitate placement on a hard surface such as a floor to prevent skidding yet provide protection for the knee. The inside face may include a pattern of projections, for example, which help cushion a knee positioned over against the inside surface. The entire kneepad is preferably and typically fabricated from a closed cell resin material and thus may be molded as a single article of manufacture.

The connecting straps are positioned at the lower side or near the bottom of the central cup section. The straps may extend only partially from the central cup section. In another embodiment, the lateral side connecting straps extend in a manner which enables them to be joined or attached together to hold the kneepad in position on the knee with the straps connected around the leg beneath the knee joint and retained by interlocking hook and loop fasteners.

The central pad section is configured with a lower “duck bill” feature or projection which extends downwardly and outwardly away from the lower leg. The upper section of the kneepad central section extends at least about 35% upwardly beyond the connection of the lateral side straps to thereby insure proper positioning of padding over the knee supported by lateral straps extending around the lower leg beneath or below the knee joint.

Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a unitary, molded kneepad made from a closed cell resin material.

A further object is to provide a kneepad which is comfortable, light weight, pliable and very inexpensive.

Another object of the invention is to provide a kneepad which h includes a central kneepad cap with first and second lateral, retention straps integrally molded therewith generally extending respectively in opposite directions from the central cup and connectable to hold and retain the cup over the articulated knee joint while the straps are positioned on the leg of an individual below the knee joint.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a unitary kneepad of closed cell resin construction molded to accommodate uniquely the left knee or the right knee off an individual.

These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention are set forth in the detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the detailed description which follows, reference will be made to the drawing comprised of the following collection of figures and computer generated graphics:

FIG. 1 is a backside plan view of an embodiment of the kneepad of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross section taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top side end view of the kneepad of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a right hand lateral side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a left hand lateral side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 8-8 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 9-9 in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 10 is an outside view of the central cup portion of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The kneepad construction of the invention is typically a monolithic, unitary, single, molded article of manufacture and it is typically constructed from a closed cell resin material which, upon molding, is flexible, yet adequately rugged to protect the knee while providing a cushioning effect for the knee.

The kneepad includes a central, generally oval, cup shaped pad section 20 having a top side 22 with a top side edge 24, a bottom side 26 with a bottom side edge 28, a first lateral side 30 and an opposite, second lateral side 32. The interior is of the central section 20 is concave or cup shaped extending along the length of the kneepad as a generally concave cylindrical section 23 and may include various patterned projections such as projections 36 which facilitate cushioning to maintain comfort when the kneepad is placed over the knee of an individual with the concave inside or interior 21 thereof positioned against the knee and lower leg. The projections 36 may be patterned to conform with a left knee or right knee, by including a patterned set of projections 36 to fit respectively against the left or right patella of an individual. Typically, however the projections 36 are omitted since the closed cell resin foam provides adequate cushioning.

The lateral sides 30 and 32 include outwardly projecting lateral side straps 40 and 42 which are integrally molded with the center cup section 20. The side straps 40 and 42 may project outwardly to fully encircle the lower leg of an individual below the knee. Alternatively, the straps 40, 42 may extend only partially outwardly with attached additional strap members (not shown) to encircle the lower leg of an individual. The inside face of the straps 40, 42 include, by way of example, projections 44 which again facilitate comfortable positioning of the straps 40, 42 as they are placed about the lower leg of an individual and which also provide a means for passage of air and for release of perspiration that might' otherwise collect on the inside face of a strap, such as strap 40. Hook and loop fastener patches 37, 39 maybe affixed to the straps 40, 42 respectively provide fastener elements to enable adjustable connection of straps 40, 42.

Importantly, the central cup section 20 extends upwardly beyond the attachment section, e.g. 43, of the straps 40 and 42 at least about 55% to 70% of the longitudinal dimension between the top edge 24 of the top side 22 and the bottom edge 28 of the bottom side 26. The bottom side 26 is formed in the shape of a duck bill 50 as depicted in the vertical sectional view of FIG. 9 so that the duck bill 50 is outwardly projecting and downwardly projecting and thus will not cut into or undesirably impinge against the lower leg of an individual when the kneepad is placed on the knee of an individual.

In the embodiment shown, the lateral side straps 40 and 42 are sufficiently long to fit about the lower leg of an individual for attachment to one another, for example, by hook and loop fastener material on the respective ends of straps 40 and 42. The straps 40 and 42 at the area of attachment to the central cup section 20 have a vertical longitudinal dimension which is at least about 30% to 45% of the longitudinal dimension of the cup section 20 preferably about 35% of the longitudinal dimension. In the embodiment depicted, the straps 40 and 42 include molded through passages 46 and 48, respectively for maintaining comfort and providing an area for relief for perspiration and for air flow.

The top plan view of FIG. 6 depicts the outside face of the cup section and discloses an array of ribs, such as ribs 60 and 62, which are formed symmetrically on opposite sides of the longitudinal vertical axis 82 of the central cup section 20 and which define a flat section 90 to help support an individual utilizing the kneepad. As shown in the sectional views, FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the outside face is configured to provide a support surface 90 which is generally flat, but which permits some movement from side to side in a rocking motion. The interior concave face 21 of the cup section 20 is configured to provide for a comfortable positioning against the knee and to encircle the knee in a protective fashion.

The inside face 21 of the central cup section 20 is typically smooth rather than including ribs or projections 36. This results inasmuch as the closed cell resin material used to make the kneepad provides a cushioning effect which is adequate without reliance upon the projections 36.

Referring again to FIG. 1 which is the inside front view of the inside of a typical kneepad, the cup section 20 includes a recess section associated with the width of the attachment straps 40, 42 with a recess section midpoint 80 which is approximately 25-35% of the longitude distance from a bottom edge 28 toward the top edge 24. Thus, the central cup section 20 includes the longitude axis 82 which extends centrally through the recess midpoint 80. Each of the lateral side connectors or straps 40, 42 also includes a generally longitudinal axis for example the axes 84 and 86 respectively which are straight line axes forming an angle in the range of approximately 100-140° with respect to each other and which each form an equal angle with longitudinal axis 82. The straps 40 and 42 are retained adjacent to bottom edge 28 of the central cup section 20. The angular relationship of the straps 40 and 42 as well as the positioning adjacent to bottom edge 28 provides a construction wherein the straps 40 and 42 will comfortably fit about the lower leg of an individual below the knee while maintaining the central cup section 20 snuggly positioned upon and over the knee of a individual.

As depicted particularly FIGS. 7, 8, 9, and 10 the outer face of the central cup section 20 has a generally flat plane surface 90 configuration. This flat planar surface 90 extends from adjacent to top edge 24 of the central section downwardly about two thirds of the distance toward the bottom edge 28. The bottom edge 28 includes a concave formed “duck bill” 50 as previously described which has an axis of curvature 98 wherein the axis of curvature 98 is parallel to a flat plane surface 92 depicted in FIG. 7. Thus the arcuate curved section 100 extends outwardly at the bottom edge 28 and downwardly from so that the cup section will not pinch or bind into the leg of an individual wearing the kneepad construction.

The specification and claims are intended to be interpreted broadly with respect to the scope and meaning of adjectives, adverbs and prepositions as well as nouns and verb forms. By way of example, though specific claim language may include the word “between”, the interpretation of said word shall not be limited to preclude extent of elements beyond boundaries of the example unless specific disclaimer is made or unless by virtue of prosecution the term is to be limited. Articles are also not to be limited and articles such as “c” and “an” shall not be limited to a single item or element unless specifically disclaimed. The examples of the invention should therefore not be interpreted as limiting unless indicated as such.

While there has been set forth preferred embodiments of the invention it is to be understood that the invention is limited only by the following claims and equivalents.

Claims

1. A kneepad comprising:

a unitary, molded form including a central cup shaped, generally concave pad section, a first lateral side strap section, and a second opposite lateral side strap section, said cup section including a generally concave inside face, a patterned outside face, a generally elongate, oval periphery, a first lateral side of said periphery, an opposite second lateral side of said periphery, a top side and edge of said periphery and a bottom side and edge of said periphery, said first lateral side strap section molded integrally with the central section and extending outwardly from the first lateral side adjacent the bottom side, said second lateral side strap section molded integrally with the central section and extending outwardly from the second lateral side adjacent the bottom side;

a longitudinal axis of said cup section extending from the middle of the bottom edge to the middle of the top edge, said strap sections generally symmetrically positioned on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis;

said central cup section extending upwardly from the strap sections at least about 30% of the longitudinal extent of the longitudinal dimension of the longitudinal axis of the central section between the middle of the bottom side edge and the middle of the top side edge, said straps each including end sections having connection elements for joining the straps together to retain the kneepad on the leg of an individual, said central section and strap sections comprising a single molded article of manufacture.

2. The kneepad of claim 1 wherein the molded material is a closed cell resin.

3. The kneepad of claim 1 wherein the outside face includes a pattern.

4. The kneepad of claim 1 wherein said inside face includes a molded pattern of projections.

5. The kneepad of claim 1 wherein said inside face is smooth.

6. The kneepad of claim 1 wherein the first and second straps each include a generally straight longitudinal axis extending from a middle point of the axis of the cup section, said middle point located on the longitudinal axis in the range of 25% to 35% of the longitudinal dimension from the bottom edge, said first and second strap axes each forming an included angle in the range of about 100° to 140°.

7. The kneepad of claim 1 wherein the outside face of the central cup includes a generally flat planar surface extending from the top side toward the bottom side, said flat planar surface connected to a concave surface at the bottom side, said concave surface having an axis of curvature generally parallel to the flat planar surface; said concave surface terminating with said bottom edge.

8. The kneepad of claim 1 wherein each strap includes a through passage adjacent the periphery of the cup section.