Abstract: A urinal bottle having a unique head that includes a deformable bellows which defines the mouth. The head also includes two finger stalls located on its rear face that cooperate with the bottle's handle. In use, and in response to manual pressure drawing the head section against a female user's vaginal area when the bottle is positioned between the user's legs, the bellows aids in positioning the mouth against and around the vaginal area for minimizing leakage when the user urinates into the bottle as she lies in a prone position. The finger stalls cooperate with the bottle's handle, one of the female user's hands holding the bottle by the handle and the other of the user's hands making use of the finger stalls, in order to draw the bottle's head against her vaginal area.

Abstract: An athletic supporter formed by a method in which a pouch and leg strap subassembly is attached to an endless length waistband by means of a continuous stitch line that is sewn along that waistband. The location of the subassembly's leg strap ends and the pouch piece, relative one to the other, on the endless waistband is established by an endless spacer chain that continuously moves along a work table over which the waist band also continuously moves, that spacer chain having a series of guide fingers against which the leg strap and pouch piece end edges are positioned by the sewing machine operator. The waistband is cut to length after the subassembly is stitched thereto by the continuous length stitch line, and the waistband's ends are then sewn together, to provide the final athletic supporter product with closed loop waistband, and with leg straps and pouch attached.

Abstract: A cane having a one piece molded handle with a roughened area on the handle's top surface to increase gripping friction with the user's hand, upstanding shoulders at the front and rear ends of the handle that prevents the user's hand from slipping off the handle, and index finger support ribs to enhance control of the cane during use. The handle is preferably connected to a tubular shaft by a fastenerless lock that includes a stub shaft formed integral with the handle, that stub shaft having a series of lock flanges oriented generally normal to the stub shaft's axis that, prior to assembly, are of a slightly greater outside diameter than the inside diameter of the tubular shaft, so that the lock flanges are deformed upwardly in generally dish-shaped configuration when the handle's stub shaft is inserted into the tubular shaft.

Abstract: An athletic supporter formed by a method in which a pouch and leg strap subassembly is attached to an endless length waistband by means of a continuous stitch line that is sewn along that waistband. The location of the subassembly's leg strap ends and the pouch piece, relative one to the other, on the endless waistband is established by an endless spacer chain that continuously moves along a work table over which the waist band also continously moves, that spacer chain having a series of guide fingers against which the leg strap and pouch piece end edges are positioned by the sewing machine operator. The waistband is cut to length after the subassembly is stitched thereto by the continuous length stitch line, and the waistband's ends are then sewn together, to provide the final athletic supporter product with closed loop waistband, and with leg straps and pouch attached.

Abstract: A tubular brace constructed so that no seam overlies the fold line of the surface skin behind the user's knee, or on top of the user's elbow, when the brace is being worn, thereby minimizing abrasive discomfort at those surface skin fold areas. Specifically, a first rear surface stitch line is positioned above the surface skin fold line at the knee or elbow joint, and a second rear surface stitch line is positioned below that surface skin fold line, these stitch lines being generally transverse to the brace's longitudinal axis, and these stitch lines cooperating with a generally longitudinal stitch line that extends between the brace's top and bottom edges.

Abstract: A shoulder brace of the type having a generally figure-8 configuration with right and left shoulder loops. Each of the shoulder straps that define the brace's right and left loops are provided with a cushioned inner surface adapted to extend over the wearer's trapezius muscle, over the anterior surface of the wearer's shoulder, and under the wearer's axilla so that the strap does not tend to bite into the wearer's body when the brace is worn. Each shoulder strap also is provided with an adjustable fastener connectable on the anterior surface of the wearer's shoulder between the wearer's trapezius muscle and the wearer's axilla, the fastener permitting the tightness or looseness of the shoulder loop to be adjusted by the wearer as desired while the brace is being worn.

Abstract: A protective hand pad fabricated from a sleeve of elastic fabric, and a preformed pad element. The sleeve is initially cut from an endless tube of the elastic fabric. A thumb hole is cut into the sleeve adjacent one end, and the preformed pad element is inserted into the sleeve so the desired outer surface of the pad element is visible through the thumb hole. The sleeve is then stitched to the opposite ends of the pad element along its end edges, as well as along its side edges, so that the pad element is joined to the sleeve but so that the sleeve remains open at both ends. The sewn together sleeve and pad is then turned inside out so that the desired outer surface of the pad element is exposed as an exterior surface of the protective hand pad. In use, a wearer inserts his hand into the sleeve so that the pad element is oriented above or on top of the back of the wearer's hand, and so that the wearer's thumb extends through the thumb hole in the sleeve.

Abstract: A spring loaded button, positioned interiorly of an inner tube, protrudes through a hole in the inner tube into latched relation with a preselected one of a series of longitudinally spaced holes in a telescoped outer tube. The button is manually depressed inwardly of the outer tube when the relative position of the inner and outer tubes is to be changed, the button thereafter being released to spring out through another hole in the outer tube to hold the tubes in a different relative position. A catch lip is mounted on the outer end of the button. The catch lip is sized to engage the edge of the outer tube's hole in the event of a slight longitudinal and/or oscillatory movement between tubes to tend to impede or hinder premature and undesired unlatching during normal use of the tubes. But the catch lip is not sized to prevent manual unlatching movement of the button against the spring bias when a position change between tubes is desired.

Abstract: A digital/metacarpal splint having an elongate bone splint that is selectively positionable into splinting position with the digital bones of any one of the five fingers of a patient's hand, or with the metacarpal bones of a patient's hand. An elongate bone splint is connected to a palm plate, and the palm plate is connected to an elastic sleeve, the splint being mounted on the patient's hand and wrist through use of the elastic sleeve. The connection between bone splint and palm plate allows the bone splint to be easily and simply positioned and, thereafter, immobilized, to splint any of the hand's digital bones or metacarpal bones after the elastic sleeve, i.e., after the adjustable splint, is installed on the patient.