Protective Pad

Abstract

A protective pad for an elbow, heel, knee or like body portion including a generally convexo-concave member of cushioning material having a pair of spaced apart seams extending inwardly from the outer periphery of said member but terminating in spaced apart inner ends, said seams joining together cut edges of said material formed by the removal of two sectors from the material and serving to impart to said member its generally convexo-concave shape, and fastener means carried by said member for securing the pad on the body of a wearer in covering relation to the body portion to be protected.

Description

This invention relates to a protective pad which is extremely useful in protecting an elbow, heel, knee or like body portion of persons, such as bedridden patients.

Patients confined to bed for extended periods of time, particularly the elderly, during illness or convalescence frequently develop decubitous ulcers or bedsores on portions of their body, such as the elbows and heels, due to the continued exertion of pressure thereon from the weight of the arms and legs, as when the patient props up, turns over, etc. which pressure blocks blood circulation in localized areas. A similar condition exists for persons confined to a wheel chair and who are required to sit for long periods of time with their elbows resting on the arms of the chair. The repeated absence of blood circulation in these localized areas of the person contributes to the development of decubitous ulcers or bed sores. Furthermore, the elbows and heels of bedridden patients are continually being rubbed against bedclothing which frequently causes skin abrasion, and thus, contributes to the development of bedsores on the elbows, heels and the like.

While repeated massage with a skin lotion somewhat reduces the incidence of such decubitous ulcers, skin abrasions and the like, such massage does not prevent the development thereof since it only momentarily increases blood circulation and does not prevent pressure blockage of blood circulation. In an attempt to further reduce the incidence of such skin problems, protective pads have been proposed to cover the portion of the body most susceptible to such skin problems. However, such pads have not proven a successful solution to the problems since they have proven to be irritating to the skin of a wearer by holding moisture, such as perspiration and the like, against the skin and because of seams and other irritating unevenness in areas where pressure is normally applied.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of this invention to provide a protective pad for an elbow, heel, knee or like body portion to prevent injury thereto without irritating the skin of the wearer.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a protective pad for an elbow, heel, knee or like body portion which does not contain seams or other irregularities in the areas where pressure is normally applied which might cause irritation to the skin of a wearer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a protective pad for an elbow, heel, knee or like body portion which is air permeable and which is moisture absorbent and is not otherwise irritative to the skin.

In accordance with the above objects, the protective pad of this invention, in its preferred form, includes a generally convexo-concave member of reticulated polyurethane foam having a pair of spaced apart seams convergingly extending inwardly from the outer periphery of said member but terminating in spaced apart inner ends, said seams joining together cut edges of said material formed by the removal of two sectors from the material and serving to impart to said member its generally convexo-concave shape, said seams being spaced apart at any point along their length a sufficient distance so that a relatively smooth, non-irritating portion of the foam is defined therebetween which may be positioned against the portions of the body to which pressure is normally applied, and fastener means carried by said member for securing the pad on the body of a wearer in covering relation to a body portion and arranged relative to the seams so that when the pad is properly positioned the seams will straddle the body portion to which pressure is normally applied and the relatively smooth, non-irritating portion of the member will be in contact therewith.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a blank of cushioning material from which a protective pad of this invention may be formed;

FIG. 2 is a reduced perspective view of one side of a protective pad of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the other side of the protective pad of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the protective pad of FIGS. 2 and 3 in position on a wearer's elbow.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters are used throughout to indicate like parts, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a planar blank 10 of cushioning material having portions removed therefrom. Preferably, the planar blank 10 is substantially circular and includes a hydrophobic layer 11, adhesively united to a hydrophilic layer 12 in a laminar structure. Each of the layers 11, 12 is preferably formed of a reticulated or open-celled polyurethane foam. Preferably, the layers are adhesively united by an elastic adhesive, such as rubber latex, resinous or synthetic plastic adhesive, which may be applied either in solution or emulsion form by spraying, roll coating or by any other conventional technique. While other type adhesives may be used without departure from this invention, an elastic adhesive is preferred since such an adhesive minimizes the reduction in the pliability of blank 10 and forms a type bond which is endurable through continued deformation of the respective layers 11, 12.

The reticulated polyurethane foam of layers 11 and 12 is air permeable to permit the skin in contact therewith to carry on its normal breathing action and, the foam of hydrophobic layer 11 is of small cell construction to wick perspiration and the like away from the skin of the wearer and the foam of hydrophilic layer 12 is of large cell construction to absorb and hold the perspiration and the like at a point removed from the wearer's skin so that irritation to the skin in contact with the pad is minimized. As shown, the layer 12 is thicker than layer 11 and serves an additional support or cushioning function.

Blank 10 has a pair of spaced apart V-shaped cut-outs 14, 15 formed by the removal of two sectors therefrom and defined by cut edges 14a, 14b and 15a, 15b which respectively convergingly extend from the outer peripheral edge of blank 10 inwardly therefrom to terminate in spaced apart apexes 14c, 15c adjacent the center of the blank 10, but spaced therefrom.

As seen in FIGS. 2 - 4, the cut edges 14a, 14b and 15a, 15b are brought together, respectively, and are joined by lines of stitching 16, 17 to form two seams which serve to form blank 10 into a generally convexo-concave member 10'. Seams 16, 17 extend convergingly inwardly from the outer periphery of member 10' terminating in spaced apart inner ends, but are spaced apart at any point along their length a sufficient distance to define a relatively smooth, non-irritating portion 20 of the cushioning material therebetween which may be positioned against the portions of the body portion to which pressure is normally applied to protect these body portions without irritation.

To further prevent irritation, seams 16, 17 are preferably formed by drawing cut edges 14a, 14b and 15a, 15b together with portions of layer 11 immediately adjacent these cut edges in face-to-face contact and with the cut edges disposed on the convex side of the convexo-concave member. Then, the cut edges are preferably joined by overedge stitching to provide as smooth a surface as possible on the concave side of the convexo-concave member.

Fastener means is carried by the convexo-concave member for securing the pad on the body of a wearer and, as illustrated, this fastener means comprises straps 21, 22 connected to the convexo-concave member at generally diametrically opposed points and arranged relative to seams 16, 17 so that when the pad is secured in covering relation to a body portion, the seams will straddle the portions of the body portion to which pressure is normally applied, as is clearly shown in FIG. 4. Suitable clasp means is provided on straps 21 and 22 to secure the same together in encircling relation to the body portion. As illustrated, this clasp means comprises cooperating portions 23, 24 of a Velcro-type clasp, the construction of which is well known.

It is therefore deemed apparent that a novel protective pad for a body portion has been provided which will substantially prevent skin abrasions, decubitous ulcers and the like due to the normal pressure applied to such body portions during confinement of the person in bed, wheel chairs and the like without irritation to the skin heretofore encountered with protective pads.

In the drawing and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A protective pad for an elbow, heel, knee or like body portion characterized by a relatively smooth, non-irritating portion in the area where pressure is normally applied, said pad comprising

a generally convexo-concave member of cushioning material having a pair of spaced apart seams extending inwardly from the outer periphery of said member and terminating in spaced apart inner ends, said seams joining together cut edges of said material formed by removal of two sectors and serving to impart to the member its generally convexo-concave shape, said seams being spaced apart at any point along their length a sufficient distance so that a relatively smooth, non-irritating portion of the cushioning material is defined therebetween which may be positioned against the portions of the body portion to which pressure is normally applied to protect these body portions without irritation, said cushioning material being air permeable and comprising a hydrophobic foam layer and a hydrophilic foam layer, said layers being secured together with said hydrophobic layer forming the concave side of said member whereby perspiration and the like will pass through said hydrophobic layer into said hydrophilic layer away from the skin of a wearer, said hydrophobic layer and hydrophilic layer comprising reticulated polyurethane foam and the foam of said hydrophobic layer having a higher density than the foam of said hydrophilic layer, and

fastener means carried by said member for securing the pad on the body of a wearer in covering relation to the body joint to be protected and being arranged relative to said seams so that when the pad is secured in covering relation to a body portion the seams will straddle the portions of the body portion to which pressure is normally applied and the relatively smooth, non-irritating portion of the member will be in contact therewith.

2. A protective pad according to claim 1 wherein said convexo-concave member is generally circular, and wherein the inner ends of said seams are substantially equally spaced from the center of said member.

3. The protective pad of claim 1 wherein said seams are overedge seams disposed on the convex side of said member.