Adjustable Support Leg Garment for Knee Stability and Mobility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing leg garments fail to provide adjustable and variable support for reducing loads at the knee, hip, ankle, and spine, while also promoting muscle strengthening during activity, and are often cumbersome or require professional fitting.
Innovation Solution
A leg garment with reinforced areas and adjustable support elements, including sagitally mirrored anchor points, support elements that spiral around the leg, and tensioning mechanisms to dynamically adjust support, along with cable systems for enhanced muscle engagement and load distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If rigid articulating members or knee braces are used to provide support, then knee stability is improved, but movement freedom deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses flexible elastic garments with integrated support elements instead of rigid articulating members. The garment includes elastic panels, compression zones, and spiral stitching patterns that provide knee stability through flexible material deformation rather than rigid structural constraints, allowing natural movement while maintaining support.
Solution Approach 2:
The support garment employs dynamic elastic materials and configurable compression zones that adapt to movement. The elastic panels and spiral stitching patterns allow the garment to dynamically adjust its support properties during different phases of movement, providing stability when needed while permitting freedom of motion.
2Force
If enhanced support structures are added to garments, then load reduction at knee and hip is improved, but garment complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The garment is divided into distinct functional zones including elastic panels, compression zones, reinforced seams, and spiral stitching patterns. Each segment serves a specific biomechanical function for load distribution, allowing the complex support structure to be systematically organized and manufactured while maintaining effectiveness in reducing loads at the knee and hip.
Solution Approach 2:
The garment applies different levels and types of support to different anatomical regions. Specific areas such as the knee joint, hip region, and thigh muscles receive targeted compression and support through varied elastic panel configurations, seam placements, and stitching patterns, rather than uniform support throughout the entire garment.
3Adaptability or versatility
If adjustable tensioning mechanisms are integrated, then support adaptability is improved, but ease of application deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The garment incorporates self-adjusting elastic panels and stretchable materials that automatically adapt to the wearer's anatomy and movement. The elastic components provide inherent tension adjustment without requiring complex mechanical fastening systems, allowing the user to simply put on the garment and have it self-adjust to provide appropriate support.
Solution Approach 2:
The garment utilizes materials and construction techniques that allow dynamic parameter changes in response to wear. The elastic panels, compression zones, and spiral stitching patterns change their mechanical properties based on stretching and deformation, automatically adjusting support levels as the wearer moves without requiring manual intervention.
4Productivity
If exercise equipment is built into clothing, then muscle training during activity is improved, but device complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The garment serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides knee and hip support, distributes mechanical loads, enables muscle training through integrated resistance elements, and maintains comfort during daily activities. The elastic panels and compression zones function both as structural support elements and as resistance mechanisms for muscle engagement, eliminating the need for separate exercise equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges traditional orthopedic support functions with exercise training functions into a single integrated garment. The elastic panels and compression zones are designed to simultaneously provide mechanical support and create resistance for muscle strengthening, combining what were previously separate functions into one unified system.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The leg garment provides adjustable support, reduces muscle fatigue, prevents strain, and enhances muscle activation and movement, while being easy to apply and adjust, suitable for daily use and muscle training during activity.
Implementation Method 1
A cable may run a length of the support element and may limit the maximum stretch distance of support element
Implementation Method 2
The support element may be made of an elastic material and may have a resistance to stretching
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is directed at a series of leg garments that provide support for reducing loads at the knee, hip, ankle, and spine, as well as options for leg shape contouring, muscle training, pain reduction, and injury treatment. The leg garments may comprise a base layer with reinforced portions disposed throughout. The leg garments may comprise adjustable support elements. The size, shape, position, quantity, and material composition of the reinforced portions and the adjustable support elements may be selected to achieve the desired tensive properties for the leg garment. Various tensioning mechanisms may be positioned at strategic areas to further control the leg garments' tensive properties, improving effectiveness and comfort. In some embodiments, cables may run through channels in the reinforced portions or support elements.