Joint Protector Curved Configuration via Seam Contraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing joint protectors, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,106, lack sufficient flexibility to achieve an adequate curvature, leading to creasing and irregularities when applied to joints like knees or elbows.
Innovation Solution
A joint protector design that utilizes a recessed area subjected to a contracting effect through seams, combined with an enlarged area subjected to stretching, to achieve a more even bend and curvature, with a laminate of stretch textile material and rubber-like layers, and optional additional materials for enhanced elasticity and shock protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If transversal seams are applied to elongated cut-outs in the material to create a bent tubular body, then the joint protector can be manufactured with structural support, but the flexibility and curvature adequacy are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The material is divided into three distinct portions: a first material portion, a second material portion, and a recessed area positioned between them. This segmentation allows each portion to serve specific functions - the first and second portions provide structural support while the recessed area enables flexibility and curvature adaptation to joint contours.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the joint protector are given different properties: the first and second material portions are designed for strength and support, while the recessed area is specifically designed to be more flexible and compliant. This local differentiation of material properties allows the protector to simultaneously maintain structural integrity and adapt to joint curvature.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the material is bent to fit joint curvature, then the protector can adapt to knee or elbow shapes, but creasing and irregularities occur in the convex region
Solution Approach 1:
The recessed area is pre-formed in the material before final assembly, creating a predetermined zone that is prepared to accommodate bending and curvature. This preliminary preparation of the material structure prevents random creasing by providing a designated area for flexing, ensuring that bends occur uniformly without creating irregularities or excessive creasing in the convex regions.
3Shape
If multiple seams are used to create curvature, then the bent configuration can be achieved, but seams appear in the inside region of the joint which is uncomfortable
Solution Approach 1:
The design extracts or removes seams from the inner surface of the joint protector by positioning all seams on the outer surface only. The recessed area and material portions are configured so that the curved shape is achieved through the material geometry itself rather than through seams, eliminating seam contact with the skin and improving comfort.
4Manufacturing precision
If the first material portion has greater axial height than the second material portion, then even bending is achieved with less creasing, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The axial height of the first material portion is specifically designed to exceed that of the second material portion, creating an asymmetric geometry that naturally promotes even bending distribution. This parameter change in the material dimensions allows the protector to bend more uniformly across the joint surface, reducing localized creasing while maintaining manufacturability through standard cutting and sewing processes.
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 solution provides a joint protector with improved flexibility, reduced creasing, and even material distribution, ensuring a comfortable fit and effective protection by maintaining the body's natural curvature without seams inside the joint, while allowing for easy manufacturing and customization.
Implementation Method 1
By subjecting the recessed area of the material to a contracting effect through the seam, the curved configuration of the body is ensured
Implementation Method 2
Also the enlargement area of the material is subjected to a certain deformation in the form of a stretching in connection with sewing together the material portions
Implementation Method 3
a laminate of stretch textile material, for example knitted textile material, on each side of a porous layer of rubber or a rubber-like material
Implementation Method 4
having enclosed gas pores... for enhanced elasticity and shock protection
Data Source
AI summary
A joint protector of a sheet-shaped flexible material, including an essentially tubular body, which is provided with a curved configuration for adaptation to a joint, and which is sewn together with at least one seam, between a first edge of a first material portion and a second edge of a second material portion, is distinguished in that the seam between said edges extends along a curve, which defines a recessed area of material of the first material portion at an essentially central portion of the first edge, and which defines an enlarged area of material of the second material portion at an essentially central portion of the second edge, that the first material portion is provided with a contracting action to the recessed area of material through the seam for achieving a curved configuration of the tubular body. The invention also concerns a blank and a method.