HK1172522B

HK1172522B - Knee joint supporter

Info

Publication number: HK1172522B
Application number: HK12113525.3A
Authority: HK
Inventors: 松尾和彦; 古贺英文
Original assignee: 兴和株式会社; 饭田靴下株式会社
Priority date: 2010-01-22
Filing date: 2011-01-24
Publication date: 2017-01-06

Description

Knee joint protective clothing

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a knee joint supporter capable of assisting a wearer's daily movement, and more particularly, to a knee joint supporter having a restraint function of improving the stability of a knee joint, reducing fatigue of the wearer, and reducing a load applied to a knee tendon.

Background

The reduction in the muscular strength of the knee joint (particularly the quadriceps femoris) makes it difficult to perform daily operations such as walking, standing up and sitting down from a chair, or going up and down stairs.

In addition, in a state where the muscle strength is decreased or in a state where the relative muscle strength is insufficient (in a case where an excessive load is applied to the muscle due to the balance between the performed motion and the muscle strength), the support is performed by the passive element (tendon, ligament, or the like), and the support by the passive element is repeatedly used, so that the wear of the articular cartilage and the inflammation of the tendon or ligament are caused. In particular, pain in the patella (the periphery of the knee disc) can be tendonitis in the knee, requiring a protector for the patella.

In contrast, a conventional protector has a tubular main body made of a stretchable material, and a support portion provided integrally therewith and made of a material having lower stretchability than the main body. The support portion is provided with: a fixing portion for fixing the body to the human body, an engaging portion for engaging with the knee, and a connecting portion for suppressing displacement of the body trunk side of the knee with respect to the limb axis by connecting the fixing portion and the engaging portion (for example, see patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2008-106404

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The conventional supporter is a supporter capable of effectively protecting the knee against a failure caused by excessive pronation and/or supination, and the knee is protected by providing a coupling portion for linearly coupling the engagement portion and the anchor portion along the outer side surface of the leg. Therefore, the conventional supporter is a supporter in which the pressing forces applied to the outer side surface and the inner side surface of the leg by the connection portion are unbalanced, and therefore, the stability of the knee joint cannot be improved, and the fatigue of the wearer cannot be reduced.

In particular, since the conventional protector has a support portion (anchor portion, engagement portion, connection portion) made of a material having lower elasticity than the main body and sewn to the main body in a lining manner, a process of sewing the support portion is required after the tubular main body is formed, and there is a problem that the manufacturing process is complicated.

Further, since the conventional supporter does not apply a strong pressing force from the inner side surface to the outer side surface with respect to the knee of the wearer, when the knee receives an external force from the outer side surface of the leg, a reaction force from the inner side surface to the outer side surface of the knee to alleviate the external force cannot be obtained, and there is a problem that damage to the medial collateral ligament cannot be sufficiently suppressed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a knee joint supporter that can improve the stability of the knee joint, reduce fatigue of the wearer, and reduce the load applied to the knee tendon.

Means for solving the problems

The knee joint supporter of the present invention is a knee joint supporter which is composed of a tubular knitted fabric knitted by circular knitting and which is brought into close contact with a body surface of a wearer to assist a knee joint, and includes: a first anchor section knitted around one end of the tubular knitted fabric and fastening the tubular knitted fabric to the thighs of the wearer; a second anchor section knitted around the other end of the tubular knitted fabric and configured to fasten the tubular knitted fabric to the lower leg of the wearer; and a support section that is connected to the first anchor section, is knitted in a substantially U-shape so as to surround a portion corresponding to a patella of a wearer, and supports the patella of the wearer, wherein stretch resistance of the first anchor section and the second anchor section in the circumferential direction of the tubular knitted fabric is greater than stretch resistance of the base fabric section in the circumferential direction of the tubular knitted fabric, and stretch resistance of the support section in the longitudinal direction of the tubular knitted fabric is greater than stretch resistance of the base fabric section in the longitudinal direction of the tubular knitted fabric.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

In the knee joint supporter according to the present invention, the knee portion is held by the support portion, so that stability can be ensured so that the knee of the wearer of the knee joint supporter does not excessively move left and right.

Drawings

Fig. 1(a) is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a knee joint supporter according to a first embodiment, fig. 1(b) is a rear view of the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 1(a), fig. 1(c) is left and right views of the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 1(a), and fig. 1(d) is top and bottom views of the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 1 (a).

Fig. 2(a) is a perspective view showing a wearing state of the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 1, and fig. 2(b) is a rear view showing the wearing state of the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3(a) is an explanatory view for explaining a measurement site of the elongation of the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 1(a), and fig. 3(b) is an explanatory view for explaining a measurement site of the elongation of the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 1 (b).

Fig. 4(a) is an explanatory view for explaining an experimental operation of a subject for verifying the operation and effect of the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 1, and fig. 4(b) is a graph showing a measurement result for verifying the operation and effect of the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 5(a) is a graph showing measurement results for each subject for verifying the operation and effect of the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 1, and fig. 5(b) is a graph showing an average value of the measurement results shown in fig. 5 (a).

Fig. 6(a) is an explanatory view for explaining the operational effects exerted by the support portion of the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 1(a), and fig. 6(b) is a front view showing a schematic configuration of another knee joint supporter according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 7(a) is a front view showing a schematic configuration of another knee joint supporter of the first embodiment, and fig. 7(b) is a front view showing a schematic configuration of another knee joint supporter of the first embodiment.

Fig. 8(a) is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the knee joint supporter of the second embodiment, fig. 8(b) is a right side view showing a schematic configuration of the knee joint supporter of the third embodiment, and fig. 8(c) is a plan view and a bottom view showing the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 8 (b).

Detailed Description

(first embodiment of the invention)

In fig. 1, 2, 6, or 7, the knee joint supporter 10 is a tubular knitted fabric knitted in a circular knitting manner by a hosiery knitting machine (for example, a knitting machine type (with a needle count of 256 needles) manufactured by Lonati corporation), and is a supporter which is closely attached to the body surface of a wearer and assists the knee joint of the wearer.

The knee joint supporter 10 has a necessary functionality such as a binding function by performing different knitting with respect to the base fabric portion 1, which is a stretchable knitted fabric knitted with a plain stitch, a rib stitch, a tuck stitch, a float stitch, a pile stitch, or the like, using a surface yarn, a back yarn, and an elastic yarn as knitting yarns.

The base fabric portion 1 of the present embodiment is a knitted fabric knitted with a rib structure (hereinafter, referred to as a rib knitted fabric).

The knee joint supporter 10 further includes: a first anchor section 2 which is knitted around one end (upper end 10a) of the tubular knitted fabric and which is used to attach the knee joint supporter 10 to the thigh of the wearer; and a second anchor section 3 which is knitted around the other end (lower end 10b) of the tubular knitted fabric and which connects the knee joint supporter 10 to the lower leg of the wearer.

The first anchor section 2 and the second anchor section 3 are knitted so that the stretch resistance in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10 (tubular knitted fabric) is larger than the stretch resistance of the base fabric section 1 in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10. That is, the tension from the state where the material is not stretched to the state where a constant elongation is generated is represented by F, and the tension of the base fabric portion 1 in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10 is represented by F_H1Let F be the tension of the first anchor section 2 in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10_H2Let F be the tension of the second anchor section 3 in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10_H3In the case of (2), the following magnitude relationship is present: the first anchor section 2 and the second anchor section 3 have a stronger fastening force in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10 than the base cloth section 1

Specifically, by forming the first anchor section 2 and the second anchor section 3 into a knitted fabric knitted with a deerskin tissue (hereinafter, referred to as a deerskin pattern knitted fabric), the stretch resistance in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10 can be increased relative to the base fabric section 1 of the rib knitted fabric.

The deer skin pattern knitted fabric is a knitted fabric described below: the knitted fabric is alternately formed in the course direction and the wale (wale) direction or formed in a plain stitch and tuck stitch (a stitch in which a mesh is not dropped in a certain course and a plurality of stitches are dropped in a subsequent course) in each of a plurality of courses. Therefore, by using the plain stitch and the tuck stitch in combination in the first anchor section 2 and the second anchor section 3, a raised or transfer mesh stitch can be formed on the surface of the knitted fabric, and a mesh pattern such as a deer-skin pattern can be formed.

In this way, the first anchor section 2 is woven around the thigh of the wearer, and the resistance to expansion and contraction in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10 is greater than the resistance to expansion and contraction of the base fabric section 1 in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10, so that the knee joint supporter 10 is fastened to the thigh of the wearer, and the upper end 10a of the knee joint supporter 10 can be prevented from slipping down when the knee joint is bent. The first fixing portion 2 is connected to a support portion 4 described later, and functions as a fixing member for the support portion 4.

The second anchor section 3 is woven so as to surround the lower leg of the wearer, and the stretch resistance in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10 is larger than the stretch resistance of the base fabric section 1 in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10, so that the lower end 10b of the knee joint supporter 10 can be prevented from slipping up when the knee joint is flexed by fastening the knee joint supporter 10 to the lower leg of the wearer.

Further, if the tightening force applied to the thighs and calves of the wearer by the first and second fastening portions 2 and 3 is too large, the flow of blood in the thighs and calves is obstructed, and the wearer feels uncomfortable. In particular, this uncomfortable feeling is more pronounced in the thigh than in the lower leg.

Therefore, the knee joint supporter 10 of the present embodiment reduces the uncomfortable feeling given to the wearer by increasing the area of the first anchor section 2 that is in contact with the body surface of the wearer with respect to the second anchor section 3, dispersing the pressure applied to the body surface by the first anchor section 2, and adjusting the density at a part of the first anchor section 2 (for example, reducing the fastening force by about 10% with respect to the second anchor section 3). That is, the knee joint supporter 10 of the present embodiment preferably has F_H3＞F_H2＞F_H1In order to have a moderate tightening force in the circumferential direction H of the knee brace 10.

The support portion 4 is knitted in a substantially U-shape so as to be coupled to the first fixing portion 2, surround a portion corresponding to the patella of the wearer (a patella corresponding portion 5 described later), and support the patella of the wearer. In particular, the support portion 4 is connected to the second fastening portion 3, corresponds to the medial and lateral collateral ligaments of the wearer, and extends between the first fastening portion 2 and the second fastening portion 3. That is, the support portion 4 is locked by the first fixing portion 2 on the thigh side of the wearer and is locked by the second fixing portion 3 on the calf side of the wearer.

In addition, in the case where the support portion 4 is not connected to the second fixing portion 3, the stretchable base cloth portion 1 is present between the support portion 4 and the second fixing portion 3, and there is a possibility that the support portion 4 is displaced with respect to the patella of the wearer. Therefore, the support portion 4 is coupled to the second fixing portion 3, thereby enabling stable wearing.

As shown in fig. 7(a), the knee joint supporter 10 according to the present embodiment may have a structure in which the base cloth portion 1 is continuously interposed between the support portion 4 and the second anchor portion 3. According to this configuration, the greater stretchability of the base fabric portion 1 weakens the locking force of the support portion 4 by the second fixing portion 3, and the knee cap of the wearer can be supported more reliably from the lower leg side by the support portion 4.

Further, it is desirable that the support portion 4 is formed in the following manner: the stretch resistance in the longitudinal direction of the support portion 4 is relatively large compared to the stretch resistance in the width direction of the support portion 4, but it is difficult to knit a knitted fabric having different stretch resistances by circular knitting. In the present embodiment, the support portion 4 having a larger stretch resistance in the longitudinal direction L than the stretch resistance in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10 is formed so as to be similar to a knitted fabric having a different stretch resistance from the above-described stretch resistance.

The support portion 4 is woven in the following manner: the stretch resistance in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 is larger than the stretch resistance of the base fabric portion 1 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10. That is, the tension of the base cloth portion 1 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 is represented by F_L1Let F be the tension of the support portion 4 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10_L4In the case of (3), the support portion 4 has F having a stronger tightening force in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 than the base cloth portion 1_L4＞F_L1The magnitude relationship of (1).

Specifically, by making the support portion 4 a knitted fabric in which a tuck stitch and a plating stitch are combined (hereinafter, referred to as a tuck plating knitted fabric), the stretch resistance in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 can be increased with respect to the base fabric portion 1 of the rib knitted fabric.

The tuck knitted fabric is a knitted fabric in which a temporary knit hole is not formed when knitting a fabric, and a knit hole is formed at the same time when knitting the next course. In the present embodiment, the number of tucks is set to two in consideration of the balance with the density, but the number is not limited to this number.

In the tuck stitch-plating knitted fabric, by adding another knitting yarn (for example, a wool-like nylon yarn) in addition to the ground knitting yarn of the tuck stitch and feeding the yarn, the expansion and contraction of the support portion 4 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 is appropriately suppressed, and another knitting yarn is cut at the boundary between the support portion 4 and the base fabric portion 1 (embroidery plating).

In this way, the support portion 4 is connected to the first anchor portion 2 and knitted in a substantially U-shape surrounding a portion corresponding to the wearer's patella, and the following operational effects are obtained by the expansion resistance in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 being larger than the expansion resistance of the base cloth portion 1 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10.

The knee cap of the wearer is supported from the calf side toward the thigh side by the support portion 4, and the medial collateral ligament is supported, so that the movement of the quadriceps femoris muscle is smooth, and the lateral sway of the knee can be suppressed. That is, the support portion 4 supports the patella of the wearer from the calf side in a substantially U-shape, thereby functioning as a splint that suppresses lateral movement of the knee in conjunction with movement of the quadriceps femoris.

Further, the special function knitting (tuck plating knitting) of the support portion 4 is connected to the suede knitting of the first anchor portion 2 and the second anchor portion 3, and the support portion 4 can be fixed at an appropriate position by preventing the position of the support portion 4 from shifting with respect to the patella of the wearer.

Further, the support portion 4 can generate a reaction force from the inner side surface toward the outer side surface to alleviate the external force when the external force is applied to the knee of the wearer of the knee joint supporter 10 from the outer side surface side thereof by applying a strong pressing force from the inner side surface toward the outer side surface, and the knee does not enter the inner side due to the external force, and can suppress damage to the medial collateral ligament.

Further, the support portion 4 can support the outer side surfaces of the thighs and knees of the wearer of the knee joint supporter 10, thereby achieving a balance with the pressing force applied to the inner side surfaces by the support portion 4, and maintaining a stable standing state of the wearer. In particular, by sandwiching the patella corresponding portion 5 described later by the support portion 4, stability can be ensured so that the knee of the wearer of the knee joint supporter 10 does not excessively shift left and right.

In particular, the support portion 4 has a tapered shape in which the inner side of the substantially U-shape is widened from the second fixing portion 3 side to the first fixing portion 2 side, and is positioned with respect to the wearer as shown in fig. 6(a)A force F of the patella from the inner sides of the left and right tapered shapes toward the center of the patella substantially vertically₁、F₂Resultant force F of₃The knee cap can be moved vertically upward relative to the knee cap, and the knee cap of the wearer can be reliably lifted vertically upward in a stable state without lateral shaking.

In addition, the support portion 4 may be formed in a substantially V-shape having a tapered shape in which the inner side of the substantially U-shape widens from the second fixing portion 3 side to the first fixing portion 2 side, and one end of the left and right tapered shapes may be the same as shown in fig. 6 (b).

The patella corresponding portion 5 is a portion corresponding to the patella of the wearer, which is knitted on the front side of the knee joint supporter 10, and in the present embodiment, a region surrounded by the support portion 4 and the first anchor portion 2 is configured by the substantially trapezoidal shaped patella corresponding portion 5 and the substantially rectangular shaped base cloth portion 1.

The patella corresponding portion 5 is knitted so that the stretch resistance in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 is smaller than the stretch resistance of the base fabric portion 1 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10. That is, the tension of the patella corresponding portion 5 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 is represented by F_L5In the case of (3), F is provided such that the patella corresponding part 5 has a weaker tightening force in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 than the base cloth part 1_L1＞F_L5The magnitude relationship of (1).

Specifically, by forming the patella corresponding portion 5 as a knitted fabric knitted with a mesh structure (hereinafter referred to as a mesh knitted fabric) which is a knitted fabric having good air permeability, the stretch resistance in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 can be reduced relative to the base fabric portion 1 of the rib knitted fabric.

The mesh knitted fabric is a knitted fabric in which a mesh is formed at the same time when knitting the next course without forming a temporary mesh when knitting a fabric, and the mesh is well stretched by knitting in a mesh form. In particular, the patella corresponding portion 5 of the present embodiment is a knitted fabric (hereinafter, referred to as a crepe knitted fabric) in which a mesh knitted fabric (a plain knitted fabric composed of a back yarn and an elastic yarn without supplying a face yarn) extending in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10 and a plain knitted fabric (a plain knitted fabric composed of a face yarn, a back yarn and an elastic yarn) are arranged side by side in a staggered manner.

In this wrinkle knitted fabric, although the surface of the knee joint supporter 10 is substantially flat, since the thickness of the mesh knitted fabric is small compared to the plain knitted fabric, a portion of the mesh knitted fabric becomes a concave portion, and unevenness occurs on the back surface of the knee joint supporter 10. Therefore, the wrinkle knitted fabric has a small contact area with the body surface of the wearer, and thus has a small frictional resistance between the knee and the patella corresponding portion 5 of the wearer, and also has a large mesh size, and thus has a small frictional resistance between adjacent yarns, and thus has high stretchability.

In this way, the patella corresponding portion 5 corresponds to the patella of the wearer, and the resistance to extension and contraction in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 is smaller than the resistance to extension and contraction of the base fabric portion 1 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10, so that the force generated in the flexion and extension movements and the rotation movements of the knee joint along with the expansion and contraction of the skin of the wearer can be absorbed by the high extension and contraction function. In particular, the patella corresponding portion 5 can grip the knee of the wearer when the knee joint is flexed by the wrinkle knitted fabric having high stretchability, and can prevent the knee joint supporter 10 from being positionally displaced in all directions, thereby improving the operational effect of the support portion 4.

The knee joint abutment portion 6 is a portion that is knitted in a position facing the patella corresponding portion 5 on the back surface side of the knee joint supporter 10 and abuts against the knee joint of the wearer, and in the present embodiment, is a substantially trapezoidal knitted fabric.

The knee joint abutment portion 6 is knitted so that the stretch resistance in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 is smaller than the stretch resistance of the base fabric portion 1 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10. That is, the tension of the knee joint portion 6 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 is represented by F_L6In the case of (1), there are a knee joint part 6 and a base clothF is such that the material section 1 has a weaker tightening force in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 than that of the material section 1_L1＞F_L6The magnitude relationship of (1).

Specifically, by forming the knee joint portion 6 as a mesh knitted fabric, the resistance to extension and contraction in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 can be reduced relative to the base fabric portion 1 of the rib knitted fabric. In particular, the knee point contact portion 6 of the present embodiment is a knitted fabric (wrinkle knitted fabric) in which a mesh knitted fabric (plain knitted fabric including a back yarn and an elastic yarn without a face yarn being supplied) extending in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10 and a plain knitted fabric (plain knitted fabric including a face yarn, a back yarn, and an elastic yarn) are arranged in a staggered manner.

In this way, the knee joint abutting portion 6 is a portion abutting against the knee joint of the wearer, and the stretch resistance in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 is smaller than the stretch resistance of the base fabric portion 1 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10, so that the knee joint supporter 10 in close contact with the body surface of the wearer can be prevented from floating from the body surface. In particular, the patella corresponding portion 5 can suppress the occurrence of wrinkles in the bending portion of the knee joint supporter 10 when the knee joint is bent by the wrinkle knitted fabric having high stretchability, and can prevent the occurrence of pain caused by the wrinkles sandwiching the skin of the wearer.

In the knee joint supporter 100 of the present embodiment, the stretch resistance of the supporting portion 4 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 is larger than the stretch resistance of the second anchor portion 3 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 by the knitted fabric of each portion described above. The resistance to extension and contraction of the second anchor section 3 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 is greater than the resistance to extension and contraction of the first anchor section 2 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10. The resistance to extension and contraction of the first anchor section 2 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 is greater than the resistance to extension and contraction of the base fabric section 1 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10.

Therefore, the knee joint supporter 10 of the present embodiment satisfies the magnitude relation shown in the following expression (1) with respect to the tension F in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10, and in the following expression (1), F is_L2Is the tension, F, of the first anchor section 2 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10_L3Is the tension of the second anchor section 3 in the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10.

[ math figure 1 ]

In the present embodiment, the knitting yarns used for the plain stitch, the rib stitch, the buckskin stitch, the tuck stitch, and the mesh stitch are, but not limited to, a surface yarn composed of two nylon filaments having a fineness of 70 denier, a back yarn composed of two nylon filaments having a fineness of 30 denier, and an elastic yarn as a core yarn (DCY) obtained by winding a winding yarn of two nylon having a fineness of 40 denier around a polyurethane core yarn having a fineness of 260 denier.

For example, the surface yarn is preferably selected from natural fibers such as cotton, wool (cashmere, lamb, mohair, and the like), silk, or hemp, chemical fibers such as acrylic, or materials having sweat absorbing, quick drying, or body temperature adjusting functions, in accordance with the cost of the knee joint supporter 10 or the demand of the wearer. The back side yarn is preferably selected from polyester, fty (flamentwisetdyarn), and antibacterial, deodorant, or deodorant materials, depending on the cost of the knee brace 10 and the needs of the wearer.

The wool-like nylon yarn (textured yarn) of the tuck plating knitted fabric (support portion 4) is composed of two yarns having a fineness of 100 denier.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the knitted fabric of the boundary between the patella corresponding portion 5 and the base fabric portion 1 and the support portion 4 adjacent to the patella corresponding portion 5 is continuously knitted so that the surface yarn used for the patella corresponding portion 5 or the base fabric portion 1 and the surface yarn used for the support portion 4 do not overlap as shown in fig. 1(a), or the knitted fabric 7 of the patella corresponding portion 5 and the base fabric portion 1 adjacent to the patella corresponding portion 5 (the base fabric portion 1 adjacent to the patella corresponding portion 5 is removed as necessary) and the boundary between the support portion 4 and the knitted fabric 7 of the patella corresponding portion 5 and the base fabric portion 1 adjacent to the patella corresponding portion 5 (the base fabric portion 1 adjacent to the patella corresponding portion 5 is removed as necessary) is knitted together with the common yarn used for the patella corresponding portion 5 or the base fabric portion 1 and the support portion 4 as shown in fig. 7 (b). In particular, in the knitting shown in fig. 7(b), since the knitted fabric 7 reinforces the patella corresponding portion 5 having a large load due to the maximum extension and contraction caused by bending and extension of the knee joint and the boundary between the base fabric portion 1 and the support portion 4 adjacent to the patella corresponding portion 5, it is possible to prevent breakage of the boundary and yarn separation of the knitting yarn.

Here, the results of measuring the elongation (percentage of the difference between the length (elongation) at the time of stretching and the original length (preset dimension) with respect to the original length) of each part (see fig. 3) of the knee joint supporter 10 produced by the knitting yarn and the knitted fabric using a tensile tester (tensile load: 4kg) are shown in table 1 below.

TABLE 1

In addition, the larger the value of the elongation in table 1, the more easily the knitted fabric is stretched, and the larger the value of the tension F in the above expression (1), the more difficult the knitted fabric is to stretch (the larger the fastening force), so the inequality sign indicating the magnitude relation of the elongation is opposite to the inequality sign indicating the magnitude relation of the tension F.

Next, the results of verifying the operation and effect of the knee joint supporter 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.

In the first experiment, in the case where the knee joint supporter 10 was worn on the right knee of a subject (a 26-year-old healthy male, with no history of the four limbs) (hereinafter, referred to as the wearing time) and the case where the knee joint supporter was not worn (hereinafter, referred to as the non-wearing time), the right foot was stepped forward from the upright state (the cursory action), and the left foot was kept away from the ground for 10 seconds (fig. 4(a)), and the knee joint supporter was resolved by the three-dimensional actionThe amount of work (standing fastness) of the knee joint moment was defined as a vertical weighting force F shown in FIG. 4(a)₁To perform the measurement.

In the three-dimensional motion analysis, a three-dimensional motion analysis system "VICONMX" produced by VICON was used. As shown in fig. 4(b), the weight of the body moves from both feet to the right foot by the arrow squat movement until the time (about 3 seconds) from the start of measurement until the left foot leaves the ground, and the amount of work of the knee joint extension moment is largely changed because the body cannot keep balance by standing on one foot until a certain time elapses. Therefore, in the verification, the measurement data from the time point when a certain degree of time has elapsed (about 5 seconds) to the time when the left foot landed (about 13 seconds) is verified.

As shown in fig. 4(b), the amount of work of the knee joint extension moment when worn is substantially maintained at about 60Nm from about 5 seconds to about 13 seconds, whereas the amount of work of the knee joint extension moment when not worn is substantially maintained at about 60Nm from about 5 seconds to about 9 seconds, but is less than 60Nm from about 9 seconds to about 13 seconds. This is considered to be because the load applied to the knee joint cannot be maintained in the same posture and the knee is shaken (the knee rattles) when the knee joint supporter 10 is not worn, and therefore the weight force F in the vertical direction of fig. 4(a) is generated₁The weight F being dispersed in a front-rear oblique direction₂、F₃Vertical weighting force F₁The work load (standing fastness) of the knee joint stretching moment is reduced.

In particular, the percentage of the amount of work of the knee joint extension moment when worn to the amount of work of the knee joint extension moment when not worn was 99.6% in the first 2 seconds. In contrast, in the last 2 seconds, the percentage of the amount of work of the knee joint extension moment when worn to the amount of work of the knee joint extension moment when not worn was 107.5%. This means that the amount of work of the knee joint extension moment is increased within the second half 2 seconds by wearing the knee joint supporter 10.

In the second experiment, in the case where the knee joint supporter 10 was worn (worn) and the case where the knee joint supporter was not worn (unworn) on the right knee of 3 subjects (healthy adult male, average age 29 ± 3.6 years, average height 169.7 ± 4.9cm, and average weight 64.3 ± 11.9kg), the right foot was stepped forward from the upright state (arrow squat operation), and the left foot was kept away from the ground for 10 seconds (fig. 4 (a)).

The measurement results are obtained by normalizing the integrated value of the knee joint extension moment of each subject in 3 seconds from the 8 th to 11 th seconds to the body weight of each subject, excluding the time intervals (the early stage and the late stage) of the unstable state of the subject, and are shown in table 2 below and fig. 5.

TABLE 2

As shown in table 2 and fig. 5, it is understood that the amount of work (standing fastness) of the knee joint stretching moment is larger when the knee joint supporter 10 is worn than when it is not worn, among all the subjects.

As described above, the knee joint supporter 10 is known to achieve the following operational effects: improving the stability of the knee joint and reducing fatigue of the wearer while reducing the load applied to the patellar tendon.

(second embodiment of the invention)

Fig. 8(a) is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the knee joint supporter according to the second embodiment. In fig. 8(a), the same reference numerals as in fig. 1, 2, 6, or 7 denote the same or corresponding parts, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In fig. 8(a), the knee joint supporter 10 of the present embodiment is configured to include the hemming-prevention unit 8 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, in which the hemming-prevention unit 8 is formed of a second tubular knitted fabric knitted continuously from the first anchor section 2 of the tubular knitted fabric by circular knitting, and is knitted so as to spread from one end 8a to the other end 8b of the second tubular knitted fabric.

The hemming prevention unit 8 may be formed of, for example, a flexible knitted american-style rib (アメリブ).

Here, the float knitted fabric is a knitted fabric in which, when knitting a knitted fabric, a specific needle is set at an inoperative position, and only the previous eye is held without feeding a knitting yarn to the needle, and the knitting yarn in the portion is floated straight on the back surface of the knitted fabric. In contrast, the parallel rib knitted fabric is a float knitted fabric in which an elastic yarn knitted into a plain knitted fabric is knitted so as to skip one course every three courses.

Therefore, by making the hemming prevention section 8a interlock fabric and making the first anchor section 2 a deer skin pattern fabric, the stretch resistance of the hemming prevention section 8 in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10 can be reduced relative to the first anchor section 2.

That is, the tension of the curl prevention portion 8 in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10 is represented by F_H8In the case of (1), F having the hem preventing portion 8 has a weak tightening force in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10 as compared with the first anchor portion 2_H2＞F_H8The magnitude relationship of (1).

In this way, since the curl prevention portion 8 is a knitted fabric having flexibility and is knitted so as to spread from the one end 8a to the other end 8b of the second tubular knitted fabric, when the knee joint supporter 10 is worn, the curl prevention portion can be prevented from being generated at the one end 8a of the second tubular knitted fabric (the upper end 10a of the tubular knitted fabric) by following the movement of the thighs in accordance with the surface (inclined surface) of the thighs of the wearer.

In addition, in the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, only the first anchor section 2 of the knee joint supporter 10 is separately provided with the hemming prevention section 8, the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained in addition to the operational effects by the hemming prevention section 8.

(third embodiment of the invention)

Fig. 8(b) is a right side view showing a schematic configuration of the knee joint supporter of the third embodiment, and fig. 8(c) is a top view and a bottom view of the knee joint supporter shown in fig. 8 (b). In fig. 8(b) and 8(c), the same reference numerals as in fig. 1, 2, 6, or 7 denote the same or corresponding portions, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In fig. 8(b), the knee joint supporter 10 of the present embodiment has a structure in which: in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, the elastic bone member 11 is provided, and the elastic bone member 11 is formed of a substantially rod-shaped body having flexibility and restorability, and is arranged at a predetermined portion of the knee joint supporter 10 so that the longitudinal direction thereof substantially coincides with the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 and so that the elastic bone member has a length substantially over the entire longitudinal direction L.

Further, a bag portion 12 for accommodating the fixed elastic bone member 11 is provided inside the knee joint supporter 10.

The bag portion 12 is configured such that a slender band-shaped body made of a knitted fabric excellent in stretchability is disposed at a predetermined position on the inner surface of the knee joint supporter 10 which becomes the knee side portion in the worn state of the knee joint supporter 10 such that the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10, and the peripheral edge portion of the band-shaped body is sewn to the knee joint supporter 10 and disposed, thereby forming a slender bag-shaped space capable of accommodating the elastic bone member 11.

The elastic bone part 11 has flexibility and resilience, and has the structure as follows: the knee joint supporter 10 is formed as a long, thin, substantially plate-like material having a larger dimension in the thickness direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the sectional shape, with the entire length in the longitudinal direction L as the length. Specifically, a member generally called a spiral frame is used, which is flattened into a long, thin, substantially plate-like shape while two coil springs are superposed and the respective annular portions are wound around each other.

After the band is sewn to the knee joint supporter 10 to form the bag portion 12 between the band and the knee joint supporter 10, the elastic bone member 11 is accommodated and arranged in the bag portion 12 as follows: the thickness direction of the elastic bone member 11 is made to coincide with the thickness direction of the knee joint supporter 10, and the width direction of the elastic bone member 11 is made to coincide with the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10, and the elastic bone member 11 is fixed to a position of the knee joint supporter 10 corresponding to the side portion of the knee.

The elastic bone member 11 has the following structure: on the one hand, the knee joint supporter 10 allows flexion and extension of the knee joint in accordance with normal flexion and extension of the knee joint, and on the other hand, suppresses as much as possible the motion other than the flexion change corresponding to the flexion and extension of the knee joint, and prevents unnecessary force from being applied to the knee together with the knee joint supporter 10 applying the entire tightening force, thereby protecting the knee.

In addition to the spiral frame, a rod-shaped body made of an elastic material such as plastic may be used as the elastic bone member 11.

In the wearing state of the knee joint supporter 10, if the size of the knee joint supporter 10 is appropriate for the leg of the wearer, the knitted fabrics of the knee joint supporter 10 are appropriately stretched and brought into close contact with the knee portion, and the elastic bone members 11 disposed on the left and right sides of the knee joint supporter 10 are brought into close contact with the side surfaces of the knee of the wearer by appropriate elasticity. The outer shapes of the knee joint supporter 10 and the elastic bone member 11 do not protrude to the surface of the outer garment.

Further, the respective knitted fabrics of the knee joint supporter 10 are closely attached to the knee of the wearer, and the two right and left elastic bone members 11 of the knee joint supporter 10 are positioned on the sides of the knee of the wearer and restrict unnecessary motions when the knee joint is bent and extended, thereby maintaining the knee in a stable state, and the like, and an appropriate support state can be always obtained. Further, the elastic bone member 11 is fixed to the knee joint supporter 10 in a state where the dimension of the knee joint supporter 10 in the circumferential direction H is sufficiently ensured, so that necessary resistance and restoring force are generated to appropriately support the bending and stretching movements of the knee joint, and the size of the elastic bone member 11 in the thickness direction of the knee joint supporter 10 is reduced, so that the elastic bone member 11 does not become large in size and does not give a feeling of strangeness in a wearing state.

As described above, in the knee joint supporter 10 of the present embodiment, the elastic bone member 11 disposed on the side portion is made of a thin and long substantially plate-shaped material, and is accommodated in and disposed in the bag portion 12 in an arrangement state where the elastic bone member is thin in the thickness direction of the knee joint supporter 10 and thick in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10. Further, the elastic bone member 11 can be made to have a minimum necessary thickness in the thickness direction of the knee joint supporter 10 having a small relationship with the flexion and extension of the knee joint while ensuring the elastic force in the circumferential direction H of the knee joint supporter 10, which is important for the flexion and extension of the knee joint. This makes it possible to compress the space occupied by the elastic bone member 11 while ensuring a certain resistance to bending and a sufficient restoring force for extension, and to reduce the feeling of strangeness caused by the elastic bone members 11 on both sides of the knee and improve the wearing feeling without affecting the outer clothes without increasing the volume of the elastic bone member 11 on the side of the knee joint supporter 10 when the knee joint is bent and extended.

Further, since the elastic bone member 11 is formed of a substantially rod-shaped member having flexibility and restorability, and is disposed at a predetermined portion of the knee joint supporter 10 so that the longitudinal direction thereof substantially coincides with the longitudinal direction L of the knee joint supporter 10 and the entire length thereof in the longitudinal direction L is set as a length, curling from the upper end 10a and the lower end 10b of the knee joint supporter 10 can be prevented.

In the knee joint supporter 10 of the present embodiment, the bag portions 12 are provided at two locations on the inner surface side of the knee joint supporter 10, which is the side portion of the knee, in the worn state, and the elastic bone member 11 is accommodated and arranged in these locations. For example, the configuration in which the respective pockets 12 are provided on the outer surface side of the knee joint supporter 10 and the respective elastic bone members 11 are disposed on the outer side of the knee joint supporter 10 can be adopted, and the feeling of strangeness due to the elastic bone members 11 on both sides of the knee when the knee joint is flexed or extended can be further reduced. The elastic bone members 11 are not limited to these two types, and may be disposed only at one of arbitrary portions that become the side portions of the knee in the worn state of the knee joint supporter 10, or may be disposed at two or more portions that become the side portions of the knee in parallel to reinforce the supporting force.

In the knee joint supporter 10 of the present embodiment, the elastic bone member 11 is disposed at two positions of the knee joint supporter 10 which becomes the side portion of the knee in the worn state, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, a liquid resin material which becomes an elastic resin body having flexibility and restorability after being cured is impregnated linearly or in a band shape in a predetermined portion of the main body of the knee joint supporter 10, and is cured to become the substantially rod-shaped elastic bone member 11 which is integrated with the knitted fabric of the main body of the knee joint supporter 10. Accordingly, the elastic bone member 11 of the spiral skeleton according to the present embodiment can exhibit the same function, and as in the present embodiment, a certain resistance to bending of the knee joint and a sufficient restoring force to extension are ensured, and the volume does not increase at the side portion of the knee joint supporter 10, and the clothes on the outer side are not affected.

In the third embodiment, the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained except for the operational effects of the elastic bone member 11, unlike the first embodiment, in which the elastic bone member 11 and the bag portion 12 are separately provided only on the side portion of the knee joint supporter 10.

Description of the symbols

1-base cloth part

2-first fixed part

3-second fixed part

4-support part

5-patellar correspondence

6-glenoid abutment

7-boundary knitted fabric

8-curl prevention portion

8 a-one end

8 b-the other end

10-knee joint protector

10 a-upper end

10 b-lower end

11-elastic bone parts

12-bag part

Claims

1. A knee joint supporter comprising a tubular knitted fabric knitted by circular knitting, which is brought into close contact with the body surface of a wearer to assist the knee joint, characterized in that,

the disclosed device is provided with: a first anchor section knitted around one end of the tubular knitted fabric and fastening the tubular knitted fabric to the thighs of the wearer;

a second anchor section knitted around the other end of the tubular knitted fabric and configured to fasten the tubular knitted fabric to the lower leg of the wearer; and

a support portion having one end connected to the lower side of the first anchor portion and the other end connected to the lower side of the first anchor portion at a position different from the one end, the support portion being knitted in a substantially U-shape on the tubular knitted fabric and supporting the patella of the wearer,

the stretch resistance of the first anchor portion and the second anchor portion in the circumferential direction of the tubular knitted fabric is larger than the stretch resistance of the base fabric portion in the circumferential direction of the tubular knitted fabric,

the stretch resistance of the support portion in the longitudinal direction of the tubular knitted fabric is larger than the stretch resistance of the base fabric portion in the longitudinal direction of the tubular knitted fabric,

the lower side of the substantially U-shaped support portion is positioned below the patella, one side of the substantially U-shaped support portion is positioned on one side of the patella, and the other side of the substantially U-shaped support portion is positioned on the other side of the patella, and both sides of the patella are surrounded to the lower side by the substantially U-shaped support portion when worn.

2. The knee brace of claim 1,

the support portion is connected to the second fastening portion and extends between the first fastening portion and the second fastening portion in correspondence with the medial collateral ligament and the lateral collateral ligament of the wearer.

3. The knee brace of claim 1,

a base fabric portion continuous from the back side of the tubular knitted fabric is knitted so as to be interposed between the supporting portion and the second anchor portion.

4. The knee joint supporter according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the knee joint supporter includes a patella corresponding portion knitted on a front side of the tubular knitted fabric and corresponding to a patella of the wearer,

the stretch resistance of the patella corresponding portion in the longitudinal direction of the tubular knitted fabric is smaller than the stretch resistance of the base fabric portion in the longitudinal direction of the tubular knitted fabric.

5. The knee brace of claim 4,

the knitted fabric at the boundary between the supporting portion and the patella corresponding portion is knitted by overlapping a surface yarn used for the supporting portion and a surface yarn used for the patella corresponding portion, and knitting the same together with a common back yarn used for the supporting portion and the patella corresponding portion.

6. The knee joint supporter according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the knee joint supporter includes a knee joint abutting portion knitted on a back side of the tubular knitted fabric and abutting against a knee joint of the wearer,

the stretch resistance of the knee contact portion in the longitudinal direction of the tubular knitted fabric is smaller than the stretch resistance of the base fabric portion in the longitudinal direction of the tubular knitted fabric.

7. The knee joint supporter according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the knee joint supporter includes a curl prevention portion which is formed by a second tubular knitted fabric knitted by circular knitting continuously from a first anchor portion of the tubular knitted fabric and which is knitted so as to be spread from one end to the other end of the second tubular knitted fabric,

the stretch resistance of the hem preventing portion in the circumferential direction of the tubular knitted fabric is smaller than the stretch resistance of the first fixing portion in the circumferential direction of the tubular knitted fabric.

8. The knee joint supporter according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the knee joint supporter includes:

a bag portion disposed on an inner surface side or an outer surface side of the tubular knitted fabric; and

and an elastic bone member which is accommodated in the pocket portion, is formed of a substantially rod-shaped member having flexibility and recovery properties, and is disposed at a predetermined portion of the tubular knitted fabric so that a longitudinal direction thereof substantially coincides with a longitudinal direction of the tubular knitted fabric and extends substantially over the entire longitudinal direction.