US2432565A - Knee pad - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 16, 1947. R, Q FERGUSON 2,432,565

KNEE PAD Filed Sept. 30. 1944 *a y n l u .12.2 J4' Z1 1.3 l? zz `I l@ l1@ g;

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l www Patented Dec. 16, 1947 UNITED PATENT QFFICE;

,Claims- This inventionl relates broadly to supports; and more particularly. to a` device.I for 'supportfir-igV aV workman on the floor, ground' or thelike-vin a kneeling position.

There are many classes of. workmenwho must spend considerable time ina. kneeling` position, because of the nature ofthe. work tobe performed. rlhere have.v beeny many devices icon-V ceivedinl the pastwhich will enable-a workman tobe more comfortable while-inY akneeling.r posi tion, suchV devices including.A knee pads, padded movable supports, smallwhleeled carriages and the like, Oneoi the main drawbacks-aboutsuch prior devices has been the fact that while the knees of the workman=may be supported, there are no supports which will enable the workman to be on his knees for extendedA periods of time and relieve the pressure on hisv feet. Also, many of the devices, such as wheeledfcarriages. andV the like, are bulky and hard to handle and must be picked up by the workman as he moves from place toplace.

The-main objectof this Ainvention is to .provide asupport for workmenwhich will support the workman ina kneeling. position` comfortable over long perio ds of time.

Another object of the, inventionis to` provide a support;whichwill relievethe pressureomthe Workman@ feetwhen the workman is in aikneeling: position..

Still another objectof theinvention is-toprovide` a devicecapable of performing the abovernentioned objects which isportable and may be strapped to the workmans legs in such a manner that, when the workman is on his feet, thedeviceiw-illnot interfere with his'f-ree movement.

Numerous other objects of the invention will be obvious from an inspection of the drawings and the following description thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of the invention showing the same in position on a workmans leg.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a modification of the invention.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion of the supporting bracket shown in Figures 1 and 2, and the pivotal connection for the braclr` et as well as the specic means of locking the bracket in one of two positions.

Referring to the drawings, particularly Figure 1 thereof, reference numeral Il) generally indicates a shank which is concave on its inner side so as to generally fit over the shin of the wearers leg, and is of suicient length so as to extend froma point adjacent theh wearers-ankleup-` wardly to cover the entire front portion o f the wearers leg. The shank IG is preferablyformed of metal, and may be cast, stamped cr the. like,

.l although it willA be obviouspithat` thesame may be formed of Vother suitable material such asfwood or plastic.` il extending rearwardly and preferably being formedintegral'with thelshank. The` tabs li are provided withA slots l2: through which leg straps I3.T aref secured, the legfstraps ls being provided with a suitable; strap adjusting buckle` ld.' The.\upper portion-.ofshank H) is provided with' an annular depression |5150 positioned on the shank as to overliethe wearers knee` This annular. depression` is. preferablyA formed integ rallywiththershank, although it will be obvious thatthesame. couldbeformed separately and suitably. secured to the-shank. As shown inFigM ure 1 lugs. i6. extend outwardly from the lower portion of theshankand each lug has a suitable aperture .therein through. which screw-threaded boltsVliextend.y The bolts l1 are provided'with anenlargedhead I8 andailock washer lSis po sitioned on the bolts l'l, the lock washer ISB; being.- provided .with aplurality of `radial grooves. 28. A1 wing'nut'Zl isrscrew-threaded on the. bolt l'i. A. substantially Ushaped. `bracket 25 has a washer lformed'integrally with the inner ends thereof,thef.washer-2being provided with radial ribs.2.'l`.

When the. device is applied toaworkmansv leg, andztheworkman isin anV upright` position, asshown in Figure. l, the bracket 25- will be` placed inltheposition shownin `dotted lines, thus enabling the; workman to` move about without any interference from the support. When the workman assumes a kneeling position, the wing nuts l1 are loosened to permit the washers I9 and 2B to be separated, thus permitting the bracket 25 to pivot from its dotted line position shown in Figure 1 to the full line position. As shown in Figure 3, the wing nut 2l may then be tightened and the bracket 25 will remain in its extended position through the lock washers I9 and 25, as will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art.

In each of the forms illustrated, the lower bracket 25 maintains the lower portion of the workmans leg in an elevated position, thus permitting the workmans foot to hang downwardly in a natural position and relieve pressure therefrom. It is this latter feature which comprises the most important function of the present invention, i. e., when a Workman is on his knees,

The shank'A lil is provided t with tabs 3 the lower portion of his legs are in a slightly elevated position and are maintained in such position through the medium of the lower bracket 25 so that all pressure, or substantially all pressure, is relieved from the workmans feet.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figure 1, the knee is supported in the annular depression l5. It will be obvious, of course, that the annular depression l5 and/or the shank l0 may be suitably padded. In the modification shown in Figure 2 the knee of the Workman extends slightly beyond the forward portion of the shank and the flared portion 30 enables the knee to be suitably flexed.

It will be understood, also, that the bracket 25, which is shown in the drawings as extending transverse to the shank, could be replaced by having two brackets of similar form extending lengthwise and on either side of the shank so as to form runners. Such brackets would have pivotal connections, as that illustrated for brackets 25.

I claim:

1. A device 'of the character described for sup porting a workmans leg when in kneeling position comprising a shank, means for detachably securing said shank to the front'portion of the leg, and means secured to said shank and extending downwardly from the rear portion of said shank for maintaining the lower portion of the leg elevated so that the foot of the wearer may hang downwardly from the leg in a natural position, said last mentioned means being pivotally secured to said shank so that the same may be folded upon said shank when not in use.

2. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans leg when in kneeling position comprising a shank, means for detachably securing said shank to the front portion of the leg, and a pivoted bracket secured to said shank and extending downwardly from the rear portion of said shank for maintaining the lower portion of the leg elevated so that the foot of the wearerY may hang downwardly from the leg in a natural position.

3. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans leg when in kneeling position comprising a shank, means for detachably securing said shank to the front portion of the leg, a, pivoted bracket secured to said shank and extending downwardly from the rear portion of said shank for maintaining the lower portion of the leg elevated so that the foot of the wearer may hang downwardly from the leg in a natural position, said bracket being adapted to be folded upon said shank when not in use, and means for 4 maintaining said bracket in its folded and extended position.

4. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans leg when in kneeling position comprising an elongated shank adapted to fit over the shin of the wearers leg, means for detachably securing said shank to the leg, a cupshaped member formed integrally with said shank and extending forwardly thereof adapted to receive the knee of the wearer, and a pivoted bracket secured to said shank and extending downwardly from the rear portion of said shank for maintaining the lower portion of the leg elevated so that the foot of the wearer may hang downwardly from the leg in a natural position, said bracket being adapted to be folded upon said shank when not in use.

5. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans leg when in kneeling position comprising an elongated shank adapted to t over the shin of the wearers leg, means for detachably securing said shank to the leg, a cupshaped member formed integrally with said shank and extending forwardly thereof adapted to receive the knee of the wearer, a pivoted bracket secured to said shank and extending downwardly from the rear portion of the shank for maintaining the lower portion of the leg elevated so that the foot of the wearer may hang downwardly from the leg in a natural position, said bracket being adapted to be folded upon said shank when not in use, and means for maintaining said bracket in its folded and extended positions.

ROBERT O. FERGUSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name A Date 1,434,808 Burnett et al. Nov. 7, 1922 1,547,166 Davidson July 28, 1925 1,087,863 Andrews Feb. 17, 1914 1,117,168 Crowley Nov. 17, 1914 1,293,240 Summers Feb. 4, 1919 1,624,129 Barrett Apr. 12, 1927 1,090,408 Peoples Mar. 17, 1914 1,296,522 Holsey Mar. 4, 1919 1,348,204 Brewster Aug. 3, 1920 1,382,883 Ashbridge June 28, 1921 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 454,748 France May 5, 1913

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