WELDED BACK BRACE

• US 20180353314A1
• Filed: 06/07/2017
• Published: 12/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ortho Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ortho Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: GRIM, Tracy E., WATABE, Kenji, ERWIN, Edwin
• Granted Patent: US 11,540,935 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 5/028 Braces for providing support to the lower back, e.g. lumbo sacral supports

Abstract

A welded orthopedic back brace is disclosed. In an embodiment, at least one belt member is coupled to a spinal support element. The materials of the belt member are thermally fused to form a unitary segment. In another embodiment, an anterior portion of a posterior pad of the spinal support element includes thermally fused materials to provide a user with an added degree of comfort.

Claims

1. An orthopedic back brace, comprising:

a spinal support element; and

at least one belt member coupled to the spinal support element for securing the spinal support element to a user,

wherein the at least one belt member comprises a plurality of materials thermally fused together to form a unitary segment.

2. The back brace of claim 1, wherein the plurality of thermally fused materials are arranged to reduce an overall volume of the at least one belt member.

3. The back brace of claim 1, wherein the spinal support element is permanently affixed to the at least one belt member.

4. The back brace of claim 1, wherein the unitary segment is configured to provide a gradual transition of one or more material characteristics across borders of different thermally fused materials.

5. The back brace of claim 4, wherein the one or more material characteristics include at least one of border transition smoothness, elasticity, rigidity, and thickness.

6. The back brace of claim 1, wherein an entirety of the at least one belt member comprises the unitary segment.

7. The back brace of claim 1, wherein the at least one belt member is configured to provide a plurality of predetermined material characteristics distributed across the unitary segment.

8. The back brace of claim 7, wherein a value of at least one of the predetermined material characteristics varies gradually across a border of thermally fused materials.

9. The back brace of claim 1, wherein the at least one belt member comprises first and second belt members, an end of each of the first and second belt members secured to the spinal support element.

10. The back brace of claim 1, wherein the at least one belt member further comprises an unbroken loop (UBL) material.

11. The back brace of claim 10, wherein the UBL material is thermally fused with at least one other material.

12. The back brace of claim 1, wherein the at least one belt member further comprises an adhesive disposed between thermally fused materials at or adjacent a border of the materials.

13. The back brace of claim 12, wherein thermal fusion via the adhesive alters at least one material characteristic of one or both of the thermally fused materials.

14. The back brace of claim 12, wherein the adhesive is configured to thermally fuse two disparate materials together without altering material characteristics of the disparate materials.

15. The back brace of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of materials comprises a spacer mesh material.

16. The back brace of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of materials comprises thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).

17. The back brace of claim 16, wherein the TPU comprises an adhesive in at least one region of thermal fusion of the TPU with another material.

18. The back brace of claim 16, wherein at least a portion of the TPU is overlaid via thermal fusion on an outer surface of the at least one belt member opposing the user.

19. The back brace of claim 18, wherein the overlaid TPU comprises a pattern including a plurality of apertures disposed along at least a portion of a longitudinal section of the at least one belt member.

20. The back brace of claim 19, wherein the overlaid TPU comprises a pair of TPU segments disposed substantially parallel to one another along the longitudinal section of the at least one belt member.

21. The back brace of claim 1, wherein an inner surface of the belt member comprises a spacer mesh material configured for placement against a user'"'"'s waist.

22. The back brace of claim 1, wherein the spinal support element comprises a plurality of thermally fused materials.

23. An orthopedic back brace, comprising:

a spinal support element comprising an anterior portion of a posterior pad configured for placement against a spinal area of a user; and

at least one belt member, coupled to the spinal support element, for extending around a user'"'"'s torso to assist in securing the spinal support element in place,

wherein the at least one belt member comprises a plurality of thermally fused materials configured to form a unitary segment.

24. The back brace of claim 23, wherein the plurality of thermally fused materials are arranged to reduce an overall volume of the at least one belt member.

25. The back brace of claim 23, wherein the spinal support element is permanently affixed to the at least one belt member.

26. The back brace of claim 23, wherein the unitary segment is configured to provide a gradual transition of values of one or more material characteristics across borders of different thermally fused materials.

27. The back brace of claim 26, wherein the one or more material characteristics include at least one of border transition smoothness, material elasticity, rigidity, and thickness.

28. The back brace of claim 23, wherein an entirety of the at least one belt member comprises the unitary segment.

29. The back brace of claim 23, wherein the at least one belt member is configured to provide a plurality of predetermined material characteristics distributed across the unitary segment.

30. The back brace of claim 29, wherein a value of at least one of the predetermined material characteristics varies gradually across a border of thermally fused materials.

31. The back brace of claim 23, wherein the at least one belt member comprises first and second belt members, an end of each of the first and second belt members secured to the spinal support element.

32. The back brace of claim 23, wherein the at least one belt member further comprises an unbroken loop (UBL) material.

33. The back brace of claim 32, wherein the UBL material is thermally fused with at least one other material

34. The back brace of claim 23, wherein the at least one belt member further comprises an adhesive disposed between thermally fused materials at or adjacent a border of the materials.

35. The back brace of claim 34, wherein thermal fusion via the adhesive alters at least one material characteristic of one or both of the thermally fused materials.

36. The back brace of claim 34, wherein the adhesive is configured to thermally fuse two disparate materials together without altering material characteristics of the disparate materials.

37. The back brace of claim 23, wherein at least one of the plurality of materials comprises a spacer mesh material.

38. The back brace of claim 23, wherein at least one of the plurality of materials comprises thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).

39. The back brace of claim 38, wherein at least a portion of the TPU is overlaid via thermal fusion on an outer surface of the at least one belt member opposing the user.

40. The back brace of claim 39, wherein the overlaid TPU comprises a pattern including a plurality of apertures disposed along at least a portion of a longitudinal section of the at least one belt member.

41. The back brace of claim 40, wherein the overlaid TPU comprises a pair of TPU segments disposed substantially parallel to one another along a longitudinal section of the at least one belt member.

42. The back brace of claim 23, wherein an inner surface of the at least one belt member comprises a spacer mesh material configured for placement against a user'"'"'s waist.

43. The back brace of claim 23, wherein the spinal support element comprises a plurality of thermally fused materials.

44. The back brace of claim 23, wherein an inner surface of the posterior pad arranged to contact the user comprises a plurality of thermally fused materials.

45. The back brace of claim 23, wherein the at least one belt member is contoured into a three-dimensional shape to assist in conforming to a user'"'"'s anatomy.

46. An orthopedic back brace, comprising:

a spinal support element; and

two belt members coupled to the spinal support element and configured to secure the spinal support element onto a user,

wherein at least portions of the two belt members include materials thermally fused together to integrate the materials into a single segment.

47. The back brace of claim 46, wherein the two belt members are contoured into a three-dimensional shape to assist in conforming to a user'"'"'s anatomy.

48. An orthopedic back brace, comprising:

a spinal support element comprising an anterior portion of a posterior pad configured for placement against a spinal area of a user; and

at least one belt member coupled to the spinal support element and configured to secure the spinal support element onto a user,

wherein the anterior portion comprises a plurality of materials thermally fused together to form a unitary segment.

49. The back brace of claim 48, wherein the at least one belt member comprises a plurality of materials stitched together.

50. The back brace of claim 48, wherein the at least one belt member comprises a plurality of thermally fused materials configured to form a unitary segment.

51. The back brace of claim 48, wherein

the posterior pad further comprises a posterior portion;

and

the posterior portion comprises at least two materials thermally fused together.

52. The back brace of claim 48, wherein the unitary segment is configured to provide a gradual transition of values of one or more material characteristics across borders of different thermally fused materials.

53. The back brace of claim 52, wherein the one or more material characteristics include at least one of border transition smoothness, material elasticity, rigidity, and thickness.