Reinforced ankle and foot brace
First Claim
1. An ankle brace to be worn on a foot and ankle in encompassing relationship to the medial and lateral sides of the ankle and proximal foot respectively, comprising:
- a base including an inner layer of flexible sheet-like material shaped to closely encompass the ankle and proximal foot on the forward, rearward, medial and lateral sides thereof;
a second layer of flexible sheet-like material secured to the inner layer and coextensive therewith at least in the vicinity of the ankle and the adjacent anatomical portions above and below the ankle;
a medial support panel embedded between the inner layer and the second layer on the medial side of the base positioned to be in covering relationship to the ankle region on the medial side of the foot spanning the area above, below, forward and reward of the ankle when the base is installed on a foot;
a lateral support panel embedded between the inner layer and the second layer on the lateral side of the base positioned to be in covering relationship to the ankle region on the lateral side of the foot spanning the area above, below, forward and reward of the ankle when the base is installed on a foot;
medial stitch means on the medial side of the base between the inner layer and the second layer and the medial support panel, said medial stitch means extending back and forth across intermediate portions of the medial support panel between opposite edges thereof in order to hold the medial support panel in place;
lateral stitch means on the lateral side of the base between the inner layer and the second layer and the the lateral support panel, said lateral stitch means extending back and forth across intermediate portions of the lateral support panel between opposite edges thereof in order to hold the lateral support panel in place;
each support panel being a sheet-like member formed of a strong relatively inelastic flexible mesh material having a high porosity and resiliently bendable about an axis parallel to the plane of the sheet member.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An ankle brace for relative confinement of the foot and ankle to help prevent injury to an individual engaged in active conduct, or inhibit aggravation of pre-existent injury, or provide protection during healing of an injury. A base includes an inner layer of sheet-like material shaped to be engaged in conforming relationship about the foot and ankle. A second layer covers the base. Lateral and medial support panels are embedded on lateral and medial sides of the brace between the inner and second layers. The support panels are formed of a mesh of plastic-type material to conform somewhat to the ankle and lower leg region when the brace in installed and tightly applied to the foot. In one form of the invention, lateral and medial rides are provided with pockets containing removable rigid stay members spanning the area between the lower leg and the upper foot in order to provide greater confinement to the ankle region upon initial healing of an injury. The stays are removable once the healing process is along the way and less restriction is required of the ankle.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. An ankle brace to be worn on a foot and ankle in encompassing relationship to the medial and lateral sides of the ankle and proximal foot respectively, comprising:
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a base including an inner layer of flexible sheet-like material shaped to closely encompass the ankle and proximal foot on the forward, rearward, medial and lateral sides thereof; a second layer of flexible sheet-like material secured to the inner layer and coextensive therewith at least in the vicinity of the ankle and the adjacent anatomical portions above and below the ankle; a medial support panel embedded between the inner layer and the second layer on the medial side of the base positioned to be in covering relationship to the ankle region on the medial side of the foot spanning the area above, below, forward and reward of the ankle when the base is installed on a foot; a lateral support panel embedded between the inner layer and the second layer on the lateral side of the base positioned to be in covering relationship to the ankle region on the lateral side of the foot spanning the area above, below, forward and reward of the ankle when the base is installed on a foot; medial stitch means on the medial side of the base between the inner layer and the second layer and the medial support panel, said medial stitch means extending back and forth across intermediate portions of the medial support panel between opposite edges thereof in order to hold the medial support panel in place; lateral stitch means on the lateral side of the base between the inner layer and the second layer and the the lateral support panel, said lateral stitch means extending back and forth across intermediate portions of the lateral support panel between opposite edges thereof in order to hold the lateral support panel in place; each support panel being a sheet-like member formed of a strong relatively inelastic flexible mesh material having a high porosity and resiliently bendable about an axis parallel to the plane of the sheet member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An ankle brace comprising:
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base means formed of a flexible material and having inner and outer layers and shaped to closely encompass the ankle and proximal foot including the medial and lateral sides of the ankle and foot; a medial support panel embedded in the base means between the inner and outer layers extending from a location on the lower leg above the ankle, downwardly in spanning relationship to the ankle region to a location beneath the ankle region in the vicinity of the foot, means securing the medial support panel between the inner and outer layers of the base comprised as stitching means sewn through the inner and outer layers of the medial side of the base and the medial support panel and extending back and forth across intermediate portions of the medial support panel between opposite edges thereof; a lateral support panel embedded between the inner and outer layers of the base on the lateral side of the base, said lateral support panel extending from a location on the lower leg above the ankle, downwardly in spanning relationship to the ankle region to a location beneath the ankle region in the vicinity of the foot, means securing the lateral support panel to the base comprised as stitching means sewn though the inner and outer layers of the lateral side of the base and the lateral support panel and extending back and forth across intermediate portions of the lateral support panel between opposite edges thereof; said medial and lateral support panels being of a width to extend circumferentially around the ankle from a position rearwardly thereof to a position forward thereof; each support panel formed of a mesh material having a first set of resilient flexible parallel strands, and a second set of resilient flexible parallel strands perpendicular to the first set and interconnected therewith and defining a plurality of openings such that the support panel has a porosity greater than 50 percent. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An ankle brace comprising:
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base means formed of a flexible material and having an inner layer and a first outer layer and shaped to closely encompass the ankle and proximal foot including medial and lateral sides for encompassing medial and lateral sides of the ankle and foot; a medial support panel embedded in the base means between the inner and outer layers extending from a location on the lower leg above the ankle, downwardly in spanning relationship to the ankle region to a location beneath the ankle region in the vicinity of the foot, means securing the medial support panel between the inner and outer layers of the base; a lateral support panel embedded between the inner and outer layers of the base on the lateral side of the base, said lateral support panel extending from a location on the lower leg above the ankle, downwardly in spanning relationship to the ankle region to a location beneath the ankle region in the vicinity of the foot, means securing the lateral support panel to the base; said medial and lateral support panels being of a width to extend circumferentially around the ankle from a position rearwardly thereof to a position forward thereof; each support panel formed of a mesh material having a first set of resilient flexible parallel strands, and a second set of resilient flexible parallel strands perpendicular to the first set and interconnected therewith and defining a plurality of openings such that the support panel has a porosity greater than 50 percent; a second outer layer of flexible sheet-like material secured to the first outer layer in emcompassing relationship to the first outer layer at least on the medial and lateral sides of the base;
an elongate, narrow medial pocket formed between the first and second outer layers on the medial side of the base extending from a location near the upper edge of the base downwardly to a position beneath the medial malleolus of the foot, a relatively rigid medial stay located in the medial pocket, said medial stay curved to conform to the anatomical shape of the medial portion of the foot and ankle when located in the medial pocket;an elongate, narrow lateral pocket formed between the first and second outer layers on the lateral side of the base extending from a location near the upper edge of the base downwardly to a position beneath the lateral malleolus of the foot, a relatively rigid lateral stay located in the lateral pocket, said lateral stay curved to conform to the anatomical shape of the lateral portion of the foot and ankle when located in the lateral pocket. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification