Double pull body brace

• US 8,142,377 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2005
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aspen Medical Products, LLC
• Original Assignee: WG Holdings LLC
• Inventors: Garth, Geoffrey, Romo, Albert V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Michael A.
• Application Number:
  US10/977,726
• Publication Number:
  US 20050267390A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,582 Days
• Field of Search: 602/5, 602/12, 602/19, 128/95.1, 128/96.1, 128 981-101, 2 44- 45
• US Class Current: 602/5
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/001 for adjusting a diameter
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 5/02 Orthopaedic corsets arm-rests for use as writing aids B43L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 5/028 Braces for providing support to the lower back, e.g. lumbo sacral supports

Abstract

The double pull body brace comprises a one-piece panel which engages around the torso and overlaps at the front. At the overlap, it is attached to itself by means of a hook-and-loop fastener so that a wide range of adjustment is possible. In the back, spaced cord guides are mounted on said panel. Each cord guide carries a plurality of cord guide lobes. An upper cord is engaged around the upper cord guide lobes, and a lower cord is engaged around the lower cord guide lobes. These cords are separately attached to pull tabs. When donned, the user pulls on the pull tabs to separately adjust upper and lower closure tension of the body brace. When in correct adjustment, the pull tabs are attached in place by hook-and-loop fasteners.

Claims

1. A body brace comprising:

a one-piece panel flexibly extending from a back portion to a front portion of the torso of a wearer;

a first cord that sinuously engages a plurality of first non-rotating cord guides, and is disposed to cross a first sagittal plane of the wearer;

a second cord that sinuously engages a plurality of second non-rotating cord guides, and is disposed to cross a second sagittal plane of the wearer; and

the cords and cord guides operatively coupled to the body such that pulling on the cords in opposite directions re-adjusts the brace about the torso of the wearer each time the brace is worn.

2. The brace of claim 1, wherein the panel is sized and dimensioned to provide an overlapping front closure while being worn about the torso.

3. The brace of claim 1, wherein the first cord guides are disposed on a left side of the panel and the second cord guides are disposed on a right side of the panel.

4. The brace of claim 1, wherein the first cord is pulled across a midline to the right to tighten the brace, and the second cord is pulled across the midline to the left to tighten the brace.

5. The brace of claim 1, wherein the first cord comprises a synthetic polymer.

6. The brace of claim 1, further comprising a pull tab affixed to the first cord.

7. The brace of claim 6, wherein the tab removably attaches to the panel using a hook and loop attachment mechanism.

8. The brace of claim 1, wherein the first cord guides number at least two.

9. The brace of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first cord guides comprises a synthetic polymer.

10. The brace of claim 9, wherein the pocket is removable attached to the panel using hook and loop fasteners.

11. The brace of claim 9 wherein the brace has a top and a bottom, and pulling the first cord tightens the top of the brace more than the bottom.

12. The brace of claim 11, wherein pulling the second cord tightens the bottom of the brace more than the top.

13. The brace of claim 1, further comprising a pocket that is positioned on the panel, and is sized and dimensioned to receive at least one of a cushioning pad, a cold pack, a hot pack, and a stiffener.

14. The brace of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the first cord overlies the pocket.

15. The brace of claim 1 further including a second cord that sinuously engages a plurality of second non-rotating cord guides, wherein the first and second cords and first and second cord guides are coupled to the body such that pulling on the cords tightens the brace about the torso of the wearer.

16. The brace of claim 15 wherein the first cord is an upper cord and the second cord is a lower cord.

17. The brace of claim 15, wherein the cords are disposed such that one of the cord pulls to the right to pull the top of the brace closed, and the other cord pulls to the left to pull the bottom of the brace closed.

18. A body brace comprising:

a panel having sufficient length to overlap across a front portion of the torso of a wearer; and

upper and lower cords, each of the cords disposed across a sagittal midplane of the wearer, and operatively engaging the panel such that one of the cord pulls to the right to pull the top of the brace closed, and the other cord pulls to the left to pull the bottom of the brace closed.

19. The brace of claim 18 wherein the upper cord sinuously engages a plurality of first non-rotating cord guides, and the lower cord sinuously engages a plurality of second non-rotating cord guides.

20. The brace of claim 18 further comprising a pull tab that is affixed to one of the cords, and that removably attaches to the panel using a hook and loop attachment mechanism.