Orthopedic supports and material for making same

Claim 2

A flexible, resilient composite material for use in making elastic orthopedic compression supports for surrounding and supporting a body part by compression, the composite material comprising: a porous base layer of a flexible, closed cell elastomeric foam material in thin sheet form and having a multiplicity of holes extending through the entire depth of the sheet and distributed across the surface area of the sheet, the closed cell elastomeric material having sufficient elasticity and a density of at least about ten pounds per cubic foot to provide orthopedic compression support; a skin-protecting first layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to a first face of the base layer; and a protective second layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to an opposite second face of the base layer, the first and second layers providing a means for reinforcing the elasticity of the porous base layer so that the composite material consisting of the combination of said base layer, first layer, and second layer maintains sufficient elasticity and density to provide a useful level of orthopedic compression support, and in which said composite material is porous to air and water passing through the depth of said composite material to provide a means of heat and moisture dissipation for the surrounded body part during use of such an orthopedic compression support.

Claim 3

The article according to claim 1 in which the first and second layers are knitted fabrics having pores naturally formed in the fabric, and the individual holes in the base layer have a substantially larger area than the area of the individual pores formed in the knitted fabric.

Claim 4

The article according to claim 1 in which the base layer is made of polychloroprene rubber.

Claim 5

The article according to claim 1 in which the holes occupy about three percent to about ten percent of the surface area of the base layer.

Claim 6

The article according to claim 4 in which the thickness of the polychloroprene rubber layer is about 1/16 to about 1/4 inch.

Claim 7

An orthopedic support for supporting the knee, elbow, wrist, or the like, made from the composite material of claim 1 wherein the composite layer is overlayed and seamed to form a tubular support open at both ends.

Claim 8

An ankle support made from the composite material of claim 1 wherein the composite material is overlayed and seamed to form a generally L-shaped tubular support open at opposite ends.

Claim 9

The process according to claim 1 in which the first and second layers are adhered to opposite faces of the perforated base layer by surface adhesion over substantially the entire contacting surface areas.

Claim 10

A flexible, resilient composite material for use in making elastic orthopedic compression supports for surrounding and supporting a body part by compression, the composite material comprising: a porous base layer of a flexible, resilient polychloroprene rubber closed cell elastomeric foam material in thin sheet form having a multiplicity of holes extending through the entire depth of the sheet and distributed across the surface area of the sheet, in which the closed cell elastomeric material has sufficient elasticity and a density from about ten to about thirty pounds per cubic foot to provide orthopedic compression support; a skin-protecting first layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to a first face of the base layer; and a protective second layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to an opposite second face of the base layer, in which the resilient first and second layers provide a means for reinforcing the elasticity of the porous base layer so that the composite material consisting of the combination of said base layer, first layer, and second layer maintains sufficient elasticity and density to provide a useful level of orthopedic compression support, and in which the composite material is porous to air and water passing through the depth of said composite material, to thereby provide heat and moisture dissipation for the surrounded body part during use of such an orthopedic support.

Claim 11

A flexible, resilient composite material for use in making elastic orthopedic compression supports for surrounding and supporting a body part by compression, the composite material comprising: a porous base layer of a flexible, resilient polychloroprene rubber closed cell elastomeric foam material in thin sheet form having a multiplicity of holes extending through the entire depth of the sheet and distributed across the surface area of the sheet, in which the closed cell elastomeric material has sufficient elasticity and a density from about ten to about thirty pounds per cubic foot to provide orthopedic compression support; a skin-protecting first layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to a first face of the base layer; and a protective second layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to an opposite second face of the base layer, in which the resilient first and second layers provide a means for reinforcing the elasticity of the porous base layer so that the composite material consisting of the combination of said base layer, first layer, and second layer maintains sufficient elasticity and density to provide a useful level of orthopedic compression support, and in which the composite material is porous to air and water passing through the depth of said composite material, to thereby provide heat and moisture dissipation for the surrounded body part during use of such an orthopedic support.

Claim 12

The article according to claim 9 in which the holes occupy about three percent to about ten percent of the surface layer of the base layer.

Claim 13

The article according to claim 10 in which the holes are substantially uniform in size and are spaced apart substantially uniformly across the surface of the base layer.

Claim 14

The article according to claim 9 in which the thickness of the polychloroprene layer is about 1/16 to about 1/4 inch thick.

Claim 15

The article according to claim 9 in which the first and second layers are adhered to opposite faces of the perforated base layer by surface adhesion over substantially the entire contacting surface areas.

Claim 16

A tubular orthopedic compression support for applying compression-type support to a surrounded body part, in which the tubular support is made from a composite material comprising: a porous base layer of a flexible, resilient elastomeric closed cell elastomeric foam material in thin sheet form and having a multiplicity of holes extending through the entire depth of the sheet and distributed across the surface area of the sheet, the closed cell elastomeric material having sufficient elasticity and a density of at least about ten pounds per cubic foot to provide orthopedic compression support; a skin-protecting first layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to an inner face of the base layer; and a protective second layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to an outer face of the base layer, in which the resilient first and second layers reinforce the elasticity of the porous base layer so that the composite material consisting of the combination of said base layer, first layer, and second layer maintains sufficient elasticity and density to provide a useful level of orthopedic compression support, and in which the composite material is porous to air and water passing through the depth of said composite material, to thereby provide a means of heat and moisture dissipation for the surrounded body part during use of such an orthopedic compression support.

Claim 17

A tubular orthopedic compression support for applying compression-type support to a surrounded body part, in which the tubular support is made from a composite material comprising: a porous base layer of a flexible, resilient elastomeric closed cell elastomeric foam material in thin sheet form and having a multiplicity of holes extending through the entire depth of the sheet and distributed across the surface area of the sheet, the closed cell elastomeric material having sufficient elasticity and a density of at least about ten pounds per cubic foot to provide orthopedic compression support; a skin-protecting first layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to an inner face of the base layer; and a protective second layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to an outer face of the base layer, in which the resilient first and second layers reinforce the elasticity of the porous base layer so that the composite material consisting of the combination of said base layer, first layer, and second layer maintains sufficient elasticity and density to provide a useful level of orthopedic compression support, and in which the composite material is porous to air and water passing through the depth of said composite material, to thereby provide a means of heat and moisture dissipation for the surrounded body part during use of such an orthopedic compression support.

Claim 18

The article according to claim 14 in which the holes occupy about 3 percent to about 10 percent of the surface area of the base layer.

Claim 19

The article according to claim 15 in which the density of the base layer is about 10 to about 30 pounds per cubic foot.

Claim 20

The article according to claim 16 in which the elastomeric closed cell base layer comprises polychloroprene rubber.

Claim 21

The article according to claim 14 in which the resulting orthopedic support has mutually orthogonal lateral and longitudinal dimensions, and in which the support has greater stretchability laterally than longitudinally.

Claim 22

The article according to claim 14 in which the first and second layers are adhered to opposite faces of the perforated base layer by surface adhesion over substantially the entire contacting surface areas.

Claim 23

A flexible, resilient composite material for use in making elastic orthopedic compression supports for surrounding and supporting a body part by compression, the composite material comprising: a porous base layer of a flexible, closed cell elastomeric foam material in thin sheet form and having a multiplicity of holes extending through the entire depth of the sheet and distributed across the surface area of the sheet, the closed cell elastomeric material having sufficient elasticity and density to provide orthopedic compression support; a skin-protecting first layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to a first face of the base layer; and a protective second layer of a flexible, resiliently-elastic porous fabric adhered to an opposite second face of the base layer, the first and second layers providing a means for reinforcing the elasticity of the porous base layer, the first and second fabric layers each having an elasticity greater than the elasticity of the perforated closed cell elastomeric base layer, the composite material consisting of the combination of said base layer, first layer, and second layer maintaining a sufficient level of elasticity and density to provide a useful level of orthopedic compression support, and in which the composite material is porous to air and water passing through the depth of said composite material to provide a means of heat and moisture dissipation for the surrounding body part during use of such an orthopedic compression support.

Claim 24

A flexible, resilient composite material for use in making elastic orthopedic compression supports for surrounding and supporting a body part by compression, the composite material comprising: a porous base layer of a flexible, closed cell elastomeric foam material in thin sheet form and having a multiplicity of holes extending through the entire depth of the sheet and distributed across the surface area of the sheet, the closed cell elastomeric material having sufficient elasticity and density to provide orthopedic compression support; a skin-protecting first layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to a first face of the base layer; and a protective second layer of a flexible, resiliently-elastic porous fabric adhered to an opposite second face of the base layer, the first and second layers providing a means for reinforcing the elasticity of the porous base layer, the first and second fabric layers each having an elasticity greater than the elasticity of the perforated closed cell elastomeric base layer, the composite material consisting of the combination of said base layer, first layer, and second layer maintaining a sufficient level of elasticity and density to provide a useful level of orthopedic compression support, and in which the composite material is porous to air and water passing through the depth of said composite material to provide a means of heat and moisture dissipation for the surrounding body part during use of such an orthopedic compression support.

Claim 25

The article according to claim 20 in which the base layer material has a density of at least about ten pounds per cubic foot.

Claim 26

The article according to claim 20 in which the holes occupy about three percent to about ten percent of the surface area of the base layer.

Claim 27

The article according to claim 20 in which the first and second layers are knitted fabrics having pores naturally formed in the fabric, and the individual holes in the base layer have a substantially larger area than the area of the individual pores formed in the knitted fabric.

Claim 28

The article according to claim 20 in which the first and second layers are adhered to opposite faces of the perforated base layer by surface adhesion over substantially the entire contacting surface areas.

Claim 29

A tubular orthopedic compression support for applying compression-type support to a surrounded body part, in which the tubular support is made from a composite material comprising: a porous base layer of a flexible, resilient elastomeric closed cell elastomeric foam material in thin sheet form and having a multiplicity of holes extending through the entire depth of the sheet and distributed across the surface area of the sheet, the closed cell elastomeric material having sufficient elasticity and density to provide a level of orthopedic compression support; a skin-protecting first layer of a flexible resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to an inner face of the base layer; and a protective second layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to an outer face of the base layer, in which the first and second fabric layers reinforce the elasticity of the porous base layer, and in which the first and second fabric layers each have an elasticity greater than the elasticity of the perforated closed cell elastomeric base layer, so that the composite material consisting of the combination of said base layer, first layer, and second layer maintains sufficient elasticity and density to provide a useful level of orthopedic compression support, and in which the porosity of the base layer provides heat and moisture dissipation during use of such an orthopedic compression support.

Claim 30

A tubular orthopedic compression support for applying compression-type support to a surrounded body part, in which the tubular support is made from a composite material comprising: a porous base layer of a flexible, resilient elastomeric closed cell elastomeric foam material in thin sheet form and having a multiplicity of holes extending through the entire depth of the sheet and distributed across the surface area of the sheet, the closed cell elastomeric material having sufficient elasticity and density to provide a level of orthopedic compression support; a skin-protecting first layer of a flexible resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to an inner face of the base layer; and a protective second layer of a flexible, resiliently elastic porous fabric adhered to an outer face of the base layer, in which the first and second fabric layers reinforce the elasticity of the porous base layer, and in which the first and second fabric layers each have an elasticity greater than the elasticity of the perforated closed cell elastomeric base layer, so that the composite material consisting of the combination of said base layer, first layer, and second layer maintains sufficient elasticity and density to provide a useful level of orthopedic compression support, and in which the porosity of the base layer provides heat and moisture dissipation during use of such an orthopedic compression support.

Claim 31

The article according to claim 25 in which the elastomeric base layer material has a density of at least about ten pounds per cubic foot.

Claim 32

The article according to claim 25 in which the holes occupy about three percent to about ten percent of the surface area of the base layer.

Claim 33

The article according to claim 25 in which the first and second layers are knitted fabrics having pores naturally formed in the fabric, and the individual holes in the base layer have a substantially larger area than the area of the individual pores formed in the knitted fabric.

Claim 34

The article according to claim 25 in which the first and second layers are adhered to opposite faces of the perforated base layer by surface adhesion over substantially the entire contacting surface areas.