Protection gear for various purposes has been used throughout history. Hunting, traveling, warfare, and daily occupations led to the development of leather or fabric guards designed to protect parts of the body exposed to danger. These early body shields evolved as needs arose and materials developed, until today specialized protective gear exists for almost every imaginable human activity.
Of particular interest is the use of protective devices for the knee and lower leg. Such devices are typically used in skilled construction trades, for example, in the installation of tile and other floor coverings. These professions require their practitioners to spend long, strenuous hours of kneeling and crawling, and knee problems are considered to be an almost inevitable occupational hazard.
Knee protection devices for these and other purposes have been the subject of a high degree of inventive activity, as evidenced by the patent literature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,451,493 shows a knee pad construction including a shaped cushion element with a concave interior with a recess having a flowable gel insert therein. The recess and insert are shaped to accommodate the left knee or the right knee of an individual.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,448,088 deals with a knee pad for attachment to a person's knee cap and an adjacent portion of the person's lower leg, comprising a cushioning pad that includes a forward section and a rearward section. The forward section has a knee well for receiving the person's knee cap and the knee well is off-center in the forward section. The rearward section of the cushioning pad has an interior concavity for receiving the person's lower leg.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,270 shows a garment having a pants leg with a front layer stitched along an outer peripheral seam to the pants leg to form a pocket with an interior cavity. The front layer has a central opening spaced from the outer peripheral seam and defined by an inner periphery. A protective insert, which may be formed of foam, and which is larger than the central opening, is removably positionable within the pocket. A stiff cap formed of a material such as SANTOPRENE® thermoplastic elastomer, is stitched to the insert. The cap has a flange which projects outwardly from a central region around a line of attachment. The central region is no larger than the pocket central opening. The insert is removably receivable within the pocket such that the inner periphery of the front layer is engaged between the stiff cap flange and the insert.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,197,770 involves a rolling kneepad having a weight transfer support assembly with swivel casters to support a user, a kneepad cushion provided above the support assembly to comfortably receive a user's knee, and a shin guard peripherally attached to the support assembly and extending outwardly therefrom. The elongated shin guard has a distal end which abuts the upper surface of a user's shoe or boot. Consequently, when the user moves from a kneeling to a standing position, the weight of the rolling kneepad is supported on the top surface of the user's shoe or boot. Downward slippage of the rolling kneepad along the user's leg is prevented and manual reposition of the rolling kneepad prior to the user resuming a kneeling position is avoided. Straps having hook and loop fasteners at the ends are typically used to affix the rolling kneepad to the body of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,096,507 describes a lower leg appliance providing padding and cushion support for the knee, ankle and hip joints in the leg, by providing a hard surfaced knee pad, a hard surfaced ankle pad and a soft surface calf and thigh pad positioned between the calf and thigh, held in place by at least three adjustable straps having a closure means, the three pads working in conjunction to provide relief and support to a persons knees, ankles and hips while squatting or kneeling during chores, activities or labor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,795,974 is directed to a kneeling pad assembly having an articulated supporting spine assembly with an upper spine member carrying a protected cushioned kneecup and a lower spine member carrying a shin engaging cushion. The pad assembly is supported on the leg of a user only by a pair of leg straps extending from the lower spine member behind the user's leg below the knee. The upper spine member is cantilevered above the lower spine and is constructed to be pivotally moveable with a snap action between two stable positions. The first stable position is with the upper spine collinear with the lower spine to hold the cushioned kneecup against the user's knee. The second stable position is with the upper spine member angled away from the user's leg at an acute angle to the lower spine member to hold the kneecap out of contact with the user's knee to avoid discomfort and displacement of the kneeling pad assembly during standing or walking.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,555 discloses a lower leg and foot cover for covering the knee and lower leg regions of a user's pants and the front of the user's shoes from soiling and soaking. The lower leg and foot cover includes a knee cover which is coupled to an upper end of a flexible lower leg cover. A flexible shoe cover is coupled to a lower end of the lower leg cover. Flexible straps are provided for securing the knee cover and the lower leg cover to the wearer's leg.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,383 is directed to a leg protective system selectively covering a person's lower leg and knee for protective against environmental elements. The leg protective system comprises a first protective cover and a second protective cover which are selectively attachable to each other to define a single leg protective system. The first protective cover is adapted to cover the front and side portions of a wearer's knee. The first protective cover has a top portion and a bottom portion, whereby the top and bottom portions are formed of a flexible material for generally fitting the contour of the knee. The bottom portion has a first releasable strap assembly adapted to extend behind the wearer's leg to operatively attach the first protective cover over the knee. The second protection cover is adapted to cover the front and side portions of a wearer's lower leg. The second protective cover is formed of a flexible material for generally fitting the contour of the lower leg. The second protective cover has a second releasable strap assembly adapted to extend behind the wearer's lower leg to operatively attach the second protective cover to the lower leg. The first and second protection covers are selectively attachable adjacent their respective bottom and top edges to define, when so attached, a single leg system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,956 discusses a shin pad in which the shin shield is in two pieces, namely an upper piece which is secured to the lining of the knee cap, or to the knee cap itself, and a lower piece which is slidable up and down relative to the upper piece, and to which a lower liner is secured, the lower liner being independent of the knee liner. Preferably, the lower piece is slidable with respect to the upper piece by virtue of one or more slotted holes in either or both of the upper piece and/or lower piece, with bolts and T-nuts being used in the slots to secure the pieces together in the desired position. Preferably, there are three such slotted holes, namely a front central one and two side ones, namely one towards either side of the pad. Preferably, there is sufficient sloppiness in the slots to provide a varus/valgus adjustment, i.e. an adjustment of the angle of the shin shield, in the vertical fore-and-aft plane, relative to the orientation of the knee cap, by permitting the lower piece to be secured with one side higher than the other relative to the upper piece.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,055 concerns a unique protective knee pad which is comprised of one-piece molded resilient polyurethane foam. The pad has a special U-shaped sole with a transverse bar through the middle portion and a transverse bar at the rear. Two cavities are created by the transverse bars which are adapted to entrap air when the wearer is in the operative kneeling position thereby cushioning the delicate parts of the patella and upper shin, by preventing the outwardly extending portion of the knee from coming into contact with the ground.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 20080168589 deals with a knee pad with a support frame, a pad, and a boot. The pad is assembled on the support frame to provide a cushioning surface between the support frame and the wearer's leg. The pad has ears in the knee section and in the ankle section, which serve to maintain the support frame and pad in proper alignment on the leg. The boot provides a non-slip, non-marring surface against the floor, when the wearer is working in a kneeling position. A moisture-absorbent liner, which is easily removed for cleaning or replacement, may also be fitted on top of the pad, to provide an absorbent layer between the pad and the wearer's leg.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 20080072359 shows protective knee pads. The knee pads are comprised of a first shell member which fits over the patella and knee joint and a second member which is attached to the lower thigh and pivotally engaged with the knee pad shell so that they may articulate one with respect to the other while providing additional support and protection for the user of the knee pad. An additional shin pad may also be attached to the lower end of the shell which covers the knee.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 20070050877 shows a clothing adherable knee pad for a pair of shorts including a bendable flexible arcuate pad which bends over the knee of a kneeling person. The knee pad is cantilevered downward from at least two linearly extending elastic, stretchable straps which are connected at distal ends thereof each to a respective clothing engageable clip at upper region of the knee pad, wherein each clip is attachable to a leg of a pair of short pants. The two or more linearly extending elastic, stretchable straps engage the knee pad by being attached thereto or by being woven through respective pairs of slits extending through the upper region of the knee pad. The straps are of sufficient length so that when attached to clothing, such as short pants, respective locations of the clips upon short pants legs avoids uncomfortable encroachments to respective lateral and rear areas of the knee of the user.
It can be seen from the foregoing that the need exists for knee pad that provides a durable, inexpensive, easily manufactured, and comfortable pad adapted to a wide variety of potential uses.