Protective device for human joint

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12029265-B2
Application number	US-202318179785-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 7, 2023
Priority date	Feb 23, 2017
Publication date	Jul 9, 2024
Grant date	Jul 9, 2024

Abstract

The present invention relates to a protective device for protecting a proximal interphalangeal joint and a distal interphalangeal joint of a human finger. The device comprises a flexible sheath for wearing around the human finger and at least four motion constraining elements integrated in or secured to the flexible sheath. The motion constraining element is adapted for constraining a lateral and/or rotational deviation motion of a first phalanx with respect to a second phalanx. The motion constraining element covers a lateral side of the flexible sheath at a location corresponding to the joint and is adapted for resisting elongation of the motion constraining element in a longitudinal direction of the flexible sheath. The motion constraining element is bendable in a direction to allow flexion of the joint. The motion constraining elements for the distal interphalangeal joint and for the proximal interphalangeal joint are distinct and separate elements having different points of engagement on the flexible sheath.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A protective device for protecting a proximal interphalangeal joint and a distal interphalangeal joint of a human finger when worn, said protective device comprising:
a flexible sheath adapted for wearing around said human finger, wherein said flexible sheath comprises a palmar side for covering a palmar face of said human finger when worn, a dorsal side for covering a dorsal face of said human finger when worn and two lateral sides for covering respectively an ulnar and a radial face of said human finger when worn, and
at least two proximal motion constraining elements integrated in or secured to said flexible sheath at a proximal portion and at least two distal motion constraining elements, integrated in or secured to said flexible sheath at a distal portion of said flexible sheath, said proximal portion and said distal portion of the flexible sheath corresponding to respectively each of both lateral sides of said proximal interphalangeal joint of said human finger when said flexible sheath is worn and each of both lateral sides corresponding to said distal interphalangeal joint of said human finger when said flexible sheath is worn,
wherein each of the at least two proximal motion constraining elements and each of the at least two distal motion constraining elements is adapted for constraining, when said flexible sheath is worn around said human finger, a lateral and/or rotational deviation motion of a first phalanx with respect to a second phalanx, said first and second phalanx being articulated with respect to each other by said interphalangeal joint to which said motion constraining element corresponds when worn,
wherein each of the at least two proximal motion constraining elements covers a lateral side of the flexible sheath at the proximal portion and each of the at least two distal motion constraining elements covers a lateral side of the flexible sheath at distal portion of said flexible sheath, said proximal portion corresponding to said proximal interphalangeal joint and said distal portion corresponding to said distal interphalangeal joint when the flexible sheath is worn around said human finger,
wherein each of the at least two proximal motion constraining elements and each of the at least two distal motion constraining elements is adapted for resisting elongation in a longitudinal direction of the flexible sheath,
wherein at least one motion constraining element of the at least two proximal motion constraining elements and of the at least two distal motion constraining elements is bendable in a dorso-palmar direction to allow flexion of the interphalangeal joint, when said flexible sheath is worn around said human finger,
wherein the at least two distal motion constraining elements are distinct and separate elements from the at least two proximal motion constraining elements, having different points of engagement on the flexible sheath,
wherein a first distal elongate element is one of the at least two distal motion constraining elements, and a second distal elongate element is another of the at least two distal motion constraining elements, wherein said first distal elongate element and said second distal elongate element intersect to form a cross-shape at the lateral side of the flexible sheath at the distal portion, the cross-shape of the first distal elongate element and the second distal elongate element corresponding to an axis of rotation of the distal interphalangeal joint intersecting the flexible sheath when the protective device is worn on the human finger,
wherein a first proximal elongate element is one of the at least two proximal motion constraining elements, and a second proximal elongate element is another of the at least two proximal motion constraining elements, wherein said first proximal elongate element and said second proximal elongate element intersect to form a cross-shape at the lateral side of the flexible sheath at the proximal portion, the cross-shape of the first proximal elongate element and the second proximal elongate element corresponding to an axis of rotation of the proximal interphalangeal joint intersecting the flexible sheath when the protective device is worn on the human finger,
wherein the first distal elongate element extends from a position on the palmar side of the flexible sheath corresponding to a position of a shaft of the distal phalanx to a position on the dorsal side of the flexible sheath corresponding to a position of a shaft of the middle phalanx, and wherein the second distal elongate element extends from a position on the dorsal side of the flexible sheath corresponding to the position of the shaft of the distal phalanx to a position on the palmar side of the flexible sheath corresponding to the position of the shaft of the middle phalanx, or
wherein the first proximal elongate element extends from a position on the palmar side of the flexible sheath corresponding to a position of the shaft of the middle phalanx to a position on the dorsal side of the flexible sheath corresponding to a position of a shaft of the proximal phalanx, and wherein the second proximal elongate element extends from a position on the dorsal side of the flexible sheath corresponding to the position of the shaft of the middle phalanx to a position on the palmar side of the flexible sheath corresponding to the position of the shaft of the proximal phalanx,
when the flexible sheath is worn on the human finger.

2. The protective device of claim 1 , wherein said flexible sheath is a structure for enveloping the human finger in a close-fitting manner, such as to exert a compressive force on the human finger when said flexible sheath is worn around said human finger.

3. The protective device of claim 1 , wherein at least two of said at least two proximal motion constraining elements respectively cover each lateral side of the flexible sheath at opposite lateral locations of said proximal portion of the flexible sheath, and
wherein at least two of said at least two distal motion constraining elements respectively cover each lateral side of the flexible sheath at opposite lateral locations of said distal portion of the flexible sheath.

4. The protective device of claim 1 , wherein the flexible sheath defines a central portion between the proximal portion and the distal portion of the flexible sheath,
wherein each of the at least two distal motion constraining elements and each of the at least two proximal motion constraining elements is secured to the flexible sheath in the central portion of the flexible sheath corresponding to said position of the shaft of said first phalanx when said flexible sheath is worn around said human finger and
wherein each of the at least two distal motion constraining elements is further secured to the flexible sheath in the distal portion of the flexible sheath corresponding to said position of the shaft of said second phalanx, when the flexible sheath is worn around said human finger.

5. The protective device of claim 4 , wherein the flexible sheath comprises a first annular elastic structure in the proximal portion and a second annular elastic structure in the distal portion for exerting a compressive force corresponding to the shaft of respectively said first phalanx and said second phalanx, when worn around said human finger, and
wherein each of the at least two proximal motion constraining elements are secured to the first annular elastic structure and each of the at least two distal motion constraining elements are secured to the second annular elastic structure.

6. The protective device of claim 1 , wherein an angle between the first distal elongate element and the second distal elongate element in the cross-shape of the first distal elongate element and the second distal elongate element is in

Assignees

• Univ Gent
• Joshghani Ashkan Mohammad Hassan

Inventors

• Joshghani Ashkan Mohammad Hassan

Classifications

• A63B2244/10

  Combat sports · CPC title

• A63B2243/007

  American football · CPC title

• A63B2243/0037

  Basketball · CPC title

• A61F5/10

  Devices for correcting deformities of the fingers · CPC title

• A61F5/013

  for the arms, hands or fingers (A61F5/0118 takes precedence) · CPC title