JP7718783B2 - knee brace - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to knee pads and other knee support devices used in motion assist devices that reduce the strain on the lower back of workers when working in a bent-over position for long periods of time or when lifting heavy materials.

A variety of motion-assistance devices known as assist suits have been proposed to reduce the strain on workers' lower backs during tasks such as working for long periods in a bent-over position or lifting heavy materials. Motion-assistance devices have an elastic body that is placed along the worker's back, and are constructed with a mounting section that is worn on the worker's upper body and knee pads that are worn around the worker's left and right knees, connected by a connecting belt or the like that runs from the worker's back to the backs of the knees. For example, when the worker bends forward, the reaction force generated by the elastic body attached to the mounting section is distributed and applied to the worker's upper body (particularly their shoulders) and left and right knees, thereby reducing the strain on the worker's lower back (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent No. 6760602

In a motion-assist device such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, knee pads attached to the left and right knees have buckles to which connecting belts attached to the attachment portion attached to the worker's upper body are connected in an adjustable length manner. For example, as shown in FIG. 7(a), buckle 101 attached to knee pad 100 is sewn to knee pad 100 while connected to, for example, fixing belt 102. Therefore, when a predetermined tension is applied to connecting belt 110, buckle 101 is pulled toward the attachment portion attached to the worker's upper body by the tension applied to connecting belt 110. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7(a), when connecting belt 110 is loosened and the predetermined tension is released, buckle 101 rotates under its own weight in the direction G in FIG. 7(a) around the end connected to fixing belt 102 as the center of rotation, and is held in a position overlapping the front of fixing belt 102. If the worker bends their knees in this state, the buckle 101 may dig into their thighs and calves, causing pain.

As mentioned above, the fixing belt 102 is sewn across the entire width of the knee pad 100 to prevent it from peeling off from the knee pad 100 due to the reaction force transmitted via the connecting belt 110. The fixing belt 102 is made of a synthetic resin belt such as nylon or polyester. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7(b), if the worker bends their knee while wearing the knee pad 100, the bent fixing belt 102 may dig into the back of the worker's knee, causing pain.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide knee pads that allow workers to bend their knees without pain when wearing the knee pads.

To solve the above-mentioned problems, the knee harness of the present invention is worn on the knees of a worker and connected via a connecting belt to a harness device worn on the worker's upper body, and is characterized by having a harness main body positioned along the back of the worker's knees, a buckle that connects the connecting belt, a fixing belt that is sewn to the harness main body while connected to the buckle, and a fastening member that fastens the buckle to the harness main body.

The fastening member is a rivet that has a flange at one end in the direction of the central axis, a sleeve whose other end in the direction of the central axis is inserted into an attachment hole provided in the fastened object, and a shank that is inserted into the sleeve. By pulling the shank toward the flange, a head provided at the tip of the shank moves toward the flange, and as the head moves, the other end of the sleeve that protrudes from the attachment hole in the fastened object is deformed, fastening the fastened object between the deformed part of the sleeve and the flange. The fastening member has a disk shape with a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the flange, and is fastened to the fastening object main body together with the buckle by the rivet while positioned on the back side of the wearing device main body, and has a slippage prevention member that prevents the wearing device main body from slipping away.

Furthermore, when the worker wears the harness body and is standing, with the direction connecting the worker's head and feet defined as the up-down direction, the lower end of the fixing belt sewn to the harness body passes through the midpoint of the harness body in the up-down direction and is located above a plane perpendicular to the up-down direction.

The device also includes two upper strap-like portions that extend outward from the left and right ends in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction of the upper part of the wearing device main body in the up-down direction, and are wrapped around the operator's kneecap when the knee wearing device is attached to the knee, and are then joined together with one tip facing inward and overlapping; two lower strap-like portions that extend outward from the left and right ends in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction of the lower part of the wearing device main body in the up-down direction, and are wrapped around the operator's kneecap when the knee wearing device is attached to the knee, and are then joined together with the other tip facing inward and overlapping; and a release prevention member that prevents the connection of at least the two lower strap-like portions from being released.

The wearing device is a movement assisting device that includes a wearing section that is worn on the upper body of the worker, and an elastic body that is worn along the worker's back and has one end in the extension direction connected to the wearing section at a position that comes into contact with the worker's shoulder, and the other end in the extension direction connected to a connector that connects the connecting belt.

This invention allows workers to bend their knees without pain while wearing knee pads.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a motion assist device according to an embodiment of the present invention from the back side; FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the front surface side of a knee pad, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the back surface side of the knee pad. FIG. 1A is an example of a front view of a knee pad attached to a knee portion, FIG. 1B is an example of a left side view, FIG. 1C is an example of a right side view, and FIG. 1D is an example of a rear view. FIG. 1A is a diagram showing the configuration of the rivet before fastening and fixing, FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the state in which the shaft portion is pulled and a deformed portion is formed at the tip of the sleeve, and FIG. 1C is a diagram showing the state in which the buckle female member and the pad main body are fastened by the rivet. (a) is a diagram showing the state in which the pad body is placed on the back of the knee, (b) is a diagram showing the state in which the upper belt-like portion is wrapped around it, (c) is a diagram showing the state before the two upper belt-like portions are joined and the female buckle member and the male buckle member are engaged and fastened, and (d) is a diagram showing the state after the female buckle member and the male buckle member are engaged and fastened. 1A is a view of knee pads attached to the knees of a worker as seen from behind the worker, and FIG. 1B is a view of the worker in the middle of bending his knees. FIG. 1A is a view of a conventional knee pad attached to a worker's knees as seen from behind the worker, and FIG. 1B is a view of a worker wearing the conventional knee pad and midway through bending his/her knees.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the action-assist device 10 includes pressure-contact belts 11 and 12, elastic members 13 and 14, a lower leg belt 15, and a knee pad 16. Note that the action-assist device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and the configuration of the action-assist device 10 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 1. Here, the action-assist device 10 corresponds to the wearing device described in the claims. The pressure-contact belts 11 and 12 correspond to the wearing portion described in the claims. The lower leg belt 15 corresponds to the connecting belt described in the claims. Furthermore, the knee pad 16 corresponds to the knee attachment described in the claims.

The pressure welding belts 11, 12 are made of synthetic resins such as nylon, polyester, polyurethane, and rayon, or natural fibers such as cotton, but other materials may also be used. The pressure welding belts 11 and 12 are sewn together (fixed to each other) while crossing each other at the center in the stretch direction of each belt. A buckle 17 is attached to one end of each pressure welding belt 11, 12 in the stretch direction. The other end of the pressure welding belt 12 in the stretch direction is attached to the buckle 17 attached to one end of the pressure welding belt 11 in the stretch direction. Furthermore, the other end of the pressure welding belt 11 in the stretch direction is attached to the buckle 17 attached to one end of the pressure welding belt 12 in the stretch direction. Therefore, these pressure welding belts 11, 12 are connected endlessly via the buckle 17.

The method for attaching the other end of the pressure-contact belt 12 in the stretching direction to the buckle 17 provided at one end of the pressure-contact belt 11 in the stretching direction is, for example, to insert the other end of the pressure-contact belt 12 in the stretching direction into a belt loop (not shown) provided in the buckle 17, fold it back so that it is wound around a belt shaft (not shown) provided inside the belt loop, and then insert the folded back end back into the belt loop.

The two pressure welding belts 11, 12 are fitted to the worker as follows: First, the worker's left arm is passed through the loop portion 21 on the left side of FIG. 1, and the worker's right arm is passed through the loop portion 22 on the right side of FIG. 1, so that the intersection of the pressure welding belts 11, 12 is positioned toward the worker's back. Next, the other end of the pressure welding belt 12 attached to the buckle 17 of the pressure welding belt 11 and the other end of the pressure welding belt 11 attached to the buckle 17 of the pressure welding belt 12 are pulled simultaneously or at slightly different times. This increases the length of the pulled pressure welding belts 11, 12 pulled out from the buckle 17, shortening the overall length of the two loop portions 21, 22 of the endless pressure welding belts 11, 12, and causing each loop portion 21, 22 to tighten around the worker's upper body (specifically, the worker's back, shoulders, and armpits).

Connectors 23, 24 are provided on the pressure contact belts 11, 12 at positions that will contact the back of the worker's left and right shoulders (back) when the pressure contact belts 11, 12 are worn by the worker. One end of the elastic body 13 is hooked to the connector 23. Furthermore, one end of the elastic body 14 is hooked to the connector 24.

The elastic bodies 13, 14 are, for example, tension springs or artificial muscles. For example, when a worker wearing the motion-assist device 10 performs a forward bending motion, the elastic bodies 13, 14 stretch and generate an elastic force due to the stretching. The elastic body 13 is positioned so as to straddle the connecting device 23 and the connecting ring 25 (described later), and is hooked to both the connecting device 23 and the connecting ring 25. The elastic body 14 is positioned so as to straddle the connecting device 24 and the connecting ring 25 (described later), and is hooked to both the connecting device 24 and the connecting ring 25.

The lower leg belt 15 is folded back through the connecting ring 25 and fastened to the belt adjuster 26 near the connecting ring 25. One end 15a of the lower leg belt 15 fastened to the belt adjuster 26 is attached to the buckle 18 of the knee pad 16 worn on the worker's left knee, and the other end 15b is attached to the buckle 18 of the knee pad 16 worn on the worker's right knee. Although these knee pads 16 have the same configuration, in Figure 1, the knee pad worn on the worker's left knee is designated as knee pad 16a, and the knee pad worn on the worker's right knee is designated as knee pad 16b. Here, the lower leg belt 15 corresponds to the connecting belt described in the claims. The connecting ring 25 corresponds to the fastener described in the claims.

The configuration of the knee pad 16 will be described below using Figures 2 and 3. While not shown in detail, the knee pad 16 has a three-layer structure, for example, including a core material, an outer fabric placed on the surface side of the core material, and an inner fabric placed on the underside of the core material. A stretchable fabric is sewn around the entire periphery of the knee pad 16. The outer fabric of the knee pad 16 is a pile fabric with countless loops (or loop elements) formed on its surface. This outer fabric of the knee pad 16 functions as a female hook-and-loop fastener that can be joined to a male hook-and-loop fastener. In other words, the outer fabric of the knee pad 16 functions as a female hook-and-loop fastener that can be joined to the male hook-and-loop fastener 35 provided on the upper belt portion 33a, the male hook-and-loop fastener 36 provided on the lower belt portion 32b, the male hook-and-loop fastener 63 provided on the tightening belt 62, and the male hook-and-loop fastener 70 provided on the tightening belt 69, which will be described later.

The core material and lining are fabrics made from synthetic fibers such as nylon, polyester, polyurethane, and rayon, but other synthetic or natural fibers may also be used. While the knee pad 16 has a three-layer structure consisting of a core material, outer fabric, and inner fabric, it may also have a two-layer structure without a core material, or a multi-layer structure with four or more layers. The area of the outer fabric of the knee pad 16 that functions as a female hook-and-loop fastener may be the entire outer fabric of the knee pad 16, or it may be a partial area of the outer fabric.

The knee pad 16 has a pad body 31, two band-shaped portions 32 extending outward from the left end of the pad body 31, and two band-shaped portions 33 extending outward from the right end of the pad body 31. Here, the two band-shaped portions extending outward from the upper part of the pad body 31 are referred to as upper band-shaped portions 32a, 33a, and the band-shaped portions extending outward from the lower part of the pad body 31 are referred to as lower band-shaped portions 32b, 33b.

The pad body 31 is the portion that is placed along the back of the worker's knee when the knee pad 16 is worn around the worker's knee. The upper straps 32a, 33a are wrapped around the portion above the worker's knee when the knee pad 16 is worn around the worker's knee. The lower straps 32b, 33b are wrapped around the portion below the worker's knee when the knee pad 16 is worn around the worker's knee. Here, the pad body 31 corresponds to the wearing device body described in the claims.

A male hook-and-loop fastener 35 is sewn to the backside of the tip of the upper belt-like portion 33a in the direction of extension of the upper belt-like portion 33a, which joins with the outer fabric of the knee pad 16 described above. Similarly, a male hook-and-loop fastener 36 is sewn to the backside of the tip of the lower belt-like portion 32b in the direction of extension of the lower belt-like portion 32b, which joins with the outer fabric of the knee pad 16 described above. The male hook-and-loop fasteners 35, 36 are made of synthetic fibers such as nylon, polyester, and PPS (polyphenylene sulfide), which have hook-shaped or other hook elements on their surfaces.

In addition to the buckle 18, the knee pad 16 is fitted with multiple male buckle members 61, 68 and multiple female buckle members 64, 66 on the outer fabric side. For example, a fastening belt 42 is sewn to the upper end of the pad body 31 that constitutes the knee pad 16, and a female buckle member 41 that constitutes the buckle 17 is connected to the fastening belt 42. The fastening belt 42 is made of a synthetic resin such as nylon, polyester, polyurethane, or rayon, or a natural fiber such as cotton. The buckle 18 is composed of a female buckle member 41 and a male buckle member 43, and the male buckle member 43 is connected (engaged) to the female buckle member 41. The lower leg belt 15 is connected to the male buckle member 43 in an adjustable length. Therefore, the female buckle member 41, together with the knee pad 16, receives the elastic force of the elastic bodies 13, 14 acting via the lower leg belt 15 and the male buckle member 43. The lower end of the fixing belt 42 sewn to the pad body 31 passes through the vertical center of the pad body 31 and is positioned above the plane L1 extending in the left-right direction (see Figure 3(d)).

Furthermore, the above-mentioned buckle female member 41 is fastened to the pad main body 31 at a position above the position where the fixing belt 42 is sewn in the vertical direction. One method of fastening the buckle female member 41 to the pad main body 31 is to fasten the buckle female member 41 to the pad main body 31 using a rivet 51, for example. In Figure 4 described below, the surface side that the buckle female member 41 abuts is the front side (outer fabric side) of the pad main body 31, and the surface side that the washer 56 abuts is the back side (inner fabric side) of the pad main body 31. In other words, the rivet 51 fastens the buckle female member 41 located on the front side of the pad main body 31 from the back side of the pad main body 31.

As shown in Figure 4(a), the rivet 51 has, for example, a tubular sleeve 53 with a flange 52 on one end, and a shank 55 that is inserted into the sleeve 53 and has a head 54 at its tip that has an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the sleeve 53.

The buckle female member 41 is fastened to the pad body 31 using the rivet 51 in the following procedure. Here, the rivet 51 corresponds to the fastening member described in the claims. As shown in FIG. 4(a), the sleeve 53 of the rivet 51 is inserted from the lining side of the pad body 31 through the insertion hole 56a of the washer 56, the insertion hole 31a in the pad body 31, and the insertion hole 41a in the buckle female member 41, in that order, and the flange 52 is brought into contact with the washer 56. Then, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the shank 55 is pulled upward (direction A in FIG. 4(b)). When the shank 55 is pulled, the head 54 at the tip of the shank 55 moves toward the flange 52, deforming the tip side of the sleeve 53 (reference symbol 53a in FIG. 4(b)). When the movement of the head 54 toward the flange 52 due to the upward pulling of the shaft 55 is stopped, the shaft 55 breaks at the breaking portion provided on the shaft 55. At this time, the washer 56, pad body 31, and buckle female member 41 are sandwiched between the flange 52 and the deformed portion 53a at the tip of the sleeve 53 (see Figure 4(c)). Here, the pad body 31, buckle female member 41, and washer 56 correspond to the fastened object in the claims. Furthermore, the insertion hole 56a of the washer 56, the insertion hole 31a provided in the pad body 31, and the insertion hole 41a provided in the buckle female member 41 correspond to the mounting hole in the claims. Furthermore, the washer 56 corresponds to the slippage prevention member in the claims.

In this embodiment, a washer 56 is placed on the back side of the pad main body 31 when fastening the buckle female member 41 and the pad main body 31. The washer 56 is made of a metal such as aluminum. The washer 56 is used to prevent the pad main body 31 from coming off the rivet 51 when the reaction force of the elastic bodies 13, 14 acts on the knee pad 16 via the lower leg belt 15. This prevents the insertion hole 31a in the pad main body 31 from expanding in diameter due to the difference in material between the pad main body 31 and the rivet 51. Here, it is preferable that the washer 56 has an inner diameter of the insertion hole 56a of, for example, 3.3 mm and an outer diameter of, for example, 10 mm or more. In this case, it is possible to effectively prevent the pad main body 31 from coming off the rivet 51.

Returning to Figures 2 and 3, a tightening belt 62 is sewn to the approximate center of the upper band-shaped portion 32a in the direction of extension, connecting (holding) a buckle male member 61 in an adjustable length. As shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(c), the buckle male member 61 engages with a buckle female member 64 (described below) to prevent the connection between the two upper band-shaped portions 32a, 33a from being released. The buckle male member 61 and the buckle female member 64 form a buckle (reference numeral omitted).

When the male buckle member 61 is engaged with the female buckle member 64, pulling the other end of the tightening belt 62, which is on the opposite side of the female buckle member 64 from the one end sewn to the upper band portion 32a, in the direction of extension of the tightening belt 62, increases the length of the other end of the tightening belt 62 pulled out from the male buckle member 61. This change in the pulled length causes the female buckle member 64 to move toward the fixing belt 42. This increases the tightening force applied by the two upper band portions 32a, 33a, whose tips overlap, to the area above the worker's knees.

In addition, a male hook-and-loop fastener 63 that joins to the outer fabric of the knee pad 16 is sewn to the surface of the other end of the tightening belt 62, which is opposite the end sewn to the upper belt portion 32a in the direction in which the tightening belt 62 stretches. By providing the male hook-and-loop fastener 63, the other end of the tightening belt 62, which is opposite the end sewn to the upper belt portion 32a in the direction in which the tightening belt 62 stretches, is joined to the knee pad 16, preventing the tightening belt 62 from getting caught on other equipment at the work site during work or movement.

A fixing belt 65 connected to a female buckle member 64 is sewn to the tip of the upper belt-shaped portion 33a in the extension direction. When the knee pad 16 is attached to the worker's knees, the female buckle member 64 engages with the male buckle member 61 described above.

A fixing belt 67 connected to a female buckle member 66 is sewn to the tip of the lower band-shaped portion 32b in the direction of extension. A tightening belt 69 connected to a male buckle member 68 in an adjustable length is sewn to the approximate center of the lower band-shaped portion 33b in the direction of extension. The male buckle member 68 engages with the female buckle member 66 described above to prevent the two lower band-shaped portions 32b, 33b from being released. The male buckle member 68 and the female buckle member 66 form a buckle (reference numeral omitted). The female buckle member 66 and the male buckle member 68 correspond to release prevention members described in the claims.

When the male buckle member 68 and female buckle member 66 are engaged, pulling the other end of the tightening belt 69, which is opposite the one end sewn to the lower band portion 33b across the female buckle member 66, in the direction of extension of the tightening belt 69, increases the length of the other end of the tightening belt 69 pulled out from the male buckle member 68. This change in the pulled length causes the male buckle member 68 to move toward the fixing belt 42. This increases the tightening force applied by the two overlapping lower band portions 33b, 33b to the area below the worker's knees.

In addition, a male hook-and-loop fastener 70 that joins to the outer fabric of the knee pad 16 is sewn to the surface of the other end of the tightening belt 69, which is opposite the end sewn to the lower belt portion 33b in the direction of extension of the tightening belt 69. By providing the male hook-and-loop fastener 70, the other end of the tightening belt 69, which is opposite the end sewn to the lower belt portion 33b in the direction of extension of the tightening belt 69, is joined to the knee pad 16, preventing the tightening belt 69 from getting caught on other equipment at the work site during work or movement.

Next, the procedure for putting on the knee pad 16 will be described. As shown in Figure 5(a), with the pad body 31 of the knee pad 16 placed against the back of the knee, the tip of the upper band-shaped portion 32a in the extension direction is moved in direction B in Figure 5(a) and wrapped around the area above the knee as shown in Figure 5(b). Next, as shown in Figure 5(b), the tip of the upper band-shaped portion 33a in the extension direction is moved in direction C in Figure 5(b) and wrapped around the area above the knee as shown in Figure 5(c). At this time, the upper band-shaped portion 33a, which functions as a female fastener, is joined to the male hook-and-loop fastener 35 on the upper band-shaped portion 32a with the upper band-shaped portion 32a facing downward (inner side: knee side).

As shown in Figure 5(c), after joining the upper belt portion 33a and upper belt portion 32a, the male buckle member 61 and female buckle member 64 are engaged. Then, the other end of the tightening belt 62, which is opposite the one end sewn to the upper belt portion 32a across the female buckle member 64, is pulled in direction D in Figure 5(c) and pulled out from the male buckle member 61. As a result, the two upper belt portions 32a, 33a, with their overlapping tips, are tightened in a position above the worker's knees. Finally, the male hook-and-loop fastener 63 attached to the other end of the tightening belt 62 is joined to the outer fabric of the knee pad 16, which functions as a female hook-and-loop fastener (see Figure 5(d)).

The lower strap portions 32b, 33b are joined by moving the lower strap portion 33b in the direction E in Figure 5(d) to wrap it around the lower part of the knee, and then moving the lower strap portion 32b in the direction F in Figure 5(d). In this case, the lower strap portion 32b is overlapped with the lower strap portion 33b facing downwards, and the lower strap portion 33b, which functions as a female hook-and-loop fastener, is joined to the male hook-and-loop fastener 36 present on the lower strap portion 32b. After joining the lower strap portion 32b to the lower strap portion 33b, the buckle male member 68 and the buckle female member 66 are engaged. The tightening belt 69 is then pulled to tighten the two overlapping lower strap portions 32b, 33b, and the male hook-and-loop fastener 70 on the other end of the tightening belt 69 is then joined to the outer fabric of the knee pad 16.

As shown in Figure 6(a), when the knee pad 16 is worn on the knee of the worker, the male buckle member 43 to which the lower leg belt 15 is connected (held) engages with the female buckle member 41 held by the pad body 31 attached to the back of the knee. As described above, the male buckle member 43 is attached to the pad body 31 via the fixing belt 42 and is further fastened to the pad body 31 using, for example, a rivet 51 at a position above the stitching position of the fixing belt 42 (a position toward the worker's waist). Therefore, even if the lower leg belt 15 is loosened, the female buckle member 41 does not rotate around the lower end through which the fixing belt 42 is inserted, and the state of the female buckle member 41 when tension is applied to the lower leg belt 15 (i.e., a state in which the belt insertion portion of the female buckle member 41 does not collapse downward) is maintained. This prevents the female buckle member 41 and the male buckle member 43 that engages with the female buckle member 41 from digging into the worker's thighs and calves when the worker bends their knees.

Furthermore, conventionally, the female buckle member 41 is fixed to the knee pad 16 using the fixing belt 42 so that it is closer to the worker's waist than the upper end (the end closest to the worker's waist) of the pad body 31 of the knee pad 16. In this case, after the worker puts on the motion-assist device, the length of the lower leg belt 15 can be adjusted without the worker bending forward. As a result, the distance between the belt adjuster 26 and the female buckle member 41 is short, making it difficult to ensure sufficient adjustment margin for adjusting the length of the lower leg belt 15 to match this distance. In this embodiment, the female buckle member 41 is attached to the upper part of the pad body 31 of the knee pad 16 via the fixing belt 42, thereby increasing the distance between the belt adjuster 26 and the female buckle member 41 and ensuring sufficient adjustment margin for adjusting the length of the lower leg belt 15 to match the distance between the belt adjuster 26 and the female buckle member 41.

In addition, the lower end of the fixing belt 42 sewn to the pad body 31 passes through the center of the pad body 31 in the vertical direction and is located above the plane L1 perpendicular to the vertical direction.

As a result, when a worker bends their knees, the pad body 31 does not bend so that the portion attached to the worker's thigh and the portion attached to the worker's calf overlap (come closer together), preventing the bent portion of the fixing belt 42 from digging into the back of the knee, which occurs with conventional knee pads.

In this embodiment, when the knee pad 16 is attached to the knee, the male buckle member 61 on the upper band portion 32a engages with the female buckle member 64 on the upper band portion 33a, and simultaneously the male buckle member 68 on the lower band portion 33b engages with the female buckle member 66 on the lower band portion 32b. This allows the knee pad 16 to reliably receive the elastic force of the elastic bodies 13, 14 transmitted via the lower leg belt 15, preventing the two upper band portions 32a, 33a and/or the two lower band portions 32b, 33b from becoming disjointed. In other words, the knee pad 16 is prevented from coming off the knee. However, if the knee pad 16 can receive the elastic force of the elastic bodies 13, 14 transmitted via the lower leg belt 15 and prevent the knee pad 16 from coming off the knee, a configuration in which a male buckle member 61 and a female buckle member 64 that form a buckle (reference numeral omitted) can be provided on either the two upper belt-like portions 32a, 32a or the two lower belt-like portions 32b, 33b may be used.

In this embodiment, the buckles (reference numerals omitted) are composed of a female buckle member 64 and a male buckle member 61 that engages with the female buckle member 64, and a female buckle member 66 and a male buckle member 68 that engages with the female buckle member 66, respectively. However, buckles other than those described in this embodiment can also be used.

In this embodiment, a male hook-and-loop fastener 35 is provided on the surface of the upper band 33a, and a male hook-and-loop fastener 36 is provided on the surface of the lower band 32b, joining the two upper bands 32a, 33a and the two lower bands 32b, 33b. For example, if a male buckle member 61 that connects to the tightening belt 62 is provided on the upper band 32a, and a female buckle member 64 that connects to the fixing belt 65 is provided on the upper band 33a, and the two upper bands are tightened by the tightening belt 62 after the male buckle member 61 is engaged with the female buckle member 64, then the male hook-and-loop fastener 35 does not need to be provided on the surface of the upper band 33a. The same applies to the lower band 32b; if the same configuration as the upper band described above is adopted, the male hook-and-loop fastener 36 does not need to be provided on the surface of the lower band 32b.

<About the effects>
The knee pad 16 in this embodiment is worn on the knee of a worker and connected via a lower leg belt 15 to the action assist device 10 worn on the worker's upper body, and includes a pad main body 31 arranged along the back of the worker's knee, a female buckle member 41 and a male buckle member 43 that function as buckles for connecting the lower leg belt 15, a fixing belt 42 that is sewn to the pad main body 31 while connected to the female buckle member 41, for example, and a rivet 51 that fastens the female buckle member 41 to the pad main body 31.

As a result, because the female buckle member 41 is fastened to the pad body 31 via the rivet 51, the female buckle member 41 is prevented from rotating and tipping over, compared to when it is not fastened to the pad body 31 via the rivet 51. This prevents the female buckle member 41 and the male buckle member 43 that engages with the female buckle member 41 from digging into the worker's thighs and calves when the worker bends their knees.

The rivet 51 has a flange 52 at one end in the central axis direction, a sleeve 53 at the other end in the central axis direction that is inserted into the insertion holes 31a, 41a provided in the pad main body 31 and the buckle female member 41, and a shaft 55 that is inserted into the sleeve 53. When the shaft 55 is pulled toward the flange 52, the head 54 provided at the tip of the shaft 55 moves toward the flange 52. As the head 54 moves, the other end of the sleeve 53 that protrudes from the insertion hole 41a deforms, fastening the pad main body 31 and the buckle female member 41 together between the flange 52 and the deformed portion 53a of the sleeve 53. The washer 56 is disc-shaped with an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the flange 52. It is positioned on the back side of the pad main body 31 and is fastened to the pad main body 31 together with the buckle female member 41 by the rivet 51, preventing the pad main body 31 from slipping out.

As a result, when the elastic force of the elastic bodies 13, 14 acts on the knee pad 16 via the lower leg belt 15, the difference in material between the pad body 31 and the rivet 51 causes the insertion hole 31a provided in the pad body 31 to expand in diameter, preventing the pad body 31 from slipping out of the rivet 51.

In addition, when the pad body 31 is worn by a worker in an upright position, with the direction connecting the worker's head and feet defined as the up-down direction, the lower end of the fixing belt 42 sewn to the pad body 31 passes through the midpoint of the pad body 31 in the up-down direction and is located above the plane L1 perpendicular to the up-down direction.

As a result, when a worker bends their knees, the pad body 31 bends so that the portion attached to the worker's thigh and the portion attached to the worker's calf overlap, and the fixing belt 42 does not bend in an overlapping manner. This prevents the bent portion of the fixing belt 42 from digging into the back of the knee, which occurs with conventional knee pads.

The pad body 31 also includes two upper strap-like portions 32a, 33a that extend outward from the left and right ends in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction at the top of the pad body 31. When the knee pad 16 is fitted to the knee, the upper strap-like portions 32a, 33a are wrapped around the knee of the worker and joined together with one tip facing inward and overlapping. The pad body 31 also includes two lower strap-like portions 32b, 33b that extend outward from the left and right ends in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction at the bottom of the pad body 31. When the knee pad 16 is fitted to the knee, the lower strap-like portions 32b, 33b are wrapped around the knee of the worker and joined together with the other tip facing inward and overlapping. A female buckle member 66 and a male buckle member 68 prevent the connection of the at least two lower strap-like portions 32b, 33b from being released.

As a result, even if the upper strap portions 32a, 33a are disengaged when the reaction force of the elastic bodies 13, 14 acts on the knee pad 16 via the lower leg belt 15, the lower strap portions 32b, 33b are prevented from being disengaged, preventing the knee pad 16 from slipping off the worker's knees.

The motion-assist device 10 also includes pressure-contact belts 11, 12 that are worn around the worker's upper body, and elastic bodies 13, 14 that are worn along the worker's back and have one end in the extension direction connected to the pressure-contact belts 11, 12 at a position that corresponds to the worker's shoulder, and the other end in the extension direction connected to a connecting ring 25 that connects the lower limb belt 15.

This allows the worker to bend their knees without pain while wearing the motion-assist device 10. It also prevents the knee pads 16 from slipping out of place when the worker works for long periods in a bent-over position or lifts heavy materials.

10...Movement assist device 11, 12...Press-contact belt 15...Lower leg belt 16...Knee pad 25...Connecting ring 31...Pad body 32a, 33a...Upper belt-shaped portion 32b, 33b...Lower belt-shaped portion 41, 64, 66...Buckle female member 42...Fixing belt 43, 61, 68...Buckle male member 51...Rivet 56...Washer

Claims (5)

A knee harness is attached to the knees of a worker and is connected via a connecting belt to a harness attached to the upper body of the worker,
a wearing device main body that is placed along the back of the knee of the worker;
a buckle for connecting the connecting belt;
a fixing belt that is sewn to the wearing device body while being connected to the buckle;
a fastening member that fastens the buckle to the wearing device main body;
A knee brace characterized by having: The knee brace according to claim 1,
the fastening member is a rivet having a flange at one end in the central axis direction, a sleeve having the other end in the central axis direction inserted into an attachment hole provided in the fastened object, and a shank inserted into the sleeve, and by pulling the shank toward the flange, a head provided at the tip of the shank moves toward the flange, and when the head moves, the other end side of the sleeve protruding from the attachment hole in the fastened object is deformed, thereby fastening the fastened object between the deformed part of the sleeve and the flange,
a disc-shaped member having a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the flange, which is fastened to the wearing device main body together with the buckle by the rivet while being disposed on the back side of the wearing device main body, and which prevents the wearing device main body from slipping out. The knee brace according to claim 1 or 2,
When the worker wears the wearing device main body, the worker is in a standing position, and the direction connecting the worker's head and feet is the up-down direction,
The lower end of the fixing belt sewn to the wearing device main body passes through the midpoint of the wearing device main body in the vertical direction and is located above a plane perpendicular to the vertical direction. The knee brace according to claim 3,
Two upper belt-shaped parts extend outward from the left and right ends in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction of the upper part of the wearing device main body in the up-down direction, and are wound around the kneecap of the worker when the knee wearing device is worn on the knee, and then joined together in an overlapping state with one tip end facing inward;
Two lower belt-shaped parts extend outward from the left and right ends in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction of the lower part of the wearing device main body in the up-down direction, and are wound around the lower part of the kneecap of the worker when the knee wearing device is worn on the knee, and then joined together in an overlapping state with the tip of the other inside.
a release prevention member that prevents the joining of at least the two lower band-shaped portions from being released;
A knee brace characterized by having: The knee brace according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The knee attachment device is an action assist device having a mounting part that is mounted on the upper body of the worker, and an elastic body that is mounted along the back of the worker and has one end in the extension direction connected to the mounting part at a position that corresponds to the shoulder of the worker, and the other end in the extension direction connected to a connecting device that connects the connecting belt.