Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates generally to knee pads and more particularly to a
combination of a
knee pad and fastening means for attaching the knee pad to the pants of a
wearer.
Knee pads are in common use by persons who work on their hands and knees.
Roofers for
example kneel as they are nailing shingles to a roof. Installers of flooring
and carpets also kneel
during much of their work and gardeners and persons who are laying turf must
also spend much
of their working time on their hands and knees.
The knees of such persons become bruised and painful if they are not protected
in some
way and the usual way of doing so is by means of knee pads. Conventional knee
pads consist of
concave shaped pads which fit over the knees and are held in place by means of
straps. The
straps encircle the wearers' legs and the ends of the straps are connected by
means of buckles,
velcro or other means.
The straps of knee pads must be fastened tightly to the legs to prevent the
pads from
slipping out of place. However the tighter the straps, the more uncomfortable
they are. Over time
the pads may become so uncomfortable that they hinder the work in which
persons wearing knee
pads are engaged.
I have found a way to hold knee pads to a person's legs without fastening the
pads
directly to the legs. Rather than fastening the knee pads to the legs, I
fasten them to the pants that
are worn by the persons. The knee pads are held in place by the pants and the
pants in turn are
I
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held in place by a belt or suspenders worn to by the person. Straps around his
leg are not used to
hold the knee pads in place.
If the person uses a belt to hold his pants up, his hips bear the weight of
the pants and
knee pads and prevent the knee pads from slipping downward on his legs and if
the person uses
suspenders, it is his shoulders which bear the weight and prevent the knee
pads from slipping.
Either way he suffers no discomfort and is not injured by the straps of the
knee pads.
Locating knee pads on pants not only avoids discomfort and injury to the
wearer's legs
but has the added advantage of giving the wearer the opportunity to choose
where exactly he
wants the knee pads to be on his leg. He decides where the pads are to be
attached to his pants.
By contrast if the knee pads are fastened by straps, the person has no such
choice. The pads must
be at the location on his legs where they are designed to be and not
necessarily where the wearer
wants them to be.
Briefly, my invention is the combination of a knee pad, tabs and fasteners for
attaching
the knee pad to pants. The combination is illustrated in the accompanying
drawings in which:
Figure 1 is an elevation of the inner wall of the knee pad, tabs and
fasteners;
Figure 2 is a cross-section of the knee pad in conjunction with long pants
worn by the
wearer of the knee pad. The knee pad is in smaller scale than that in Figure 1
and the pants and
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tabs for attaching of the knee pad to a wearer's pants are shown in elevation;
Figure 3 is an elevation of the inner wall of a knee pad of a different shape
than the knee
pad illustrated in Figures 1 and 2; and
Figure 4 is a cross-section of the knee pad in conjunction with an elevation
of short pants
worn by the wearer of the knee pad.
Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the description of
the drawings.
With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the knee pad consists of an upper portion,
generally 10,
a cental portion, generally 12 and a lower portion, generally 14. The inside
wall of the knee pad
generally 16 is composed of a layer of soft, pliable material 18 which
contacts the wearer's pants
20 and which is comfortable to the wearer when it is fastened to the pants.
In order to enhance the flexibility of the knee pad in the area in front of
the knee, deep
recesses or indentation 24 are formed in the side walls 26 of the knee pad in
that area. When the
knee bends, the gaps in the two recesses close but the knee pad does not
resist bending until the
gaps are fully closed. Accordingly, the knee remains protected whether the
knee is bent or
straight.
The outer wall 30 of the knee pad is composed of material which provides a
measure of
protection to the wearer's knee. The wall is of limited pliability and
resilience so that it flexes and
springs back sufficiently to allow the knee to bend and to straighten but is
sufficiently strong to
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resist fracturing when subject to abrasion and blows, Preferably the outer
wall is composed of
plastic or rubber.
The illustrated knee pad is of conventional construction but the tabs and
fasteners des-
cribed below are not and they in combination with the knee pad, are my
invention.
Concerning the tabs, a pair of them, numbered 32, is provided on opposite
sides of the
upper portion of the knee pad and like tabs 34 are provided on opposite sides
of the lower portion.
The tabs are attached to the knee pad by passing their inner ends through
openings 10a in the knee
pad, turning the ends back on themselves to form loops and fastening the ends
to areas of the tabs
outside the loop. The dome or head 36 of a conventional dome fastener is
fastened to each tab
adjacent to its outer end. The ball 36a of the fastener fits into conventional
sockets (not
illustrated) attached to the leg portion of the pants. Other well known
versions of dome or snap
fasteners can be used consisting of two interlocking components one of which
is attached to the
tabs and the other attached to pants.
The component attached to pants may be attached at locations on the pants
which best suit
the wearer of the knee pads so that the movement of the knee pads on his leg
is minimized but the
legs are free to bend and straighten without interference by the pads.
Attachment of the fasteners
is by well know means. Generally, an awl, hammer and punch are the only tools
necessary to do
so.
While a dome fastener is the preferred means for attachment of the tabs to the
pants, other
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fasteners can be used. For example buttons and velcro are also suitable. If
buttons are used, the
buttons are preferably sewn to the pants. Holes which accommodate the buttons
are formed in the
tabs. Rain water will then not leak into the pants.
Preferably the fastener is one that allows the tabs to be easily separated
from the pants so
that the pants can be washed without damaging the knee pads. The fasteners
mentioned above
normally all allow the knee pads to be easily attached and detached from the
pants.
With reference to Figure 3, the knee pad, generally 40 has upper and lower
walls 42, 44
and oppositely facing side walls 46a.b. Like the knee pad of Figures 1 and 2,
the knee pad has
outer and inner layers, an outer relatively inflexible layer for protecting
the knee from blows or
abrasion and a soft inner layer. Also like the knee pad of Figures 1 and 2 the
knee pad of Figure 3
is of conventional construction. However to the knee pad of Figure 3 is
attached to each of its side
walls a tab 48 and to each tab a dome fastener 50 is attached. The tab and
dome fastener serve the
same purpose as the tabs and fasteners of Figure 1 and 2.
With reference again to Figure 2, the illustrated pants are long pants or
trousers and both
upper and lower pairs of tabs can be attached to the pants so that one pair is
above the knee and
the other is below it. In Figure 4 however the pants 58 are short and end at
hems 58a. The wearer's
knee 60 and lower leg 61 are below the hem by means of upper fasteners 62. In
such case, only
the upper pair of tabs 64 can be attached to the pants. The tabs are
sufficient to hold the pad in the
intended location in front of the knee but do not prevent it from swinging
upward which may
happen as the wearer moves about on his hands and knees To prevent that, the
lower pair of tabs
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66 are attached to a band 70 which extends around the calf 61a of the wearer's
leg and are
attached at each end to the lower tabs by lower fasteners 74. The latter
fasteners may be but are
not necessarily of the same construction as the fasteners which attach the
upper pair of tabs to the
pants.
Band 70 prevents the knee pad from swinging upward. Its function is not to
secure the
knee pad to the wearer's leg. For that reason the band may hang loosely and
not necessarily in
contact with the leg. It is undesirable that it be secured to the leg because
in that case it may injure
or cause discomfort to the wearer. Auxiliary fasteners 74a permit the
effective length of the band
to be adjusted.
It will be understood, of course, that modifications can be made to the
combination of a
knee pad, tab and fastener of the invention without departing from the scope
and purview of the
invention as defined in the appended claims.
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