United States Manufacturing Company, Inc.

Vick G Bonessa

Max Lerman

Frederick J Koolhof

Steven Bragg

A hyperextension brace includes an upright support frame and a sternum pad positioned at one end of the upright support frame and a pubic pad positioned at the opposite end of the upright support frame. The brace further includes self-adjusting connectors for pivotally attaching the pads to the ends of the vertical support frame. The self-adjusting connectors comprise a one-piece structure having a generally flat web section integrally molded with an elongated, narrow recessed portion projecting from and reinforcing the web section. The recessed portion has an open end opening into an internal cavity for slidably receiving the end portions of the upright support frame. The one-piece connector further includes a U-shaped flange section integrally molded with and extending away from an end of the recessed portion opposite from its open end. The flange section has an elongated mounting surface generally parallel to and to the rear of the web section and bendable toward and away from the web section and its recessed portion. The self-adjusting connectors provide an infinite number of flexible axes for the sternum and pubic pads to rotate about with respect to the upright support frame, thereby conforming to anatomical differences in the human body.

Hyperextension thoraco-lumbar brace

A cervical traction collar capable of ambulatory use by a patient comprises a pair of elongated overlying semi-rigid flexible upper and lower support members secured at their ends to encircle the neck, with releasable attachment means such as Velcro fasteners securing the overlying upper and lower support members for adjusting the height of the collar. A tubular, flexible, air-inflatable bladder is secured to the collar so as to project downwardly away from a bottom edge of the lower support member continuously around the bottom of the collar. The bladder is filled with air under pressure from a manually operated air pump to inflate the bladder so that it presses downwardly against the shoulder region of the patient continuously around the lower neck region. This expands the height of the collar to apply an upward force around the base of the chin and the left and right mandibular and occipital region of the patient to maintain a controlled uniform amount of traction force encircling the cervical region of the patient.

Inflatable cervical traction collar

Several knee stabilizing braces include an articulated knee joint support having upper and lower support arms, a first hinge bar pivoting on the upper and lower support arms and extending diagonally between them, and a second hinge bar pivoting on the upper and lower support arms and extending diagonally in an opposite direction for intersecting the first hinge bar. The two hinge bars allow relative rotation of the support arms while resisting relative forward or rearward sliding motion of each arm. Adjacent ends of the arms rotate into contact when they rotate to an upright position to stop further rotation beyond the upright position. One preventive knee brace has the upper and lower arms releasably affixed to flexible cuffs wrapped around the patient's upper and lower leg to hold the brace adjacent the knee joint. In another brace, each knee joint support is enclosed within a flexible sleeve; the support arms extend into pockets of padding, and a central sleeved portion of the padding covers the hinged portion of the brace. Flexible extensions from the padding provide infinitely adjustable attachment to the patient's legs. Another brace providing greater support includes flexible cuffs extending around the upper and lower legs, and semi-rigid reinforcing members on the cuffs, with the support arms of the braces rigidly affixed to sides of the reinforcing members. The braces are made of lightweight but rigid plastic and are offset at the hinge bars. The hinge bars are non-pinching during rotation, and reinforcing embossments in the offset regions of the arms add rigidity to reduce bending during use.

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Arcadia, CA, United States of America

Vick G Bonessa