US2687129A - Scoliosis brace - Google Patents

Description

24, 1954 E. E. TALKISH 2,687,129

scoLIosIs BRACE Filed 11, 1952 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Ernest E. Talkish mmvrox.

BY m

Aug. 24, 1954 E. E. TALKISH SCOLIOSIS BRACE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 11, 1952 Ernest E. Talkish mmvron.

9 BY M,

Patented Aug. 24, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SCOLIOSIS BRACE Ernest E. Talkish, Erie, Pa. Application January 11, 1952, Serial No. 265,961

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates generally to orthopedic appliances for treating lateral curvature of the spine (scoliosis), and more specifically to scoliosis corrective braces which are adjustable to fit the contour of a body.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved scoliosis brace which is designed to firmly brace one side of the body at the upper and lower ends of the curvature of the spine and to have adjustable tension means for engaging the body tangential to point of greatest convexity of the spine.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved scoliosis brace which is provided with hip and chest engaging pads formed of metal to conform to the body contour.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved scoliosis brace having hip and chest pads which are adapted to be secured to the body of a person suffering from scoliosis by straps.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved scoliosis brace which is provided with chest and hip pads and corrective tension straps carried by said pads.

A further object of this invention isto provide an improved scoliosis brace which is provided with chest and hip pads rigidly and adjustably secured together to form a rigid brace adapted to be supported on the hip and chest of a user.

With these objects definitely in view, this invention resides in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions as will be hereinafter described in detail in the specification, particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a material part of this application, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved scoliosis brace, which is the subject of this invention, the brace being illustrated as being positioned on a human body;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the improved scoliosis brace similar to Figure 1, the human body being shown in dotted lines in order to clearly show the details of the brace;

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 33 on Figure 2 and showing the arrangement of the tension strap and hip pad supporting strap with respect to the hip pad;

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the scoliosis brace as illustrated in Figure 1, the securing and tensioning straps being omitted; and

Figure 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 5-5 of Figure 4 and showing the manner in which a strap securing buckle is attached to the hip pad.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or identical elements and portions throughout the specification and throughout the different views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the scoliosis brace, which is thesubject of this invention, is referred to in general by the reference numeral l0 and illustrated as being mounted on a human body I 2.

The scoliosis brace It! includes a hip pad is which is shaped to conform to the shape of the hip of the body I2. It will be noted that the hip pad rests on the hip in such a manner that the hip forms a support for thehip pad 14 whereby the hip pad may be rigidly seated thereon. In order that the hip pad [4 will not irritate the hip of thebody 12, it is provided with a felt lining I6. Both the hip pad I4 and its associated felt lining i6 are provided with aligned apertures l8 therethrough in order to form air vents through which the hip on which hip pad I4 is mounted may be properly ventilated.

Attached to the rear edge of the hip pad M on its outer side is astrap connector 20, the strap connector is secured to the hip pad is by aconventional rivet 22 and has secured thereto aloop portion 24 of aweb securing strap 26. Carried at the forward edge of the hip pad is and secured to the outer surface thereof is abuckle member 28. The buckle member is secured to the hip pad M by aconventional rivet 30. Thebuckle member 28 is provided with a rectangular strap receiving opening 32 having a serrated edge 34 for engaging theweb strap 26 and maintain the same in its adjusted position. Thestrap 26 is urged against the serrated edge 34 by a sliding retaining member 35 on thebuckle member 28.

As is clearly illustrated in Figure l, the hip pad I4 is secured in place by thestrap 26 which passes around the body l2 and engages the opposite hip.

The scoliosis brace It) also includes achest pad 38 which, engages the chest, the upper ribs and a portion of the back of thebody 12. In order to prevent irritation of those portions of the body engaged by thechest pad 38, the chest pad is provided with a feltlining 40. Thechest pad 38 and its associatedfelt lining 40 are provided with a plurality of alignedapertures 42 which are similar to the apertures it of the hip pad l4, and are intended to ventilate the areas of the body [2 covered by the chest pad.

Secured to the rear edge of thechest pad 38 on its outer surface thereof is astrap connector 44 identical to the strap connector carried by the hip pad M. The strap connector M carries 'aweb strap 46 which passes around the upper portion of the body l2 and has its free end secured to the front edge of thechest pad 38 by abuckle 48. Thebuckle 48 is identical to thebuckle 28 and secured to the outer surface of thechest pad 38 by a conventional rivet 5i).

Secured to the rear upper edge of thechest pad 38 on the outer surface thereof adjacent thestrap connector 44 is asecond strap connector 52. Carried by thestrap connector 52 is the looped end of aweb strap 54 which extends over the shoulder of the body and is secured to the front upper edge of thechest pad 38 by astrap buckle 56. s

Thebuckle 56 is identical to thebuckles 28 and 48 and is secured to the outer surface of thechest pad 38 adjacent thebuckle 48 by aconventional rivet 58.

The hip pad I4 is provided with a vertical extending connecting bar Ell secured thereto in the central portion thereof byrivets 52. The connectingbar 56 has a portion extending upwardly beyond the hip pad l4 and is provided with anelongated slot 64.

Thechest pad 38 is provided with a downwardly extending connectingbar 66 which is secured to the intermediate portion thereof by a plurality ofrivets 68. The connecting bar 65 has a portion extending below thechest pad 38 which is provided with anelongated slot 76.

Thechest pad 38 is secured to the hip pad [4 by the overlapping extending portions of the connecting bars and 66 which are secured together by a plurality ofbolts 12 passing through theelongated slots 64 and 10 of the connecting bars and 66, respectively. The hip pad I4 may be adjusted with respect to thechest pad 38 by moving the pads to their desired relation and clamping same byWing nuts 14 on thebolts 12.

Located between the connectingbars 60 and is a buckle member l6.- The buckle member '16 is secured in place by thebolts 72 passing throughapertures 18 therein. A tension belt is secured to thebuckle member 16 by aloop portion 82. around the central portion of the body l2 with its free end secured to a serrated edge 84 on the other side of thebuckle 16. Thestrap 80 is maintained in engagement with the serrated edge 84 by a retainingmember 86 slidably mounted on thebuckle 16. Thestrap 80 is provided with aloop 88 which is adapted to hold the free end of the strap. Thestrap 80 is provided with afelt pad 90 for engaging the ribs on the opposite side of the body l2.

While the scoliosis brace I0 is described as being mounted on the body I2, it should be understood that the brace l0 may be secured to the body of any person suffering from scoliosis. By placing the brace I0 on the same side of the body as the concave aspect of the scoliotic curve with thefelt pad 90 on the convex side of the curve and adjusting the pad so that it is tangent to the spine at its point of greatest convexity, the felt pad is in a position where it can apply a counter force about the part of the body to be treated. Thetension strap 80 associated with The free end of thebelt 80 is passed thefelt pad 90 is then tensioned to apply force to the felt pad. This tension may be varied from time to time in keeping with the progress of the person being treated. The supportingstraps 26, :36 and 54 provide a secure and comfortable anchorage for the brace.

This scoliosis brace may be worn with comfort next to the skin, or it may be worn over the underclothing. The useof the brace in no way interferes with traction treatment or other manipulative treatment of scoliosis, nor is its use inconsistent with these forms of treatment.

The hip and chest pads are preferably formed of malleable cast aluminum; it will be understood that they may be made of hammered steel, plastic or any other suitable material.

The operation of this brace will be understood from the foregoing description of the details thereof, taken in connection with the above recited objects and drawings. Further description would appear to be unnecessary.

Minor modifications of the brace, varying in minor details from the embodiment of the brace illustrated and described here, may be resorted to without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A scoliosis corrective brace comprising a rigid hip pad conforming to the shape of a wearers hip, a rigid chest pad conforming to the shape of a wearers chest, means rigidly connecting said hip and chest pads, supporting straps carried by said hip and chest pads and intended to encircle a wearers trunk to position said hip and chest pads, a trunk encircling tension strap carried by said connecting means intermediate said hip and chest pads, said connecting means including aligned connecting bars rigidly secured to the chest and hip pads, said connecting bars being overlapped and having aligned elongated slots therein, fasteners clamping said bars together and securing said chest and hip pads in spaced adjusted positions, said hip' and chest pads together with said connecting bars forming a rigid beam, a buckle secured to said connecting bars,

said tension strap being carried by said buckleand cooperating with said hip and chest pads to apply direct leverage to a spine, said hip and chest pads being intended to be secured to the same side of a body as is the concave aspect of thescoliotic curve, whereby the spine may be continuously and adjustably urged to a straightened position by said tension strap.

2. The scoliosis brace of claim 1 wherein said buckle is adjustably' secured to said connecting bars by said fasteners whereby said tension strap may be vertically adjusted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name l ate 9,826 Abbe July 5, 1853 970,781 Battershall Sept. 29, 1910 1,931,990 Massack Oct. 24. 1933 1,992,904 Preston Feb. 26, 1935 2,060,173 Buschenfeldt Nov. 10. 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 13,385 Austria Sept. 25, 1903

Images