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Tights-type leg support garmentRelated Patent Categories: Exercise Devices, User Manipulated Force Resisting Apparatus, Component Thereof, Or Accessory Therefor, Utilizing Resilient Force Resistance, And User Supplied Counter Force, Attached To UserTights-type leg support garment description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070111868, Tights-type leg support garment. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a tights-type leg support garment, and particularly relates to a stretchable leg support garment in which stretchable portions having relatively great straining forces are provided at specific positions. BACKGROUND ART [0002] Among parts of the human body, the knees tend to have orthopedic troubles most often, due to declines with age of muscles and ligaments that support the knees, injuries to the knees in sports, etc. [0003] Recently, care of injuries to the knees and protection of the knees have been carried out by applying a taping treatment or a corset to a part of the human body that requires the same, occasionally. [0004] However, the taping treatment is difficult to carry out for oneself, and it is necessary to ask the others, specifically the specialists, to conduct the same since the taping treatment requires skills that are not available from inexperienced persons. Therefore, it involves inconvenience in application and removal. Besides, long period application of the same should be avoided, since it could cause skin disorders. Furthermore, the taping treatment fixes the knee joint, thereby decreasing the degree of freedom of the movement of the knee joint. On the other hand, in the case where a corset is employed, the degree of freedom of the movement of the knee joint likewise decreases significantly, since a corset does not provide sufficient freedom to the patella. [0005] Recently, various garments that support specific muscles have been proposed (JP 4(1922)-343868 A, JP 4(1992)-57902 A, JP 4(1992)-50302 A, JP 8(1996)-81807 A, JP 9(1997)-241906 A, JP 10(1998)-280209 A, etc.). [0006] Such garments having muscle-supporting functions are generally provided with stretchable portions having relatively great straining forces at positions over or beside muscles to be supported. [0007] However, these garments having muscle-supporting functions are designed not particularly from the viewpoint of the protection of the knees. [0008] As to the human body, even taking a standing position causes the knees to warp. More specifically, a force causing the legs to bend convexly with the medial side of each knee joint being a vertex is applied to the legs, thereby applying more tension to the ligamentum collateralle of each knee joint on the medial side thereof (the ligamentum collateralle on the medial side is hereinafter referred to as ligamentum collateralle medialis). The ligamentum collateralle medialis is covered with tendons on inferior sides of the musculus sartorius, the musculus semitendinosus, the musculus semimembraneous, and the musculus gracilis, thereby being protected. However, if these muscles fatigue or become weaken with age, it is impossible to resist against the foregoing force with only the ligaments, and hence, the knees are made unstable. [0009] Meanwhile, few studies have been made on garments for supporting the ligamentum collateralle medialis of the knee joint of the human body. Statistics, however, show that there are considerably many cases of disorders to the ligamentum collateralle medialis of the knee joint, among the disorders of the knee joint. Therefore, it has been found that, with a view to providing sufficient support to the knees while securing the freedom of the movement of the knees, studies should be focused on the ligamentum collateralle medialis. [0010] The ligamentum collateralle medialis is located at a position slightly posterior to the medial side of each knee joint, extending between the vicinity of an inferior end of the os femoris and the vicinity of a superior end of the tibia. On the lateral side of the knee joint, opposite to the ligamentum collateralle medialis, the ligamentum collateralle lateralis is located, extending between the vicinity of the inferior end of the os femoris and the vicinity of a superior end of the fibra. It should be noted, however, that cases of disorders of the ligamentum collateralle lateralis are significantly less than cases of disorders of the ligamentum collateralle medialis; namely, cases of disorder of the ligamentum collateralle medialis are many. This is because that the ligamentum collateralle medialis has a small tensile strength as compared with that of the ligamentum collateralle lateralis, and hence, exhibits a small degree of extension before fracture. In other words, the ligamentum collateralle medialis is inferior to the ligamentum collateralle lateralis in strength and elasticity. [0011] As described above, the ligamentum collateralle medialis is covered with tendons on inferior sides of the musculus sartorius, the musculus semitendinosus, the musculus semimembraneous, and the musculus gracilis, and is located at a position slightly posterior to the medial side of the knee joint. Therefore, there has been no muscle support garment that is focused on and actually intended to provide the support of the ligamentum collateralle medialis. [0012] The inventors of the present invention made studies centering on the support of the ligamentum collateralle medialis and aimed to providing a leg support garment that is capable of effectively protecting the knees and stably maintaining the knee joints without decreasing the degree of freedom of the movement of the knee joints, that provides a good feeling when worn, and that is useful for preventing and reducing gonalgia caused by the instability of the knees, and further, for preventing injuries to the ligamentum collateralle medialis caused by sports or the like. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0013] With the foregoing in mind, the present invention is to provide a leg support garment as described below. It should be noted that the following description includes auxiliary headings in brackets < > at the top of respective sections of descriptions corresponding to claims, but these are provided merely for conveniences in referring to the contents of the present invention, and do not limit the present invention at all. <Tights-type Leg Support Garment in General> [0014] (1) A leg support garment of a tights type that has stretchability and is applied in close contact of the human body so as to support the legs, the leg support garment comprising a stretchable part having a relatively great straining force, [0015] wherein the stretchable part having a relatively great straining force includes a stretchable portion (A) having a relatively great straining force that: [0016] substantially covers the ligamentum collateralle on a medial side of the knee joint of the human body; and [0017] on a superior side of the knee joint, extends through a length of not less than 1/4 of that of the thigh, along at least one selected from the musculus group consisting of the musculus sartorius, the musculus semitendinosus, the musculus semimembranosus, and the musculus gracilis. [0018] In the leg support garment of a tights type of the present invention, the stretchable portion (A) having a relatively great straining force supports the ligamentum collateralle medialis, and further, on the superior side of the knee joint, supports at least one selected from the musculus group consisting of the musculus sartorius, the musculus semitendinosus, the musculus semimembranosus, and the musculus gracilis that are located over the ligamentum collateralle medialis and extend upward. Therefore, a power of pulling up the stretchable portion having a relatively great straining force that supports the ligamentum collateralle medialis is produced by the portion extending upward in the stretchable portion (A) having a relatively great straining force, thereby increasing the power of supporting the ligamentum collateralle medialis. Further, at least one of the musculus sartorius, the musculus semitendinosus, the musculus semimembranosus, and the musculus gracilis that support the knee joint in cooperation with the ligamentum collateralle medialis is also supported by the stretchable portion having a relatively great straining force. Therefore, the combined actions of these make it possible to provide a leg support garment that is capable of protecting the knees and stably maintaining the knee joints without decreasing the degree of freedom of the movement of the knee joints, that provides a good feeling when worn, and that is useful for preventing and reducing gonalgia caused by the instability of the knees, and further, for preventing injuries to the ligamentum collateralle medialis caused by sports or the like. [0019] (2.) A leg support garment of a tights type that has stretchability and is applied in close contact with the surface of the human body so as to support the legs, the leg support garment comprising a stretchable part having a relatively great straining force, [0020] wherein the stretchable part having a relatively great straining force includes a stretchable portion (A) having a relatively great straining force that: [0021] substantially covers the ligamentum collateralle on a medial side of the knee joint of the human body; and [0022] on a superior side of the knee joint, extends through a length of not less than 1/2 of that of the thigh, along at least one selected from the musculus group consisting of the musculus sartorius, the musculus semitendinosus, the musculus semimembranosus, and the musculus gracilis. [0023] In the leg support garment of a tights type of the present invention, a length of a portion covering the thigh is set to be not less than 1/2 of the length of the thigh. Therefore, the power of pulling the stretchable portion having a relatively great straining force that supports the ligamentum collateralle medialis, described in the above item (1), is exerted more intensely where the portion extends upward to the superior part of the thigh. Consequently, this provides a leg support garment in which the power of supporting the ligamentum collateralle medialis is improved, which is preferable. <Tights-type Leg Support Garment Having a Length from Waistline to Superior Side of Ankle> Continue reading about Tights-type leg support garment... Full patent description for Tights-type leg support garment Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Tights-type leg support garment patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. 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