Front page & Index
Current U.S. Class: 2/44
text page 1. text page 2.
Patented June June e 8, 1926. 1,587,716
UNITED STATES PAT ENT OFFICE.
LEWIS A: FRITSCH, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.
SHOULDER BRACE, CHEST, AND LUNG EXPANDER.
Application filed November 14; 1925. Serial No. 69,147.
The device forming the subject matter of
this application is a shoulder brace and
chest and lung expander, combined, and one
object of the invention is so to construct
the of that it may he take. off the body
-id folded into a small parcel, adapted to -
e placed in the pocket off a garment, it being possible for the store -keeper or ship-
per to stow away a large number of the devices, in small space .
Another object of toe invention is so to
construct the article that the fitter may
place the stays directly on the shoulder blades; the stays pressing inwardly and
tending to straighten round shoulders with-
out cutting -do, the arms.
^3 farther object of the invention is to provide a device of the class described which
may be washed or laundered road
The, invention aims so to construct the
article that but two stays will do the work, thereby dispensing with a largo, number of
stays s.
Another object ,of the invention is to
construct the article in such a way that it
!",a, be adapted readily for narrow or broad
shoulders.
It is within the province, of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance the util-ity of devices of that type to which the in-
vention appertains:
With the foregoing and other objects in
view which will appear as the description proceeds; the invention resides in the com-
bination and arrangement of parts and in
the details o f construction hereinafter de-scribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, may be made
within al, the scope of what is claimed, -with- departing from the spirit of the inven-tion.
in the drawings:- Figure 1 shows in rcar elevation, a de-
vice constructed in accordance with the in-
vention; Figure 2 is a section taken about on the line 2-2 of Ii Figure 1; Figure I'; Figure 3 is
a view wharei the devlce a ppears in per-spective, e. as see,a from the front; ;- Figure 4
is a section taken about on the line 4---4 cf Pa Figure 1.
The device forming the subject matter of
this application comprises a flexible back piece i supplied at its ends with guides 2
in the form of eyes. Flexible shoulder loops
3 are supplied, the rear portions 4 of the
he
wise,
gether
portion
s tacle. loop,,, J being crossed each
1
other, as -A :i, and being connected l; , at their
point of crossing, by a pivot element, such
a:> a two part rivet 6. The lower extremities
of the rear portions 4 of the shoulder loops
?m
3 are co
ected at E, by stiching or other-
1r th, the back piece 1, at, points be-
t the the g ui des 2. The for«- ard por'tions
8 a f the
shoulder loops 3-o, extended. -,I Y,
.as at 9, through the, guides 2, to
slide therein, the reardvardly extended por-
tions J of the loops being prolonged lateral-
ly in opposite directions, as at 10, from the
guides 2, to fa~ishio~z a body-encircling belt
11, of
which the back piece 1 forms part.
Any suitable means, such as a buckle 12;
or lts equivalent, may be provided for ad-
justably connecting together the ends of the
",It 11 «t the front of the device. A means
is provided for adjustably connecting to-
gether the rear portions 4 of- the shoulder
loops 3, above the place where, the said rear
-portion
portions of the shoulder loops are by the element 6. Having this consideration
m mind; transverse straps 14 are joined at
their outer ends to the parts 4 of the
shoulder loops 3, the inner ends of the straps
14 being united by a- buckle 15 or otherwise,
the construction at this point being such
that the device is adapted to broad shoul-
dered persons, and to persons having nar-
row shoulders. Pads 16 are mounted on
the forward portions 8 of the shoulder "I'll,
3, and prevent those parts of the loops .from
annnoying the wearer.
Stays 17, preferably made of steel or other
resilient
resilient material, are mounted in the rear
4 of the shoulder loops 3 and
are
held against longitudinal movement therein,
the rivet 6 passing through the stays 17
at
their
their point of crossing, the construction
being such that the stays 17, with the cor-s respond 4, may be adjusted later-
ally, so as to bring the stays into proper
position
position
with respect to the shoulder blades
of the.
the wearer. The stays 17 extend down-wardly to and upon the back piece 1; and
extend upwardly to the adjusting straps 14.
It will be obvious that when the occasion
for the use of the device has passed, -the rear
portion
portions 4 of the loops 3, and the stays 17,
may be swung together; in alignment, on the
pivot element 6; thereby enabling the article
to be disposed in small compass, either in the
pocket
pochet of the wearer, or in a storage recep-.
Owing to the collapsible or accordion
effect obtained by the use of the rivet or
pivot element 6, several persons of different
sizes may be fitted with one size of brace
or expander. Thus, one article may be used
by different members of one family, the arti-de- being passed from one member to an
other, as a cure is effected. A single article
only, thus may be purchased, saving the
expense of buying two or more. Further-
more, a dealer can carry a comparatively
small number of the article in stock, mid, nevertheless, be able to fit a large. number
of customers.
What is claimed is:- In a device of the class described, a- back piece provided with guides, shoulder loops
having their rear portions crossed upon each other and connected to the back piece, flex-
ture
ible stays in the rear portions of the shoulder
loops, a pivot element connecting the stays
and the shoulder loops at their point of
crossing, the forward portions of the
shoulder loops being extended rearwardly
through the guides, to slide therein, said
rearwardly extended portions of the loops
being prolonged laterally in opposite direc-
tions, from the guides, to fashion a body-
encircling belt; of which the back piece
forms a. part, means for adjustably connect-
ing together the ends of the belt, and means
for adjustably connecting together the rear
portions of the shoulder loops at points near
to the upper ends of the stays.
In testimony that I claim the foregoing
as my own, I have hereto affixed my signa-.
LEWIS A. FRITSCH.