Stay for supporter and supporter

The present invention relates to a supporter and a supporter stay for the supporter. More specifically, the present invention relates to a supporter having excellent lightness, flexibility, durability and safety, in a good state after mounting, and not causing a feeling of discomfort in mounting, and a stay for the supporter.

For the treatment of sprains, muscle pain, rheumatism, neuralgia, etc. in the body flexion and extension parts such as the knee joint, elbow joint, and spinal joint of the human body, for the protection of these body flexion and extension parts during exercise or daily life, and further in the cold season. Supporters attached to these flexion and extension parts of the body are used for heat retention and the like. In addition, it is worn on the abdomen of muscles such as the thighs, lower legs, upper arms, and forearms in order to compress and protect the muscles when muscle strain or rupture occurs, and for the purpose of keeping warm to protect the muscles from the cold. Supporters are used. These supporters are used to prevent the supporters from shifting from their predetermined positions due to flexion / extension movements of the body flexion / extension and contraction movements of the muscle abdominal muscles, and abnormal swings of joints and muscles that have collapsed due to injuries. A stay (support member) is provided at a predetermined position on the side of the supporter in order to prevent the joints and muscles from being affected by an abnormal external force applied from the outside.

As such a stay, a metal spiral stay or a resin flat plate stay is used. The metal spiral stay has a zigzag spring (Patent Document 1) formed by bending a wire rod in a serpentine shape, a non-flexible portion arranged vertically, and a bendable portion such as a coil spring provided between them. (Patent Document 2), and a flat spring rod (Patent Document 3) formed by flatly crushing a coiled spring steel wire are known. Since these metal stays have high metal rigidity, they have high shape retention and braking performance even if the thickness is reduced (braking means, for example, that the ligaments are damaged and the joint structure is broken. (It means that the movement outside the physiological range of motion that can be caused is suppressed by the rigidity of the stay.), It has high flexibility, and can be deformed by following the movement of the flexion and extension of the body and the contraction of muscles. .. Therefore, the supporter using this stay has an advantage that it can be worn without discomfort. However, on the other hand, if it is used for a long period of time, it may break due to metal fatigue, which may damage the supporter or the human body or cause rust, which causes problems in durability and safety.

As a resin flat plate-shaped stay, a narrow and flat-shaped stay (Patent Document 4) is known. The resin stay has the advantage that there is no risk of rusting, it is highly durable, and it can withstand repeated use. However, in order to obtain high braking performance, it is necessary to increase the thickness or increase the width. Then, the supporter using this stay feels uncomfortable to wear due to the increase in the thickness and width and the resulting decrease in flexibility. As described above, there is a demand for a supporter having excellent lightness, flexibility, durability and safety, a good state after mounting, and not causing a feeling of discomfort in mounting, and a stay for such a supporter.

<patcit num="1"><text>Jitsukaisho 56-124470</text></patcit><patcit num="2"><text>Jitsukaisho 63-176430</text></patcit><patcit num="3"><text>Jikkenhei 3-104322 Gazette</text></patcit><patcit num="4"><text>Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-215361</text></patcit>

<p> Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a supporter having excellent lightness, flexibility, durability and safety, a good state after mounting, and not causing a feeling of discomfort in mounting, and a stay for the supporter. ..</p>

<p> As a result of diligent research on the material and structure of the stay for the supporter, the present inventors have achieved the above-mentioned problems by using a stay made of a braided thread made of a thermoplastic resin filament and having a specific strength. We have found that we can do it, and based on this finding, we have further studied and completed the present invention. Thus, according to the present invention, there is provided a supporter stay characterized by being made of a braided body of threads made of a thermoplastic resin filament. The supporter stay of the present invention preferably has at least a part of the three-point bending strength of 10 N or more. The supporter stay of the present invention may be composed of a plurality of braided bodies. The supporter stay of the present invention preferably has a three-point bending strength of at least a part of the yarn made of a thermoplastic resin filament of 0.2 N or more. The supporter stay of the present invention is suitable as a stay for a supporter attached to a body flexion / extension part. The stay for body flexion / extension supporter of the present invention is suitable as a stay for limb joint mounting supporter. In the stay for the limb joint mounting supporter of the present invention, it is preferable that the lateral bending angle is 20 degrees or more. Further, the supporter stay of the present invention is suitable as a stay for a muscle abdominal attachment supporter. Further, according to the present invention, a supporter to which the above-mentioned supporter stay is attached is provided.</p>

<p> According to the present invention, the supporter is excellent in lightness, flexibility, durability and safety, is in a good state after being worn, and is suitable as a body flexion / extension part wearing supporter and a muscle abdomen wearing supporter, and is lightweight. Provided are supporter stays for obtaining supporters suitable for body flexion / extension attachment and muscle abdomen attachment, which are excellent in flexibility, flexibility, durability and safety, are in good condition after attachment, and do not cause discomfort. Will be done.</p>

The supporter of the present invention covers and tightens the body flexion and extension parts such as the limb joints such as knees and elbows, the lumbar region, the trunk such as the chest and neck, and the upper and lower parts in the vicinity thereof with a fabric made of an elastic material, and bends and stretches the body. It is designed to suppress the unintentional swing of the part. In addition, the abdomen of muscles such as the thigh, lower leg, upper arm, and forearm is covered with a fabric made of an elastic material and tightened to suppress non-physiological pain due to muscle contraction. The supporter may have a conventionally known structure, and has, for example, a main body and upper and lower tightening portions in the vicinity of bending and stretching portions provided at both ends thereof (Patent Document 4). The main body may be made of a cylindrical knitted fabric, or may be one in which the fabric is wrapped around a body flexion / extension portion or a muscle abdomen and then both ends thereof are fixed by an arbitrary method.

Supporters are usually composed of knitted fabrics. An elastic material may be used as the material. As such an elastic material, a woven fabric made of natural fibers and chemical fibers, a knitted fabric, a non-woven fabric, a pile fabric, a plastic foam and the like can be used alone or in combination. Specific materials include warp or weft jersey fabrics made by appropriately combining fibers such as cotton, wool, wool, rayon, acrylic, polyamide, polyester, polyurethane, and polyvinylidene chloride, and elastic yarns such as power nets. There are three-dimensional knitted fabrics such as blended knitted fabrics and double Russell fabrics. Further, a composite material in which these fabrics and a foam material such as a rubber foam (chloroprene rubber, natural rubber, butyl rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber, etc.) and a urethane foam (compressed urethane) are laminated can be mentioned.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of such a supporter (body flexion / extension part wearing supporter) attached to the knee joint, and shows the knee joint part and a part of each of the upper and lower thigh parts and the lower leg part. It is covered so that it is tightened tightly. The supporter 11 for mounting the body flexion / extension portion has a stay 12 arranged in the storage portion (stay cover) 13 so as to extend from the upper portion in the vicinity of the body flexion / extension portion to the lower portion in the vicinity thereof. Stays are usually provided on both sides of the body flexion and extension, but may be only one.

The stay of the present invention, which will be described later, is attached to the supporter of the present invention. As a result, it is possible to obtain a supporter that is excellent in lightness, flexibility, durability and safety, is excellent in a state after mounting, and does not cause a feeling of discomfort in mounting. The method of attaching the stay to the supporter is not particularly limited, and methods such as sewing to the supporter or adhering to the supporter with an adhesive or the like may be used, but usually, the stay is attached to the storage portion (stay cover) provided on the side of the supporter. Store the stay. The storage portion may be provided on the outside or inside of the main body. The material is not particularly limited and may be the same as or different from the main body. The shape of the storage portion may be a bag shape or the like that can hold the stay on the side of the supporter with a certain degree of freedom. The storage portion may be formed integrally with the main body, or may be separately formed and combined with the main body portion by means such as suturing.

The stay of the present invention is characterized by being made of a braided body of threads made of a thermoplastic resin filament. The thermoplastic resins include polyamide resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, polytrimethylene terephthalate resin, polybutylene terephthalate resin, polyarylate resin, acrylic resin, polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyoxymethylene resin, and polytetrafluoro. Ethylene resin, polyparaphenylene benzbisthiazole resin, polyparaphenylene benzbisoxazole resin, polyimide resin, polystyrene resin, AS resin, ABS resin, methacrylic resin, methylpentene resin, MMA-styrene copolymer resin, polycarbonate resin, polyacetal Examples thereof include resins, polyphenylene oxide resins, polysulfone resins, and polyphenylene sulfide resins. These resins can be used alone or in combination of two or more. The thread made of a thermoplastic resin filament may be made of a single thermoplastic resin filament, or may be a bundle of a plurality of filaments. In the present invention, the thread is a concept that includes both of them. The method of bundling the filaments is not particularly limited, and may be twisted or simply focused. In addition, they may be partially or wholly fused to each other.

A part of the thermoplastic resin filament can be replaced with a long fiber reinforced plastic filament. The long fiber reinforced plastic filament can be obtained from a fiber base material and a thermosetting resin. Examples of the fiber base material include organic fibers such as aramid fiber, polyethylene fiber and polyoxymethylene fiber, and inorganic fiber such as glass fiber and carbon fiber. These can be used alone or in combination of two or more. Examples of the thermosetting resin usually include epoxy resin, unsaturated polyester resin, phenol resin and the like. These can be used alone or in combination of two or more. The long fiber reinforced plastic filament may be coated with a thermoplastic resin. Examples of the thermoplastic resin used for coating include the same as above. The long fiber reinforced plastic filament can be produced, for example, as follows. That is, the fiber base material is impregnated with a thermosetting resin, and then the resin is heat-cured to obtain a long fiber reinforced plastic. Then, in some cases, the long fiber reinforced plastic filament is passed through, for example, a molten thermoplastic resin, and the surface of the long fiber reinforced plastic filament is coated with the thermoplastic resin and cooled and solidified to form a thermoplastic resin layer.

Further, a part of the thermoplastic resin filament used for manufacturing the yarn may be replaced with a filament other than the long fiber reinforced plastic filament. The other filament is not particularly limited, and for example, a filament in which the surface of a flexible metal substance such as a wire is coated with a synthetic resin so as to prevent corrosion can be used.

In the present invention, the thermoplastic resin filament usually needs to have a diameter of about 0.2 mm or more. In the present invention, it is preferable that at least a part of the yarn made of a thermoplastic resin filament has a three-point bending strength of 0.2 N or more. When the three-point bending strength is within this range, it is possible to obtain the mechanical strength required when the braid obtained by starting from this thermoplastic resin filament is used as a stay.

A plurality of threads obtained in this manner are prepared and combined to obtain a braided body. The method of combination is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a method of knitting a plurality of threads into a round braid or a flat braid, or a method of bundling a plurality of threads and fusing them at predetermined intervals. , Other methods may be used. In the present invention, those in which a plurality of threads are knitted are preferable. In the present invention, it is desirable to use three or more threads made of a thermoplastic resin filament. By setting the number to three or more, it is possible to increase the three-point bending strength when the braided body is formed. The braided body of the present invention follows the three-dimensional surface of the body due to the difference between the physical characteristics of the material of the filament or thread constituting the filament and the entanglement point of the filament or the entanglement point of the thread, and in particular. It exerts functions such as supportability, flexibility, and elastic deformation required in the flexion and extension of the body.

In the present invention, the braided body can be shaped by heat-treating a braided body obtained from a thread made of a thermoplastic resin filament by heat-setting so that the entangled points of the thread are not fused. In this case, since the threads are displaced at the entanglement point, the braided body can be flexed smoothly. Further, by heat treatment, the thermoplastic resin filaments constituting the yarn or the thermoplastic resin filament and the filament other than the thermoplastic resin filament are fused to form a net shape so that the entanglement points do not shift. .. In this case, the braid is less likely to bend, but the strength is increased. Therefore, if the strength is the same, the braid can be thinned. At the time of this fusion, a stay can be manufactured in which the portion requiring lateral bending is not heat-sealed and the other portion is heat-sealed. The method of fusion is not particularly limited, and a conventionally known method may be adopted. As an example of the braided body thus obtained, the braided body 2 in which the yarn 23 is knitted in a so-called braid shape while forming a gap portion can be shown (FIG. 2).

Another example of a braided body that can be used in the present invention is a flat braided cord in which a thread made of a thermoplastic resin filament is woven. This flat braid is made of a thermoplastic resin filament between each front yarn portion and the back yarn portion of a yarn made of several thermoplastic resin filaments knitted in a lattice and in the longitudinal direction of the braided body. It is obtained by knitting yarns to create a knitted fabric, heat-treating the knitted fabric to melt the yarns made of thermoplastic resin filaments, and fusing each yarn. Figure 3 shows an example of the flat braid obtained in this way. In FIG. 3, the threads 31, 32, 33, ... Made of thermoplastic resin filaments are knitted in an oblique lattice pattern. Between the front thread portion 3D (the part protruding on the front side of the paper surface in the figure) and the back thread portion 3E (the part protruding on the back side of the paper surface in the figure) of these thermoplastic resin filaments 31, 32, 33, ... Thermoplastic resin filaments 34, 35, 36, ... Which are fused at a low temperature are woven in the longitudinal direction of the braided body (the portion included in the paper surface in the drawing). In this figure, the stitches of the flat braid 3 are roughly displayed, but when the stitches are actually clogged, the thermoplastic resin filaments 34, 35, 36, ... You may not be able to see it. When this braid is heat-treated at a temperature at which the thermoplastic resin filaments are melted, the surfaces of the thermoplastic resin filaments are melted and fused to each other.

Yet another example of a braid that can be used in the present invention is a round braid in which a thread made of a thermoplastic resin filament is woven. This round braid is made by knitting several threads made of thermoplastic resin filament into a tubular shape, and knitting the thread made of thermoplastic resin filament as a core thread in the center of the main body of the round braid, and heat-treating it to heat it. A thread made of a plastic resin filament is melted and fused to a thread made of a thermoplastic resin filament around the thread. An example of the round braid obtained in this way (eight braids) is shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the main body of the round braid 4 is formed by knitting threads 411 to 418 made of thermoplastic resin filaments in a tubular shape and in an oblique lattice pattern. A thread 42 made of a thermoplastic resin filament is woven as a core thread in the center of the round braid body. In this figure as well, the stitches are roughly displayed, but the stitches are actually clogged, and the thread 42 made of the thermoplastic resin filament may be hardly visible from the outside of the round braid. When this round braid is heat-treated at a temperature at which the threads made of the thermoplastic resin filament are melted, the surface of the thread 42 made of the thermoplastic resin filament is melted, and the threads 411 to 418 made of the thermoplastic resin filament are formed. Glue. In the figure, threads 412, 414, 416 and 418 made of half of the thermoplastic resin filaments are in contact with the threads 42 made of the thermoplastic resin filament as the core thread, and the other half of the threads are made of the thermoplastic resin filament. Articles 411, 413, 415 and 417 indicate cross-sections located outside the threads 412, 414, 416 and 418. Since all the threads 411 to 418 made of the thermoplastic resin filament are knitted so as to come out repeatedly on the outside and the inside, when the threads 411 to 418 made of the thermoplastic resin filament come out on the inside. Adheres to the thread 42 made of a thermoplastic resin filament.

As described above, various types of braids as described above can be produced by using various threads made of thermoplastic resin filaments, and the braids have physical properties and dimensions suitable for the application site. Used as a stay of the invention. As the braided body constituting the stay, one may be used alone or a plurality of braided bodies may be used in combination.

In the present invention, it is preferable that at least a part of the stay has a three-point bending strength of 10 N or more. The three-point bending strength is more preferably 15 N or more. Having the three-point bending strength within this range makes it easier to prevent the supporter from collapsing due to the contraction of the muscle abdominal muscles and the flexion and extension of the body flexion and extension, or to maintain the tubular shape, and also to injure. As a result, it becomes easy to prevent abnormal swings of the joints and muscles that have collapsed and to protect the joints and muscles from abnormal external forces applied from the outside.

Further, when the stay of the present invention is a stay for a supporter attached to a limb joint, the lateral bending angle is preferably 20 degrees or more, more preferably 60 degrees or more, and 100 degrees or more. Is even more preferable. When the lateral bending angle is within this range, the stay does not interfere with the normal bending and stretching movements of the limb joints such as walking and crouching, and the stay does not feel uncomfortable to wear. When the stay is a stay for a supporter to be attached to the trunk or the abdomen of the muscle, the lateral bending angle may be 0 degrees.

Further, the stay of the present invention preferably does not break or crack even if bending of 100 degrees (angle) in the lateral direction is repeated 500 times or more, and further, twisting of 180 degrees (angle) in the lateral direction is 500 times. It is preferable that no breakage or crack occurs even if the process is repeated more than once. It is desirable that this condition is satisfied when the stay is a stay for body flexion / extension supporters, especially when the stay is a stay for limb joint supporters. In the above bending and twisting acceleration test, when the number of bending resistance and the number of twisting resistance are within this range, the durability is about 2.5 times that of the conventional metal stay and about 20 times that under normal actual use conditions. It will be demonstrated.

The shape of the stay of the present invention is not particularly limited, and the length may be appropriately determined in consideration of the size of the supporter in which the stay should be stored. The width of the stay is not particularly limited, but is usually in the range of 5 to 20 mm. If the width is too narrow, it will be easily deformed by an external force and the effect as a stay will not be exhibited, and if it is too wide, it will cause a feeling of discomfort in wearing (the stay will hit the mounting part and cause pain, or the presence of the stay will make you feel uncomfortable, etc.) ), Or the bending in the width direction becomes worse, and the effect as a stay is also impaired. The thickness of the stay of the present invention is not particularly limited and may be determined in consideration of the width so that the above-mentioned lateral bending angle condition is satisfied, but it is preferably 3.5 mm or less. Since the thickness is 3.5 mm or less, there is no sense of discomfort when wearing a supporter using this stay, and in the case of a supporter wearing a body flexion / extension part, the movement of the body flexion / extension part is restricted. Never.

The cross-sectional shape of the stay of the present invention is not particularly limited, but it is preferable that the cross-sectional shape is flat in order to reduce the feeling of discomfort in wearing the stay according to the body shape. The method for flattening the cross section is not particularly limited, but for example, when a braid obtained from a thread made of a thermoplastic resin filament is heat-treated as described above to fuse the thermoplastic resin filament, the method is used. Pressure can be applied to give the desired shape.

The stay of the present invention may consist of a plurality of braided bodies. The plurality of braided bodies may be stacked in the thickness direction, or may be arranged in the width direction or the length direction. At this time, it is sufficient that the plurality of braided bodies have the requirements for the stay of the present invention. Further, the stay of the present invention is preferably elastically deformed when an external force of 10 N or more is applied. As a result, the durability is excellent and the function of protecting each part of the body is excellent.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on Examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In the present invention, the characteristics of the stay were measured by the following test method.

[Three-point bending strength of threads and braids]

Measure according to JIS K 6911 flexural strength and flexural modulus. Specifically, it was carried out using a universal testing machine [Autograph manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation]. The jig for fixing the sample is a rectangular parallelepiped block with a slit corresponding to the thickness of the sample, and it is fixed with two fulcrums so that the distance between the inner side surfaces is 50 mm, and at least the support part of the sample. It is fixed by sandwiching it in the slit part so that it does not rotate or twist, and the strength when the center between the fulcrum of the sample is pushed 10 mm in the vertical direction under the condition of a test speed of 1,000 mm / min is measured.

[Horizontal bending angle]

When both ends of a 100 mm long test piece are gripped with pliers and the test piece is bent in a plane containing the test piece, the maximum before the test piece protrudes from the flat surface or the test piece is twisted. Find the bending angle θ1 (the angle before bending is 0 degrees, see Fig. 5).

[durability]

Hold two parts of the test piece with pliers at an angle perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the test piece at an interval of 50 mm in the longitudinal direction of the test piece, and bend 100 degrees (in the plane of the test piece) 100 times without twisting. Then, twist the test piece 180 degrees in the lateral direction (the test piece is turned over in the lateral direction) 100 times. With this 100 times of bending and 100 times of twisting as one set, the number of times until breakage occurs when 5 sets are repeated is displayed. The higher the number, the better (see Figures 6 and 7).

[State after mounting]

When the supporter with the stay attached is attached and the situation of the supporter is observed one hour later, is the supporter body fitted according to the body shape of the attachment part, or is the supporter body crushed without following it? Is examined for 10 subjects (panels).

[Uncomfortable wearing]

When the supporter with the stay attached was attached, 10 subjects (panels) were examined to see if the stay hit the attachment site and caused pain or discomfort due to the presence of the stay, and the attachment was uncomfortable. Shown by the number of people. The smaller this number is, the better.

[Example 1]

Using 16 threads consisting of one polyethylene terephthalate monofilament (3-point bending strength 1.8N) with a diameter of 0.7 mm, the distance of one knitting course is set to 3.0 mm, and the round braid (core thread = 42 in Fig. 4) is supported. = 2) were prepared, heated to about 140 ° C, and then flattened by double-sided crimping with a press machine to obtain a braided body (stay 1) having a width of 7.0 mm and a thickness of 2.3 mm. The knitting 1 course is the smallest unit of the repeating structure of the braided body (see Fig. 8). The three-point bending strength of the obtained braid (stay 1) was 18.8 N, the lateral bending angle was 106 degrees, and the durability was "500 times or more". In addition, the knee-mounted supporters to which this stay 1 was attached were in good condition after being attached, and the number of people who felt discomfort in wearing them was 0. These results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Example 2]

Using eight threads consisting of one monofilament (3-point bending strength 3.8N) made of polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene and polybutylene terephthalate with a diameter of 1.1 mm, a round braid is made with a knitting course distance of 5.0 mm. Then, this was flattened by double-sided crimping with a hot press machine at about 200 ° C. to obtain a braided body (stay 2) having a width of 6.0 mm and a thickness of 1.6 mm. The three-point bending strength of the obtained braid (stay 2) was 14.8 N, the lateral bending angle was 90 degrees, and the durability was "500 times or more". In addition, the knee-mounted supporters to which this stay 2 was attached were in good condition after being attached, and the number of people who felt discomfort in wearing them was 0. These results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Example 3]

Using 16 threads consisting of one polyethylene terephthalate monofilament (3-point bending strength 1.8N) with a diameter of 0.7 mm, a round braid was made with a distance of 5.5 mm per knitting course, width 6.0 mm, thickness. A 3.5 mm braid (stay 3) was obtained. The three-point bending strength of the obtained braid (stay 3) was 20.8 N, the lateral bending angle was 126 degrees, and the durability was "500 times or more". In addition, the ankle joint mounting supporters to which this stay 3 was attached were in good condition after being mounted, and the number of people who felt discomfort in wearing them was 0. These results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Example 4]

A round braid (round braid) was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the distance of one course of knitting was 10.0 mm, and this was flattened in the same manner as in Example 2 to have a width of 7.0 mm and a thickness of 7.0 mm. A 2.2 mm braid (stay 4) was obtained. The three-point bending strength of the obtained braid (stay 4) was 10.1 N, the lateral bending angle was 175 degrees, and the durability was "500 times or more". In addition, the knee-mounted supporters to which this stay 4 was attached were in good condition after being attached, and the number of people who felt discomfort in wearing them was 0. These results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Example 5]

Using eight monofilaments (3-point bending strength 4.2N) consisting of polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene and polybutylene terephthalate with a diameter of 1.2 mm, and 8 threads (3-point bending strength 7.6N), the distance of one course of knitting can be reduced. A round braid was prepared at 7.0 mm and flattened in the same manner as in Example 2 to obtain a braided body (stay 5) having a width of 9.5 mm and a thickness of 2.6 mm. The three-point bending strength of the obtained braid (stay 5) was 48.3 N, the lateral bending angle was 75 degrees, and the durability was "500 times or more". In addition, the knee-mounted supporters to which this stay 5 was attached were in good condition after being attached, and the number of people who felt discomfort in wearing them was 0. These results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Example 6]

Using 13 threads (3-point bending strength 0.9N) consisting of 4 polyethylene terephthalate monofilaments (3-point bending strength 0.3N) with a diameter of 0.5 mm, the distance of one knitting course is 5.0 mm, and a flat braid (core) Threads = 4 threads corresponding to 34 to 36 in Fig. 3) were produced to obtain a braided body (stay 6) having a width of 17.0 mm and a thickness of 2.6 mm. The three-point bending strength of the obtained braid (stay 6) was 34.3 N, the lateral bending angle was 0 degrees, and the durability was "500 times or more". In addition, the lumbar supporters to which the stay 6 was attached were in good condition after being attached, and the number of people who felt uncomfortable wearing them was 0. These results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Example 7]

Using 48 threads (3-point bending strength 0.3N) consisting of 4 polyethylene terephthalate monofilaments (3-point bending strength 0.1N) with a diameter of 0.2 mm, the distance of one knitting course is 5.0 mm, and a round braid is used. A braided body (stay 7) having a width of 19.0 mm and a thickness of 1.7 mm was obtained by fusing the filaments together by pressure-bonding the filaments on both sides with a hot press machine at about 250 ° C. The three-point bending strength of the obtained braid (stay 7) was 15.2 N, the lateral bending angle was 0 degrees, and the durability was "500 times or more". In addition, the lumbar supporters to which the stay 7 was attached were in good condition after being attached, and the number of people who felt uncomfortable wearing them was 0. These results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Comparative example 1]

The stainless steel spiral stay 8 (width 10.0 mm, thickness 1.6 mm, formed by crushing a spiral coil with an outer shape of 10 mm in the longitudinal direction) has a 3-point bending strength of 13.7 N and a lateral bending angle of 108. It was a degree. This stay 8 was broken due to metal fatigue after being bent 200 times during the durability test. The knee-mounted supporters to which this stay 8 was attached were in good condition after being attached, and the number of people who felt discomfort in wearing them was 0. These results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Comparative example 2]

A resin plate-shaped stay 9 having a width of 10.0 mm and a thickness of 5.2 mm was obtained by injection molding using polyurethane. The three-point bending strength of this stay 9 was 16.1N, the lateral bending angle was 74 degrees, and the durability was "500 times or more". The knee-mounted supporter to which this stay 9 was attached was in good condition after being attached. However, all 10 panels pointed out a feeling of discomfort. These results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Comparative example 3]

In the same manner as in Comparative Example 2, a resin plate-shaped stay 10 having a width of 10.0 mm and a thickness of 2.2 mm was obtained. The three-point bending strength of this stay 10 was 11.1N, the lateral bending angle was 122 degrees, and the durability was "500 times or more". However, the knee-mounted supporter to which the stay 10 was attached could not maintain the tubular shape, and the main body was crushed. Regarding the supporters wearing this stay 10, the number of people who felt uncomfortable wearing it was 0. These results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

<tables num="1"><img file="JP2005290628A_D0001.tif" /></tables>

<tables num="2"><img file="JP2005290628A_D0002.tif" /></tables>

As shown from the above results, the stainless steel spiral stay (Comparative Example 1) has poor durability. Furthermore, the 5.2 mm thick stay 9 (Comparative Example 2) obtained by injection molding of polyurethane has a poor fit, and the 2.2 mm thick stay 10 (Comparative Example 3) with this reduced thickness maintains the tubular shape. It is not suitable as a supporter because it cannot be crushed and crushed. On the other hand, the stay of the present invention is excellent in strength and durability, and the supporter to which the stay is attached is in a good state after being attached, and the wearing feeling is also good. Further, the stay of the present invention can set the bending angle in the lateral direction within a suitable range by designing the braided body, and is also suitable as a stay for a limb joint mounting supporter.

<figref num="1">The figure which shows the supporter attached to the body bending and extension part which attached the stay</figref><figref num="2">The figure which shows an example of the braid-like braid body</figref><figref num="3">It is a figure which shows an example of a flat braid, (a) is an overall perspective view, and (b) is a sectional view taken along line III-III of (a).</figref><figref num="4">It is a figure which shows an example of a round braid (eight-strike string), (a) is an overall perspective view, (b) is a sectional view of (a).</figref><figref num="5">In the figure which shows the measurement method of the lateral bending angle, (a) shows the state before a test, and (b) shows the state which is the bending angle θ1.</figref><figref num="6">In the figure which shows the method of the bending test of a stay, (a) shows the normal state, and (b) shows the state which bent at 100 degrees.</figref><figref num="7">In the figure which shows the method of the twist test of a stay, (a) shows the normal state, and (b) shows the state which twisted 180 degrees.</figref><figref num="8">The figure which shows the minimum unit of the repeating structure of a braided body.</figref>

Code description

11 Body flexion and extension mounting supporter 12 Stay 13 Stay cover 2 Braided braid 23 Thread 3 Flat braid 31 ~ 36 Thread 3D front thread 3E Back thread 4 An example of a round braid (8) Twisted string) 411 ~ 418 Thread made of thermoplastic resin filament 42 Thread made of thermoplastic resin filament (core thread) θ1 Bending angle in lateral bending angle test θ2 Bending angle in durability (bending test) (100) Degree) L The smallest unit of the repeating structure of the braid