Appendage cover

Abstract

An appendage cover ( 10 ) for at least partially covering a portion of an appendage ( 14 ) of a user to permit the appendage to slide upon a selected support surface is disclosed. The appendage cover includes an outer surface ( 16 ) of a first material, the outer surface oriented to engage the support surface when worn upon the appendage. The first material has a low coefficient of friction to permit the appendage to slide upon the support surface and to impede the adhering of the outer surface to the support surface. The appendage cover further includes an inner surface ( 18 ) of a second material, the inner surface oriented to engage the appendage. The second material has a high coefficient of friction to permit the appendage to adhere to the outer surface to impede the sliding of the appendage relative to the inner surface.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:  
     
         1 . An appendage cover for gliding upon a surface, the appendage cover comprising: 
 a body portion for covering at least a portion of the appendage, the body portion including; 
 (a) a grip surface positioned to engage the appendage and hold the body portion stationary relative to the appendage; and  
 (b) a glide surface positioned to slide upon the surface during movement of a user, the glide surface having a predetermined coefficient of friction sufficient to enable the appendage to glide upon the surface when (1) the appendage is resting upon the surface and (2) not bearing a weight of the user and further sufficient to permit the appendage to remain immobile upon the surface when the appendage is bearing at least a portion of the weight of the user.  
   
     
     
         2 . The appendage cover of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined coefficient of friction is sufficient to permit a user to glide the appendage upon the surface unassisted when the appendage is not bearing the weight of the user and when the appendage is weakened more than about 50%.  
     
     
         3 . The appendage cover of  claim 2 , wherein the predetermined coefficient of friction is sufficient to permit a user to glide the appendage upon the surface unassisted when the appendage is not bearing the weight of the user and when the appendage is weakened more than about 75%.  
     
     
         4 . The appendage cover according to claims  2  or  3 , wherein the predetermined coefficient of friction is sufficient to permit the appendage to bear the weight of the user at an angle of up to about 15 degrees relative to the support surface before slipping out from under the user to facilitate the user at least partially supporting their weight during a transfer operation.  
     
     
         5 . The appendage cover of  claim 3 , wherein the glide surface is formed from nylon.  
     
     
         6 . The appendage cover of  claim 1 , wherein the body portion is adapted to cover a foot of the user, the body portion having a tongue that folds up from a front of the user's foot over a top of the foot.  
     
     
         7 . The appendage cover of  claim 6 , wherein the body portion includes a plurality of straps for coupling the body potion to the foot of the user.  
     
     
         8 . The appendage cover of  claim 1 , wherein the grip surface is formed from neoprene rubber.  
     
     
         9 . An appendage cover for reducing surface friction of an appendage of a user to permit the appendage to glide upon a surface, the appendage cover comprising: 
 a body portion for covering at least a portion of the appendage, the body portion including; 
 (a) a grip surface positioned to engage the appendage and hold the body portion stationary relative to the appendage; and  
 (b) a glide surface positioned to slide upon the surface during movement of the appendage, the glide surface formed from a fabric of a predetermined fineness rating to enable the appendage to glide upon the surface when the appendage is resting upon the surface and further sufficient to permit the appendage to remain immobile upon the surface when bearing at least a portion of the weight of the user.  
   
     
     
         10 . The appendage cover of  claim 9 , wherein the fineness rating is less than about 400 denier.  
     
     
         11 . The appendage cover of  claim 9 , wherein the fineness rating is between about 100 denier and about 300 denier.  
     
     
         12 . The appendage cover of  claim 11 , wherein the fineness rating is between about 150 denier and about 250 denier.  
     
     
         13 . The appendage cover of  claim 11 , wherein the glide surface is formed from a nylon fabric.  
     
     
         14 . The appendage cover of  claim 9 , wherein the body portion is adapted to cover a foot of the user, the body portion having a tongue that folds up from the front of the user's foot over the top of the foot.  
     
     
         15 . The appendage cover of  claim 9 , wherein the body portion includes a plurality of straps for coupling the body potion to the foot of the user.  
     
     
         16 . The appendage cover of  claim 9 , wherein the grip surface is formed from neoprene rubber.  
     
     
         17 . A foot cover for reducing surface friction of a weak or paralyzed leg of a person to permit a foot of the leg to glide upon a surface, the foot cover comprising: 
 (a) a body portion for covering at least a portion of a shoe donned by the foot, the body portion including; 
 (i) a grip surface positioned to engage the shoe and hold the body portion stationary relative to the shoe during use; and  
 (ii) a glide surface positioned to slide upon the surface during movement of the leg, the glide surface formed from a fabric having a fineness rating of less than 400 denier.  
   
     
     
         18 . The appendage cover of  claim 17 , wherein the fineness rating is between about 100 denier and about 300 denier.  
     
     
         19 . The appendage cover of  claim 17 , wherein the fineness rating is between about 150 denier and about 250 denier.  
     
     
         20 . The appendage cover of  claim 19 , wherein the glide surface is formed from a nylon fabric.  
     
     
         21 . The appendage cover of  claim 17 , wherein the body portion is adapted to cover a foot of the user, the body portion having a tongue that fold up from the front of the user's foot over the top of the foot.  
     
     
         22 . The appendage cover of  claim 17 , wherein the body portion includes a plurality of straps for coupling the body potion to the foot of the user.  
     
     
         23 . The appendage cover of  claim 17 , wherein the grip surface is formed from neoprene rubber.  
     
     
         24 . An appendage cover for at least partially covering a portion of an appendage of a user to permit the appendage to slide upon a selected support surface, the appendage cover comprising: 
 (a) an outer surface oriented to engage the support surface when the appendage cover is worn upon the appendage, the outer surface having a predetermined coefficient of friction sufficient to permit the appendage to slide upon the support surface and to impede the adhering of the outer surface to the support surface; and    (b) an inner surface oriented to engage the appendage, the inner surface having a selected coefficient of friction higher than the predetermined coefficient of friction to permit the inner surface to adhere to the appendage to impede the appendage from moving relative to the inner surface.    
     
     
         25 . The appendage cover of  claim 24 , wherein the predetermined coefficient of friction is sufficient to permit the appendage to slide upon the support surface when the appendage is not substantially bearing the weight of the user but impede the sliding of the appendage upon the support surface when the appendage is bearing a substantial weight of the user.  
     
     
         26 . The appendage cover of  claim 24 , wherein the outer surface is formed from a fabric having a fineness rating of less than about 400 denier.  
     
     
         27 . The appendage cover of  claim 24 , wherein the outer surface is formed from a fabric having a fineness rating of between about 100 denier and about 300 denier.  
     
     
         28 . The appendage cover of  claim 24 , wherein the appendage cover is shaped to cover a foot of the user, the appendage cover having a surface area greater than a surface area of a bottom of the user's foot such that the appendage cover may wrap around the foot to cover at least a portion of a top of the foot of the user.