This patent is subject to an expiration for failure to pay maintenance fees. See comments below.
Protector bandage
Nickname - none received yet. Care to suggest one?
This bandage is used alone to protect the thumb, fingers or to be used over other bandages and act as a cover for them to keep them clean and help hold the bandage securely in place without the use of tape or clamps. Also to help prevent a person from further injury by hitting the uncovered injured thumb or finger. It makes the injured thumb or finger more comfortable as it conforms to the shape of the finger or thumb. It can be used over thumb, finger, guards, splints, etc.
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1. A protector bandage for protecting a digit on a wearer's hand, the protector bandage comprising:
a circumferential wrist band portion having a constant width and comprised of an elastic material;
said wrist band portion having an upper end extending to the wearer's digit joint and a lower end extending across and around the wrist of the wearer; and
a tubular closed-end digit pocket, constructed to conform to the digit of a wearer, said digit pocket integrally attached to said wrist band portion.
2. The protector bandage of claim 1, the wrist band portion further having an uppermost edge and a lowermost edge.
4. The protector bandage of claim 2, the protector bandage further comprising a seam extending from said lowermost edge of said wrist band portion, around the digit, to said uppermost edge of said wrist band portion at the digit and hand intersection.
5. A method of constructing a protector bandage for protecting a digit including the steps of:
obtaining a strip of elastic material;
folding said strip of elastic material in half thereby providing a first and second side edge, a folded edge, and an open end;
sewing away from said folded edge of the strip of elastic material along said first edge towards said open end starting at a distance away from said folded edge;
sewing a rounded edge to conform to the shape of the digit on the open end of said strip of elastic material; and
sewing down along said second edge of said strip of elastic material to provide a wrist opening adjacent the closed end.
6. A method of constructing a protector bandage for protecting a wearer's digit and hand including the steps of:
obtaining a wrist band of elastic material;
obtaining a length of elastic material that is twice the length of the wearer's digit from the top of the digit to the digit/hand joint;
folding said length of material in half forming a closed top end;
opening left and right edges and a bottom opening end as a digit pocket;
sewing along both right and left edges of said digit pocket to close said right and left side edges; and
attaching the open end of said digit pocket to said wrist band.
7. A method of protecting a digit of a wearer's hand with a protector bandage, the method comprising:
A. inserting the digit into a digit pocket;
B. moving a wrist band portion connected to said digit pocket over the wearer's hand; and
C. securing said elastic wrist band around the base of the wearer's hand to fix said digit pocket around the digit.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein step B precedes step A.

Comments from the community
One comment has been received for United States Patent No. 5,933,863. Want to add another?
#1|FizzMaster comments:
United States Patent No. 5,933,863 expired on August 10, 2007, due to a failure to pay applicable maintenance fees. See the Official Gazette notice here.
For more information on patent maintenance fees, see 35 U.S.C. 41(b) and 37 C.F.R. 1.362(g).