Triple action orthotic ankle joint and methods

A method of making an ankle joint device, comprising

• forming an assembly of a joint body, an attachment member, a plantarflexion resistance spring, an initial dorsiflexion resistance spring, and a terminal stance dorsiflexion resistance spring;
• pivotally connecting the attachment member to the joint body for pivotal movement in a dorsiflexion direction and a plantarflexion direction opposite to the dorsiflexion direction;
• configuring the plantarflexion resistance spring to bias the attachment member in the dorsiflexion direction relative to the joint body when the attachment member is within a plantarflexion resistance spring active angular range, the plantarflexion resistance spring active angular range beginning at a plantarflexion resistance spring recruitment angle and increasing in plantarflexion angle therefrom;
• configuring the initial dorsiflexion resistance spring to bias the attachment member in the plantarflexion direction relative to the joint body when the attachment member is within an initial dorsiflexion resistance spring active angular range, the initial dorsiflexion resistance spring active angular range beginning at an initial dorsiflexion resistance spring recruitment angle and increasing in dorsiflexion angle therefrom;
• and
• configuring the terminal stance dorsiflexion resistance spring to bias the attachment member in the plantarflexion direction relative to the joint body when the attachment member is within a terminal stance dorsiflexion resistance spring active angular range, the terminal stance dorsiflexion resistance spring active angular range having at least a terminal stance dorsiflexion resistance spring recruitment angle and an angular range increasing in dorsiflexion therefrom, the terminal stance dorsiflexion resistance spring recruitment angle being greater in dorsiflexion than the initial dorsiflexion resistance spring recruitment angle.

A method of supporting an ankle of a human in a range of dorsiflexion and plantarflexion motions, using an ankle joint device comprising a joint body, an attachment member pivotally connected to the joint body for pivotal movement relative to the joint body in the dorsiflexion direction and the plantarflexion direction opposite to the dorsiflexion direction, a plantarflexion resistance spring configured to bias the attachment member in the dorsiflexion direction relative to the joint body when the attachment member is within a plantarflexion resistance spring active angular range, the plantarflexion resistance spring active angular range beginning at a plantarflexion resistance spring recruitment angle and increasing in plantarflexion angle therefrom, an initial dorsiflexion resistance spring configured to bias the attachment member in the plantarflexion direction relative to the joint body when the attachment member is within an initial dorsiflexion resistance spring active angular range, the initial dorsiflexion resistance spring active angular range beginning at an initial dorsiflexion resistance spring recruitment angle and increasing in dorsiflexion angle therefrom, and a terminal stance dorsiflexion resistance spring configured to bias the attachment member in the plantarflexion direction relative to the joint body when the attachment member is within a terminal stance dorsiflexion resistance spring active angular range, the terminal stance dorsiflexion resistance spring active angular range having at least a terminal stance dorsiflexion resistance spring recruitment angle and an angular range increasing in dorsiflexion therefrom, the terminal stance dorsiflexion resistance spring recruitment angle being greater in dorsiflexion than the initial dorsiflexion resistance spring recruitment angle, the method comprising:

• attaching the attachment member to one of a foot and a lower leg corresponding to said ankle;
• and
• attaching the joint body to the other of the foot and the lower leg, the attached attachment member being configured to move in said dorsiflexion direction relative to the attached joint body when the human's foot dorsiflexes and in said plantarflexion direction relative to the attached joint body when the human's foot plantarflexes.