Prosthetic foot with variable stiffness ankle
AssigneeOssur Iceland Ehf
InventorChristophe Guy Lecomte
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A prosthetic foot can have an ankle unit with semi-active adjustable stiffness. In one example, the adjustable stiffness is in the sagittal plane. The ankle stiffness can be varied by the ankle unit in response a user input, which can be received via a wireless communication device. The ankle unit can include two load application locations for one or more cantilever springs so as to provide different stiffness in plantarflexion and dorsiflexion. The positions of the two load application locations can be varied in order to vary the stiffness.
Claims21
A prosthetic ankle with variable stiffness and configured to couple to a plurality of foot elements, the prosthetic ankle comprising:
- an adapter configured to operably couple to a user's limb;
- a base configured to couple to one or more of the plurality of foot elements;
- a pylon extending between the adapter and the base, wherein the pylon is an elongate beam, the pylon comprising a longitudinal axis and first and second ends along the longitudinal axis, the first end fixedly coupled to a bottom surface of the adapter and the second end rotatably coupled to the base;
- at least one cantilever spring having a first end fixedly coupled to the base and a free second end extending toward the first end of the pylon;
- and
- a slider configurable to be movable relative to the longitudinal axis of the pylon in response to a user input, the slider including at least one contact location for the at least one cantilever spring, the at least one contact location positioned between the first end and the free second end of the at least one cantilever spring,
- wherein movement of the slider relative to the longitudinal axis of the pylon is configured to vary a position of the at least one contact location so as to vary a stiffness of the prosthetic ankle.
A prosthetic foot comprising:
- a prosthetic ankle comprising:
- an adapter configured to operably couple to a user's limb;
- a base;
- a pylon extending between the adapter and the base, wherein the pylon is an elongate beam, the pylon comprising a longitudinal axis and first and second ends along the longitudinal axis, the first end fixedly coupled to a bottom surface of the adapter and the second end rotatably coupled to the base;
- at least one cantilever spring having a first end fixedly coupled to the base and a free second end extending toward the first end of the pylon;
- and
- a slider configurable to be movable relative to the longitudinal axis of the pylon in response to a user input, the slider including a first contact location and a second contact location for the at least one cantilever spring, the first and second contact locations spaced apart from each other and positioned between the first end and the free second end of the at least one cantilever spring;
- a lower foot member, the lower foot member comprising a toe end and a heel end;
- and
- an intermediate foot member located between the lower foot member and the prosthetic ankle, the intermediate foot member having a proximal end and a distal end, the base of the prosthetic ankle fixed coupled to the intermediate foot member at or near the proximal end, the lower foot member coupled to the intermediate foot member at or near the distal end,
- wherein movement of the slider relative to the longitudinal axis of the pylon is configured to vary positions of the first and second contact locations so as to vary a stiffness of the prosthetic ankle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.