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US 12,616,589 B2Granted
Systems and methods for an ankle prosthesis
AssigneeRehabilitation Institute of Chicago
InventorsJames Lipsey, Tom Pickerill
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The ankle prosthesis of the present disclosure includes a load directing mechanism that alters the internal load path during weight bearing, guiding the load directly into the structural frame. By changing the load path with the load directing mechanism, both vertical and horizontal loads can be supported directly by the ankle's structure through a cam roller.
Claims19
A semi-active ankle prosthesis, comprising:
- an ankle prosthesis including:
- a structural frame;
- an ankle joint operatively mounted on the structural frame that pivots with respect to the structural frame about an ankle axis;
- a cam transmission including a cam follower, wherein the cam transmission pivots the ankle joint about the ankle axis;
- an actuator operatively coupled to the cam transmission to cause lateral translation of the cam transmission;
- and
- a load directing mechanism defined along a cam roller of the cam transmission that directs a load imposed upon the ankle prosthesis into the structural frame during a loaded state, the load directing mechanism accommodating an unloaded state and a loaded state;
- wherein in the unloaded state the cam roller is biased with an upward bias force applied in a first direction such that the cam roller contacts the cam follower and an air gap is defined between the cam roller and the structural frame, and
- wherein in the loaded state the cam roller is compressed between the cam follower and the structural frame such that the load imposed upon the ankle prosthesis exceeding the upward bias force is directed into the structural frame.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.