Back to results
US 2006/0224248 A1Published application
Prosthetic knee joint mechanism
AssigneeChas. A. Blatchford & Sons Limited
InventorStephen Lang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeChas. A. Blatchford & Sons Limited
InventorStephen Lang
Estimating the term…
A prosthetic knee joint mechanism has an hydraulic load-activated knee-stabilizing device for resisting joint flexion. A rotary piston (34) connected to one part of the mechanism is rotatable within a fluid-filled fluid displacement chamber (18) assocciated with another part of the mechanism to drive fluid through a fluid passage which contains a main valve (38) which restricts or allows joint flexion according to the position of a valve member within the valve. The valve member is movable towards an open position in response to fluid pressure in the fluid passage upstream of the valve member caused by application of a flexion torque to the knee joint mechanism, movement of the valve member in the direction of the open position being at least resisted by a valve control arrangement actuated by application of the wearer's weight. The weight-responsive valve control arrangement is preferably a weight-responsive pilot valve (32) for hydraulically resisting movement of the valve member of the main valve.
A prosthetic knee joint mechanism comprising first and second knee parts which are rotatable relative to each other in joint flexion and joint extension, and a load-activated knee-stabilizing device for resisting joint flexion, the stabilizing device comprising means defining a fluid-filled fluid displacement chamber associated with the first knee part and a piston which is connected to the second knee part so as to be driven by rotation of the second knee part relative to the first knee part and which is so arranged within the chamber that it divides the chamber into first and second variable volume chamber parts which are interconnected by a fluid passage, the stabilizing device further comprising a valve associated with the fluid passage and including a valve member which is movable between an open position in which fluid can flow through the passage to allow joint flexion and a stabilizing position in which such fluid flow is at least restricted, wherein the valve member is movable towards its open position in response to fluid pressure in the interconnecting passage upstream of the valve member caused by application of a flexion torque to the knee joint mechanism, and wherein the stabilizing device includes a weight-responsive valve control arrangement to at least resist movement of the valve member in the direction of its open position.
A prosthetic knee joint mechanism comprising a piston in a fluid-filled fluid displacement chamber, the mechanism being arranged such that the piston and the chamber resist joint flexion in response to weight activation, wherein the mechanism includes:
A prosthetic knee joint mechanism comprising first and second knee parts which are rotatable relative to each other about an axis of rotation in joint flexion and joint extension, and a load-activated knee-stabilizing device for resisting joint flexion, the stabilising stabilizing device comprising means defining a fluid-filled displacement chamber associated with the first knee part and a piston which is centered on the knee axis of rotation and connected to the second knee part so as to be driven by relative rotation between the knee parts, and which is so arranged within the chamber that it divides the chamber into first and second variable volume chamber parts which are interconnected by a fluid passage, the stabilizing device further comprising a valve associated with the fluid passage and including a valve member which is movable between an open position in which fluid can flow through the passage to allow joint flexion and a stabilizing position in which such fluid flow is at least restricted, wherein the valve member is movable towards its open position in response to differential fluid pressure on opposite sides of the valve member caused by application of a flexion torque to the knee joint mechanism, and wherein the stabilizing device includes a valve control arrangement substantially to eliminate the said differential pressure when the joint mechanism is loaded.
A prosthetic joint mechanism comprising first and second joint parts which are rotatable relative to each other in joint flexion and joint extension, and a joint-stabilizing device comprising means defining a fluid-filled fluid displacement chamber associated with the first joint part and a piston which is connected to the second joint part so as to be driven in the chamber by relative rotation of the joint parts, the stabilizing device including an hydraulic valve controlling the flow of fluid to and/or from the fluid displacement chamber;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.