Prosthetic System
OwnerRyan Hawkinsinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A prosthetic device having a housing, an axle, at least three housing vanes, a flow medium and a valve. The axle is disposed within the housing and moveable independently of the housing. The axle has an axle reservoir and at least three axle vanes extending from the axle to contact the chamber wall. The three housing vanes extend from a chamber wall and contact the axle. A first opening and a second opening are formed in each axle vane. The flow medium is contained entirely within the chamber and the axle reservoir. The valve is disposed in the axle and operable in response to movement of the axle in a first direction relative to the housing to allow the flow medium to enter the axle reservoir from the chamber for storage under pressure.
Claims20
An apparatus for controlling movement of a prosthetic device, the apparatus comprising:
- a housing comprising a first chamber;
- a storage chamber;
- a first member connected to the housing;
- an axle moveable independently of the housing;
- wherein the housing and axle are moveable relative to each other between a first position and a second position by placing an external force on the first member;
- a flow medium disposed within the first chamber and movable from the first chamber to the storage chamber for storage under pressure in response to movement of the housing in a first direction to the second position and to control movement of the flow medium from the storage chamber to first chamber when the external force is altered.
A method for controlling movement of a prosthetic device, the method comprising:
- providing a prosthetic joint having a housing and an axle moveable independently of the housing, wherein one of the housing or axle is connected to a first member and the other connected to a second member;
- placing an external force on the first member to move the housing from a first position to a second position relative to the axle;
- moving a flow medium from a first chamber to a second chamber for storage under pressure in response to movement of the housing in a first direction;
- and
- altering the external force on the first member to move the flow medium from the second chamber and control movement of the housing.
A device having an articulating joint, the device comprising:
- a housing;
- an axle disposed within the housing configured to act as the articulating joint and moveable independently of the housing;
- a housing vane extending from the housing toward the axle;
- an axle vane extending from the axle toward the housing;
- wherein the axle vane and the housing vane define a first chamber and a second chamber;
- and
- a flow medium contained within the housing to flow between the first chamber and the second chamber in response to movement of the housing relative to the axle.
The device of claim 18 further comprising an axle chamber disposed in the axle, wherein the flow medium is contained within the housing and the axle and flowable between the housing and the axle chamber in response to movement of the housing relative to the axle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.