Knee ergonomic device for resolving the vertical loads

An ergonomic knee device comprising:

• a femoral support adapted to be secured to a user's upper leg including a lateral femoral arm and a medial femoral arm which are adapted to be generally parallel to one another when placed on medial and lateral sides of the user's upper leg and which have respective rounded distal end portions which are adapted to extend along lateral and medial sides of a user's knee when the femoral support is secured to the user's upper leg, the lateral and medial femoral arms being adapted to be parallel to a longitudinal axis of the user's upper leg, and each of the lateral and medial femoral arms having a longitudinal axis of symmetry “a”;
• a tibial support adapted to be secured to a user's lower leg below the user's knee including a lateral tibial arm having a rounded proximal end portion, a fixed medial tibial arm, and a free-moving medial tibial arm having a rounded proximal end portion, wherein the lateral tibial arm and the fixed medial tibial arm are adapted to be parallel to one another so as to be parallel to a longitudinal axis of the user's lower leg, and each of the lateral tibial arm and the free-moving tibial arm having a longitudinal axis of symmetry “a1”;
• a plurality of straps adapted to secure the femoral and tibial supports to a user's leg, wherein the plurality of straps pass through openings in respective lateral and medial femoral arms, the lateral tibial arm, and the fixed medial tibial arm;
• a first arc-shaped plate interconnecting the lateral and medial femoral arms, the first arc-shaped plate being adapted to extend about an anterior part of the user's upper leg;
• a second arc-shaped plate interconnecting the lateral tibial arm and the fixed medial tibial arm, the second arc-shaped plate being adapted to extend about an anterior part of the user's lower leg, with a symmetry axis of the second arc-shaped plate being parallel to a symmetry axis of the first arc-shaped plate;
• each of the rounded distal end portions of the femoral support including first hinge elements which interact with second hinge elements of the rounded proximal end portions of each of the lateral tibial arm and the free-moving tibia arm;
• the first hinge elements including a plurality of pins extending laterally outward of the distal femoral end portions and a pair of oppositely oriented arcuate slots in each distal femoral end portion which are spaced on opposition sides of the axis “a” of each of the lateral and medial femoral support arms, a first pin being positioned at each of the distal end portions along each axis “a” and forming two pivot axes of the first and second hinge elements relative to one another when assembled to one another, a second pin spaced between the first pin along an axis “b” which extends perpendicular to and intersecting the axis “a” at the first pin, and third proximal and fourth distal pins spaced adjacent to but on opposite sides of the axis “a” and oppositely spaced along an imaginary circle extending through both the third proximal pin and the pivot axes;
• the first, second, third and fourth pins and the arcuate slots of the distal femoral end portions of the first hinge elements being symmetrical with one another;
• a first of the arcuate slots of the first hinge elements extend from first ends adjacent the third proximal pins and from adjacent the axis “a” generally along the imaginary circle and beyond the second pin toward the fourth pin with an outer portion of the first slots flaring outwardly relative to the imaginary circles, a second of the arcuate slots extending from first ends adjacent the fourth distal pins and from adjacent the axis “a” generally along the imaginary circles and having end portions that flare inwardly relative to the imaginary circles spaced from the third proximate pins;
• the second hinge elements including first and second tibial pins extending laterally inward of the rounded proximal end portions of each of the lateral tibial arm and the free-moving tibial arm and wherein the first and second tibial pins of the lateral tibial arm are symmetrical to the first and second tibial pins of the free-moving medial tibial arm so as to be adjacent to but on opposite sides of an axes “a1” of each of the lateral tibial and free-moving tibial arms and such that the first tibial pins are aligned to be movable within the first slots of the first hinge elements and the second tibial pins are aligned to be movable within the second slots of the first hinge elements;
• the second hinge elements including first, second and third arcuate slots which are spaced from one another in the rounded proximal end portions of each of the lateral tibial arm and the free-moving tibial arm, the first arcuate slots extend generally linearly along the axes “a1” from a center point of each of the rounded end portions of the lateral tibial arm and the free-moving medial tibial arm toward distal ends of the rounded end portions and along the axes “a1”, each of the second arcuate slots extends in an arc spaced proximal of the first arcuate slots from a first end positioned at an axis “b1”, which extends perpendicular to and through axis “a1” at the center pivot point of the first arcuate slot, to an opposite end which extends to an opposite side and beyond the axis “a1” and between the first arcuate slot and the second tibial pins of the second hinge elements, the third arcuate slots extend in an arc from a first end adjacent the axis “a1” and radially outwardly and partially beyond the first end of the second arcuate slots of the second hinge elements along an arc located along an imaginary circle taken generally between the first and second pins of the second hinge elements;
• The first pins of the first hinge elements forming the pivot axes of both the first and second hinge elements being mounted within the first arcuate slots of the second hinge elements and the second pins of the first hinge elements being mounted within the second arcuate slots of the second hinge elements and the third pins of the first hinge elements being slidable along an outer proximal arcuate edge portion of the rounded end portions of the lateral tibial arm and the free-moving media tibial arm from adjacent the second pins of the second hinge elements;
• first and second opposing plates for covering the first and second hinge elements of the rounded distal end portions of the lateral femoral arm and medial femoral arm and the rounded proximal end portions of the lateral tibial arm and the free-moving medial tibial arm, the first and second plates having openings that align with the plurality of pins of the femoral support and tibial support, and fasteners for securing the first opposing plates to the plurality of pins of the first and second hinge elements to thereby prevent separation of the first and second hinge elements of the femoral support and the tibial support;
• and
• the free-moving tibial arm having a distal end portion adapted to be connected by third hinge elements to a proximal end portion of the fixed medial tibial arm, wherein a third plate includes openings for receiving pins of the third hinge elements, and fasteners for connecting the third plate to the pins of the third hinge elements to thereby prevent separation of the free-moving tibial arm from the fixed medial tibial arm.