Multiaxis controlled motion knee orthosis
AssigneeTownsend Industries, Inc.
InventorJeffrey H. Townsend
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an appliance for controlling an unstable knee joint in the sagittal, coronal and transverse planes, comprising femoral and tibial cuffs joined by links which are interconnected to provide a novel mechanical joint wherein camming slots are formed in one of the links with cams disposed on the other link, the slots comprising straight segments and arcuate segments so as to provide approximately 8 millimeters of sliding movement between the femur and tibia, followed by relative rotation about the center of radius of the femoral condyle as the leg is flexed. The tibial cuff is conformed about the boney prominence or shin of the tibia to inhibit rotation of the leg beneath the knee within the brace itself.
Claims24
In an appliance for stabilizing a knee joint in sagittal, coronal and transverse planes, having leg grasping means for clasping the appliance to the wearer's leg above and below the knee,
- means defining a mechanical joint at the medial and lateral sides of the knee, each comprising
- a pair of depending opposed femoral links, each said link terminating in an end portion,
- a pair of opposed upwardly extending tibial links terminating in an end portion;
- said end portion of said tibial links being disposed in overlapping relation to said end portion of said femoral links,
- cam means interconnecting each said end portion of said femoral links to a respective said end portion of said tibial links, said cam means being disposed at lateral and medial sides of the knee,
- each said cam means comprising a cam follower and a camming means, each said cam follower means being positioned to engage a camming means to be cammed therein as a means for permitting the tibia to slide rearwardly relative to the femur for a predetermined distance and thereafter rotate relative thereto in a predetermined arcuate path as the knee is flexed from a straight leg position, wherein two said camming means are provided, each comprising a slot formed in the end portion of one of said pairs of links, longitudinally spaced from one another, the uppermost slot being a femoral camming slot and the lowermost being a tibial camming slot, and wherein each said camming slot comprises a straight segment adjoining an arcuate segment of equal radius.
In an appliance for supporting an unstable knee joint along its sagittal, coronal and transverse planes, the combination of
- a first femoral cuff formed to fit snugly about a portion of the thigh, closure means attached to said cuff for securing said cuff to a portion of a leg above the knee joint,
- a second tibial cuff formed to fit snugly about the anterior portion of the tibia and calf of the leg below the knee joint, closure means attached to said tibial cuff for securing said second cuff in place,
- said first and second cuffs being interconnected by medial and lateral articulating joints.
- said tibial cuff being formed with an interiorly protruding ridge serving as a means for engaging only the medial side of the boney prominence of the tibia so as to prevent relative rotation between said tibia and said cuff about a longitudinal axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.