Composite orthotic material and method

Abstract

A hybrid composite material is constructed from woven reinforced fabrics of Kevlar 49 and biaxially reinforced fibers of graphite and E-Glass bonded together with a thermosetting adhesive, for the application of custom orthotics. The material is designed with the idea of introducing different fibers at different locations of the orthotic in order to take advantage of the unique properties of each reinforcing fibers. The resulting material creates a hybrid composite that exhibits a balance of properties, in both the longitudinal and tranverse directions, unavailable with any single reinforcing fibers. A method of orthotic manufacturing involves a hand lay-up and forming procedure. The constructed composite material is formed and pressed on a prescribed cast, then allowed to cure under pressure. The post-cured material is stripped from the cast, then cut and ground and finally finished to the required orthotic. The produced orthotic combines the desired feature of a thin section with excellent combination of properties relevant to custom orthotics. Such properties include light weight, high strength and modulus, excellent resistance to impact, fatigue, and creep, and outstanding ability to damp vibrations.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.