Prosthetic ski leg
OwnerVan L. Phillipsinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A prosthetic ski leg designed to be attached to a stump of a wearer which has a pair of conventionally shaped binding mounts for stepping into ski bindings. The prosthetic ski leg includes several structural members having resilient properties for storing and releasing energy. The ankle portion functions as a primary bending load member and may be formed to control the inherent stiffness. A secondary stiffness member may be provided to contribute a level of stiffness or to limit the range of motion. An air bag having a pressure adjustment may be disposed between the secondary stiffness member and the ankle portion to increase or decrease the amount of contribution of the secondary stiffness member. A shock cord may also be provided to adjust the stiffness of the ski leg by varying the elasticity and length of the shock cord.
Claims33
A prosthetic ski leg for use by an amputee, said leg being adapted to be secured directly to a ski for use in skiing, comprising:
- a leg portion for extending downwardly from said amputee to support said amputee;
- an ankle portion;
- and
- a prosthetic foot portion extending from a heel portion to a forward toe portion, said foot portion having ski binding mounts positioned directly on said foot portion so as to avoid the need for a ski boot, one binding mount being located on said heel portion and another binding mount being located on said toe portion, said binding mounts functioning to mount said prosthetic ski leg to ski bindings.
A prosthetic ski leg for an amputee, comprising:
- a substantially rigid leg portion;
- an ankle portion extending downward and forward from said leg portion, said ankle portion being relatively flexible in a vertical plane parallel to the fore and aft direction, said ankle portion being relatively stiff in bending in other planes or in torsion;
- and
- a prosthetic foot portion extending from a rearward heel section to a forward toe section, said heel ski section having a heel binding mount attached thereto and said toe section having a toe ski binding mount attached thereto, wherein said toe and heel ski binding mounts function to secure said prosthetic ski leg directly to ski bindings wherein the need for a ski boot is eliminated.
A prosthetic foot for use by an amputee, said prosthetic foot being adapted to be secured directly to a ski for use in skiing, comprising:
- a prosthetic foot member extending from a rearward heel section to a forward toe section, said foot member adopted to be operatively secured to the amputee's stump, wherein a first ski binding mount is secured to said heel section, and a second ski binding mount is secured to said toe section, said binding mounts functioning to secure said prosthetic foot directly to ski bindings such that the need for a ski boot to secure said prosthetic foot to a ski is eliminated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.