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US 5,669,873 AGranted
Flexible knee and leg brace
OwnerHarold E. Towsleyinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerHarold E. Towsleyinventor
Estimating the term…
An orthopedic brace is formed from at least two relatively rigid hollowed-out parallelepiped portions joined along a relatively thin web of flexible material common to the two portions to provide pivotal motion between the two portions. Relative pivotal movement between the two portions is selectively restricted by an elongated threaded rod which is pivotably affixed at one end to one of the parallelepiped portions and extends through a portion of the other parallelepiped portion with a nut threadedly engaging the rod for adjustment therealong to selectively pull the other parallelepiped portion angularly toward the one parallelepiped portion. The number of such portions joined together is somewhat arbitrary. In the preferred knee brace form, there are four parallelepiped portions each joined to another to form a pair by a relatively thin web and each pair having a threaded rod and nut for selectively restricting pivotal movement between the portions of the pair. The pairs are similarly joined to a hinge arrangement allowing normal knee motion. The normal knee motion may be restricted if desired.
An externally applied non-invasive body appliance adapted to span a body joint comprising:
An orthopedic brace including at least two hollowed-out parallelepiped portions joined along a bending moment axis comprising a relatively thin web of flexible material common to the two portions to provide relative pivotal motion between the two portions, and means for selectively restricting relative pivotal movement between the two portions including means engaging each of the two portions for pulling the two portions angularly about the bending moment axis toward one another.
An orthopedic appliance having at least four articulated segments, a first pair of segments pivotably joined for relative angular movement about a first bending moment axis, a second pair of segments pivotably joined for relative angular movement about a second bending moment axis generally parallel to said first bending moment axis, and one of each pair pivotably joined together for angular movement about a third flexion axis generally orthogonal to the first and second bending moment axes, each pair of segments having means for selectively restricting relative pivotal movement between the two pair segments.
An orthopedic appliance for application to a leg of a human being spanning the knee joint thereof and comprising two elongated relatively rigid sections joined at respective first ends for relative pivotal motion about an axis, two straps fastened to one section and adapted to encircle the leg thigh, two straps fastened to the other section and adapted to encircle the lower leg portion with the axis of pivotal motion between the sections being collinear with the axis of motion of the leg knee joint, and means associated with each segment for selectively deforming the associated segment to thereby apply a bending moment to the leg.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.