Prosthetic socket with self-contained vacuum reservoir

A prosthetic socket adapted for vacuum suspension of a prosthetic device relative to a residual limb, said socket comprising:

• a rigid, structural, load-bearing, cup-shaped socket member defining a substantially closed distal end, an inner volume terminating distally at said distal end for receiving a distal portion of a residual limb, and an open proximal end arranged to admit a distal portion of a residual limb into the inner volume;
• a vacuum reservoir chamber located externally of and carried by said socket member, the vacuum chamber defining a constant and fixed volume, said vacuum reservoir chamber defined at least in part by a rigid chamber wall section hermetically sealed and directly attached to an outer side wall of the socket member;
• said chamber wall section being rigid and inflexible so as to avoid deflection when the pressure in the reservoir chamber varies during implementation of the prosthetic socket;
• an evacuation port in communication with said reservoir chamber for enabling establishment of a partial vacuum within said reservoir chamber;
• and
• at least one vacuum transfer port defined by and extending through a thickness of the socket member, and communicating said reservoir chamber with said inner volume of said socket member for enabling transfer of a partial vacuum within said reservoir chamber into said inner volume, each of said at least one vacuum transfer port being located at the distal end of the socket member and being substantially smaller in cross section than said distal end which is closed except for said at least one vacuum transfer port.

A prosthetic socket comprising:

• a rigid, structural, load-bearing, air impervious inner wall in the form of a close ended cup having an open inner wall proximal end and a closed inner wall distal end area, said inner wall defining an inner volume adapted to contain a distal portion of a residual limb, and said inner wall proximal end adapted to receive a distal portion of a residual limb to be located within said inner volume;
• a generally continuously cup-shaped, rigid, air impervious structural, load-bearing outer wall section having an outer wall section proximal end and a closed outer wall section distal end area;
• a hermetic sealing connection between an outer side of said inner wall and an inner side of said outer wall section located proximally relative to said closed outer wall section distal end area;
• a vacuum reservoir chamber defined between an outer side of said inner wall and an inner side of said outer wall section, said chamber hermetically sealed along said hermetic sealing connection, the chamber defining a constant and fixed volume;
• at least one aperture in said inner wall communicating the inner volume of said inner wall with said chamber, the aperture being substantially smaller in cross-section than the closed inner wall distal end area;
• a port communicating said chamber with an area external of said outer wall section, said port communicating to an area outside the outer wall section via a one-way check valve operational so as to selectively permit evacuation of air out of the chamber but not ingress of air into the chamber;
• whereby a partial vacuum may be established within said chamber via said port when a residual limb is contained in said inner volume of said inner wall and said partial vacuum may be communicated to said inner volume of said inner wall to effect a vacuum suspension of the prosthetic socket on the residual limb via said at least one aperture in said inner wall.