Bi-modal ankle-foot device
AssigneeNorthwestern University
InventorsAndrew H. Hansen, Dudley S. Childress
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bi-modal ankle-foot device that provides a curved effective shape appropriate for walking and a flattened effective shape for standing. The bi-modal ankle-foot device includes a foot piece and a lockable ankle joint connected to the flat foot piece, the ankle joint and foot piece cooperating to provide a curved shape for walking when the ankle joint is unlocked and to provide a flattened shape for standing when the ankle joint is locked.
Claims32
A bi-modal ankle-foot device comprising:
- a pylon;
- a rigid foot piece;
- an ankle joint pivotably connecting the pylon to the foot piece so that the foot piece is rotatable relative to the pylon between plantarflexed and dorsiflexed positions;
- an ankle joint locking mechanism for releasably locking the ankle joint at any angular orientation of the foot piece to the pylon between the plantarflexed and dorsiflexed positions, the locking mechanism having both a standing mode of operation where the ankle joint is locked and a walking mode of operation where the ankle joint is unlocked;
- and an actuator for the locking mechanism controlled remotely from the ankle joint.
A bi-modal ankle-foot prosthetic or orthotic device comprising:
- a pylon;
- a rigid foot piece;
- an ankle joint pivotably connecting the pylon to the foot piece so that the foot piece is rotatable relative to the pylon between plantarflexed and dorsiflexed positions;
- an ankle joint locking mechanism for releasably locking the ankle joint at any angular orientation of the foot piece to the pylon between the plantarflexed and dorsiflexed positions in response to user or sensor input, the locking mechanism having both a standing mode of operation where the ankle joint is locked and a walking mode of operation where the ankle joint is unlocked;
- and an actuator for the locking mechanism controlled remotely from the ankle joint.
A method of controlling mode of movement of an ankle-foot joint comprising a pylon, a rigid foot piece, an ankle joint pivotably connecting the pylon to the foot piece so that the foot piece is rotatable relative to the pylon between plantarflexed and dorsiflexed positions, an ankle joint locking mechanism for releasably locking the ankle joint at any angular orientation between the plantarflexed and dorsiflexed positions, and an actuator for the locking mechanism controlled remotely from the ankle joint, the method comprising controlling the ankle joint locking mechanism in response to user or sensor input to both unlock the ankle joint to enable it to cooperate with a foot piece for walking and lock the ankle joint for standing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.