Prosthetic foot with tunable performance
First Claim
1. A prosthetic foot comprising:
- a longitudinally extending foot keel having a forefoot portion at one end, a hindfoot portion at an opposite end and a relatively long midfoot portion extending between and upwardly arched from said forefoot and hindfoot portions;
a releasable fastener;
an upstanding calf shank including a downward convexly curved lower end which is attached at a portion thereof to a proximate, posterior surface of said keel midfoot portion by way of said releasable fastener; and
means for adjusting the alignment of said calf shank and said foot keel with respect to one another in the longitudinal direction of said foot keel for tuning the performance of said prosthetic foot to be task specific.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A prosthetic foot incorporate a foot keel and a calf shank connected to the foot keel to form an ankle joint area of the prosthetic foot. The foot keel has forefoot and hindfoot portions and a relatively long midfoot portion extending between and upwardly arched from the forefoot and midfoot portions. The calf shank includes a downward convexly curved lower end which is attached at a portion thereof to the keel midfoot portion by way of an adjustable fastener arrangement. The foot has biplanar motion capability and, in a preferred form, also has high low dynamic response characteristics. The adjustable fastener arrangement permits adjustment of the alignment of the calf shank and the foot keel with respect to one another in the longitudinal direction of the foot keel for tuning the performance of the prosthetic foot.
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Citations
61 Claims
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1. A prosthetic foot comprising:
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a longitudinally extending foot keel having a forefoot portion at one end, a hindfoot portion at an opposite end and a relatively long midfoot portion extending between and upwardly arched from said forefoot and hindfoot portions;
a releasable fastener;
an upstanding calf shank including a downward convexly curved lower end which is attached at a portion thereof to a proximate, posterior surface of said keel midfoot portion by way of said releasable fastener; and
means for adjusting the alignment of said calf shank and said foot keel with respect to one another in the longitudinal direction of said foot keel for tuning the performance of said prosthetic foot to be task specific. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A prosthetic foot comprising:
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a longitudinally extending foot keel having a forefoot portion at one end, a hindfoot portion at an opposite end and a relatively long midfoot portion extending between and upwardly arched from said forefoot and hindfoot portions;
a calf shank including a downward convexly curved lower end; and
an adjustable fastening arrangement attaching said curved lower end of said calf shank to said midfoot portion of said keel to form an ankle joint area of said prosthetic foot; and
wherein said adjustable fastening arrangement permits adjustment of the alignment of said calf shank and said foot keel with respect to one another in the longitudinal direction of said foot keel for tuning the performance of said prosthetic foot. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
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- 34. A foot keel for a prosthetic foot which can be tuned for improved performance for a specific task, said foot keel comprising a longitudinally extending, semi-rigid, resilient member having a forefoot portion at one end, a hindfoot portion at an opposite end and a relatively long midfoot portion extending between and upwardly arched from said forefoot and hindfoot portions, and wherein a posterior surface of said keel midfoot portion is provided with a fastening arrangement permitting a calf shank to be adjustably aligned with respect to said foot keel in the longitudinal direction and attached to said foot keel for tuning the performance of the prosthetic foot formed thereby.
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55. A calf shank for a prosthetic foot comprising:
an elongated, semi-rigid, resilient member having an outward convexly curved portion at one end of said member for attachment to a foot keel to form an ankle area of the prosthetic foot, an opposite end of said member having means for connecting said calf shank to a supporting structure on an amputee'"'"'s leg, and wherein said convexly curved portion at said one end of said member is provided with a fastening arrangement permitting the calf shank to be adjustably aligned with respect to the foot keel in the longitudinal direction of the foot keel and attached to the foot keel for tuning the performance of the prosthetic foot formed by the foot keel and said calf shank. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A method of tuning the performance of a prosthetic foot to be task specific, wherein said prosthetic foot comprises a longitudinally extending foot keel having a forefoot portion at one end, a hindfoot portion at an opposite end and a relatively long midfoot portion extending between and upwardly arched from said forefoot and hindfoot portions, and a calf shank including a downward convexly curved lower end attached at a portion thereof to said keel midportion by way of an adjustable fastening arrangement to form an ankle joint area of said prosthetic foot, said method comprising adjusting the alignment of said calf shank and said foot keel with respect to one another in the longitudinal direction of said foot keel, and securing said calf shank and said foot keel to one another in the adjusted position with said fastening arrangement.
Specification