Prosthetic foot with tunable performance
First Claim
1. A prosthetic foot comprising:
- a longitudinally extending foot keel having forefoot, midfoot and hindfoot portions;
a resilient, upstanding calf shank having a lower end connected to the foot keel and an upper end to connect with a supporting structure on an amputee'"'"'s leg, the upper end being movable longitudinally of the foot keel in response to force loading and unloading of the calf shank during use of the prosthetic foot;
a device to limit the anterior, longitudinal motion of the upper end of the calf shank during use of the prosthetic foot in response to a force loading on the calf shank greater than that encountered in a normal gait cycle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A prosthetic foot (190) incorporates a foot keel (192) and a resilient calf shank (193) with its lower end connected to the foot keel to form an ankle joint of the prosthetic foot. The calf shank extends upward from the foot keel by way of an anterior facing convexly curved portion (195) of the shank, and is secured to the foot keel by way of a coupling element (194). The lower end of the shank is reversely curved (196) and housed by a reversely curved portion of the coupling element. A posterior calf device (191) has a cable (204) which is untensioned in a normal gait cycle but tensioned by a force loading on the prosthesis greater than 120% of body weight of the user to limit, e.g. stop, further anterior motion of the upper end of the shank.
46 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A prosthetic foot comprising:
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a longitudinally extending foot keel having forefoot, midfoot and hindfoot portions;
a resilient, upstanding calf shank having a lower end connected to the foot keel and an upper end to connect with a supporting structure on an amputee'"'"'s leg, the upper end being movable longitudinally of the foot keel in response to force loading and unloading of the calf shank during use of the prosthetic foot;
a device to limit the anterior, longitudinal motion of the upper end of the calf shank during use of the prosthetic foot in response to a force loading on the calf shank greater than that encountered in a normal gait cycle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for a lower extremity prosthesis comprising:
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a longitudinally extending foot;
an ankle;
an upstanding shank extending upward from the ankle;
wherein the ankle and shank are formed by a resilient member having a reversely curved lower end secured to the foot and extending upward from the foot by way of an anterior facing convexly curved portion of the member, and wherein a device is provided to limit the anterior, longitudinal motion of the upper end of the resilient member during use of the prosthesis in response to a force loading on the resilient member greater than that encountered in a normal gait cycle.
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22. The system according to claim 22, wherein said device limits the anterior, longitudinal motion of the upper end of the resilient member only when a force loading on the prosthesis is greater than 120% of body weight of the user.
Specification