Molded elastomeric prosthetic foot having energy-storing articulated keel
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A prosthetic foot, which comprises:
- (a) a mass of resilient flexible elastomer formed into the general shape of a human foot, and(b) an articulated keel contained in said mass,said keel having at least two links,said keel having energy-storing resilient means at adjacent ends of said links,said energy-storing resilient means being so related to said links as to store energy when a forward link pivots upwardly relative to the link rearwardly adjacent thereto, as the stance phase of a walking or running movement is approached, and then during toe-off to release energy and cause such forward link to pivot downwardly relative to said link rearwardly adjacent thereto,said resilient means and said mass cooperating with each other to alternately store and release energy during walking and running.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A prosthetic foot is disclosed which comprises an articulated heel. The heel comprises a plurality of links and has energy-storing resilient devices at adjacent ends of the links.
-
Citations
28 Claims
-
1. A prosthetic foot, which comprises:
-
(a) a mass of resilient flexible elastomer formed into the general shape of a human foot, and (b) an articulated keel contained in said mass, said keel having at least two links, said keel having energy-storing resilient means at adjacent ends of said links, said energy-storing resilient means being so related to said links as to store energy when a forward link pivots upwardly relative to the link rearwardly adjacent thereto, as the stance phase of a walking or running movement is approached, and then during toe-off to release energy and cause such forward link to pivot downwardly relative to said link rearwardly adjacent thereto, said resilient means and said mass cooperating with each other to alternately store and release energy during walking and running. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
-
-
5. A prosthetic foot, which comprises:
-
(a) a mass of resilient flexible elastomer molded into the general shape of a human foot, (b) a first keel link molded into said mass and embedded therein, said first link being adapted to be fixedly connected to the lower end of a prosthetic leg, (c) a second keel link disposed forwardly of said first keel link, said second link also being molded into said mass and being embedded therein, said second link being spaced sufficiently far from said first link that said links may pivot relative to each other about a horizontal pivot axis extending perpendicular to the prosthetic foot, (d) a length of strong, flexible belting embedded in said mass and disposed beneath said first and second links, (e) means to connect said belting to said first and second links to form a joint therebetween, said joint incorporating said pivot axis at a region of said belting between said links, and (f) energy-storing compressible means disposed above said belting and between adjacent ends of said links, said energy-storing compressible means occupying space between said links so as to be compressed between the ends of said links when said second link pivots upwardly relative to said first link as the stance phase of a walking or running motion is approached, said energy-storing compressible means releasing energy during toe-off, said energy-storing compressible means and said mass of resilient flexible elastomer cooperating with each other in alternately storing and releasing energy during walking and running motions so as to reduce fatigue and enhance comfort of the amputee. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. An energy-storing molded prosthetic SACH foot, which comprises:
-
(a) a first keel link disposed in the ankle region of the foot and formed of strong rigid material, (b) a second keel link disposed forwardly of said first link, (c) a third keel link disposed forwardly of said second link, (d) strong flexible inelastic belting material disposed immediately beneath said first, second and third keel links, (e) means to connect said belting material to said links to effect inelastic connections therebetween, said belting material pivoting at regions between said links, during walking and running actions of the amputee, about horizontal axes extending perpendicularly to the foot through portions of said belting material between said links, (f) a first energy-storing compressible element disposed between said first and second links above said belting material and adapted to be compressed therebetween when said second link pivots upwardly relative to said first link, (g) a second energy-storing compressible element disposed between said second and third links above said belting material and adapted to be compressed therebetween when said third link pivots upwardly relative to said second link, and (h) a mass of flexible resilient elastomer molded around said keel in the general shape of a human foot, said elastomeric mass embedding said keel and said belting material, said elastomeric mass being thick both above and below said keel except at the upper part of the ankle region of said keel, said elastomeric mass being soft below said first link and being relatively hard above and below said second and third links and forwardly of said third link. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
-
-
23. The invention as claimed in 15, in which the foam interior of said elastomeric mass extends into the spaces between said links and into contact with said energy-storing compressible means.
Specification