Prosthetic ankle and walking system
First Claim
1. A prosthetic ankle for use between a pylon and a prosthetic foot to support a person'"'"'s weight on the ground, the prosthetic ankle comprising:
- an upper leg adapted for connecting to a lower end of the pylon;
a lower leg adapted for connecting to an upper surface of the prosthetic foot; and
an interconnecting member interconnecting the upper and lower legs and integrally formed with one another in a generally C-shaped flexure member, the interconnecting member being formed by a curved resilient leg extending from a forward edge of the upper leg to a forward edge of the lower leg in a rearwardly-facing arc to resiliently bias the upper and lower legs apart from one another as the legs rotate about a medial/lateral axis positioned forward of the pylon, the legs being spaced apart from each other when the person'"'"'s weight is off the prosthetic ankle and the legs rotating toward one another about the medial/lateral axis when the person'"'"'s weight is placed on the prosthetic ankle at heel strike, thereby allowing a toe portion of the prosthetic foot to rotate toward the ground at heel strike, the curved leg narrowing between the forward edges of the upper and lower legs to facilitate medial/lateral canting of the prosthetic foot with respect to the pylon.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An inventive prosthetic ankle for use between a pylon and a prosthetic foot to support a person'"'"'s weight on the ground comprises an integrally formed, generally C-shaped carbon-fiber composite flexure member having upper, lower and curved legs. The upper leg is connected to a lower end of the pylon, and the lower leg is connected to an upper surface of the prosthetic foot. The curved leg interconnects the upper and lower legs, with the curved leg extending from a forward edge of the upper leg to a forward edge of the lower leg in a rearwardly-facing arc about a medial/lateral axis positioned forward of the pylon. The curved leg is dog-boned to facilitate canting of the pylon with respect to the prosthetic foot in the medial/lateral plane. Also, the curved leg is resilient to resiliently bias the upper and lower legs apart from one another so the legs are positioned in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to one another when the person'"'"'s weight is off the prosthetic ankle. The resilient biasing also allows the upper and lower legs to pivot toward one another about the medial/lateral axis when the person'"'"'s weight is on the prosthetic ankle at heel strike. As a result, the prosthetic foot falls flat on the ground soon after heel strike. A limit strap coupled between the upper and lower legs limits rotation of the upper and lower legs away from each other about the medial/lateral axis so the flexure characteristics experienced by an amputee during step-off are substantially determined by the flexure characteristics of the toe portion of the prosthetic foot.
145 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A prosthetic ankle for use between a pylon and a prosthetic foot to support a person'"'"'s weight on the ground, the prosthetic ankle comprising:
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an upper leg adapted for connecting to a lower end of the pylon;
a lower leg adapted for connecting to an upper surface of the prosthetic foot; and
an interconnecting member interconnecting the upper and lower legs and integrally formed with one another in a generally C-shaped flexure member, the interconnecting member being formed by a curved resilient leg extending from a forward edge of the upper leg to a forward edge of the lower leg in a rearwardly-facing arc to resiliently bias the upper and lower legs apart from one another as the legs rotate about a medial/lateral axis positioned forward of the pylon, the legs being spaced apart from each other when the person'"'"'s weight is off the prosthetic ankle and the legs rotating toward one another about the medial/lateral axis when the person'"'"'s weight is placed on the prosthetic ankle at heel strike, thereby allowing a toe portion of the prosthetic foot to rotate toward the ground at heel strike, the curved leg narrowing between the forward edges of the upper and lower legs to facilitate medial/lateral canting of the prosthetic foot with respect to the pylon. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A prosthetic ankle for use between a pylon and a prosthetic foot to support a person'"'"'s weight on the ground, the prosthetic ankle comprising:
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an upper leg adapted for connecting to a lower end of the pylon;
a lower leg adapted for connecting to an upper surface of the prosthetic foot;
an interconnecting member interconnecting the upper and lower legs so the legs rotate about a medial/lateral axis positioned forward of the pylon, the interconnecting member resiliently biasing the legs apart from one another so the legs are positioned in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to one another when the person'"'"'s weight is off the prosthetic ankle and so the legs rotate toward one another about the medial/lateral axis when the person'"'"'s weight is placed on the prosthetic ankle at heel strike, thereby allowing a toe portion of the prosthetic foot to rotate toward the ground at heel strike; and
a limit device coupled between the upper and lower legs, the limit device limiting rotation of the upper and lower legs away from each other about the medial/lateral axis so the flexure characteristics experienced by the person during step-off are substantially determined by the flexure characteristics of the toe portion of the prosthetic foot. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A prosthetic ankle for use between a pylon and a prosthetic foot to support a person'"'"'s weight on the ground, the prosthetic ankle comprising:
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an upper leg adapted for connecting to a lower end of the pylon at a variable torque arm distance from a medial/lateral axis so the flexure characteristics experienced by the person are adjustable;
a lower leg adapted for connecting to an upper surface of the prosthetic foot at a variable torque arm distance from the medial/lateral axis so the flexure characteristics experienced by the person are adjustable; and
an interconnecting member interconnecting the upper and lower legs so the legs rotate about the medial/lateral axis positioned forward of the pylon, the interconnecting member resiliently biasing the legs apart from one another so the legs are positioned in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to one another when the person'"'"'s weight is off the prosthetic ankle and so the legs rotate toward one another about the medial/lateral axis when the person'"'"'s weight is placed on the prosthetic ankle at heel strike, thereby allowing a toe portion of the prosthetic foot to rotate toward the ground at heel strike. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification