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Upper limb prosthesis

  • US 6,361,570 B1
  • Filed: 04/24/2000
  • Issued: 03/26/2002
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/24/1997
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. An articular endoskeletal prosthesis for providing a user with a mechanically operable pivoting and rotating wrist joint, said prosthesis having at least one elongate forearm endoskeletal tube upper limb member with a proximal end portion having a pivotal connection to a support body therefor, one of said upper limb member proximal end portion and said support body having a fixed worm gear wheel provided with gear teeth and the other a drive motor having a drive output worm extending generally tangentially of said fixed worm gear wheel in captive engagement with said gear teeth of said fixed worm gear wheel so that when said drive motor is operated, in use of the prosthesis, said drive output worm moves around said fixed worm gear wheel so as to pivot said upper limb member about its pivotal connection relative to said support body wherein said wrist joint is provided, at its up-joint side with a rotary actuator connection which comprises a fixed stump portion fixedly mounted in the distal end of a forearm endoskeletal tube, and having at said distal end a ring gear, a tubular wrist flexor support body having an open end portion rotatably mounted on said stump portion via annular bearings, and a closed end portion mounting, on its outside face, the wrist flexor fixed worm gear wheel, and on its inside face a spur pinion gear drive unit, wherein said drive unit extends parallel to, but offset from the central longitudinal rotational axis of said wrist flexor support body for driving engagement of the spur pinion gear thereof with said ring gear so that operation of the drive motor of said drive unit causes, in use of the prosthesis, the wrist flexor support body to rotate about said stump portion.

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