Prosthetic foot with tunable performance and improved vertical load/shock absorption
First Claim
1. A longitudinally extending foot keel for a prosthetic foot, the foot keel comprising:
- a hindfoot portion having a posterior plantar surface weight bearing area, a forefoot portion having an anterior plantar surface weight bearing area and an upwardly arched midfoot portion monolithically formed with the forefoot portion and extending between the forefoot and hindfoot portions,wherein a posterior end of the upwardly arched midfoot portion is monolithically formed with a single coil extending downwardly with a posterior facing convexly curved surface from the upwardly arched midfoot portion and extending anteriorly with a downward facing convexly curved surface to form a coiled spring which terminates in a free end, the coiled spring being compressed to absorb and expanded to return vertical load during use of the foot keel in a prosthetic foot, andwherein an anterior end of the hindfoot portion includes an expansion joint hole extending through said hindfoot portion of the foot keel between dorsal and plantar surfaces thereof with an expansion joint extending posteriorly from said expansion joint hole to a posterior edge of the foot keel to form plural expansion struts which create improved biplanar motion capability of the posterior weight bearing area in the prosthetic foot in gait.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A prosthetic foot (64) incorporates a foot keel (65) and a calf shank (73) connected to the foot keel to form an ankle joint area (74) of the prosthetic foot. The foot keel has forefoot and hindfoot portions (67, 66) and a relatively long midfoot portion (68) 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 (75). 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. The upwardly arched midportion of the foot keel, in addition to absorbing energy from vertical loading by expansion, can be formed with a coiled spring (69) which is compressed to absorb and expanded to return vertical load during use of the prosthetic in wide range of activities from walking to running and jumping.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A longitudinally extending foot keel for a prosthetic foot, the foot keel comprising:
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a hindfoot portion having a posterior plantar surface weight bearing area, a forefoot portion having an anterior plantar surface weight bearing area and an upwardly arched midfoot portion monolithically formed with the forefoot portion and extending between the forefoot and hindfoot portions, wherein a posterior end of the upwardly arched midfoot portion is monolithically formed with a single coil extending downwardly with a posterior facing convexly curved surface from the upwardly arched midfoot portion and extending anteriorly with a downward facing convexly curved surface to form a coiled spring which terminates in a free end, the coiled spring being compressed to absorb and expanded to return vertical load during use of the foot keel in a prosthetic foot, and wherein an anterior end of the hindfoot portion includes an expansion joint hole extending through said hindfoot portion of the foot keel between dorsal and plantar surfaces thereof with an expansion joint extending posteriorly from said expansion joint hole to a posterior edge of the foot keel to form plural expansion struts which create improved biplanar motion capability of the posterior weight bearing area in the prosthetic foot in gait. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A prosthetic foot comprising:
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a longitudinally extending foot keel including a hindfoot portion having a posterior plantar surface weight bearing area, a forefoot portion having an anterior plantar surface weight bearing area and an upwardly arched midfoot portion monolithically formed with the forefoot portion and extending between the forefoot and hindfoot portions, wherein a posterior end of the upwardly arched midfoot portion is monolithically formed with a single coil extending downwardly with a posterior facing convexly curved surface from the upwardly arched midfoot portion and extending anteriorly with a downward facing convexly curved surface to form a coiled spring which terminates in a free end, the coiled spring being compressed to absorb and expanded to return vertical load during use of the prosthetic foot, and wherein an anterior end of the hindfoot portion includes an expansion joint hole extending through said hindfoot portion of the foot keel between dorsal and plantar surfaces thereof with an expansion joint extending posteriorly from said expansion joint hole to a posterior end of the foot keel to form plural expansion struts which create improved biplanar motion capability of the posterior weight bearing area in the prosthetic foot in gait. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A prosthetic foot comprising:
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a longitudinally extending foot keel including posterior and anterior plantar surface weight bearing areas and a non-weight bearing arch shaped midportion extending between the weight bearing areas, wherein the midportion is formed with a coiled spring which is compressed to absorb and expanded to return vertical load during use of the prosthetic foot, the prosthetic foot further comprising a resilient, upstanding calf shank having a downward, anteriorly facing convexly curved lower end coupled to the foot keel to form an ankle joint area of the prosthetic foot, the calf shank extending upward to form a lower, prosthetic part of a leg above the ankle joint area for connection with a supporting structure on a person'"'"'s leg stump, wherein the calf shank above the ankle joint area is also anteriorly facing convexly curved, and wherein an anterior of the posterior weight bearing includes an expansion joint hole extending through said foot keel between dorsal and plantar surfaces thereof with an expansion joint extending posteriorly from said expansion joint hole to a posterior edge of the foot keel to form plural expansion struts which create improved biplanar motion capability of the posterior weight bearing area in the prosthetic foot in gait.
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18. A prosthetic foot comprising:
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a longitudinally extending foot keel including posterior and anterior plantar surface weight bearing areas and a non-weight bearing arch shaped midportion extending between the weight bearing areas, wherein the midportion is formed with a coiled spring which is compressed to absorb and expanded to return vertical load during use of the prosthetic foot, the prosthetic foot further comprising a resilient, upstanding calf shank having a downward, anteriorly facing convexly curved lower end coupled to the foot keel to form an ankle joint area of the prosthetic foot, the calf shank extending upward to form a lower, prosthetic part of a leg above the ankle joint area for connection with a supporting structure on a person'"'"'s leg stump, a fastening arrangement coupling the calf shank to the foot keel, the fastening arrangement including means for adjusting the inclination at which the calf shank is coupled to the foot keel is the longitudinal direction of the foot keel, and wherein an anterior of the posterior weight bearing includes an expansion joint hole extending through said foot keel between dorsal and plantar surfaces thereof with an expansion joint extending posteriorly from said expansion joint hole to a posterior edge of the foot keel to form plural expansion struts which create improved biplanar motion capability of the posterior weight bearing area in the prosthetic foot in gait.
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19. A method of absorbing and returning vertical load in a prosthetic foot during varied activities, wherein the prosthetic foot has a foot keel with a hindfoot portion having a posterior plantar surface weight bearing area, a forefoot portion having an anterior plantar surface weight bearing area and an upwardly arched midfoot portion extending between the forefoot and hindfoot portions, wherein a posterior end of the upwardly arched midfoot portion is monolithically formed with a single coil extending downwardly with a posterior facing convexly curved surface from the upwardly arched midfoot portion and extending anteriorly with a downward facing convexly curved surface to form a coiled spring which terminates in a free end, and wherein an anterior end of the hindfoot portion includes an expansion joint hole extending through said hindfoot portion of the foot keel between dorsal and plantar surfaces thereof with an expansion joint extending posteriorly from said expansion joint hole to a posterior edge of the foot keel to form plural expansion struts which create improved biplanar motion capability of the posterior weight bearing area in the prosthetic foot in gait the method including:
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elastically loading the upwardly arched midfoot portion by expansion and the coiled spring which terminates in a free end of the midfoot portion by compression in response to vertically directed forces on the prosthetic foot, and returning energy stored by the upwardly arched midfoot portion and the compressed coiled spring of the midfoot portion upon lowering the vertically directed forces on the prosthetic foot. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification