CN218220401U

CN218220401U - Artificial limb knee joint

Info

Publication number: CN218220401U
Application number: CN202221850682.1U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈建佑
Original assignee: Teh Lin Prosthetic and Orthopaedic Inc
Current assignee: Teh Lin Prosthetic and Orthopaedic Inc
Priority date: 2022-04-15
Filing date: 2022-07-18
Publication date: 2023-01-06
Anticipated expiration: 2032-07-18
Also published as: TWM632591U

Abstract

A prosthetic knee joint comprises a shank link, a thigh link, a rod set and an elastic unit. The shank link has a first front pivot and a first rear pivot, the first rear pivot having a pivot slide shaft extending laterally from side to side. The thigh connecting frame is positioned above the shank connecting frame and is provided with a second front pivoting part and a second rear pivoting part. The rod piece group is arranged between the shank connecting frame and the thigh connecting frame and comprises a front pin joint rod and a rear pin joint rod, wherein the front pin joint rod is pin-jointed between the first front pin joint part and the second front pin joint part, the rear pin joint rod is pin-jointed between the first rear pin joint part and the second rear pin joint part, the rear pin joint rod is provided with a pin joint sliding groove which is pin-jointed with the pin joint sliding shaft of the first rear pin joint part, the pin joint sliding groove is provided with a top groove part which is positioned at the top end and a bottom groove part which is positioned at the bottom end, and the pin joint sliding groove can relatively slide and relatively rotatably contain the pin joint sliding shaft. The elastic unit is used for enabling the pivoting chute to incline to accommodate the pivoting sliding shaft by the bottom groove part.

Description

Artificial limb knee joint

Technical Field

The utility model relates to an artificial limb, in particular to an artificial limb knee joint.

Background

An existing four-link prosthetic knee joint comprises a shank link, a thigh link, and a front pivot rod and a rear pivot rod connected between the shank link and the thigh link, wherein the shank link, the thigh link, the front pivot rod and the rear pivot rod jointly form a four-link mechanism, and the thigh link can move between an upright position and a knee bending position relative to the shank link.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

It is an object of the present invention to provide a prosthetic knee joint that improves at least one of the problems of the prior art.

The artificial knee joint of the present invention comprises a shank link, a thigh link, a rod assembly, and an elastic unit. The shank connecting frame is provided with a first front pivoting part and a first rear pivoting part, and the first rear pivoting part is provided with a pivoting sliding shaft which transversely extends from left to right. The thigh connecting frame is positioned above the shank connecting frame and is provided with a second front pivoting part and a second rear pivoting part. The rod piece group is arranged between the shank connecting frame and the thigh connecting frame, the rod piece group comprises a front pivot rod and a rear pivot rod, the front pivot rod is pivoted between the first front pivot part and the second front pivot part, the rear pivot rod is pivoted between the first rear pivot part and the second rear pivot part, the rear pivot rod is provided with a pivot sliding groove, the pivot sliding groove is pivoted with the pivot sliding shaft of the first rear pivot part, the pivot sliding groove is provided with a top groove part positioned at the top end and a bottom groove part positioned at the bottom end, the pivot sliding groove can relatively slide and relatively rotatably accommodate the pivot sliding shaft, and the thigh connecting frame can move between an upright position and a knee bending position relative to the shank connecting frame through the pivot of the rod piece group. The elastic unit is used for elastically abutting against the rear pivoting rod to drive the thigh connecting frame to move towards the vertical position and drive the rear pivoting rod to move upwards so that the pivoting sliding groove tends to accommodate the pivoting sliding shaft through the bottom groove part.

In some embodiments, the elastic unit is configured to elastically abut against the rear pivot rod in an upward direction, and a contact position between the elastic unit and the rear pivot rod is located forward relative to the pivot sliding shaft.

In some embodiments, the lower leg connecting frame further includes an accommodating tube extending vertically, the accommodating tube has an accommodating space extending vertically and having an upward opening, the elastic unit includes a propping block slidably disposed in the accommodating space of the accommodating tube at least partially and propping against the rear pivot rod, and an elastic member disposed in the accommodating tube and sandwiched between the propping block and the accommodating tube to provide an elastic force.

In some embodiments, a top groove of the pivot chute is provided with a buffer for the pivot sliding shaft of the first rear pivot portion to abut against.

In some embodiments, when the thigh link is in the upright position relative to the shank link, the top slot portion of the pivot chute is located forward relative to the bottom slot portion.

In some embodiments, the total displacement of the pivoting sliding shaft from the bottom slot portion of the pivoting sliding groove to the top slot portion of the pivoting sliding groove is 2-10 mm.

In some embodiments, the total displacement of the pivoting sliding shaft from the bottom slot portion of the pivoting sliding groove to the top slot portion of the pivoting sliding groove is 5-7 mm.

The utility model discloses a pin joint sliding shaft of first back pin joint portion reaches cooperation between the pin joint spout of back pin joint pole, and order about back pin joint pole removes up and makes pin joint spout tendency with bottom slot part holding the pin joint sliding shaft the elastic element makes the prosthetic knee joint can produce the cushioning effect to the forward impact force that the foot bore when landing to, can avoid the user to land the stage at the foot and lose the support because of bent knee angle is too big, in order to promote prosthetic knee joint's safety in utilization.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a prosthetic knee joint of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the embodiment;

fig. 3 is a schematic side view of the embodiment with the thigh link in an upright position;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational schematic view, partially in section, of the embodiment with the thigh link in an upright position;

fig. 5 is a schematic side view of the embodiment shown with the thigh link in a knee bending position;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational, partially cross-sectional, schematic view of the embodiment with the thigh link in a knee bending position;

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of the embodiment, wherein the rear pivot rod of the embodiment moves downward relative to the lower leg link to allow the pivot chute to receive the pivot sliding shaft with the top slot; and

FIG. 8 is a partially sectioned side view of the embodiment showing the rear pivot link moving downward relative to the lower leg link such that the pivot chute receives the pivot slide shaft with the top slot.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1 to 4, an embodiment of the present invention of a prosthetic knee joint 100 includes a shank link 1, a thigh link 2, a rod assembly 3, and an elastic unit 4.

The shank link 1 extends substantially in a vertical direction D1, and the shank link 1 has a first front pivot portion 11 and a first rear pivot portion 12 at the top and arranged in a front-rear direction D3, and a shank link portion 13 at the bottom and adapted for connection to a prosthetic shank (not shown). The first rear pivot portion 12 has a pivot sliding shaft 121 extending laterally in a left-right direction D2.

The thigh link 2 is located above the shank link 1, and the thigh link 2 has a second front pivot 21 and a second rear pivot 22 arranged in a front-rear direction, and a thigh link 23 located at the top and adapted to be connected to a prosthetic thigh (not shown).

The rod set 3 is disposed between the shank link 1 and the thigh link 2, and the rod set 3 includes two front pivot rods 31 pivotally connected between the first front pivot portion 11 and the second front pivot portion 21 and spaced side by side in the left-right direction D2, and a rear pivot rod 32 pivotally connected between the first rear pivot portion 12 and the second rear pivot portion 22. It should be noted that the number of the front pivot rods 31 may be only one or three or more, and is not limited in this embodiment. The rear pivoting rod 32 has a pivoting sliding groove 321 pivotally connected to the pivoting sliding shaft 121 of the first rear pivoting portion 12, the pivoting sliding groove 321 has a top groove portion 321a at the top end and a bottom groove portion 321b at the bottom end, and the pivoting sliding groove 321 can relatively slide and relatively rotatably receive the pivoting sliding shaft 121. The top groove 321a of the pivot sliding slot 321 is provided with a buffer 321c for the pivot sliding shaft 121 of the first rear pivot portion 12 to abut against. The buffer 321c may be made of a high polymer material with a buffering function, such as foam, or other materials with a buffering function. Locate the top slot part 321a of pin joint spout 321 bolster 321c can be used for supplying the pin joint sliding shaft 121 of shank link 1 leans on to support, consequently, works as back pin joint pole 32 moves down and pin joint spout 321 truns into with top slot part 321a holding when the pin joint sliding shaft 121, bolster 321c can produce the cushioning effect, that is to say, pin joint sliding shaft 121 slides relatively extremely can pass through when the top slot part 321a of pin joint spout 321 obtains the buffering bolster 321c.

In detail, the total displacement of the pivoting sliding shaft 121 from the bottom groove 321b of the pivoting sliding groove 321 to the top groove 321a of the pivoting sliding groove 321 is preferably 2 to 10mm, and more preferably 5 to 7mm, and in this embodiment, the total displacement of the pivoting sliding shaft 121 from the bottom groove 321b of the pivoting sliding groove 321 to the top groove 321a of the pivoting sliding groove 321 is 6mm.

The elastic unit 4 is used for elastically abutting against the rear pivot rod 32 upwards, and a contact position between the elastic unit 4 and the rear pivot rod 32 is located forward relative to the pivot sliding shaft 121. The lower leg connecting frame 1 further has an accommodating tube 14 extending vertically and having a bottom formed with the lower leg connecting portion 13, the accommodating tube 14 has an accommodating space 141 extending vertically and having an upward opening, the elastic unit 4 includes a propping block 41 slidably disposed in the accommodating space 141 of the accommodating tube 14 at least partially, and an elastic member 42 disposed in the accommodating tube 14 and sandwiched between the propping block 41 and the accommodating tube 14 to provide an elastic force. The abutting block 41 abuts against the front bottom section of the rear pivoting rod 32, the front bottom section of the rear pivoting rod 32 is located at a front side relative to the pivoting sliding shaft 121, and the elastic member 42 may be, for example, but not limited to, a spring.

Referring to fig. 3 to 6, the thigh link 2 is movable relative to the lower leg link 1 by pivoting the lever assembly 3 between an upright position (see fig. 3) in which the prosthetic thigh is upright relative to the prosthetic lower leg, and a knee-bending position (see fig. 5), in which the top end groove 321a of the pivoting chute 321 is located at a higher front than the bottom end groove 321 b; in the knee bending position, the top of the rear pivot rod 32 is tilted forward, while the bottom front section is pressed downward against the abutting block 41 of the elastic unit 4, and the top of the thigh link frame 2 is tilted forward slightly. Since the rear pivoting lever 32 has a short length and a large forward tilting width, the top thigh link 23 of the thigh link 2 is tilted backward, so that the prosthetic thigh bends relative to the prosthetic calf. When the thigh link 2 of the prosthetic knee joint 100 is in the knee-bending position, the elastic force generated by the elastic member 42 of the elastic unit 4 makes the abutting block 41 abut against the front bottom section of the rear pivot rod 32 upward, so as to prevent the top of the rear pivot rod 32 from tilting forward and drive the thigh link 2 to move toward the upright position in a restoring manner.

Referring to fig. 3 to 4 and 7 to 8, when the prosthetic knee joint 100 bears the positive impact force in the up-down direction D1 during the foot landing stage in the walking process, the rear pivoting rod 32 can move downward relative to the lower leg connecting frame 1, so that the pivoting chute 321 receives the pivoting sliding shaft 121 through the top end groove portion 321a, and at this time, the front section of the bottom of the rear pivoting rod 32 presses downward against the abutting block 41 of the elastic unit 4, as shown in fig. 7 and 8. In this state, the elastic force generated by the elastic element 42 of the elastic unit 4 makes the abutting block 41 abut against the front section of the bottom of the rear pivot rod 32 upwards, so as to drive the rear pivot rod 32 to move upwards, and the pivot sliding slot 321 tends to accommodate the pivot sliding shaft 121 through the bottom slot portion 321 b. In the above process, by the cooperation between the pivoting sliding shaft 121 of the first rear pivoting portion 12 and the pivoting sliding slot 321 of the rear pivoting lever 32, and driving the rear pivoting lever 32 to move upward and making the pivoting sliding slot 321 tend to accommodate the elastic unit 4 of the pivoting sliding shaft 121 with the bottom slot portion 321b, the prosthetic knee joint 100 can generate a buffering effect against a positive impact force applied when the foot touches the ground. In addition, the buffering member 321c disposed in the top groove 321a of the pivoting chute 321 can further enhance the buffering action when the rear pivoting rod 32 moves downward and the pivoting chute 321 is turned to accommodate the pivoting sliding shaft 121 with the bottom groove 321 b. In addition, when the thigh link 2 is at a position other than the upright position (for example, at the knee bending position or at a position other than the upright position and the knee bending position), the pivot sliding grooves 321 may slide relative to the pivot sliding shafts 121 to generate a cushioning effect.

Moreover, when the pivoting chute 321 accommodates the pivoting sliding shaft 121 through the top end groove portion 321a, since the angles of the front pivoting rod 31 and the rear pivoting rod 32 are changed, after the movement amount of the thigh link 2 moving relative to the lower leg link 1 through the pivoting of the rod set 3 reaches a preset value, the rod set 3 is not easy to pivot again, and the thigh link 2 is not easy to move backward relative to the lower leg link 1 again, so that the bending angle of the prosthesis thigh relative to the prosthesis calf at this time is not easy to exceed a preset angle corresponding to the preset value. Therefore, the user can be prevented from losing support due to the fact that the angle of the artificial thigh bent relative to the artificial calf is too large in the foot landing stage, and the use safety of the artificial knee joint 100 is improved. In addition, the preset value and the preset angle can be adjusted according to the requirement, and in detail, the preset value and the preset angle can be adjusted by changing the structure (length, initial angle) of the rod set 3 and/or by changing the pivot point of the rod set 3 with the shank link 1 and the thigh link 2.

To sum up, the present invention provides a cooperation between the pivoting sliding shaft 121 of the first rear pivoting portion 12 and the pivoting sliding groove 321 of the rear pivoting rod 32, and driving the rear pivoting rod 32 to move upward and make the pivoting sliding groove 321 inclined to the bottom groove 321b accommodating the elastic unit 4 of the pivoting sliding shaft 121, so that the prosthetic knee joint 100 can generate a buffering effect against the forward impact force borne when the foot lands, and can avoid the user from losing support due to too large knee bending angle in the stage of the foot landing, so as to improve the safety of the prosthetic knee joint 100.

The above description is only an example of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention should not be limited thereby, and all the simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the claims and the description of the present invention are still within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A prosthetic knee joint, comprising:

the crus connecting frame is provided with a first front pivoting part and a first rear pivoting part, and the first rear pivoting part is provided with a pivoting sliding shaft which transversely extends left and right;

a thigh connecting frame which is positioned above the shank connecting frame and is provided with a second front pivoting part and a second rear pivoting part;

the lever set is arranged between the shank connecting frame and the thigh connecting frame and comprises a front pivoting lever pivoted between the first front pivoting part and the second front pivoting part and a rear pivoting lever pivoted between the first rear pivoting part and the second rear pivoting part, the rear pivoting lever is provided with a pivoting chute pivoted with the pivoting sliding shaft of the first rear pivoting part, the pivoting chute is provided with a top groove part at the top end and a bottom groove part at the bottom end, the pivoting chute can relatively slide and relatively rotatably accommodate the pivoting sliding shaft, and the thigh connecting frame can move between an upright position and a knee bending position relative to the shank connecting frame through the pivoting of the lever set; and

and the elastic unit is used for elastically abutting against the rear pivoting rod so as to drive the thigh connecting frame to move towards the upright position and drive the rear pivoting rod to move upwards, so that the pivoting sliding chute is inclined to accommodate the pivoting sliding shaft by the bottom end groove part.

2. The prosthetic knee joint of claim 1, wherein: the elastic unit is used for upwards and elastically propping against the rear pivoting rod, and the contact position between the elastic unit and the rear pivoting rod is positioned ahead relative to the pivoting sliding shaft.

3. The prosthetic knee joint of claim 2, wherein: the shank connecting frame is further provided with an accommodating cylinder extending up and down, the accommodating cylinder is provided with an accommodating space extending up and down and an opening facing upwards, and the elastic unit comprises a propping block which can slide and is at least partially arranged in the accommodating space of the accommodating cylinder and props against the rear pivoting rod, and an elastic piece which is arranged in the accommodating cylinder and clamped between the propping block and the accommodating cylinder so as to provide elastic force.

4. The prosthetic knee joint of claim 1, wherein: the top slot part of pin joint spout is equipped with and is used for supplying the pin joint sliding shaft of first back pin joint portion leans on the bolster that supports.

5. The prosthetic knee joint of claim 1, wherein: when the thigh link is in the upright position relative to the shank link, the top slot portion of the pivot chute is located forward relative to the bottom slot portion.

6. The prosthetic knee joint of claim 1, wherein: the total displacement of the pin joint sliding shaft from the bottom end groove part of the pin joint sliding chute to the top end groove part of the pin joint sliding chute is 2-10 mm.

7. The prosthetic knee joint of claim 6, wherein: the total displacement of the pin joint sliding shaft from the bottom end groove part of the pin joint sliding chute to the top end groove part of the pin joint sliding chute is 5-7 mm.