JP3272480B2 - Prostheses using washers and washers - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washer which is interposed at the center of rotation between two plate-like objects relatively rotating about a shaft and has a special structure for regulating the rotation angle thereof . The washer
The prosthesis used .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Rotatably connecting the ends of two plate-like objects is required not only in general industrial equipment but also in various fields. For example, as the aging society progresses, more and more people suffer from knee joint disease, and one of the measures to reduce the burden on the knee is to use a prosthesis. Similarly, when the tough body is damaged in sports or the like, the prosthetic device is also used. For these prostheses, two or more plate-like objects that rotate relatively around a pivot portion are used.

[0003] Conventionally, plate members are connected by forming a shaft insertion hole in each plate member, penetrating a shaft member such as a bolt or an eyelet into both holes, and allowing both plate members to rotate freely. Is bound to. And, in order to make each plate-like object rotate smoothly around the shaft member, a plate-like washer is often interposed between both plate-like objects. By interposing a flat washer between the two plate-like objects in this way, both plate-like objects can easily rotate relative to each other in all directions about the shaft member.

[0004] In such a plate-like object connected via a washer, it is sometimes desired to limit the rotation range thereof, for example, as in the above-mentioned prosthesis. In this case, a protruding piece is provided on one plate-shaped object, and the protruding piece is brought into contact with a side end surface of the other plate-shaped object to regulate the rotation angle. Generally, as a method of providing the protruding piece, a method such as forming the protruding piece integrally with the plate material at the time of manufacturing the plate-like material or punching a stud with a hole in the plate-like material is adopted. Is done.

[0005]

However, all of the above-mentioned methods produce a plate having a special structure having a protruding piece, and a commercially available plate cannot be used as it is. In particular, in the latter method, drilling work and tacking work are added, which leads to an increase in cost. In addition, a washer is always interposed between the two plate-shaped objects in order to smoothly rotate the plate-shaped objects.

On the other hand, in recent years, reinforced fiber composite materials having characteristics of lower density and higher rigidity than metal materials have been increasingly used. When the same fiber-reinforced composite material is used as the plate-like material, the above-described method of providing a projecting piece in advance on the surface of the plate-like material makes it difficult to secure mechanical properties, leading to an increase in design and manufacturing costs. In addition, when forming a protruding piece by punching after drilling a hole, the reinforcing fiber of the plate-like material is cut at the same part when drilling the hole, so it is inevitable that the mechanical properties of that part decrease. In addition, since a load is repeatedly applied to the interface between the rivet and the plate-like object after the rivet is attached, a strength problem occurs, and an increase in manufacturing cost is unavoidable.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to relatively rotate two plate-like objects within a predetermined rotation range without reducing the characteristics of the plate-like object made of any material. And a prosthesis using the washer .

[0008]

The washer according to the first aspect of the present invention is interposed at the center of rotation between two plate-like objects which are relatively rotatable about a shaft. A washer having upper and lower projecting pieces that respectively contact at least one side edge of two upper and lower plate-like objects , wherein the one plate-like object is
The other plate-shaped object is in contact with the protruding piece.
The protruding piece that comes into contact with the other
Even if you rotate it to the heart, it always stays within the plate surface of one plate
It is characterized in that there.

[0009] The prosthesis according to the second aspect of the present invention comprises two plates.
The object is rotatably connected via the washer according to claim 1.
It is characterized by becoming. The plate is a fiber reinforced composite
It is desirable to be composed of materials, and as a surface material
Has a sandwich structure with fiber reinforced composite material
It is more desirable that

[0010]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail together with the operation. In the present specification, the "plate-like object" only needs to have at least one rotating plane portion, and it is only necessary that the two plate-like objects do not interfere with each other when they face each other. Therefore, any shape can be employed outside the range of the opposing rotation plane.

A washer of the present invention is provided between the rotation planes, the at least one protruding piece projecting from the front and back surfaces.
Each of the two plate-like objects and the washer interposed therebetween has a shaft insertion hole, and a common shaft member is inserted through the holes. The size of this hole can be any size as long as the plate does not shake when the plate is rotated about the shaft member, and at the same time does not hinder the rotation of the plate. Good.

[0012] The material of the plate is not particularly limited. Generally, metal materials such as iron, aluminum, and stainless steel are used. As the reinforcing fiber material of the composite material, carbon fiber, glass fiber, aramid fiber, ceramic fiber, or other organic fiber is used. Furthermore, inorganic powders are also suitable as reinforcing materials. Epoxy resin, vinyl ester resin,
Thermosetting resin such as unsaturated polyester resin, acrylic resin, styrene resin, nylon, polycarbonate,
A thermoplastic resin such as polyacetal, polyetherimide, polyetheretherketone, or a mixture of a thermoplastic resin and a thermosetting resin is effective. In addition, a matrix material made of an inorganic material such as ceramic or a metal material can be used. Further, a plate-like material using only a synthetic resin material alone is also effective.

The structure of a plate using a composite material is not only a composite material used alone to form a plate-like structure, but also a composite material as a surface material and a honeycomb, a foam, a synthetic material as a core material. In some cases, a sandwich structure using a resin plate or the like is used. Such a sandwich structure is a plate-like object that is most expected in the future in order to reduce the weight while having rigidity.

The washer of the present invention is characterized in that it has at least one projecting piece projecting vertically from both front and back surfaces. Moreover, with the washer interposed and the shaft
One of the two plate-like objects that can rotate relative to the center
Is in contact with the protruding piece, and the other
The protruding piece that comes into contact with the object,
Even if rotated to the center, it is always located within the plate surface of one plate
It is configured to be. In this case, if the positional relationship between the center of the shaft insertion hole and the protruding piece and the shape of the plate-shaped object are appropriately determined, a structure that defines a desired rotation range for the plate-shaped object can be obtained. The size and shape of the washer ensure smooth rotation of the plate-like object and satisfy the function of limiting the relative rotation range of the plate-like object.
The other plate-like object is in contact with the protruding piece.
The protruding piece that comes into contact with the other
Even if you rotate it to the heart, it always stays within the plate surface of one plate
There is if any size or shape can be adopted to.

As the material of the washer, the same material as that of the plate-like material is used, and the material is particularly limited as long as it has the shape and characteristics of the protruding piece that can restrict the rotation range of the plate-like material. is not. However, if the washer is made of a mirror-finished metal material, the friction with the plate-like material is small, and it is easy to form the protruding piece. There is no problem if properly selected, and it can be said that it is the most excellent material. There are various ways of forming the protruding piece, but in the case of a metal material, a commercially available metal plate can be manufactured by punching and bending in addition to casting and forging.

[0016] In addition to the washer of the present invention, a shaft member such as a bolt or an eyelet or a normal washer is used for joining the plate-like objects. These connecting members hinder smooth rotation of the plate-like object. If not, both the material and the shape can be arbitrarily selected. There are various combinations of the plate and the combination such as the washer and the shaft member. However, the use of the washer of the present invention is particularly advantageous when the plate is a composite material, especially when it is a sandwich structure. In the case of a sandwich structure, reinforcing fibers are arranged on the surface material, but in the conventional formation of protruding pieces by tacking, the surface material is cut at the time of drilling and not only is there a concern that the strength is reduced, but also after the tacking, Due to the repeated load, peeling of the interface between the tack and the surface material easily occurs.

However, in the present invention, since the protruding piece is formed on the washer itself, it is not necessary to consider the formation of the integral protruding piece or the reduction in the strength of the protruding piece itself or the plate-like material due to tacking. The effect of fiber orientation, which is an advantage of the above, can be sufficiently exhibited.

When the washer structure is employed in the prosthetic device, the relative rotation angle of the two plate-like objects connected via the washer can be arbitrarily set according to the projecting position of the projecting piece.
Moreover, when one plate-like object is in contact with the protruding piece,
In the above, the protruding piece abutting on the other plate-shaped object is
Even if the plate is rotated about the shaft, one plate is always
It can be configured to be located within the plate surface of the object. Also , when the same fiber-reinforced composite material is used as the plate-like material, mechanical properties can be easily ensured, which leads to a reduction in design and manufacturing costs.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, typical embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a washer of the present invention, FIG. 2 shows a structure of a connecting portion of a plate-like object to which the washer is applied, and FIGS. 1 shows an example of a prosthesis having a plate-like structure.

The washer 1 according to the first embodiment is shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, the first protruding piece 1a protrudes upward from one side thereof, and the second protruding piece 1b protrudes downward from one side adjacent to this one side. ing. One of the plate-like objects 2 or 3 is the protruding piece 1a or
1b, the other plate-shaped object 3 or
2 is the other plate-like object.
Even if 3 or 2 is rotated about the shaft 5a,
Is configured to be located within the plate surface of the plate-like object 2 or 3
I have. These projecting pieces 1a, 1b are both set below the height thickness in the rotating portion of the later-described platelet. A shaft insertion hole 1c is formed at an eccentric position of the washer 1.

The two plate-like objects 2 and 3 shown in FIG. 1 are formed of left-right symmetrical plates, and have a planar shape in which one end is curved to the side and the tip is an arc. Further, when the plate-like objects 2 and 3 are viewed from the front, the ends formed in a curved shape have a bent shape as shown in FIG. The plate-like objects 2 and 3 are not limited to the illustrated example. For example, the plate-like objects 2 and 3 are simply made of a flat plate, or are formed so as to have a change in a curved surface or a thickness in a portion that does not hinder rotation. 2, shaft insertion holes 2a and 3a are formed in the rotation centers of the plate-like objects 2 and 3, respectively, as shown in FIG.

The two plate-like objects 2 and 3 having the above configuration are:
As shown in FIG. 2, the shaft insertion holes 2a, 3a are arranged on the same axis so that the bent ends are overlapped, and the washer 1 of the present invention is interposed between the two plate-like objects 2, 3. I do. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the washer 1 makes the inner surface of the first protruding piece 1 a contact the outwardly curved side surface of the upper plate-like material 2 and the inner surface of the second protruding piece 1 b with the lower plate-like material. 3 so as to be in contact with the outwardly curved side surface. When the washer 1 is disposed in this manner, the shaft insertion hole 1c of the washer 1 is formed so as to be on the same axis as the shaft insertion holes 2a, 3a of the plate-like objects 2, 3, and the coaxial insertion hole 1c is formed. The distance between the center and the inner surfaces of the first and second projecting pieces 1a and 1b is set substantially equal to the radius of the circular arc surface at the end of each of the plate-like objects 2 and 3.

Normal washers 4, 4 are arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the upper and lower plate-like objects 2, 3 arranged as described above, and the shaft 5a of the eyelet member 5 is inserted into each of the shaft insertion holes 2a, 1c, 3a. After the insertion, the fastening portion 5b is screwed into the inner thread portion of the coaxial portion 5a.
The joining of the two plate-like objects 2 and 3 is completed. The two joined plate-like objects 2 and 3 are centered on the eyelet member 5 and indicated by an arrow B in FIG.
The relative rotation in the direction can be rotated by approximately 180 ° because the projecting pieces 1a and 1b of the other party do not function, but the rotation shown by the arrow A in FIG. 1 is the first and second projecting pieces 1a and 1b. Abuts against the curved side surfaces of the upper and lower plate-like objects 2 and 3, respectively, and the rotation is restricted up to the illustrated position where the two plate-like objects 2 and 3 are substantially linear. Also, one plate shape
Object 2 or 3 is in contact with the protruding piece 1a or 1b
In the state, the protrusion is in contact with the other plate-like object 3 or 2.
The piece 1b or 1a connects the other plate 3 or 2 to the shaft 5
1 in the directions indicated by arrows A and B in FIG.
Is located within the plate surface of the other plate-like object 2 or 3.

FIG. 5 shows a case of a prosthesis using a washer 1 having the same structure as the washer used for the prosthesis of FIG. 3, and using linear plate members as the two plate-like objects 2 and 3. Shows the rotation limit of. As is clear from FIGS. 3 and 5, the rotation range can be easily changed only by changing the shapes of the plate-like objects 2 and 3. Moreover, one plate-like object 2
Or 3 is in contact with the protruding piece 1a or 1b.
The protruding piece 1 in contact with the other plate-like material 3 or 2
b or 1a connects the other plate-shaped object 3 or 2 to the shaft 5a.
Even when rotated in the directions of arrows A and B in FIG.
It is located within the plate surface of the plate 2 or 3. Also, FIG.
This is a modification of the washer structure shown in FIG. 1, that is, the first protruding piece 1a of the washer 1 is also protruded in the same direction on one opposing side. When the washer 1 shown in FIG. 6 is used, the side surfaces of the upper plate-like object 2 are
a, and the upper plate-shaped object 2 rotates together with the projecting pieces 1a, 1a. Therefore, in the washer 1 having such a structure, when one of the plate-like objects 2 and 3 is fixed, the other plate-like objects 3 and 2 rotate around the shaft portion, but project from the other surface of the washer 1. One protruding piece 1b, 1a
Abuts against one side surface of the other plate-shaped object 3, 2 to limit the rotation range of the plate-shaped object 3, 2 at a predetermined position.
Moreover, the protruding piece 1a always comes into contact with the plate-like object 2, and the protruding piece 1a
b is the plate surface of the plate 2 regardless of the rotation angle of the plate 3
Located within. Thus, in the present invention, the relative rotation angle between the two plate-like objects can be freely changed by changing the positional relationship and shape of the protruding pieces of the washer, or the shape and size of the plate-like object. In addition, the rotation controllability between the two plate-like objects can be changed.

[0025]

[0026]

As is apparent from the above description, when the washer structure according to the present invention is employed, the relative rotation angles of the two plate-like objects connected via the washer are projected from the washer. The processing for forming the projecting piece on the plate-like object itself is compared with the case where the rotation angle between the plate-like objects is limited by the projecting piece protruding from the plate-like object itself as in the related art. Since there is no problem, there is no concern that the mechanical properties of the plate-like material decrease, and in particular, when a fiber-reinforced composite material is used as the material of the plate-like material, the properties of the composite material can be sufficiently exhibited. . Moreover, one plate shape
When the object is in contact with the projecting piece, the other plate
The protruding piece that abuts the other plate-like object rotates around the shaft.
It is always located within one of the plate surfaces
Become. Further, by changing the positional relationship and shape of the protruding pieces of the washer of the present invention, or the shape and size of the plate-like object, the relative rotation angle between the two plate-like objects can be freely changed. In addition, it is possible to change the rotation controllability between the two plate-like objects, which is optimal for a prosthesis.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a washer structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing a joint structure of a plate-like object to which the washer is applied.

FIG. 3 shows two plate-like structures connected via the same washer.
It is a top view of the example of the prosthesis which has.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 3;

[5] The example of FIG. 3 the same washer is a plan view showing another example of a bioprosthetic when applied to a plate-like product having different shapes.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing an example of arrangement with a plate-shaped object to which a washer having another shape of the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Washer 1a, 1b Projection piece 1c Shaft insertion hole 2, 3 Plate-like object 2a, 3a Shaft insertion hole 4 (Normal) washer 5 Eyelet member 5a Shaft 5b Fixing part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tsunehiko Nakamura 4-160 Sunadabashi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. Product Development Research Center (56) References JP-A-6-189992 (JP, A) JP-A-57-89860 (JP, A) JP-A-6-285101 (JP, A) JP-A-4-43031 (JP, A) JP-A-4-125136 (JP, A) (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16C 11/04

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An interposed member is provided at a center of rotation between two plate-like objects which are relatively rotatable about a shaft, and is provided on at least one side edge of two upper and lower plate-like objects. In a washer having upper and lower projecting pieces that come into contact with each other, the washer may be in a state where the one plate-shaped object is in contact with the projecting piece.
The projecting piece abutting on the other plate-shaped object is
Even if the plate is rotated about the shaft, one plate is always
A washer characterized by being located in the plane of an object . 2. The two plate-like objects are provided via the washer according to claim 1.
A prosthesis characterized by being rotatably connected to the prosthesis. 3. The plate-like object is made of a fiber-reinforced composite material.
The prosthesis according to claim 2, wherein the prosthesis is provided. 4. A fiber-reinforced composite in which the plate-like material is used as a surface material.
3. A material having a sandwich structure in which materials are arranged.
Prosthetic equipment.