TWI797935B - Prosthetic Knee - Google Patents

Abstract

A prosthetic knee joint includes a lower leg connecting frame, a thigh connecting frame, a bar group, and an elastic unit. The lower leg connecting frame has a first front pivot joint and a first rear pivot joint. The first rear pivot joint has two pivot joint sliding grooves extending downward and obliquely forward. Each pivot joint sliding groove has a The top groove portion is located at the rear, and the bottom groove portion is positioned at the bottom end and located at the front. The thigh connection frame is located above the calf connection frame and has a second front pivot joint and a second rear pivot joint. The rod assembly is arranged between the calf connection frame and the thigh connection frame, and the rod assembly includes a front pivot rod pivotally connected between the first front pivot joint and the second front pivot joint, and a front pivot joint connected to the first rear pivot joint. The rear pivotal rod between the pivotal part and the second rear pivotal part, the rear pivotal rod has two pivotal slides that are respectively slidable and rotatable at both ends of the first rear pivotal part. axis. The elastic unit is used to drive the pivotal sliding shaft of the rear pivotal rod to slide towards the top grooves of the two pivotal slide grooves.

Description

Prosthetic Knee

The invention relates to a prosthetic limb, in particular to a prosthetic knee joint.

A kind of existing four-link prosthetic knee joint has a lower leg connecting frame, a big leg connecting frame and a front pivot connecting rod and a rear pivot connecting rod connected between the lower leg connecting frame and the big leg connecting frame, the lower leg The connecting frame, the thigh connecting frame, the front pivoting rod and the rear pivoting rod together constitute a four-bar linkage mechanism, and thereby enable the thigh connecting frame to be in an upright position and a knee-bending position relative to the calf connecting frame However, the cushioning performance of this four-link prosthetic knee joint is relatively insufficient when the foot touches the ground.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a prosthetic knee joint that can improve at least one problem in the prior art.

Therefore, in some embodiments, the prosthetic knee joint of the present invention includes a lower leg connecting frame, a large leg connecting frame, a rod assembly, and an elastic unit. The lower leg connecting frame has a first front pivot joint and a first rear pivot joint. The first rear pivot joint has two pivot joint sliding grooves extending downward and obliquely forward. Each of the pivot joint slides The groove has a top groove portion located at the top and rear, and a bottom groove portion located at the bottom and forward. The thigh connection frame is located above the calf connection frame and has a second front pivot joint and a second rear pivot joint. The rod assembly is arranged between the calf connection frame and the thigh connection frame, and the rod assembly includes a front pivot rod pivotally connected between the first front pivot joint and the second front pivot joint, and a rear pivot rod pivotally connected between the first rear pivot part and the second rear pivot part, the rear pivot rod has two ends respectively slidably and rotatably arranged on the first rear pivot A pivoting sliding shaft of the two pivoting sliding grooves of the connecting portion enables the thigh linking frame to move between an upright position and a knee-bending position relative to the lower leg linking frame through the pivoting of the bar set. The elastic unit is used to elastically abut against the rear pivot rod to drive the thigh connecting frame to move toward the upright position, and to drive the pivot sliding shaft of the rear pivot rod toward the top grooves of the two pivot slide grooves section slide.

In some embodiments, the elastic unit is used to face up and elastically abut against the rear pivotal rod, and the contact position between the elastic unit and the rear pivotal rod is located in front relative to the pivotal sliding axis.

In some implementation aspects, the lower leg connecting frame further has a storage tube extending up and down, and the storage tube has a storage space extending up and down with the opening facing upwards, and the elastic unit includes a slidable and at least partially An abutting block arranged in the accommodating space of the accommodating cylinder and abutted against the rear pivot rod, and arranged inside the accommodating cylinder and sandwiched between the abutting block and the accommodating cylinder to provide An elastic member of elastic force.

In some embodiments, the bottom groove of each of the pivotal sliding slots is provided with a buffer member for the pivotal sliding shaft of the rear pivotal rod to abut against.

In some implementations, the rear pivot rod has a body, and the pivot sliding shaft passes through the body and is disposed on the two pivot sliding slots.

In some embodiments, the total displacement of the pivotal sliding shaft sliding from the top grooves of the two pivotal sliding grooves to the bottom grooves of the two pivotal sliding grooves is 5-7 mm.

In some embodiments, the total displacement of the pivotal sliding shaft sliding from the top grooves of the two pivotal sliding grooves to the bottom grooves of the two pivotal sliding grooves is 6 mm.

In some implementation aspects, the forward inclination angle of the two pivotally connected sliding slots is 45-55 degrees.

In some implementation aspects, the forward inclination angle of the two pivotally connected sliding slots is 50 degrees.

According to the present invention, through the cooperation between the two pivot slide slots of the first rear pivot part and the pivot slide shaft of the rear pivot rod, the pivot slide shaft of the rear pivot rod is driven toward the two pivot slide shafts. The elastic unit that is pivotally connected to the sliding groove at the top of the chute enables the prosthetic knee joint to have a buffering effect on the positive impact force that the foot bears when the foot touches the ground, and also prevents the user from If the bending angle is too large, the support will be lost, so as to improve the safety of the prosthetic knee joint.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 , an embodiment of the new prosthetic knee joint 100 includes a lower leg connecting frame 1 , a thigh connecting frame 2 , a rod assembly 3 , and an elastic unit 4 .

The lower leg connecting frame 1 generally extends along a vertical direction D1, and the lower leg connecting frame 1 has a first front pivot joint 11 and a first rear pivot joint 12 located on the top and arranged front and rear in a front and rear direction D2. , and a shank connecting portion 13 located at the bottom and adapted to be connected to a prosthetic shank (not shown). The first rear pivotal portion 12 has two pivotal sliding slots 121 extending obliquely downward and forward, the two pivotal sliding slots 121 are formed penetratingly along a left-right direction D3, and are spaced apart from each other along the left-right direction D3. arrangement. Each of the pivoting sliding slots 121 has a top slot portion 121a located at the top and rear, and a bottom slot portion 121b located at the bottom and front. The bottom groove portion 121b of each pivotal sliding groove 121 is provided with a buffer member 121c. The buffer member 121c can be made of high molecular polymer material with buffer function such as foam or other materials with buffer function, for example. production.

The thigh connection frame 2 is located above the shank connection frame 1, and the thigh connection frame 2 has a second front pivot joint 21 and a second rear pivot joint 22 arranged front and back, and is located at the top and is suitable for connecting with a The big leg connection part 23 that prosthesis thigh (not shown) is connected.

The rod set 3 is arranged between the calf connecting frame 1 and the thigh connecting frame 2, and the rod set 3 includes the first front pivot joint 11 and the second front pivot joint 21 and Two front pivoting rods 31 spaced side by side in the left-right direction D3 , and a rear pivoting rod 32 pivotally connected between the first rear pivoting portion 12 and the second rear pivoting portion 22 . It should be noted that the number of the front pivot rod 31 may be only one or more than three, which is not limited by this embodiment. The rear pivot rod 32 has a main body 321 and a pivotal sliding shaft 322 passing through the main body 321. Both ends of the pivotal sliding shaft 322 are respectively slidably and rotatably disposed on the first rear pivotal portion. 12 of the two pivotal sliding slots 121. It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the pivotal sliding shaft 322 may also be integrally formed on the body 321 . In addition, the aforementioned two buffer members 121c respectively provided at the bottom grooves 121b of the two pivotal sliding grooves 121 can be used for the pivotal sliding shaft 322 of the rear pivotal rod 32 to lean against so that the rear pivot The pivotal sliding shaft 322 of the connecting rod 32 can be buffered when sliding to the bottom grooves 121 b of the two pivotal sliding grooves 121 .

In detail, the total displacement D of the pivotal sliding shaft 322 sliding from the top groove portion 121a of the two pivotal sliding grooves 121 to the bottom end groove portion 121b of the two pivotal sliding grooves 121 is preferably 5 ~7mm, in this embodiment, the total displacement D of the pivotal sliding shaft 322 sliding from the top groove 121a of the two pivotal sliding grooves 121 to the bottom groove 121b of the two pivotal sliding grooves 121 is 6mm. In addition, the forward inclination angle A of the two pivotal sliding grooves 121 is 45-55 degrees. In this embodiment, the forward inclination angle A of the two pivotal connecting sliding grooves 121 is 50 degrees.

The elastic unit 4 is used to face up and elastically abut against the rear pivotal rod 32 , and the contact position between the elastic unit 4 and the rear pivotal rod 32 is located in front relative to the pivotal sliding shaft 322 . The shank connecting frame 1 also has a storage tube 14 extending up and down and forming the shank connecting part 13 at the bottom. The accommodating tube 14 has a storage space 141 extending up and down and opening upward. It includes an abutment block 41 that is slidable and at least partially disposed in the accommodation space 141 of the accommodation cylinder 14 , and is disposed inside the accommodation cylinder 14 and sandwiched between the abutment block 41 and the accommodation cylinder 14 An elastic member 42 providing elastic force is provided between them. The abutting block 41 abuts against the bottom front section of the rear pivot rod 32 that is located in front relative to the pivotal sliding shaft 322 , and the elastic member 42 can be, for example but not limited to, a spring.

Referring to Fig. 3 to Fig. 6, through the pivoting of the bar group 3, the thigh connection frame 2 can be in an upright position (see Fig. 3) and a knee-bending position (see Fig. 5) relative to the calf connection frame 1 When in the upright position, the prosthetic leg is upright with respect to the prosthetic calf; in the bent knee position, the top of the rear pivot rod 32 is tilted forward, and the front section of the bottom is pressed against the prosthetic leg downwards. The abutting block 41 of the elastic unit 4, the top of the thigh connecting frame 2 falls backwards, thereby making the prosthetic thigh bend relative to the prosthetic calf. When the thigh connecting frame 2 of the prosthetic knee joint 100 is at 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 bottom of the rear pivot rod 32 upwards. At the front section, to prevent the top of the rear pivotal rod 32 from falling forward, and drive the thigh connecting frame 2 to move back toward the upright position.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 4 and FIGS. 7 to 8, when the prosthetic knee joint 100 bears the positive impact force in the up and down direction D1 during the foot landing stage during walking, the rear pivot rod 32 The pivotal sliding shaft 322 can slide downwards and forwards towards the bottom grooves 121b of the two pivotal sliding grooves 121, and at this time, the bottom front section of the rear pivotal rod 32 is downwardly pressed against the top of the elastic unit 4 Block 41, as shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8. In this state, the elastic force generated by the elastic member 42 of the elastic unit 4 makes the abutting block 41 upwardly abut against the bottom front section of the rear pivot rod 32 to drive the pivot of the rear pivot rod 32 The connecting sliding shaft 322 slides toward the top groove portions 121 a of the two pivoting sliding grooves 121 . In the above-mentioned process, through the cooperation between the two pivotal sliding slots 121 of the first rear pivotal part 12 and the pivotal sliding shaft 322 of the rear pivotal rod 32, the rear pivotal rod 32 is driven to The elastic unit 4 slid toward the top grooves 121a of the two pivotal slides 121 by the pivotal sliding shaft 322 , so that the prosthetic knee joint 100 can buffer the positive impact force when the foot is on the ground. In addition, the aforementioned two buffer members 121c respectively provided at the bottom grooves 121b of the two pivotal sliding grooves 121 can slide to the two pivotal sliding grooves 121 on the pivotal sliding shaft 322 of the rear pivotal rod 32 The above-mentioned cushioning effect is further strengthened in the process of the bottom end groove portion 121b. In addition, it should be noted that when the thigh connecting frame 2 is in other positions than the upright position (for example, in the bent knee position or other positions between the upright position and the bent knee position), the rear pivotal link The pivotal sliding shaft 322 of 32 can also slide in the two pivotal slide grooves 121 to generate a buffering effect.

Furthermore, when the pivotal sliding shaft 322 of the rear pivotal rod 32 slides to the bottom grooves 121b of the two pivotal sliding grooves 121, since the angle between the front pivotal rod 31 and the rear pivotal rod 32 has been Therefore, after the movement amount of the thigh connecting frame 2 relative to the calf connecting frame 1 through the pivoting of the bar set 3 reaches a preset value, the bar set 3 will not be easy to continue pivoting. The thigh connecting frame 2 is not easy to move backward relative to the lower leg connecting frame 1 , so that the bending angle of the prosthetic thigh relative to the prosthetic calf at this time is difficult to exceed a preset angle corresponding to the preset value. Thereby, the user can avoid losing support due to the excessive bending angle of the prosthetic thigh relative to the prosthetic calf during the foot landing stage, so as to improve the safety of the prosthetic knee joint 100 . In addition, the preset value and the preset angle can be adjusted according to requirements. Specifically, the preset value and the preset angle can be adjusted by changing the structure (length, initial angle) of the rod group 3, and/ Or it can be adjusted by changing the position points where the bar set 3 is pivotally connected with the lower leg connecting frame 1 and the thigh connecting frame 2 .

To sum up, the present invention drives the rear pivot through the cooperation between the two pivot sliding slots 121 of the first rear pivot 12 and the pivot sliding shaft 322 of the rear pivot rod 32 . The pivotal sliding shaft 322 of the rod 32 slides toward the elastic unit 4 at the top grooves 121a of the two pivotal sliding grooves 121, so that the prosthetic knee joint 100 can generate buffer against the positive impact force borne by the foot when it touches the ground. In addition, it can prevent the user from losing support due to the excessive bending angle of the prosthetic leg relative to the prosthetic calf during the foot landing stage, so as to improve the safety of the prosthetic knee joint 100 .

But what is described above is only an embodiment of the present invention, and should not limit the scope of the present invention. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the patent scope of the present invention and the content of the patent specification are still within the scope of the present invention. Within the scope covered by the patent of the present invention.

100: Prosthetic Knee 1: Calf connecting frame 11: The first front pivot joint 12: The first rear pivot joint 121: Pivot chute 121a: top groove 121b: Bottom groove 121c: Buffer 13:Calf joint 14: Accommodating cylinder 141:Accommodating space 2: Thigh connecting frame 21: The second front pivot joint 22: Second rear pivot joint 23: Thigh joint 3: Rod group 31: Front pivot rod 32: rear pivot rod 321: Ontology 322: Pivot sliding shaft 4: Elastic unit 41: top block 42: Elastic parts D1: up and down direction D2: Front and rear direction D3: left and right directions D: total displacement A: Forward tilt angle

Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the implementation manner with reference to the drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an embodiment of the prosthetic knee joint of the present invention; Fig. 2 is another three-dimensional schematic diagram of this embodiment; Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a side view of this embodiment, in which the thigh connecting frame of this embodiment is in an upright position; Fig. 4 is a schematic sectional view of this embodiment, in which the thigh connecting frame of this embodiment is in an upright position; Fig. 5 is a schematic side view of this embodiment, in which the thigh connecting frame of this embodiment is in a knee-bending position; Fig. 6 is a schematic sectional view of this embodiment, in which the thigh connecting frame of this embodiment is in a knee-bending position; Fig. 7 is a schematic side view of this embodiment, in which the pivotal sliding shaft of the rear pivotal rod of this embodiment slides to the bottom groove of the pivotal chute of the lower leg connecting frame; and Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of this embodiment, in which the pivotal sliding shaft of the rear pivotal rod of this embodiment slides to the bottom groove of the pivotal sliding groove of the lower leg connecting frame.

100: Prosthetic Knee

1: Calf connecting frame

11: The first front pivot joint

12: The first rear pivot joint

121: Pivot chute

121a: top groove

121b: Bottom groove

121c: Buffer

13:Calf joint

2: Thigh connecting frame

21: The second front pivot joint

22: Second rear pivot joint

23: Thigh joint

3: Rod group

31: Front pivot rod

32: rear pivot rod

321: Ontology

322: Pivot sliding shaft

D1: up and down direction

D2: Front and rear direction

D3: left and right directions

D: total displacement

A: Forward tilt angle

Claims (9)

A prosthetic knee joint comprising: The lower leg connecting frame has a first front pivot joint and a first rear pivot joint. The first rear pivot joint has two pivot joint sliding grooves extending downward and obliquely forward. Each of the pivot joints The chute has a top groove at the top and rear, and a bottom groove at the bottom and front; The thigh connecting frame is located above the lower leg connecting frame and has a second front pivot joint and a second rear pivot joint; a rod set, arranged between the calf link frame and the thigh link frame, the bar set includes a front pivot link pivotally connected between the first front pivot joint and the second front pivot joint , and a rear pivotal rod pivotally connected between the first rear pivotal part and the second rear pivotal part, the rear pivotal rod has two ends respectively slidably and rotatably arranged on the first rear A pivotal sliding shaft of the two pivotal sliding grooves of the pivotal part, through the pivoting of the bar group, the thigh linking frame can move between an upright position and a knee-bending position relative to the lower leg linking frame; and An elastic unit is used to elastically abut against the rear pivot rod to drive the thigh connecting frame to move toward the upright position, and to drive the pivot sliding shaft of the rear pivot rod toward the top ends of the two pivot slide grooves The groove slides. The prosthetic knee joint according to claim 1, wherein the elastic unit is used to face upward and elastically abut against the rear pivot rod, and the contact position between the elastic unit and the rear pivot rod is relatively to the pivot The sliding shaft is located at the front. The prosthetic knee joint according to claim 2, wherein, the lower leg connecting frame further has a storage cylinder extending up and down, and the storage cylinder has a storage space extending up and down with the opening facing upwards, and the elastic unit includes An abutting block that is slidable and at least partially arranged in the accommodating space of the accommodating cylinder and abuts against the rear pivot rod, and is arranged inside the accommodating cylinder and sandwiched between the abutting block and the accommodating An elastic member placed between the cylinders to provide elastic force. The prosthetic knee joint as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the bottom grooves of the pivotal sliding grooves is provided with a buffer member for the pivotal sliding shaft of the rear pivotal rod to abut against. The prosthetic knee joint according to claim 1, wherein the rear pivot rod has a body, and the pivot sliding shaft passes through the body and is arranged in the two pivot sliding slots. The prosthetic knee joint according to claim 1, wherein the total displacement of the pivotal sliding shaft from the top groove of the two pivotal sliding grooves to the bottom groove of the two pivotal sliding grooves is 5 ~7mm. The prosthetic knee joint according to claim 6, wherein the total displacement of the pivotal sliding shaft sliding from the top grooves of the two pivotal sliding grooves to the bottom grooves of the two pivotal sliding grooves is 6mm . The prosthetic knee joint according to claim 1, wherein the forward inclination angle of the two pivotally connected chute is 45-55 degrees. The prosthetic knee joint according to claim 8, wherein the forward inclination angle of the two pivotally connected sliding grooves is 50 degrees.

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