US44726A - Improvement in artificial legs - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W'ILLIAM IIINDS, OF LITTLE FALLS, N-EVV YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN ARTIFICIAL LEGS.

Sl'iecilieation forming part of Letters Patent No. 44,726, dated October 1S, 1864 .ante dated october 6, 1864.

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, WM. HlNDS, of Little Falls, county of Herkimer, and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Artificial Legs; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specilication, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

A good substitute for the l ss of the natural leg has always been a very intricate and difticult piece of mechanism to produce. In its construction are involved some very formidable antagonislns or opposing principles that are hard to overcome or obviate. One of these is that legs to be easy and expeditious to walk upon should be very light, and in opposition to this it is found that artificial legs come to a good deal ot' strain, and are liable to many casualties-such as breaking, splitting, Wearing ont, '8m-to obviate which it is necessary to make them of strong and weighty materials, which will greatly increase their weight. Another difficulty of this kind is that the knee-spring, to draw the leg to a straight position and assist in ,its locomotion, should strain the hardest While the leg is straight or being straightened; but the reverse of this is that the strain of springs now in use for this purpose is greatly intensied in .iiexing the leg. These difficulties, however, are greatly removed or modified in my leg, as I shall endeavor to show.

The devices that will be claimed as new are the band at the top of the leg, the knee-band forming the knee-joint, the ankleband forming the ankle-joint, the metallic belt to stop and hold the leg in a straight position, the spring for actuating the knee-joint, and the changeable heel.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will now describe its construction and operation.

Figure 1 of the drawings is an exterior view of the leg in its completed state. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation made in the direction ot' its locomotion to show the interior machinery. Fig. 3 is an inside View of thebclt. Fig. Il is a kind oi" bail to work in the coiled spring g. Fi

5 is a rod to Work in the spring g', and Fig. 6 is a side view of the staple-bolts.

The main body ot' the leg (represented by A and B) is to be made of light wood, and the foot C ofthe same or of vulcanized indiarubber or other material. The bands, bolts, belt, Ste., for connecting the wooden parts are to be made of iron or other metal, springs to be made of steel, iron, or brass.

A, Fig. l., is the thigh piece or socket, made hollow and open at 'each end. The upper end is secured and protected by a light band, (marked 10,) made in two parts and connected at the ends by rivets that are tirst inserted through the part A and then through the ends of the parts forming the band. The inside half of the band has a turn outward andv nearly at right angle to the band and leg, as is shown at a., Figs. l and 2, to stiften and protect thc leg against splitting, and also to support a pad or cushion for the sea-t ot' the wearer to rest upon. rlhe turn (or liange,77 as it may properly be called) has holes in the out edge thereof to sew the pad to. The use ot' this flange is to furnish a wide bearin g for the seat of the wearer to rest upon, and also to provide a way for adjusting the socket to the stump as it shrinks in size, which is a consequence peculiar to amputated legs. When legs do not till the socket, the act of wal kin g is very ditlcult and burdensome.

I have worn artificial legs for the last fourteen years, have made my own, and Worn out four. The keeping of the socket properly adjusted to the stump of my leg has been a matter of much difficulty, especially with those I have Worn out. rIhose were made after the fashion of the best legs l had then seen; but they could not be packed to prevent them from slipping up and down on the stump, as the iiesh upon the bone would slip enough for that. I am now wearing a leg that I have had ou nearly four years. It has had no repairs yet, and probably Will need none for as long a time to come. It is banded around the top, around the knee, and around the ankle, and has the iange for the seat of the wearer to rest upon, and the part coming in contact with the pad is so near the bone that there is but little slipping on the stump. vWhen the socket becomes loose from the shrinkage of' the stump,

it can be packed under the pad, or the pad can be taken out and a thicker one put in. This method of diminishing the size ofthe socket dispenses with the use of cloths, that l heat, irritate, and gall the stump, and render the act of walking almost impracticable in hot weather.

b, Figs. l. and 2, is a thin band to support the lower end of the socket A. lt is shaped to form the knee-joint, and has the earsj with ha les through them in which to secure the knee-bolt. Connected to the front part of the b.:nd is a hook, h, projecting inward. The band is riveted to the socket A.

7c is a jointed belt or suspender, some like a chain,for stopping and holding the leg in a :traight position.

l are links secured by belts within another kind of link, (marked that has cross connections at the ends and in the middle. The cross-connections at the ends of x are covered with leather or other material to prevent them from giving oi sound or eluekiiig as they come in contact with the links l, which they will invariably doif the belt-is straightened without this protection. A further use of this arrangement is to stop the belt before it becomes straight to insure the folding of the belt into the leg, whereas ifit were permitted to become straight without this check or stoppage it would be as likely to fold out as in in flexing the leg. The middle connection is for attaching a leather strap or cord, a, to a spring, an, in the front part of the socket. '.lhe strap is made short, so as to strain considerably on the spring m to prevent the belt from making any jerking or clucking noise as it becomes straight.

The end of the link l at one end of the belt la connects with a plate that is secured under the band b by a screw, i, inserted through said band. The link at the other end connects to a plate, d, that is secured to another plate, p, and that in turn is secured to the outside of leg B by wood-screws. Un the outside plate is an arm, c, through which a screw is inserted that screws into an arm, e, for the purpose ot' lengthening or shortening the belt, as convenience may require.

f is a screw that goes through plate p and screws into plate d to hold that more firmly in place.

g and g are coiled springs, the lower one for liiting and holding up the toe of the foot, and the other one is to assist the wearer in swinging the leg forward in the act of walking. At the end of each is a loop to go over the arm c. rlhe upper one has a bail., t', (see Fig. 4,) with outward turns on the ends of the prongs to work over the coils of the spring, and by turning it round in either direction it will move to and fro, making it answer the purpose ot' a screw for adjusting the upper and lower leg for the better convenience of walking. The lower spring has a rod, o, (see Fig. 5,) connected with it that loops over the pin u, and at the other end is a cross in a T form to screw into the coils ot' the spring g to adjust itto the tension or strain necessary. T lie bail i goes over a hook on the stirrup s, which is secured to the arm h. The arm h and stirrup S work in a slot in the front part ot` the kuee,while the legis being flexed and straightened.

B is the lower leg, made hollow and open at the bottom end. The top end is rounded to form the knee, and has a slot in the front side for the arm h to work in. The bottom end of B is secured by a thin band made in two parts, the part y overlapping the part y', for the purpose of being'connected by rivets that first pass through, the wood and then through the ends of the parts forming the band. rlhe front part ot' the band is shaped to form the ankle-joint, and has the ears j, through which the ankle-bolt is inserted. The ankle-bolt and knee-bolt are both made hol low to secure lightness and a large bea-ringsurface.

C is the foot with a slot through it at C', Fig. 2, and a cavity or hollow in the inside at C2, reaching to the toe-piece to secure lightness. Over the instep is a thin plate, Z, to maintain a good joint against the ankle. 'llie toe piece D'goes into the foot with a single tenori, and shows in the drawings the form ot' the joint, which needs no spring or other device to keep it in place, as the shoe or boot will do that. The foot is connected to the leg B by wide staples or loops, (see Fig. 6,) the prongs terminating in bolts that go over the ankle-bolt, then through the foot, .and are fastened on the under side by screws. The anklebolt turns in boxes bushed with leather, secured on the foot and under the staples. At w' is an opening in the leg, through which to put in the springs, and may be closed by a plate or left open. y

F is a removable heel-piece, fastened to the foot by wood-screws, and made in the form shown to provide for the repair ofthe heel by substituting new ones, as the heel is the first thing in artificial legs to wear out. lt is made in the form of a shoe-heel for the purpose of wearing shoes over it made like overshoes, with a box for the heel to rest in, to prevent the foot from pushing forward against the toe of the shoe, as they are generally very sure to do.

The kuee-bolt, and bolts for using the belt, and all metal parts that come in contact should be bushed with leather or some like material to prevent creating sound. This I be lieve fully describes the construction.

By way of explaining its utility or useful ness, I will say a few words more on its operation as compared with other legs. Light legs are supposed by many to be indispensable for walking easily, but there is not so much in this as supposed. A few pounds in a leg sup ported ofi-the shoulders by Suspenders is but foot, suspended at the extremity ot' a long led ver, worked by the stump, is a tatiguing annoyance. Therefore the extremity ofthe leg little felt, but a pound or half-pound in the and foot should be made as light as possible and retain sufficient strength.

A good spring to actuate the knee-joint has always been of great service in walking easily; but hitherto I believe no springs have been used in artificial legs that have endured long before breaking. The coiled spring presents the longest space for the spring to bend through, and consequently is the least liablel to break but heretofore they have been made to draw around the circumference of t-he joint, making the space through which the spring has to traverse or spring so great that they soon break. My spring acts across the diameter, and within the shell of thelog, so that the traverse of the spring is not more than one-third of those which draw around the circumference.

0n reviewing the drawings, it will be seen that the line of the draft of the spring from the knee-bolt will be the greatest when the leg is straight, thereby giving it the greatest level age power while in that position. As the leg is being iiexed, the line of the draft will be constantly approaching the knee-bolt, and thereby constantly shortening the leverage power until it reaches the center of the bolt, Where it will have no power to flex or straighten the leg. After passing the dead point, the draft of the spring will act to iiex the leg, but with so short a leverage that it will exert but little resistance to the straightening of the leg. From these conclusions it is clear that the greatest strain ofthe spring will. be exerted While the leg is straight or being straightened, which will bethe exact place for it.

The joints of artificial legs have heretofore been hinged by straps riveted to the parts that are op en, and, being supported only by a thin covering of parchment or leather, they soon swell, shrink, split, and become loose and shackling. Thev bands used in my leg support and protect the sockets and joints against all these casualties, and always maintain good joints. 4

That I claim as my invention, and Wish to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, 1s-

1. Constructing the inside half ofthe-band securing the top of the socketA with a wide `iiange, as partly shown at d.

2. rlhe band b, with the hook I L and earsj, fitted to forni the knee-joint.

3. The ankle-baud y and y', made with the earsj, to hinge it to the foot and shaped to form the ankle-joint.

4. The belt k,spring m, and strap n, arranged and connected to the parts A and B.

5. The appendages s and i, in combination with the spring g, arranged as described, and operating across the diameter of the joint, as set forth.

(i. The heel-piece F and rod o, all of which is constructed substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

NVM. HINDS.

Timesses JOHN S. HoLLiNesI-IEAD, SAMUEL STRONG.

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