USRE1908E - Improvement in artificial lhgs - Google Patents

Description

Bpeoitlcation forming part of 'Letters Patent tion consists, first,

DUBUIS D. PARB'IELE. Ol? N.E\V YORK,

IMPROVEMENT IN ARTIFICIAL LEGS,-

March 21, 1865.

Division B.

it may concern:

Be it known that l, Dunois D. PARMELEE, of the city,county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements iuArtiicialLimbs; and I do hereby To a'll whoni.

declare" that the following is a. full, clear, and

exact description of the saine, refereneebeing hid' tol the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 represents a sectional side elevation of a leg constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a front view ol the saine.

1 Fig. 3 is a. horizontal section ofthe same, taken the line a; a', Fig. l.

and expense attending made of a substance rendered plastic by heatv by means of a core which is the yfac-simile of the stump, in combination with the requisite degree of heat, substantially in the manner and I'or the purpose set forth; thirdly, in the manufactureof artificial limbs with buckets ot' hard rubber or vulcanite, or'its'equivalent,

is liable to become vchafed and inamed, and 5 thus cause intolerable pain to the wearer, but particularly in buckets which, according' to my invention, are held. iu

lieu of straps or other mechanical fastenings by moans of atmospheric pressure, perfect a fit as possible should be obtained, Heretofore the ybuckets were made of a certuin description of wood to lit which repeated 1 l trials or sittings were necessary it is necessary and essential that as ;.or gu'ttapcrcha compound to enable g the artisan to scrape away particles of wood 1 in vconformity with the shape of on a manufacturing scale.

the stump. This tentative inode of making the buckets l requires great skill on the part ot' the opera g 'l tor, is very laborious and expensive, and reu I ders it impossible to produce artificial limbs ahe object of this invention, therefore, is to i make buckets Such as will allow ci' its being made with perfect accuracy of a material and in a manner iu conformityr with the shape ot' i the stump, and to this eliect my said invcnlimbs of a plastic subA ot' the stump,

in thc method ol' makinf.,l

lreferring to the drawingsrn @process by for holdingthe stump, substantially as described. 4 l To enable those skilled'in the art to make and use my invention, scribe the construction and operation of a' leg to which my improvements are appliedfand,

A represents the bucket or socket or recep tacle of the stump of the amputated limb.

which thisbueltetifibrol'ed i somewhat similar to that by which `dentists' form plates of hard rubber to lconform perfectly to the roof of the mouth to be held there by atmospheric pressure. A form or mold of the; stump is prepared in wax, plaster-of-puris (it' ot' plasteriof-paris the inside of the molt should be oiled,) or gatta-perche 'may heemployed. Into this mold plasterofparis or fusible metal is cast, and thereby a perfect faesimile or form of the natural stump is obtained. Around this form a sheet of india-rubber prepared for hard vulcanization is tightly wound' and made to snugly coliform to said form. The whole Vis then lirmly bound with wetted cloths or ernbedded in plasterof-puris, and thus prepared it is placed in the heater and vulcanized.` After the vulcanization is completed the bucket is taken out and polished and mounted, as will be presently described.

Instead of the following process may be found practicable: A hollow cone of vulcaniteisformem'tho innercircnmterencc of which is the mea-surement of the stump to be fitted. A form or fac simile of the stump is nexltaken, as above described. 'lhe hollow coneisheated `to 2120 l `ahrenIuit, or more, it' necessary, and forced ,over the form ofthe stump and allowed to'eool of heilig subsequently indui in the `forth; sec- A metal melted out by immersion The form is next broken out if of or if of fusible metal the -whole is and then the In oil or other upon it. plaster, embedded in plastero'f paris,

I .will proceed to de-j this mode of obtaining the bucket,

l liquid capable ot bucket in its place till,

. perspiratioln'a dry the thigh bone 0 leg` am y ferrule, b. From this fe'rrnle vmore metal band bucket. By this arrangement it is perfectly these cylinders is Htained in its place by .ihis'sectoig which t the s 'ders d e, form the Y surface of the'kne'e-.pam an 'legand u 1 fue; sii'vgt the. vto the artificial knee-pan. By the`n1ovement l Y created is greatly-red `joint E is here shown as for cial tibia, a screwed or otherwiseirml thickness and strength,

sustai nin g-the required temi peinture.' The bucket may thus be made to Il jiorf'ectlyit the stump. 1t may be provided with an air-valve, a, so-that on placing the l stump into thebucket with the air-valve open the air shall be expelled from the bucket. If l after setting the stump the valve be closed, thepressure of the atmosphere will hold the air is readmitted.

To obviate inconvenience from insensible sponge, cotton, wool, or `small bag of fused chloride of placed atthe bot-tom ot' the bucket is fasten c'a`l`c'rnmay`ie bucket. This i ed to that part representing i r femur B, when used for a i putated above the knee, by a metali project three or i s, c, which areriveted to the f e isyto adjust the length of the limb with utnost accuracy, siniply by shifting the ferrule i b upor down on the 'artificial thigh-bone P until the-bucket has attained the required position.

(lis the knee- 'iloint, which is formed of two cylinders, d and e, one being fastened to the low Vthe er end of the.articialthigh-bone B, and other to the upper end of the artiticial large bone. of the.' leg or tibia I). Each of provided with a lip or oft'- y rotate respectively on axles d* and ehwhich have their bearings in metaii lic-side clasps, j'. A doubleeoncave sector, g, l is located between the cylinders d e, beingre piyots y', passing e concave sides of urfaces of the cylinartiticial knee-pau, and its g in contact with the lips or l e', confine the motion of the joint e desired limits. An indiavrubber baud, li, which isstretched over the convex d around the sup ,has a. tendency to straighten the u be'nd the knee, thereby assisting f the movement 'of the foot forward while walk- Sametime nniformelasticity set, d( e', and the 4throughy the clasps f2 .Th

edges, by comin ports B D otf th'ejointthefeylinder d rolls over lthe suri -Jaee ofthe lower one, e, and the friction thus uced. The heel or ankle med of two pieces, j,goneofV which is provided with a semig spherical .socket and the other with acorre- -s'i'iondingprojection 'or ball. This ball should accurately tit thesocket, and each of 1- l ie two piecesjsprovdedwth flanges, whereby the'fuioyement or play of-said parts in either direction is'contined betweenlimits such as red. The upper part, l, Qf the heel may be desi joint is fastened to the lower endof the artitig nd thelower part, i, of said joint'is l y secured to the l foot-piece 1", and the'two parts ij are fastened i togetherby au indiarubber tube, k, of proper i which i 4over both, an`d secured to each by a cord or i elastic bands o,

tic bands or springs extending from the to is upon the front of I vent iai-rin f the interior at shoulder, and it requires no tediou tmlllemlliv invention as g vention in conne s stretched.- v-

in anyother desira ble manner. The foot-pieee F eorresponds'in form to the bones ci' the instepand heel-bone of the natural foot, Its front end, l, is rounded oit' and forms the fulerum for the tocfpiece G.- The latter is divided into three (more or less) distinctparts, mm' m", one of which correspondsto the large toe and toes. These toe-pieces are heid in' bands n, of' leather or other inc l v ible material, fastened bymeans of screws or any other desirable means to the under side of both the toe and the foot piece, and by ot india-rubber or any other suitable yielding material, fastened in any convenient-manner to the upper surface ot' both the toe-pieces and the foot-piece. The inner ends of the elastic ban a metal clasp, p, s loosening accordin thc play of the toes astio but ilexo as to admit tightening or g to the requisite rigidity iu By the action ofthese elasthe points of the toes are thrown up so as to 'prevent interference when bringing the foot forw is regulated by the len gth ofthe leather bands n, which bear against the stems or tails m", c-pieces m m m below the point ofthe foot-piece F, as shown in Fig. l ot' the drawings. it' the weight of the body the foot, by the action oi' the tails m* the toe-pieces are turned down and a large base is attained, thereby enabling the person wearing the leg to maintain his o1' her balance with little labor. The toes, by being divided, selves to the inequalities of the ground. The heel H is covered with an elastic pad to preg in the act of walking. The case for this leg or arm may be made of cork, pa pier-mache, or any other suitable material, but I would recommend a leather tube, cut into the shape ofthe limb, sewed up, and small hoops of steel. springs placed'and fastened on about three inches apart to give form to the case, and at the saine time preserve its flexibility. Such a case might be fastened by hooks to the bucket at the top, and when used for a leg' be made to connect at the bottom with the boot or shoe inclosingr the foot.

The principal advantages of luy artificial limb are that it can be fastened to the stump without the use of straps around the waist or s fitting; but I desire it to be unde applied to `buckets he stump by atmos- 'but I deem it a valuable inction with any artificial limb,- of whatsoever construction, as facilitating, expediting, cheapening, and rendering more perfeet the construction of buckets.

Having now fully described my said invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The method iicial limbs of made to be att-ached to t pheric pressure,

ti a plastic substance capable 'of each of the others to two ofthe other place by ds o pass through ard, and` their position are capable ot' adapting themrstood th at I vdo not of making the bucket 0f ar' .,biugxubsequeutly'iudurated upon a` mold or 0330,01' vthe stump, in 'the manner' and for the llllll'pmim forth,

'2. Sl'piu the* interior of buckets `when made ofi; su 'stancerendered plastic by heat by `melimsof acore, which is the fee-simile of thestuniigf-in ombinatiou, with the requisite idegree offllfeasbstautially in the manner 'and for the purpose set forth. 3.l The muufatnre of artificial limbs, with buckets of herd rubber or 'vuleauite, or its equivalent, for holding the stumpsubstantially as described.

In testimony whereof I here signed my name to this specification before two subscrib-v ing witnesses.

Y D. 'D.;PARMELEE. Witnesses: T. A. WHITAKE'RS,

v `'1Hos.A'. GERE,

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