Other

Townsend Industries, Inc.

Townsend Design

Jeffrey H Townsend

Steven S Knecht

Robert J Williams

Steve Knecht

Larry Reib

An orthopedic knee brace which will allow lateral-medial compensation to be obtained while still enabling the use of known joint mechanism which will constrain the leg to execute the correct natural movement of the knee by separating lateral-medial compensation and anterior posterior movement functions. More specifically, the present invention utilizes a pair of hinges, one of which provides for movement in a posterior-anterior plane and the other which provides for movement in a medial-lateral plane. In this way, any conventional knee joint mechanism may be employed and movement of the leg can be properly constrained to execute a prescribed motion.

Knee brace medial/lateral shift compensation

An improved limb brace joint includes a band that operates in tension to rotationally bias first and second longitudinal members of the joint. The band of the joint biases the rotation of the members to provide a dorsiflexion and/or plantarflexion assist when used in an ankle foot orthosis.

Tension assisted ankle joint and orthotic limb braces incorporating same

A joint assembly for an orthopedic knee brace has a femoral bar, a tibial bar, a pair of upper side plates including a lateral side plate and a medial side plate, the pair of upper side plates being fixedly connected to the femoral bar; a pair of lower side plates including a lateral side plate and a medial side plate, the pair of lower side plates being fixedly connected to said tibial bar and further includes hook portions extending at a distal end of said pair of lower support plates. The joint assembly further includes a knee pad support configured for fitting on the knee joint of the wearer and a linkage mechanism for providing torsional strength to the joint assembly, the linkage mechanism including a first clevis formed by a lower rear area of said upper side plates, a second clevis formed by an upper rear area of the lower side plates, and an inner link interconnecting the upper side plates to the lower side plates to thereby interconnect the femoral link to the tibial link. Moreover, the joint assembly is further provided with a mechanism for releaseably locking the joint assembly in a substantially 180&deg; position. The lock mechanism includes a release mechanism for slidingly placing the joint assembly in a lock or a release mode, and a pivotal trigger that effectively locks and releases the joint assembly while in the respective lock or release modes.

Orthopedic knee brace joint assembly having a trigger locking mechanism

An orthopedic knee brace has a pair of femoral and tibial links, a hinge mechanism connecting the femoral and tibial links, a condylar knee pad support fixedly positioned on the lateral side of the brace and made adjustable by a spring-loaded ratchet mechanism featuring a series of interlocking teeth that allows for the axial displacement of the condylar pad to supply corrective force to the lateral knee joint and prevent of any unintended change in correction force. Moreover, in an effort to provide greater flexibility to the wearer in and enhance the stabilization of the design, the condylar pad is mounted for rotation about a point on the axis of the femoral condyle of the knee joint. The knee pad support may be adjusted by hand by rotating the ratchet mechanism to achieve the proper correction force or with an adjusting tool that engages a plurality of notches surrounding the periphery of the ratchet mechanism.

Orthopedic knee brace having an adjustable knee pad support

A knee brace is provided which includes a load application device for effectively applying a three point corrective load to the wearer's leg. The load application device includes a load arm pivotally connected to an upper support portion for applying a corrective force to a wearer's thigh and a load arm securing arrangement for adjustably securing the load arm in a desired pivotal position thereby permitting the corrective force to be easily adjusted to adapt to a wide range of leg sizes and shapes. The device also includes a leg support pivotally mounted on the load arm for contacting a wearer's leg and a leg support securing arrangement. Thus, the leg support can be pivotally adjusted to conform to the shape of the wearer's thigh to optimize application of the corrective load while providing a comfortable fit. The load arm and leg support securing arrangements may both be in the form of an arcuate slot and locking pin assembly.

Knee brace for applying corrective load

A method and apparatus for forming a custom fit knee orthosis is disclosed that includes forming a flat pre-assembled knee orthosis in which upper and lower support blanks made of rigid carbon fiber and plastic resin composite materials are connected in a flat, rigid state by joint mechanisms, and the knee orthosis is shipped to a orthopedist or orthopedic assembly facility in a flat condition with the blanks of composite material still in their flat pre-cured state. The orthopedist or orthopedic assembly facility heat softens the blanks and reshapes them to conform to the contours of a particular patient's leg, with only minor finishing operations being required after the reshaped blanks have set.

Pre-assembled custom fit knee orthosis and method of making same

A knee orthosis is provided which includes a suspension strap for securing the orthopedic device to the wearer's leg. The suspension strap includes a band portion that traverses the inner sides of tibial struts and is connected to the medial side tibial strut at point of connection that is lower than a point of connection of the band portion to the lateral side tibial strut. This positioning provides enhanced suspension and support by maximizing the contact area between the suspension strap and the wearer's leg, and provides an advantageous antero-posterior directed force, without compressing the peroneal nerve in the wearer's leg. In addition, a pre-formed spacer may be utilized to aid in providing the antero-posterior directed force and enhancing overall support and suspension.

Knee orthosis with improved suspension strap

A knee brace has a pair of femoral and tibial links and a four bar joint mechanism by which a lateral side one of the femoral links is pivotally connected to a lateral side one of the tibial links and a four bar joint mechanism by which a medial side one of the femoral links is pivotally connected to a medial side one of the tibial links. Each of the joint mechanisms comprises an inner, padded, pivot plate and an outer pivot plate, each of end of which is pivotally connected at a single point to a respective one of the femoral and tibial links. Furthermore, the pad on the inner pivot plate of the medial side joint mechanism carries a spherically cupped femoral condyle pad by which the brace, generally, and the joint mechanism, specifically, can be properly positioned relative to the knee of the wearer. The locations of the pivot points for the pivot plates on the links are set in accordance with parameters which are designed to produce a multiaxis motion of a reference point which will constrain the tibia to slide rearwardly relative to the femur in an initial range of flexion of the knee from a straight leg position and then to rotate relative thereto along an arcuate path. Additionally, the angle between imaginary lines through the pivots of each pivot plate is caused to be greater than a predetermined minimum value which will insure that the joint mechanism has sufficient strength not to break apart in use due to loads which are imposed horizontally across the knee joint.

Multiaxis controlled motion knee brace with a four bar joint and method

An improved multiaxis controlled motion knee orthosis in the form of a knee brace appliance wherein a joint mechanism is provided that utilizes two camming slots and cam pin followers to achieve an arthrokinematic movement comprised of an anterior motion of a femoral link relative to a tibial link during an initial phase of flexion followed by a unicentric phase of movement. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, during the initial range of motion, pivoting occurs through a short transverse arc segment about an upper one of the cam pin followers that is disposed within a longitudinally extending arcuate slot forming one of the two camming slots, while the unicentric movement is produced, after a lower one of the cam pin followers reaches the anterior end of a transverse slot forming the other of the two camming slots, the lower cam pin follower serves as the axis of rotation or pivot point for movement of the upper cam pin follower along the longitudinally extending arcuate slot. Additionally, an internal range of motion limiter comprised of one or more pins that can be selectively interconnected between the femoral link and a joint cover plate provide a selective control of extension and/or flexion over a wide range. Furthermore, a femoral cuff is provided that is comprised of a pair of side wings interconnected, solely at an upper end thereof, by a narrow bridge, thereby giving the cuff a generally n-shaped appearance and providing increased comfort for the wearer.

Multiaxis controlled motion knee orthosis

The present invention relates to an appliance for controlling an unstable knee joint in the sagittal, coronal and transverse planes, comprising femoral and tibial cuffs joined by links which are interconnected to provide a novel mechanical joint wherein camming slots are formed in one of the links with cams disposed on the other link, the slots comprising straight segments and arcuate segments so as to provide approximately 8 millimeters of sliding movement between the femur and tibia, followed by relative rotation about the center of radius of the femoral condyle as the leg is flexed. The tibial cuff is conformed about the boney prominence or shin of the tibia to inhibit rotation of the leg beneath the knee within the brace itself.

Growing community of inventors

Bakersfield, CA, United States of America

Jeffrey H Townsend