Orthopedic Technology, Inc.

Universal Pneumatic Controls, Inc.

Staefa Control System, Inc.

John C Morris

Dalny Travaglio

Gary Stafford

Le Royce Ginn

Le Roy Ginn

An activity knee brace is disclosed in which the structural hinge axis of the brace moves to overlie the changing center of pivot of the condyle of the femur with respect to the plateau of the fibula-tibia. The brace consists of a thigh portion, a lower leg portion, and a structural hinge axis therebetween. The thigh portion supports the brace in the thigh; the lower leg portion supports the brace to the lower leg. The thigh portion is braced at the lower end at the medial supracondylar area by lateral and medial condylar pads in conjunction with an adjustable strap system. Provision is made to differentially adjust the lateral and medial condylar pads towards one another over the supracondylar hollow to affix and track the relative movement of the supracondylar hollow of the femur relative to the plateau of the fibula tibia. A pivot for the lateral and medial condylar pads is provided off axis with respect to the structural hinge of the brace. This pivot mates with a lineal cam on the pad, allowing towards and away movement of the condylar pads from the structural pivot of the brace. The towards and away movement of the condylar pads is in turn limited by arcuate cam which acts at approximate right angles to the lineal cam. Accordingly, dependent upon the angle of the condylar pads with respect to the thigh brace, dynamic adjustment of the structural hinge axis to overly the center of pivot of the knee occurs.

Articulating adjustabe condylar pad for knee brace

An orthopedic rehabilitation knee brace having paired labeled hinges on either side of a braced knee is provided with easily set flexion and extension limits of movement for providing to the braced leg limited post-operative or recovery restraint of the knee. Each brace includes two improved circular hinge elements with a first group of easily set stops for producing restraint in flexion and a second group of easily set stops for producing restraint in extension of the knee. Extending upwardly and downwardly from each circular hinge housing on both sides of the brace are telescoping respective upper and lower leg wings for effecting from the hinge desired restricted movement of the leg member at the knee joint. The discrete flexion and extension stops extend radially of the hinge and are normally in the disengaged position. Each of the individual stops is exposed through the outward portion of the hinge for manipulation at attached stop operating points. These operating points act as indicators in the radially out position for the limits of movement of hinge setting. The individual stops each act on a detent. The mechanism locks all detents commonly to secure flexion and extension settings of the hinge. Provision is made for providing locking and unlocking of the stops at their detent through a keyed wrench so that the brace can be locked against patient or bystander tampering after setting.

Orthopedic rehabilitation knee brace

A motion limiter (2) for use with a short leg walker (4) includes a threaded shaft (20) passing freely through a hole (42) in a sliding block or guide (36) that is pivotally attached preferably to an upper part (6) of the walker. The lower end (28) of the shaft is preferably pivotally mounted in a recess (34) in the lower portion (10) of the walker and the remainder of the shaft is free to slide within the hole in the sliding block within a recess (26) in the upper part of the walker. The position of stop members (64, 68), threaded to the shaft above and below the block, determine the amount or fraction of the shaft permitted to pass through the hole in the sliding block. As the stop members are positioned along the shaft relatively far apart from one another, a greater length of the threaded shaft is permitted to pass through the sliding block, thereby increasing the range of motion of the walker. Conversely, as the stop members are moved relatively closer together, the range of motion decreases. If the stop members are positioned so as to abut the sliding block, no range of motion is permitted. The stop members may be positioned by a user without using tools.

Motion limiter for short leg walker

A pneumatic controller for use in controlling airflow in a conditioned air distribution system is adjustable to accommodate different types of damper actuation and thermostats in different systems. The four-function controller can be manually reconfigured to be a direct acting/direct reset controller, a reverse acting/reverse reset controller, a direct action/reverse reset controller or a reverse acting/directing resent controller, all using a single diaphragm valve responsive to differential pressure between total air and static air inputs. A reset unit on one end of the controller can be mounted in four different positions, two upright and two inverted, to provide the four functions, with total air and static air inputs being reversed in position when the controller is in a reverse acting mode. A differential pressure responsive valve at the heart of the system is controlled by a spring which can act as either a tension spring, for direct acting, or as a compression spring, for reverse acting. Manual adjustments are provided for adjusting the spring pressure in the absence of reset, and for adjusting the degree of change in spring pressure when reset occurs. These two adjustments control minimum pressure differential threshold and maximum pressure differential threshold. The latter adjustment preferably includes a slidable fulcrum movement for shifting the position of a fulcrum about which a reset arm pivots during reset, to control the spring tension displacement during reset from zero, at one extreme, to a maximum displacement at the other extreme.

Four function pneumatic controller

A variable air flow volume conditioned air distribution system of the kind having an air flow duct for supplying conditioned air to a room and a valve in the duct for regulating the volume of air flowing through the duct has a controller which senses the flow velocity in the duct and the room temperature in the room. The controller combines a temperature signal with a flow velocity signal through a velocity spring. A temperature change resets the flow velocity set point and produces a corresponding change in the volume flow through the duct. The controller includes an adjustable bias for the velocity spring for varying the rate of the velocity spring from a low spring rate for control at a low maximum permitted flow velocity in the duct to a higher spring rate for control at a higher permitted maximum flow velocity flow in the duct and vice versa.

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Castro Valley, CA, United States of America

John C Morris