The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 19, 1993
Filed:
Dec. 17, 1992
Kevin R Stone, Mill Valley, CA (US);
Perry A Klebahn, San Francisco, CA (US);
William R Knapp, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Other;
Abstract
An apparatus for measuring the angle A of flexure of a joint between longitudinal axes of adjacent, jointed body parts includes first and second coupling mechanisms for fixture respectively to the first and second body parts. Each of the coupling mechanisms is fixed to its respective body part at a specified distance from the joint being measured. The apparatus further includes a measuring device for generating a signal representative of the direct, linear distance between the coupling mechanisms as the joint passes through a range of motion. A computing device operates in response to the signal generated by the measuring device to determine the angle A in accordance with the law of cosines. An advantage of the apparatus is that it is significantly tolerant of improper placement of the coupling mechanisms.