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:
Dec. 31, 2002
Filed:
Oct. 24, 2000
Jeffrey Townsend, Bakersfield, CA (US);
Steven S. Knecht, Bakersfield, CA (US);
Townsend Design, Bakersfield, CA (US);
Abstract
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° 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.