Claims
- 1. An orthopedic knee brace, comprising:
an upper leg cuff mountable to the leg of a wearer above the knee; a lower leg cuff mountable to the leg of the wearer below the knee; an upper support arm extending from the upper leg cuff; a lower support arm extending from the lower leg cuff; and a hinge assembly connected to both the upper and lower support arms, the hinge assembly being configured to allow at least one of the upper and lower support arms to articulate relative to the hinge assembly in at least two perpendicular planes.
- 2. The knee brace of claim 1, wherein the hinge assembly is configured to allow articulation of the upper and lower support arms relative to the hinge assembly without generating stress in the hinge assembly.
- 3. The knee brace of claim 1, wherein the hinge assembly further comprises an upper gear member having first and second shoulders for abutting first and second shoulders of the upper support arm.
- 4. The knee brace of claim 3, wherein engagement of the upper gear member shoulders with the upper support arm shoulders aligns an aperture in the upper support arm with an aperture in the upper gear member.
- 5. The knee brace of claim 1, wherein the hinge assembly further comprises an upper gear member having a sloped surface, the sloped surface enabling the upper support arm to articulate relative to the upper gear member about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the upper gear member.
- 6. The knee brace of claim 1, wherein the hinge assembly further comprises a lower gear member having first and second shoulders for abutting first and second shoulders of the lower support arm.
- 7. The knee brace of claim 6, wherein engagement of the lower gear member shoulders with the lower support arm shoulders aligns an aperture in the lower support arm with an aperture in the lower gear member.
- 8. The knee brace of claim 1, wherein the hinge assembly further comprises a lower gear member having a sloped surface, the sloped surface enabling the lower support arm to articulate relative to the lower gear member about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the lower gear member.
- 9. An orthopedic knee brace, comprising:
an upper leg cuff mountable above the knee of a wearer; a lower leg cuff mountable below the knee of the wearer; an upper support arm extending from the upper leg cuff; a lower support arm extending from the lower leg cuff; a hinge assembly connected to both the upper and lower support arms; and means for allowing at least one of the upper and lower support arms to articulate relative to the hinge assembly in at least two perpendicular planes without generating stress in the hinge assembly.
- 10. The knee brace of claim 9, wherein the upper and lower leg cuffs are constructed of flexible fabric.
- 11. A gear adapted for use in a hinge of an orthopedic brace, comprising:
a flat portion; a raised portion having an arcuate edge that defines a boundary of the flat portion, ends of the raised portion defining shoulders; gear teeth extending radially outwardly from the raised portion; and a sloped portion adjacent the flat portion and extending away from the flat portion.
- 12. The gear of claim 11, wherein the flat portion includes at least a portion of an aperture.
- 13. The gear of claim 11, wherein the gear is adapted to receive an end of an orthopedic brace arm, the brace arm comprising a tab, with a shoulder on either side of the tab, the shoulders on the arm abutting the shoulders on the gear member such that the tab is disposed within the area bounded by the raised portion of the gear member.
- 14. The gear of claim 13, wherein the arm is pivotable with respect to the gear member about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the gear member.
- 15. The gear of claim 13, wherein the arm is pivotable between a first position in which the tab contacts the flat portion of the gear member, and a second position in which a portion of the arm adjacent the tab contacts the sloped portion of the gear member.
Parent Case Info
[0001] RELATED APPLICATION
[0002] This application is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 09/510,397, filed on Feb. 22, 2000, the entire contents of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60171675 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09510397 |
Feb 2000 |
US |
Child |
10379517 |
Mar 2003 |
US |