JPH07121266B2 - Lower extremity brace - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a column for a lower limb orthosis, and more particularly to a column for connecting the upper leg and the lower leg of the lower limb orthosis.

* Problems to be solved by the conventional technology and the invention As a support for a lower limb orthosis, a structure in which an intermediate joint is foldable is conventionally used.

However, since the movement of the joint portion of these conventional struts is different from the movement of the joint of the human knee, when these struts connect the upper leg and the lower leg of the lower limb orthosis, the strut does not move. There was a problem that it could not follow the movement, and it would shift during walking.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such problems.

* Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a strut having a joint portion that moves similarly to a joint of a human knee. That is, the column of the lower limb orthosis according to the present invention pivotally connects the lower end portion of the upper leg member and the upper end portion of the lower leg member to the connecting piece, and connects them to each other via a connecting rod,
Notches are formed respectively in the rotation range of the connecting rod at the lower end of the upper leg member and the upper end of the lower leg member, and both edges of the notch at the lower end portion of the upper leg member are formed by linearly extending the column. The bending angle of the supporting column is regulated by abutting against the connecting rod when it is bent to the maximum and when it is bent to the maximum.

* Example Reference numeral 1 is an upper leg member, and 2 is a lower leg member. The lower end portion 1a of the upper leg member 1 and the upper end portion 2a of the lower leg member 2 are pivotally attached to the connecting piece 3 by shafts 4 and 5, respectively, and the lower end portion 1a and the upper end portion are connected.
2a is connected to each other via a connecting rod 6. 7 and 8 are continuous rods 6
Is the axis of. The connecting piece 3 may be arranged only on one side surface of the upper leg member 1 or the lower leg member 2 (FIG. 2A), or may be arranged on both side surfaces thereof (FIG. 2B, C). . Reference numerals 9 and 10 denote notches formed in the lower end portion 1a of the upper leg member 1 and the upper end portion 2a of the lower leg member 2 in the rotation range of the connecting rod 6, respectively. Both edges 9a, 9b of the notch 9 are for abutting against the connecting rod 6 when the strut is extended linearly and when it is maximally bent, thereby restricting the bending angle of the strut (Fig. 3). AC). In addition, in FIG. 5, in regulating the bending angle of the support column, a substantially arc-shaped groove 11 is formed near the upper edge of the connecting piece 3, and stoppers 12 and 12 are attached to the groove 11 so as to be positionally adjustable. ing. Reference numeral 13 in FIG. 4 is a ring lock for fixing the upper leg member 1 to the connecting piece 3 in order to prevent bending of the column.

Further, in the present invention, when the upper leg member 1 and the lower leg member 2 are substantially linear, that is, when the support column is extended substantially linearly, the lower end surface 1b of the upper leg member 1 and the lower leg member 2 are arranged. When the upper leg member 1 and the lower leg member 2 are relatively rotating, the lower end face 1b of the upper leg member 1 and the upper end face 2b of the lower leg member 2 are contacted with each other. So that there is a gap between them (Fig. 3B, C). In the former case, a large load is not applied to the connecting rod 6 or the shafts 7, 8 thereof, and in the latter case, a smooth bending of the support column is ensured. The lower end surface 1b of the upper leg member 1 and the upper end surface 2b of the lower leg member 2 may be brought into contact with each other when the pillar is bent to the maximum extent.

* Action The columns of the lower limb orthosis according to the present invention are fixed to the left and right sides of the upper leg 14 and the lower leg 15 of the lower limb orthosis as shown in FIG. 6 as an example.

When the user of the lower limb orthosis is stretching his / her knee, the support column extends in a substantially straight line, and the lower end surface 1b of the upper leg member 1 has the lower leg member 2
The upper end surface 2b of the connecting rod 6 contacts the edge 9a of the notch 9 (FIG. 3A). When the user bends his / her knee, the upper leg member 1 and the lower leg member 2 relatively rotate so as to project their joints forward. Along with that, the connecting rod 6 and the connecting piece 3 rotate as shown by the arrow (FIG. 3B). At this time, the lower end surface 1b of the upper leg member 1 and the upper end surface 2b of the lower leg member 2
There is a slight gap between and. When the user bends the knee to the maximum extent, the column also bends forward as shown in FIG. 3 (C). At this time, the connecting rod 6 comes into contact with the other edge 9b of the notch 9 to prevent further bending.

* Effects of the invention As described above, the columns of the lower limb brace according to the present invention are
Since the lower end of the upper leg member and the upper end of the lower leg member are pivotally attached to the connecting pieces and are connected to each other via the connecting rod,
The joint moves like a human knee joint. Therefore,
When attached to a lower limb orthosis, it preferably follows the movement of the knee, so there is no risk of slipping during walking. Both edges of the notch at the lower end of the upper leg member are configured to regulate the bending angle of the column by contacting the connecting rod when the column is extended linearly and when it is bent to the maximum, respectively. When the bending angle range of the support column is matched with the bending angle range of the knee, there is no fear that an excessive force will be applied to the knee.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of a strut of a lower limb brace according to the present invention, FIG. 2 (A) is a rear view of the same strut, and FIG. 2 (B).
(C) is a rear view showing a modified example of the above-mentioned strut, and FIG.
FIG. 3A is a sectional view showing a state in which the support column is extended,
FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the same column is bent halfway, FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the same column is maximally bent, and FIG. 4 is another modification of the same column. FIG. 5 is a side view showing yet another modified example of the above-mentioned strut, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a usage state of the same strut. 1: Upper leg member, 1a: Lower end portion, 1b: Lower end face 2: Lower leg member, 2a: Upper end portion, 2b: Upper end face 3: Connecting piece 4, 5, 5: Shaft, 6: Link rod 7, 8: Shaft , 9 and 10: Notch 11: Groove, 12: Stopper 13: Ring lock, 14: Upper leg 15: Lower leg

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A lower end portion (1a) of an upper leg member (1) and an upper end portion (2a) of a lower leg member (2) are pivotally attached to a connecting piece (3) and through a connecting rod (6). Are connected to each other by forming notches (9) and (10) in the rotation range of the connecting rod at the lower end of the upper leg member and the upper end of the lower leg member, respectively. Both edges (9a) and (9b) of the notch (9) regulate the bending angle of the column by abutting against the connecting rod (6) when the column is extended linearly and when it is bent to the maximum extent. A pillar of a lower limb brace characterized by