JOINT FOR AN ANKLE ORTHOSIS

Abstract

The invention relates to a joint for an orthopedic device, wherein the joint includes a first element with at least one end stop element and a second element which is mounted on the first element such that it can be swivelled and has at least one contact surface that can be brought into contact with the at least one end stop element by swivelling the second element relative to the first element, wherein the at least one end stop element then counters a further swivelling of the second element relative to the first element with a force, wherein at least one contact element is fixed on the second element such that it can be detached, said contact element having at least one contact surface.

Claims

1. A joint for an orthopedic device, wherein the joint comprises a first element with at least one end stop element and a second element which is mounted on the first element such that it can be swivelled and has at least one contact surface that can be brought into contact with the at least one end stop element by swivelling the second element relative to the first element, wherein the at least one end stop element then counters a further swivelling of the second element relative to the first element with a force, characterized in that at least one contact element is fixed on the second element such that it can be detached, said contact element having at least one contact surface.

2. The joint according to claim 1, wherein the orthopedic device is an ankle orthosis, wherein the first element is preferably a lower leg element and the second element is a foot stirrup.

3. The joint according to claim 1, wherein the end stop element has at least one spring element, at least one damping element and/or at least one static end stop.

4. The joint according to claim 1, wherein at least two contact elements are fixed on the second element such that they can be detached and the joint comprises at least two end stop elements, wherein the contact elements each have at least one contact surface that can be brought into contact with at least one end stop element.

5. The joint according to claim 4, wherein each end stop element comprises at least one force transmission element with a contact area that rests on the contact surface of the respective contact element when the contact surface of the contact element comes into contact with the end stop element.

6. The joint according to claim 1, wherein the at least one contact surface is formed in such a way that the force that counters further swivelling applied by the at least one stop element is always perpendicular to the contact surface irrespective of a position of the first element relative to the second element.

7. The joint according to claim 1, wherein the at least one contact element is made of a harder material than the second element, preferably of hardened steel.

8. The joint according to claim 1, wherein the at least one contact element is made of a softer material than the second element, preferably ELADUR (polyurethane elastomer based on polyether).

9. The joint according to claim 8, wherein the at least one contact element contains an elastic material.

10. The joint according to claim 1, wherein the contact surface is designed to be concave.

11. The joint according to claim 1, wherein the contact area is designed to be convex and preferably has a radius of curvature that corresponds to a radius of curvature of the contact surface of the contact element.

12. The joint according to claim 1, wherein the at least one contact element is screwed onto the second element.

13. The joint according to claim 1, wherein the at least one contact element and the second element are correspondingly designed and formed in such a way that the contact element can only be fixed to the second element in a single orientation.

14. The joint according to claim 1, wherein the joint is designed in such a way that the contact element is visible in at least one orientation and/or position of the first element relative to the second element without dismantling the joint.

15. A joint for an ankle orthosis, wherein the joint comprises a lower leg element with at least one end stop element which includes at least one of a spring element, damping element and a static end stop; a foot stirrup which is mounted on the lower leg element such that it can be swivelled and has at least one contact surface that can be brought into contact with the at least one end stop element by swivelling the foot stirrup relative to the lower leg element, wherein the at least one end stop element then counters a further swivelling of the foot stirrup relative to the lower leg element with a force, wherein at least one contact element is fixed on the foot stirrup such that it can be detached, said contact element having at least one contact surface.

16. The joint according to claim 15, wherein at least two contact elements are fixed on the foot stirrup such that they can be detached and the joint comprises at least two end stop elements, wherein the contact elements each have at least one contact surface that can be brought into contact with at least one end stop element.

17. The joint according to claim 15, wherein each end stop element comprises at least one force transmission element with a contact area that rests on the contact surface of the respective contact element when the contact surface of the contact element comes into contact with the end stop element.

18. The joint according to claim 15, wherein the at least one contact surface is formed in such a way that the force that counters further swivelling applied by the at least one stop element is always perpendicular to the contact surface irrespective of a position of the lower leg element relative to the foot stirrup.

19. The joint according to claim 15, wherein the at least one contact element is made of hardened steel.

20. A joint for an ankle orthosis, wherein the joint comprises a lower leg element with at least two end stop elements selected from the group of a spring element, damping element and a static end stop; a foot stirrup which is mounted on the lower leg element such that it can be swivelled and has at least one contact surface that can be brought into contact with the at least one end stop element by swivelling the foot stirrup relative to the lower leg element, wherein the at least one end stop element then counters a further swivelling of the foot stirrup relative to the lower leg element with a force; wherein at least two contact elements are detachably fixed on the foot stirrup, each contact element having at least one contact surface that can be brought into contact with at least one end stop element; and wherein each end stop element comprises at least one force transmission element with a contact area that rests on the contact surface of the respective contact element when the contact surface of the contact element comes into contact with the end stop element.

Description

[0028] In the following, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be explained in more detail by way of the attached figures: They show:

[0029] FIG. 1—the schematic representation of a foot stirrup for a joint for an ankle orthosis according to a first example of an embodiment of the present invention,

[0030] FIG. 2—the foot stirrup from FIG. 1 in a rotated view,

[0031] FIG. 3—an enlarged section from FIG. 2,

[0032] FIG. 4—a part of a foot stirrup in a three-dimensional view,

[0033] FIG. 5—the schematic sectional representation through a part of a joint according to the prior art,

[0034] FIG. 6—the representation from FIG. 5 for a joint according to an example of an embodiment of the present invention,

[0035] FIG. 7—the schematic representation of various embodiments of a corresponding joint,

[0036] FIG. 8—the schematic representation of a further embodiment in a sectional view and a side view,

[0037] FIG. 9—the schematic representation of a further example of an embodiment in two different views, and

[0038] FIG. 10—the schematic representation of a contact element in different views.

[0039] FIG. 1 shows a foot stirrup 2 for a joint for an orthopedic device in the form of a joint orthosis according to an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] It features a fixing element 4 on which, for example, a foot part of an ankle orthosis can be arranged. This is preferably done in a non-detachable manner.

[0041] In the upper area of the foot stirrup 2 is an opening 6 through which a swivel axis passes in the mounted state, about which the foot stirrup 2 shown can be swivelled about a lower leg element, not depicted. The foot stirrup 2 features markings 8 which should enable an optimal adjustment to the needs of the wearer of the ankle orthosis as well as ensuring that adjustments, once set, are reproducible.

[0042] The foot stirrup 2 has two shoulders 10, one contact element 12 being arranged on each. In the example of an embodiment shown, the contact element 12 is fixed to the shoulder 10 by a screw 14 such that it can be detached.

[0043] FIG. 2 depicts the foot stirrup 2 from FIG. 1 in a side view. The contact element 12 that is fixed with the screw 14 can be seen on the shoulder 10.

[0044] FIG. 3 depicts an enlarged section. The screw 14 with which the contact element 12 is arranged on the shoulder 10 can be clearly seen. The contact element 12 has a contact surface 16, which is designed to be flat in the example of an embodiment shown and on which, for example, a force transmission element rests, by way of which the force applied by the at least one spring element, not depicted here, is introduced into the contact element 12.

[0045] FIG. 4 shows the upper part of the foot stirrup 2 from FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 in a schematic, three-dimensional view. One can see the opening 6, the two shoulders 10 as well as the contact element 12 arranged via the screw 14. Unlike in FIG. 3, however, the contact surface 16 is designed to be concave and in this case forms a longitudinal groove that extends in the radial direction in relation to a swivel axis to be passed through the opening 6. This ensures that the contact between the force transmission element, not depicted, and the contact surface of the contact element is as effective as possible.

[0046] This situation is depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6. One can see the force transmission element 18 via which a force exerted by a spring element, not depicted, is applied to a shoulder 10 of a foot stirrup 2 of the prior art. If the foot stirrup 2 is swivelled about the swivel axis 20 in the clockwise direction, the shoulder 10 will move upwards, the force transmission element 18 is also displaced upwards and the spring element, not depicted, thus compressed. The representation in FIG. 5 is not a joint according to the invention, as the foot stirrup 2 is not designed with a contact element 12. Rather, the shoulder 10 forms the contact surface, which comes into mechanical contact with a contact area 22 of the force transmission element 18, said area being designed to be convex. Due to the design of the contact surface of the shoulder 10 and the contact area 22 of the force transmission element 18, a force is applied to the force transmission element 18 along the arrow 24 when the foot stirrup 2 is swivelled in the clockwise direction about the swivel axis 20. However, this force and the arrow 24 are not parallel to a longitudinal extension of the force transmission element 18, which corresponds to the displacement direction of the force transmission element 18 and the compression direction of the spring element, not depicted.

[0047] FIG. 6 depicts the same situation with a foot stirrup 2 for a joint according to an example of an embodiment of the present invention. The contact element 12 is arranged on the shoulder 10, said contact element comprising a contact surface 16 that is correspondingly shaped to the contact area 22 of the force transmission element 18. Irrespective of the position and orientation of the foot stirrup 2 relative to the lower leg element 26, a force is applied to the force transmission element 18 when the foot stirrup 2 is swivelled about the swivel axis 20 in the clockwise direction, wherein said force runs along the arrow 24 and is thus always applied parallel to the displacement direction of the force transmission element 18 and therefore to the compression direction of the spring element, not depicted.

[0048] FIG. 7 schematically depicts various forms of spring elements 28 and various forms of force transmission elements 18. While the left-hand area shows the force transmission element 18 from FIGS. 5 and 6, which features the previously described contact area 22, the force transmission element 18 in the right-hand example is designed in the shape of a ball, the contact area 22 having a much smaller surface in this case. Even though no contact elements 12 are depicted in the example of an embodiment shown in FIG. 7, they are nevertheless there and have not been drawn solely for reasons of clarity.

[0049] The left-hand representation in FIG. 8 shows the foot stirrup 2 on which two contact elements 12 are arranged, which are positioned by means of the screw 14 on the shoulder 10. It can be seen that the contact elements 12 comprise a curved contact surface 16 that corresponds to the curvature of the contact area 22 of the force transmission element 18. In the left-hand part of FIG. 8, this corresponds to the representation from FIG. 6. The right-hand part of FIG. 8 features a representation that corresponds to the representation from FIGS. 2 and 3. Here too, one can see the force transmission element 18, which has a curved contact area 22. The section shown in the right-hand part of FIG. 8 corresponds to that of a frontal plane and it can be seen that the contact surface 16 of the contact element 12 is also curved in this direction. As a result of this design, the contact between the contact area 22 of the force transmission element 18 and the contact surface 16 of the contact element 12 is always linear, so that the pressures acting at the respective points can be kept as low as possible.

[0050] FIG. 9 depicts a further embodiment of a foot stirrup 2 on which two contact elements 12 are also located. These elements each have a contact surface 16 and are each fixed to the foot stirrup 2 by two screws 14 in the example of an embodiment shown. Alternatively, the contact elements 12 may also be fixed to the foot stirrup by two pins or bolts, or by a screw 14 and a pin or bolt. The right-hand representation in FIG. 9 shows the foot stirrup 2 with one of the contact elements 12. The contact element 12 has two sides 30 arranged on both sides of the foot stirrup 2. The two sides 30 as well as the foot stirrup 2 each feature bores or recesses that are brought into overlap with each other in the embodiment shown, such that the screws 15 can be inserted or screwed through them. This results in a symmetrical fixing of the contact element 12 to the foot stirrup 2, thereby achieving a particularly even load and therefore a high resistance to wear.

[0051] FIG. 10 depicts a contact element 12 in three different representations. It comprises the contact surface 16, which is designed to be slightly concave, as can be seen particularly clearly in the middle representation of FIG. 10. The contact element 12 comprises the two sides 30, each of which has two bores 32.

REFERENCE LIST

[0052] 2—foot stirrup

[0053] 4—fixing element

[0054] 6—opening

[0055] 8—marking

[0056] 10—shoulder

[0057] 12—contact element

[0058] 14—screw

[0059] 16—contact surface

[0060] 18—force transmission element

[0061] 20—swivel axis

[0062] 22—contact area

[0063] 24—arrow

[0064] 26—lower leg element

[0065] 28—spring element

[0066] 30—side

[0067] 32—bore