PROSTHESIS COSMETIC ELEMENT AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A MOLDED PART

Abstract

A prosthesis cosmetic element comprising a main part made of a foam material and a cavity formed in the main part for receiving a prosthesis component, wherein the main part has an outer face facing away from the prosthesis component and an inner face which delimits the cavity, and a textile is secured to the inner face.

Claims

1. A prosthesis cosmetic with a base body made of a foam material and with a cavity formed in the base body for receiving a prosthesis component, the base body having an outer side facing away from the prosthesis component and an inner side delimiting the cavity, wherein a textile is secured to the inner side.

2. The prosthesis cosmetic of claim 1, wherein the entire inner side is covered with a textile.

3. The prosthesis cosmetic of claim 1, wherein the textile is foamed into the base body.

4. The prosthesis cosmetic of claim 1, wherein the textile is designed as a tube.

5. The prosthesis cosmetic of claim 1, wherein the textile is flexible, and/or in particular elastic.

6. The prosthesis cosmetic of claim 1, wherein the foam material, at least in some regions, does not penetrate the textile.

7. A method for producing a molded part from a foam material with a cavity formed in the molded part for receiving a component, in which method a tool core is introduced into a mold cavity of a molding tool and the mold cavity is filled with foam, wherein the tool core is at least partially covered on its outer side with a textile before the mold cavity is filled with the foam material.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the tool core is completely covered on its circumference with a textile.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein a textile tube is pulled onto the tool core.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the textile is foamed into the foam material.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein, after the foaming, the molded body is removed from the mold, the tool core is removed to form the cavity, and the outer contour of the molded body is generated using at least one cutting method.

12. A prosthesis cosmetic comprising: a base body made of a foam material, the base body further including: a cavity formed in the base body for receiving a prosthesis component; an outer side which faces away from the prosthesis component; and an inner side delimiting the cavity; wherein a flexible textile is secured to at least a portion of the inner side of the base body.

13. The prosthesis cosmetic of claim 12, wherein the entire inner side of the base body is covered with the textile.

14. The prosthesis cosmetic of claim 12, wherein the textile is foamed into the base body.

15. The prosthesis cosmetic of claim 12, wherein the textile is configured as a tube.

16. The prosthesis cosmetic of claim 12, wherein the textile is elastic.

17. The prosthesis cosmetic of claim 12, wherein the foam material does not penetrate the textile.

18. The prosthesis cosmetic of claim 12, wherein the foam material penetrates the textile in at least one region.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

[0019] FIG. 1 shows a schematic flow chart of the production method;

[0020] FIG. 2 shows a sewn textile tube and a tool core; and

[0021] FIG. 3 shows a partial view of a produced prosthesis cosmetic with a textile reinforcement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a schematic flow chart for the production of a molded part 30, in particular a prosthesis cosmetic. First, a tool core 10 is manufactured or made available, which tool core 10 is designed to receive a further component, for example a prosthesis component. The outer contour of the tool core 10 can correspond substantially to the outer contour of the component to be received, in particular the prosthesis cosmetic, optionally with additions or deductions and also with formations and projections for securing to the component or the prosthesis cosmetic. A textile 20 is applied to the outer side of the tool core 10. The textile 20 in the exemplary embodiment shown is tubular and designed to be closed at the upper end. It is possible to insert the tool core 10 into the textile 20 through the lower insertion opening. The textile 20 can be formed in one piece, for example knitted or woven, or alternatively it can be made from a flat blank which is sewn or glued accordingly. It is likewise possible to obtain the desired covering from a tubular base body by closing an opening. The textile 20 surrounds the tool core 10 on the outer circumference and at the upper end; the lower end can be left free.

[0023] After the tool core 10 has been inserted into the textile 20 or after the tool core 10 has been enveloped with the textile 20 in another way, for example by wrapping, the tool core 10 is inserted into a molding tool 60 that has a mold cavity 65. One end of the tool core 10 with the textile 20 forms a closure with a wall of the molding tool 60; alternatively, one end of the tool core 10 protrudes from the molding tool 60. Alternatively, it is possible that the tool core 10 also extends right through the molding tool 60.

[0024] The mold cavity 65 of the molding tool 60 is then filled with a foam material 40, such that a base body 30 is formed from a foam material 40, with a corresponding cavity in its interior after the base body 30 has been removed from the molding tool 60 and the tool core 10 has been removed. The outer contour of the base body 30 corresponds to the inner contour of the molding tool 40 and can be cylindrical, for example. Alternative outer contours are likewise possible, for example conical or roughly approximating to an outer contour of the desired insert shape. The molded body can be used, for example, as a prosthesis cosmetic and can cover a lower leg component of a prosthetic fitting of a lower extremity. A contour of the base body 30, designed approximating to an outer contour of a lower leg, then facilitates the individualization and adaptation to the respective user.

[0025] After the removal of the base body 30 and of the tool core 10, the outer contour of the base body 30 is machined, which can be seen in the illustration on the right in FIG. 1. The base body 30 is given the desired contour on the outer side 32 by suitable machining methods, for example by grinding or another cutting method. For this purpose, the foam material 40 is either fastened to a carrier or held by a person. Within the foam material 40, which can also have a certain elasticity, a cavity 50 has been created by the removal of the tool core 10, such that an inner side 31 with an inner surface is present within the base body 30. After the tool core 10 has been removed, the textile 20 is still arranged on the inner side 31 and is permanently connected to the base body 30 and thus to the foam material by the foaming. The textile 20 is foamed into the base body 30 and increases the stability, in particular when the foam material 40 is removed with a corresponding tool, for example with a grinding wheel or a milling head, until very close to the cavity 50. The textile 20 can be designed to be flexible, in particular elastic. The process control during foaming can be chosen in such a way that the foam material 40 does not penetrate through the textile 20, or at least in some regions does not penetrate through the textile 20. This ensures that the inner side 31 of the base body 30 and thus the cavity 50 are covered with the textile 20, at least in those regions where the foam material 40 has not penetrated the textile 20. Even if the foam material 40 penetrates the textile 20, the textile 20 increases the stability within the base body 30 and reduces the tendency of the foam material 40 to tear at low material thicknesses and thereby render the molded body or the prosthesis cosmetic unusable.

[0026] An exemplary embodiment of a tool core 10 and of a textile 20 is shown in FIG. 2. In its left-hand region, the tool core 10 has a thickening with an outer contour which corresponds to a lower part of a prosthetic knee joint. Damper devices, actuators, control devices and the like can be arranged on this lower part. The tool core 10 only reproduces the outer contour of the prosthesis component together with a lower-leg tube connected thereto. The tool core 10 can be made of a plastic or a metal.

[0027] The textile 20 that is to be pulled over the tool core 10 is shown below the tool core 10. The textile 20 is produced from a basic blank which is folded along an axis of symmetry and sewn along an outer edge, which is arranged at the top in the exemplary embodiment shown, to form a tubular cover. The textile 20 of FIG. 2 is designed to be open at both ends, and the right-hand end is first pulled over the left-hand end of the tool core 10 until it envelops the outer side of the tool core 10 except for the end faces. The textile 20 is advantageously designed to be flexible, such that it lies tightly against the tool core 10 when inserted into the molding tool 60.

[0028] FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of a finished prosthesis cosmetic 100. The outer contour of the prosthesis cosmetic 100 is designed to approximate to the contour of a calf or of a lower leg. The foam material is ground on the outer side 32, and the inner side 31 is lined with the textile 20, such that the cavity 50 is completely provided with a textile 20 on the inner side 31. The initially closed base body has been opened in the region of the calf, opposite the shinbone, i.e. on the rear side, such that the prosthesis cosmetic 100 can be bent open along the separating edge or cutting line and laid around the prosthesis component, which is not shown.