Patent ID: 9408708
Filing Date: 2016-08-09
CPC Classification: A61B,A61F

Claim Text:
1. An implantable orthopedic device, comprising: a first plate, having an outward-facing surface facing away from said device and an inward-facing surface opposed to said outward-facing surface, and having a plate longitudinal direction; a second plate opposed to said first plate; and a mechanism located between said first and second plates, said mechanism being capable of causing relative motion of said first and second plates toward or away from each other, wherein said first plate comprises, on said inward-facing surface of said first plate, a planar ramp surface bounded by two edges that are parallel to each other, said planar ramp surface having a ramp direction that is located midway between said two parallel edges, said ramp direction being inclined at an oblique ramp angle with respect to said plate longitudinal direction, wherein said planar ramp surface is bounded on respective sides by respective first and second grooves, wherein said ramp surface and said first and second grooves in combination engage and capture a geometric feature of said mechanism while permitting sliding of said geometric feature relative to said planar ramp surface along said ramp direction, wherein said first plate has a centrally located first opening therethrough and said second plate has a centrally located second opening therethrough and wherein a window region of space connecting said first opening and said second opening is not crossed by any object extending within said window region continuously from a proximal edge of said window region to a distal edge of said window region, and wherein the mechanism has a locking reception configuration at a proximal terminal end of the mechanism, the device further comprising a locking element configured to rotate with respect to the first plate and the second plate.