Patent ID: 6443993
Filing Date: 2002-09-03
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
An auto-adjusting prosthetic ankle apparatus, for attachment to a prosthetic limb having a lower portion, comprising:a) a base portion structured for fixing to a foot blade; b) an attachment portion structured for fixing to the lower portion of the prosthetic limb to the ankle apparatus, the attachment portion pivotally mounted to the base portion to enable a foot blade fixed to the base portion to be pivoted to any position, with respect to the attachment portion, between a first position and a second position; c) a dynamically controllable damping mechanism coupled between the base portion and the attachment portion, the damping mechanism including at least one hydraulic cylinder enabling a level of damping to be changed from a first damping level to a second damping level; d) a level indicating device for indicating when a longitudinal axis of the attachment portion of the prosthetic limb fixed thereto reaches a vertical orientation; and e) a control and computing module operatively coupled to the damping means to establish the level of damping selected from a group of damping levels consisting of: i) a first damping level, and ii) a second damping level.