Patent ID: 6572658
Filing Date: 2003-06-03
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
A knee joint for a prosthetic device, the knee joint comprising:an upper knee joint member; a lower knee joint member; a bearing axle and a brake activating axle connecting the upper knee joint member to the lower knee joint member; means for braking rotatably mounted to the bearing axle such that the axis of rotation of the braking means is off-center with respect to the axis of rotation of the said bearing axle, the means for braking comprising a brake activating axle and a locking device, the braking means including an activating member adapted to interact with the brake activating axle; wherein the relative positions of the brake activating axle and the bearing axle is such as to create a geometric sensitivity of the rotating means for braking so that depending on the direction of a line of action from a load on the knee prosthesis the rotating means for braking will either be in balance at which the locking device is inactivated or out of balance at which the locking device is activated.