Patent ID: 8500824
Filing Date: 2013-08-06
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
1. A knee joint for an artificial leg including a mechanical lock mechanism comprising: an upper member located at an upper side of the knee; a lower member located at a lower side of the knee; a coupling means including at least one oscillating shaft rotatably supported by one of said upper and lower members and adapted to couple said upper and lower members; and a manual lock mechanism capable of manually switching over oscillating motion of said upper and lower members between a locked condition and an unlocked condition when the knee is in an extended condition; wherein: (A) said manual lock mechanism comprises said oscillating shaft, which comprises an irregular part extending in an axial direction thereof; (B) said manual lock mechanism includes a lock member supported by one of said upper and lower members by which said oscillating shaft is rotatably supported, and said lock member can be manually selectively switched over between a locked condition of being in contact with said irregular part and an unlocked condition of being separate from said irregular part; and (C) said lock member extends in a longitudinal direction and is in face-to-face contact with said irregular part in the locked condition so that said upper and lower member prevent the knee from bending, and thereby force from said oscillating shaft and the direct load of a wearer of the artificial leg are applied as a longitudinal compression load to said lock member when the locked condition is kept.