Motion restraining brace

A motion restraining brace apparatus for attachment to a patient's joint, such as across the knees or the elbows, to restrain the angle of motion of a brace. A base plate has a locking gear member rotatably attached thereto and having a plurality of locking notches along the edge thereof. A first restraining bar is rotatably attached to the gear and extends therefrom and a second restraining bar is fixedly attached to the gear and extends therefrom. A locking gear member has a locking pin movably attached to the base plate and positioned to move in and out of one gear member notch to lock the gear member to the base plate at a predetermined position to prevent rotation of the gear member relative to the base plate. A stop pin is attached to the base plate to stop the rotation of the first restraining bar in one direction of rotation while the stop surface in one end of the first and second restraining bars are positioned to abut each other to stop the rotation of one of the restraining bars in a second direction of rotation. A cover plate is also attached to a base plate over the gear member and has degree markings thereon to allow the rapid positioning of the locking pin for a predetermined degree of rotation of the first and second restraining bars.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to orthopedic appliances and more 
particularly to a motion restraining brace for restricting the pivotal 
motion of a patient's joint. 
Joint injuries, including injuries to the knee and elbow, and knee and 
elbow surgery, often make it necessary to restrict pivotal motion of the 
joint to a predetermined angular range while the joint heals. This pivotal 
restraint is typically accomplished by a joint motion restraining brace 
having a pair of articulated side portions positionable on opposite 
lateral sides of the leg. Each of these side portions is conventionally 
defined by elongated support members which are pivotally connected at one 
end by an adjustable hinge mechanism which is positionable on one side of 
the joint. The restraining arms of such a brace are secured to their 
associated arm or leg portion by straps and cushion pad members which 
encircle the leg or arm and may be adjustably tightened or loosened 
against the leg or arm to hold the support members firmly in place. The 
hinge mechanisms are typically adjustable to selectively limit the 
relative pivotal motion between the interconnected support members on 
opposite sides of the leg to thereby limit the pivotal motion of the human 
joint to a predetermined angular range. Thus, it may be medically 
necessary to restrict the movement of the joint to a pivotal range 
extending between a 30 degree and a 90 degree angle. The hinge mechanisms 
can be adjusted to limit the relative pivotal motion of each of the 
interconnected support members to this range. 
It has been common to use pairs of conventional knee braces of this general 
type which have proven to be beneficial in protecting knee joints 
following an injury thereto or surgery thereon. These knee braces have 
typically had a variety of problems resulting from the complexity of the 
adjustable hinge for the brace. The present invention is directed towards 
a single angle restricting joint brace which can be easily and rapidly 
adjusted for varying the pivotal angle that the joint can be rotated. The 
angle can be adjusted as desired during the healing period or for 
different patients. One of the problems with prior braces is the 
interconnecting hinge of each of a pair of support members which has been 
somewhat awkward and laborous to adjust and has been prone to undesirable 
slippage. 
One prior art Bledsoe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,588, teaches a motion 
restraining knee brace having a pair of articulated side portions each 
defined by elongated thigh and calf support members pivotally 
interconnected by an adjustable hinge mechanism. Each hinge mechanism has 
a single adjustment dial that cooperates with a pair of stop members to 
selectively limit the relative pivotal movement between the thigh and calf 
support members associated with the hinge. The support members are 
securable to the leg by connecting straps which encircle the leg and have 
independently adjustable anterior and posterior portions. This motion 
restraining knee brace is, however, somewhat complex for use in many elbow 
and knee injuries and following many types of joint surgery. 
The present invention simplifies the motion restraining brace especially 
for use on the elbow and knee following joint injuries or surgery. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A motion restraining brace apparatus attaches to a patient's joint, such as 
across the knees or elbows, to restrain the angle of motion of the brace. 
A base plate has a locking gear member rotatably attached thereto having a 
plurality of locking notches along the edge thereof. A first restraining 
bar is rotatably attached to the gear and extends therefrom and a second 
restraining bar is fixedly attached to the gear and extends therefrom. A 
locking gear member has a locking pin movably attached to the base plate 
and positioned to move in and out of one gear member notch to lock the 
gear member to the base plate at a predetermined position to prevent 
rotation of the gear member relative to the base plate. A stop pin is 
attached to the base plate to stop the rotation of the first restraining 
bar in one direction of rotation while the stop surface in one end of the 
first and second restraining bars are positioned to abut each other to 
stop the rotation of one of the restraining bars in a second direction of 
rotation. A cover plate is also attached to a base plate over the gear 
member and has degree markings thereon to allow the rapid positioning of 
the locking pin for a predetermined degree of rotation of the first and 
second restraining bars.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIGS. 1-5 of the drawings, a motion restraining brace 10 is 
shown attached to a patient's arm 11 over the elbow area 12 of the arm. 
The motion restraining brace 10 has a motion restraining mechanism 13 
having limb attaching pads 14 and 15 attached thereto along with a joint 
covering pad 16. The motion restraining mechanism has a base plate arm 17 
having a gear member 18 rotatable attached with a center pin 20. The gear 
member 18 has a plurality of notches 21 along one edge thereof for 
receiving a locking pin 22 which can slide into any one of the notches 21 
to lock the rotatable mounted gear member 18 to the base plate 17 at a 
plurality of desired positions of rotation. The locking pin 22 has a 
spring 23 mounted between a first stop pin 24 and a second stop pin 25 
attached to the base plate 17. The spring 23 is attached around the second 
stop pin 25 as seen in FIG. 2. A first restraining bar 29 is rotatable 
attached on the pin 20 to the base plate 17 while a second restraining bar 
26 is fixedly attached to the rotatable gear member 21 with a plurality of 
attaching fasteners 27. The bar 26 can be riveted or welded or formed as 
one piece with gear member 18. Bar 26 can have a positioning bend 28 
therein while the bar 29 can have a positioning bend 30 therein. The first 
restraining bar 29 has an angled stop edge 31 while the second restraining 
bar 26 has an angled stop edge 32 on one end thereof and, as illustrated, 
has a pointed end 33 forming two angled edges. 
The cover plate 34, as illustrated in FIG. 3, covers the mechanism, as 
illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, and is held to the base plate 17 with the 
stop members 24 and 25. A handle portion 35 of the stop pin 22 is on the 
outside of the cover plate 34 where it can be easily grasped and lifted 
against the spring 23 for raising the stop pin 22 out of one of the 
notches 21 of the rotatable gear portion 18. This allows the gear portion 
to be rotated to a desired angle where the stop pin 20 can be released 
into notch 21. The cover plate 34 also has the pin 20 extending 
therethrough and has a plurality of degree markings 36 on the face thereof 
along with indicia 37. The second restraining bar 26 on the gear 18 on 
extension 38 has an index pointer 40 thereon for aligning the degree 
markings 36 therewith when adjusting the angle of rotation of the motion 
restraining mechanism 13. 
In operation, the motion restraining mechanism can be adjusted by raising 
the handle 35 of the stop pin 22, rotating the bracing arm 26 and gear 
member 18 to align the pointer 40 with the degree markings 36 for a 
predetermined angle setting and then releasing the handle 35 to allow the 
stop pin 22 to engage a notch 21 on the gear member 18 to lock it in place 
and locked to the base 17. The second bracing arm 29 can then be rotated 
in one direction until it abuts with the stop pin 24, as illustrated in 
FIG. 5, and can be rotated in the opposite direction until angled the stop 
surface 31 engages angled the stop surface 32 of the motion restraining 
bar 26. The motion restraining bar 29 thus rotates between the stop pin 24 
on the base 17 in one direction and with the abutment of the stop surfaces 
31 and 32 in the opposite direction. The abutment is adjustable by 
rotating the gear member 18 to any desired position. The gear member 18 in 
the fixedly attached restraining arm 26 are shown locked in one position 
in FIG. 2 and in another position in FIG. 5. The locking mechanism 13 is 
easily attached to a person's joints using conventional attachment pads 14 
and 15. 
It should be clear at this time that an adjustable swivel brace has been 
provided for the treatment of flexion characteristics and may be adjusted 
in 10 degree increments or in any degree increments as desired which can 
be readily adjusted by the sliding of a spring loaded pin in and out of 
notches within a rotatable gear member. However, the present invention is 
not to be limited to the forms shown which are to be considered 
illustrative rather than restrictive.