Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Mar., 1898-Accepted, 7th May, 1898
I, AUGUST LARSSON, of Herrljunga, Westergötland, in the Kingdom of Sweden, Joiner,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
In using artificial legs, it is well known that the remaining end of the natural
leg rests in a socket or sleeve of leather or like material attached to the upper portion
of the artificial leg and adapted to be laced to the stump of the natural leg. After
being in use for some time, such a socket or sleeve loses its original shape and falls or
stretches owing to the influence of the weight of the body resting on it, and as a
result a shortening of the leg takes place, so that the person using the artificial leg
gradually begins to limp.
The object of the present invention is to avoid this inconvenience by so arranging
artificial legs that their length can be adjusted as may be required, the improved
arrangement also offers the advantage that the artificial foot can be easily adjusted
into the most suitable position horizontally as well as vertically.
In the accompanying drawing an artificial leg provided with the improved arrange-
ment is shown in Figure 1 in side elevation, and in Figure 2 in transverse section,
drawn to an enlarged scale, along the line A-B of Figure 1.
The improvement consists in making one part of the ankle-joint not rigidly united
to the leg, as usual, but in a separate piece a which is provided with a cylindrical
pin 6 that can be pushed more or less into a corresponding axial hole c in the lower
end of the leg. The said hole is surrounded for a portion of its length by a sleeve e
which is movable at right angles to it and the aperture of which is just large enough
to allow of the pin b being inserted into it. The sleeve is provided with a screw-
threaded bolt f which projects through a plate at the outer side of the leg and is kept
in place by means of a nut g bearing on the said plate.
In attaching the ankle-joint to the leg, the sleeve is first adjusted so as to bring its
aperture in line with the hole in the leg, and the pin b is subsequently inserted into
the hole and sleeve sufficiently to give the proper length to the entire leg. By
screwing up the nut g, the pin is drawn against the wall of the hole by the sleeve e,
and is thus held firmly in this position. When at any time it is desired to readjust
the leg, this is accomplished by simply loosening the nut, thus releasing the pin b
which can now be readily adjusted into the new position, where it is held by again
screwing up the nut. By making the pin b cylindrical, the advantage is evidently
gained that the foot of the artificial leg also can be given the proper adjustinent
horizontally.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
An improved artificial leg wherein the ankle-joint piece is made separate from the

page_text: the pin and movable at right angles to the hole, the said sleeve being provided with a
screw-threaded bolt, on the outer end of which is fitted a nut by the screwing up of
which the sleeve is forced outward so as to press the pin against the wall of the hole
and thus retain it in place, substantially as herein before described.
Dand the t
D. YOUNG & Co.
11 and 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.