CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL LEGS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL LEGS."-A com-
munication.
Sealed the 7th July 1857, and dated the 17th March 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 17th March 1857.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL LEGS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in the employment of elastic cords connecting the
thigh with the foot, to imitate the action of the natural muscles, for the
purpose of controlling the movements of the several parts of the limb. It
further consists in the application to the socket of the thigh, in cases of
amputation above the knee, of a sack, which is made of proper form to fit the
stump of the natural limb, and suspended at its mouth from the edge of
the socket of the artificial one, for the purpose of assisting to support the
patient and relieving the stump from the unpleasant and often painful and
injurious pressure that is produced upon the stump by the ordinary method of
supporting it by forcing it into a tapered socket.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand cight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her.
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL LEGS," being a communication
from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention of "certain improvements in artificial legs consists in the
employment of elastic cords connecting the thigh with the foot, to imitate the
action of the natural muscles, for the purpose of controlling the movements of
the several parts of the limb. It further consists in the application to the
socket of the thigh, in cases of amputation above the knee, of a sack, which is
made of proper form to fit the stump of the natural limb, and suspended at its
mouth from the edge of the socket of the artificial one, for the purpose of
assisting to support the patient and relieving the stump from the unpleasant

page_text: and often painful and injurious pressure that is produced upon it by the
ordinary method of supporting it by forcing it into a tapered socket.
The Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which
Figs. 1 and 2 are sections of an artificial limb, shewing the application of the
Invention to cases of amputation above the knee. Fig. 3 is a similar section,
illustrating its application to cases of amputation at or below the knee.
Figures 4 and 4* are two sections, at right angles to each other, of the leg, as
constructed for cases of amputation at or below the knee. Fig. 5 is a side
view of the foot. Fig. 6 is a detail view of a part of the means of connection:
between the elastic cords and the foot. Similar letters of reference indicato
corresponding parts wherever they are to be found in the different Figures.
The application of the Invention to cases of amputation above the knee will
be first described. The limb may be made hollow of willow or some other
light wood, covered with leather, and varnished to imitate the natural limb, in
the same manner as is generally adopted in the manufacture of artificial limbs.
A (Figures 1 and 2) is the thigh piece; B is the leg, and C is the foot.
The knee is made in the same piece as the leg B, and fits into the thigh piece,
and the joint is made in the common way by a pin a passing through steel
plates (represented in dotted outline in Figures 1 and 2), that are riveted
one to cach side of the thigh between the wood and the leather covering, and
through brass bushes in the leg. The wood is left as nearly as possible solid
at the knee to give strength to the joint. G is a broad leather strap connect-
ing the thigh piece A and leg B at the back of the knee joint, and serving as
a stop when the limb is extended. The lower end of the leg B, like the knee
portion, is made nearly solid, and is rounded to fit into the foot; and the ankle
joint is made in substantially the same way as the knee joint by a pin c pass-
ing through steel plates d riveted to the foot, and through a brass bush in the
solid wood of the leg. One of the plates d is shewn in Fig. 5, which represents
the foot without the leather covering. The interior of the foot is left solid
under the ankle, as shown at e and f, high enough to come in contact with the
bottom of the leg, and stop it when the foot is bent upward or downward to
the greatest extent desirable, and a spring g is applied between the stop e and
the corresponding portion of the leg, in such a manner as to exert a tendency
to throw down the toe or extremity of the foot for the purpose of giving
elasticity to the foot in walking. E and F, Figures 1 and 2, are two elastic
cords connecting the foot with the thigh piece, and passing through a
slot m, m, in the middle of knee. These are secured near the back of
the thigh piece, close above the knee by pegs of wood i, i, passing through
loops at their upper ends to a brace h, of wood that extends across the

page_text: thigh piece, and they are attached to the foot below the ankle joint by
being passed through holes and secured by wedges k, k, driven in from
the underside of the foot before the cushion or padding ; of the sole is
put on. Both of the cords pass under an inverted are-formed piece of
metal H; that is screwed to the foot in such a manner as to stand con-
centric with the pin c of the ankle joint for the purpose of guiding the cords
and transmitting their influence to the foot. The cord F passes directly up
the back of the leg to the thigh, and the cord E passes up the front of the leg
and over a pulley I, that is fitted within the slot or mortise m, m, to turn
freely on the pin a of the knee joint. A top view of the arc-formed piece of
metal H is given in Fig. 6, in which p, p, represent two lugs, through which
screws are passed to secure it to the foot. The elasticity of the cord E, owing
to the direction which the said cord is caused to take by passing over the
pulley I, exerts a tendency to straighten the knee joint, and at the same time
to depress the toe or point of the foot, and the elasticity of the cord F exerts
a tendency to bend the knee joint and raise the toe. The cord F should be
stronger than the cord E, in order to give the cords E and F, as nearly as
possible, the character of the extensor and flexor muscles of the natural limb;
they are made elastic for a portion only of their length, and inelastic at both
ends, the elastic portion having the character of a muscle, and the inelastic
portions that of tendons. A convenient manner of making the cords with the
above characteristics is to plait or braid the whole length of strips of leather;
and to enclose within the middle portion of the length of the plait or braid a
cord or bunch of cods or strips of india-rubber. In Figures 1 and 2, the
strips or cords of india-rubber are indicated by 1, 1, and the plaited or braided
leather by n, n. In Fig. 2 the cords E, F, are shewn in section, but in
Fig. 1 they are shewn entire. J, Figures 1 and 2, is the sack, which is
suspended from the top of the hollow socket of the thigh A to receive the
stump of the thigh of the natural limb. This sack is secured all round the
top edge of the hollow socket of the thigh A, and is made of such depth as is
necessary to produce an agreeable or painless pressure on all parts of the
stump. It may be made of soft leather or woven fabric. The socket of
the thigh is made large enough internally to fit casily around the stump;
by raising or lowering the sack, the limb may be adjusted to the proper
length.
The construction of the limb to suit cases of amputation at or below the
knee will now be described :-If the leg is amputated at a sufficient distance
below the knee to leave a stump to which to attach the artificial limb, a hollow
socket K (Figures 3, 4, and 4*) is made to fit the stump, and then the lower

page_text: portion L of the leg is fitted to the socket, as shewn at q, q, in Fig. 4*, and
secured by gluing or otherwise. A socket M (see Fig. 3) made of two thick-
nesses of leather is fitted to lace on the patient's thigh, and the socket K is
connected with the socket M by rule joints r, s, one on each side, the upper
portion of each joint being fitted and riveted between the two thicknesses
of leather of the socket M, and the lower portions of each joint being riveted
to the socket K. These joints correspond with the position of the natural
knee joint. A stop piece G of leather is applied between the sockets M and
K behind the knee joint to assist in stopping the limb when straightened at
the knee joint. The two elastic cords E* and F*, connecting the thigh with
the foot, are attached to the thigh socket M, and pass downward through
oblique slots t, t, made through the leg at or near the junction q, q, of the
socket K, and lower part L of the leg. The connection of the elastic cords
E and F with the foot is effected in the same manner as that of the cords
E and F, as herein-before described, a similar arc-formed piece H being
attached to the foot. The upper parts of these cords are made of india-rubber
webbing, and stitched at the top to the socket M, and the lower parts are
made of raw hide, the two parts being united at u, u, just outside of the slots
t, t, by metallic links or by sewing. If the limb is amputated so closely below
the knee that there is no stump on which to fit the leg with a socket, the leg
may be made all in one piece, and the cords E, F, may pass over the top
into the interior of the leg. The sack may, if desired, be employed to
support the stump in cases of amputation below as well as above the knee.
The operation of the elastic cords is substantially the same, whether applied
in the manner represented in Figures 1 and 2, or in that represented in
Fig. 3. When the knee is bent in walking, the forward cord E or E* is
strained over the pulley I, or over the knee, and by that means when the foot
is lifted from the ground, the leg and foot are caused to be thrown forward by
the elasticity of the said spring as the forward movement of the natural thigh
takes place, and at the same time the point of the foot is caused to be raised
relatively to the leg so as to prevent it from dragging on the ground. The
bending of the knee, at the same time that it strains the cord E or E*, slackens
the cord F or F, but before the foot comes forward to the farthest position,
the cord For F is stretched, and as it is stronger than E or E, it gradually
checks and finally stops the motion of the leg without any sudden jerk, and at
the same time it raises the hoel so that the foot will come down flat on the
ground when the surface thereof is of an ordinary level character. The
spring 9 prevents too much motion of the foot under the influence of the
elastic cords, and when the leg comes on it, as shewn in Fig. 2, in stepping

page_text: forward while ascending a hill, or stepping up on to a higher surface or step, it
causes the heel to rise with more elasticity, and helps the patient to ascend
and to carry him forward.
Having now described the Invention of "Improvements in artificial legs,"
and having explained the means of carrying the same into effect, as com-
municated to me by my foreign correspondent, I would observe that I do not
confine myself to the methods herein described of constructing the elastic cords,
as they may be variously constructed without interfering with the peculiar
character of their operation; but what I claim as new, and as the Invention
secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, is the use and application of the
elastic cords, or artificial muscles and tendons running from the thigh to the
foot, and operating to control the motions of the leg and foot, as described.
And, I further claim the sack applied to the socket of an artificial limb, as
described, for the purpose of receiving the stump of the natural limb, and to
assist in supporting the weight of the patient upon it, and to adjust it accord-
ing to the length required.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Eleventh day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)