IMPROVEMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL LIMBS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Brown, of No. 96, Newgate Street, in the
City of London, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ARTIFICIAL LIMBS."-A communication from abroad by Amasa A. Marks,
of the City County, and State of New York. United States of America
Sealed the 22nd November 1867, and dated the 6th June 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Brown at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th
⚫ June 1867.
I, THOMAS BROWN, of No. 96, Newgate Street, in the City of London,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL LIMBS," a communication, to be as follows:―
The first part of the said improvements relates to the knee joint of an
artificial leg and to the means for holding the said joint in any desired
position, and consists chiefly in the employment of a T-shaped bracket or
standard, which takes the place of the tibia, and whose lower or T-shaped end.
is provided with journals, which are fitted to work freely in oblique-boxes
secured in the interior of the knee pan. The centres of the said boxes coincide
with the centre of the said knee pan, and these boxes are so situated that
they are readily accessible, so that their caps can be easily removed when it is
desired to separate the parts of the leg. When the knee joint is bent, as in
sitting, it is retained in position by the action of a pear-shaped button with a
spherical head, which works in a socket formed in the head of an oscillating
vertical sliding rod or bolt; this rod or bolt is acted on by a spring, and is so
situated in relation to the head of the button that when the knee joint is bent

page_text: the same is kept closed, and has no tendency to open spontaneously. The
lower portion of the spring is inclosed in a box or tube of wood or other
suitable material; the lower end of this box is rounded and fitted to work in
a suitable concave bearing a socket formed inside the back part of the leg.
When the leg is straightened or extended the said spring forces the rod or
bolt up against the button and prevents the spontaneous bending of the leg,
and if the same is bent at right angles the action of the spring on the button
is such that the joint has a tendency to close rather than to open. If the
person wearing the said leg sits down the knee joint bends readily, but will
not allow the leg to stretch spontaneously.
The said improvements consist also in forming the wearing parts of the
hand and foot partly of soft or "sponge" rubber and partly of hard rubber or
wood. The soft rubber is used for the heel and body of the foot; and for the
fingers and body of the hand, and imparts thereto the required degree of
elasticity (corresponding as near as possible to the natural movements of these
members), the hard rubber or wood being used to give the proper degree of
solidity to enable the hand or foot to be secured to the wooden stumps attached
to the remaining portion of the arm or leg to which the said hand or foot is
to be applied; by this means the springs, pivots, joints, and other costly
mechanism ordinarily employed in artificial hands and feet may be despensed
with, and the same are rendered more easy to use and move durable.
The material known as "sponge" rubber which is employed to form the
external portions of the hands and feet possesses great strength combined with
elasticity; these portions are made, in proper moulds of any required size and
form. The hard or unelastic rubber or wood which serves to connect the
hand or foot to the wooden stumps on the arm or leg is enclosed within the
soft rubber: A ball-and-socket joint is used with the hand to, allow the same
to be set and secured in any required position, while the foot is directly and
permanently attached to. the stump, so that, the said, foot; can be controlled
absolutely by the movement of the remaining part of the natural leg of the
wearer.
The natural movement of the foot is more closely imitated by these
improvements than by any other means before known. The hand forms an
artificial "show" limb, which conceals the loss of the real member, and which
when grasped by, another person has a more natural feeling than a
artificial hand.
rigid

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Brown in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th
December 1867.
!!
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BROWN, of No. 96, Newgate Street, in the City of London, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did,.for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said. Thomas Brown, Her special licence, that the said Thomas
Brown, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,, the
said Thomas Brown, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should, at
ány time. agree with, and no, others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the terin 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 Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN ARTIFICIAL LIMBS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Thomas Brown, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and ini
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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters, Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Brown, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what. manner the same is to be per-
formed, to, be particularly. described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings forming,
a part of this Specification :-
J
The first part, of the said. improvements relates to the knee joint of an
artificial leg, and, to the means for holding the said joint in any desired,
position, and consists chiefly in the employment of a. T-shaped bracket or
standard which takes the place of the tibia,, and whose lower or, T-shaped end.
is provided with journals, which are: fitted to work freely in oblique boxes
secured in the interior of the knee pan. The centres of the said: boxes
coincide with the centre of the said knee pan, and these boxes are so situated
that they are readily accessible, so that their caps can be easily removed when.

page_text: the head of the said button is so formed and arranged in relation to the rod i
that the latter which is kept in contact with (the said head by the spring j.will
allow the button to work freely in the socket as the leg moves in either
direction. The spring ; bears against, the shoulder of the rod i; and against
the lower end of the interior of the box or tube k, and keeps the rod i up to the
button / with an even pressure while the tube oscillates upon its extremity ³,
which rests in the concave bearing el. This arrangement of the mechanism
allows the knee joint to work freely and pleasantly in walking, but holds, it
when at rest, and also keeps the lower part e from swinging too loosely from
the bearings d. It will be seen that the rod i, button h, and tube k. are
arranged to operate in such a manner that when the parts of the leg are in
the position illustrated in either Figure 1 or Figure 3,. the force of the
spring; tends to keep the parts in such position, and that the leg will not
move therefrom spontaneously.
.
The said improvements consist also in forming the wearing parts of the
hand and foot partly of soft or sponge rubber, and partly of hard rubber or
wood. The soft rubber is used for the heel and body of the foot, as shewn at.
m, Figure 1, and for the fingers and body of the hand, and imparts thereto the
required degree of elasticity corresponding as near as possible to the natural
movements of these members. The hard rubber or wood n is used to give
the proper degree of solidity to enable the hand or foot to be secured to the
wooden stump attached to the remaining portion of the arm or leg to which
the said hand or foot is to be applied. By this means the springs, pivots,
joints, and other costly mechanism ordinarily employed in artificial hands and
feet may be dispensed with, and the same are rendered more easy to use and
more durable.
'
The material known as "sponge" rubber, which is preferably employed to
form the external portions of the hands and feet, possesses great strength
combined with elasticity; these portions are made in proper moulds of any
required size and form. The hard or unelastic rubber or wood which serves
to connect the hand or foot to the wooden stumps on the arm or leg is
enclosed within the soft rubber. A ball-and-socket joint is preferably used
with the hand to allow the same to be set and secured in any required
position while the foot is directly and permanently attached to the stump, so
that the said foot can be controlled absolutely by the movement of the
remaining part of the natural leg of the wearer. The natural movement of the
foot is more closely imitated by the aid of these improvements than by any
other means before known, and a band constructed as herein described forms
an artificial "show" limb which completely conceals the loss of the real

page_text: member, and 'which 'when grasped by another person has a more natural
feeling than a rigid artificial hand.
Having thus fully described the said improvements as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, and shown how the same may be conveniently
and advantageously carried into practise; I claim,―
First, the oblique boxes or bearings d in combination with the gudgeons or
journals a:of the T-shaped bracket 'a, and with the parts c, e, of an artificial
lég for the purposes and substantially in the manner set forth.
Second, the pear-shaped button h on the bracket a arranged in combination
with the spring j, rod i, and oscillating box or tube k, for the purposes and
substantially in the manner set forth.
Third, making feet and hands for artificial limbs of soft rubber combined
with. hard rubber or wood, substantially as and for the purposes herein.set
forth.
In witness whereof; I, the said Thomas Brown, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.'
THOMAS BROWN. (L.B.)
Witness,
THO³. N. PALMER,
Clerk to Messrs. Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
• 8, Southampton Buildings, W.C.