Patent ID: 8343083

Claim:
An auto-flex knee brace comprising: an upper thigh cuff positioned substantially above knee for encircling an upper part of leg of a user; a lower thigh cuff positioned substantially below the knee for encircling a lower part of the leg of the user; a flexible strap arrangement having a first strap means attached to a hinged retainer on the upper thigh cuff and a second strap means attached to a hinged retainer on the lower thigh cuff; and at least one spring column assembly releasably coupling the upper thigh cuff and the lower thigh cuff, each of the spring column assembly comprising: an extension spring having a proximal end and a distal end; a lower cuff connection rod having a pair of terminal ends, one end being threaded and the other end featuring a half flat portion, the cylindrical threaded end being tightly screwed into the proximal end of the extension spring; an extension connection rod having a first end, a second end and a longitudinally arranged threaded screw hole, the first end being tightly screwed into the distal end of the extension spring; an adjustable knob having a threaded compartment and a non threaded compartment separated by a screw hole partition, the non threaded compartment being connected to the second end of the extension connection rod through the threaded screw hole utilizing at least one fastening means; and an upper cuff connection rod having a pair of terminal ends, one end being threaded and the other end featuring a half flat portion, the cylindrical threaded end being tightly screwed into the threaded compartment of the adjustable knob; whereby the extension spring acts as a flexible hinge and the at least one spring column assembly is configured to mount at different relative vertical positions and modes between the upper thigh cuffs and the lower thigh cuffs thereby achieving a surgery-free way of promoting autogenously as well as supplement-induced knee cartilage cell production in a non-bone-scraping environment.