Patent ID: 7632315

Claim:
A prosthetic socket comprising: a rigid, structural, load-bearing, air impervious inner wall generally in the form of a close ended cup having an open inner wall proximal end and a closed inner wall distal end area, the inner wall defining an inner volume adapted to contain a distal portion of a residuum, and the inner wall proximal end adapted to receive a distal portion of a residuum to be located within the inner volume; a generally continuous, rigid, air impervious structural, load-bearing outer wall section having an outer wall section proximal end and a closed outer wall section distal end area; a chamber defined between an outer side of the inner wall and an inner side of the outer wall section; at least one aperture in the inner wall communicating the inner volume of the inner wall with the chamber, the aperture being substantially smaller in cross-section than the closed inner wall distal end area; a one-way valve disposed within the at least one aperture and the inner volume being in one-way communication with the chamber; and a port communicating the chamber to the atmosphere outside the outer wall section for establishing a partial vacuum within both the chamber and the inner volume in order to effect a vacuum suspension of the prosthetic socket on a residuum, wherein the port comprises a one-way valve for allowing air to flow only from the chamber to the atmosphere outside the prosthetic socket.