Patent ID: 8211187

Claim:
A prosthetic limb assembly comprising: a flexible liner shaped to accept a portion of a patient's residual limb, the flexible liner including an interior and an exterior; a plunger pin mounted to a distal end of the flexible liner, the plunger pin including at least one through passage providing fluidic communication between a location proximate the exterior of the liner and a distal end of the plunger pin; a socket shaped to receive the liner and the patient's residual limb, the socket including a socket interior, a proximal opening for receiving the residual limb, and a distal end including a through hole; a locking mechanism mounted within the distal end of the socket and including a central opening sized to receive the plunger pin, the locking mechanism releasably engaging the plunger pin when the residual limb and the liner are inserted into the socket; a manifold mounted to the exterior of the distal end of the socket, the manifold including a cavity aligned with the through hole in the distal end of the socket, the cavity being adapted to receive the distal end of the plunger pin when the patient's residual limb and the liner are installed into the socket, and a through passage fluidicly connecting an interior of the cavity to a fitting mounted on an exterior of the manifold; and a spool valve arranged to selectively vent the cavity to an ambient atmosphere via the through passage and a vent hole, the spool valve being axially slidable between an open position and a shut position within a channel provided in a valve housing integrally formed with the manifold to selectively vent the cavity via the vent hole and fluidicly isolate the cavity from the vent hole; wherein the fitting is configured to be connected to a vacuum pump for withdrawing air from the interior of the socket via the through passage of the plunger pin, the cavity, and the through passage of the manifold.