Patent ID: 8236062

Claim:
A prosthetic foot and lower part of leg comprising: a semi-rigid, resilient foot keel extending in a longitudinal direction; a semi-rigid, resilient leg portion attached at a lower end to the foot keel; wherein the semi-rigid, resilient leg portion includes a plurality of elongated, upwardly extending, generally arcuately curved in the sagittal plane, substantially vertically oriented, semi-rigid, resilient members which are spaced apart in the sagittal plane intermediate their upper and lower ends and which are anterior facing convexly curved at their lower ends forming an ankle joint area of the prosthesis and which extend upwardly above the ankle joint area in a substantially anterior facing convexly curve to a substantially vertically oriented upstanding upper end of the leg portion, at least one of said plurality of semi-rigid, resilient members is wider in the frontal plane than thick in the sagittal plane, the semi-rigid, resilient leg portion storing energy during force loading of the prosthesis and returning energy during force unloading to increase the kinetic power generated for propulsive force by the prosthesis, and wherein the semi-rigid, resilient members of the leg portion are substantially leaf spring type members which are coupled together at their upper and lower end portions, and whereby the substantially vertically oriented upper end portion of the semi-rigid resilient leg portion in response to amputee gait force is displaced in a substantially longitudinal direction.