Patent ID: 8206458

Claim:
A prosthetic device having an articulating joint, the device comprising: a housing; a chamber having a chamber wall disposed in the housing; an axle disposed within the housing configured to act as the articulating joint and moveable independently of the housing; a plurality of housing vanes extending from the chamber wall to contact the axle; a plurality of axle vanes extending from the axle to contact the chamber wall; a first opening formed in each axle vane; wherein the plurality of axle vanes and the plurality of housing vanes define a plurality of housing reservoirs; an axle reservoir disposed in the axle; a flow medium contained entirely within the chamber and the axle reservoir to communicate between the housing reservoirs and the axle reservoir through each first opening; and a valve disposed in the axle and moveable to regulate movement of the flow medium between the housing reservoirs and the axle reservoir in response to movement of the axle relative to the housing.