Patent ID: 8070823

Claim:
A prosthetic joint, comprising: (a) first member having a balanced centroidal axis, the first member comprising a rigid material and including a concave interior defining a cup surface, the cup surface including: (i) a cantilevered first flange defined by a first undercut in the first member, the first flange defining a wear-resistant first contact rim which protrudes relative to a nominal profile of the cup surface, the first flange being asymmetric relative to the balanced centroidal axis; and (ii) a cantilevered second flange defined by a second undercut in the first member, the second flange defining a wear-resistant second contact rim which protrudes relative to the nominal profile of the cup surface; (b) a second member comprising a rigid material with a wear-resistant, convex contact surface; (c) where the first and second contact rims bear directly against the contact surface of the second member, so as to transfer axial and lateral loads between the first and second members, while allowing pivoting motion between the first and second members; and (d) wherein the flanges are shaped and sized so as to deform elastically and permit the first and second contact rims to conform in an irregular shape to the contact surface, when the joint is placed under a predetermined load.