Patent ID: 7101403

Claim:
A vibration-absorbing device for an artificial lower limb, the lower limb including a prosthetic knee unit and a prosthetic foot and ankle unit, said vibration-absorbing device being adapted to interconnect the prosthetic knee unit and the prosthetic foot and ankle unit and comprising: a longitudinal damping unit including an upright knee-connecting tube having an open lower end with a cushion-receiving tube portion, an upper end adapted to be attached to the prosthetic knee unit, and an inward flange that extends radially and inwardly from said tube and that defines a central hole, an upright connecting rod extending through said central hole in said inward flange of said tube, an upper stop unit attached to an upper end portion of said connecting rod and prevented from passing downwardly through said central hole in said inward flange of said tube so as to prevent downward removal of said connecting rod from said inward flange, a lower stop unit attached to a lower end portion of said connecting rod, and a coiled compression spring sleeved on said connecting rod between said lower stop unit and said inward flange of said tube so as to bias said connecting rod to move downwardly within said tube, thereby retarding movement of said tube relative to said connecting rod in an axial direction of said tube; and a transverse damping unit including an ankle-connecting member adapted to be attached to the prosthetic foot and ankle unit and connected fixedly to a lower end of said connecting rod, and a tubular cushion member sleeved on an upper portion of said ankle-connecting member and disposed within said cushion-receiving tube portion of said tube, said cushion member being made of a resilient material and having an inner surface disposed adjacent to an outer surface of said ankle-connecting member, and an outer surface disposed adjacent to an inner surface of said cushion-receiving tube portion of said tube so as to retard movement of said tube relative to said ankle-connecting member in a transverse direction of said tube.